mixingbowl | Try to believe walking down the lonesome road

Try to believe walking down the lonesome road

[With the start of their internships fast approaching, it's no wonder a good portion of the students in 1-A are too excited to properly concentrate during class. Aizawa, picking up on their lack of focus, eventually ends the class a few minutes early with a tired, exasperated sigh. Izuku grins guiltily at their teacher's retreating back. He can't exactly blame his classmates for distracted like this--picking their hero names and their first internship is pretty exciting. And a big step toward being pros.

Fidgeting with the bandages on his hands, Izuku turns in his seat and just happens to catch Todoroki's eyes. There's the barest flicker of hesitation before Izuku offers up a cheerful smile.] Todoroki-kun, have you already decided where you're going for your internship?

[The classroom's already emptying out, but there's no real need to hurry out like everyone else is. Besides, Izuku hasn't really gotten a chance to talk to Todoroki since the festival. Remembering how subdued Todoroki was during the medal ceremony has made it difficult for him to shake away his concerns. So Izuku gathers up his books slowly and waits for an answer.]

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[Best friend. His eyes immediately begin to prickle with tears.]

I'm glad you're my best friend, too, Todoroki. [He turns a smile, shaky with emotion, on Todoroki just then, and it's about ten times warmer and brighter than the one from before.]

[What would he give to put this memory in a jar so he could always come back to it? There's a warmth heating up his core. Midoriya called him his best friend too- and Midoriya has so many good friends. Somehow he always seems to feel so much better whenever he's with him.

Words are failing him, so instead, he gives a warm smile. Something only Midoriya is ever going to see and hopes it's enough to convey the swell of emotions in his chest.]

[Though Izuku doesn't normally have a habit of taking pictures, he wishes he could find some way to preserve this smile right now without making it incredibly weird. It'd be pretty selfish of him to want to keep it to himself, though, wouldn't it?

A second later, Izuku realizes that they've just been sitting here and smiling each other, and that makes him duck his head again. Not that it helps, when he just ends up grinning rather stupidly at the table instead. He can't help it! It's hard to hold back the smile when he's feeling this light and happy.]

[ Midoriya really is an amazing person and he's lucky to have him in his life. He doesn't think he'd have gotten over his personal roadblocks without him.

He's fairly certain Midoriya is still smiling, so there's nothing to worry about. Still, he wishes that smile was directed towards him. ]

... Did you want another bite?

[Izuku laughs softly, making the crepe's cardboard paper crinkle dully in his hands when he shifts.]

Sure. [He leans in again, still smiling.] You know, it might be easier if we just switched for a little bit.

[That's the reasonable thing to do but...]

I like having you this close.

[Hearing those words makes him pull back to stare, a healthy blush overtaking his face again. How does Todoroki manage to say things like that without even blinking??]

Th...this isn't exactly the most practical way to share. [Izuku mumbles quietly in response. Which isn't exactly a "no" or a disagreement.]

Somethings are with trading practicality in for.

... Midoriya, are you feeling okay?

[Izuku nods weakly. Though being a student at UA tends to mean that his life is a bit of a roller coaster, he almost feels like it's been nothing compared to his interactions with Todoroki today. Even someone like him, who's known to be incredibly emotional, has ended up feeling overwhelmed.]

Y-yeah, I'm okay! You just surprised me a little, that's all.

[ And to think, it's only been a day of pretending to date. That means many many more days of this bizarre emotional journey. ]

Sorry, I didn't mean to.

I...I didn't say it was a bad thing, Todoroki. [He smiles, toying with the pointy end of the crepe holder.]

It's a nice kind of surprise. [For one, Izuku doesn't think he'll ever get used to someone telling him that they care upfront like this. He's worth something to Todoroki, and to his other friends, too. How could he not be happy about that?]

[ He's never quite sure if he's saying the right or wrong thing. But he's sure Midoriya would tell him if he was being an actual disaster. ]

Then I hope you have a lot of nice surprises.

It's the same for you. [He watches Todoroki warmly, feeling brave enough to give a light touch to Todoroki's arm, as if that would get his point across better.]

Want some more of my crepe? [Izuku's knee bumps into Todoroki's under the table accidentally, prompting him to mumble out a soft apology. As if he needed any more reminders of how close they're sitting.]

[So it's fine to touch? That's surprising, but also in a good way. He'll file that away for when he needs to comfort Midoriya.]

Yes.

You don't need to apologize for that.

[He enjoys how close they're sitting. It just seems to put him at ease.]

[Even if Todoroki says that, Izuku feels compelled to apologize for it--and a lot of things, actually.]

Okay... here. [Izuku pushes the crepe up in its container slightly before holding it close to Todoroki's lips for convenience's sake. That's what he tells himself, though he knows it's just his own way of countering the odd nerves he seems to get whenever they lean in toward each other.

...it made more sense in his own head.]

[He's being handfed by his friend. If Shouto knew a little bit more about friendship, maybe he'd recognize this as odd behavior. As it stands though, he thinks it's perfectly normal.

So he'll take another bite.]

I can see why it's your favorite.

The strawberry and chocolate one's really good, too. [For a moment, as Todoroki samples the apple crepe, Izuku's eyes are drawn to his friend's hair. A few rebellious white strands have made their way into the red half, he notices, and suddenly, Izuku has the urge to reach out and fix it for him. Would Todoroki's hair be as soft to the touch as it looks?

...that's totally a normal thing to wonder about a good friend, right?

Izuku forces himself to look away, trying to get his thoughts back on track.] Um, so! I think we can count the crepes as a success.

[Shouto's been wanting to run his fingers through Midoriya's curls this entire time. So he'd say it's perfectly natural.]

I would come back here anytime you asked.

... Mom might like one. She doesn't get a lot of good desserts at the hospital. What do you think?

[Izuku immediately sits up straighter at the mention of Todoroki's mother.]

Depends how far the hospital is from here. If it takes a while to get there, it might be better to find another crepe place that's closer. Stuff like this is better when it's fresh.

[He hesitates, then asks tentatively--] You've been seeing her for a little while now, right? How--how is she doing? [Even if Izuku's never met her before, he can't help but feel sympathetic, for what she had to endure.]

[He looks down at his own crepe and hums. This is the first time he's ever been able to talk about her at length with anybody. And Midoriya was the entire reason he went. It only makes sense to talk with him.

But knowing what to say is much harder than he expected.]

She's-- She forgave me really easily.

I wasn't expecting that.

[He watches Todoroki with a soft smile.] That's great.

It sounds like... [Izuku stops, worrying at his bottom lip as he tries to think of something meaningful to say.] Maybe you were on her mind all this time, too. And now that you've been visiting her, it's an opportunity for both of you to say the things that you've wanted to say for a while.

I-it's just a guess, anyway.

[Maybe that is what happened. It's hard to know when he's honestly afraid of asking her. He can't tell which one would be worse between the two.]

Mm... Mom bought a strawberry milk. She didn't know I was coming, but she remembered that was my favorite when I was little.

... I guess she was thinking of me.

I... feel pretty bad for not visiting her for so long.

[Almost absently, Izuku mentally files that tidbit away for later.]

Todoroki... [There's the urge to reach out again, though Izuku hesitates at first. Maybe he's overthinking it? Afterall, Todoroki didn't seem to mind it earlier...

Before Izuku can talk himself out of it, he puts his hand over Todoroki's, doing his best to reassure with something other than his words.] It's not your fault. You had a lot on your mind, too. Besides, you went to see her as soon as you figured things out, didn't you?

[That's what he assumes, anyway, considering the festival wasn't that long ago.]

[Shouto doesn't pull away from his hand. In fact, he even relaxes, the tension slowly draining out of his shoulders.]

It was still ten years of not visiting her. I don't know if anybody but Fuyumi went.

I went the weekend after the sports festival. But I still had to take some time to myself. [Seems a little selfish, when he thinks about it.]

[There's no way Izuku can watch Todoroki blaming himself without doing something. He sets his crepe down on the table--they're just about finished anyway--and takes Todoroki's hand into both of his own this time, holding it tightly.]

I think it was really brave of you to go. [He says, softly but firmly.] Your mom wasn't the only one who was hurt by everything that happened. You...you were, too. There must have been a reason you stayed away for so long. [Izuku leans in closer, hoping that his words are getting across to him.] It can't have been easy for you to make that trip the first time.

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