A Freeing Touch

Chapter Nine

The dorms were quiet following the events involving the Hero Killer. Everyone was aware of what he, Todoroki, and Iida had been through and their return to the dorms was met with a quiet welcome, with elated greetings from those closest to them and relieved ones from their classmates, who cared just as deep but didn't show it as much. The following nights, Midoriya had found himself wandering to the kitchen while most others were sleeping, and often was the only one there. He'd make a cup of tea for himself and sit on the floor, just allowing himself to listen to the silence around him.

No matter how much trauma he'd been through before, he still needed time to recover from just the mental shock of he fight with Stain, and how dangerously close they'd all been to a meeting with death herself, someone Midoriya wished to avoid for a long time. He knew Iida and Todoroki were the same, and he'd made sure to reach out to them each day, not necessarily talking about the events of the fight, but just about a surface-level topic, something easy and lighthearted.

(Todoroki found Midoriya's texts a welcome distraction from his thoughts. It was nice to be able to talk about the new soba place in town instead of delve deep into his trauma, both past and present. A smile almost came easily to him when he heard a notification on his phone, knowing full well who it was.)

This particular night, Midoriya found himself with company when he arrived at the kitchen, a familiar face already there, looking through the contents of the cupboards.

"Todoroki," he said, a soft smile on his face already, "so you're up too."

The boy in question turned at the sound of his name, and while he did not smile, Midoriya could see Todoroki was pleased to see him, his expression relaxed instead of shielded.

"Midoriya," he spoke, closing the cupboard leaning against the counter, "it's late."

"Yeah. I've been up pretty late lately. Just because of... everything, I guess." Midoriya grinned sheepishly, passing Todoroki to open the cupboard furthest from him, reaching in to pick a teabag out of the box provided, "do you want some? Tea, I mean."

"Sure."

Midoriya nodded, picking out a second tea bag, before letting the cupboard close with a muted thump. The kettle was already on the stove, and he made quick work of filling it with water before placing it back on the stove, turning on the heat. As he allowed the stove to do it's work, he retrieved two mugs from the adjacent cupboard, placing them both next to the stove and placing one teabag into each of them. He glanced at the kettle, then back at Todoroki, whose gaze was fixed where Midoriya's had just been. Steam began to rise from the kettle, and he was subconsciously aware that the sound of the whistle would be audible soon.

(Todoroki's eyes were glued to the kettle, his mind bringing him back to a younger him, approaching the kitchen, stood half hidden behind the doorway. He could see steam rising from the kettle, the whistle of it starting to build up, and something was wrong, his mom's eyes weren't the kind ones he found salvation in. The kettle was almost ready, the water almost boiling, and his mom's turning to face him. He knows what's happening and-)

"Todoroki?"

Todoroki blinked, caught off guard, then looked back at him, "sorry. But, could you-"

Midoriya's mind caught up with where Todoroki's words were going before he could finish speaking, and he removed the kettle from the active stove burner, the whistle dying down before it could even start. He was reminded of their encounter at the sports festival once again, Todoroki's recounting of his childhood still eliciting anger within him after hearing it. It was difficult to see it still affecting him in everyday tasks, though he knew it was a delicate subject to approach. He carefully aimed a small smile Todoroki's way.