Nail Polish - todokami

Chapter 1 (Remastered 2024)

Staring at Kaminari from the back of class was a frequent hobby of Todoroki's. He wasn't too bothered about missing out on valuable lesson time, he could always catch up on his maths and English later with Midoriya or Iida. He often found himself watching the back of his head, that mess of yellow hair, and he would meticulously scan over his features when he'd turn to talk to one of their other classmates. When they first met earlier in the year, his eyes had been a particular issue for Todoroki - they were a bright, rich golden that matched his hair and his colourful demeanour. He couldn't stop himself falling into them.

Not to mention his quirk, by God he was powerful. The thought made Todoroki scrunch up his nose in disgust. It wasn't right to be attracted to someone based solely off their appearance and power, it was shallow and stupid. That being said, Kaminari's personality was nothing to be put off by. He was kind, funny and charming, and though they seemed polar opposites, Todoroki found him rather endearing.

As he sat at the back of English, the sound of his own thoughts drowning out Present Mic, his attention was focused on one thing. Kaminari chewed on the end of his pencil in concentration, unaware that he was being observed, his fingers tap-tapping on the desk while he struggled to remember which order the adjectives went. Todoroki's eyes moved down to look at his nails, which had been painted a pitch black colour, a devious smirk setting on his face as a plan hatched in his brain.

Since their first encounter Kaminari's nails had always been a point of interest for Todoroki. Sure he'd seen Fuyumi wearing some on special occasions, weddings, funerals, etc, but had never considered the possibility of a hero wearing it, yet Kaminari's were always painted with a close precision and never left chipped for long. Even after a long day of training, any damage to the polish had disappeared by the next time he saw him. He particularly liked when he painted one nail yellow as an accent colour, or alternated between black and yellow. Todoroki wouldn't even know where to buy the stuff from, though it intrigued him enough to come up with this scheme.

Later that evening, in their free time after dinner, Todoroki managed to talk himself into approaching the blond, who, thankfully, was curled up alone on one of the sofas. He seemed so comfortable he almost felt guilty disturbing him.

"Kaminari," he said, perhaps a little too bluntly. The boy looked up at Todoroki, tearing his eyes away from his phone screen.

"Hey man, what's up?" He asked, his face lighting up with his usual cheeriness.

"I was wondering," he mumbled out, still stood frozen in exactly the same position, "if you could help me with something."

Kaminari's expression morphed into one of mild confusion, "sure, but what is it?"

It wasn't too late to back out, he thought to himself, waiting for his brain to form a response. Feelings weren't his forte, maybe it was best to just leave the situation alone, and keep pining from a distance until the crush fizzled out and died. "Could you help me paint my nails? Please?"

A bright smile formed on Kaminari's face and an excited glint in his eyes, those eyes, "of course! C'mon!"

In a flash, he'd leapt off the sofa, grabbing Todoroki by the wrist and guiding him to his dorm. He'd seen Kaminari's dorm room before, but the questionable design choices and gaudy mismatched colour scheme still made him wince. For someone with a great sense of fashion, he was far from mastering the art of interior design. He awkwardly sat down on the bed as Kaminari rummaged around his drawers for something.

As far as Todoroki was aware, this was a flawless plan. In getting to spend time with his crush, he'd either get to form a closer relationship with him, or he'd learn more about his personality and his feelings of romance would change. He hoped it was the first one, selfishly for his own sake. The latter would be disappointing, and although avoiding the possibility of heartbreak, anticlimactic. Either way, he got to feel cool for a day or so until the polish chipped off, and Kaminari got the joy of having someone else's nails to paint.