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Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shouto, Female Original Character (OC)

Summary: “And life is a fucking nightmare!”

In which Midoriya Izuku finds out Todoroki Shouto has never had a stuffed animal, and he drags him to Build-A-Bear workshop to amend it.

I don't know what else you want me to say. It's 9k fic of Midoriya and Todoroki being good boyfriends to each other

Word Count: 9k

This fic was written for @cpmerlot!!! They chose this prompt from my list of fics a long ass time ago and I just forgot about it for the longest time but i hOPE JAY LIKES IT LMAO.

When Shouto had made a vague mention that he'd never received a plush toy in childhood, he wasn't expecting the grand reaction from his loving boyfriend. It had been clear when what was said was processed, as Midoriya had let out a loud gasp that caught the attention of everyone in the common room. Shouto tried cooling away the blush that was forming on his cheeks with his right hand, taking Midoriya’s hand with his left.

“Maybe we don’t have this discussion out here in front of everyone…” He murmured. Midoriya’s expression was skewed with confusion for only a minute before realization hit it like a truck. He scrambled to his feet, still holding Shouto’s hand as he guided him to his All Might-centric room. The second the door was closed, a heavy sigh took the tension out of Shouto’s body. He gave Midoriya the most grateful expression he could muster. It wasn’t that he was particularly embarrassed by the fact he’d never had a stuffed animal, but maybe having the subject discussed in front of their whole class wasn’t the best idea.

“So, let me get this straight,” Midoriya began, pacing the small area of the room. Shouto rose a brow. He knew some sort of interrogation was coming, so he took a seat on Midoriya’s bed- not without the after thought that it was Midoriya’s Bed. "You've never had a stuffed animal." Midoriya asked sternly.

Shouto was starting to feel like it was the crime Midoriya was trying to make it. With how seriously he was taking this, it was hard not to. Shouto swallowed thickly, meeting the vibrant green eyes that stared down at him.

"Yes..?” He answered slowly. “I’ve just, never received one, I suppose.” He chose to ignore the way Midoriya's hands threatened to reach out and put themselves on his shoulders, and the way his eyebrows almost knitted closer.

"Not one in your life, Todoroki???" He asked incredulously.

Something about the tone Midoriya was slipping into was starting to make him nervous. "...Not one.” He parroted after a short pause. “My shitty old man claimed they were just distractions." Shouto opened his mouth to spill more residual resentment but he found he couldn’t. Two strong, tanned hands were currently squishing his cheeks, making his lips pucker like a fish. Shouto rose a brow again, bemused as he watched Midoriya study his face. At some point, Midoriya’s eyes widened in recognition, and the shorter- but, god, beefier- of the two pulled away slowly, pulling his scarred hand to his mouth as he spiraled into another of his mumbling sessions.

Shouto sighed softly, glad for the distraction from the fury he tended to forget Midoriya could pack into his small frame. While he listened intently, he couldn’t help noticing the dread that was settling in his stomach. Midoriya was being too quiet in his mumbling, and that only spelled certain doom to Shouto. He cursed the day that Midoriya seemed to have caught wind of how to keep his mumbling less distracting to everyone else. It left him only able to catch a few phrases here and there, and each one he did catch left him with more concern than those he couldn’t hear. It only worsened when Midoriya pulled out his phone, called someone, and on the second ring let out a resounding declaration.

"Occhan, I'm going to have to cancel our plans- Shouto has never had a stuffed animal in his life."

Shouto winced at the loud squawking he heard from the receiver- how Midoriya hadn’t flinched away was a mystery. Despite the bubbly chattering on the other end of the line only barely coming into hearing, Shouto assumed he knew what was going on, if only because Uraraka and Midoriya were more similar than they realized. He huffed in amusement at his own thoughts, not realizing that Midoriya was explaining excitedly that he would be taking Shouto somewhere to amend this issue.

Shouto blinked. Taking him? He was being taken somewhere for this?

“Wait, Midoriya-” He tried protesting, but his boyfriend was having none of it. With Midoriya’s finger smushed against Shouto’s lips and the determined fire in his eyes, Shouto couldn’t help but feel uneasy. It was at this moment he remembered what a force of nature Midoriya Izuku was when he had his mind set on something. As if the sports festival nearly two years ago wasn’t enough.

“Todoroki-kun, I’m taking you to Build-A-Bear.”

“Build-a-what?”

-------------

As it turned out, Build-A-Bear was one of the many stores Shouto often skipped over whenever he went to the mall. The store had always been too grandiose for his tastes, what with its over attachment to making every sign bear themed or every other word a bear pun. The aesthetic, while consistent, was also kind of annoying him, and the bright yellow walls he was facing were already making his eyes hurt.

And yet, here he was. He may have been dragged here with help from Midoriya’s quirk, but he only really accepted standing here just to humour Midoriya’s intense need to give him the stuffed animal he never had. The sacrifices Shouto made for his boyfriend. Speaking of, said boy was practically bouncing up and down in anticipation. He must not have noticed the grimace Shouto was desperately trying to supress, because he was beaming in his signature too-bright way and looking too cute and happy for what they’re about to do.

“So? What do you think?” Midoriya asked, gesturing like he was showing off the world’s most priceless artifact. Shouto glanced at the store again. He really had to keep a shudder away from his spine- he could see there were children in the store. Children! He didn’t hate them by any means but being in such close quarters with them reminded him too much of the remedial course from two years ago.

“It, ah...It looks like an...Experience, Midoriya.” He was trying to be nice. God had to give him props for that, right? “Is this really necessary, though? I’m more than satisfied with a hallmark toy or something, as long as it’s from you.” He shrugged half-heartedly, and while Midoriya was definitely blushing, Shouto couldn’t see any faltering in his resolve. Damn. Midoriya slotted his hand in with Shouto’s, making the apprehension he felt melt away and be replaced with content. Until he started pulling Shouto into the store, that was.

“It can’t just be a Hallmark bear, Todoroki-kun!” Midoriya said, much too chipper for the moment. “I think your first stuffed animal should be something special. What’s more special than a Build-A-Bear Workshop one?”

Shouto really hoped he wasn’t expected to answer that. He couldn’t even recognize what made it special in the first place, much less what would supposedly be more special. His expression must have read as dumbfounded as he’d felt, or perhaps Midoriya really was just that good at reading him. They both gave small pouts, Midoriya’s deeper.

“It’s…” Midoriya’s lips pressed tightly together as his free hand gestured wildly, trying to grab at the right words. “Well, I guess it’s more like the novelty or the experience of it?” His cheeks were flaring to life again, a feat that Shouto would never not be impressed that he managed to achieve. Midoriya lightly tugged Shouto towards the store, his wobbly smile showing the embarrassment Shouto assumed he was started to feel.

“Humour me, please?” Midoriya squeaked out.

Shouto chuckled, definitely not needing to ignore the way red cheeks became redder when he did. “Alright, Midoriya. For you, anything.”

Despite saying that, he still wasn’t too keen on the idea, but he’d already crossed the gate to this fluffy, childish hell. He was already inside, already sucking up the pride he held close to him so he could enjoy the afternoon with his boyfriend. Shouto took to gazing at the stuffed toys lining the walls with as much interest as he could muster. His gaze dipped lower at the- he really could only describe them as carcasses- that were in the bins below. It felt oddly morbid.

“So, ah, don’t worry about the price!” He heard Midoriya pipe up. He hadn’t even been thinking about the price- no price was a problem with his father’s income. “Just pick whichever calls out to you.”

Shouto hummed a response, a quick “mhm” as to not disrupt his deep, deep...summoning of interest. All of these toys looked rather...bland. They were simple toys that looked like normal animals. Cats, dogs, the namesake Bears. Shouto strolled down the line, passing up just about every pattern he saw. Was he supposed to feel a connection to...any of..them….

Shouto’s mouth hung open as he stared at the series of twenty or so unique plush toys lining the wall. He was starting to feel like he needed to keep his quirk in check, as to not set half of the establishment on fire or freeze the other half. In theory, this is what Shouto should have expected, seeing as he was going to debut as a Pro Hero right out of U.A.’s gates-- that was assuming he knew about what promoting stores like this did. Nothing could have prepared him to see the patterns that were startlingly similar to his classmate’s aesthetics. Jirou as a gothic bat, Tsuyu as a (quite frankly, adorable) frog, Kirishima as some sort of dog and...Shouto scoffed. He was going to have a field day mocking Bakugou with his chihuahua modeled one.

“Midoriya, did you...see…” Shouto trailed off when he turned to see his boyfriend trying his hardest to not cry. While he had gotten a handle on it in the last two years, Midoriya was still ever the emotional one in their relationship, and that was making itself known as he was- taking photos? Recording?- with his phone.

“Todoroki-kun, these are amazing.” Midoriya choked through his weeping. “Do- do you think we should host a party here for them so they can see???”

Shouto rolled his eyes, smiling at the suggestion. “We could. It isn’t a half bad idea.”

“I’m sending these pictures to everyone- and my instagram, and putting the video on snapchat, and- and-” Midoriya was going on another one of his tangents. Shouto snorted softly. He really did love when Midoriya rattled on about whatever he wanted. Still, maybe he should pick something while Midoriya is distracted, lest he waste more time that could be spent canoodling.

He ends up reaching the end of the selection of stuffed animals, and while the other 3-A themed toys are fun, he still can’t find anything that leaves him enamoured. That’s when he sees it. Rested on the very end of the shelf, sitting perfectly next to a pink bunny that Shouto knows is supposed to be Uraraka, is a cute green bunny. It has plastic orbs for eyes that twinkle a brilliant green, or rather, they’re a chrome with a fluorescent teal. On either cheek, four freckles are embroidered, and even its right hand seems to have a few scars embroidered in. Shouto reaches into the bin, pulling out one of the bunny’s carcasses and inspecting it further. Long and wild strands of black and green top the bunny’s head, and something about it was yelling something about his quirk being his power. He runs his thumb over the bunny’s little cheek, smiling softly to himself. It was a Midoriya bunny.

“Babe, look,” He started, turning to face the boy who’s still babbling to his heart’s content.

Midoriya chokes on whatever topic he had moved onto, staring at just about the right level for his gaze to be meeting the bunny. He flounders for words, his mouth opening and closing in a dumbstruck way while his face gradually turned redder and redder. Shouto could almost see the steam spouting from his ears, and it amused him to no end.

“Are- a-are you- Are you sure you-” Midoriya is stammering, “A-are you sure you want that one?” The crack in Midoriya’s voice in enough to fill Shouto’s heart, and he’s pretty sure he can feel a laugh bubbling in his chest. He hums thoughtfully, holding the stuffingless toy up to his face and inspecting it like he was looking for flaws in its quality.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Shouto supplies, “It’s the cutest,” He feels the edge of his mouth quirk when he hears Midoriya’s squeak, “softest,” Shouto doesn’t dismiss seeing Midoriya’s arms raising to shield his face. He pauses, feigning a look that he was thinking really hard. “Probably the best choice here.”

Shouto can’t help the laugh that rushes through him. Midoriya’s arms are wrapped tightly around his face, which Shouto can still clearly see. He’s beet red, and if he didn’t know Midoriya as well as he did, he’d assume the boy was about to faint. Midoriya’s hands move to his cheek, and drag down his face dramatically, making another laugh bubble out of Shouto.

“You’re so not fair, Todoroki-kun.” Midoriya whines.

“What isn’t fair is how cute you are.” Shouto shoots back, slipping his fingers between knobby knuckles and squeezing. He catches the adorable pout Midoriya has, smirking in playful defiance. It’s more than wiped off his face, and he most definitely has to keep himself from throwing flames all over the store again when Midoriya sneaks a peck on his lips.

“Come on, cheater,” Midoriya snickers. He starts pulling Shouto towards a machine that is definitely not reminiscent of a meat grinder, but stops suddenly. “If…” The pause is awkward, longer than it really needs to be. Shouto thinks Midoriya is looking past him, but he’s not entirely sure. He only gets a moment to consider the possibilities- insecurity in pda despite being out to everyone who matters?- before Midoriya realizes he didn’t finish talking. “If, ah, you’re ready, that is.”

Shouto huffs. He’ll choose to ignore that, too. “I’m ready, babe.”

Its fine, he convinces himself. That doesn’t stop Shouto from looking behind himself, but when all he finds are the unchosen plush toys, he truly writes it off as nothing. No one has entered the store after them, anyways. He squeezes Midoriya’s hand again, following along as he’s led to the machine proper. He hums thoughtfully as he inspects the machine.

“It feels like if an old toy fell in, its parts would be used as stuffing...” Shouto muses.

“You know, you wouldn’t be the first person to say that!” A female voice chirps. Shouto tenses. He couldn’t believe he forgot there were proper workers at this store, and that it wasn’t just his and his boyfriend’s weird mutual fever dream.

“Was the other person who said that a guy with a big crow’s head?” Midoriya pipes in.

The girl hums loudly as she considers, twirling her neopolitan coloured hair around her finger. “Nope! Why do you ask?”

“Oh! It sounds like something a friend of ours would say, is all.” Midoriya laughs airily, and it’s enough to jumpstart Shouto’s heart again. He couldn’t believe he was getting compared to Tokoyami like this, though. He was pretty close to pulling Midoriya in for a noogie or something when he was, again, hit with the realization that he was in a public place. This wasn’t their dorm room where they could melt into each other’s bodies when the fun was had. A shame, really. He would have really liked to be back at the dorms so he could snuggle into the barrel chest that Midoriya had.

The worker’s chipper voice forcefully blew away the cloud of dreaming Shouto was more than content to get lost in.

“In any case.” The girl- Shouto notes her name tag reads Nozomi- starts, “Welcome future heroes! Is this your first time here?”

Shouto opens his mouth to respond, but Midoriya is more than happy jumping to the frontlines for him. “It’s not my first time here, but it is his!”

Again, Shouto doesn’t really get a chance to speak. He shuts his mouth with an audible click, holding back his grumbling.

“That’s great! If you could hand me your soon to be new friend~” Nozomi’s saying it so peppy that it’s almost draining to hear. However, Shouto complies, handing her the unstuffed bunny and watching as she jams it into the machine’s stuffing spout. He tilts his head back, tuning out the idle chatter between Midoriya and the worker. Maybe now he can tune back into those daydreams now that he was seemingly getting a break from speaking. Where was he, again? Barrel chest, strong arms, warm under the blankets and holding hands until they died. Peaceful and domestic, just how he liked it…

Midoriya jangling Shouto’s arm in real time, though, was surprisingly not the rudest awakening he’s had from his daydreams.

“Todoroki-kun?” Midoriya says softly. It takes him tilting his head in Nozomi’s general direction that Shouto realizes that a small plastic basket filled with hearts is being held out to him. For the umpteenth time, Shouto raises a brow in response. A look of concern flashes across Nozomi’s face, leaving Shouto with his cheeks burning. He stares at them closer, as if an answer will magically appear. Other than how about half of the hearts have the faces of his classmate’s animal faces on them, He’s not sure of their significance.

“I’m guessing you didn’t hear me,” Nozomi nervously says, “You can pick any of them. Whichever is your favourite!”

Shouto opens his mouth, ready to question why in the world he would possibly do that, but he decides against it. Maybe it’s high time he just cooperates and goes with the flow of this. Shouto nods in acknowledgement, and rummages through the basket. A part of him is looking for the green heart he knows would match the bunny’s exterior, but another part of him is looking for- Ah. There it is.

He pulls out the heart that looks...somewhat, like him. He’s not sure what the animal is supposed to be, all things considered, but it’s not hard to guess that the dual coloured hair, heterochromatic eyes, and the bright-as-day red scar on the animal’s face is supposed to mimic him. He wonders, if only for a minute, why he didn’t see the toy lining the wall, but he shrugs it off as he hands the heart to the worker. Or, well, he tries to. Nozomi pushes his hand (and the heart) back to him, smiling in a wobbly way, not unlike the love of his life did. Odd.

“Before you hand that to me, don’t you want to make a wish?” Nozomi asks him. Shouto gives Midoriya a wary glance, but the green haired boy only nods. Shouto pouts, but mirrors the movement to Nozomi.

“Sure, if I have to.”

“Great! Make a wish at the heart, and then give it a little kiss!”

Shouto’s heart drops. She wanted him to- to-- “Give it a what?”

“You know, a little kiss. A little,” Nozomi kisses her hand, blowing it off into the air. Shouto’s gaze follows where the kiss could have gone- suspiciously towards Midoriya. He presses his lips into a flat line, studying her face for any signs of her just trying to get him to do something ridiculous. He can’t find anything, and Midoriya doesn’t seem to be thinking it’s weird. If anything, He’s squeezing Shouto’s hand reassuringly.

“I...I know what a kiss is,” Shouto starts warily, “but, why do I need to do this?” He can practically smell the smoke wafting off of him in his embarrassment.

“Weeeeellll~” Nozomi starts, but Midoriya decides now is the perfect time to chime in.

“You make the wish on the heart so that the little guy will have an aspiration,” He starts, but as he continues his face is getting redder, “A-and then you seal it with the kiss so it’s full of love.” He puts his arms behind his head, the way Shouto knows means that he feels as awkward as Shouto does right now. “You know, metaphorical stuff!”

Nozomi hums in appreciation, worming her way back into Shouto’s view. He’s starting to think he won’t be able to look at Neopolitan ice cream without being annoyed anymore.

“He knows his stuff~” She cooes, and a part of Shouto is tempted to pull Midoriya behind him. He can practically hear the heart emojis in her voice. While he’s largely still quinting at Nozomi like the skeptic he is, the way Midoriya’s thumb is stroking his hand is comforting enough. He groans, loudly, like he would if he were in the dorms and venting about the world.

“Fine.” He grumbles. He stares at the heart, at the mimicry of his face that’s sewn into it, and makes the grandest wish he can think of. He doesn’t bother keeping it in character, because if he’s going to be forced to make a wish, it’s going to be his biggest wish, god damnit. He hesitates when it comes to kissing it, but he gives it that kiss with the bravado he vaguely remembers having when he first kissed Midoriya. Just with much less tongue and much less time with it actually sitting on his lips.

Nozomi has a light blush dusting her brown skin, and so does Midoriya. Shouto presses his lips into a tight line, staring at the two of them as what he did sinks in. A shaking hand holds the heart out to Nozomi, who takes it gingerly and puts it into the stuffed bunny. Did he just embarrass himself more than if he just complied?

Yes, he decides. Yes, he most definitely fucking did.

Shouto puts his right hand over his face, actively trying to freeze the blush away as he watches Nozomi sew up the back of the stuffed toy. He can at least appreciate the small victory that was not having to embarrass himself further by fucking up the stitching. He’s handed the bunny back, stiffly in a way he wouldn’t expect from the girl he was hearing emojis from moments earlier. He holds it tightly to his chest, turning towards where ever was far from there.

“Don’t forget to pick out some clothes!” Shouto can hear Nozomi cry out as he walks away, but he is not dignifying it with any sort of response. He is a grown, seventeen year old man who isn’t going to embarrass himself more in front of her. He thinks he can hear Midoriya apologizing to her, but he hopes that much is his imagination.

“She- uh- She seems nice!” Midoriya chimes, his cheeks flushed. Shouto suddenly has an immense sympathy for Midoriya- having your face flare up this many times in a short window was exhausting.

“Yes, she does, but if I could go the rest of my life without seeing her it’d be a blessing.” He grimaces. Midoriya laughs nervously, leaving Shouto feeling like trying to recede back into himself is the best idea he’s ever had.

Instead, Shouto settles on thumbing through the tiny outfits hanging on their own racks. A part of him felt like he was shopping through a baby clothing aisle, more-so when he pulled out the tiny Hero Deku outfit that was hung conveniently beside a Hero Shouto suit. He idly wonders if he should buy his own hero costume for the bunny. It was already cute when Midoriya wore his clothes, maybe it would have the same effect--

“If it makes you feel any better, you handled that better than you did when Occhan tried making us play seven minutes in heaven.” Midoriya chortles.

The snort that’s ripped out of Shouto nearly makes him knock about five cardboard hangers to the floor. He shoots Midoriya an accusing glance, but Midoriya just sticks his tongue out at Shouto. He steals a kiss as a retort.

“That’s because we weren’t out to everyone yet.”

“I was out to her, and like, all of 3-A!” Midoriya shoots back.

“Okay, because I wasn’t out to her yet.” Shouto amends, rolling his eyes. “Who knew she was strong enough to carry us both into the closet.”

“God, yeah.” Midoriya says, his eyes wide at the memory. But his expression softens as he looks at Shouto, and Shouto is quickly reminded how in love he is with this boy. “But look at you now! Fighting Enji with our inherent gayness.” Midoriya laughs, and Shouto does too.

Even after it’s said and done, Shouto can’t wipe the smile from his face. The fact that he could really even say that he was dating Izuku Midoriya was enough to leave Shouto relaxing in the warmth. He was glad Midoriya somehow always knew what to say.

“I love you.” He says, hoping that all of what he felt was conveyed in those three words.

He thinks so, because Midoriya beams. He even tiptoes to peck Shouto’s lips. “I love you too!”

Content, Shouto starts pulling a few more outfits from the small racks, debating internally which felt more like the clothes he often found Midoriya lounging around in. Maybe he could come back on his own time for the boyfriend clothes. Every so often, in his search for the most Midoriya-styled clothing, Shouto catches Midoriya staring wistfully into space. It’s not an uncommon sight, far from it, but it leaves Shouto like the cat that was killed by curiosity. He stares at Midoriya, as he usually does when he catches him staring off, waiting for him to take notice. It was sort of a fun game he’d made out of it, because his reward would be a flushed Midoriya.

Almost as if on cue, Midoriya snapped from his thoughts immediately, studying the way Shouto was staring at him. Shouto almost pouted. There weren’t any red cheeks this time.

“Something up?” He asks.

“Nothing, really. Why do you ask?”

“Well you were focusing really hard on nothing. I could practically see the math equations floating by your head.”

Midoriya chokes on a confused noise, before melting into a fit of laughing. Shouto’s heart soars.

“That meme is like two years old now, babe.” Midoriya says, lightly elbowing Shouto.

“It still made you laugh, so it’s still relevant~” He defends, “But, seriously. Is something wrong?”

“Really, nothing’s wrong!” Midoriya says, but the way his cheeks are slowly filling in with red is betraying him. Shouto’s brows raise, and he circles his hand to let Midoriya know it’s okay to keep going. “I guess-” Midoriya hesitates, pressing his lips into a line before pushing forward. “I guess I’m just a little caught up on the bunny? A-and the heart choice... Over thinking, I guess? Not that you chose wrong! God, no, I’m very flattered, but-”

Shouto tilts Midoriya’s head up, and kisses him then and there. He holds Midoriya there until he can feel the tension melt from tight shoulders, and can feel the sigh of relief brush past his face. It’s with only a little bit of reluctance that he pulls away, smiling down at Midoriya.

“I chose it because it reminds me of you.” He says softly, “Now I’ll have you close even when we aren’t.”

Midoriya’s face is red from his hairline down to his neck. That sympathy Shouto felt before about it being exhausting appears in the back of his mind, but he has to excuse it. Seeing Midoriya was too endearing.

“A-and-- and the-- the heart?” Midoriya stutters.

“It was the first one I liked?” Shouto offers. Midoriya pouts skeptically. Of course he wouldn’t get away with it that easily. Shouto sighs. “Alright, you caught me.” He holds the Deku bunny in a way that allows him to put the toy’s paw over where its heart would be. “It’s because now I’ll always be in little you’s heart.”

He watches Midoriya’s face, watches as Midoriya contemplates if he’s joking or not. Apparently, he found the answer he was looking for, because he ends up pulling Shouto into a tight hug. Shouto hugs him back, contesting him with a tighter squeeze. Shouto can feel Midoriya pressing his face into his shoulder, and he can feel Midoriya’s groaning under his hands.

“How can you say those kinds of things while still looking calm and collected?” Midoriya asks, exasperated. He pulls away, pressing his scarred hand over his cheeks. “You’re really gonna cause me an early death Todoroki-kun.”

“I sure hope I dont,” Shouto starts, leaning in far enough that his forehead meets Midoriya’s. “Who will I love with all my heart if you die?”

Midoriya’s eyes widen, and he inhales sharply before tilting his head and kissing Shouto again. This time, it’s deeper than the last, and Shouto has no problems keeping his arms snaked around Midoriya’s waist. He thinks he can hear someone’s (Nozomi’s…?) camera shutter, but he ignores it. All he wants to think about are the plush lips that are on his, and focus on not slipping tongue in. That’s awfully hard to do when he feels Midoriya’s tongue swipe across his lower lip. Shouto pulls away, needing to ignore the way his heart is squeezed when Midoriya’s face has the ghost of a frown on it.

“We’ll continue that later,” He assures, kissing Midoriya quickly for good measure.

“Fiiiiine.” Midoriya drones. “Promise?”

“As if I need to promise.”

The look Midoriya tosses him borders on offended.

“Okay, yes, I promise.” Shouto chuckles. “Let’s get mini you dressed, yeah?”

“Lets!” Midoriya says enthusiastically, rummaging through the miniature racks with more vigor. “Maybe they still have the all might pajamas that Mighty Junior has…”

“Mighty who~?” Shouto teases. Midoriya elbows him. It almost knocks the wind out of him

“You’re such an ass.”

-------------

The two of them end up settling on only three outfits. The Hero Deku costume from earlier, something not unlike the outfit Midoriya was wearing now, and the all might pajamas Midoriya had mentioned. He was surprised they were still in stock, but something in the way Midoriya had gotten antsy at the mention of it suggested that they were a recent purchase.

They end up meeting with Nozomi again because Midoriya insists that the toy needs to be pretend bathed and blow dried, only that time, Shouto resorts to staying silent and letting Midoriya handle everything. He may have gone along with the motions when Midoriya held his hand for it, but it didn’t mean he wanted to.

Regardless, by the end of it Shouto starts to make a beeline towards the register, thoroughly beat from this emotionally draining day. Midoriya, however, pulls him back by the arm. At Shouto’s confused look, Midoriya begins to explain- or, tries to. He opens his mouth, and then his expression screws up in deep thought.

“It’s...easier if I show you.” He decides, leading Shouto to the child sized computers in the corner of the shop that he somehow missed. Shouto looks at him in disbelief, but Midoriya is giving him puppy-dog eyes and he honestly can’t deny anything when he’s given those looks. Shouto squints at the prompt on the screen.

“Midoriya…”

“We have to give him a name, you know?” Midoriya tries.

“We have to...name him.” Shouto says flatly.

“Well, yeah!” Midoriya laughs nervously, “I mean, you wouldn’t have a kid without a name, right?”

“But this isn’t my kid..? It’s you--”

Midoriya is really upping the ante with his puppy-dog eyes. Shouto tries to resist it, he really gives it a good college try, but he’s no match. Midoriya wins. Shouto grumbles and rolls his eyes in what can only be described as exaggerated.

“You are so lucky I love you,” He says, kissing Midoriya on the cheek.

“Don’t I know it~ Sit down.”

They end up both sitting at a computer- the store isn’t busy enough to warrant one of them standing. Shouto stares at the colourful keyboard in front of him for a while, really deliberating on what name he could even use. This isn’t like when he was picking his hero name, where he knew he wanted to be dissociated from the Todoroki name entirely. This was something he couldn’t really name since it was supposed to be Midoriya, and he didn’t just want to flat out name it Midoriya. That would probably be weird.

Maybe...Maybe this won’t be as weird, he decides. He types out the name, and carefully watches Midoriya’s reaction.

He thinks he can hear Midoriya’s soul leaving his body, what with the way he’s squeaking endlessly. Midoriya rubs his eyes, as if he’s imagining what he’s seeing, and when the result very clearly doesn’t change, he looks at Shouto in disbelief.

“Deku?” Midoriya asks softly, “You’re naming him Deku, right?”

“I mean, that is one way to read it,” Shouto supplies with a shrug. “I was thinking the other way, though. That is how it’s spelled, isn’t it?”

“Well- well yeah-- b-but--” Midoriya’s hands are squeezing his own cheeks, patting them for good measure. Like it’ll work the blush out of them or something. “Wh...why are you..?”

“Should I not? I mean, it is you, isn’t it?” Shouto’s genuinely confused. He isn’t trying to pull the wool over Midoriya’s eyes. “I thought it was fitting.”

“Are you sure you want to name it Izuku, though?” Midoriya chokes out.

“Yes, Midoriya.” He assures, “I want to call him Izuku.” He conveniently leaves out the part where he’d also fancy calling Midoriya Izuku too.

Shouto pretends to miss that he saw Midoriya stiffen, and then melt through a shudder. Midoriya buries his face in his hands again, muttering away hundreds of words that Shouto can’t catch at all. That’s alright, though. He’s a patient boy. Midoriya ended his rambling with a timid look at Shouto. It’s the kind Shouto hasn’t really seen since their first year sports festival, and it leaves him feeling like he did something really wrong.

“I can change it if it’s uncomfortable to you.” He suggests, but Midoriya’s eyes widen.

“No! No, it’s-- it’s fine, honest. Can you-- Can you do me a favour and wait here? I’ll- I’ll be right back just- just don’t move. Please?”

Shouto hesitates in responding. Either he really did fuck up big time, or Midoriya is going to call Uraraka and ask for advice. Either way spells trouble in his heart, but his logical brain is trying its best to put out the fire. He nods slowly, propping his chin up on the desk with his arm.

“Yeah, yeah. Take your time. I’ll be...I’ll be here.” He says at last. Midoriya holds his hands up as he walks backwards, saying stuff how it’ll really only take a few minutes probably and just please stay there. Shouto shoos him off with his best smile- or, tries to. When he does, Midoriya whips around too fast and crashes into one of the miniature clothing racks before dashing back to the front of the store.

When Midoriya is out of sight, Shouto glares at the offending computer that his brilliant idea sits on. Of course it was a mistake. He thought he was being cute and giving himself a way to indulge in using Izuku’s given name even if the other hadn’t made it explicitly clear they were on that level. Maybe he should have just played along that he was reading it as Deku rather than Izuku. Hindsight is always 20/20, afterall. Shouto is tempted to burn or freeze the machine, but he doesn’t want to explain to his old man why he has to pay a fine for property damage.

Maybe he should have just asked Midoriya if he could call him Izuku, or offer up to him calling him Shouto to open him up to the idea. That probably would have been smarter than Oh, yeah, I’m gonna name this stuffed toy You Izuku, isn’t that fun?

Shouto rests his forehead down on the desk that’s level with his knees, running his hands through his hair and messing up the part. He groans into the yellow painted wood, each second passing only leaving him more furiously messing his hair and more furious at himself. He’s created a mantra of self loathing and discipline by the time he feels someone tap his shoulder. He doesn’t bother righting his expression, having fully expected Nozomi or one of her coworkers, but standing before him is Izuku.

His anger dissipates for the most part, and his expression softens. He’s confused by the way Midoriya isn’t looking him in the eye, but when he gaze travels lower, he suddenly feels incredibly silly.

In Midoriya’s arms is what he thinks is a snow leopard, dotted in red and blue spots. The hair is some wooly material in white and red, split evenly down the middle, and the patch of pink on its face is embroidered around the edge. Its heterochromatic eyes are staring back at him with mild disinterest, and on its face is an embroidered frown.

“It’s me.” He says simply. Staring at the toy bug-eyed, like an idiot.

“It’s you…” Midoriya replies.

Shouto can’t call what he feels on his face to be anything less than blushing. He feels like he’s actually on fire, but he can’t smell smoke, and the smoke alarm isn’t going off, so he assumes that for once it’s just internal. He completely forgets that he has a quirk that can fix how warm he’s feeling and how red his flushed cheeks look.

It really is a mini him. Is this how Izuku felt the whole time?

“It’s...me.” He repeats.

“Is- is it weird???” Midoriya asks quickly, looking at the toy like he just committed the biggest crime. That on its own is enough to break Shouto’s heart.

“No- god, no! If I said it was weird then I’d be a massive hypocrite.” Shouto is struggling to keep down his laughter. Each word he speaks almost send him doubling over into a giggle fit. “That’s...that’s actually really adorable.”

“It is?” Midoriya asks, in stark disbelief. Shouto runs his hand through his hair, nodding.

“Yeah. Yeah, it really is. Now Izuku has his boyfriend, too.” Shouto says in a breathy laugh. Midoriya’s cheeks burn to match Shouto’s, which, he decides is fair.

“I guess he does, huh..! Let’s, uh-” Midoriya is starting to giggle, too. “If you’re ready, we can go now! To the register, and then home, I mean, you know?”

“Yeah, sure, just-” Shouto pauses. He stares at the small computer, and the still offensive name that sits in the prompt. Shouto presses the button for the “birth certificate” to be printed, and then he turns to Midoriya like the villain in a cheesy film.

“You haven’t named him.” He says with a smirk. Midoriya’s brows knit together, and he pouts again. Shouto doesn’t budge.

“Give me a second.” Midoriya sighs, sitting at the computer and thinking about it for only a second before he types- he, he types…

“Shouto?” Shouto asks in disbelief. God, Midoriya really was playing the payback game, wasn’t he. “You’re sure about that.”

“It’s fitting.” That little… Shouto was going to get some serious payback as soon as they were alone in the dorms. “It’d be nice to call you Shouto, don’t you think?”

Shouto freezes. Was...was Midoriya talking to--

No, no he wasn’t. He tries not feeling as disappointed when he does when he sees Midoriya looking at the leopard, but it’s really difficult. Hearing his given name on Midoriya’s tongue is the blessing disguised as a curse. Shouto frowns deeply, trying to not feel jealous of a stuffed toy and failing miserably- especially when Midoriya send the birth certificate off to be printed out.

“You’re the one who’s unfair, Midoriya.” Shouto grumbles. Midoriya whips his head to face him

“What?”

“I said you’re the one who’s unfair.” He repeats, leaning in to steal another deep kiss, despite the short chairs they’re both sitting in. He thinks that the stuffed animals are being squished between them, since he can feel something that isn’t either of Midoriya’s hands pressing against his chest, but he doesn’t care. Even when he pulls away to just stare at Midoriya lovingly, he doesn’t mind it.

Shouto presses his forehead against Midoriya’s, first putting Izuku on the desk beside him before entangling his fingers with Midoriya’s.

“I love you, so much.” He says simply.

“I love you too, Todoroki-kun”

Shouto tries ignoring how now that he’s heard his name in Midoriya’s voice, he doesn’t want to stop. He would correct Midoriya, but he doesn’t feel like having that conversation in this place because Shouto knows for sure that once it’s said and done, he’s going to want to destroy Midoriya for about the following hour with no interruptions. He can’t exactly do that here.

“Come on, let’s get out of here, yeah?” He suggests. He can feel Midoriya nod in agreement, so he stands, refusing to let go of Midoriya’s hand this time.

He pulls Midoriya and the mini-them’s to the register. Despite Midoriya’s loud and insistent protesting, he pays for all of it with his old man’s credit card, because, “It works just fine.” Shouto even allows himself to be impressed with the attention to detail in the take home packaging. The house shaped boxes, and the charming birth certificates that are put in with the clothes and the toys themselves.

As they’re exiting the store, fully in love and nearly complete with their impromptu date, Midoriya stops walking all of a sudden. Shouto raises a brow, closing the distance between them back up.

“So, this is going to sound weird…” Midoriya begins.

“I don’t think anything you say is weird-”

“Okay, but hear me out,” He presses on, “Could I...could I take a picture of us with...well, with us?”

Shouto tilts his head from side to side, considering it. He knew if he said yes, the pictures would probably be posted to Midoriya’s social medias. He figured he didn’t mind that, it would just cement to the rest of the world how head over heels they were. Instead of giving a proper response, he leads Midoriya to the nearest mall bench, taking the lead on unboxing the stuffed toys. Midoriya follows suit, smiling warmly to himself and Shouto for the second time that day can not believe he has this angel as his boyfriend.

Midoriya fumbles with his phone for a few seconds, holding it out and scooting up to Shouto until their thighs are flush against each other. He holds “Shouto” tightly to his chest, and Shouto himself holds “Izuku”.

“Say cheese, babe.” Midoriya says, but Shouto’s fairly sure he isn’t actually expecting the word. It’s been too many times he’s flat out denied saying it for him to really expect it. Still, Shouto grins deviously, and as the photo is being taken, he turns his head to give Midoriya a kiss on the cheek.

The camera shutters in time with Midoriya’s gasp, leaving a picture that Shouto will be asking for later to set as his lock screen.

“You are the biggest cheater ever, Todoroki Shouto!” Midoriya cries out. Shouto slips another kiss in, earning the most offended noise he’s ever heard.

“It’s called opportunistic, love~” He cooes. Shouto is only attacked with more kisses from his boyfriend in response, not that he’s complaining. He’s quite content being smothered in love by Midoriya, actually.

Shouto steals a few more pictures while his heart is being sent to orbit, and Midoriya insists on some couples themed photos of the stuffed animal thems before either of them feel like leaving the mall.

-------------

By the time they get back to the dorms, the sun has long since started setting, and their toys are left securely in their carrier boxes. They only get a few glances from their more subdued classmates, but Kirishima, Uraraka and Ashido are on their tails the second they reach the common room.

“How was your date?” Ashido shouts, tripping over the couch in her haste to bombard them with questions.

“Where did you go?” Uraraka chimes in.

“Did you spend half the time making out in the corner again~?” Kirishima taunts.

That last one makes Shouto wheeze, and he tries desperately to hide it in coughing. By now, he figures everyone knows that when he holds his right hand to his face, it means he’s really dying, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to stop doing it.

It seemed Midoriya was in a similar predicament, stammering on his words while the giant of a red head keeps pressing on the subject. Shouto thinks he can hear an incredibly detailed recount of the roller rink group date, but his heart is too busy running a marathon for him to be completely sure.

“We- we uhm- we went to- we just went to- to the mall, honest!!!” Midoriya stutters out. “I...I got Shouto a build-a-bear?”

The entire room goes silent.

For a second, Shouto thinks it’s because Midoriya mentioned the build a bear, but as he plays the sentence over in his head, his eyes widen and he thinks he can smell smoking wafting from somewhere. Ashido, Uraraka and Kirishima all share a look, slowly turning back to Midoriya- who still didn’t seem to realize just what he’d said.

“Shouto?” All three ask in unison.

Midoriya opens his mouth to ask something in response, but he closes it with an audible click. He swallows throatily, shakily turning to face Shouto. Quite frankly, though, Shouto’s not in much better shape. He’s pretty sure he’s actually on fire.

“Oi, Ochako-chan, go get water to cool Todoroki off!” Kirishima shouts, and Uraraka zips to the kitchen. Ashido leans in suffocatingly close to the two of them, flashing them sly looks and a face Shouto could only describe as the cat emote.

“First name basis~?” She coos, “What happened at the mall~?”

Surprisingly, that is what snaps Shouto out of it. He gets a handle on his quirk- not without needing to pat away the fire that’s singeing his shirt. He actively makes sure there’s a layer of cold over his right side, something to keep himself and Midoriya grounded. Shouto presses his freezing hand against Midoriya’s neck, making the green haired boy yelp and look at him accusingly.

Shouto cocks his head in Ashido’s direction, pleading as hard as he can for Midoriya to help, fix this. Midoriya whines, especially when Uraraka comes back, pouting with a glass of water.

“Its- We’re not- I mean I didn’t-” Midoriya flounders for the right way to start. Quite frankly, Shouto would like an explanation too.

Midoriya grips Shouto’s wrist, and starts pulling him out of the room with a little bit of help from One for All. “We’re gonna have a party there next week and Kacchan has a chihuahua for his toy!!!” He blurts out, full on dashing up the stairs to his dorm room. Shouto is being pulled along mercilessly, and he’s incredibly glad he isn’t downstairs where he can hear Bakugou screaming about if “that useless deku wants to start a fucking fight”.

Midoriya slams the door behind them, hard enough that Shouto thinks he hears splintering. Midoriya leans against the door, sliding down until he hits the ground with a soft thump. Shouto sits next to him in solidarity, nudging the groaning boy with an elbow. Midoriya peeks through his fingers, groaning loudly and throwing his head back.

“I said it out loud.” He says simply. Shouto almost asks what out of courtesy, but Midoriya continues. “I said your name, in reference to you, out loud. To Mina-chan, Occhan and Eijirou-kun.”

“Well, yes…But you call all of them by their given names already-”

“But that’s different!” Midoriya cries out, burying his face in his arms. “Aren’t you upset? That I said it without asking?”

Shouto bites his lip. “Not...particularly.” He mumbles.

“So that means you were a little bit.” Midoriya groans. “You were on fire again, Todoroki-kun--”

“Shouto.”

Midoriya freezes. Shouto is pressing his lips into a tight line again, nervousness ready to boil out of him. He meets vibrant green eyes with his own, and can see the utter disbelief within them.

“What..?” Midoriya asks softly

“Shouto,” He repeats, “I...I want you to call me Shouto, Midoriya…”

“Then…” He can see the gears turning in Midoriya’s head. “What happened in the mall was..?”

Shouto looks away, trying to hide his blush beneath his chilly hand. He nods stiffly.

“Then..!” Shouto can hear Midoriya moving around, he can feel strong, callused hands trying to pull his face to look. “Then you can-!”

Shouto turns his head, and vibrant green eyes are so close, close enough that he could count at the freckles that sit below them. He stares back, trying his best to not look down at the lips that are only a small pull away. Midoriya tries the same, but fails, and Shouto’s breath hitches at the sight. Even after all this time, Midoriya could still get him feeling like a shoujo manga protagonist or something.

“You can call me Izuku…” Midoriya- Izuku, his brain corrects gleefully- says. Shouto inhales sharply.

“Izuku,” He tests. He likes it, a lot. He thinks Izuku does too, because a smile stretches across his face. It’s so bright, it rivals the sun.

“Shouto…” God. That sounds just right, too.

“I love you Izuku,”

“I love you so much, Shouto”

They both break into a giggling fit. Their foreheads bump when Shouto tries to lean in and kiss Izuku, so they start laughing more.

Shouto never knew the power of a name before, but now that he’s had a taste, he doesn’t know why they weren’t just using each other’s names earlier.

-------------

Later that evening, Shouto and Izuku find themselves sitting in the common rooms again. Everyone has long since retired to their dorm rooms- whether that was because they didn’t want to be intruding on his and Izuku’s moment was yet to be decided. The only company they have in the room are the stuffed toy version of themselves, sitting on the coffee table and propping each other up in a way that makes it look like they’re watching the t.v.

Shouto is stretched like a cat across Izuku’s frame as they lay on the couch, and Izuku’s arms are wrapped snugly around him. He thinks some hero movie is playing, but he stopped paying attention to it a long time ago. All he really cared about was how head over heels he was for Izuku, and how he had made a mantra out of his name over the past few hours.

“Izuku~” He coos, snuggling into Izuku’s chest.It had been like that the entire evening. Ever since they gave each other the okay to use their names, they’d been going back and forth, murmuring it to each other like sweet nothings.

“I love you too, Shouto.” Izuku chuckles. Shouto would never admit out loud that he loves that he can feel Izuku’s vibrating laughter. Still, he thinks that he’s absolutely content. He even thinks he might be able to fall asleep here and not worry about Aizawa threatening to expel them tomorrow. He’d be more than happy to, if he has Izuku to hold through the night. His fire half could keep them warm.

“Hey, Shou?” Izuku prompts. The shortening of his name isn’t lost on Shouto- if anything, it makes his heart flutter.

“Yeah?” He responds, pulling his arms up so he can rest his chin on them and actually look at Izuku.

“Thank you for going along with everything today.” He says in earnest, smiling softly.

Shouto quirks his brow, letting every bit of confusion seep onto his face. “What do you mean?”

“I guess, tolerating going through the store and everything? I know that doing stuff like that isn’t what you’d prefer, especially with what happened with that worker…” He trails off, a frown almost tainting his beautiful, sun kissed face. Shouto opens his mouth, but he’s very quickly cut off by Izuku amending his previous statement. “I mean, I guess I just- I really wanted to be the one who would give you your first stuffed animal, you know? I figured going there would make it special, but I didn’t expect it for it to go like that, i guess. Maybe some people interested because of our high ranking in the sports festival this year, but never, never-”

It’s routine that Shouto needs to cut off Izuku’s routine, self deprecating tangents. As usual, Izuku makes a surprised noise, but the tenseness in his body melts away. It isn’t until Shouto feels the sigh of relief that he pulls away.

“I wouldn’t have gone along with it if I didn’t want to, Izuku.” Shouto assures with a smile.

“But-”

“If this is honesty hour, it was actually kind of fun. Probably because I had you by my side.”

Izuku opens his mouth, ready to protest more, but he closes it. Shouto would like to think that he thought it was a losing battle, because Izuku just tried to pout. It didn’t even last long, melting into a wobbly smile.

“Still, thank you.” He finally says.

“Thank you for taking me out today. And for giving me you,” Shouto says softly. “Bunny and real you, that is.”

Izuku snorts into a laughing fit. It’s music to Shouto’s ears.

They stay there for a while, enjoying each other’s company as they’re in their own world. They exchange short but loving kisses through the next hour, and it isn’t until Bakugou comes downstairs for water that they’re forced to leave the common rooms. His vehement screaming about how gross their PDA was would wake everyone else up, and the explosions popping off his hands were empty threats that Shouto and Izuku still ran from for the fun of it.

Little did they realize they left the stuffed animals out on the common room table for the whole class to find the next morning.

No one really moved them or harmed them, but Shouto and Izuku did get a few comments about how the stuffed animals needed to get a room.

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