Because of you {Tododeku/kiribaku}

Chapter 2

~Time-Skip: 2 Weeks~

Midoriya snuck into the room quietly, hoping that his roommate was asleep to minimize the chance of them interacting. To his embarrassment, Todoroki was standing near his bed in just his boxers, a towel hanging over his face as he dried his di-colored hair. He swallowed hard when the elder looked over, a quizzical look on his face.

"What is it?" Todoroki asked, giving a brief glance down to see if there was something on his arm or side.

The younger's face turned bright red, and he covered his mouth in a vain attempt to stifle the mumbled apologies that began spewing out.

The dual-user kept his face blank despite how his heart began to flutter again, hating that he didn't understand what was causing it. "Was there something you wanted to speak with me about?" he finally asked.

Midoriya's flailing only seemed to increase at that. "Oh! No!" he answered, a bit too loudly, "I was just uhhh... going to my desk!"

Todoroki watched intently as the teen stalked over and sat down quickly, nearly falling out of the swivel chair. He was unsure of why his roommate had stared at him so oddly and then become embarrassed once caught. In truth, it made him somewhat nervous to be gazed at by the teen, and while he was naturally quiet, he wasn't really bashful. All at once, however, the erratic movement ceased and Midoriya turned his seat around.

"Actually, Todoroki, there is something...I...uh... wanted to apologize to you..." the teen stated, his head bowed slightly in what could only be regret.

"For what?" Todoroki asked, even more confused than he had been before.

The young hero rubbed the back of his head, keeping his eyes anywhere other than the still semi-naked teen. "Well, I know it's been a couple of weeks now, but I've felt bad about it ever since. It was rude of me to insinuate that you were too cold and distant before. I'm sure if I'd had your life growing up I would probably be hesitant to let people in too so, I just wanted you to know that I didn't mean anything by it!"

Todoroki blinked a few times. The now familiar tachycardia started budding in his chest again with a feeling he didn't recognize. It was just as intense as his anger when he saw Midoriya and Bakugo together, but this was somehow different, lighter. His mouth went dry as his roommate's freckled cheeks became lightly dusted with red again, a warmth spreading through him with every fidgeting move that the smaller boy made.

"...It's fine... I really didn't mind" he finally stated, throwing his wet towel in the hamper. "What in the hell is wrong with me? What is this strange sensation flowing through me when I look at him?"

Todoroki continued to stare at his rice, deep in thought. He'd begun to realize that since the Sports Festival, he'd been consumed by emotion every time he was around Midoriya. Usually, just seeing the teen would cause his heart to beat faster, spreading a warm, nervous comfort throughout his chest. But then there were also the times that he'd see Bakugo bullying the submissive hero, and that always lead to him being incredibly angry.

He wondered what the two sensations must mean. After so many years of living with Endeavor, he'd nearly shut his feelings out completely save for the ever-present hatred he held for his father. But now there was this boy that he'd fought in a silly school event, destroying his body for no other reason than to help him come to terms with the full range of his quirk.

All at once though, there were chopsticks waving around in front of him and he looked up to see none other than the one he'd been thinking about staring at him worriedly. He blinked and stayed silent, an unfamiliar burning sensation flaring on his cheeks.

Midoriya reached out his scarred hand and placed it flat against Todoroki's forehead, "hey... are you okay?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. "Your face is getting more and more red... and you kind of look sick."