Thawed Hearts

Chapter 5

Through the next few days, Todoroki actually stuck to his word. Midoriya was decently surprised; whenever he asked a question over text he would get a response back. It made being at the company more entertaining at times and gave him something to do when he wasn't helping out with comics. He was decently surprised; after a while Todoroki started asking some questions as well.

They didn't see each other much. All Might had Midoriya busy with inking and working on initial ideas of the scripts. Todoroki was typically running around doing errands or working on the fine details; finishing up some of All Might's earlier projects that are closer to being published. All the interaction they really had thus far besides at the coffee shop was the occasional smile or wave at the beginning of the day or in the break room. There was really no time for a conversation to be held, as soon as one arrived the other had to leave. It was a shame really; Midoriya actually enjoyed talking to Todoroki face to face.

Though Todoroki was the only one here around his age, some of the other creators made the effort to get to know him as well. In the beginning it was rather intimidating, due to the others being rather well known by the public. Despite that, they were all rather kind and also understanding if he needed to step away from a conversation due to things getting too uncomfortable. No. 13 especially always had something inspirational to say, it happened to be a nice break on days where Midoriya has a difficult time getting out of bed to come. He also found some surprising company in the break room with Aizawa when he wasn't sleeping or grumpy. By far, he was Midoriya's favorite person to talk to – besides All Might.

Izuku felt very relaxed being by All Might's side. He would have expected working under high expectations would be tense; but his mentor made sure to stress he would help with any issues while working. He was also very receptive to every suggestion given; it was hard to believe All Might was in charge as it was so often he would agree with what Midoriya said. He was also a joy to talk to; mentioning his plans for the rest of his day if he wasn't swamped with making comics. Midoriya didn't ask, but he was curious about All Might's personal life. He was a phenomenal character, how come he wasn't married, and how come he didn't have any children?

Izuku had to admit; if All Might had children he would be jealous of them. He couldn't imagine having a father like that. It wouldn't be like his own dad, if Izuku could even call him that. Absent because he was away on a business trip; it was hard knowing that excuse wasn't the only reason he hasn't returned yet. The real reason he left was that he couldn't handle his son being so depressed all the time. He made Midoriya constantly feel like he was the real issue in their "perfect family" before he up and left. He doubted that All Might would be a parent like that.

Not that anyone here knew how depressed he actually was. But it's also not like they ever have to know.

Today Midoriya wasn't doing much at all in the office. All Might had him do some basic inking, but this gave him a lot of downtime to deal with. He stretched, leaning back against the chair, letting a yawn out. It was an unsuspectedly slow day, one that Midoriya had not had since he started here. It was nice.

Izuku looked down at his phone, which a notification had just popped up on. It was a text from Todoroki; another thing that came unexpected during the day. 'Would you like some coffee?'

'Would I ever.' Midoriya typed back, chuckling to himself. Even though it was the middle of the day he could never pass on the opportunity to have a nice cup.

"Who're you talking to?" Midoriya jumped. All Might's voice came out of nowhere; he swiveled around in his chair, winking. "You've been looking at your phone a lot when you have the time. You got a girl?"

"N-N-No!" The boy jumped, shaking his head. He could feel his face turning red. A girl? He didn't even like girls. Not that All Might would know that, of course. "It's just Todoroki."