Archive of Our Own ^beta

Seeing a smile on Todoroki’s face was a rare and beautiful sight.

The first time Midoriya caught a smile on the quiet teen’s face, it was at lunch. Midoriya had invited Todoroki to sit with him, Uraraka, Iida, and Asui in the cafeteria and Todoroki had agreed, albeit reluctantly. He’d been greeted by Midoriya’s friends and slid into the booth stiffly, back straight and lips smoothed into a thin line. They’d included Todoroki in all their conversations and debates and Todoroki had answered quietly and politely though his expression hadn’t changed. It wasn’t until Midoriya was taking a rather large swig of milk that Uraraka cracked a joke and milk came spewing out of Midoriya’s nose. Midoriya immediately began coughing and spluttering, his friends holding in laughter, and Uraraka kindly passing him extra napkins.

Midoriya had glanced at Todoroki out of the corner of his eye to see that the teen had moved his hand to cover his mouth and the lines of his eyes had softened. Was Todoroki . . . amused?

Midoriya made sure to meet Todoroki’s eyes, causing him to turn and face his curly-haired friend and was met with the sight of tears streaming down Midoriya’s cheeks, milk crusted above his upper lip, and little droplets of snot hanging from his nostrils. “Y - you think this is funny?” Midoriya asked in mock offense, his voice coming out nasally as if he’d been struggling with a cold for days.

He swore he heard Todoroki snort though when he removed his hand from his mouth, he looked completely composed. “Of course not. You almost dying from a carton of milk is nothing to laugh at.”

“My one true weakness,” Midoriya had responded, feeling a warmth spread throughout his chest when he saw the smallest of upturns at the corners of Todoroki’s lips.

It was like seeing a flower bloom; rare and unexpected, petals drooping only to blossom into beauty. From then on out, Midoriya became determined to get Todoroki to smile. To laugh. To enjoy himself like he should be able to, like he didn’t come from an environment that punished any form of emotion that wasn’t the adrenaline and endorphins from success and victory.

Midoriya made it his mission to nervously crack twice the amount of puns as usual whenever Todoroki sat with them at lunch, just to see the roll of his eyes and the shake of his head, followed by a fond smile gracing his face. When they’d been left by the rest of their study group to their own devices in the library, Midoriya showed off his best Bakugo and Endeavor impressions which more often than not actually managed to get Todoroki to bare some teeth in his smile, a huff escaping his nose that was the closest to laughter Midoriya had ever heard from him. The moments he felt the most pride were the ones where he made Todoroki smile without even trying. Sometimes he’d get caught up rambling about the latest hero rankings only to glance over at his friend and see him looking down at him with a small closed-lip smile, eyes soft. Other times, he’d be teased by his friends about his devotion to All Might or his sense of fashion and devolve into his usual blushing and spluttering, just to see a wide smile on Todoroki’s face he seemed to be trying to fight. He never knew what it was about those things that made Todoroki crack a smile but whenever he noticed the upturn of his lips, he’d make sure to exaggerate it a little, rambling faster and squeakier or spluttering so much he couldn’t get a word out.

It had never been his intention to develop feelings along the way.

It’s not as if he hadn’t noticed Todoroki was attractive - most of his class had taken note of that well-known fact and Midoriya wasn’t blind. He had occasionally noticed the tinge of adoration, the little squeeze in his chest when he was around Todoroki, especially when he watched the taller teen let himself relax and be himself, but he hadn’t thought much of it. Growing up as he had, with very little positive attention from anyone outside his mother, he’d gotten used to developing crushes left and right, fantasizing for hours about imaginary worlds in which he could be loved.

But this was different. He wasn’t sure what caused it, initially. Maybe it was because he’d been given the opportunity to know Todoroki as he had, maybe it was because he’d been the one Todoroki had chosen to confide in about his scar, maybe it was the way Todoroki said his name, how he allowed himself to open up to Midoriya and Midoriya only, how the harsh lines of his face had somehow seemed to soften since the Sports Festival. Whatever the reason, Midoriya had fallen and he’d fallen hard.

He wasn’t sure if he’d ever felt actual romantic love before. He was used to infatuation, sure, used to the butterflies in his stomach and the sweating on his palms. But he wasn’t used to the utter adoration, the want for nothing but the best for the object his affection, the want to protect and provide and be nothing but a source of happiness and love. He wasn’t used to wanting to spend all his time with one person, to want to hear their every feeling and thought no matter how fleeting or obsolete. He wanted everything for Todoroki, security, safety, love, joy. He wanted to see Todoroki’s posture relax as he got comfortable, he wanted Todoroki to have no qualms about receiving affection from their friends, he wanted Todoroki to allow himself to be who he was, he wanted to see that smile that was like the rays of the sun on his face everyday and, selfishly, he wanted to be the one who put it there.

As Midoriya’s feelings intensified so did Todoroki’s ease. Midoriya made an effort to make sure he always invited Todoroki to group outings, even if he knew Todoroki was busy - Midoriya just wanted him to know he was welcome, that he had friends, that he was wanted. He always made sure to talk with Todoroki in a group so he never felt like an outsider looking in. His efforts were rewarded by more smiles on Todoroki’s face, by the ease of his shoulders, by him lazing on the couch in the common room instead of sitting like there was a metal rod in his back. He watched in absolute reverence as Todoroki became more and more himself, as his dry humor came out, as he didn’t flinch or shy away when someone gave him a playful nudge or ruffled his hair. It was progress and Midoriya couldn’t be more proud or overjoyed.

Then Endeavor started calling.

It was after they’d moved into the dorms. Todoroki was more himself than ever, cracking his deadpan jokes, offering his opinion on conversations, occasionally shooting Midoriya his rare smiles. He joined in on group activities, he bickered with Bakugo, he wasn’t afraid to leave a dish sitting out in the kitchen.

Todoroki and Midoriya had been studying in the common room and a few of their classmates had joined them, occasionally looking up from their textbooks to talk about the latest gossip or hero news. Todoroki had rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to interject only to be interrupted by the sound of an electronic voice emanating from Todoroki’s direction.

“Fuck you, fuck you very very much,” the voice sang, causing his classmates to eye him in confused amusement. “’Cause we hate what you do and we hate your whole crew, so please don’t stay in touch.”

Midoriya’s brow furrowed. It was definitely coming from Todoroki’s phone but his ringtone had always been the generic one that came programmed into the device. Maybe he’d personalized it for someone?

Todoroki immediately straightened, his face contorting in discomfort as he fished his phone out of his pocket and answered it. “Hello Father,” Todoroki greeted, causing all but Midoriya to snicker. Definitely a ringtone set just for Endeavor. Midoriya worried his lower lip between his teeth. He had already noticed the differences in Todoroki, how his posture was rigid, how his face had gone blank, and Midoriya didn’t like it one bit.

There was some noise on the other line and Todoroki replied with, “Just studying. I trained earlier.”

The conversation continued, Todoroki’s answers curt and quick and Midoriya noticed that a web of frost had spread on the case of Todoroki’s phone. After a few more minutes of Todoroki’s answers, he hung up the phone and wordlessly went back to studying, though there was no longer the expression of ease on Todoroki’s face that Midoriya had spent months getting there.

And it made him fucking furious.

It soon become commonplace for Todoroki’s phone to begin singing curses, for Todoroki to pick it up and answer questions for a few minutes, voice strained and occasionally heated. Midoriya never knew what was said on the other end but he’d heard some worrying arguments and responses on Todoroki’s side from time to time, some mild examples being, “Well, it’s not your choice, is it?” and, “It’s not a weakness.” And while Midoriya was eternally grateful that Todoroki was continuing to assert himself, he didn’t like how every phone call left him a shell of how he’d been pre-conversation.

Even the other students of Class 1-A began to catch on to the strained relationship Todoroki had with his father. No one asked or prodded and no one seemed to notice the changes in Todoroki to the extent that Midoriya did; but it was hard to ignore the insulting ringtone and the one time the class had gathered in the common room for breakfast only to hear Todoroki growl, “She’s my mother and I’ll visit her whenever the fuck I want to,” into the receiver. The students didn’t need much context besides that. They had collectively decided that Endeavor was a menace and Todoroki was to be protected from his father at all costs.

But that couldn’t stop Todoroki from answering his phone which couldn’t stop Todoroki reverting back into his stoic exterior which couldn’t stop Midoriya from going feral. He swore, one day he was going to snap and teach a Endeavor a lesson for harassing Todoroki.

He just wasn’t expecting to snap so soon.

It was a Friday and the majority of Class 1-A was gathered in the common room, garbed in pajamas, groups of friends and couples snuggled together under fuzzy blankets. There hadn’t been any blankets left by the time Midoriya had gotten to the common room so Todoroki had graciously offered to keep him warm with his quirk. Midoriya had spluttered out his gratitude and was currently pressed up against Todoroki’s left side, desperately trying to quell the blush on his cheeks as he kept stealing glances at the teen out of corner of his eye.

The class had been collectively exhausted from an extensive week of training and had been trudging back to their dorm when a movie night was suggested. It was Ashido’s idea to gather in the common room at eight to have a traditional movie marathon complete with popcorn, pajamas, and just general good vibes. They’d all agreed, spare for a few outliers who just wanted to sleep and Mineta who wasn’t invited in the first place.

“This movie is ridiculous,” Todoroki murmured to Midoriya, his breath tickling the latter’s green curls.

Midoriya suppressed a shiver, his mouth dry. “R - really?” Midoriya stuttered. “Y - you’re not scared?” Kaminari had decided their first movie should be a paranormal thriller and was now hiding his eyes behind the lip of his blanket. Midoriya hadn’t been too happy about the movie choice himself and was trying to find the balance between not invading Todoroki’s personal space and burying his face in his shoulder to avoid the jump scares on screen.

Todoroki shook his head, his lips twitching. “You can see the boom mic,” Todoroki pointed out and Midoriya found that he was right. “And that actress doesn’t seem like she chose the right profession.” As if to accent his point, the actress fumbled out a line that was likely supposed to be said in anger but came out as if she was constipated. Midoriya snorted and clapped a hand over his mouth as he giggled. Todoroki flashed him one of his rarest smiles, one that showed his teeth and actually caused crinkles in the corner of his eyes. They both watched as the same actress continued her fight with her onscreen boyfriend, letting out an exclamation that came out so melodramatic and exaggerated, Midoriya and Todoroki burst into simultaneous laughter.

Midoriya restrained himself from letting out a cry of victory. This was the first time Midoriya had seen Todoroki openly and loudly laugh in front of a group of people and the sight made his insides melt.

“Fuck you, fuck you very very much . . .”

Todoroki froze and Midoriya’s blood ran cold.

Yaoyorozu politely paused the movie and Kaminari peeked out from where he was hiding. “Did you want to answer that, Todoroki?” Yaoyorozu asked neutrally.

“I can take it outside,” Todoroki replied and the look on his face had went from joyous and carefree to stone cold and miserable and Midoriya just couldn’t fucking stand it. Todoroki took his phone out of his pocket and as if he had no control over his body, Midoriya snatched the phone out of Todoroki’s hand, cleared his throat, pressed, ‘Accept Call’ and put it to his ear.

“H - hello?” Midoriya asked, making sure he sounded as out of breath as he possibly could. He wanted to sound like he’d run a marathon. He registered that Todoroki was looking at him in confusion and he could feel the eyes of his classmates on him but he ignored it all as best he could. He let the blush rise on his cheeks, he let the tremors shake his body but he did not hand the phone back to Todoroki. He was on a mission and he didn’t care how much he embarrassed himself. He would make Endeavor as uncomfortable as he’d been making Todoroki if it killed him.

There was a lull on the other end of the call before Endeavor’s roaring voice demanded, “Who is this?”

Midoriya couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face. Your worst fucking nightmare. “S’ Midoriya,” he slurred instead, making sure he pronounced his name perfectly so Endeavor would know he was taking to his worst enemy’s supposed love child.

“What!?” Endeavor questioned, rage seeping into his voice. “Why do you have my son’s phone!? Where’s Shoto!?”

And he had to really sell it here. Midoriya took in Todoroki’s furrowed eyebrows and he could feel his cheeks flame but he was committed. He was a hero. He could do this. So in his best breathless, wrecked voice, he responded, “Nng, Shoto is a l - little busy r - right now.” Midoriya watched as Todoroki’s eyes widened, likely at the use of his first name and probably finally catching on to what Midoriya was trying to imply. “C - can he call you back?”

“No, he cannot call me back!” Endeavor exclaimed! Well, then you’re shit out of luck. “I need to speak with him right away! You can’t - ”

He’d never thought he’d go this far. If you’d asked him what he planned when he answered Todoroki’s phone, it certainly wasn’t what he did next.

He let out a moan. An honest to God, pornstar worthy moan. Midoriya watched as Todoroki’s eyes went impossibly wide and he had to squeeze his own eyes shut so he wasn’t looking at Todoroki when he gasped into the receiver, “Mm, Shoto, baby, please don’t stop, nng, right there, S - Sho - ” He let his voice go high pitched and squeaky as he ground out another moan and immediately jammed his finger into the end call button, glaring at Todoroki’s phone with cherry red cheeks and a vicious smirk. “That’ll teach you to harass Todoroki, buttmunch.”

He was suddenly yanked from behind and he tumbled to the floor, landing haphazardly in Ashido and Kirishima’s laps.

“Midoriya, oh my God!” Ashido gasped, holding her sides as she let out roars of laughter.

“Dude! Who knew you had it in you!?” Kirishima laughed, slinging an arm around his neck and giving Midoriya a noogie. No doubt he was the one that had sent him tumbling. “That was super manly, dude.”

“Who taught you to moan like that!?” Ashido managed, kicking her legs in glee.

“It was surprisingly realistic,” Asui offered thoughtfully.

“Your acting - c’est magnifique,” Aoyama said with a chef’s kiss.

“Deku, I can’t,” Uraraka said, her face buried in her hands. She was blushing almost as much as he was but she was also snorting and giggling into her palms. Beside her, Iida shot Midoirya a piercing look, chopping his hand through the air.

“Midoriya! That was incredibly inappropriate!” Iida exclaimed, looking slightly scandalized.

Midoriya shrunk down, trying to disappear into his All Might pajamas. “I - I - I know but T - Todoroki’s dad won’t stop calling and he’s always such a j - jerk and he makes Todoroki uncomfortable and I hate it and I didn’t know what else to do and - and - ”

“Midoriya,” Todoroki interrupted suddenly, the emotion in his voice undetectable. Midoriya forced himself to look at Todoroki, trying not to gasp at the look on his face. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes wide and glazed, and one of the biggest smiles he’d ever seen him wear was spread across Todoroki’s face. “That was hilarious.”

The entire group burst into a smattering of laughter, murmuring to each other about how Midoriya had managed those noises, how Endeavor had it coming, how Todoroki had lit the couch on fire.

Wait.

“You - you lit the couch on fire?” Midoriya asked Todoroki, eyes locking onto the smoldering cushion behind his friend.

The colour in Todoroki’s cheeks deepened. “Uh . . .”

“Fuck you, fuck you very very much . . .”

Ashido let out what could only be described as a screech. “Oh my God, Midoriya, do it again!” she demanded, shaking the teen wildly.

Midoriya spluttered. “I - I can’t j - just do it, it’s not - I - it - I can’t - ”

“I got this,” Todoroki insisted, a kind of smile on his face that Midoriya hadn’t seen before - one full of mirth and mischief. He extended his hand for his phone and Midoriya placed it delicately in his palm, trying to ignore the feeling in his chest as his fingers brushed against Todoroki’s scalding skin.

“Speaker!” Ashido exclaimed in glee. “You have to put it on speaker!”

Todoroki cocked an eyebrow at his classmates and Jiro spoke up from her spot beside Yaoyorozu. “Dude, we gotta hear this.”

“I appreciate the chaos,” Tokoyami added in support.

Todoroki surveyed his classmates before clearing his throat and answering his phone, making sure to press the speaker button. “Hello?” Todoroki answered, his voice miles away from it’s usual smoothness, instead throaty and absolutely wrecked. Midoriya flushed and Ashido slapped a hand over her mouth, drilling her fist against Kirishima’s shoulder.

“Shoto Todoroki,” Endeavor started and Midoriya watched as the majority of the group inhaled deeply, steeling themselves and fighting back laughter. “If you’re engaging in the type of behaviour that that little shit just implied . . .”

“Don’t worry, I’m not engaging in any type of behaviour,” Todoroki answered seamlessly. “Izuku just finished.”

Midoriya couldn’t hold in his squeak. Ashido buried her face into Kirishima’s shoulder and Kirishima fell back, his hands covering his mouth. Tokoyami had his eyes closed, Jiro’s teeth were digging into her lower lip, and Yaoyorozu looked properly scandalized. Uraraka had all but fainted, Iida looked like he still disapproved of this whole situation, and Aoyama and Kaminari had buried their faces into their respective blankets. Even Asui was giggling quietly behind her sleeve. The restrained huffs of laughter and muffled giggles of the students were just quiet enough not to be picked up by the receiver.

“Why, Shoto?” Endeavor asked and the utter betrayal and defeat in Endeavor’s voice was like an angel’s choir to Midoriya’s ears. “You could have chosen to satisfy these - these urges with anyone else - ”

“Izuku is the only one who can satisfy me,” Todoroki responded smoothly. He promptly clapped his hand over the receiver, shooting his classmates an amused look as they let out various staggered shrieks and gasps of startled laughter. Ashido was the least composed, pounding her fists against the ground and kicking her legs in an effort to keep her mouth shut. A couple of the students had gotten up to wander around the common room, trying to channel their sudden need to lose their shit into anything but bursting into hysterics. Uraraka had a pillow buried into her face so aggressively it looked like she might suffocate. Aoyama had draped himself dramatically over the arm of the couch. Kaminari had gone over to the freezer and opened the door just to giggle and snort into the ice maker. Each student seemed to have their own method to quell their screams of mirth.

Midoriya looked up at Todoroki in absolute shock to find the latter boy was studiously ignoring his gaze. He didn’t blame him - he knew exactly how it felt to be saying such scandalous things in front of the class whether they were true or not.

The line was quiet for a moment before Endeavor spoke again. “How long has this . . . arrangement been going on?”

“Uh . . . ” Todoroki looked around aimlessly, glancing at his classmates for help. The teens who were still (barely) containing themselves flashed him hand signals and whispered advice in hushed voices, suggesting numbers as if he was a fucking The Price is Right contestant. Todoroki’s brow furrowed. “A month?” he answered uncertainly.

“A MONTH!?” Endeavor exploded. “You’ve been engaging in these sort of - of - activities with that abhorrent little brat for a month!? I forbid it! It stops here, Shoto! You are going to end your ‘interactions’ with that piece of shit at once!”

Todoroki was positively glowing. He looked like a child on Christmas morning, or rather the Grinch with an evil smirk growing across his face. “You want me to break up with my boyfriend?”

“Your WHAT!?” Endeavor roared, the pure volume of his scream causing his voice to distort over the tinny speaker.

Ashido bolted out of the room just in time to release a roar of laughter in the hallway. Kaminari almost closed the freezer door on his head. Aoyama gasped out a muffled, “Mon Dieu.”

 Midoriya’s eyes snapped to Todoroki though the latter of the two teens still refused to meet his gaze. He swallowed. Was this getting out of hand? All he’d meant for when he answered Todoroki’s phone was to make Endeavor as uncomfortable as he was making Todoroki. Sure, the way he made Endeavor uncomfortable probably stemmed from his feelings for Todoroki but he hadn’t wanted to go any further than suggesting his precious prodigy was being intimate with the one person he would never want Todoroki to be intimate with. He never wanted Todoroki to feel like he had to continue the charade and he definitely didn’t want Todoroki to tell his father that they were dating, not when Todoroki’s feelings were fake and his were real, not when that was something he wanted and yearned for. Not when Midoriya’s very real feelings could make this oh so very complicated.

Though seeing the look on Todoroki’s face, his smile renewed, his body relaxed, sinking into the couch in comfort as he took in the glee on his classmate’s faces, Midoriya couldn’t bring himself to object. Even if it meant he would likely spend the next week obsessing about all the potential ways this could backfire.

“SHOTO, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!” Endeavor continued, causing Midoriya to come careening out of his thoughts. He felt his blood begin to boil. Was he seriously screaming at Todoroki for being in a (pretend) relationship? Midoriya’s hands clenched into fists by his side. “YOU WILL END THIS NOW OR SO HELP ME - ”

Midoriya couldn’t stop himself. “Shochan, come back to bed,” he whined, voice dripping with need and just loud enough to be picked up by the receiver. Todoroki snapped his head in Midoirya’s direction, eyes wide - oh, so now he chose to look at him? - and cheeks flushed. Midoriya watched as a tiny flame grew on Todoroki’s shoulder.

He extinguished it quickly, clearing his throat and turning his attention back to the phone. “I think Izuku wants round two, I’ll call you back.”

“Don’t you dare - ” Endeavor’s voice was cut off by Todoroki tapping his finger against the phone and abruptly ending the call. The moment the screen flashed with the words, “Call Ended,” the entirety of the students in the common room devolved into absolute hysterics.

(*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*)

It was the only thing they could talk about over breakfast the next morning.

“So, Midoriya, are you ever going to tell us where you learned how to moan like that?” Ashido asked with her cereal spoon hanging out of her mouth. “You got a secret boyfriend we don’t know about?”

“Todoroki, apparently,” interjected Jiro which caused the entirety of the movie marathon group to burst into renewed laughter.

Midoriya’s cheeks flushed red. In no way did he regret what he did but he now lived with the knowledge that he would never live the previous night down. “I - I didn’t - i - it was - ”

“What the fuck are you stammering about now, shitty Deku?” Bakugo asked, stumbling into the kitchen in pajama sweats and a loose t-shirt, rubbing his right eye with the heel of his palm. “Can’t even get breakfast without hearing you talk like Porky fucking Pig.”

“Bakugo, you missed it, man!” Kirishima exclaimed, electing to ignore his comment about Midoriya. “Todoroki’s dad called again and Midoriya just went full on pornstar, he answered it and acted like - well, you know - ”

“Christ, Shitty Hair, gonna make me upchuck before I’ve even had my breakfast,” Bakugo interrupted, scrunching up his nose and sticking his tongue out in disgust.

“And Todoroki’s dad went apeshit!” Kirishima continued seamlessly. “After Midoriya hung up, he called back and Todoroki made him freak out. He told them they were dating and Endeavor totally lost his shit!” He stretched his arms into the air, extending them to cradle the back of his head and leaning back in his chair. “Ahh, what a night. Should’ve been there, man.”

Bakugo let out an amused huff in response, a look in his eyes that Midoriya couldn’t quite place. He stumbled over to the fridge and opened the door.

“Fuck you, fuck you very very much . . .”

Todoroki’s phone had begun vibrating and singing on the kitchen table and Todoroki let out an exasperated sigh. Midoriya chewed on his lower lip. He hoped he hadn’t caused Todoroki more harm than good in the long run.

“Oh my gosh, Midoriya, do it again!” Ashido demanded. Midroiya opened his mouth to protest but Todoroki beat him to it.

“I hate to say it but Midoriya can’t always answer my phone just to torment my father,” Todoroki said, his relaxed expression reverted back to his stoic exterior. Midoriya repressed the urge to throw Todoroki’s phone into the blender. “Besides, I doubt we could make him any more uncomfortable than we did last night.”

“Wanna bet?” Midoriya practically growled. He reached for Todoroki’s phone only for Bakugo to pluck it off the kitchen table before he could grab it.

“Gimme that!” Bakugo screeched, glaring daggers at the ringing phone. “No way I’m bearing witness to whatever the fuck you’re planning on subjecting us to, especially not before I’ve had breakfast. I’ll handle this.” The class watched in shock as Bakugo answered the call and turned the speaker on. “’Yello?”

“Who is this?” Endeavor demanded immediately, the roar of his voice echoing throughout the kitchen. His voice was exhausted, as if the sheer audacity of what had happened last night had left him sleepless. Midoriya smiled at the thought. “I swear, if my son has another boyfriend - ”

Bakugo interrupted him with a gag. “That’s fucking gross. I’m a classmate. Must’ve left his phone in the common room last night.”

Endeavor exhaled an angry sigh. “When you return it to him, tell him I called,” he instructed harshly.

A mischievous expression began to spread across Bakugo’s face. “Yeah, whatever, man. Don’t know when I’ll see him next, he’s probably gonna be out with Deku all day. It’s their anniversary or some shit? I dunno. Half-and-half spent all last week talking about he’s gonna give him a promise ring or some other pussy bullshit like that. You’ll probably have better luck getting a hold of him if you call his loser of a boyfriend.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone and the teens at the table held their breath. Finally, Endeavor’s voice came through the other line, laced with pure despair and rage. “Did you just say promise ring?”

“I don’t fucking know, old man,” Bakugo continued, glaring at everyone who was watching Bakugo in shock. Midoriya and Todoroki exchanged glances. What the hell was Bakugo doing? “He was talking about a ring. Didn’t think it was an engagement ring because we’re fucking sixteen but Icyhot is so obsessed with that fucking nerd, I wouldn’t put it past him to propose the minute it’s legal.”

“Engagement?” Endeavor echoed, his voice hollow.

“Look, man, I don’t know what fucking intentions your son has with with Deku, all I know is they act like lovesick idiots in class and that whoever has a room beside either of them probably isn’t getting any sleep. They’re always going at it like goddamn rabbits and they’re not subtle about it. It’s fucking gross.” Before Endeavor could respond, Bakugo barreled on. “Anyway, I got shit to do. I’ll give Half-and-Half his phone when I see him but don’t hold your breath. Deku’s got him on lock - if you wanna talk to Icyhot, shitty Deku is gonna be right there with him.”

Endeavor let out a roar of frustration and the line went dead.

Bakugo tossed the phone to a wide-eyed Todoroki, rolling his eyes at his baffled expression. “Don’t say I never did anything for you,” Bakugo growled out. He turned to face his rapt audience who was staring at him in awe. “The fuck’s everyone’s problem?”

“Kacchan - ” Midoriya began.

“Don’t wanna fucking hear it,” Bakugo replied, swiveling his back to his classmates to pour milk into his bowl of cereal.

“Bakugo . . . “ Kirishima said, voice filled with admiration.

Bakugo slammed the carton of milk down and whirled around. “What, Shitty Hair!?”

Kirishima flashed him a toothy grin. “That was super manly of you, dude.”

The corner of Bakugo’s lips twitched and he turned back to his cereal. “Whatever. Just so sick of hearing that goddamn ringtone,” Bakugo responded with a sniff. “Figured telling him Deku won’t stop following him around like a fucking lost puppy might discourage him from calling.”

“Bakugo,” Todoroki said, causing the teen to shoot him an exasperated look. Todoroki’s face was scrunched up in distaste and he spit out his next word as sincerely as one could be to someone like Bakugo. “Thanks.”

Bakugo let out a loud groan and angrily shoved a spoonful of his cereal into his mouth. “God, everyone’s so emotional today! What, you all got your periods?” He shook his head, slurping obnoxiously from his cereal bowl. Midroiya smiled to himself - Kacchan was getting kinder, in his own Bakugo way. “Can’t take all this sentimental bullshit this early in the morning. I gotta go work this lovey dovey crap off.” He continued shoveling mouthfuls of cereal into his mouth as he made his way to the kitchen door. He turned back at the last minute, a bored look in his eyes. “You coming, Shitty Hair?”

Kirishima grinned and jumped up from the table, bounding over to Bakugo while letting out exaggerated whoops and informing the explosive teen that today would be the day he’d finally out bench him. Midroiya smiled to himself. He was glad Kacchan found someone he didn’t want to constantly punch in the face.

“Are you okay with this, Midoriya?” Todoroki asked, his voice cutting through Midoriya’s thoughts. He turned to face Todoroki to be met by his troubled expression. Midoriya looked at him in concern. Troubled was not a look he was happy to see on Todoroki’s face.

“Okay with what?” he asked in confusion.

Todoroki rested his chin in his hands, heaving out a sigh. “Well, my father thinks we’re dating now. And so in love that I’m going to propose, apparently,” he said with a furrowed brow and Midoriya giggled in response. The smallest of smiles crossed Todoroki’s face and Midoriya felt a smile of his own stretching his cheeks - Todoroki’s happiness was infectious. “I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Midoriya shook his head. “I - I - I’m not uncomfortable! As long as you’re comfortable and Endeavor’s uncomfortable, I’m comfortable.” Todoroki’s smile widened as did Midoriya’s grin in response, caught up in the high of the carefree expression on Todoroki’s face. “Besides, it’s not like I ever see him and I don’t think he’d want any proof of our relationship.”

“I think he’d rather die,” Todoroki said airily and Midoriya giggled again.

“So it’s fine! I’ll just answer your phone every once in a while and um - ” Midoriya’s cheeks went red, “discourage him from calling. No big deal!”

Todoroki surveyed Midoriya curiously before letting out a small huff of laughter. Midoriya nodded to himself, turning to take a drink from his glass. “Okay,” Todoroki said, a teasing inflection to his tone. “Whatever my fiancé says.”

Midoriya choked on his orange juice. He coughed, droplets flying from his mouth and landing on the table as Todoroki murmured apologies and awkwardly patted his back.

This is fine, Midoriya thought to himself insistently. It’s fine. This is just to get Endeavor off of Todoroki’s back. It’s just an act. Todoroki doesn’t have feelings for you and you can’t let your feelings for him get in the way of pissing off Endeavor. It’s just to get the smiles back on Todoroki’s face. It’s just a couple words over the phone to make Endeavor squirm. What could go wrong?

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Everything could go wrong, apparently.

It soon became an unspoken law among the students of Class 1-A that anyone but Todoroki could answer his phone if Endeavor called.

Kaminari was the first to answer Todoroki’s phone after Bakugo, concocting an elaborate story about how Todoroki had left his phone in the classroom when he’d left to pick flowers from the rose bushes outside to give to Midoriya in a grand display in the cafeteria. Kirishima was next, informing Endeavor that Todoroki and Midoriya had fallen asleep cuddled into the couch and he refused to wake them up because they were just, “too darn cute.” Tokoyami answered it the time after, cryptically quoting romantic poetry until Endeavor got so frustrated that he hung up.

Ashido, who frequently begged everyone to let her answer Endeavor’s calls to no avail, finally got her chance when a group of the students were scattered throughout the common room. She’d been walking to the couch when Todoroki’s phone began singing and she’d snatched it so quickly, it looked as if it had teleported into her hand.

“Hello?” she asked excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Where’s Sho - ”

“THEY’RE FUCKING!” Ashido had practically screamed into the receiver, causing Midoriya’s cheeks to flame and Sero to quickly jog over to do damage control.

He’d plucked the phone from her hands and sincerely apologized for his friend’s behaviour.

“So where’s Shoto?” Endeavor had asked with barely contained rage in his voice.

“Oh, he’s fucking Midoriya, I thought my friend here made that quite clear,” Sero had responded smugly and they’d heard a cacophony of static on the other end of the line which Todoroki had hypothesized was likely the sound of Endeavor lighting his phone on fire.

Even Asui took a try at it, though her method was to answer the phone and firmly tell Endeavor that perhaps if he was nicer to his son and took more interest in who he was as a person, he’d have more luck reaching Todoroki. When Endeavor had responded by calling her an insolent child, cursing, and demanding to speak to Todoroki, Asui had simply said, “Todoroki and Midoriya are in love, get over it,” and hung up the phone.

And, of course, Midoriya would answer time to time because you just can’t beat the classics. He was . . . creative. He stuck to his roots at times, answering the phone with shallow breaths which usually caused Endeavor to hang up immediately. Sometimes he’d switch tactics and tell Endeavor how sweet Todoroki was and how thoughtful and how kind which would send Endeavor into a rage about how Todoroki was becoming too sentimental. Midoriya had a variety of responses to this, his favourite being, “You know, you may be onto something, because we ran into a villain the other day and instead of fighting him, he invited him to our future wedding.” Once or twice he’d answered just to tell Endeavor that they were on a date and he’d have to call back later. His crowning achievement was the time he answered in melodramatic tears of joy, telling Endeavor how grateful he was that he’d have such a brave hero as his father-in-law.

And Todoroki grinned through at all.

That’s all that Midoriya wanted. That’s all he’d wanted to achieve when he picked up Todoroki’s phone in the first place. He wanted to see that beautiful smile on Todoroki’s face and he didn’t want to let Endeavor to take it away. Intercepting his phone calls had seemed like a perfectly harmless way to make Endeavor miserable and see Todoroki’s face light up in a grin.

But he should’ve know that being so close to a smile like the sun would cause his wings to burn.

It was a Tuesday. A smattering of students were spread throughout the common room, some watching TV, others lazing about on their phones. Midoriya and Todoroki were seated beside each other at one of the tables, studying a textbook and taking notes while Midoriya would occasionally glance at his phone and excitedly inform Todoroki of the latest hero news. Todoroki was smiling softly and Midoriya was blushing heavily.

“Fuck you, fuck you very very much . . . ”

“Who’s got it?” Jiro asked lazily from the couch.

“Midoriya, it’s been a while since you fielded one,” Kirishima said excitedly, followed by Sero’s encouraging nod.

Midoriya glanced at Todoroki who chuckled and fished his phone out of his pocket, placing it softly in Midroiya’s palm. “Be my guest.”

Midoriya let out a nervous laugh and sucked in a deep breath. “O - okay, I’ve been w - wanting to try this one out for a w - while,” he stammered, his blush deepening. “D - don’t let this be my legacy.”

“We respect the craft,” Kirishima responded and the students strewn throughout the common room all let out some noise of agreement.

Midoriya shook his head in disbelief, trying to push down the churning in his gut at what he was about to do. He put the phone on speaker and immediately began with an exaggerated moan and heavy panting. “O - oh, fuck, Shoto, Daddy,” Midoriya groaned and he watched as his classmates had to cover their mouths with pillows or T-shirts, looks of shock and glee etched across their faces. He heard Todoroki choke on air and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye to see the left side of his head flaming and his cheeks a cherry red. He quickly extinguished himself and gave Midoriya a shaky nod. With the knowledge that Todoroki wasn’t going to die from his newest charade, he pressed on. “Mm, Daddy, right there, yes . . . ” Finally he spoke clearly into the speaker as if he hadn’t meant to sound as debauched as he had into the phone. “H - hello?”

“Um . . . ” a voice came in reply and Midoriya blanched. It was not the roaring voice of the number two hero but a quiet and somewhat embarrassed voice of a woman. “I - uh - I needed to speak with Shoto but I guess he’s busy? Dad left his phone at home. Maybe uh tell him to call me back when - uh - when you’re finished.”

Midoriya’s mouth opened and closed aimlessly, too floored to say anything except squeak so high the phone likely didn’t even detect the noise. His eyes had numbly drifted to Todoroki during this exchange and the half-hot, half-cold teen had been frozen in a combination of fear and shock only to suddenly rip his phone out of Midoriya’s hands with such desperation, it ended up slipping out of his fingers and flying into the air. Todoroki grabbed for it and fumbled to get a grasp on the phone before finally securing it in his hands. “Wait, Fuyumi - !” Todoroki cried desperately but the call had already ended.

“Who was that?” Kirishima asked, seemingly trying to hold in laughter.

Todoroki looked pale. “My sister,” he replied, his voice hollow.

“Oh my God,” Midoriya mumbled, curling up on himself. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.” Todoroki’s sister thought we were having sex. Todoroki’s sister thinks I call him Daddy. “Todoroki, you have to call her back.”

Todoroki was already frantically typing a number into his phone and the sound of it ringing echoed throughout the common room once, twice, three times before it was answered with a timid and embarrassed, “Hello?”

“Oh my God, I am so sorry,” Todoroki spluttered and if the life wasn’t draining out of Midoriya from what had just transpired, he’d be noting that this was as expressive as he’d ever seen Todoroki.

The voice on the other line let out a placating sigh. “Shoto, it’s okay. I mean, I think you’re a little too young to be doing those things but I guess you’re sixteen now and it was bound to happen at some point.”

Midoriya let out a squeak and Kirishima and Sero were trying to stifle their giggles with pillows from the couch. Jiro had both hands clasped over her mouth as tears beaded at the corners of her eyes.

Todoroki fumbled as he tried to get the words out. If he would’ve been able to process conscious thought, Midoriya would have thought it was cute. “N - no, Fuymi, we weren’t - I thought you were - Midoriya and I were just - ”

“Midoriya?” Fuyumi echoed. “You mean that kid that Dad hates? And the one you’re always talking about?”

Jiro let out a strangled noise and Midoriya snapped his eyes to Todoroki who met his gaze and quickly looked away, a blush rising in his cheeks. “I’m not always talking about Midoriya,” Todoroki protested.

“Shoto, whenever I ask you about your friends, you always tell me about Midoriya,” Fuyumi said with a playful laugh. “You’re always telling me how smart he is, how well he does in training, how dedicated he is to being a hero.” With each attribute she listed off, a new sheen of ice spread across Todoroki’s right arm. “You’re not always forthcoming with me so I couldn’t tell if you just really admired him or it was something more. I guess it was something more after all.”

Todoroki’s cheeks were crimson, a contrast to the frost that was slowly spreading from his arm to his side. “That’s not . . . ”

“Todoroki, please tell your sister I’m not calling you, ‘Daddy,’” Midoriya urged squeakily with fiery cheeks, trying not to analyze everything Fuyumi had just revealed.

“Fuyumi, Midoriya and I weren’t doing what you thought we were, we - ”

“Shoto, it’s really okay, it’s none of my business what you two do in your private time,” Fuyumi insisted. Jiro couldn’t contain her broken snort and Midoriya slumped into his chair, letting his head fall onto the table and groaning quietly. “It’s forgotten. But bring him by the house sometime, okay? I’d love to meet him. I’ll try to make sure Dad’s not around.” Something dinged in the background. “Oh, that’s the oven. I just called to ask if you remembered where we left the cupcake trays from last time but I think I’ll just make a regular cake instead. I don’t want to intrude on your time with your friend. Talk later, Sho!” She hung up before Todoroki could protest further and he was left with a slightly parted mouth, hand limply holding his phone and ice encasing the left side of his torso.

“Oh my God, Todoroki’s sister thinks I call him Daddy,” Midoriya said in utter despair. “Where’s the nearest hole? I need to find some place where I can curl up and die.”

Sero snorted and Kirishima pushed himself out of his seat to walk over to the table Midoriya was hunched over. “Midoriya, it’s not that bad, man.”

“Not that bad?” Midoriya squeaked, looking at Kirishima with tears brimming his eyes. “A member of Todoroki’s family thinks I call him, ‘Daddy.’”

“You were okay with Endeavor thinking it,” Jiro pointed out unhelpfully from the couch.

“That’s because it’s Endeavor!” Midoriya exclaimed, waving his hands through the air to try to convey the gravity of the situation. “Not - not - ” Not someone Todoroki cared about. Not someone who’s opinion Todoroki valued and respected, not someone he’d wanted to make a good impression on. “Oh my God,” he groaned instead of finishing his sentence, letting his head fall against the table with a loud thunk.

“Midoriya, it’s really okay,” Todoroki said quietly, studying his friend in worry. “I can explain it to her properly some other time. Don’t worry.”

“Or . . .” a female voice interjected mischievously and the group of students jumped. Midoriya felt a phantom hand on his shoulder and yelped. He turned to see a T-shirt and shorts molded to the shape of a body. “You could wait to tell her and make Endeavor the angriest he’s been yet.”

“Jesus, Hagakure,” Sero exclaimed, clutching a hand to his chest dramatically. “Where did you come from?”

“I’ve been here the whole time!” the invisible girl cried in offense.

“We need to get you a bell,” Sero muttered which was followed by a loud smack and Sero letting out a loud, “OW!”

“W - what did y - you mean?” Midoriya stuttered, trying to get Hagakure back to her original topic. “About m - making Endeavor angry?”

“Well, your sister wants Midoriya to come over for dinner now, right?” Hagakure asked, addressing Todoroki. “So what if you tell your Dad some excuse to get him home for dinner and he walks in only to find the guy who’s been fielding his calls left and right for months sitting at his dining room table.”

“Hagakure, you’re a genius,” Sero said with a cheesy grin.

“I know,” she responded simply. “You guys could be all lovey dovey in front on him - really cement that Midoriya’s here to stay and make him super uncomfortable. And he won’t be able to say shit in front of all his children without pushing Todoroki even further into Midoriya’s open arms so I bet you he’ll keep his mouth shut. Just be all snuggly and affectionate and call each other ridiculous pet names. Make him so sure you’re head over heels for each other he never calls to bother you again.”

“You guys should totally do it!” Kirishima agreed with a toothy grin. “You can tell your siblings the truth afterwards but I think it would be more believable if they thought it was real during the dinner.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Todoroki replied, blinking dully. Although Midoriya had to agree with Todoroki, his heart still sunk at the words.

“Hey!” Hagakure exclaimed.

“It’s not that the concept itself is bad,” Todoroki insisted, hands raised in surrender. “You’ve got my Dad pegged. If he said anything about Midoriya in front of Fuyumi and Natsuo, they’d jump to his defense. They’re . . . protective of me and what I care about.” He cleared his throat noisily. “But we can’t - I can’t ask Midoriya to go that far just to get my Dad to stop calling.”

And there was a part of Midoriya, somewhere in the pit of his stomach that knew there was no way this came out in his favour, and yet, he couldn’t restrain himself form asking, “You really think Endeavor would stop calling if I pretended to be your boyfriend at dinner?”

“Well, no, he’d still call - but he’s a strategist. Right now, he’s probably under the impression that everyone has been exaggerating and everything we told him is just a phase I’m going through. He already thinks I’m ‘rebelling.’ If we acted like Hagakure suggested at dinner, and you made it clear you’re in for the long haul, he’d realize that anything he said against you would cause me to rebel even further. And, subsequently, he’d know that someone like you won’t let any of his normal bullshit slide and that I’d always side with you. He’d probably try to manipulate me into ‘breaking up’ with you somehow but he wouldn’t risk causing me to ‘rebel’ further by harassing me like he has been.”

There was a long, somewhat awkward silence before Jiro spoke up. “Todoroki, your dad is the literal worst.”

“I know,” he replied with a shrug and there was that look on his face again, the stoicism and the sharpness of his eyes and the slight downturn of his lips and

No, don’t agree, this will not end well

Midoriya’s hands clenched into fists at his sides and his eyes scrunched up in determination as he opened his mouth to say

Don’t you dare say yes to this, your very real feelings are going to come out and you’re going to lose Todoroki and

“I’ll do it.”

Todoroki pursed his lips. “Midoriya, you don’t have to - ”

“I - i - it’s okay!” Midoriya insisted weakly, forcing one of his trademark smiles on his face. “It’s just one night! And it’s just pretend! If you really think this will finally get you some relief from Endeavor, I’ll do it. I - I can pretend to be helplessly in love with you for one night.” He was already so good at pretending he wasn’t.

Todoroki gave him a look that Midoriya couldn’t quite read, his mismatched eyes searching Midoriya’s bright green ones and finally his shoulders relaxed and he drummed his fingers against the table. “Then . . . I guess I’ll text Fuyumi.”

“How is Endeavor gonna know how serious you are though, Midoriya?” Hagakure asked thoughtfully. “I mean, no offense, but I don’t know how easy it’ll be to convince Endeavor you’re serious about Todoroki when he only really knows you by your moans.”

“Bakugo did mention promise rings to Endeavor,” Jiro offered from the couch, her lips pulled into a smirk as she scrolled through her phone.

“That’s it!” Kirishima cried, his grin widening. “Midoriya, you should make a big deal of parading around your promise ring!”

Midoriya swallowed, not exactly fond of where this was going. “I don’t have a promise ring,” he protested weakly.

“I bet Uraraka has a ring you can borrow!” Hagakure cried eagerly. “I’d lend you one of mine but I love them all too much to entrust them to anyone but moi. Uraraka and you are close, right? She’d probably give you one.”

“R - right,” Midoriya spluttered and slowly pushed himself away from the table, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “I g - guess I’ll just go ask her then. And T - T - Todoroki, we should go over our strategy. It’ll just be like an undercover assignment, r - right?”

Todoroki gave a single nod and even for Midoriya, the expression on his face was unreadable. “Right.”

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The walk to Uraraka’s room was an introspective one. With each drag of his foot across the carpeted floor, Midoriya sunk deeper into his thoughts. What was he doing? What was he getting himself into? How in the hell was he going to act like he was helplessly in love with Todoroki without revealing the truth that he was actually helplessly in love with Todoroki? Would he be able to keep the secret from slipping? How would the two of them even show that they were ‘dating’? Would they hold hands? Would they hug? Would they . . . kiss?

Midoriya’s cheeks flushed at the thought, his eyes drawn to the floor and fists bunching up in his shirt. He’d never kissed anyone. He wouldn’t know what to do. He’d look like an idiot and he’d give his first kiss away to someone who wouldn’t even want it. Why was he putting himself through this?

Todoroki’s smiling face swam in his mind and he sighed, shaking his head and steeling his resolve. He had to do it. He was going to become a hero. And he wanted to be Todoroki’s hero more than anything.

He came to a stop at Uraraka’s door and huffed out a sigh, raising his fist to rap lightly against her door. He heard some shuffling from inside before the door swung open and he was greeted by Uraraka’s smiling face.

“Hi, Deku!” she greeted cheerfully. “Did you finish studying with Todoroki-kun already?”

“O - oh, not exactly,” he murmured in response, trying (and failing) to meet her eyes. “I was actually um j - just wondering if you had a r - ring I could borrow?”

Uraraka surveyed him curiously, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against her door frame. “Why?” she asked, not unkindly. He didn’t answer, his anxiety spiking and she looked at him in concern. “Deku? Why do you need a ring?”

Midoriya’s gaze snapped up to meet hers, unshed tears flying from the corners of his eyes. “Because I’m going to have dinner at Todoroki’s and pretend to date him so Endeavor will stop calling so I need a promise ring!”

Her eyes were soft and she quickly slung an arm around his shoulders and ushered him into her room. “Oh, Deku,” she murmured, seating the misty-eyed boy on her bed. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“No,” Midoriya admitted, sniffling and wiping the back of his hand against his nose. “But I don’t know what else to do! Endeavor’s a j - jerk and T - Todoroki said t - this might get Endeavor to l - leave him alone but I feel so s - selfish, like I’m taking advantage of him be - be - because every time we cuddle or - or hug or hold hands I’ll be so h - happy and w - wishing it was r - real.” He hiccuped, the tears flowing freely now. “And Todoroki will just be w - waiting for it to end.”

“Deku . . . have you ever considered Todoroki might feel the same way about you that you feel about him?”

Midoriya laughed bitterly. “No. Why would anyone ever feel that way about me? T - Todoroki is everything and I’m just a worthless loser who - ”

“Hey,” Uraraka interrupted, her voice stern. “Don’t talk about my best friend like that, thank you very much.”

Midoriya gave her a weak, watery smile. “I’m sorry. I - I just don’t think Todoroki will ever like me in - in that way. Endeavor is - I just - I’d do anything to make Todoroki happy. If that means pretending to date him for a night, I can do that. It just sucks that I can’t make him that happy by actually dating him.”

Uraraka shook her head but gave her best friend a comforting squeeze. “I think you could, Deku. Don’t sell yourself short. But for now, I’ll lend you a ring and be waiting with tissues for when the night is over.”

Midoriya sniffed and leaned his head against her shoulder, not for the first time wishing he’d gotten to meet Ochaco earlier in life. “Thanks, Ochaco,” he murmured, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “You’re the best.”

“I know,” she said with a smile and they laughed, easily falling into their routine of light-hearted conversation, devolving into inside jokes and showing each other funny tweets and tiktoks, ending up as they always did, in a heap of limbs and giggles. It was the calm before the storm and Midoriya was not prepared for the thunder to start rolling.

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The night of the dreaded dinner date came before Midoriya was ready for it. He’d barely seen Todoroki since the day Fuyumi had called and the only indication that Operation: Fake Dinner Date was still on was a brief text from Todoroki, in which he detailed what day and time they were expected at his house.

Midoriya swallowed as he examined himself in the mirror, fidgeting with the cufflinks of his pastel green dress shirt and untying and retying his tie for what must have been the hundredth time. He twisted the simple silver ring on his finger, trying his best not to focus on how heavy his hand felt with it on. He sucked in a deep breath, practicing wide smiles in the mirror, trying to reflect the exact opposite of what he was feeling from the heavy slab of dread in the pit of his gut. He could do this. This was for Todoroki. He could get through one night without revealing the depth of his affection.

With one more attempt at straightening his tie, he opened his door and left his room, shuffling towards the dormitory doors. He spotted Todoroki there waiting for him, casually scrolling through his phone. He was dressed in his usual civilian clothes, a T-shirt with a long-sleeved shirt thrown over it, and worn jeans adorning his legs. Midoriya looked down at his outfit choice and paled. Oh God. He’d overdressed. He was already screwing up. Maybe he should run back to his room while he still had the chance.

“Midoriya,” he heard and his eyes met Todoroki’s, the other’s teen eyes wide and glossy. He quickly broke their gaze and Midoriya jogged over to his friend, his hands shaking at his sides. “You dressed up.”

“W - well, I gotta impress my b - boyfriend’s dad, right?” Midoriya joked, his voice cracking.

Todoroki lips twitched at the corners and Midoriya felt his shoulders relax slightly. “Of course. I’m sure my father will be overjoyed you dressed to impress him.”

Midoriya couldn’t hold in his snort at the complete lack of sincerity in Todoroki’s voice and Todoroki’s slight lip twitch curled into a small smile. He held out his hand and Midoriya looked at it quizzically. Todoroki glanced at the ground, noisily clearing his throat. “I thought it might make sense if we hold hands. Get used to being affectionate before we have an audience.”

“O - oh, right,” Midoriya spluttered, enclosing his hand in Todoroki’s. He tried to ignore the thrill it sent up his spine and the warmth that spread throughout his chest. Fake, fake, this is pretend, do not get your hopes up. Todoroki didn’t comment on the clamminess of his palms and Midoriya was eternally grateful.

The train ride to Todoroki’s house was mostly silent. Midoriya couldn’t sit still, jiggling his leg or fidgeting with the ring on his finger that felt like it weighed a ton. Occasionally Todoroki would point out the scenery or the stores he frequented when he still lived at home and Midoriya wished he could be more appreciative of this exclusive glance into Todoroki’s life but he was a little too busy sweating profusely and trying not to have a full blown panic attack on the train.

The train came to a stop and Todoroki guided Midoriya off the platform and onto the sidewalk, informing him that his house was close by. The knowledge that they were about to step into Todoroki’s residence as (pretend) boyfriends caused more perspiration to bead on Midoriya’s forehead. He really needed to stop sweating before he had dark stains under his armpits.

“Well, this is it,” Todoroki said as they came to a stop in front of what could only be described as a mansion. He looked at Midoriya who was desperately trying to stop shaking, looking up at the estate like it was his coffin. “Are you ready?”

“Y - yeah,” he replied, nodding a little too enthusiastically. “Are you?”

Todoroki laughed without humor. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He sighed and ruffled the hair at the nape of his neck. “Let’s do this.”

The minute they opened the door to Todoroki’s house, a woman with messy white hair with red streaks came bundling around the corner and threw her arms around Todoroki. Midoriya smiled and took a step back, dropping Todoroki’s hand so he could hug his sister properly.

“Oh, Shoto, I’m so glad you came for dinner!” she exclaimed, a smile wide on her face. “I tried to get Dad out of the house but he said he wanted to be here when you came over - I don’t even know how he found out you were going to visit.”

Midoriya knew exactly how. Todoroki had sent a text to his father alerting him of his presence while leaving out the minor detail that Midoriya would be joining them as well.

The woman’s eyes darted to Midoriya and she flashed him a dazzling smile, glancing at Todoroki in expectation.

“Oh, right,” Todoroki said as if to himself. He cleared his throat. “Izuku, this is my sister, Fuyumi.” He waved his hand in Fuyumi’s direction and Midoriya tried not to jump at Todoroki’s use of his first name. Right. They were supposed to be dating. Of course they’d be on a first name basis. “And Fuyumi, this is my boyfriend, Izuku.” He accented his statement by slipping an arm around Midoriya’s waist and bringing him flush against his side. Midoriya couldn’t hold back the squeak that left his shaking body, trying to ignore the feel of Todoroki’s body pressed against his and failing miserably.

He bowed as deeply as he could without falling over and Todoroki held him steady against his side. “It’s so nice to meet you!” he squeaked, jolting back up to look at Fuyumi with what he hoped was a normal and pleasant expression.

She laughed softly and shook her head, her smile widening as she studied Midoriya. “It’s just as nice to meet you. Thank you for looking after my baby brother.” Fuyumi was so sweet and kind it was almost easy to forget she still thought Midoriya had a Daddy kink.

The thought caused all the colour to drain from his face. Oh my god Fuyumi still thinks I have a Daddy kink.

“I can take care of myself, Fuyumi,” Todoroki responded with a roll of his eyes and Midoriya was grateful that no one took notice of his internal meltdown as Fuyumi fussed over her younger brother, questioning him about school and his eating and sleeping habits.

“Well, dinner will be ready in about half an hour,” Fuyumi acquiesced after she’d finished lecturing Todoroki about his diet. “It’ll be good to get some proper food into you since you’ve apparently been eating nothing but instant ramen.” Her voice dropped as she said her last words and the glare she shot Todoroki was piercing. “Maybe you can show Midoriya around the house. Dad is in his study so you can avoid the left wing and Natsuo should be around here somewhere. He might be in the library.”

“I’ll find him,” Todoroki responded simply. He tightened his arm around Midoriya, glancing down at him with a wide smile that made Midoriya’s eyes widen in awe. “Come on, hunny bunny.”

His thoughts about Todoroki’s gleaming smile came to a staggering halt. Hunny bunny!?

He couldn’t stop himself from spluttering, “Okay, darling,” reflexively despite the fact he’d never addressed Todoroki as anything but Todoroki for the entirety of their relationship.

He heard Todoroki take a sharp intake of breath and saw Fuyumi put her hands to her chest in awe. His eyes darted to the ground and a blush rose on his cheeks. Oh God, what was he doing?

Todoroki began to lead him down the hall, likely in search of his brother and Midoriya stayed silent, once again fiddling with ring on his finger. Had Fuyumi seen it? What had she thought? Did she think he was a good match for Todoroki?

Not that it mattered since this was all fake, can’t you get that through your thick skull? This isn’t real!

They came to a stop in front of the third doorway on the right and Midoriya poked his head in to see an older teen with white, spiky hair hunched over a table piled high with textbooks and pieces of notebook paper scattered on its surface. Despite all the studying materials, the teen seemed far more focused on scrolling through his phone.

“Looks like you’re hard at work,” Todoroki deadpanned and the teen’s head snapped up, his face lighting up in an impish grin.

“Shoto! You’re home!” He jumped up from his seat, bounding over to his younger brother to sling his arm around his neck and dig his knuckles into his silky hair.

“Natsuo!” he protested, a blush rising in his cheeks. Midoriya covered his mouth with his hand, trying to repress a snicker at the sight of someone as powerful as Todoroki in a playful headlock.

The teen finally let go of Todoroki when he was seemingly satisfied with his mussed hair and his eyes met Midoriya. “Aww, is this your boyfriend?” he cooed and Midoriya felt his own cheeks heat in response. “How cute! I’m Natsuo, Shoto’s older brother. If you want to hear any embarrassing stories about Shoto when he was a kid, I’m your guy!”

“That’s an empty threat,” Todoroki replied, trying to pat his hair back into it’s normal shape. “I did nothing embarrassing as a child.”

Natsuo snorted. “Do you not remember that before you’d developed your real quirk, you were convinced your power was invisibility? To prove it, you took all your clothes off to disappear. Was pretty hard to miss the naked four year old running around screaming, ‘I’m invisible!’ over and over and over.”

Midoriya let out a gasp of startled laughter, clapping his hand over his mouth when Todoroki shot him a glare. Midoriya’s shoulders shook with barely contained giggles and Todoroki’s lips twitched at the corners, the blush in his cheeks deepening.

“Whoa, wait a minute, is that a ring?” Natsuo asked suddenly and the laughter immediately died on Midoriya’s lips. “Christ, Shoto, you got this kid on lockdown. When’s the wedding?”

“You’re not invited,” Todoroki responded seamlessly and Natsuo barked out a laugh. Todoroki pursed his lips before snaking his arm around Midoriya’s waist once again and pulling him close. “It’s a promise ring. Izuku is very important to me.”

Midoriya felt tears prick his eyes but he didn’t let them fall. What he would give to have Todoroki say those words and actually mean them.

“Well then, it’s very nice to meet you, Midoriya Izuku,” Natsuo said finally, reaching out to ruffle Midoriya’s hair. “You take good care of my brother, okay?”

“Of course,” Midoriya replied, perhaps a little too sincerely. “Shoto is very important to me too.” Todoroki squeezed his side and dropped his cheek against the top of Midoriya’s head. Midoriya took a sharp intake of breath. He didn’t know how much he could take of all this affection, knowing it was all a ruse. He cleared his throat, dropping his gaze to the floor to avoid Natsuo’s awed expression. “Shoto, do you think you could take me to your room? I’m feeling a little dizzy.”

“Are you okay?” Todoroki asked in concern, stroking a finger along his cheek. Natsuo looked at him in concern and Midoriya’s hand clenched into a fist at his side. Why had he agreed to this? Why did he think he could get away with Todoroki showering him with this much affection unfazed? Part of him thought it would be like heaven on Earth, a night where he was able to act out his fantasy that he was Todoroki’s and Todoroki was his. But feeling Todoroki so close and knowing it was all a sham, that Todoroki was probably eager to get this over with so he could stop holding him close, was tearing him apart. He needed to get away from their audience so Todoroki would stop feeling pressured to prove how in love they supposedly were.

“I’m f - fine, just dehydrated. I think I just need to sit for a minute,” Midoriya said lamely and though Todoroki was looking at him in genuine concern, he nodded, saying a farewell to Natsuo and leading him out of the room and further down the hall. They came to a stop at the last door of the hallway and Todoroki opened it swiftly, revealing a room that was minuscule in comparison to the others in the house, barren except for some basic necessities like a bed, wardrobe, and desk. He frowned, making a mental note to buy Todoroki a poster.

He collapsed onto the bed, hanging his head in his hands and sucking in deep breaths. He needed to calm down before he ruined everything.

“Are you okay, Midoriya?” Todoroki asked gently, reaching out a hand to linger gently on his back. Oh thank God, they were back to their usual, platonic relationship. Midoriya tried to ignore the hollow feeling in his gut.

“F - fine,” Midoriya choked out, taking his head out of his hands to flash Todoroki as genuine of a smile as he could manage. “Sorry. It’s just a lot. Being here, pretending . . . ”

Todoroki nodded thoughtfully, running a finger distractedly along the surface of his desk, his finger coming away dusty. “I understand. I’m sorry. This got really out of hand, huh?”

“You don’t have to apologize!” Midoriya exclaimed, throwing his hands out in protest. “This whole thing was my fault! I’m the one who answered your phone at that movie night in the first place.”

Todoroki pursed his lips and carefully sat down on the bed, his right thigh pressed against Midoriya’s. “I’ve always wondered . . . ”

“Hmm?” Midoriya prompted, his eyes travelling the expanse of Todoroki’s body, surveying the holes in his jeans, his comfortably worn t-shirt, the hard lines of his jaw, the soft lines of his lips, his mismatched eyes gazing into Midoriya’s. He swallowed. “Wondered what?”

“Why did you?” Todoroki asked curiously, turning slightly so he was looking at his friend directly. “Answer my phone like you did?”

Midoriya rubbed his hands together nervously. There was only so much he could tell him without revealing his feelings. “I - i - it’s silly,” he allowed, scratching at his curly hair bashfully. Todoroki nodded, encouraging him to continue, and Midoriya sighed. “It’s just . . . you had stopped smiling.”

Todoroki raised an eyebrow. “I’d stopped smiling?”

Midoriya swallowed, his eyes dropping to bore into the lines of the tatami mat. “Ever since the sports festival . . . you started smiling. It - it wasn’t easy, to make you smile. I had to double down on my puns and I tried really hard to make sure - to make sure you had reasons to smile. And it seemed to be working, you seemed to be happier and you were opening up to people and going out with the class and - and then we moved into the dorms and your dad started calling. And I swear every time you answered that phone, no matter what, you’d stop smiling and I couldn’t get it back on your face for days. I just - I just wanted to make Endeavor as uncomfortable as he’d been making you. And I wanted to see you smile again.” He looked up finally, his eyes lined with unshed tears. He rapidly blinked them back. “P - pretty lame, right?”

Todoroki just stared in response and Midoriya shifted uncomfortably. “Why - ” Todoroki interrupted himself to clear his throat. “Why did you care? About seeing me smile?”

Midoriya shrugged as if he didn’t know the answer but he opened his mouth anyway. “I just wanted you to be happy,” he answered quietly. “That’s all I really want. You deserve to have the same experience we all do at school. You deserve to have friends, you deserve to smile, you deserve to laugh, you deserve to be cared for. I - I just really want you to have all those things. It’s important to me . . . you’re important to me.”

Todoroki looked at him and the expression on his face was hard to read. He looked torn almost, like he was fighting an internal struggle. His eyes were glossy, his cheeks tinged pink, his mouth parted slightly. He closed it to lick his lips and reached out a slightly shaking hand, resting it on Midoriya’s knee. Midoriya looked at him in confusion and opened his mouth to ask what he was doing when Todoroki leaned into Midoriya’s personal space, his eyes fluttering shut and lips parting. Midoriya’s eyes widened as Todoroki leaned closer and closer and Midoriya was helpless to do anything but mirror his movements, reaching out a trembling hand towards his friend, moving closer until their noses were almost touching, so close he could feel his warm breath on his face, feel the heat radiating from his mouth and oh my God was he really about to kiss Todoroki and

This is fake.

Midoriya scrambled up from the bed, breathing heavily and fiddling nervously with the ring on his finger. He scowled at it. His shoulders heaved, from what he wasn’t sure, and as Todoroki turned to look at him, he was too cowardly to meet his gaze. He didn’t know why Todoroki had chosen to try and kiss him here, but it was his own fault. They should’ve gone over what they were okay with and what they weren’t. They’d already breached into topics of sex, pet names, and promise rings, so he couldn’t blame his friend for thinking this would be the next step. Maybe he’d thought it would be easier to get the first one out of the way before they had to do it in front of an audience. Maybe someone had walked by the open door of Todoroki’s room and Todoroki had wanted to cement their supposed relationship. Or, hell, maybe he’d figured out Midoriya’s feelings and was taking pity on him. Whatever the reason, Midoriya couldn’t let Todoroki kiss him. Not like this.

“I’m sorry, Todoroki,” Midoriya interrupted, watching as the tears from his eyes hit the lined floor. “I just - I can’t.” I can’t do this if it’s not real. I can’t kiss you and then act like it never happened, like it was pretend, like it meant nothing to me.

“Midoriya, I - ”

“I - i - it’s okay,” Midoriya insisted, despite the fact his lower lip was wobbling and, unbeknownst to Todoroki, tears were falling down his face. “Don’t worry about it. L - let’s just forget it h - happened, okay?”

“I - okay,” Todoroki said quietly. A heavy silence fell over the room and Midoriya tried to will the tears away, to get them to stop falling, to stop his lip from quivering but he couldn’t. So he just stood there in the middle of Todoroki’s room, unmoving and shaking all at the same time. “I think - I need to use the restroom.” He heard the creaking of the bed and the padding of Todoroki’s feet on the mat before all sounds of human activity vanished altogether and Midoriya risked looking up to find he was in the room alone. He collapsed on the bed, burying his face in his hands, and letting out quiet sobs.

How had everything gone so wrong?

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When Natsuo heard the the door to the training room open, he knew something was wrong.

The only people who used the training room were his father and Shoto. And the only time Shoto used the training room was when Dad dragged him in by his collar and threw him on the ground to begin whatever sick lesson he’d planned. Natsuo knew that Shoto avoided the training room at all costs because of the room’s history so unless their father had left his study and tiptoed past the library to the training room, Shoto was in there by himself. And he couldn’t think of a single scenario in which Shoto in the training room by himself was good news.

He sighed, pushing himself up from his desk chair to go to the next room down, sliding open the shoji to see Shoto in the middle of the training room, punching the sandbag hanging from the ceiling rhythmically and without any real effort. The look in his brother’s eyes was empty, his mouth drawn into a thin line.

“Hey, little bro,” he started quietly, tilting his head slightly to the side. How was he supposed to start? Shoto usually locked himself away in his room whenever he was upset but he supposed his boyfriend was in there now. Oh God, had they had a fight? He was not equipped to deal with this. “Where’s Midoriya?”

“My room,” he responded without emotion, his fist connecting with the sandbag in a particularly hard punch.

Natsuo pursed his lips. “Why aren’t you with your boyfriend?”

He watched as Shoto’s fist slammed into the sandbag, the chains of the punching bag jangling in protest. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Natsuo blinked. Was teenage love really that fickle? Before he could stop himself, he asked, “How did you two go from promise rings to divorce in the five minutes since I saw you?”

Shoto shot him a glare and it was a relief to see some sort of emotion on Shoto’s face instead of the stoic exterior he usually wore when he dealt with anything unpleasant. “He was never my boyfriend. It’s fake. The only reason he’s here is to piss off Dad.”

And, okay, he hadn’t been expecting that. Since when was his younger brother such a schemer? “That’s hilarious,” he allowed and watched as Shoto did nothing to acknowledge his response. Interesting. “Doesn’t seem like you find it all that funny though.” Shoto shrugged and a particularly hard punch connected with the sandbag. Natsuo pursed his lips. Interesting indeed. “How’d this whole thing start anyway?”

“Dad was calling me all the time at school. Midoriya got the idea to make him uncomfortable by pretending we were . . . ” He trailed off, a blush rising on his cheeks as he made a few vague hand gestures. Natsuo held back a snort. Apparently his younger brother thought the signal for sex was jazz hands.

He had to hand it to Midoriya, though. Pretending to be caught in the act with his father’s most prized possession would definitely make their dad fly off the handle. “That’s genius,” he said as neutrally as he could possibly manage.

Shoto snorted. “It was. And then Dad called again and I told him we were dating to piss him off even more but . . . ” he trailed off, his hand uncurling and dropping by his side. Natsuo watched as he visibly swallowed.

“You wish it were real,” Natsuo finished for him gently.

Shoto sighed, his fingers twitching at his sides. “It just got so out of hand. This isn’t how I wanted this to go.”

“Well, how did you want it to go?”

Shoto laughed in scorn and shook his head. “Midoriya’s my friend. My best friend. He means too much to me - it doesn’t matter what I want.”

Natsuo leaned against the wall, raising an eyebrow at his younger brother. “Think Midoriya would agree with that statement?” he challenged.

Shoto met his gaze, seemingly mulling over what he wanted to disclose to his sibling before defensively crossing his arms over his chest. “I would’ve - he loves everything about heroes. He’s especially fond of all the All Might movies, he has his own collection. There’s this theatre you can rent out not too far from school, you can bring your own films and I thought - I thought I could bring him there and he could tell me all the little facts he knows about the movies and I bet he’d look so happy talking about it, he gets this smile that’s just . . . I thought maybe I could take him there and hold his hand and tell him . . . he’s my hero.”

Holy shit, he had it bad. “Wow, sounds like you haven’t given this much thought at all,” Natsuo teased, crossing his arms over his chest and shooting his younger brother a knowing look.

Shoto roundhouse kicked the sandbag and Natsuo barely restrained himself from jumping. He tried not to think too much about the fact his younger brother could probably bench him. “It doesn’t matter how much thought I’ve given it if it’s just a thought.”

Natsuo approached him, gently placing a hand over his forearm to stop him from his next assault against the sandbag. “Have you ever considered that if you actually told him about all this, he’d tell you he’s been thinking about exactly the same thing?”

Shoto averted his eyes, suddenly very interested in the training mats that covered the floor. “I tried to kiss him. In my room. He rejected me and told me to forget it happened.”

So that’s what had his brother in such a foul mood. “Shoto, he probably told you to forget about it because he thinks it was part of this whole thing you’re pulling on Dad. You should talk to him - like really talk, not just tiptoe around the issue like you usually do.”

Shoto shook his head and looked up to meet his brother’s eyes. Natsuo was surprised to see the genuine emotion there, the hurt and the vulnerability. “I just - I can’t risk losing him, Natsuo. I already screwed up - I don’t want to make it worse.”

Natsuo sighed. There wasn’t much he could do to get through to his brother if he was this upset. The best he could do was damage control. “Okay, Shoto. It’s your choice. But we’re sitting down for dinner soon so . . . ” He trailed off but Shoto nodded anyway, his eyes once again void of emotion and trained on the sandbag. He headed to the door to give his brother some space and closed it quietly behind him, almost slamming into Fuyumi in the process.

“Whoa, sorry, ‘Yumi!” he exclaimed, reaching out to steady her.

She shook her head. “It’s fine. Why were you in the training room?”

He froze. He wasn’t sure if everything Shoto was confiding in him was some kind of brother-to-brother secret or if he was okay with their other sibling knowing. Then again, Fuyumi would find out eventually - Fuyumi knew everything. “Uh, Shoto’s in there,” he settled on finally.

Her eyes widened and she glanced conspiratorially up and down the hallway. “Did you just go through the same thing I went through?” she whispered urgently.

“Why, what did you go through?” Natsuo responded just as quietly, feeling like a little kid again, whispering about their younger brother with his sister in the quiet of hallway.

Fuyumi regaled him with the story.

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Fuyumi had gone down the hall to her younger brother’s room to alert him that he and his boyfriend should probably make their way to the dining room for dinner only to pause when she’d heard the distinctive sound of muffled sobs. She wasn’t used to hearing Shoto cry - it wasn’t something common for him. He began bottling up emotions at a young age and it was rare to see Shoto let out even a sniffle. The longer she listened, however, the less and less the cries sounded like her younger brother. Especially when the voice hiccuped and continued right on crying. She heard no other voices and before she could stop herself, she peeked around the doorway to see Midoriya, sitting alone on Shoto’s bed, and crying quietly into his hands. Oh dear. Had they had a fight?

She knocked lightly on the door frame and the boy looked up, barefaced and ashamed. Her eyes softened. “Are you okay?” she asked as gently as she could. The boy’s lower lip wobbled and fat drops of tears rolled down his cheeks in response. That was enough of an answer for her.

She entered the room and quietly shut the door behind her, sitting beside Midoriya and watching in concern as he tried to quell his sobs. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” she asked softly.

She’d hadn’t expected much of a response from the teen. She thought maybe he would tell her that he was fine or ask for some privacy. She didn’t expect, however, for Midoriya to blurt out, “I don’t call your brother Daddy!” and begin crying anew.

“O - oh,” she responded, flustered. Ah yes. The phone call she’d been desperately trying to forget. “It’s - it’s none of my business what - ”

He interrupted her with an adamant shake of his head, tears flying from his eyes. “No! I - we - me and Todoroki aren’t actually dating!”

Well she certainly hadn’t expected that. She raised an eyebrow, looking at him in confusion. “You’re not?” He shook his head again, tears falling down his cheeks. “Then why . . . ?”

The boy sucked in a deep breath before letting a waterfall of words spill out of his mouth. “Endeavor wouldn’t stop calling Todoroki at school and he was always making Todoroki so uncomfortable and I hated it, I hated seeing Endeavor make Todoroki stop smiling so I took his phone and pretended we were in the middle of something really inappropriate to make Endeavor super uncomfortable and then it became a thing among our class, to answer the phone when he called to tell him Todoroki was with me and we were dating or having sex and then you called and I tried to make Endeavor really uncomfortable by saying what I did but it was you and you invited me for dinner and Todoroki said if I came it might get his Dad to stop calling so I told him I would come over and pretend to be his boyfriend and I don’t know how to tell him that I never wanted it to go this far because while his feelings for me are fake, mine are very very real and it hurts to be so close to him when I know it’s not even genuine and - and - ”

How on Earth did this boy get all that out on one breath while crying uncontrollably? “Okay, slow down, breathe,” she instructed gently, watching as Midoriya sucked in a shuddering breath, shoulders shaking. “Let’s talk.”

It was strange, going from one extreme to the other. Whenever Shoto had turmoil, he shoved it down and refused to talk to Fuyumi about whatever was upsetting him no matter how much she pressed. With Midoriya, on the other hand, she could barely get a question out before another round of sobs shook his body. He rambled and wore each individual emotion on his sleeve and she quickly got the picture that this boy cared deeply for her younger brother but was under the impression he would never feel the same. Classic teenage love story. He told her Shoto had left the room after he’d tried to kiss him and Midoriya had refused as he was convinced it was part of the ruse, that Shoto would never try to kiss him unless he was forced because of this whole charade they were trying to pull on their father.

“Midoriya-kun, do you think there’s a chance that my brother meant what he did?” she prompted gently. “He talks about you quite a bit, you know. And that’s saying a lot, considering he isn’t exactly the most open individual.”

Midoriya shook his head in response. The tears had finally stopped falling though his eyes were rimmed red and he couldn’t seem to stop his sniffles. “No. No one could like me in that way - especially not Todoroki. He’s too good for me and he’s probably finally realized that by now.”

And wow, weren’t he and Shoto two peas in a pod? She chewed on her lower lip. Dinner was sitting on the counter, ready for them to eat. She didn’t exactly have time to unpack whatever childhood trauma this poor boy had endured to make him think he was so undeserving of love. Still, she placed a comforting hand on his back and rubbed in slow circles. “I think you need to talk to him. He’ll listen, you know, and he won’t think any less of you when you tell him whatever it is you need to tell him. He’s grown so much since he’s been attending U.A. and I think we owe a lot of that to you.” Midoriya said nothing in response and she sighed. “Dinner’s ready. I’ll find Shoto and tell him and I suppose I’ll tell my father as well. Take all the time you need.” Midoriya nodded and she left the room, making her way down the hall only to almost smack right into Natsuo.

After Fuyumi had told Natsuo about her experience with Midoriya, Natsuo launched into the tale of what Shoto had confided in him in the training room. They were both now shaking their heads, exhausted at the turn the night had taken.

“They just need to talk to each other,” Fuyumi summarized, shaking her head.

“Is this what I was like as a teenager?” Natsuo asked incredulously. “This is infuriating.”

Fuyumi let out a quiet laugh. “You still are a teenager, Natsuo.”

He shot her a glare and she laughed again in response. “Yeah but I’m an adult. And I’m not engaging in a teenage soap opera like some people.” He jerked his head in the direction of the training room.

“It’s sweet in a way,” she allowed with another laugh. “They both care for each other so much that they’re worried they’ll push the other away if they reveal how much they care for each other.” She paused and flashed her brother a genuine smile. “And no, you weren’t like this as a teenager. Only Shoto is this dramatic. And Midroiya-kun too, apparently.”

“Sounds like they’re a perfect fit,” Natsuo replied with a snort.

She shook her head fondly. “Well, it’ll be an interesting dinner, that’s for sure. I already told Midoriya-kun dinner’s ready. Can you let Shoto know? I have to go get Dad.”

Natsuo shook his head in disbelief. “I’ll let him know. Let’s hope Dad doesn’t make it even worse for them.”

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Midoriya numbly made his way to the dining room. Fuyumi had reminded him where it was though he’d already caught a glimpse of it on his way in. How had everything gotten this twisted? Had he really spent the last ten minutes crying in Todoroki’s room to his sister about how desperately in love with him he was? He repressed a groan. What was he thinking?

He turned into the dining room, taking a sharp intake of breath when he saw the only person sitting at the table was Todoroki himself. He swallowed, trudging over to the table to take a seat beside Todoroki. He twiddled his thumbs, looking in the other direction to avoid Todoroki’s gaze. He wasn’t quite sure why he hadn’t returned from the restroom but his brain had convinced him he probably heard him crying and didn’t want to go near that mess.

He was spared any more awkwardness by Fuyumi entering the dining room from the kitchen, placing an array of delicious-looking food on the table that only made him feel sick. She sat quietly and Natsuo entered shortly after, taking a seat beside his sister. No one said anything and Midoriya wondered, with nausea swirling in his stomach, if Fuyumi had told her siblings about his breakdown. He wouldn’t blame her if he had but he wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. Did he apologize for his behaviour? Did he excuse himself and leave the house? He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but was cut off before he could begin by a familiar booming voice in the doorway.

“What the hell is he doing here!?” the voice demanded and all members at the table turned their heads to see Endeavor standing in the doorway, a look of rage etched into his features, the flames of his mustache flaring.

“Dad, Midoriya-kun is here as Shoto’s guest,” Fuyumi answered calmly and Midoriya had to hand it to her - she handled Endeavor’s outburst like a champ.

“You let that little shit into our house!?” Endeavor demanded and Fuyumi shrunk down under his glare. Natsuo quickly jumped to her defense.

“Sit down, old man, don’t let this dinner Fuyumi made go to waste,” Natsuo challenged, leveling Endeavor with a glare of his own. Endeavor let his gaze fall on all the members at the table and seemed to realize with four against one, he was beaten. His closed his mouth, drawing it into a scowl and dropping into his seat at the end of the table, practically vibrating in rage.

Fuyumi began handing out portions, no one saying a word as she did so. Once everyone had generous helpings on their plates, Endeavor began digging in while Fuyumi and Natsuo ate quietly and Midroiya and Todoroki didn’t touch their food at all.

“What’s the problem?” Endeavor demanded suddenly, his eyes darting between his son and Midoriya. Midoriya swallowed. He was here for Todoroki, to make his father uncomfortable, not to shrink down under Endeavor’s gaze. Why did he do this? Why had he gone and screwed up everything? “Your sister made a meal. Eat.”

Todoroki didn’t move a muscle and neither did Midoriya. Endeavor dropped his chopsticks, opening his mouth with a twisted expression on his face before realization smoothed over his features. “Did - did you two have a fight?” he asked, his face lighting up in glee.

Midoriya’s hands clenched into fists at his side. God, he wanted to wipe that smug look off Endeavor’s face. But he couldn’t manage to open his mouth. He knew now if he tried to initiate any more romantic contact with Todoroki, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from bursting into tears. He couldn’t let Endeavor win but he couldn’t pretend to be Todoroki’s boyfriend without sobbing. God, he was pathetic.

“They did actually, Dad,” Natsuo said suddenly and Midroiya’s eyes snapped to his. Natsuo however, was looking pointedly at Fuyumi, and she was staring right back, some sort of silent communication happening between the two of them.

“Oh?” Endeavor asked, the joy in his tone growing. Midoriya wanted to Detroit Smash his face.

“Yes,” Fuyumi replied, and Midoriya froze. Oh God. Was she going to reveal that Midoriya had broken down like a child in Todoorki’s room in front of the whole dinner table? “Midoriya-kun and Shoto had a bit of an argument.”

Endeavor let out a roaring laugh. “Well - ”

“But,” Natsuo interrupted, looking pointedly at his brother. “It can be easily solved.”

“It’s hard being a teenager, isn’t it, father?” Fuyumi asked Endeavor, though her eyes were boring into Midoriya’s. The tone of her voice indicated she was making lighthearted conversation but the look in her eyes was far deeper. “Especially when you have feelings for someone, like these two do. It’s hard when you’re young and care about someone deeply - you never quite know what they’re thinking.”

“Yeah,” Natsuo continued. “It’s so easy to get your feelings all mixed up, to miscommunicate and not want to fix the situation because you’re scared of what the other person will say.”

“It’s scary,” Fuyumi agreed. “It’s scary to love someone and not know if they understand just how deeply you care for them. But Midoriya-kun talked to me about it.” Midoriya tensed. He tightened his grip around his chopsticks.

“And Shoto talked to me about it,” Natsuo continued. Midoriya eyes snapped to Todoroki to find that Todoroki was staring at him, eyes wide and vulnerable.

“And both boys told us they care about each other very much,” Fuyumi said, her eyes darting between the two teens. “I mean, Shoto wouldn’t be telling me all about how great Midoriya-kun is if he didn’t want to be with him and Midoriya-kun wouldn’t be here meeting all of us if he didn’t want to be with him. I think it’s clear to both Natsuo and I that they have a very special relationship. That they care about each other immensely.” Midoriya swallowed, his eyes searching Todoroki’s, his breath catching in his throat. Were they trying to imply what he thought they were trying to imply?

“And if both of them were just to get their heads out of their asses and talk to each other, they could figure this out for themselves,” Natsuo finished simply, taking a swig of his tea. He glared at the two boys, his eyes narrowed. “Right?”

Midoriya looked at Todoroki; really looked at him. He saw the venerability in his eyes, the nakedness, the terror. But he also saw the adoration, the love, and twitch at the corner of his mouth, for him. Did Todoroki . . . could he possibly . . . had this ever been fake?

Todoroki reached out a trembling hand and Midoriya took it, interlocking their fingers without breaking Todoroki’s gaze. “Izuku,” Todoroki breathed, low enough that no one but Midoriya would be able to hear it. He looked pointedly at their intertwined hands and met his gaze once again, his eyes pleading. “I’m not pretending.”

Midoriya’s heart swelled. The tears that had pricked his eyes overflowed and fell down his cheeks. “I never was,” he choked out and was met with the most brilliant, blinding smile he’d ever seen on Todoroki’s face.  

They met in the middle in a crash of lips. Todoroki broke the grip on Midoriya’s hand to cradle his face in his palms and Midoriya tangled his fingers in Todoroki’s hair, bringing him impossibly close, lips slotting against his, kissing him deeply, frantically, the pent up emotions he’d been holding onto for so long pouring out in his kiss. Midoriya didn’t know what he was doing. The kiss was wet and messy and full of need but it was everything he imagined and more because he was kissing Todoroki. He was kissing his best friend. He was kissing the person he loved. He smiled into the kiss and Todoroki smiled back, the two of them giggling into each other’s mouths in glee as they kissed, their lips slotting against each other messily.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Midoriya registered the sound of Endeavor gagging followed by the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor and angry footsteps leaving the room. Midoriya’s grin widened against Todoroki’s mouth. It looked like the plan had been a success after all.

(*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*)

The minute they walked into the common room, they were surrounded by their classmates swarming around them like a group of circling sharks. Everyone questioned how it went, what they’d done, how Endeavor had reacted. Todoroki and Midoriya exchanged a look and Midoriya bit his lip, beaming up at his new boyfriend.

“Izuku and I are actually dating now,” Todoroki announced, taking Izuku’s hand and bringing it to his mouth to kiss the back of his palm.

The students fell silent, no one saying a word until Jiro spoke up from her spot on the couch. “That surprises literally no one,” she said, shooting them a smirk. Their classmates all murmured something in agreement and Midoriya felt his face heat up, catching Uraraka’s knowing smile and the encouraging looks of his other friends.

“Fuck you, fuck you very much . . . ”

The class froze. Even Midoriya went stock still at Todoroki’s side. Before he could decide what his next action should be, Todoroki fished his phone out of his pocket and answered it.

“Dad, I’m with my boyfriend, we can talk later,” he said into the receiver. He promptly hung up, silenced his phone, and shoved it back into his pocket. Midoriya looked up at him in awe and Todoroki looked back innocently. “What?” he asked, bumping his shoulder against Midoriya’s. “I was just being honest.”

He smiled at Midoriya and smiled back. It was a beautiful sight.