Day One
Theme: Warmth
Title from Troye Sivan's HEAVEN.
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"To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. To just give. That takes courage, because we don't want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt." -- Madonna
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At two in the morning, Shouto sat on the floor next to his bed, fingers laced together behind his neck so his arms could act as blinders to his surroundings.
He'd had another nightmare about rough hands grabbing at his arms and pulling on his hair and making sure his small body never stopped constantly aching.
Only recently had the dorms turned on the heater due to the dropping temperature, and the extra heat in his room made him feel as if he was suffocating. He was quick to grab the simple gray hoodie that was hanging off his desk chair and slip on a pair of black slides that contrasted with his white socks.
It wasn't long until Shouto found himself outside, but he wasn't the only one with the idea for fresh air. He knew the person was Izuku from his unkempt curly forest green hair. But he didn't know why the shorter boy was sitting outside in the crisp fall air without so much as a jacket, shivering.
"Midoriya?" Shouto whispers as if talking louder would scare Izuku away.
Izuku's trembling shoulders stiffen and he hesitantly turns to face Shouto, and the taller boy can't help the slight widening of his heterochromatic eyes as he takes in Izuku's appearance. He has terrible purple eyebags resting under his red-rimmed eyes, nose flushed pink from the cold, and tear stains painting his freckled cheeks.
"What're you doing out here, Todoroki?" Izuku punctuates the sentence with a sniffle, words quavering.
Now Shouto had never been good at comforting people because he's never come across a person whose needed consoling, but this was Izuku and he never wanted to see Izuku without a smile on his face.
"Never mind that, look at you." Shouto quickly sheds his jacket and drops it on Izuku's shoulders before taking a seat next to him on the stoop. "What're you doing out here?
Izuku silently thanks the gods that Shouto found him when he did because he was beginning to numb from the cold. He slips his arms through the sleeves of Shouto's jacket and pulls the fabric tighter around his body.
"Nothing." It's a blatant lie and they both know it. "I just wanted some fresh air."
"Midoriya."
Izuku stares down at his feet clad in nothing but a pair of All Might themed socks and contemplates whether or not he should tell Shouto about the thoughts clouding his mind.
Finally, Izuku decides Shouto was the most likely to understand his troubles given his past and present conflicts with his father.
"Do you ever have nights where you're laying in your bed ready to sleep and then thoughts start forming in your mind, one after the other? Not good thoughts either. The thoughts that make you question everything and why you didn't end yourself when you could've."
The hero's in training sit next to each other in a silence that is neither awkward or comfortable. The air around them is agonizingly still and when Izuku thinks Shouto won't answer his question the taller boy whispers his reply.
"Of course." Shouto turns to look into Izuku's emerald green stare, lips pulled into a frown. "Why do you think I'm out here?"
"Oh," Izuku simply says before looking back towards his feet. "Oh god, I'm being a burden again. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize." Izuku looks at Shouto confused. "Never apologize for something you can't control."
"You're really nice, Todoroki," Izuku laughs wetly, avoiding eye contact when a few more tears fall from his eyes.
"If you don't mind me asking, what brought this on?" Shouto wants to hold Izuku in his arms and tell him everything's okay, but he doesn't want to overstep his boundaries.
"Wanting someone to love but being scared that they're gonna leave because no one wants to love a weak, useless, Deku."
Shouto is taken aback by the way Izuku spits the last few insulting words in his statement and how similar it sounded to an angry blonde. Shouto would have words with Katsuki later, but Izuku's mental state was his main priority at the moment.
But as far as Izuku's confession goes Shouto was no stranger to being scared of love.
"If it's any consolation, I won't leave you, Midoriya." Izuku looks towards Shouto, eyebrows draw upward and mouth slightly ajar. "You mean to much to me to leave you, so I'll always be by your side."
There's a beat of silence before Izuku leans forward and kisses Shouto, but the gesture catches the taller boy off guard and he freezes. When Izuku realizes Shouto isn't responding he quickly pulls away in a panic.
"Am I reading this wrong?" He sounds almost scared as an embarrassed flush rises to his cheeks.
It takes Shouto a moment of looking into Izuku's eyes to utter the word, "No."
Shouto gently presses Izuku against the rusted railing of the steps and kisses Izuku tenderly, wrapping his arms around Izuku's waist. Izuku slips his arms around Shouto's neck and kisses him back fondly.
They each offer an inviting warmth to the other that the two boys are usually scared of, but somehow with each other, it seems a lot less terrifying.
