Chapter Text
Izuku's mom is forcefully dragging him over to the new neighbors' house by the arm, what he knows to be a delicious apple pie in her hand and Midoriya is upset, he was supposed to meet Kacchan at the park in five minutes, he knows the other boy will be mad at his tardiness no matter how many times he explains it wasn't his fault.
"Stop making that face, be nice." Inko says, her voice soft but leaving no place for protest as they walk over next door, careful not to step on their neat neon green lawn. The moving truck left yesterday and his mom decided they should wait a little bit before introducing themselves and so here they are.
The neighborhood they live in is relatively small and not that great looking to be honest, but it's very calm, warm and everybody knows each other. The Bakugous live two streets over and the Urarakas are just around the corner, it's your typical friendly neighborhood. You often pass by a dozen kids caught up in a game of football in Aizawa and Hizashi’s garden, even if Aizawa is often unaware of it.
His mother rings the doorbell after patting down his wrinkled tee-shirt. In his defense he just put this on to go to the impromptu rugby game they’re having at the park, he didn't know his mom was going to physically drag him over to meet the new neighbors. Midoriya could already hear Bakugou's voice cursing him for being late and sighed internally as a nice melody could be heard resonating in the house, the door opening a minute later.
Izuku's first thought is that the man next door looks like a grizzly bear; he is huge, close to two meters tall and is built like a boulder. His brows are thick and ginger like his beard and the hair on the top of his head, which was neatly brushed into a stylish haircut. He was wearing a white button up shirt that was rolled up at the elbows and dress pants that looked like they could explode at any moment from sheer thigh muscle. Midoriya was stuck between awe and fear, even his mom looked up with imperceptibly wider eyes.
"Hello." He said with a gruff voice that fitted his physique perfectly. "How can I help you?"
His handsome features seemed to be carved into this annoyed facial expression, but it was subtle. Midoriya couldn't help but compare it to Bakugou's, whereas Katsuki’s was explosive, unkept and overflowing with unspent constant rage this man's was bone chilling, as if he held the faith of your life in his hands. He inexplicably seemed incredibly powerful.
"Hello!" His mom's chirping voice brings Midoriya back on earth and he closes his gaping mouth. "I am Midoriya Inko, your next door neighbor." She points to their backyard and the mountain of a man just side eyes their old swing set, unimpressed. Midoriya thinks he heard his mom gulp. "And this is my son Izuku." She grabs his shoulder for something to hold onto and he gives the brightest smile he can manage as he slightly bows. "We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood."
As Midoriya peeks inside the house, he can see that his neighbors definitely have a lot of money, everything looks expensive and even the fridge has a screen on it. It's all very modern but also achingly empty, unlived in, like the cover of a design magazine. Which makes no sense because they just moved in, there should be half-opened boxes littering the ground and counters, not this empty squeaky clean hardwood floor.
The man takes a second to respond, but then he turns towards the staircase and is somehow very loud without shouting, “Shouto!”
Midoriya is going to be very very careful when he plays football in the backyard now, he doubts this guy would react the same way old miss Daisy did if he broke his window. They can hear some noises coming from upstairs before footsteps echo in the stairway.
"Also this is for you. It's an apple pie." His mom seems to remember only now she had the dessert, thrusting it forward awkwardly and the man takes it as a boy comes up behind him.
Izuku's breath catches in his throat at how pretty the boy is.
Here’s the thing, Midoriya is going to be eighteen soon and he has known for a few months now that girls don't do it for him, no matter how pretty, hot, sexy or cute they are. And he tried, he tried so hard, but he's tired of trying. It's not when Uraraka kisses his cheek that his stomach curls, not when Momo grabs his arm as they walk, it's when he notices how this boy has the nicest eyelashes he's ever seen from where his head is bent.
Who even notices eyelashes? Being gay isn’t the problem, it’s how ridiculous he is about it.
The boy has the same ginger hair as his father but only on one side while the other half is white, his hair long enough to hide most of his face, stopping only at his sharp jawline.
"This is very kind of you." Bear-guy says. "I am Todoroki Enji, and this is my son, Shouto." The boy lifts his head up when he hears his name and Midoriya's eyes are drawn to the scar covering his left eye. It's huge and looks painful but Izuku objectively knows it isn't, not anymore. He can't help wondering how he got it.
The second thing he notices is that the guy’s eyes aren't the same color, one appearing bright blue while the other is walnut, it randomly reminds Midoriya of his aunt’s cat who has heterochromatic eyes too.
"This is Midoriya Inko and Izuku, our neighbors." Enji explains as he holds out the pie to his son. "They made us apple pie."
The boy takes the dish diligently, "It is very nice to meet you, thank—" His voice falters for half-a-second as he catches Izuku's eye. "Thank you for the pie." Izuku can't hold his gaze after hearing his voice and drops his eyes to the ground.
Oh he can feel the crush coming on. This is bad.
His voice is so nice and quiet, it sounds like what it feels like to be safe, Izuku thinks, before he realizes his brain doesn't make any sense.
The guy seems to be about his age, maybe a little older by the look of his built, but then again he has a mountain for a father so, can’t be too sure. When his mother says, "Oh it's nothing, I hope you like it.” Midoriya keeps looking at the patch of grass growing on the side of their threshold. "And if you need anything, please let me know."
"Thank you." Enji says in a clipped voice and Izuku can see him put a hand on the back of his son's neck from the corner of his eye. "Goodbye now."
Just before the door closes in their faces, Izuku meets Shouto's eyes one last time.
-
Over the next few days a few of the neighborhood’s most friendly inhabitants go over the Todoroki’s house to introduce themselves. After the Bakugous awkwardly exchange a few words with the giant and his son, Katsuki splits from his parents to come over to Midoriya's house. The blond bangs harshly on the door even though they have a perfectly working doorbell and Midoriya leaves his bed, tossing his book to the side as he yells a coming. He grabs a grey shirt lying on his desk chair on the way to the hallway and puts it on, fluffing his hair before opening the door.
"Took you fucking long enough." Grumbles Bakugou under his breath.
"Nice to see you too, Kacchan." Midoriya says with a smile as Bakugou is already walking in, settling on their couch after taking off his shoes. He has been around for so long that Izuku's mom bought the boy his own pair of slippers to wear inside the house years ago, they are purple with a little bow on them and Katsuki threw a fit when he first saw them. They are now dangling on his feet.
"The new neighbors are weirdos." Bakugou apparently can't even wait for Midoriya to be done turning on the Switch before voicing his opinion. "Also, did you see that scar? Scary shit."
Midoriya grabs the controllers and gives one to the blond, settling next to him at a safe distance. Safe as in, he knows Bakugo won't be able to hit him when he loses.
"It looks old. Probably a childhood accident." Midoriya comments offhandedly. He doesn't want to start talking about the neighbor's son, because Kacchan will see right through him and his stupid crush. "Mario Kart or Smash Bros?"
Katsuki doesn't seem to realize the change in subject, he just shrugs, "Depends what you want to be obliterated at."
Izuku rolls his eyes and keeps his tiny, endeared smile to himself.
-
It's been a few weeks since they moved in, and yet Midoriya never noticed the morning runs before.
Every day at five in the morning Enji and his son get out of their house as the sun is still down and take off running. Maybe Kacchan was right, maybe they are weirdos, Midoriya's sleep deprived brain wonders.
The first time Izuku even notices it’s because he was up all night watching edits of his favorite k-drama, not realizing the 1 on his alarm clock had turned into a 4 before it was too late. He was on his way to the bathroom before trying to get some sleep when he passed the window and saw Shouto stretching with his dad on their porch. He had watched, hiding behind the half closed curtain as the pair warmed-up for a minute in silence, earbuds in, before taking off. After that Midoriya couldn't help it, every time he got up early he checked the window. He got up a few days afterwards at six for a trip to his grandma’s and saw them coming back, drenched in sweat despite the chilly morning air. That's when he confirmed that it was a daily occurrence for them.
Then Midoriya refused to admit Katsuki could ever be right, they weren't weirdos, so what if they liked running, big deal.
But when Midoriya tells his mom at dinner the next day she seems to think it is weird. And when the whole neighborhood notices, they definitely think it's weird.
-
School is starting again in just a week and the whole town is buzzing with a newfound energy. Parents are emailing, texting, calling and creating WhatsApp groups to prepare for the big day as a united front whereas the kids are torn between the ones dreading Monday like the plague and the others who have been ready to go back to school for quite some time now.
Midoriya doesn't really know where he stands in those two categories, he's contemplating it as he grabs the milk jug his mom asked him to get. On the one hand, this is his last year of high school, and the wave of upcoming life-changing exams isn't appealing in the slightest. He also does not look forward to getting up at the crack of dawn, riding the old musty bus and getting home when the sun is already down, exhausted but still not done with his day.
However, on the other hand, he is starting to get bored out of his mind. Midoriya loves learning new things, socializing and as much as he loves his mom, he needs some time away from her and she does too. He can't take another rewatch of the Bachelor.
He makes his way over to the shopping cart where his mother is scratching off items from her grocery list when he spots Todoroki. He has a basket in his left hand while he reads the back of a can in his right, looking unfairly great in basic grey sweatpants. Midoriya takes a second to shamelessly ogle him from afar. Todoroki's eyes are scanning the can’s label, the muscles in his left arm flexing as he holds a full basket, some carrots peeking out. Midoriya is still fixated on what muscles he can see through the thin material of his white long sleeves when his mom exclaims, "Shouto!"
If Midoriya is embarrassed to be caught staring, the poor neighbor looks even worse, like he was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He visibly tenses before his panicked eyes meet Inko's kindly wrinkled ones. "How are you doing?" She asks as she pushes the cart towards the young man, Izuku following.
"I'm good, thank you. How are you ma'am?"
Midoriya could melt at the sound of his voice, it makes him grab onto the cart for dear life, wondering if he'll ever be able to open his mouth around the boy. Knowing himself, maybe he shouldn't.
"Oh please, call me Inko!" His mom’s tone is nothing but kind yet Todoroki bows stiffly in response, his face still as serious. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"
He shifts his grip on the basket and Midoriya congratulates himself in keeping his eyes on his face. "I'm in charge of the grocery shopping, my father is very busy." He explains dully and then looks at Izuku before dropping what looks like a can of soup in the basket without looking; except he misses and the can makes a loud thud as it crashes on the ground.
"How very nice of you!" His mom grins, unfazed, as Todoroki picks up the now bent can, breaking eye contact with Midoriya who takes a deep breath. "I was wondering, you look about my son's age, are you going to UA high school next week?"
Todoroki nods, "I'm in my last year."
Izuku's stomach was being put to the test today, he just held the most beautiful gaze in the world, and then learned he would probably have to see it on a daily basis. He might puke.
And he just knew his mom was about to embarrass him by offering for them to be school buddies or something, thankfully Todoroki spoke before she could utter another word. "I have to go now, I still have to bike back, have a nice evening ma'am and..."
Midoriya's mom makes the sound mothers make when another kid than theirs shows manners and they are the best thing in the world, cooing but also repeating herself for him to call her by her name. But Shouto is only looking at Izuku, frozen in place, before he nods almost shyly, and marches out the aisle.
Izuku looks at him until he disappears in the faceless crowd.
“Biking all the way there to help his dad with groceries? We should have offered him a ride!” His mom says, a guilty tint to her voice but she moves on quickly. “Oh that boy is so well-behaved, isn't he? Such good manners!” Midoriya sighs, he knows what is coming. "You could learn a little something from him!"
There we go.
-
Uraraka kicks the ball into Midoriya's direction and he catches it lazily, dribbling it once.
"I don't want to go back." She whines as she kicks the ground aimlessly now that she doesn't have the football anymore. "I can already feel the tears on my cheeks from math homework."
Ochako's wearing one of her skirts that are also shorts underneath that she loves so much, she wore them all summer long and is now picking at them like she's already missing them.
"You're just saying that because you don't know where you stand with Asui." Teases Midoriya as he attempts a trick with the ball, he fails. "Don't worry, you'll be fine, I’m sure it won’t be as awkward as you think it will.” He attempts to reassure her with a smile but she just grunts while putting her hair into a ponytail. Her face is then exposed and it hits Midoriya how pretty she is.
Uraraka is one of his best friends, and he honestly grew up thinking they were going to end up married. It was only over a year ago that he realized he could never love her like that.
He loves her so much, he really does, he'd do pretty much anything for her. And god knows she is so genuinely gorgeous. He will just never be able to love her that way, as in his heart beating faster when she walks into the room, like feeling safe in her arms or hungry for her kisses. When Midoriya realized he was gay he was so scared to hurt her, so scared to have lead her on for years, but after crying on her shoulder for two hours about it, he was reassured. They talked about it for hours, for weeks, and then it was her turn to realize she wasn't really in love with Izuku, she never was.
The idea really was planted into their head from before they could ever remember, growing used to hearing "Oh they're so cute together", "Midoriya is such a ladies man!", "Uraraka will charm all the boys!", "Those two will end up married, trust my word!" since they were three.
"I know we've been texting all summer and stuff but…" Midoriya kicks the football over to her and she catches it easily. "I'm just scared she doesn't feel the same." She shrugs as she keeps her eyes on the ball, dribbling more times than Midoriya can ever dream of.
"Are you pining over frog face again?" Katsuki yells from the other side of the Urarakas’ garden, crouching by his gym bag. "For fuck's sake."
"Like you're not texting Kirishima right now." Ochako says back, loud enough for Katsuki to hear her but not the neighbors, sounding annoyed but red in the face.
"What are you saying dipshit?"
Ochako just gives him the finger and turns her attention back to Midoriya. She puts her foot on the ball and kicks it over one more time. They stopped playing ten minutes ago but none of them really wants to go home just yet. "I'm just afraid she still thinks I'm being friendly, and not…" She searches for the words as Bakugou makes his way back to them.
"Trying to get into her pants?" Midoriya supplies and she snorts but nods, looking at the ball moving between the three of them.
"You seriously have to man up and tell her already, it's been fucking forever." Bakugou steals the football from Izuku.
"It's not that easy." Ochako says, frowning. "I like her so much, if she tells me she just sees me as a friend I might die."
"Drama queen." Katsuki singsongs as Midoriya talks.
"I think she likes you just as much, you said you guys almost kissed at the movies!"
The brown-haired girl visibly cringes. "Let's not talk about that."
"Oh yeah! When you thought she was leaning in to kiss you but she was just grabbing popcorn?" Bakugou chuckles mercilessly, but his laugh is short-lived as the ball Uraraka violently kicks into his stomach knocks the wind out of him.
"And a great shot from the young Uraraka!" Their neighbor, Mr.Hizashi, yells in his best radio host voice as he bikes past.
Bakugo flips him off from where he’s kneeling in the grass.
-
Izuku's mom really is fearless, he thinks as she strides over to their grizzly bear of a neighbor, her signature smile on her face. He follows her, keeping his hands deep in his pockets so that he feels more grounded and because he knows he won't know what to do with them. The Todorokis were getting home, both getting out of their fancy car in athletic gear, and Enji can be heard giving pointers to his son about his balance. But to be honest Todoroki looks dead inside as he nods, as if he heard it all a million times before, eyes lost on their perfectly cut lawn.
"Mr.Todoroki!"
The man turns around at the voice, his tank top stretching as he takes a deep breath in, like he is trying to not say something rude. "Yes?"
His voice almost makes Izuku turn around right here and there.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" His mom is so brave, her smile unwavering as she plants herself at a reasonable distance. Izuku would be lying if he said the only reason he was there was for his mom, it was for the boy standing just a few meters away from him. He is weak for his eyes, and what they do to his guts. "It's about carpooling!"
At that, the frown on the man's face somehow relaxes, looking less murderous and more grumpy.
"We all have kids at UA High School so we have this carpool system! Since there's only one bus in the morning and one in the afternoon, if they start later or finish earl-"
"This won't be needed for my son."
He knows his mom had been wanting to offer rides to their neighbor since she learned Todoroki was going to UA but Midoriya is too busy noticing how strong Todoroki’s legs look in his shorts to really follow what's happening. The whole neighborhood is pretty active, there always is someone working out in their driveway, people running by every now and then, yoga classes on someone's lawn, so it's nothing Izuku hasn't seen before. And with their school's obsession with sports on top of Katsuki's boxing, Iida's tennis and Ochako's football he's pretty much surrounded by fit people. But the way Todoroki's calves are defined, the way his thigh muscles twitch when he nervously rubs his toes on the pavement while looking down… That's what makes Midoriya lose his mind.
"Oh I understand you're busy and won't be able to provide rides, but we'd be happy to add Shouto to the group chat if he ever needs a ride or—“
"Again, no." Enji closes the trunk of his car, adding momentum to his curt answer. "My son will be biking to and from school."
"Biking?!"
It takes a second for Izuku to realize he had been the one who talked, or rather shrieked. Now three pairs of eyes are turned towards him and he can't even bring himself to meet two of them. From the glimpse he had seen, Enji's murderous glare was back, now ten times worse, and by the way his mom was looking at him he could tell they'd have a talk about manners later. And he very well saw from the corner of his eye a mismatched head shoot up, but he couldn't look at him right now, not when he was sure he looked like he was shitting himself.
"I-I just meant—" He was stuttering, from embarrassment or fear maybe, but who cares? “Sorry. It's a very long bike ride to school, I was surprised." He rubs a hand at the nape of his neck and grabs the hair there, trying to find some type of composure. "I'm sorry." He directs his quiet apology at the man who could break his spine with one hand.
"We are aware of that." Enji simply responds, but he sounds fuming.
Except Midoriya isn't that afraid of the grizzly right now because when he turns to look at Todoroki he can see the taller boy looking at him with such an intensity that he thinks he might have to go in a corner and cry. He doesn't look mad, more like confused, probably confused at how dumb can this guy get, thinks Izuku.
"He doesn't mind the exercise." Gorilla-man says before grabbing his son's arm. "Have a pleasant evening." He adds as a goodbye and starts to walk, leaving Inko gaping.
But Midoriya, who still has his eyes on Shouto’s retreating back, doesn’t miss how the boy roughly tugs his arm out of the man's grasp as soon as they reach the porch.
-
On their first day back to class Midoriya is sitting next to Uraraka on the bus, Bakugou nodding off somewhere on a seat at the back, when they pass Todoroki on his bike. Izuku frowns as Uraraka keeps on talking, oblivious, and he glances at his phone: seven forty-eight. It was only a twenty minutes bus ride from their neighborhood, but it must have been over an hour of biking for Todoroki, yet there he was, his uniform perfectly fitted, not a hint of effort or sweat on his face. How unfair.
Todoroki actually didn't walk through the main doors until seven fifty-five, Midoriya knew because he was keeping an eye out for him. And it wasn't because of his stupid crush, Todoroki was new, he wanted to make sure he'd be able to have someone to help him out if he got lost or something.
However the new student wasn't alone when he walked in, Izuku recognized Momo Yaoyorozu with him, several eyes turning on them as they walked past. By the way they were chatting, it looked as if they'd known each other for a long time.
Momo had been one of the most popular girls in their school since the very first year; she was incredibly smart, an athlete and astoundingly beautiful, the worst part was that she was so kind to everyone you couldn't even justify your jealousy. Though Izuku wasn't jealous, he was glad Todoroki wasn't alone for his first day of school, he'd been cursing himself for not being braver and reaching out earlier.
"Oh yeah that movie was terrible. The plot was so obvious and the acting was the worst." Kirishima is saying and Midoriya realizes he stopped listening to the conversation a while ago.
"You sent me twenty voice messages about it." Katsuki responds, blasé, their mandatory tie already hanging loose from his neck.
The redhead shrugs as he smiles. "Well it was terrible but I loved it."
Before anyone can respond the speakers come to life above them, the voice of their principal welcoming them back to school. They are all standing in the schoolyard when the principal starts to list every class, asking them to report to a designated teacher. Izuku knows they will have to wait a few minutes before they'll be called as they start with the younger students, working their way up to the seniors. The crowd quiets down as the listing starts, first years looking just as terrified as excited when they make their way towards their new teachers.
As they chat quietly enough not to disturb the roll call, the schoolyard slowly empties out, after half an hour there are only seniors left and Midoriya grips his backpack straps tighter in anticipation. He knows his last year will be fine in any class, with any classmate or teacher, he just really hopes he will get to spend it with his friends. He has good chances though, their high school isn’t that big, they will only be two senior classes.
"Class 3-A! You will report to Mr.Aizawa!" The principal announces as the teacher lazily waves once, then he starts enumerating names; all of them somewhat familiar to Midoriya. It's Asui's name that comes first in their friends group and she is gone with a wave, then Bakugou is called and he's off with a click of his tongue. After that it's Iida who hurries off, Kaminari and Kirishima are called right after and they high-five before running off. Uraraka's hand finds Midoriya's as they are both buzzing with nerves, he squeezes it and smiles down at her.
"Midoriya Izuku!"
He doesn't dare sag in relief, not yet, he brings Ochako's hand to his mouth and presses a quick good luck kiss on her knuckles before he joins Mr.Aizawa.
Sero lets out a whoop as he's called but Midoriya doesn't really have the time to think about it when Todoroki's name is called. The crowd is a little louder, humming with gossip as he makes his way over to them. Midoriya can't tell if he's lucky to have his unrequited crush in his class or not, however when he catches Todoroki’s beautiful eyes on him he thinks he's downright blessed. Then Uraraka is jumping onto his side, screaming about how lucky they are to be in the same class. He really needs to stop fazing out.
"Let's quiet down before I lose it." Mr.Aizawa calmly says and the newly formed class quiets instantly, unlike Midoriya's heartbeat.
-
That same first day when Midoriya sits down for lunch Bakugou blurts out, "Todoroki is famous."
Izuku is so glad he didn't start picking at his lunch on his way there because he just knows he would have choked on the food. Bakugou seems to think the same thing, regretting not waiting a whole two-seconds to drop his bomb.
"What?"
"I knew his name rang a bell," Explains Kaminari, seated next to Bakugou. "So I googled him, look!" He excitedly passes his unlocked phone to Midoriya, whose eyes quickly scan over the wikipedia page.
Enji Todoroki - silver medal - Taekwendo - Olympics - three times in a row - married - four children - training his son - karate prodigy - Todoroki Shouto
The first thought that comes to Midoriya's mind is where is the rest of the Todoroki family? In the few weeks that they've been here Midoriya has never seen anybody else in their house. He is smart enough not to say it aloud but can tell by the frown on Ochako's face that she's thinking the same thing.
The second thing that comes to Midoriya's mind is that's why Todoroki is ripped.
He's ashamed of his own mind, its objectifying the neighbor any chance it gets.
"That's so manly!" Kirishima says as his mouth is full of peas. "The guy is a legend, Todoroki must be so proud of his dad."
"The Todorokis are Midoriya's neighbors."
Katsuki apparently loves being the initiator of gossip today. A collective gasp can be heard around the table as all eyes turn on Izuku.
Great.
"Dude! Ew, there are peas everywhere!"
-
Even if Todoroki is his neighbor, the first time they actually have a conversation is in the biology lab, where they get assigned as partners for the rest of the year. Midoriya is somewhat relieved, he is actually pretty good at science, which means he won't look as dumb as he's used to being around the taller boy.
Izuku walks over to Todoroki's table, one hand deep in his pocket and the other gripping his backpack strap tight, a comforting pattern.
"Hey Todoroki." He says, a big yet awkward smile on his face. He goes to say something — probably dumb — when Todoroki looks up, flicking his hair aside. And there goes Midoriya's knees.
“Hello Midoriya." He softly answers and there goes Izuku's whole legs.
He has no choice but to sit down on the high stool next to the boy, getting his stuff out of his bag. He doesn't have to worry about an uncomfortable silence too much as the teacher starts the class, today's subject a review of last year's important points. It’s quite easy, which means it’s quite boring so Midoriya glances at Todoroki's side of the desk, peeking at his very simple black pencil case which seemed to be half-full of only essentials. Izuku feels a little dumb with his pink pencil case covered with doodles form Jiro and overflowing with useless things like three different orange highlighters.
In addition to that, Todoroki's cursive handwriting was really neat, his fountain pen flying across the pages of his notebook and Izuku unconsciously pays extra-attention to his usually messy handwriting. Another thing that Midoriya notices about Todoroki because he can't stop looking is how straight he's sitting, all the time. He remembers his own mother trying to keep him from slouching, only to give up when Midoriya started sitting crossed legged on his chair at the dinner table.
"I'll let you work on those quizzes in silence. Those questions are all key points of last year's program." The teacher says before she asks two students in the front to pass on sheets of paper. "You have the rest of the hour to hand them back."
The clock reads 13:34.
Uraraka's terrified eyes meet Midoriya's wide ones as she turns around from a few seats up where she is sitting next to Iida. A test on the first day isn't really what they expected, and the class's noise is slowly draining as the papers are passed around.
Kirishima, who's in front of Izuku, turns around to pass him the papers. "Here you go, good luck guys." He winks at them with his usual grin, as if they’re not facing an imminent pop quiz.
Midoriya thanks him, takes a sheet of paper and passes the rest to his classmate while whispering a good luck. Todoroki doesn't respond but Izuku is too busy panicking over the very first question to even mind.
Twenty minutes later Midoriya is trying really hard not to mutter to himself, he doesn't want to distract anyone. He only has one question left but he'd like to proofread his whole test before handing it back in, he takes a second to look at the time and his eyes go wide. As he hurries back to his test he is painfully aware that Todoroki has been done for at least five minutes, now playing with a blue pencil in between his slender fingers.
When the clock hits two everybody starts to hand in their paper to the people in front of them until it reaches the teacher's desk, but nobody moves as they still have an hour of science left on their schedule.
"This next quiz," The teacher starts and a collective groan ripples through the class. "is going to be done in pairs, it will let you acknowledge and assess your partner's strengths and weaknesses for the year to come. Hand in one sheet of paper per duo at three."
The whole process of passing papers starts up again and now Midoriya is convinced his teacher just doesn't feel like talking today. She does look kind of hungover.
Then it registers in Midoriya’s brain that he's going to have to chat with Todoroki for an hour, and he can feel his abs flex at the lurch in his stomach.
Kirishima once again passes the quizzes and this one is three pages long with multiple choice answers. Todoroki takes it this time with a faint thank you and Midoriya gulps hard as he watches Todoroki scout his stool closer to him before setting the test between them.
Midoriya can't breathe properly, there's a good chance he is going to die today but the reason — embarrassment? fear? pure love and adoration? — is yet to be defined.
After an awkward, silent minute, Todoroki speaks up.
“I can fill it in by myself if you want."
Midoriya frowns. "What? No. Why would—"
"You just don't seem that good at science.” Todoroki explains and Izuku is hurt, but then he does realize he just spent thirty minutes freaking out over a test of fairly easy questions. "Plus, you look like you don't want to talk to me."
Great, amazing, Midoriya cringes internally. He just managed to be so awe struck by the boy he came out as rude.
He violently shakes his head before he can think better of it, his hands waving in front of his chest without his control. "No! I would absolutely love to talk to you!" He says, a little too eagerly. "I mean—" Todoroki looks at him with an eyebrow raised, it’s scary how much he looks like his father. "I'm sorry, if I seemed rude, it wasn’t my intention. I'm just quite shy I guess." He tries to calm down by looking at the test. "And I swear I'm actually not that bad at this. I am not going to let you do it by yourself.” He minutely shrugs. "Tests just stress me out."
He scratches his head as Todoroki keeps staring at him, as if he's still trying to understand something. Good luck with that, Izuku barely understands himself half of the time. His classmate finally drops his gaze after what feels like years and his shoulders seem to relax.
"Alright then, let's see, first question. Which of the following defines the identity of an element? The number of nucleons, neutrons, electrons or protons?" Todoroki finishes reading the answers and turns his whole body towards Midoriya, waiting.
Is he quizzing Izuku?
Midoriya looks at him like he just grew a second head, he knows he is, but he can't help it as he chuckles quite incredulously. Todoroki doesn’t trust easily now does he?
"Number of protons." Midoriya answers, confident.
At that, Todoroki seems taken aback, he opens his mouth to talk but then seemingly decides against it, he just grabs his pencil and circles the right answer on the sheet instead. Midoriya can't help but feel a little bit smug, thank god this isn't French class.
"Okay." He keeps his eyes on the sheet instead of challenging Midoriya with his eyes again. "What gas is the sun mainly composed of? Nitrogen, carbon—"
"Oxygen." Midoriya says, looking at Todoroki's sharp profile, wondering what it'd be like to kiss his jawline. He didn't even realize he cut Todoroki off before the other one stops talking, circling the right answer quietly.
He forces his gaze to the desk when Todoroki catches him staring from the corner of his eye.
"My turn, mister I-finish-my-test-in-five-minutes." Midoriya grabs the sheets of papers stapled together and Todoroki makes a tiny sound of protest but the curly haired boy just hides behind the pages. He can’t believe he just called him that, he just admitted creeping at him. "Which is the correct name f-for the compound MgCI2?" When he looks up briefly after his embarrassing stutter he can see Todoroki smirking softly and drops his eyes back down quickly. "Mono-magnesium—"
"Magnesium Chloride."
Midoriya swallows hard, he can't help squirming under the taller boy's stare. Who knew science could be hot? Probably nerds.
Midoriya wonders, how is he supposed to let his crush die down when he keeps learning hot stuff about his neighbor? But he comforts himself in knowing that Todoroki’s intelligence will actually now be a big reason for his crush. His brain isn’t just horny for looks then, good to know.
"Okay," Izuku says, flipping through the pages to find what he deems to be a difficult question. "How do you calculate density?" He asks and doesn't even bother to read the possible answers, he just lets his hand holding the test go limp as they're now both fully facing each other.
Todoroki tries to tame his sufficient smile, Midoriya can tell. "Mass over volume."
Midoriya asks two more questions, one of which he doesn't even know the answer to, but Todoroki always answers without his gaze or smirk ever wavering. When Todoroki crosses his arms and Midoriya's eyes get stuck on the muscles in his forearms for one too many seconds, he gives up.
He puts the test back on the table to try and get some composure while muttering in defeat, "Alright, alright, so you're not just a pretty face."
He then freezes promptly.
Why the fuck would he say that?
His eyes open wide as he gasps at his own stupidity. "I mean, not that I thought you'd be dumb, because pretty people can be smart, not that I think you're prett— I mean- Ah! You are—"
He's slowly decomposing but Todoroki is just sitting there looking at him without a hint of humor on his face. Midoriya might get beaten up.
“You’re so pretty but—“
Todoroki frowns.
Oh he's definitely getting his ass handed to him. He wonders if Kacchan would help him or just film it.
“I mean— I’m sorry.” His voice got louder without him even noticing as he apologizes profusely and Katsuki saves his life from the desk behind them.
"I swear to god Izuku if you don't shut up right the fuck now."
Midoriya turns back to his best friend like he's the messiah while Todoroki faces back to the front of the class, still embarrassingly silent.
"You're being a little loud." Ashido reluctantly confirms from where she is sitting next to Bakugou, looking up with an apologetic smile.
"I'm so sorry guys." He apologizes, again, his face probably red.
Katsuki grunts and Midoriya takes it as a good sign, turning back around to see Todoroki going over the questions they already answered out loud. Before Midoriya can go back to rambling Todoroki finally talks.
"I'm sorry for assuming you weren't good at this." He taps the sheet of paper with his pen. "I hope I didn't offend you." He adds as he ticks another answer.
Well that wasn't what Midoriya was expecting but he'll take it.
"Let's just forget all the dumb things we said today." Izuku mumbles, refusing to look at Todoroki when the other boy turns to him, still too embarrassed.
"See, I don't think I can do that."
At first he thinks that's a threat but then he can see the hint of a smile on Todoroki's face. They solely focus on the questions until the bell rings.