"Let's start this whole fucking thing over."

Bakugou stated, crossing his arms and fully leaning on the wardrobe behind him. Although his posture appeared relatively normal - his face was pained, almost vulnerable. Shouto could tell he was genuinely sorry.

"Are you... Are you okay, Shouto? Deku didn't hurt you did he?" Kirishima spoke cautiously, fidgeting. He shifted his weight, rocking, biting his lip.

"I knocked my head but it's fine..." Todoroki replied, awkwardly sitting up to pull his trousers back to his hips. Subconsciously he heated up his left side - the room felt oddly cold.

"That bitch is fucking dead." Bakugou growled under his breath, fists clenching tight. Todoroki sent him a withering glare. It wasn't Midoriya's fault.

"Sorry. We... care about you and shit." The blonde huffed, flicking his eyes almost nervously to check Todoroki's reaction.

"Ofcourse we care! We should have- we were just..." The red head stumbled over his words, distressed.

Shouto hated this atmosphere.

"Can you two... sit?" He began, indicating to the spaces either side of him. Although he'd pushed them away, it hurt even more to see them practically reeling back from him.

It was almost funny how Kirishima immediately straightened - like he was waiting on edge for some sort of confirmation. Bakugou also adjusted his posture, hesitating for a second before stepping closer.

Tentatively, Kirishima slid next to Shouto. Their shoulders brushed together. He was silently grateful for the comforting touch.

On the other side, Bakugou kept his distance, purposely leaving over a foot of space between them. He refused to make eye contact, scrunching his fists in his lap

An awkward silence filled the room.

"I... I should have been clear with my feelings from the start. I know I can be hard to read." Todoroki paused to take a breath, smoothing the fabric of his bed sheets.

"I've never been in a relationship before. I'm still... learning to express myself in a romantic manner."

"Oh... Is that why you were acting weird after...?" Kirishima spoke quietly, as if he was questioning a crying child.

"Yes..." Todoroki huffed, slightly embarrassed.

The bed moved a little as Bakugou repositioned, looking thoughtful. He hoped the blonde wouldn't bring up the badly timed 'boner disease' moment.

"But - You've never had a relationship? I swear like - every girl in UA confessed to you." Kirishima chuckled, surprised. The laugh didn't quite reach his eyes.

"And you were barely at the apartment when we first moved in. We both assumed you were... seeing people or something." Kirishima's voice trailed off, somewhat sheepish.

A suspiciously jealous sounding grunt came form the other side of Todoroki.

"You didn't come back to the apartment some nights. Thought you were off banging some dumb bitch." Bakugou's voice was also quiet - the rough edges smoothed. The blonde's posture had relaxed slightly from his tight defensive stance. His shoulders had finally lowered, not curling inwards as much. He was still obviously tense though.

Todoroki faintly remembered how his father dumped tonnes of work on him at the start of his hero career. Unfortunately, sometimes it meant he'd sleep over at the agency or work overtime.

"No. I wasn't interested..."

"So... Are we you're first everything?" Kirishima questioned again, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees, turning his head to watch the dual haired.

"Not my first kiss..." Todoroki replied.

They we're definitely going to freak out when they found out who that was...

Quickly changing the subject, Todoroki sighed "As I said, I don't really know what I'm doing so-"

"-We've been shit boyfriends huh?" Bakugou interrupted, grumbling as he glared down at his lap.

"Well-"

"We've just been getting our paws all over you. We haven't..." The blonde clenched his teeth so hard, Shouto was scared he was going to loose them. For a moment, he considered reaching out, comforting him.

"Hey - it's been going a lot smoother than we first started dating." Kirishima cut in, attempting to lighten the mood. His grin was less strained.

"I was such a dick to you..." Bakugou said, flopping backwards to lay on his back. Todoroki couldn't help but watch the way his muscular form dented the the perfectly neat sheets.

"Ha! You couldn't even accept we were dating until halfway through our third year." The red head jabbed, also falling backwards onto the bed, smiling warmly at the memory. His hair flicked into his eyes at the action so he blew upwards through his lips to shift the strands away. Todoroki almost smiled at the funny face he made to do it.

"Tch. Whatever."

It was quiet again. Todoroki listened to the steady breathing of the others, gazing at the littered pictures, papers and miscellaneous belongings around his room. It was almost surreal - how much he'd changed since UA. If 15 year old Shouto saw him now, what would he say?

Slowly, he lowered himself to match the other two, all three of them lying on Todoroki's bed. Kirishima was idly swinging legs, the soft sound of feet brushing wood adding to the background noise. He'd brought his arms up to cross behind his head, seemingly relaxed. Todoroki noticed the way he flicked his eyes over every few seconds though. On his other side, Bakugou crossed his arms against his chest, completely still. Although his fists were underneath his biceps, it was easy to see the tendons of his inner wrists tight with tension. Every so often he would bite and lick at his lips, agitated.

Todoroki lay perfectly still, not sure what to say next. His hair tickled his eyelashes, some parts tumbling across his forehead as he fidgeted.

The silence became painfully loud.

...

"Damn. Your ceiling is so musty."

"What the fuck is musty?"

Todoroki let a small smile tug at his lips.

Things weren't fixed.

It was never that easy.

But they were improving.