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[glaciers]

Shouto Todoroki | Blue | #57A7C5

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[glaciers]

[Shouto is good at keeping himself at least looking stable. But he can't do that when he thought Midoriya was gone forever.]

I'm sleeping in your room.

[Because at least there would always be somebody to supervise Midoriya if he was there. Just as a temporary measure, he can make sure nothing happens to him in the next few weeks.]

[inheritance]

[Now that makes him sit up, anguish momentarily forgotten.]

Wait, what? You are?

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[There is no reply.

Shouto's moving his things into a blanket. It's time for him to make his way to Midoriya's house.

A few minutes later there's a knock at the front door and Shouto's there with all of his stuff (minus the lobster tank) slung over his shoulder.]

[inheritance]

[Everything is happening so fast!! By the time Izuku's processed what Todoroki means, his friend's apparently stopped answering his messages. He opens the door tentatively, looking not at all surprised to see him standing there.]

I'm not getting a say in this, am I? [Is all he says, but it's a half-hearted protest at best. He can't bring himself to argue when he's seen for himself how upset his friend was.]

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[It's good to see Midoriya in person after the scare that was losing him. But he's still too awkward to try anything like initiating a hug, even if it would be very comforting.]

You're not.

[Shouto steps into the house and makes a beeline for Midoriya's room.]

[inheritance]

[Resigned, Izuku closes the door and follows him. And then it hits him--that's a lot of things Todoroki's carrying for an overnight stay. Huh. And then he remembers that he's forgotten to replace his bed since everything started falling apart and the furniture turned against them.]

Ah, wait! I haven't fixed up my room yet... [Suddenly nervous, Izuku rushes to catch up.]

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[Shouto is planning on staying here for a long, long time.]

I'm not going to judge you over it.

[But he will push the door open to reveal Midoriya's room.]

[inheritance]

[It's still relatively neat, whatever Izuku has to say. There's a small table in the corner that's paired with an old, but sturdy chair--both scavenged from around the town. His backpack sits against the desk, while several other random items, like a pair of daggers (???), have been set aside in a box off to the side. Then, of course, there's the pile of cushions and blankets that he's been using as a bed for a while...he should probably do something about that.]

Um....I-I'll grab more pillows!

[Izuku shuffles past him and toward the closet where he's been storing all the extra stuff he's been collecting.]

[glaciers]

What were you worried about? It's neat in here.

[He was expecting a disaster zone, but it's perfectly nice in here. ... The daggers are a little worrying, and he kind of wants to put them far, far away from Midoriya.

But for now he'll lay out his bed next to Midoriya's makeshift one. It really just looks like the bed is getting bigger more than it looks like two beds.]

[inheritance]

[Izuku just looks relieved, rubbing at the back of his neck.]

Here. [He kneels and hands him the pillows he'd grabbed just now.] You...brought a lot of stuff with you. [There's nothing accusing in his words, just some measure of bafflement.] Won't it be a lot of trouble to drag everything back later?

[glaciers]

[Shouto takes the pillows and lays them near Midoriya's pillows.

And then he takes a seat on his bed and looks up at his friend.]

I'm not doing that.

[inheritance]

[Izuku crouches down beside him, noticeably being careful about his injured side.]

You're not...? [The confusion lingers for a second longer, and then comprehension sinks in. His eyes widen.] When you said you were staying here, you didn't mean just for tonight.

[It's not a question.]

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I'm not.

[Because clearly that answers everything.]

And I didn't. I'm moving in.

[inheritance]

[He sinks all the way down to the floor this time.]

Todoroki-kun...you don't have to do that just to keep an eye on me, you know. [Izuku says weakly, still overcome by surprise.]

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I want to.

[Also he feels like somebody from home should be keeping tabs on Midoriya.]

[inheritance]

[Izuku draws his knees up to his chest, studying Todoroki quietly. He can't even really blame Todoroki for wanting to keep an eye on him at this point. Becoming a hero who could alleviate worries intead of causing it, like he'd told Togata--he's not even close to reaching his goal.]

Would this really make you feel better?

[glaciers]

Yes.

[Because at least if they lived together, Shouto could make sure nothing happened to Midoriya in the middle of the night. He doesn't mind being a nightlight to keep the shadows away.]

We're friends. I want to help.

[inheritance]

[One hand runs through his unruly hair, even as Izuku smiles a bit helplessly. When Todoroki puts it that way, he can't really say no, can he?]

Okay...but only if you're really sure about this! [Izuku leans forward, looking Todoroki in the eyes.] And if you decide you want to move back to your own place at any point, you don't have to force yourself to stay here. Promise?

[glaciers]

I'm sure.

[Shouto meets Midoriya's eyes with his own mismatched gaze.]

My best friend lives here. Why would I want to leave?

[inheritance]

[Oh. Izuku's breath hitches at those words. Best friend. Though it's been more and more obvious to Izuku how much he's come to rely on Todoroki lately, it's another thing to hear Todoroki lay it out so simply. To hear that Todoroki feels that new closeness, too.

To his horror, he feels a prickling heat in his eyes that he's all too familiar with. Hurriedly, he ducks his head and swipes at his eyes as the tears well up.]

[glaciers]

[He said it in text before, but it's something different to say it in his own voice. His face starts to slowly go pink, but he shoves his own emotions to the side when he realizes Midoriya's starting to cry.

His own eyes start to go wide as he realizes he has no idea what he should be doing here. The obvious route would be a hug or some kind of physical comfort, but are they close enough for that? Would Midoriya accept that from him?

The thought of getting rejected makes something squirm deep in his belly, so he stops himself.]

I... I'm sorry?

[It sounds weak even to his own ears, but he doesn't know what he's supposed to be apologizing for.]

[inheritance]

[That only makes Izuku duck his head even more, shoulders shaking just a little as he does so. A weird, choked off laugh escapes him before he can stop it.]

Y-you don't have to apologize for anything, Todoroki-kun. [With his emotions already keyed up, and exhaustion still sitting heavily in his bones despite all his pretenses, it was incredibly easy for the tears to leak out.

When he finally looks back up, though, he's smiling, eyes still bright with those tears and emotion.] It's not a bad thing, I'm just really happy.

[glaciers]

[He still feels like he ought to. He just made his best friend (his best friend!!) cry on complete accident. But thinking about it a little further, he's always been quick to cry, hasn't he? After everything that's happened it makes sense that there would be too many emotions to process.

He just put down the final straw. Probably. Understanding Midoriya is not an exact science (yet).]

I told you before... Even heroes cry sometimes.

[He can at least offer the words, even if he's not comfortable offering more than that yet.]

If you have to, then let it out.

[inheritance]

[Another soft, choked up laugh--Izuku seems to have taken Todoroki's words to heart, though, letting the tears fall freely rather than wiping them away immediately.]

I remember. Back when the others and I were still at our internships. [The internship where so many things had gone wrong...those are darker thoughts that he doesn't want to dwell on now. Izuku wraps his arms around his knees before resting his chin there.] It feels like you've been giving me a lot of advice lately.

[glaciers]

[ He thinks Midoriya probably just needs the catharsis of crying out his emotions. It's been a full few weeks here in this abandoned city.

There's a long moment of hesitation, where he reaches his hand out and draws it back before gingerly placing it on Midoriya's shoulder. That's fine, isn't it? ]

Aizawa-sensei and All Might-sensei aren't here. So somebody needs to give you some.

... I'm just grateful it's helping. I don't always know if I am.