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Todoroki ignored the screaming ache in his left leg to continue trudging towards his apartment.
The pouring rain had managed to wash away the majority of the blood caking his hair and person, but did little to ease the uncomfortable stings of the wounds hastily cleaned up by his own hand having foregone the clinic in favor of heading straight home.
Bakugou was going to be pissed.
In hindsight, the ambush should have been obvious. Who robbed a bank by themselves?
By the time he’d realized what he’d gotten himself into, the situation had escalated to the point where he had no time to call for backup; redirecting his hands for even a second would have been fatal. The gang had been dangerous, and he could only be grateful that it had been himself to literally walk into the robbery rather than a lower-class hero.
Now, an hour past the supposed end of his shift, the villains were neatly tied up in the back of a police van, his whole body was soaking wet and in pain, and he had yet another combat report to finish.
He could feel his heartbeat behind his eyes.
That can’t be normal.
From where he was in the middle of a pedestrian-only street, distanced from the throngs of people shuffling past each other under awnings to escape from the rain, he had as much room as he needed to slowly limp home.
Unfortunately, it also made the eyes on him painfully obvious as people literally turned their heads to gawk at him.
And that wasn't anything new. He was a pro-hero. He was in the top 5. Of course people whipped their heads around to get a look at him, especially in the banged up state he was in.
But today, he was vulnerable. Today, he didn't have the energy to talk himself out of believing the looks weren't targeting his left side, and frankly, he didn't feel like dealing with it.
Blood dripped warm down his chin from his split lip, mixing with the rain.
He ducked into the next alley as quickly as he could, reaching out to support himself against the cracked wall before he ate shit.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he groaned.
The hand not currently supporting his weight was unuseable, wrapped heavily where a villain with a magnetic quirk had gotten in his space and left him no choice but to block a shard of metal with his palm, and removing his good hand from the wall was out of the question.
Out of options, he ended up sliding pathetically down the wet concrete until he could maneuver into a sitting position on the grimy alley floor, wincing when he landed heavily on the leg the magnetic villain had slammed a mailbox into.
Already breathless, he scooted forward until he reached some steps where he'd be mostly shielded from the rain, eyes closing despite himself at the relief of finally sitting. Careful to keep his weight off his leg, he wondered if he could afford a quick nap. The floor had no business being as comfortable as it was.
His phone buzzed again.
Hunching over to protect it from the dripping awning, he pulled it out and opened the new message from Bakugou.
Katsuki❤️
- (Katsuki❤️ shared their location)
- u in the area? Grabbing drinks w the idiot brigade
The map indicated he was in the intersection Todoroki had just avoided.
Todoroki sighed heavily, staring blankly at the red pinprick on the map. His instincts told him to isolate. To hide away where no one could find him for as long as he could.
But he knew now, after many years together, that seeing Bakugou would help more than isolating ever would. It always did.
He briefly considering asking Bakugou to come get him before deciding that that was stupid and heaving himself back up.
Heaving himself back up, he gasped when the world spun. Swaying on his feet for a second, he quickly let his back hit the wall, trembling fingers typing out a reply and pressing send faster than he could talk himself out of it.
Katsuki❤️
- (Katsuki❤️ shared their location)
- u in the area? grabbing drinks w the idiot brigade
im not well -
No sooner had the text gone through was Bakugou’s call lighting up his screen.
He picked up. “Hello?”
Bakugou shouted something angry-sounding back, but the loud chatter in the background paired with the roar of the rain made it impossible to understand. “What? I can't hear you.”
Another barrage of indistinguishable Bakugou noises came through before he heard the jingle of a door opening and the background chatter dying away.
“Why aren’t you well?!” Bakugou’s lone voice rang out clearly. “Are you injured?”
Pushing away from the wall, he headed back down the alley. “I’ll be fine. Just tired.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m almost at your intersection.” His toe caught on the curb and he saw stars. “Ow.”
“‘Ow’ what?!” Bakugou barked through the speaker. “You are hurt aren’t you? Who was it?!”
Todoroki grit his teeth and continued retracing his steps. “Some losers. They’re dealt with now. Do you mind walking home with me?”
“Are you kidding? Of course I'm walking home with you.” He could practically hear Bakugou’s scowl. “I'm outside the bakery. Where are you?”
Stepping out of the side-street, Todoroki entered the intersection. “Almost there,” he panted.
Squinting through the rain, he spotted the bakery, and, under the awning, Bakugou looking around. A weight lifted off his shoulders and he picked up his pace despite his exhaustion.
Bakugou didn't see him until he was ducking under the same awning, soaked to the bone and trembling.
"Shit," Bakugou cursed, expression falling at his abysmal state as he ran up to him. Todoroki felt a stab of guilt, but couldn't dwell on it because Bakugou was already stepping into his personal space, giving him his kiss hello.
"Hi," Todoroki whispered against his mouth, almost inaudible under the drumming of the rain.
Bakugou cupped his face, running a thumb over his split lip. “You're hurt.”
Todoroki closed his eyes to lean into the touch. “Hm. Didn’t notice.”
Bakugou didn’t take the bait. “What happened?”
He didn't get a chance to reply before the bakery door jingled open and Midoriya, Uraraka, and Kaminari were exiting with their spoils.
Their eyes widened, sending a wave of guilt crashing over him.
He was too slow, and now everyone was worried. Again.
"Todoroki! Are you ok?" Midoriya ran up to them.
He nodded, trying for a smile but ending up with more of a grimace. "I’m fine."
"Oh my god," Uraraka gasped. "What happened?"
“Attempted robbery. City bank in district E.”
“Huh?” Kaminari adjusted his grip on the concerningly large bag of sweets with a frown. “Weren’t Monoma and Tetsutetsu supposed to be on duty there?”
Bakugou growled, eyes flashing. “Those useless fucking pieces of shit-“
“They weren’t notified,” Todoroki cut off. “At least, I don't think so. I guess people didn't feel a need to call for help with a hero already on scene.”
“Why didnt you send out an alert?!” Bakugou snapped.
“No time.”
“Was it just one?” Kaminari asked.
All the talking was making him dizzy. He shook his head. “The others were hiding. They caught me off guard.”
“You fucking went in alone?!”
“I didn't realize it was a gang.”
Uraraka gasped. “A gang? How many?”
“Um,” he glanced at Bakugou. “Sixteen.”
“Sixteen?!” Bakugou screeched.
“They're all in custody now.”
“Wow, Todoroki! That’s awesome!” Kaminari cheered with a clap on the shoulder that would have sent him sprawling forward if it weren’t for Bakugou swiftly catching his elbow.
Glaring daggers at a sheepish Kaminari, he wrapped an arm around Todoroki to turn them away from the group. “Fuck drinks. We’re going home.”
“Ah, here! Take this!” Midoriya handed Bakugou his umbrella. “Feel better, Todoroki!”
Bakugou took the umbrella with a grunt, opening it over both of them.
“Rest up!” Uraraka called.
“Yeah man, take it easy!”
Todoroki nodded his thanks as Bakugou led him back out into the rain.
“You’re fucking insane,” Bakugou grumbled, pulling him closer to his body as they passed a couple hurriedly rushing past. “Sixteen?!”
Todoroki sighed. "They surprised me.”
“Fuck’s sake. What if you’d gotten seriously injured?!”
Todoroki didn’t answer, distracted.
He felt eyes on them.
There would be less people on a side-street.
Curling further into Bakugou, he asked, “Can we go down 18th instead?”
Bakugou glanced at him in confusion, or maybe surprise. It was hard to tell with him.
After a few steps, he still hadn’t answered, and Todoroki wasn’t appreciating the stare, so he cleared his throat and tried again. “Katsuki? Can we go down 18th?"
“Yeah, I heard you babe,” Bakugou muttered, finally turning his head forward again. “But we're going to the hospital first.”
“What? No. Let's just go home.” Please.
“Fine,” Bakugou scoffed, gently guiding them away from the masses, and Todoroki relaxed. “But you’d feel better after getting an IV in you.”
Todoroki stumbled, smashed leg protesting more than before. “I just want to go home.”
Bakugou squeezed his arm, pulling him out of the way of a big puddle he hadn’t even seen. “I know. We’ll be there soon.”
As soon as they rounded the corner into the quiet side-street, Todoroki had to stop to catch his breath.
"Sorry," he panted.
Bakugou let go of him with a grumble. “Right, that’s it.”
Todoroki wiped the sweat beading on his forehead, eyes widening when Bakugou turned and squatted down in front of him. “Climb on, princess.”
“I- Are you sure?”
Bakugou clicked his tongue, looking over his shoulder. “What, you’d rather limp home like an old man? Come on.”
Todoroki’s heart tightened as he slumped against Bakugou, who easily hefted him up without so much as a grunt. “Good?”
Pressing his cheek to the back of Bakugou’s neck, he nodded. “Mhm. Thanks.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Bakugou dismissed, shifting his grip on the umbrella before continuing down the empty street. “You can sleep for a while."
"Mm." Todoroki closed his eyes.
As he drifted off, he barely caught Bakugou murmur under his breath, "You worked hard."
When Todoroki blinked back to consciousness, it was to Bakugou opening their apartment door.
Flicking on the lights, Bakugou crouched to set him carefully on the floor with his feet in the lower entryway. Todoroki watched him straighten to shake out the umbrella before kneeling in front of him with a raised brow. “You gonna sit there all night?”
Todoroki blinked, and suddenly warm hands were under his chin gently pulling down the zipper of his jacket. Arms sluggish, he let Bakugou help him out of his suit.
When he took off his shirt, Bakugou let out a hiss of sympathy.
“Fuck,” he mumbled, tracing a feather-light finger over one of the many bruises he’d collected. “You didn’t break a rib or something, did you?”
Todoroki shook his head, grip on his soaked jacket tightening at the open concern. “I’m not an amateur.
Bakugou’s frown deepened, red eyes finally flickering up to meet his. “Pros break ribs all the time.”
“I know what a broken rib feels like.”
“I know you do, smartass,” Bakugou rolled his eyes, gently taking the jacket from his trembling fingers to toss aside. “C’mon, almost done.”
He struggled with his boots for a useless moment before Bakugou groaned, batting his clumsy hands away. “You’re hopeless.”
“Oh," Todoroki stopped as steady hands replaced his own, easily undoing the lacing. “Thanks.” As Bakugou started to pull off his left boot, he quietly added, “I think I broke a toe.”
“I’m so fucking pissed at you. Who the fuck- sixteen. Sixteen,” Bakugou grumbled. “Fucking hell.”
Todoroki glanced up from Bakugou carefully shimmying his boot off to his face, eyes glaring at the shoe like it personally insulted him, mouth pulled into a tight frown except to mutter gruff apologies when Todoroki twitched.
He was not looking forward to going to the hospital.
Bakugou seemed to complete his task as he threw the boot and sock aside to inspect the injury. “Yeah, shit’s definitely broken, what the hell. You need better boots.”
When he looked up at him, Todoroki felt butterflies flare up in his stomach.
Even after three years, he was still the same.
He cleared his throat. “You think?”
Bakugou scoffed, getting to work on his other shoe. “Fuck off already.”
Todoroki let one of his almost-smiles pull at his lips.
And just like he always did, Bakugou noticed, glancing up with a raised brow. “Whatcha laughing at?”
“Nothing.” Todoroki watched as his other boot went flying across the entryway.
Bakugou huffed, tugging at the waistband of his pants. “Then help me out, dumbass. Don’t just sit there.”
“I’m trying,” Todoroki sighed, lifting his hips to carefully roll off his pants.
“Oh fuck, dude,” Bakugou cursed, mildly horrified.
Todoroki stared down at his swollen leg. “Nothing’s broken,” he said, prodding it childishly.
Bakugou snatched up his hand. “Don’t do that, oh my god.” Then, he kissed his hand. Out of nowhere.
“We’re going to the hospital tomorrow,” Bakugou murmured against Todoroki’s cut-up knuckles, lips brushing against them with each word, still studying his leg like he hadn’t just turned Todoroki’s insides to mush.
He felt his ears turn red.
Todoroki let go first to brush the water droplets off his leg. Bakugou noticed his soaked boxers and let out an indignant scoff as he balled up the pants. “What the fuck, you look like you fucking pissed yourself. Isn’t this shit supposed to be waterproof?”
“I didn’t, and it’s not.” Todoroki answered helpfully, looking up to watch Bakugou stand and grab his clothes. “At least, not all the way.”
“Yeah, fucking obviously.” Bakugou grumbled, finally taking off his own shoes to step past Todoroki into the apartment. “Fuck’s sake, what a piece of shit. I’m getting you a better one tomorrow. Wait here.”
Todoroki was left to sit in the entryway of their apartment in his boxers, toying with the promise ring Bakugou gave him in highschool around his finger and wondering if he would actually get him a fully waterproof uniform as he activated his quirk to start the drying process (even though he knew Bakugou would make him shower later no matter how much he complained).
Suddenly, something soft hit him in the back of the head making him jump.
Warm arms circled around his bare torso from behind as the towel that hit him returned to ruffle his hair aggressively, rumbling laughter flush against his back.
“What the fuck, how did that scare you?” Bakugou snorted, arms careful not to squeeze over the bruises as he pressed kisses to the side of Todoroki’s neck. Todoroki sighed, leaning back to fall further into Bakugou as he shifted to hook his chin over Todoroki’s left shoulder, inhaling with a satisfied hum. “Ahh, nice and toasty.”
Todoroki closed his eyes as Bakugou kissed the corner of his jaw once more, firm body behind him warming him more than his quirk ever could. "Just for you,” he murmured.
Bakugou’s phone buzzed and he moved out from behind him, making sure to greedily press against his warm left side as he took his phone out.
Letting his heavy head fall to Bakugou’s shoulder, he felt himself drifting off again.
Bakugou woke him after a few seconds with a low whistle. "Shit. You look badass."
Confused, he cracked an eye open.
On the screen, a shitty iphone video of himself just a few hours ago was playing. Blood covered his face from his bloody nose as he raised his left arm to send out a wall of flames.
Cringing at his psychotic grin when the attack hit, he watched himself quickly whip around, sixth sense alerting him of the two villains running at him from behind. It was a little surreal.
Bakugou smirked when the pixelated Todoroki swiped his right hand down, invisible slice of freezing wind nearly tearing the villains open. "Getting good at that, huh?" He rewinded a few seconds to where a villain got close to the camera, snickering at the terrified expression. "They were shitting themselves."
"Where did you find this?"
"Deku sent it."
Todoroki frowned. "To the group chat?"
"Yeah."
Groaning, he hid his reddening cheeks against Bakugou's shoulder.
Bakugou chuckled, rubbing his back with his free hand. "What? You look cool."
"I look insane."
He peeked up as Bakugou swiped to a still image.
"See? You're hot."
Todoroki groaned louder and covered the screen. "Ew."
Bakugou laughed quietly, gently pulling his wrist away to watch the next video.
This one was at closer angle. They watched as the villain with the magnetic quirk ducked into Todoroki's bubble, sending a metal shards flying at his face.
Bakugou's breath caught as Todoroki, left with no other options, stuck out his palm to block the stab. The metal pierced straight through his hand, and his shout of pain was embarrassingly audible.
"Fuck," Bakugou hissed, covering Todoroki's bandaged hand in sympathy.
Watching the villain take a step back in shock with wide bloodshot eyes, Todoroki realized too late what the next sequence of events was.
His stomach dropped. “Wait-“
“Agh, it’s even worse up close!” The villain’s crackly voice rang out through the phone speaker loud and clear.
He was going to be sick.
“It’s disgusting!”
Todoroki couldn’t tear his eyes away from his own stunned expression, shard of metal still embedded clean through his hand, ice connecting his arm with the villain’s trapping them both there. “You really- you really think I'm gonna let some scarface take us down?!” The villain panted, grimacing as the cold began to numb his arm. The ice was unrelenting. “Wh-where’s your team, huh? Where're your buddies? What, nobody wants to partner with a scarface like you?”
He didn’t dare look up at Bakugou, squeezing his eyes shut as he remembered the next sentence before it played.
“Hah! I don't blame em! Not even a mother could love a face like that-“
The video abruptly cut off.
The silence proceeding was deafening. Sitting next to each other on the floor, Todoroki in his boxers with a towel on his head, time had stopped.
His own breath hitching seemed to snap Bakugou back to reality.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when Bakugou suddenly threw the phone like a football. It slammed into the door, indestructible case splintering the wood with a bang.
Red eyes were blazing, whole body shaking with the kind of rage Todoroki could feel rolling off him, the kind he hadn’t witnessed in a while.
Bakugou stood and whirled around, fists clenched at his sides. Todoroki saw it coming a mile away, but he was too tired to do anything about it.
Reeling his fist back, Bakugou punched the wall with all his might.
Ah. Their second hole in the dry wall.
"I'LL KILL THEM!"
Todoroki wondered if he should frame this one too.
Bakugou retracted his fist before it abruptly exploded as Todoroki watched quietly, half-ashamed and half-shocked at the outburst.
"I'll kill them," Bakugou repeated, this time at a whisper. It was somehow all the more threatening.
His arms were still shaking, but he was taking deep, shuddering breaths, physically forcing himself to calm down as he screwed his eyes shut, teeth grinding.
Todoroki bit his lip. This was his fault.
It was always his fault, wasn’t it?
When Bakugou opened his eyes a near minute later, he looked at Todoroki.
"Baby-"
Falling to his knees in front of him, Bakugou cupped his face, and kissed him hard.
Todoroki gasped, bandaged hand reaching up to grip the front of Bakugou’s shirt. Tugging him closer yet, he kissed him like it was their, eyes fluttering shut when Bakugou tilted his jaw just so.
They only parted when Todoroki accidentally opened his split lip, the taste of copper flooding his mouth.
Bakugou pulled away first, pressing their foreheads together as he covered the cut with his thumb, other hand holding Todoroki’s good one.
"None of that fucking bullshit is true,” he whispered.
Averting his eyes as much as he could with how close they were, he shook his head. "It’s fine. You don't have to lie."
"When have I ever lied to you?!" Bakugou’s jaw immediately clicked shut, belatedly checking his volume. He took another deep breath while Todoroki wished for a time travel quirk to stop that video from ever existing, stop the fight from ever happening.
“Look at me?" Bakugou tried, voice shaking.
He didn’t.
Carefully, he raised a hand to sweep Todoroki's bangs back, exposing the scar. Todoroki winced and leaned away. "Stop.”
Bakugou immediately let go, and Todoroki immediately felt so ashamed he got nauseous.
His death-grip on Bakugou’s hand tightened. It had to be painful, but he didn’t know what else to do.
If he let go, he felt he might shatter.
Neither of them moved for a long moment, until Bakugou slowly lifted a warm hand to his cold cheek. “You can’t believe that shit.”
"It's hideous,” his voice broke.
"No," Bakugou shook his head. "It's not."
Todoroki bit his lip, focusing on the pain from the cut to shove down the nausea.
"Who are you gonna believe," Bakugou murmured. "Me? Or some nobody villain?"
He really might cry. "I-"
"Look at me, Icyhot," Bakugou cut off.
Todoroki squeezed his eyes shut. "I can't."
"Try."
Bakugou was so confident. How could he be so confident in a disaster like him?
Todoroki bit his lip harder, felt the blood pool comfortingly, and forced his eyes open.
Looking into scarlet red eyes, he no longer understood what he'd been afraid of.
The fury was still there, simmering just beneath the surface. But on top was something gentler. A kind of careful determination that had Todoroki hanging on his every word.
"You're the most beautiful person I've ever met."
A lie. It had to be. Not even a mother could love-
"And I’ll say it as many times as it takes for you to believe me."
He couldn't take it.
"You know why?" Bakugou kissed his cheek. "Because I love you more than anything.”
Todoroki’s breath hitched.
Bakugou would be the death of him.
"Come on," Bakugou stood with the smile he only ever showed Todoroki, though it seemed forced, pulling him up by the hand Todoroki was still squeezing. "We’re taking a bath."
Todoroki followed Bakugou mindlessly to the bathroom. He was overwhelmed, and Bakugou must have noticed because he was being quiet. At least the pain in his leg and the steady hand in his own were grounding for the time being.
As soon as he reached the bathtub, he sank to the cold tile floor, resting his back on the outside of the tub with a heavy sigh.
Bakugou’s eyes flickered to his bruised leg. "Ok?"
Todoroki nodded, letting go of Bakugou’s hand to let him move to sit on the edge of the tub.
Bakugou turned the water on warm.
He stiffened. Before he could think, he quickly reached over, nearly face-planting in his haste to turn the knob to cold.
Bakugou's eyes widened as he stared at him, and Todoroki grimaced, hanging his head so his hair fell in his face.
He knew his trauma made Bakugou sad. He knew it was sad, and pathetic. He knew that, and he still couldn’t help it.
He couldn’t even be normal for the one person who cared about him back.
Shame burned at his ears. Again.
"Wait, wait, hey," Bakugou leaned forward desperately, trying to make eye contact. "What's that face for?"
Todoroki turned his head away. "It's embarrassing," he whispered, voice breaking. "After all these years I'm still-“
Cutting himself off, he bit his lip and stared down at his shaking hands in his lap, letting the sound of running water fill the silence.
There was blood under his fingernails.
Bakugou reached out to tuck Todoroki’s bangs behind his ear, and he barely stifled a flinch. “Since when do you get embarrassed, huh?”
He slid his hand back to card through Todoroki’s hair even though it was sticky with a mixture of sweat and rain-water. “Nothing to be ashamed of, Icyhot.” His voice was so familiar, so steady, so reassuring even though Todoroki knew this had to be hurting him. “Especially not around me,” he hummed. “Get it through your thick fucking skull.”
Todoroki dared a glance up at him, and found himself unable to turn away again.
Sitting on their bathroom floor, Bakugou on the edge of the tub filling a bath for him looking at him like he was the only thing that mattered in the world, how could he feel anything but safe?
“Remember when you told me the same thing in highschool? After I had that one meltdown?” Bakugou murmured, running his thumb back and forth over Todoroki’s knuckles.
Todoroki swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Of course I remember.”
Their senior year at U.A. had been stressful for all of them, but it hit Bakugou especially hard, between intense combat training and preparation for final exams, he’d cracked.
They’d been studying for midterms in his room one of many nights, and Todoroki had long given up, curled up in Bakugou’s bed on his phone pretending he couldn’t sleep while he waited for Bakugou to finish for the night. Suddenly, the sound of a pencil snapping, splintering really, had cut through the quiet air.
Todoroki turned from where he’d been facing the wall to look at Bakugou, still sitting at his desk like he had been for the past few hours, this time with his forehead pressed to the open textbook, hands tangled tight in ash-blonde hair. Todoroki’s eyes widened.
“FUCK-!”
Even muffled by the pages, Todoroki heard the waver in his voice.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-“ Bakugou broke off on a choked sob.
Stunned, Todoroki was paralyzed for a second, completely out of his element. He had no idea what to do, if he was supposed to do something, or just leave. Not doing anything felt wrong, and leaving felt even more wrong.
So he got up from the bed, blanket still wrapped around his shoulders.
Bakugou stiffened. He must have thought Todoroki was asleep.
Carefully, Todoroki padded over to the desk.
He blinked at the disarray. It looked very different from when he’d given up. Bakugou must have been working hard.
He took the snapped pencil first, hand brushing the end of Bakugou’s hair as he did, and threw it out. Gathering the scattered notes across the desk, he didn’t say a word as Bakugou cried with his head in his textbook.
When he managed to wrangle them into a mostly neat pile, he hesitated.
Now what?
Bakugou was still face-down in the book, so he tapped his shoulder. He straightened, but kept his face buried in his arms, shoulders shaking with the effort of stifling his crying.
So Todoroki quietly took the textbook, dabbing at the tears with his shirt before they smudged the ink, and closed it. He switched off the desk lamp, and took Bakugou’s hand.
Wordlessly, Bakugou let himself be pulled to the bed, flopping down with a shuddering exhale.
Todoroki sat quietly by his hip, slipping the blanket from around himself to tuck around Bakugou, illuminated only by the slivers of moonlight that filtered in through the blinds.
He hadn’t exactly used the wording “thick fucking skull,” but the sentiment had been the same.
“Please don’t be embarrassed,” he whispered, fixing the edge of the blanket. “I will never judge you.”
Bakugou took one look at him through watery eyes and pulled him into the bed with a crushing hug.
Todoroki had held him all night while he cried and vented about his insecurities, his perfection complex, how he felt like he’d never be enough, how he didn’t want to disappoint his parents, the guilt weighing on his shoulders everyday.
How could he forget?
“Of course I remember,” Todoroki repeated. “But that was different.”
Bakugou shut the water off with a scoff. “Not. You're just stubborn.”
“But-“
“Nope. I win. End of conversation.” When he grinned, the tension in the air seemed to dissipate.
Todoroki blinked, slightly winded until Bakugou pulled the towel off his head. “Ready?
The water stung against the scrapes left open at first, but Bakugou made sure not to submerge his fucked up hand. Against his left side the cool water was soothing, and on his right it was refreshing.
Cold water was always comforting.
Todoroki melted into the feeling and sank lower into the tub.
“Don’t fall asleep,” Bakugou huffed. “I’m not lugging your ass out.”
There was a tap on the left side of his neck. Bakugou asking permission to touch his scar.
Todoroki nodded.
When he poured water over his head and washed his hair, gentle fingers working over his scalp, Todoroki closed his eyes with a satisfied sound. “I know you said not to fall asleep,” he sighed. “But this is heaven.”
“Hm,” Bakugou hummed. “Be nice and maybe I’ll do it for you again.”
He felt Bakugou lean forward and kiss his cheek, and almost smiled. “Deal.”
When he was clean and dry, Bakugou brought him comfy clothes and one of his own hoodies because he knew Todoroki liked them, before tugging him along to the bedroom.
“Wha’dya want for dinner?” He asked, helping Todoroki crawl into bed.
“Um…” Todoroki hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Pizza?”
Bakugou laughed, smoothing out the sheets around him. “Sure. You wanna eat in here?”
“Yeah.” He shifted his leg. “Do we have painkillers left?”
“Wh- You haven’t taken any yet!?”
“No.”
Bakugou was already halfway to the kitchen. “You’re fucking hopeless!” He called out.
When he came back, it was with a glass of water and two pills. “Take these,” he shoved them into his hands, “and I’ll be right back. You want garlic knots too?”
“Yeah.”
Bakugou smiled. “Knew it.”
This time, Todoroki smiled too. “Thanks.”
He returned only 30 minutes later, bursting into the room with a victorious grin.
“Guess what?”
Todoroki straightened up eagerly as the smell of pizza wafted in. “What?”
Bakugou sat on the bed next to him, setting the boxes between them to open the first one. “The girl at the register was a huge fan and she gave me the knots for free.”
“Nice,” Todoroki replied, tearing off a slice for Bakugou before picking one for himself. “Cheers.”
Bakugou rolled his eyes as they knocked the slices together. “Cheers, dumbass.”
Todoroki ended up finishing the first pizza mostly by himself.
As he reached for the next box, Bakugou pushed it closer to him with a huff. "Someone was hungry."
"Didn't eat lunch," Todoroki mumbled through a mouthful.
“Seriously?” Bakugou shoved him lightly. "How many times I gotta tell you, you need three fucking meals. That shit is important.” He crossed his arms petulantly. “What, you forget or something?"
Todoroki nodded as he shoved a garlic knot in his mouth.
Bakugou shook his head. "Seriously, what am I gonna do with you. Maybe I should just take you out everyday. Then I can make sure you don’t forget."
"You'd do that for me?"
Bakugou scoffed. "Of course I would."
"What if I want pizza everyday?"
"Then we'll get pizza everyday," Bakugou shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me, long as you eat something."
Todoroki swallowed and put his half-eaten slice down.
Bakugou looked at him curiously. “Done?”
“No,” his fingers tightened around a napkin. “I just- I have to tell you something.”
Bakugou blinked, confused. “Alright, I’m listening.”
"I-" His voice caught in his throat.
This might have been a bad idea. It would be weird to backpedal now, though.
Fuck it.
“I’m happy,” he blurted out. “I’m really fucking happy.”
Bakugou’s eyes widened at the sudden confession.
He didn’t look like he was going to say anything, and Todoroki was already in too deep, so he kept going. “I’m just so glad you’re here with me. And I- you make me feel so safe. I’ve never felt like this before. I finally feel like I'm home.”
He bit his lip. This was probably weird. He wasn’t making much sense. But Bakugou wouldn’t judge him.
“I love you. I don’t say it enough. It’s hard for me because it makes me nervous, but I want to tell you more,” he rambled. “I want to show you like you show me. You’re very special to me, and I just- I just love you so much,” he finished, trailing off awkwardly.
Bakugou wasn’t saying anything. His mouth was parted, eyes wide as saucers as he stared at Todoroki. It was pretty hard to leave him speechless. Todoroki was pretty good at it.
He might have laughed if he wasn’t so nervous.
Maybe he should say it again. “I said I love-“
“Oh for fuck’s sake-“
In one motion, Bakugou crossed the distance between them, tangled one hand in his hair and one in the front of his own hoodie, and pulled him in for a desperate kiss.
Knocked off balance, Todoroki practically fell into the kiss, hands flying up to stabilize himself against him before kissing back fervently.
Just as his eyes fluttered shut, Bakugou suddenly broke off to bury his face in the crook of his neck, wrapping his arms around him to pull him closer yet.
Slightly unsure of what was happening, but enjoying it nonetheless, Todoroki held the back of Bakugou’s head to make sure he knew he didn’t have to move, before shifting to position his leg more comfortably.
He pet his hair lightly the way he knew he liked, carding through soft strands back and forth, and let his head lean against Bakugou’s own still hidden against his neck.
Where he had his other hand on his back, he could feel him shaking slightly.
He heard a sniffle, and his eyes widened.
A tear slipped onto his neck.
“…Katsuki?”
Bakugou kept his face pressed close, even when Todoroki tried to pull away and look at him, mumbling something inaudible against his shoulder.
“What?”
Another sniffle. “I love you too,” Bakugou repeated. “You don’t have to do anything differently. You don't have to say anything, or show me, or whatever. I know.”
At a loss, Todoroki patted his back soothingly and listened.
Bakugou sucked in a shaky breath. “Thank you for letting me be your home. Thank you for letting me love you, and loving me back. You make me feel safe too. You're-” his voice broke, “You’re the best thing that's ever happened to me.”
And oh, wasn’t that just the greatest thing he’d ever heard. He could get high off the feeling alone.
But he still didn’t know what was happening. He usually didn’t, but this seemed important.
Grabbing Bakugou’s shoulders, he pushed lightly until Bakugou lifted his head just enough to press their foreheads together.
Todoroki frowned, wiping the tears under bloodshot red eyes. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m happy,” Bakugou whispered. “That’s all.”
He was smiling.
“Then why are you crying?”
Bakugou suddenly rolled his eyes with a groan as he wrapped him up in another hug. “Oh my god, you’re so fucking annoying. Happy crying is a thing, idiot.”
As Bakugou tucked his head back into the crook of his neck, he thought about that. If it was true, then a lot of past situations suddenly made a lot more sense.
Returning his good hand to pet his hair, he decided he still didn’t like seeing him crying. “Don’t cry anymore.”
Bakugou pinched his arm. “I’ll do what I want.” When Todoroki frowned and swatted him away, Bakugou laughed wetly, aggressively wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Ah, fuck.”
Todoroki eyed him for a moment, assessing the differences between “happy” crying and regular crying, before giving up and returning to his pizza.
At least he’d gotten that word vomit off his chest, and Bakugou was smiling again.
Two strong arms wrapped around his torso, and he was suddenly being pulled back into Bakugou’s lap. He made sure to drag the box along with him as Bakugou pressed his cheek to the back of his neck with a content sigh.
Enveloped in comfortable silence, quietly eating his pizza with Bakugou’s warm body clinging to him like a lifeline, Todoroki couldn’t possibly ask for more. He was still exhausted, and everything still ached like a bitch. But he was safe, and happy, and in love.
And maybe, that was enough.