Like Friends Do

Chapter 2

It had been almost a month since Todoroki and Midoriya's excursion in which they saved a child together. The weather had warmed significantly since then, and the crowded common area of late winter slowly emptied as more and more of Class 1-A spent time outdoors. It was one of these times that only Midoriya and Todoroki were inside; the rest of the class had reserved one of the school's many gymnasiums to play sports. Midoriya could still hear Bakugou yelling in the distance that he wanted to be captain, and Kirishima yelling back that they hadn't even settled on a game yet.

Midoriya hadn't even known Todoroki was there, in all honesty. He wandered around the kitchen, humming to himself while he prepared an early dinner for himself. He and Todoroki had taken to practicing through lunchtime once or twice a week, but the result of the extra practice was always a growling stomach that kept Midoriya distracted in the afternoon.

Todoroki cleared his throat and Midoriya jumped in the air, almost accidentally activating his Quirk in the process. He'd have shot straight through the ceiling. He heard Todoroki's soft snickering behind him and couldn't help but laugh himself, even though he'd spilled the water out of the pot he'd been holding. "Hey, Todo," he waved with that cheeky smile before ducking his head and grabbing a towel to begin mopping the water off the floor.

"Mido," he replied just as casually, grabbing another dish towel from the drawer and helping Midoriya clean up the water.

"Oh, y-you don't have to help!" Midoriya insisted. "It's my fault—"

"I'm already down here," Todoroki replied simply. Rather than argue, because he knew by now it would be for naught, Midoriya simply moved aside to grant Todoroki more room.

"Are you gonna go with the rest of the class to the gym?" Midoriya asked softly after a few moments. "I thought you'd already left."

"My old man called," Todoroki replied.

"Oh."

The conversation that Todoroki had wanted to have so badly about a month ago had been put on the backburner while he tried to resolve his issues with the warm, fuzzy feelings he got from spending time with Midoriya. Now, though, he was more used to that tight feeling that overcame him when Midoriya called him that goofy nickname, or when their shoulders nudged so casually as they tended to. Or...pretty much any other time Midoriya spent time with him. Maybe he could broach the topic now.

They cleaned up the water and walked with each other to the laundry room, conversation nonexistent and silence welcomed. Their shoulders nudged casually as they went, Midoriya humming that same tune once again. Todoroki had the question sitting on the edge of his tongue, ready to ask Midoriya if he had a minute to talk, maybe they could go for a walk again—no, that seemed dangerous, what if they were interrupted again? Of course Todoroki was glad they had been there to save the child, but he really needed to talk and—

"Todo?" Midoriya asked softly. They were back in the kitchen, and Todoroki's hand had somehow found its way to Midoriya's.

Todoroki let go quickly. "Sorry, there's just something on my mind," he mumbled. Midoriya leaned his elbows on the kitchen counter and watched him, his head tilted to the side as if to say go on, I'm listening, I care.

"What's up?" Midoriya asked, emphasizing just how much he was willing to help. "Is it about your old man?"

Todoroki sighed and leaned up against the counter. Midoriya shifted, instead deciding he would be more comfortable sitting up on the countertop. He kicked his legs idly, leaning forward with intrigue to listen to Todoroki. "Ah, well," Todoroki rubbed his neck sheepishly. "He wanted to talk about my training."