Chapter Text
Todoroki woke up first, barely even conceptualizing that they had accidentally fallen asleep together. Light streamed through the open windows casting a glow around the room. If Todoroki hadn’t known any better, he’d think he were still dreaming. He glanced around the room slowly scanning over the scene to commit it to memory when the television caught his eye. In the background, the news from earlier played muted but with the shock of the event wearing off, there were actually other news stories interspersed in between the footage that made Todoroki’s stomach lurch. He felt his pulse quicken slightly and turned his attention back to the sleeping boy trapping him in the bed…not that he minded. Todoroki’s right arm was partially stretched over the hospital bed, hanging limp off the side, his other hand was wrapped protectively around Sero, who curled into his chest, still sleeping soundly. Once his eyes caught the shock of black hair, he felt himself calm down, though still tried to keep from moving too much out of concern he’d wake Sero. His eyes trailed to their intertwined hands, and he felt his heart tighten in his chest. Despite being asleep, he had still pulled Todoroki’s hand towards his and climbed close as he could get. The butterflies stirring in Todoroki’s stomach threatened to release themselves as Sero gently pushed himself even closer into the other boy, turning his head up slightly so Todoroki could see his face at a better angle. Todoroki wondered how long they could stay like this before someone came in and caught them, but he didn’t want to move. He started to shift up slightly, counting to 10 seconds and then shifting once again. He did this for a few moments before Sero’s grip on his hand tightened a bit and he looked up at Todoroki, fully awake now.
“Not trying to sneak off on me, were you?” Sero asked. He had woken up to a dense cold settling over him. He nestled closer to the object he laid on before realizing exactly who it was. He also quickly realized why it was so cold, turning his head up to face the culprit and the situation he was trapped in. Sero had fallen asleep much quicker than expected, and apparently, so had Todoroki. Sero couldn’t help grin at the sleepy smile Todoroki gave him when their eyes met and settled back down, nestling his head on top of Sero’s
“Not if I can help it.” He said in a hushed tone. Sero relished in it, feeling like it was a secret between the two of them. In the morning light, Sero couldn’t help how gentle Todoroki looked and how despite the fact that he was usually more subdued, this was a different kind of subdued. This was Todoroki calm, Todoroki sure of himself not just in combat but in every sense of the word. He was reaching out to Sero, offering the affection he was so afraid to give in the full light of day. Sero carefully lifted their intertwined hands up in the air and Todoroki shifted back a bit, so they were at eye level with one another. He guided his and Todoroki’s hands to settle between the two of them and carefully released it. “What is it…?” Todoroki asked in the same hushed voice as before, a smile played at the edges of his lips.
“I just,” Sero started, flipping Todoroki’s hand over and running a finger across the palm. He kept going as he spoke, moving his index and ring finger from the palm to slightly grip each of Todoroki’s finger’s one by one. “I’ve held your hand so often, but I’ve never really…focused on it.” He couldn’t explain what he meant and knew he wasn’t making any sense by the expression Todoroki gave him but kept exploring his palms regardless. he trailed over the main lines of his palm. These were the hands that chose to hold his, these were the hands that wanted to keep holding his. Sero thought about this for a moment before Todoroki used his free hand to lightly tilt Sero’s chin up to look him in the eye.
“Hey…” he said softly. Morning light made everything to hazy, so unreal, the way Sero watched Todoroki’s hands like they were these precious objects made something twitch in Todoroki. All he wanted to do was interrupt that attention. All he wanted to do was kiss him.
All Sero wanted to do was kiss him. Todoroki’s hand still rested on his chin, but he could move away if he wanted. He didn’t really want to.
“Is this okay?” Todoroki’s heart was straining, the only thing he wanted was right in front of him, looking at him expectantly, wanting him to close the gap between them.
“Yes, it’s okay.” Sero gave a soft smile, but his heart threatening to burst out of his chest. Todoroki, still drunk off of the closeness, nodded. He reached carefully shifted his hand on Sero’s chin, guiding the two of them into an awkward kiss. Todoroki had moved with a confidence Sero wasn’t ready for, but when it came down to the actual kiss, he clearly lost some of that sureness, so Sero took more of the lead. They parted and Sero smiled wider than Todoroki had seen in a minute. He wondered what he had done to deserve something so beautiful. Sero practically whispered in Todoroki’s ear “I’ve never had a good morning kiss before” and Todoroki flushed red. He suddenly found himself unable to respond without making some kind of stupid noise. Sero laughed, pulling Todoroki closer “I’m sorry! Don’t be embarrassed!” he cackled. Todoroki shot towards Sero, pulling him by the front of his shirt into one more, much more intense kiss. This time it was Sero’s turn to be speechless. Todoroki regained his composure as he laughed at the completely dumbfounded expression gracing the other boy’s face. He started to shift away from Sero, who whined in protest.
“I’m going to get breakfast; I’ll bring some up for you.” Todoroki said, his hand lingered on Sero’s as he shifted off the bed. As he moved to leave the room Sero responded
“You can’t just leave after doing something like that to me!” He gave Todoroki a playful scowl
“Watch me.” Todoroki smirked. “And don’t worry,” he gave a small handwave “I’ll be back before you know it.” Todoroki left the room, leaving Sero to wake himself out of what just happened. He kept smiling, and the high from those kisses still resonated in his head. He wanted to jump out of his bed and pace to get some of the energy out, but despite feeling better, he needed to be careful, so instead he texted the first person he could think to text.
Kaminari you aren’t going to fucking believe this He started to type, but then he deleted it. He then retyped the same message to Bakugou, Kirishima, Mina….then stopped. He couldn’t hit send. They already knew about what was going on, so what was the problem? His eyes slid to the television in the room, still playing the news, though muted now. The broadcast was still interspersing videos and images of the scene between shots of other news stories for a live update feed and in the light of day the way Todoroki had responded to Sero’s injury was much more…noticeable then he had realized. Sero watched the footage over and over. Todoroki carrying him to safety, Sero’s hand on his face, Todoroki’s eyes never leaving his “friend.” There was no way around it. Todoroki walked in right as Sero’s concern was mounting.
“What is it?” Todoroki asked, knowing that the real world was likely about to come crashing down on him. Sero nodded his head to the Tv. Todoroki sighed, already feeling his anxiety picking up. “Ah…that…” was all he could manage to get out. He took a deep breath, walking over to Sero’s bedside and giving him the food he had picked up from the cafeteria. “Can we eat first before that?” He asked and Sero nodded, stomach growling at just the sight of food. They ate in relative silence, but a tense air hung in the room around them regardless. Both of their eyes flitted to the television, still on mute, looping Todoroki’s heroic rescue on loop for the viewing public. Todoroki could feel is airways tightening as he swallowed down bits of food, desperately keeping from talking to avoid shattering the dreamlike quality of the morning. Sero, on the other hand, was wolfing down his food, determined to get through as quickly as possible to address the elephant in the room. Todoroki watched in silence for a moment before speaking up
“We can talk about it, just stop trying to asphyxiate yourself.” He tried to play it off as a joke, but it came off harsher than expected. Sero’s eyes met the floor sheepishly and slowed his pace. Both boys spoke simultaneously
“I’m sorry I-” Todoroki began
“Has your dad called?” Sero pushed through Todoroki’s apology, barely able to contain the question.
“Yes.” Todoroki responded flatly. When he refused to return to school after Sero’s injury, the calls came in rapidly. First Midoriya, then his father, then his father again, then his father again, and by the 5th call Todoroki relegated to turning his phone off indefinitely. Endeavor clearly either had figured out where he was, or he was going to face a serious punishment when he did return to the dorms. Todoroki’s heart rate spiked at the thought, and he shot his eyes to the floor to keep Sero from reading his expression
“Have you answered?” Sero asked, but he had a feeling he already knew.
“No.” Todoroki tried to hold back the waver in his voice. He had trained the fear out of his voice years prior, but for some reason when it came to Sero, he couldn’t keep up the façade. He could feel his chest tightening and his stomach threatening to spill out the food he had just ate. “I can’t” He admitted.
“I know” Sero responded. He wanted to reach out and pull Todoroki back into his arms, to play out the scene they had practiced this morning, but to do it better, to make it last longer, but Todoroki was too far away from him so instead he motioned to Todoroki, uttering a hushed “c’mere.” The other boy scooted closer in his chair, hesitantly taking Sero’s hand in his. Sero squeezed it lightly, Todoroki squeezed back. “I’m here.” He said, like it was a secret between the two of them.
“I know.” Todoroki said. And he did. Regardless of whatever his heart and his brain told him about himself, about how disappointed his father would be, about what a disappointment he had turned out to be, he knew that Sero had him. It took all of a few moments for that moment of calm to shatter as the members of class 1-A burst into the hospital room. Todoroki had pulled his hand back as quickly as he could, uttering a quick apology to Sero after he did it. His whole posture tensed as they flooded in.
“Sero!!!” They cried as Mina chimed in
“I told you guys that Todoroki would be here too!!” Todoroki had quickly slipped on the mask of the aloof honors student to the point where nobody even could tell he was upset. Even Sero wouldn’t have been able to tell if he hadn’t seen the mental adjustments happening in real time. The class split quickly between Sero and Todoroki, one half giving Sero well wishes, school updates, and gifts: and the other half chiding Todoroki for his absence. Todoroki could already feel himself wearing down, not in any kind of mood for a lecture, standing up as he readied to take his leave. Sero, who was giving a sea of gratitude and appreciation to his classmates looked up to see Todoroki making his exit.
“Hey” he called. Todoroki turned, face softening slightly as his eyes locked with Sero, who grinned. “No goodbye from my knight in shining armor?” Todoroki cracked a small smile at that, turning to face Sero, he straightened his posture.
“What was I thinking?” he relaxed slightly, dipping into a bow in the other boy’s direction and pretending to hold a rose “until next time.” He laughed and walked out of the room, leaving the class and Sero stunned into silence.
“What was that?” someone asked. Sero didn’t have an explanation.
Todoroki wondered why he had done that, maybe because Sero was watching him, and he wanted to make some attempt at seeming normal. But…that wasn’t normal either. Maybe it’s because he was still riding some of the high from earlier, he shook it off and turned his phone back on for the first time what felt like eons. He quickly started to get notification after notification, not just from his father, but from his siblings, his mother, concerned classmates, the lot of them. He realized with a sudden jolt how selfish his decision had been. People who cared about him saw what happened all over the news and then he just disappeared. While Todoroki scrolled through his messages, he heard someone come out of the room and lean against the wall next to him. Without looking up, Todoroki spotted a familiar pair of sneakers. He kept his eyes on his phone.
“I know you left to avoid everyone, but…” Midoriya started “We were all really worried. You could’ve at least responded to one of us, Todoroki. Just gave us one text, and we would’ve left you be.”
“I know.” He said, trying to brush of the concern
“Then what gives?” Midoriya asked, looking directly at Todoroki, who had shifted his eyes from the phone screen to meet Midoriya. In response, he held up the “recent calls” tab on his phone, showing over a dozen missed calls from his father, mother, and siblings. Midoriya gave an understanding nod but didn’t let up. “You could at least give a real apology to everyone who was worried.” He shook his head as Todoroki’s eyes drifted back to his phone, still silent. “Okay, at least think about it for me?”
“Yeah, alright.” Todoroki said, finally giving in.
“Your mom is here, right? Should probably let her know you’re alright.” He prodded. At this point, the other boy would use any excuse he could take to escape Midoriya’s empathetic lectures. He nodded and got up off the wall, giving a curt wave to Midoriya.
“Thanks.” He muttered as he walked towards the elevator, he took pause for a moment before saying “and…I am sorry, by the way.” then turned and kept walking, not waiting on a response. Todoroki took the elevator a few floors up where the long-term patients were, entering the wing. He couldn’t help but slow his steps as he got closer to his mother’s room. He’d been visiting more frequently after his first battle with Midoriya, but she still treated each time like it was the first in a long time. With how much he'd probably worried her, he dreaded how she’d react to him. He slid open the door to find her sitting at the window. She turned slightly at the sound, before realizing who had walked in.
“Shoto!” She exclaimed, pushing her chair back and rushing to pull him into a hug. He tensed for a moment before returning it. He leaned into her, forgetting how much he missed his mother until se was in front of him. She pulled back from the hug as quickly as she instigated it to stare at him in disbelief. “Where have you been? I saw the news and I was so worried, and then your sister calls to ask if I’ve seen you and-” she paused, pulling away from him and heading towards the phone on her bedside table “wait, I should call your sister.”
“Mom, please. Can it wait for a second?” He followed, trying to calm her fervor. Rei took pause for a moment, examining Todoroki for longer this time. She scrunched her brows and took her hand off the phone. Todoroki gestured towards the chair she had just been sitting in and his mother sat down as he pulled up his own across from her.
“I’m listening.” She said, folding her hands in front of her. Todoroki didn’t know how much of what had happened in the last week he wanted to actually tell, so he started with the elephant in the room.
“I’m sorry. I should have let you all know I was safe.” Rei reached out, touching his hand.
“I’m glad you are, but…why did you go missing like that? What happened?” She asked, eyes trained on Todoroki.
“My friend was hurt, and I was so worried I just…” Todoroki paused biting his lower lip. His eyes drifted to where his mother’s hand rested on his, pushing him to continue. “I needed to be with him. I needed to make sure he was alright.” Todoroki fidgeted with his other hand, turning to look out the window, knowing his mother was still watching him. He didn’t know how to continue so Rei spoke up.
“This friend, you care about him a lot?”
“More than I was expecting to, yeah.” Todoroki raked his free hand through his hair, smirking “I mean, you’ve seen the news, right?” He gave a sarcastic laugh, barely able to keep his voice even as things kept spilling out “And dad. Oh, I’m sure dad is going to have a field day when I finally get home, I mean.” He coughed out a laugh “You’ve seen what he’s like. You know what he can do. You-” He stopped as his mom squeezed his hand, suddenly reminding him he was with one of the few people who probably understood. He turned to look at his mother.
“Shoto. Whatever you are feeling, whatever has happened, I’m here. I’ve made mistakes in the past but right now? I’m here, and its okay. Do you understand me?” She was holding back tears as she continued “If you want to be with this boy, then be with him. But please let us know first.” She smiled. Todoroki nodded, unable to return her smile but feeling safe. He started to tell her about everything that had happened in the past week.
Sero has managed to calm everyone’s fears about his state in his hospital room, and most people had filed out except his closer friends. Bakugou, Kaminari, Mina, and Kirishima all stood around his bed talking about inane things just to keep him updated. Even though Sero knew most of this, he allowed them to talk since it just felt like they were talking because they missed him. That was, until Mina asked about what had happened.
“So how does a first date turn into a collapsing building?” Mina asked, basically out of the blue. The other 3 went silent, they turned to look at Mina with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
“What can I say, I guess our date brought the house down” Sero snickered as Mina turned away with a groan loud enough to shake the room. “But really, it was just a coincidence that happened at the same time.” He said, shrugging.
“Everybody was worried about you guys, especially when Todoroki never came back to the dorms.” Kirishima said.
“If I had been awake for that I would’ve made him go home, that was a bad move.”
“No shit, the teachers were about to organize a search party.” Bakugou scoffed. “I already told him he fucked up but if he comes back here all bets are off, he won’t hear the end of it from me.”
“You don’t need to do that, we already talked about it.” Sero said.
“Oh??” Mina leaned in “what else did you talk about?” She asked. Kaminari grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her out the door
“That’s enough from you.”
“Hey!! Since when are you the mature one?” Mina cried as she was forcibly removed from Sero’s room.
“But really,” Bakugou started, surprising Sero and Kirishima with how even his voice was “is everything taken care of with you two?” He asked, genuinely.
“Yeah, in a sense” Sero said.
“Good.” Bakugou scowled, continuing “because if I had to listen to him talk about his issues again, I was gonna throw up.”
“Oh my god” Kirishima breathed a mock sigh of relief “You’re back to normal”
“WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??” Bakugou yelled, shooting off an explosion into Kirishima “I can care about people, asshole!!!” He yelled. Kirishima and Sero laughed as Bakugou continued yelling.
Once word got around to the staff that Sero was awake, it didn’t take long before a nurse entered his room and told him they’d be doing a few checks, causing Bakugou and Kirishima to say their goodbyes. The doctor came in shortly after, making sure Sero was physically able enough to leave. He did the basic requirements for a check up and moved to a few other checks, making sure Sero’s body had healed properly with the help of recovery girl and the staff. Once he was cleared, Sero left the hospital, but he couldn’t help wondering where Todoroki was as he caught the train back. He shot the other boy a text asking if he was back at the dorms. Sero’s phone chimed a few minutes later
Spent some time with my mom, but yes, I’m back at the dorm. Door is open, if you want. Todoroki responded. Sero smiled down at his phone, texting back
I’d like that.
Once Sero returned, he was greeted by his classmates yet again, like they hadn’t just seen him a few hours prior. He once again gave thanks and told them how grateful he was for them but made the excuse of being tired and needing rest. They understood and left Sero to go to his room, which he did, but only to drop off his things. He knew he didn’t have to knock at Todoroki’s, but he still did, even as he pushed the door open. The other boy lain across his bed, a book in hand as he looked up and gave a small
“Hey” with a smile to Sero before patting the bed, inviting the other boy onto it with him. Sero obliged, leaning slightly into him to read whatever book he was reading. Todoroki noticed and tilted it towards him. They sat like that for a while, Todoroki checking his phone every once in a while, sporting a dismal expression each time before going back to his book. Sero was waiting for Todoroki to say what it was about, but the other boy seemed engrossed. The book, to Sero, was somewhat dry, but he pretended to read along anyway. It took a few chapters before Todoroki said anything.
“So, about my dad.”
“Yeah?”
“I talked to my mother today…and she thinks it would be a good idea if I spoke to him. About this” he gestured between them before clarifying “about us.”
“You told your mom?” Sero raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah. she thinks It would be a good idea.” Todoroki recalled the conversation between him and his mother. Her support meant so much to him. So much so that he had called his siblings and told them too. They took it well. So well, in fact, that they wanted to meet him. “She thinks I shouldn’t do it alone.”
“Oh?” Sero asked, not really sure why Todoroki was staring so intensely at him. He smiled “that’s good then! That you have that support!” Todoroki sighed,
“No, Sero, I mean.” He pulled Sero’s hand up from the bed and held it between them “I want you to come with me to tell my father.”
“Oh.” Sero said flatly. Todoroki started floundering at that response. Sero was staring at him like a deer in headlights and he had no idea what to say next. He started to backtrack instantly
“I mean, you can say no. I have no problem with it. My siblings are there, after all. I just, I figured we should do it…together?” Todoroki was cringing at how meek he sounded asking this of Sero, but he knew it was a huge ask for someone who he’d only been really “dating” for a week. Sero was considering it. Based on what he knew about Endeavor, the whole situation sounded dangerous. But it would be more dangerous if the only members present were members of the family, since Endeavor had never held back around them prior. “You really don’t have to do this, Sero, you can say no.”
“I know.” Sero said, but he was already thinking about it. “Have you thought about where you’re meeting?”
“My house, where else?” Todoroki raised an eyebrow
“Todoroki that’s an awful idea.” Sero responded
“Is this your way of saying you’re coming with?” Todoroki asked
“Yes. Now about where we’re going…” Sero helped Todoroki plan the meeting with his father and siblings. They picked out a café that was usually busy and in a main area to keep lots of eyes on them. This way, Endeavor would have to remain calm or risk causing a scene. They had a plan for who sat where, who said what, what to do if things went south, and even a plan for if the “things go south” plan went south. Todoroki felt this pang in his chest when he looked at Sero, both terrified and in awe of the person in front of him, offering everything to the people he cares about. Sero caught his eye.
“What?” he asked playfully, a smile making its way onto his face
“I’m glad I met you.” Todoroki said. Sero flushed immediately.
“You can’t just…say things like that.” He looked away from Todoroki’s gaze.
“But I did.” Todoroki smirked. Sero leaned in, kissing Todoroki longer than they had before and holding him close. When they pulled back, Todoroki looked at the plan, the meeting with his father was prepared. They had a few days to be ready and then the worst of it would begin. But for now, they were together, and for now, it felt like they had all the time in the world.