Like Friends Do

Chapter 3

"Midoriya, it's raining."

"So what? That's never stopped us before!"

Midoriya sat on the floor by the dormitory exit, tying his bright red shoes, Todoroki watching over his shoulder. It was early – six thirty-two to be exact – and the only other person in the common area was Mineta, who had fallen asleep on the couch the night before. Nobody had bothered to wake him, it seemed. Midoriya thought about doing it himself – but then, he'd already spent the night on the couch. What would waking him now do?

Todoroki sighed and glanced out the windows of the dormitory. The rain wasn't heavy, not yet, but it would still result in one cold Midoriya clinging to his arm. On second thought, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea.

The second Todoroki had asked Midoriya if he had a chance to chat a week or so following Capture the Flag, Midoriya immediately remembered their encounter – nearly a month earlier – in which Todoroki had wanted to talk. As a result, Midoriya insisted they go for a morning jog (they were a lot less likely to be scolded that way). And, despite Todoroki's earlier protests, Midoriya insisted they go so they could talk as soon as possible, even if it meant running in the rain.

He was so caring that way, Todoroki thought idly. So...passionate. So observant, having noticed Todoroki holding onto the question and prodding until he spit it out. He was that, too – insistent. God, was he insistent. Todoroki supposed that was part of the reason he found Midoriya so damn charming.

"You coming?" Midoriya straightened up, resting a hand on Todoroki's shoulder. He did that, now. That and their shoulder-bumps. That, their shoulder bumps, and the occasional hand-holding.

Midoriya's hand slipped into his own. Okay, maybe not that occasional.

As soon as his hand met Todoroki's, Midoriya launched towards the door, barely listening to Todoroki stutter as he scrambled to slide his feet into his shoes. "You were taking too long!" Midoriya laughed, and that laugh righted approximately half the wrongs in Todoroki's life in that moment, he thought. Midoriya laughed harder at the surprised expression on Todoroki's face, poking a finger towards his face. Ah, yes. He also did that more often.

His shoes were bent awkwardly beneath his feet as they stepped out onto the porch of the dormitory, the rain pooling and running off the overhang haphazardly. It was quite dark; usually by now the sun would have risen at least enough to present the two of them with enough light to jog the campus, but with the clouds blotting out the sky it was difficult to see outside the narrow reach of the streetlamps.

To Todoroki's surprise, Midoriya sat himself on the steps leading up to the porch, his legs exposed to the rain dripping from the overhang. "What, did you realize just now that it's raining?" Todoroki teased, but he sounded serious; he hoped Midoriya understood he was joking.

"Waiting for you to put your shoes on properly, that's all," Midoriya replied, letting his left hand reach out, palm upturned to catch the rain.

Todoroki sat next to him and fixed his shoes so they didn't bunch underneath his heels. Before he stood again, he bumped his shoulder against Midoriya's. "Last chance to say no," he said quietly.

"Let's go!" Midoriya hopped up, moving from one foot to the other in that way he did when he got excited. Todoroki hid a smile behind his hand, walking down the steps carefully then beginning a jog.

The rain felt nice; the last few days, the temperature had been sweltering for that time of year, and the rain felt just warm enough to be uncomfortable but not unbearable. Midoriya fell into place next to him as they jogged away from the dormitory and closer to the campus, following their usual path.