Deku's Kisses

Todoroki Shoto

       He knew that it was stupid. Midoriya knew that this was his first chance to show the world -or at least Japan- that he's here, that he has the potential to be a hero people could believe in. All Might even told him that he needed to make an impact at the festival and yet, instead of taking the safe route to the finals, he had decided to antagonize his opponent who just so happened to arguably be the strongest student in his class. Todoroki Shoto.
      The boy with the dual quirk. The boy who has to capability to wield both ice and fire, but at the time was determined to fight at half capacity by refusing to acknowledge the portion of his quirk that was inherited from his father and even then he was a fierce contender. That's what most people saw him as: fierce, cold, and calculating. Midoriya didn't blame others for how they felt about Todoroki, if he was being honest, that was his first impression of the boy with the scar on his face as well.
       It wasn't until the green haired boy was backed against the wall at the festival listening to the the boy with two toned hair explain his parent's marriage that Midoriya realized Todoroki was more than what others assumed of him. It wasn't until Midoriya looked into the heterochromic eyes of the boy across from him that he realized, above all, Todoroki was scared. Scared of his quirk, scared of his father, and absolutely terrified at the prospect that he was anything like the man who gave him his power over flames. Midoriya never thought he would see the tall stoic boy before him look so small.
        Deep down in those mismatched irises Midoriya could see just how broken Todoroki felt. Midoriya knew that feeling all too well and was familiar with how dangerous the emotion could become. Fear. For most of his life Midoriya lived as a quirkless boy who would often bite off more than he could chew when it came to what he wanted out of life. He for so long wanted to stay friends with a boy who repeatedly made it clear that Midoriya was not someone whom was welcomed, he wanted so badly to be a hero that he would follow and diligently wrote notes on each and every article or video made about other heros in hopes of learning a thing or two about them, but most of all he wanted to feel good enough. Wanted. Loved. Midoriya's biggest fear was that he was exactly what others thought of him: worthless, useless, a burden.
     Maybe it was the fact that Midoriya knew how hard it was to swim when it felt like he was being drown. How heavy his limbs felt when he tried to kick and struggle against the grip of the darkness that resided inside his mind had around his ankles. It took a long time for Midoriya to realize that the fight of his life would never be against a villain but against his own self consciousness. He could see the same struggle within Todoroki.
      He pictured Todoroki waking up in the dead  of night gasping for breath, reaching out for a hand to hold, anything to bring him warmth and stability. Just as he often used to. He pictured Todoroki's face as he lay in bed slowly realizing that there was no one there to hold him and offer the comfort he so desperately craved. Just as he often used to before he had met All Might. Even now Midoriya still found himself woken up in the middle of the night while breathing heavily thinking of whether or not his mentor would ever regret trusting a deku with his power, every once in a while. At least Midoriya knew that his mother was there to love him and in the back of his mind he knew that if he truly was too bothered by his thoughts he would be able to reach out to the number one hero with his concerns. Todoroki did not have people to lean on and in the mornings after he would wake up with sweat pooled around the neckline of his shirt he would not have someone willing to listen to his worries. Maybe that was why Midoriya wanted to save him, even just a little bit.
        Maybe that was why Midoriya reached out during their fight and demanded that Todoroki use his full power against him. Why he felt his mouth moving on it's own without thought when he spewed out the fact that it was Todorki Shoto that controlled his quirk -both halves of it- and not Todorki Enji. Maybe that was why when even after losing the fight and damaging his arm that now would be forever littered with scars, Midoriya couldn't find it within himself to regret dragging out the fire half of his opponent's quirk. He knew it was stupid and rash and probably a terrible decision regarding his health but, Midoriya felt slightly okay because he thought maybe he had helped the boy with the dual quirk.
        Which is why he was able to still wear a smile on his face as he made his way back home after the festival had ended. It was why when he was being scolded by All Might and Recovery Girl that he honestly felt if needed, he would do the exact same thing all over again. He hoped that the next time he saw Todoroki that when he looked into those mismatched eyes that they would be a little lighter, a little less scared, and with his entire being he wished that Todorki would learn that he was nothing like his father. Midoriya had no clue if he would be able to tell all those things just from the eyes of a classmate who most likely didn't even see the green haired boy as a friend but he felt if he was able to see darkness that he'd be able to see the lack of it as well. He never expected that he would be met with those eyes so quickly.
       The next morning after having breakfast with his mother being smothered with worried hugs and lighthearted scoldings over his injuries, there was a quiet almost timid sounding series of knocks on his door. Izuku was left to open the door as his mother had already started doing the dishes. His mind wandered over to who could be at the door, he knew that he wasn't expecting any company but he also was aware that his mother could have invited one of her friends over. His bet was on it being Mrs. Bakugou, they've been long time friends and Izuku knew how excited his mother was about his childhood friend's accomplishment of coming first in the festival and he supposed that his mother would want to congratulate the family in person.
     Izuku found that the moment he opened his front door the only thing on his mind was that he wished he had not worn his All Might pajama set to breakfast. He wouldn't have minded if it really were the Bakugous that had decided to visit, but luck happened to be against him and the person who had been at his door was none other than Todorki Shoto. The boy that he had least expected to turn up at his home unexpected at ten o'clock in the morning.
    Izuku found his face heating up, most definitely turning an unsightly shade of pink when he locked eyes with the taller male. He opened his mouth to try and welcome the boy who somehow had tracked down his address but found that words were not coming to him. It didn't seem to matter too much to the two toned boy as he rushed into his explanation of presence.
      "I visited my mother."
      This was something that Izuku had not expected. He knew that Todoroki hadn't had contact with his mother for some time after the incident with the kettle from long ago, of course he was happy for his classmate but he didn't quite grasp why Todoroki decided that he was the person who should be informed about this. Izuku figured that maybe he was the only person outside of the family that Todorki had told about his situation and felt that if Todoroki wanted to talk about his experience then he may as well let him.
        "Oh. H-how did it go Todoroki? Do you want to come in?" Izuku opened his door wider as a gesture to show that he was serious about inviting his classmate in. Todoroki raised his hand dismissing the idea while slightly shaking his head.
    "No, thank you. This should not take long." Izuku didn't have to wait for Todoroki to continue with his explaination. "I visited my mother because of what you said, Midoriya. I just came to thank you."
     Izuku didn't really know what to say. He was happy that he did something to push the boy closer to his mother, even if it really wasn't his place, but he really wasn't sure of what he said to do so. All he told Todoroki was that he was the sole owner of his quirk and if he truly wanted to be a hero that he would have to work with both sides of him. His confusion must have been evident on his face because his visitor once again continued on with what he had to say while turning his head to the side, breaking eye contact.
       "I felt guilty for years because of what happened, I thought I was the reason why she had to leave. My face, my half that was given to me from my father pushed her over the edge and she fell into a mental state so severe she had no choice but to mutilate it. I refused to let my father control me by deciding not to use his quirk no matter what, or I thought that was what I was doing," Todoroki took a moment to lock eyes with Izuku once more. It was only a second or two before the larger boy began to speak again but it felt like much longer, Izuku took his chance to once again search his former opponent's eyes for any sign of fear. Any sign of darkness. Of course he found some, he knew it would never be gone over night and probably would even still be there for years to come, but he realized that the darkness had lifted ever so slightly. There Midoriya could see a sliver of hope and a sliver of love in the eyes of the scarred boy in front of him. "You proved me wrong Midoriya and I just needed to tell you. I was never preventing my father from controlling me, I was only changing the way that he moved me. I was still a puppet on his string that did mostly as he pleased with the illusion of it being of my choosing. Maybe he wasn't controlling my quirk but he was still always on my mind and making me think that I didn't deserve the other family members that I have. I was so convinced that if my mother saw me, saw my fire, saw whatever she did the same day those years ago that she would hate me all over again. But I was wrong, I visited her and she was ecstatic and in tears and she told me that she loved me."
      There was a deep shuttering breath that could be heard and Izuku had no clue whether it was coming from him or Todoroki. The only thing that mattered was that even for a few minutes Todoroki felt loved and was thanking Izuku for it.
      "I-I," he wanted to contribute something to the conversation, convey that he really did not do much and that he was sure that Todoroki's mother would have said that she loves him even if Izuku didn't say anything to Todoroki but the words were lost on his tongue.
     "I just needed you to know what you did for me, Midoriya" Todoroki stated and for some reason Izuku had never felt so flustered before. His arms started waving in front of him as a way to stop the thanks that was coming his way. He didn't want to take credit for a mother loving their child and he liked to think that eventually Todoroki would have reached the same conclusion by himself. A stern hand gripped his wrist rather tightly, halting his movement. A small look of horror danced in the heterochromic eyes as he inspected Izuku's arm that was littered with new scars from their fight the day before.
        "Those are from me, from my quirk." Todoroki's voice no longer held any sort of emotion, he was simply stating a fact. Izuku half expected the other boy to once again refuse to use his fire quirk now that he saw the extent of damage that it had done to his arm. Now it was fear that bounced in Izuku's eyes, fear for his classmate, fear for someone that he was coming to care about. "I'm sorry. I will work harder on my quirk so that I can better control it."
     Todoroki's voice was firm and held resolve, Izuku could see that the boy in front of him whose eyes used to be filled with fear now held determination inside and dare he say that he saw a small fire brewing within them. Izuku couldn't help but feel proud for being the one to help put that spark there.
       "No!" Izuku yelled, he hadn't meant to be so loud but he couldn't hold it in any longer. "I mean yes, you should work on your quirk, but don't say sorry. Don't feel bad Todoroki."
       A small smile slipped its way onto the taller boy's face. Gently he lifted Izuku's hand higher, rubbed his thumb over the newly formed skin, and brought his lips over one of the more prominent scars. He let them linger for a few moments before he pulled himself away and and bid farewell to Izuku after once again saying thank you.
       The green haired boy stood in his door way watching as his classmate disappeared around the street corner, gathering his thoughts. Todoroki kissed him. He kissed his hand and said thank you. Todoroki thanked him for his help. Izuku felt pride swell from his gut and travel up through his chest as he realized he may have saved someone. He may have saved his classmate and hopefully next time he looks at those mismatched eyes maybe he'll see a little happiness within them.

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So this isn't super fluffy, it actually has a lot of angst I think??? Maybe? I just kinda liked the idea :) Let me know what you think and who you guys might wanna see give Izu a lil kiss next :*