i loved that one shot!!! and now i would for it to have a small continuation with todoroki taking slight advantage of Izuku's accidental confession to bask in his kindness and company and them slowly acknowledging the realm meaning of what izuku said along with what shouto's response meant!!
i informally dub you as warm anon! apologies for such a late response; i thought about how to respond and i really just was going to go small and write snippets of izuku caring and shouto smiling but i think this is my first time ever writing tddk purely for romance without ulterior motives like character study so i think it got out of hand and…characterization .really got away from me
i hope you don’t mind that i made this a prompt fill! this is written especially 4 you my friend so i hope it is satisfying to you on some level!
untitled, 2017“Sorry…but to make sure, Todoroki-kun,” Izuku says, “…likes me, right?”
Todoroki’s mouth opens. And then closes. And then opens again, before he leans back further and crosses his arms over his chest and sighs heavily and says, “Yes. I like you. Midoriya.”
tododeku, bnha, continuation to this!
Maybe Todoroki didn’t think it was a confession, Izuku reasons the next day. After all, he has been conditioned to understand rejection in all aspects, and even if he never gave up on being a hero and it worked out, love is a different matter for someone who used to and still does lack in many areas. Like him.
So Todoroki probably was just advising Izuku to be careful about how lax he was with his words. He accepted that Izuku, strangely, wants to be kind to him. That’s all.
Except that’s not all–good god, now that he’s become aware that he likes Todoroki, this wasn’t even a reality he was prepared to face, or that he knew even existed, and certainly not when a free day followed. Today is going to be great.
Play it cool is his only option. He can do that. Probably. He’s never been cool a day in his life but he has played all sorts of things so that’s fine. He will be kind to Todoroki like Todoroki deserves (a lot), maybe Todoroki will smile at him again like that, and then he will hole himself up in his room and curse himself for getting all worked up, by himself, with himself.
“Todoroki-kun, I thought about it,” Izuku reports faithfully when he passes Todoroki in the hallway, near the lounge area.
“As long as you know,” Todoroki replies. Strangely, it is equal parts comforting and disheartening.
Izuku clears his throat. “Of course!”
Todoroki must see him floundering in his mind, awkwardly, because he offers, “You’re overthinking it.”
“Being kind. And what you said,” Todoroki replies. “Just act like you usually do.”
That confirms it once and for all–Todoroki really didn’t see it as a confession. Izuku sighs.
“Okay,” he says. He shouldnt even be feeling this put-out; it wasn’t even a proper confession after all–completely accidental and he basically rambled about kindness and something about peace and he didn’t even say…the L-word.
“–lunch?” Todoroki says to him.
Something about lunch. Before Todoroki heads to the hospital probably. He wants to have lunch. Izuku mentally claps himself on the back for his deduction.
“Y-Yes,” Izuku stumbles and when Todoroki looks at him knowingly, knowing he got lost in his thoughts again, he flushes and looks away but not before he sees that smile again.
Maybe it won’t be so hard after all.
Actually it’s really hard.
It must be him or that Todoroki sits closer to him at lunch. And Todoroki sits closer to him during their free time, out back behind the dorms on the grass. Todoroki sits closer to him (on his bed, on his bed)when they’re consulting each other briefly on Japanese history. Todoroki leans into his space more. Todoroki helps him pet a cat (suspiciously resembling the previous stray) by guiding his hand with warm, capable fingers, their arms pressed together limb to limb in one long contact point. No one even says anything when they pair up for sparring. No one looks like they’re surprised. Izuku must be imagining things.
And Izuku will probably implode, explode, or both. He was the one who essentially gallantly boasted he would be the kind one here and now Todoroki’s the one pampering him and now Izuku is completely at a loss because wow, one-sided like is kind of painful especially with the recipient doing his own version of doting. But it’s also pretty nice.
He isn’t sure how Todoroki thought he was kind in the first place, really.
Sure, he speaks formally, and he bows really low, and his voice can go pretty quiet. But sometimes he forgets to make his bed, and whenever Kacchan really makes him angry he could probably say a few things, and he runs Recovery Girl thin on patience, and he’s disobeyed Eraserhead multiple times, and All Might coughs up a lot of blood around him, and he always makes his mom worry and–well, Todoroki’s told him a few times too, how reckless he is. Todoroki’s face kind of changed this one time, recently, after he broke one of his fingers again.
A week after the not-confession:
“I’m not really living up to your expectations, I think,” Izuku mentions, off-handed, laughing nonchalantly. Inwardly, he’s seriously marveling at his personal failures. “I think I’m not as kind as you think I am after all.” What makes a person kind, even?
Todoroki looks up from his English homework and over at him. There are literally three inches separating them on the lounge’s couch. Izuku can feel the warmth radiating from him. Izuku can also feel the heat from the burning unrequited passion of youth. Good thing he’s all set for the coming winter.
“It’s not about being overtly kind,” Todoroki replies. “You’re always quite considerate.” He pauses. “And I didn’t particularly have any expectations.”
“Those things you told me to expect last week,” Todoroki continues, “I assumed they were for granted. Since it’s your disposition.”
That’s…different but probably not better.
“You aren’t disappointed,” Izuku clarifies.
“No,” Todoroki answers. “This is comfortable.” And then, hesitantly, “Are you?”
Disappointed in himself? Or comfortable right now? To the former, sometimes, but Izuku gets the feeling it’s not really about himself–“Am I what?”
“Disappointed,” Todoroki says. “Right now.”
Well, if he could actually gather himself to confess for real, he’d probably have a better time. But right now, just being here with Todoroki is fine too. Todoroki is around him so often now that his heart can’t take it, but he will. Take it, that is. Whatever he can get. And Todoroki reclines against the couch; all of the hard lines have softened in his form, and he breathes so calmly that the air shifts peacefully. So, “No. I could never be disappointed,” Izuku answers, heartfelt.
“I apologize,” Todoroki suddenly says.
Izuku blinks. and then momentarily panics because did he accidentally let something on? It was going so well? Todoroki did say this was comfortable but maybe Izuku has just made it uncomfortable and okay, he’s pretty good at that but he’s also good at apologizing too so–
“I also–apologize,” Izuku says quickly, but Todoroki holds up a hand.
“It has been a week,” Todoroki says, like he’s admitting something. “But on my end, I am new to this, so the protocol for…this sort of thing is not familiar to me. I was assuming you would take initiative like you did before.”
Izuku is so hilariously lost that his textbook slides off his lap and hits the hardwood with a resolute clunk.
“Take…initiative,” he repeats slowly.
“You’re new to this as well,” Todoroki notes.
Certainly, since he has no idea what’s going on.
What’s happening, Izuku thinks. “Todoroki-kun, what’s happening?” he repeats out loud.
“I’m embarrassing you again,” Todoroki sighs.
“No, I’m just…lost,” Izuku says. “I don’t really understand.” And the way Todoroki is frowning is painful; it’s a different kind of frown that is even more vulnerable, a frown specific to Izuku this time, he put that there, so he definitely has to fix it now. “I…think that you don’t have to be so troubled, Todoroki-kun.”
When the frown deepens, Izuku’s distance to panic mode decrements.
He mutters, “I’m really…bad at this.”
Todoroki grimaces. “I’m worse.”
“You’re not!” Izuku protests, immediately, and surprise flickers across Todoroki’s face. “Todoroki-kun, don’t look so troubled, really.”
He reaches out instinctively. Todoroki just said ‘I’m worse’ and if being kind was Izuku’s intention then he’s completely screwed up, and being as lost as he is currently is probably even more upsetting, so he clasps Todoroki’s shoulder, and he says, up close, confident, but also bullshitting, “I think being comfortable is more important. Whether it was last week or two weeks ago, you should…find your footing first.” Whatever it is. Izuku can also back off– “I can also–”
“Midoriya,” a soft sigh interrupts. “There you go again. Being kind.”
Wow, was Todoroki this close before? His right eye is grey like a maelstrom on the sea. And his left eye is startlingly blue like the sky and Izuku could probably count the flecks of light like clouds in them. And the lines of his scar have a story that only Izuku knows, and Todoroki isn’t angling that side of him away, and–
“Th-This isn’t even being–” Izuku splutters, but doesn’t finish.
Because Todoroki leans forward. and. kisses. him.
His brain does not short-circuit. In fact, it goes into overdrive. The brain controls blood flow, right? Well, thanks to his medulla, his face has enough blood to rival a blood bank. Todoroki is kissing him. Todoroki’s mouth is also very soft. And it is not half cold and half hot like he expected. It is warm. A very good temperature. And their noses are brushing and also as expected, Todoroki’s nose is not only shaped nicely up close and far away, but the feel of it against his own is also very nice. And Izuku should start kissing back around now. So he does. He presses forward experimentally because wow, maybe he misread this past week after all. So it was a confession that Todoroki accepted. So…they’re an item? So that means Todoroki really was sitting closer to him all those times and intentionally partnering up with him for sparring more often? But no one was surprised? That is an outlier and wow, okay, this change in angle is also an outlier, Todoroki said he was new to this but he just expertly deepened the kiss so what is really the truth–?
“Midoriya,” Todoroki says, ending the kiss, catching his breath, wiping his mouth. A mouth housing a tongue that was previously in Izuku’s own mouth, Izuku belatedly realizes.
Lewdly, a string of saliva breaks between them. His first kiss was not closed-mouth and chaste with his first love like he expected. (It was actually with his first All Might figurine anyway.)
“Yes,” Izuku answers breathlessly.
“You were…” Todoroki furrows his brow–and then he laughs. “You mumble.”
His laugh is like music. Maybe it could play at Izuku’s funeral.
“Sorry…but to make sure, Todoroki-kun,” Izuku says, “…likes me, right?”
Todoroki’s mouth opens. And then closes. And then opens again, before he leans back further and crosses his arms over his chest and sighs heavily and says, “Yes. I like you. Midoriya.”
Hero analysis for the future. Izuku needs to work on that. Seriously.
“I like you too,” Izuku returns quickly, and Todoroki shifts in pose, almost like he’s embarrassed, even if his face doesn’t show it.
“A lot,” Izuku adds, and Todoroki grimaces. Or that’s a smile. Izuku will treasure it either way.
“Glad that we’re on the same page then,” Todoroki finally says, even though Izuku only finally flipped to it ten seconds ago.
“Me too,” Izuku says. Todoroki probably doesn’t understand just how glad he is. He almost lived his entire life thinking his first successful love was actually unrequited.
“…Dinner then?” Izuku asks.
Todoroki smiles again. “Okay.”
This one is for Izuku only.
“Usually, most of them are,” Todoroki says.
Oh, he said that out loud.
