per request on tumblr

It's during a sparring session, when Todoroki says something unexpected.

"I think we should go out."

"What?" Izuku freezes in place for a moment, but it's long enough for Todoroki to connect his right fist with the smaller boy's face. Izuku goes down in a tumble.

"Midoriya!"

Todoroki is at his side in an instant, and carefully helps him to sit up. Izuku's cheek is throbbing, but the punch wasn't hard enough to leave a bruise. They have been advised by their homeroom teacher, Aizawa-sensei, to work on their base strength, so that's what they've been doing. He watches the last few stars fade from his vision.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I thought you'd dodge that," Todoroki sputters. His hands fly over the other's frame without actually touching, the insecurity obvious in the skittish movements.

"Y-yeah," Izuku stutters. "And yes."

"Yes what?" Todoroki looks at him with big eyes. The worry for his classmate is still apparent in them.

"We should totally go out." Izuku turns to face him and manages a bright smile, despite the harsh throbbing in his skull.

The other's features light up for a moment, before concern settles in them. "Are you sure? I mean, you don't have to, if you don't want to. I might have mentioned it at a bad time."

With a determined gesture, Izuku waves him off. "No, no – I really want to. Let's go out! Can you do me a favor though?"

"Of course, anything."

"Could you cool my cheek a bit? My mom is going to freak out if I come home with a bruise."

"Ah, that's right. Yes, no problem at all," Todoroki mumbles. Sheepishly, he reaches out for Izuku's face, eliciting the faintest bit of ice in the palm of his hand. The other boy sighs when it makes contact with his heated cheek.

"On the topic of ice," Izuku suddenly begins, "how about we go to that new ice cream parlor at the mall? I heard they have amazing sorbets."

He watches Todoroki, and snickers when a light flush crawls onto the other's face.

A few feet from them, a baffled Uraraka and Iida stopped in their tracks to listen to the short conversation in silent mortification.

"He just asked him out," Uraraka mumbles. "Like it's nothing. He just went and asked him for a date."

"What a brave man," Iida presses between firm lips. "Truly, Todoroki is a man of dares. I aspire to be as bold as him."

Slowly, the hazel-headed girl turns to face him. Her eyes are weirdly glassy and she seems to stare right past Iida's shoulder.

"He just asked him out," she repeated dully. Iida watches her with rising unease.

ooo

It's in the early evening when Todoroki picks him up from home. Izuku's mother immediately invites the shy boy in, almost forcing him through the door frame in her excitement. This is the first time her boy is asked out on a date, and like any mother, she makes a big deal out of it; much to the embarrassment of the participating boys.

"Izuku has been telling me so much about you," she smiles. Next to her, Todoroki feels his face heat up.

"Mom!" Izuku calls, almost falling over while fighting with the laces of his shoes. He quickly slips them on, grabbing his bag and almost shoving Todoroki back out through the door, while the other boy is still expressing his gratitude to Izuku's mother, promising to return her son before ten.

"I'm sorry you had to endure that," he mutters, as they walk side by side the way towards the subway.

"It's no problem. Your mother seems like a wonderful person."

Todoroki tries a reassuring smile. A small bird seems to flutter it's wings inside Izuku's chest.

The way to the mall goes by in a breath, the two boys engaged in spirited conversation. It felt strange at first, being like this without the familiar atmosphere of Yuuei around them. But Todoroki has many stories to tell of his siblings, and the tricks they played on each other; Izuku loves listening to those stories, and tries to imagine what it's like to have an older brother or sister. The mall is as full as ever when they enter. They decide to go window-shopping for a bit before heading to the ice cream parlor. Nobody is rushing them, it's like the other people around them don't even exist, and being in this invisible bubble to themselves grants them both a shy comfort.

Little do they realize they're being followed.

Two shops behind them, Uraraka peeks up from a book she pretends to read. The cover says something about fish, but that's none of her concerns right now. She watches the two familiar forms in the distance with the uncomfortable pinch of jealousy biting at her heart.

"Uraraka?"

She squeaks, almost tossing the book away in her shock. Hastily, she whirls around, coming face to face with Iida. The tall boy stares at her in astonishment.

"Iida!" she calls, slapping a hand over her mouth when she realizes the volume of her voice. Lower, she adds, "what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," the boy replies. He looks at her with his usual sternness, but there is something else in his eyes.

"I-I'm looking for a new book to read. Yes, this one!" She lifts the book in her hands to present it to her classmate.

Iida squints his eyes at the title. "Since when are you interested in Poecilia reticulata? Do you plan on getting an aquarium?"

"What?" She finally takes a closer look at the cover, before casting the book away, back onto the pile of other books where she got it from. "Yes, I mean, not really. But anyway! Why are you here?"

At this, Iida puffs out his chest. "I've been following Midoriya and Todoroki since they entered the mall."

The hazel-headed girl stares at him for a moment, mouth slightly agape. "Come again?"

"I know it's an unruly thing to do! But I just couldn't restrain myself. Todoroki has impressed me with his venturous behavior and I am keen on learning his ways."

At least I'm not the only stalker, Uraraka thinks, but it's only a mild comfort in this situation.

"Ah, they're moving!" Iida suddenly calls. "I must go now, Uraraka. I shall see you at school tomorrow."

"Iida, wait!" She almost trips over her own feet, following the broad-shouldered boy. Iida gives her a puzzled look.

"Why are you following me?"

"Well, uhm, the thing is," the small girl begins sheepishly. "You know, I am also… well, I was just worried for Deku, and – uh, I'm following them, too."

"I see," Iida replies briskly. "I shall see you as a fellow competitor then. But in grim times like these, we must work together."

"Grim times? You're overdoing it," Uraraka mumbles. Keeping an eye on the two boys ahead of them, they follow at a safe distance. When Todoroki and Izuku enter a small antiques shop, the two other figures quickly hide behind the plastic mascot of a Don Quijote store.

Uraraka is just peeping over the head of the large penguin figure, when something red and spiky waltzes into her vision.

"Uraraka! Iida!" Kirishima calls at the top of his lungs, successfully startling them.

He is met with a unified shushing hiss.

"What are you two doing?" the boy quips, eyes switching between the flustered figures

"Uh, nothing," Uraraka stutters, grabbing the silent mascot for balance. "We're just, uhm – just shopping."

"Oh, really? Good, I was already worried you two were here for Todoroki and Midoriya."

Kirishima snickers, but it ends abruptly when he sees the guilty faces of his classmates. "Or not?"

"How do you know of that anyway?" Iida pikes in.

"Bakugou's doing it, too," the redhead laughs, gesturing into the store. Three pairs of eyes land on the fuming boy standing between cosplay utensils and convenience products. With spiking discomfort, they watch small curls of smoke rising from his palms.

"Don't. Say. A fucking thing," he presses between tightly gritted teeth.

"Yeah," Kirishima mutters, "I'm tagging along so he doesn't accidentally kill Todoroki and land in jail for homicide."

The four of them exchange looks, but even the righteous Iida is at a loss of how to justify the situation.

"Looks like they're moving," Kirishima points out, gesturing towards the pair heading away from them.

"After them!" Uraraka calls, before becoming aware of her words. All four of them skulk behind the two boys, always at a safe distance.

Iida and Uraraka walk silently, while Kirishima mumbles suggestions of why killing Todoroki is a bad idea to Bakugou. It's only when they reach the ice cream parlor, the one Izuku talked to Todoroki about at Yuuei, that the small group comes to a halt. For a moment, the four of them stand awkwardly in the middle of the mall.

"Now what?" Uraraka mutters.

"Going in there as a group might seem suspicious," Iida figures.

"Can we go home now?" Kirishima sighs, looking at the other three with pleading eyes.

But Bakugou is already storming ahead. "Like hell this is keeping me out. See you later, fuckheads!"

Uraraka and Iida share a short look, before rushing after him. Kirishima follows with a defeated murmur.

The ice cream parlor has a pastel interior, adding to the strangeness of the situation. While Todoroki and Izuku sit down in a faraway corner, possibly to gain some privacy, the other four settle down at a table at the entrance, having the counter as an obstacle to hide behind.

"Why the fuck are you shitnuggets sitting down with me?" Bakugou hisses. "That's so fucking obvious. Get lost, asstards!"

"I like it here," Kirishima beams, letting his eyes wander through the small shop and completely ignoring his friend's remarks of unease. "Very colorful. Very nice. Midoriya has a good taste, man."

They are squeezed together on one bench, with the redhead as a makeshift shield between Uraraka and Bakugou. She grabs the menu card, flapping it open so she and Iida can hide their faces behind it. In the distance, she can see Izuku laugh at something Todoroki said. There it is again, that pinch of jealousy.

"What the heck are they talking about?" she hisses, ignoring Bakugou's remark of "Did you just say heck? What are you, five?".

Next to her, Iida pushes his glasses up in an anxious motion. "I don't know, but I'm sure they're engaged in a wonderful conversation. I wouldn't expect anything else from Todoroki. That man is a brightly shining star of inspiration."

"Hey guys," a new voice pops up, startling all four of them. They turn in unison, to stare at Kaminari standing next to their table.

"Hey!" Kirishima greets the newcomer enthusiastically. "What are you doing here, man?"

"Stalking Midoriya," the blonde states matter-of-factly. "Heard he got a date with Todoroki. The madman!"

"Oh," Uraraka mumbles. They didn't expect the bluntness of his answer.

"Ice cream parlor, huh?" he continues, squeezing himself in next to Iida. "A classic!"

"Fuck the hell off, drooly! You're blowing our cover," Bakugou growls, trying to lean across Kirishima to shove the blonde.

"Quiet, both of you," Uraraka splutters, but freezes when she catches Izuku looking at them. "Uh oh."

"He's waving," Iida says, sounding distraught. "And now he's coming over. With Todoroki."

All except Kirishima duck their heads as the two boys come strolling towards them. Izuku smiles and waves from afar. Todoroki's lips form a tight line.

"Wow, what a coincidence," Izuku chirps and takes a seat at their table. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Stuff," five throats call in unison, rather flat-sounding. It flies right past the excited boy's head.

Todoroki sits down next to Izuku and across from Bakugou. The two of them grant each other a silent glare, but say nothing.

The air is filled with tension so thick it's almost palpable, but none of them mentions it to Izuku, who takes the menu card from Uraraka and Iida. They sit like this, huddled together and silently, listening to Izuku chatter away without taking notice of the existing threat of manslaughter in the air. Eventually, the waiter comes around, taking seven orders, eyeing the small table at which the group is seated. He proposes them a larger table, but they refuse.

The situation is shameful enough as it is.

At the end, the only person who seems to enjoy himself is Izuku, who keeps trying to make conversation with the others, albeit avoiding to make eye contact with Bakugou. The whole circus lasts about thirty minutes, before Todoroki makes to stand, half-dragging Izuku with him as they leave. The seaweed green-haired boy waves his classmates goodbye, telling him how he's looking forward to seeing them all again tomorrow.

Then they're gone.

The other five are left in silence, musing over the mess they've gotten themselves into.

"I think," Iida begins, "we can all agree to never mention this to anyone, ever."

His words are met with an approving murmur.