Maybe It's More than a Crush

Birthday and Confession

As their time together at U.A was slowly coming to an end, the more Todoroki started to worry. Dorm life was an interesting, but welcomed, change from his life back at home. There was a sense of freedom that came from being able to do whatever he wanted, within reason that is. Todoroki could wake up and go to bed when he wanted to, was free to try new foods with his friends, and associate with who he wanted to. He never cared too much about making friends until after he befriended Midoriya. As he slowly gained friends, Bakugou was the most surprising friend he made.

What they went through together during their second year together had been the complete end of hostility between the two. Sure, they were on okay terms with each other after their first year, but second year was when Bakugou finally stopped holding Todoroki at arms length. They became more like friends rather than rivals. Of course that rivalry was still there, nothing would change the fact that they both wanted to be number one, but it was no longer a constant competition. They could chat without there being a reason to, and hang out just because.

There was also a surprising amount of trust between them. They still struggled with talking about how they really felt, but it was somehow easier to talk to someone who wasn't in the "best friend" status. Midoriya was great, don't get Todoroki wrong, but he always tried to offer a solution when sometimes Todoroki just wanted to get something off his chest. According to Bakugou, Kirishima was the same way. It was heartwarming that their friends cared so much, but it was nice to have someone who understood that sympathy wasn't always wanted.

Then came the realization that he liked Bakugou a bit more than he originally thought. Uraraka and Midoriya had teased him about "spending an awful lot of time with Bakugou lately." They had gone back and forth with their teasing until Todoroki had blurted out, "Oh my god, I might actually like him."

That left the other two in a fit of giggles at how Todoroki was so oblivious to his own feelings, but at least now he was aware of them. Todoroki wished he never realized them at all some times. It was like the filter over his brain that normalized his thoughts and feelings towards Bakugou as a friend had completely disappeared. Now he couldn't think that Bakugou looked nice, or casually touch, without becoming flustered.

Todoroki never acted on his feelings, though. Despite persuasion from his friends to confess, Bakugou seemed too focused on becoming a hero to be bothered with a relationship. Besides, they were good friends, and Todoroki wouldn't want to lose that. He was fine with being just Bakugou's friend... until he wasn't.

After playfully wrestling Bakugou and pinning him down, Todoroki had the overwhelming urge to kiss him. Sure, it wasn't the first time he's wanted to kiss Bakugou, but it was the first time he had been actually tempted to go through with it. Pulling away from him had left him with a sense of yearning that only got bigger as time passed.

After that, Todoroki could no longer tell himself he was okay with being just friends. Well, he was, but not without confessing first. If Bakugou turned him down, he could move on and hopefully their friendship wouldn't be ruined. If Bakugou accepted his feelings... well, Todoroki had absolutely no idea what he'd do. He supposed they'd start dating and he'd finally be allowed to kiss Bakugou. However, with zero dating experience, he wasn't sure what to expect. Or how to confess in the first place.

His friends weren't much help, all of them being absolutely clueless when it came to dating as well. All their suggestions didn't seem right. It was all too sappy and just not his style. The romantic, drawn out way seemed way too awkward, and just the thought of trying to confess that way made Todoroki feel anxious. In the end, he decided being straightforward about his feelings would be the best route. Still, the thought of putting his feelings out there for Bakugou to do with what he wanted made Todoroki embarrassed. There was no guarantee he'd get a favorable reaction.