~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UA : 3rd Year

His quirk is never off - maybe the couple of times when Aizawa has had his gaze on him but never long enough for him to really think about it.

Another wave of shivers passed through him.

Being cold never used to bother him - it was normal for his body to experience otherwise deadly temperatures.

Even so, the icy, spring breeze scratched incessantly at his bare skin, slipping between the buttons of his white shirt. Usually, he'd naturally balance his temperature - only ever wearing scarves and hats as to not draw attention. He was just always lukewarm.

He supposes he should be feeling more vulnerable. Bakugou had nightmares every night when he got hit. Kaminari got frightfully quiet. Kirishima wore a smile that never quite reached his eyes. And Midoriya - Midoriya radiated so much anxiety Todoroki had to avoid him for a few days. Gently, he ran his fingers through the grass beside him, the cold licked and bit - even with his left hand.

The quirk suppressor should wear off a couple days.

In these times, darts are being made to suppress quirks for weeks. He was thankful he'd been taking up more spars with Bakugou recently - his improved reaction time definitely saved him from a point blank attack. Thankfully, it only grazed him, dramatically losing its potency. To still affect his quirk for days though... The chemical industry was certainly terrifying.

Distantly, he heard the bell to signal lunch was over. He didn't feel like going in today. The floors were too cold, air too hot - his hand would get sweaty after holding his pen for too long. He hated the way Midoriya would turn in his chair to check on him every few seconds - Iida asking if he was warm enough - Ururaka asking if he wanted a cold drink.

He despised being looked after.

You'd think, being neglected emotionally for the majority of his childhood he'd leap at the chance to babied by the others.

The blades of grass bent and tore from his tightening grip.

No.

It's suffocating.

He's always dealt with things just fine on his own. To have all this extra attention was just... uncomfortable. He wished everyone would just pretend nothing had happened.

Slowly, the sun peaked out of the cluster of drifting clouds - sunlight sweeping over the plains, spilling over the grass like ink. The moment it passed his body he almost gasped at the temperature change. The warmth soaked into his skin - briefly numbing the sensitivity that was once there.

Sometimes, he tells himself he would have had a better life without his quirk. His mother would still be home, he wouldn't have had to endure training with his father, he might have been able to go to public school, bring friends over, laugh, cry, shout without being absolutely and utterly terrified of-

Snap.

Immediately, he whipped his head back to look behind him.

"It's just me, idiot."

A spiky mess of blonde hair appeared from the line of trees obstructing him from the rest of the school. The other grumbled, batting away branches and leaves crowding his face. Todoroki wanted to point out the small scratch decorating Bakugou's left cheekbone or the twig clinging to his trouser leg.

He wanted to sit and wallow alone.

"How did you find me?"

The blonde stayed quiet at that, ignoring him in favour of what looked like typing on his phone.

"Bakugou?"

"What?"

Eyes snapped up to meet his, fingers paused. For a moment, Todoroki waited, watching the way Bakugou's chest rose and fell more obviously than usual. His nostrils were flared, cheeks stained with red. Even the slightest shine of sweat could be seen as he walked over to him and out into the sunlight.

"Nothing, never mind."

"You know you're late to class - what happened to Mr Goodie Two Shoes?"

"My bedtime isn't 8pm."

"Fuck off."

"No thanks."

"And it's not a bedtime, asshole. I'm not 5."

"Yet you're still so immature."

"At least I'm not a fucking robot."

Shouto tries not to let the wince show on his face, turning to instead glare at the daisies by his feet.

If he'd never had his quirk could...

The weight of a heavy blazer on his head interrupted his thoughts. After a second of staring into darkness, he pulled the warm fabric to his lap. Bakugou was now crouched at his side - glaring at the couple buttons undone on his shirt.

"It's 8 degrees and you're practically fucking naked. Where's your blazer?"

Todoroki was in fact not naked. He did glance down at his uniform just to check though.

"I forgot it in the classroom."

He wasn't really used to taking jackets off - so he wasn't really used to remembering them either.

"You're so damn clueless-"

"Hey- hah- guys!"

Stumbling from the treeline, none other than Kirishima, breathless - rushed over to them.

"How-"

"What a coincidence! We all decided to skip class!" Kirishima chuckled,

"... In the same spot."

He mentioned a little more sheepishly,

" at the same time..."

Shouto saw Bakugou glaring in his peripheral vision.

"What do you guys want?" Todoroki sighed, reluctantly pulling Bakugou's warm blazer further up his body.

The blonde watched the action, only for a second, before flicking his gaze away.

"You're going to Endeavours agency."

Todoroki stiffened. He hadn't even confirmed that with Aizawa yet.

"Do you eavesdrop on all my conversations with Midoriya?" He hissed, turning his head to glare at Bakugou directly.

For once, Bakugou didn't meet him head on.

"I'm going too."

What?

"Why? I thought you were going to America?"

Todoroki noticed the way Bakugous eyes lingered on Kirishima's face before snapping back.

"I don't want to anymore."

Todoroki scoffed,

"So you want bother me to the grave, huh?"

Bakugou's lips finally tore themselves into a vengeful smirk.

"Ha! I'll see you again in hell, fucker."

Todoroki huffed again, masking the quirk of his lips.

"Which meeeans~ we'll all be in the same place." Kirishima mentioned, playfully - a knowing grin plastered on his face.

"Your placement with Fatgum is confirmed then."

"Yep! So me and Bakugou were thinking..."

"Tch. Speak for yourself." Bakugou grumbled, refusing to look at him again.

"We could... I don't know - like... move in - together?"

Todoroki froze. He hadn't thought about leaving the dorms yet. They've always been his home.

...

It was common for music to be played in the dorms. Every time, Shouto glanced over at the speakers, either Ashido or Kaminari would loudly mention the title and artist to whoever they were talking to - sometimes winking at Todoroki if the song was a little less innocent.

Yaoyorozu would always leave a little extra tea in the kettle for him, knowing even if it got cold he could just heat it up.

Tokoyami and him were paired for cleaning duty a lot - he supposes it was because their seat numbers were next to each other. Dark shadow would make him play Rock Paper Scissors for whoever cleaned the toilets. He found he won a little too often.

At some point in the day he could sit with the rest of Deku squad. He listened without feeling awkward or like he should've contributed to the conversation. He could relax in their presence with no expectations.

Todoroki cleared his throat. Rubbing at the painful feeling stabbing his chest.

He should get that checked out.

With them, he wouldn't be alone.

Bakugou would still challenge his very existence, knocking his toothbrush into the sink or not closing the door on the way out of his room. Maybe he'd complain he made too much food again and force Todoroki to eat it or they'd share quiet moments just in each other's presence, gravitating close for no reason at all.

Kirishima would still drown his pessimistic thoughts with bright grins and laughter, scribbling motivational quotes on his revision notes and shouting out encouragements in training - even if he had to scream it out from the other side of the training field. He might doze and drool over their shared sofa rather his tatami mats and keep hounding him with with pictures of random things saying 'this reminds me of you'.

"Yeah, it's convenient."

He choked out, dropping his head to let strands of red and white hair hide his face.