Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Every once in a while, Todoroki and Sero would hang out and talk about manga together. After the Sports Festival, Sero talked to him enough that the tiny sliver of friendship started to grow, and Todoroki relented and accepted it. Them being neighbors in the dorms helped it grow even more, and Todoroki was proud to call him his friend.

Today their conversation was interrupted by Kaminari walking in, asking if he could sit with them. He said he wouldn’t bother them, but he just didn’t want to be alone. They both agree, and he came in further, claiming a spot on Sero’s lap and playing with a fidget toy quietly.

Sero was okay with it. They were bro’s, and if you can’t cuddle with your bro, what can you do? Is it really a true bro-ship if you can’t be affectionate? The answer is no.

Todoroki, on the other hand, was completely caught off guard. He had seen people get close to each other at movie nights and hold hands as both friends and couples, but he hadn’t ever seen it up close. They were both comfortable enjoying each other’s affection. It wasn’t a big deal for Kaminari to sit on Sero’s lap since they were both comfortable with it. He wasn’t used to seeing affection, let alone casual physical affection.

Apparently, he had been staring too long because Kaminari interrupted Sero, who was talking about his favorite character. “Does this make you uncomfortable?”

“You’re sitting in his lap,” Was all Todoroki responded with, not entirely sure why it was happening.

“Yeah? Does that make you uncomfortable?”

He quickly shook his. He wasn’t uncomfortable, he was just confused. “It’s just weird.”

“Is it because we’re dudes?” Sero asked, a little scared his friend was homophobic.

Todoroki shook his head quickly again. “No, no, it’s just- it’s- affection. Affections weird.”

There was a few seconds of silence where Sero and Kaminari just stared at him. After a moment, though Kamianri’s mouth opened while into a silent oh. “You’re friends don’t cuddle with you! I’ve seen them hug and hold hands and cuddle and stuff with each other but never with you!”

“Are they purposely leaving you out?” Sero asked.

“No, they just a don’t do it with me. They think I don’t like it.”

“Is that true? Are you just not a cuddle’s dude?” 

Todoroki shrugged. He liked when his mom hugged him when he was younger, but he wasn’t sure that counted.

“Man, when was the last time someone hugged you?”

“My sister gave me a hug when I got into UA.”

“Before that?”

“My mom, when I was really young.”

The both of them just gaped at him in shock. He had to be so touch starved by now. Kaminari silently slid of Sero’s lap and next to him on the bed. Todoroki was confused as he slid his legs open and patted the place between them. “C’mere man, if you don’t like it, we can stop.”

It took a minute of encouragement before Todoroki finally got up from the desk chair and carefully perched himself between Kaminari’s legs. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, not leaning towards Kaminari, who had his back against the wall. “Lean back, bro, it’s chill. Unless you’re already uncomfortable, then you don’t have to.”

Todoroki was confused beyond belief. He stared back at Kaminari, unsure of how to proceed. If he hadn’t mastered his usual blank look, his face would have been full of confusion. Finally, after a while of silent staring, the only noise coming from Kaminari occasionally patting the bed encouragingly, he sat back a little more. He got so close that he was only a couple of inches away from touching Kaminari’s chest, but he could feel Kaminari’s thighs against the outside of his own.

The feeling was… weird. He hadn’t felt anything like this since he was a little kid. The light hold was warm and comforting in a way it shouldn’t be, in a way he wasn’t used to. He never knew things like this could feel nice.

The topic got changed to an upcoming English essay. Sero and Kaminari talked about the subject they chose and gave each other ideas and writing tips while Todoroki stayed silent. His brain was going a thousand miles a minute, but he couldn’t pinpoint one specific thought. He was super overwhelmed by the touch.

Once the conversation started to die down, Kaminari noticed his discomfort. “You good man? Do you wanna stop? Ooh! Or you could fidget! They’re good for anxiety too.” He held out the abandoned fidget cube, and it looked more and more enticing as the seconds passed. Todoroki eventually took it and stayed silent as the conversation moved from the essay to the book they were reading for class.

The fidget cube was a good idea on Kaminari’s part. Todoroki’s thoughts became less jumbled the more he focused on it. Eventually, his thoughts calmed, and all he could think about was the warmth surrounding him. It was nice and calming, and he never wanted it to stop.

Kaminari occasionally checked in to make sure he was okay, and each time, all he could do was nod contently. He knew he shouldn’t let himself get to attached to the feeling, but he couldn’t help himself. He hadn’t felt this safe since before his quirk manifested. He wished the feeling would never end.

Subconsciously, Kaminari’s hand moved up to the hair behind his right ear and started scratching. Todoroki completely melted into it, his back finally falling into Kaminari’s chest and his head resting on his shoulder. He couldn’t see the look Kaminari and Sero gave each over his head, too focused on how nice it felt.

Kaminari wrapped his left arm around Todoroki’s body, leaving his hand placed in the middle of his stomach. Todoroki couldn’t remember ever feeling so warm, so safe.

Without his knowledge, Kaminari and Sero were having a silent conversation. They cuddled together and with the rest of their friend group regularly, sans Bakugo who was slightly uncomfortable with physical contact. (They were working on it.) Even then, with all of their previous cuddle knowledge, they weren’t expecting this. They’d seen Bakugo completely calm down from his normal angry self when Kirishima held him but this was a whole other level.

Todoroki’s usually stoic face was gone, replaced with a small smile. He had been so awkward and stiff when he first sat down. The fidget cube relieved some of the stiffness, but once Kaminari started to play with his hair he completely melted into him. After a while of just playing with his hair, the fidget cube was forgotten and he was just completely blissed out.

They had seen anyone that calm from just from physical contact. Eventually, his eyes slipped closed and they assumed he was asleep. Kaminari kept petting his hair though, not moving him until they realized how late it was. Neither wanted to wake him, so they laid him down between him on the bed, spooning him from both sides.

And if Aizawa did a random nightly check, just sighing deeply without making them go back to their own rooms, that was no one’s business but their own.

Chapter Text

The morning after, Todoroki woke up completely disorientated. He was surrounded on both sides by an unfamiliar warmth. It took him a minute to fully realize his surroundings. His head was under Sero’s chin, who he was holding him, with Denki holding him from behind.

The memories of the night before quickly flooded his head. He could remember Kaminari holding him and how nice it felt. What he couldn’t remember was falling asleep or how he ended up like this.

“Oh, thank god you’re awake,” Denki said from behind him, patting his hip gently. “I’ve had to pee for the last ten minutes, but I couldn’t move without waking one of you up.”

Todoroki helped him slip out of bed without waking Sero up and awkwardly sat at the desk chair as he left. He wasn’t sure if he should go back to his room or not. He was dead set on never mentioning or repeating this again, no matter how much he wanted it to happen again. It was just so nice and warm, and he felt so safe knowing that they were there for him.

No. It can’t happen again. It was a moment of weakness, and he can’t indulge in it again. Even if it was so comfortable-

His thoughts were cut off by Sero’s alarm going off and him blearily sitting up and noticing that the bed was empty. He looked around, and when he spotted Todoroki, he started to speak, “Oh,, hey ‘Roki. Where’s Kaminari?”

“Bathroom.”

Sero nodded, obviously still not all the way awake.

“Should I leave?” Todoroki asked.

“Nah man, it’s cool you can stay. We still got a bit before we have to get ready.” Sero said. “Oh yeah, Kaminari and I were talking, and like, if you need, we’re here anytime. For like a hug or cuddles or something.”

Todorki just nodded, not intending to take him up on the offer. When Kaminari walked back in and told them that Satou said breakfast would be ready soon, Todoroki took it as his easy escape. He excused himself back to his dorm and get ready for the day. He hid in his room for as long as possible in an attempt to avoid Kaminari and Sero.

His events were fruitless though, since almost the entire class was waiting downstairs. Bakugou threw a granola bar at him and stomped out, followed quickly by most of the class, not wanting to be late. Those who stuck around a moment got a full view of Kaminari grabbing Todoroki’s hand and Sero wrapping an arm around his shoulders. They saw Sero lean close and whisper something in Todoroki’s ear. What the fuck was happening? The entire event was filled into the “gossip and interrogate about later” category.

...

Class 1-A had seen a lot of weird things during their time as Hero’s in training. They’d been attacked by villains multiple times, staged rescue attempts, and had to put up with each other’s weird habits after moving into the dorms. Tsu would use her tongue to get things off the top shelf. Uraraka would accidentally make furniture float if she fell asleep without gloves. Dark Shadow would steal people’s food out of the pantry even though no one was sure if they could actually eat. Though the weirdest thing by far was how close and cuddly Kaminari, Sero, and Todoroki were getting.

It was becoming a regular sight to find their resident “Ice Prince,” a name given due to his quirk and icy exterior, cuddled up against one of them. The class didn’t fail to notice the linger touches when they passed him in the halls or during lunch. How they would hold his hand a little longer than normal when helping him up. The way Kaminari did grabby hands at him until he sat on his lap for dinner, face bright red as Kaminari awkwardly fed him.

None of them knew when or how exactly this started. Todoroki, the boy who shied away from touch normally, was letting them give him affection. Stone cold Todoroki, who they had never even seen hug someone before, was now cuddled up against Sero during a movie or with Kaminari during a break in training.

No one was quite sure if they should say something. They were all insanely curious as to what exactly was going on, but they were too scared to ask. At first, everyone thought they were dating, but when Kaminari didn’t give up his relentless flirting with anything with a pulse, they were pushed in another direction. Really close friends? That was the best solution anyone could come up with, but no one knew how it started. Yeah, Todoroki and Sero would hang out and talk about manga sometimes, but they never seemed like more than just casual friends.

It seemed like they were determined to make everyone’s confusion worse. The first big moment was when Kaminari and Sero asked if Todoroki could go to the Bakusquad movie night. No one opposed, bar Bakugou who said something about shitty Icy Hot that was ignored.

They had asked Aizawa ahead of time, and the group was allowed to set up a blanket fort in the common room and stay the night as long as it was cleaned the next day. They definitely took advantage of it, filling the room with as many pillows and blankets and stuffed animals as they possibly could.

When he heard the elevator ding, Kaminari popped his head out of the fort entrance. “Todobro! Come in! We’re picking out what movie to watch first!”

Todoroki crawled into the fort, a little confused at first as to how, but he eventually made it and settled himself against the back of the couch they were using as a prop for the fort.

“Okay man, so we all want different movies, so you get to pick what we watch first. Bakugou wants a horror movie, and Kirishima wants to watch Sharknado again. Sero, Jirou, and I think we should just watch an old Disney movie because you can never go wrong with Disney. Mina wants to watch some dumb chick flick. You get to chose.”

While he was going on, the others were protesting in the background.

“Horror’s always amazing!”

“It’s like the manliest movie ever!”

“It’s not a chick flick, and it’s not dumb!”

Todoroki just shrugged, not fully understanding what they all were. “Yours, I guess,” He said.

Sero and Kaminari high-fived while Jirou opened a menu with a bunch of Disney movies Todoroki had never heard of before. From there, the group was able to agree on the first one, all claiming that it was the best. Todoroki was completely enthralled in it. He hadn’t had many chances to watch movies in his life, so this was a new experience for him. He spent most of it unmoving, just staring at the screen and absorbing the story and animations. Only when the girl had saved China and went back home to her family did his staring get interrupted. Kaminari had grabbed his left hand, offering a soft smile when Todoroki looked down at him.

The movie ended, and the arguing came back, Mina and Kirishima still wanting to watch their original suggestions. Then, all of a sudden, Mina asked Todoroki if he had ever seen Frozen, and when he said no, the entire group seemed to explode. It was a unanimous agreement that he had to watch it. Even Bakugou said that the knock-off Elsa had to know about Elsa from where he was laying with his head in Kirishima’s lap.

Todoroki wasn’t quite sure when that happened, having been too focused on the move to fully take in his surroundings. Jirou and Ashido were now leaning on each other, sharing a bowl of popcorn, with Kaminari laying across their legs. Sero and him were the only two people not cuddled up, which changed only a few minutes into the movie when Sero patted his lap, signaling Todoroki to sit.

Todoroki watched Bakugou for a while, noticing how his normal aggressive demeanor disappeared when Kirishima played with his hair. It was weird to watch, partially because he had never seen Bakugou calm, but also due to the fact that he knew he responded similarly when someone played with his hair.

The movies came and went. By the end of Frozen, Todoroki had decided that he was going to find a way to create Marshmallow with his ice. Even if it took hours of dedication and he couldn’t make him alive, it would be made. A few more movies in Sero and him laid down, and he was fully cuddled against Sero.

He fell asleep like that around the fifth movie, content and happy.

,,,

The next incident came when they had joint training with B class. It was just meant to be simple sparring, the goal being they were good at fighting quirks they weren’t used to.

Todoroki had been paired up with Monoma, who, in his opinion, was a good partner. He was good at fighting and at handling his quirk, even if he was a bit annoying.

The fight was going well, Monoma was having a little trouble controlling how much ice he put out, but Todoroki still had problems with that when he was emotional. So when an ice attack hit awkwardly, and the left side of his face was covered in ice, no one thought anything of it. Not even Midoriya, who knew exactly how he got the scar.

Todoroki, however, thought very much of it. He sent out a massive wave of ice, completely encapsulating Monoma and the people sitting behind him. He didn’t move to thaw them. Monoma had the same fire quirk, he could do it himself. He just stood there, completely shocked. He hadn’t prepared for this at all, and while he could handle ice on his face when he overused his quirk, it was jarring to feel it over his scar. Memories of his mother flooded his mind, fresh from his recent visit. He knew she didn’t mean to hurt him, but she still left a permanent scar on his face that still did not like ice over it.

There was a moment of silence between both classes and teachers. Everyone was just staring at Todoroki, who hadn’t moved an inch since the ice hit his face. He didn’t even move when he attacked Monoma with his ice.

Eventually, Monoma managed to free himself and the others frozen, but Todoroki was still glued in place. The ice on his scar brought back too many bad feelings. It was worse than when his mom tried to hold his face because this time, the ice was there, in the same spot as before.

He could hear people calling to him, but he couldn’t make out who it was. He could vaguely make out “his scar!” from the loudness. It seemed like Midoriya or Aizawa. Maybe both. He couldn’t be sure. Then, all of a sudden, there was someone in front of him, grabbing hold of his hand.

“Hey bro, what’s wrong?” He asked. Todoroki didn’t answer, though. The hand holding was grounding, but not enough to distract him from the onslaught of bad thoughts and feelings.

He heard yelling in the background, not the scary type but the vaguely comforting type. It was probably Bakugou because Bakugou yelled a lot. Then there was light warmth on top of the ice, slowly melting it. Someone held his face in place while the ice was melted, not that they needed to. He was already stationary. The hands felt nice though, the one on his left cheek slowly inched up and whipped away the melted ice, which extended farther than just his scar. The entire left side of his face got wetter and wetter as the ice melted. It was uncomfortable in its own way, but it was better than the ice.

Now that the ice was fully gone, he could hear better. The stimulation was too much; he had been unconsciously blocking out everything except the feeling of ice and his thoughts. “Come on, let’s get back to the dorms. Midoriya’s talking to Aizawa right now.”

Todoroki nodded but didn’t move. Instead, he felt planted to the ground, trapped there by an invisible force. He could all but see his mom standing over him while the kettle screamed.

“I’m going to pick you up, okay, man?” He wasn’t able to comprehend the words before he was in the air, his legs instinctively wrapping around the person’s waist. They seemed shorter than him, his back having to arch to bury his face in their neck. Kaminari? That seemed right.

The touch was nice. It helped him ground himself. He could hear Bakugou walking in front of them, yelling at people to get out of the way. That was also nice. He could hear someone behind them, awkwardly apologizing for Bakugou. That was probably Kirishima, it sounded like him.

On the walk back, he started to get floaty. The ice was gone, and he was warm, and he began to float away, only coming back a while later at the dorms. He was in Kaminari’s lap, koala hugging him. Kaminari had one hand in his hair and the other rubbing his back, but he otherwise wasn’t paying attention. The class had a movie playing quietly in the background while they all camped out in the common room.

Only when he started to wiggle in Kaminari’s hold did he notice that he was back. “Hey man, we couldn’t tell if you were asleep or not, so we were a little worried. You good? Bakubro made soba if you’re hungry.”

“I’m sorry, I-”

“Hey bro, chill. It’s all good.” Kaminari wrapped his arms around Todoroki’s back, stopping him from pulling back and falling like he was attempting to do. Instead, Todoroki stayed in his place on Kaminari’s lap, only turning to watch the movie with the class once he had eaten a large bowl of soba.

No one mentioned the incident again. It did cause some more curiosity to stir in them, but they didn’t say anything. The cuddling stayed locked up in their heads just this once for Todoroki’s sake.

...

The final straw for the entire class came on a regular Thursday afternoon. After everything they had seen, they reached their last sliver of patients. The excessive hand-holding, the lingering touches, and cuddling anywhere and everywhere with no shame put no dent in what they had to witness.

There wasn’t any homework due the next day, so the class had decided to host their own gaming tournament. Todoroki was outed as a complete newbie at every single game they owned, so everyone thought him an easy win. Call it beginners luck, call it a total fluke, but Todoroki was kicking everyone’s ass. Once he got past the “how do the controls work” stage, he killed it at every game they had. He was even winning on the rainbow bridge!

Kaminari had had enough of it. The rainbow bridge was his thing! He was always able to win in Super Mario Run! He leaned down to where Todoroki was sitting on the ground, still keeping an eye on the screen, and started to suck on his neck. He put all dignity aside when it came to the rainbow bridge and started to suck a hickey into Todoroki’s neck in front of the entire class. He was going to win the rainbow bridge or else.

The distraction worked, and Kaminari quickly claimed his first place, and Todoroki looked completely lost. It was obvious that the feeling was brand new to him. It was honestly pretty new to Kaminari, but he had at least some experience from back when he and Sero weren’t sure if they were just bros or not.

Kaminari wasn’t nice easy. He kept going after he claimed victory of the rainbow bridge. Marking the sign of his victory on Todoroki’s neck. He wasn’t cruel, he was able to see most of Todoroki’s face and read his body language, and he could tell that Todoroki wasn’t uncomfortable. He knew the entire class was staring and could tell without looking up when everyone instantly failed the rainbow bridge. He should do this more often if it got him that easy of a victory.

He only let up when Todoroki let out a soft, shaky, and awkward moan. He didn’t want this to be horny time, he just wanted to win the game, so he finally detached himself from the other’s neck. Everyone was staring at him and his cocky smile as he and Princess Daisy claimed their victory.

Todoroki was in total shock, not knowing how to respond to the attention his neck was just given. Kaminari let himself admire the bruise it created, surprisingly bigger than he intended. Damn, Todoroki was not going to have a fun time coving that tomorrow. He would feel bad, but he won the game, and that was the most important part. He’d help him tomorrow, but right now, he just wanted to relish in his victory a little longer.

Within moments, the entire class erupted.

“What the hell was that!”

“This is not appropriate school behavior!” 

“Kaminari, bro.”

“Dude, what the fuck was that!”

“Bro.”

“You just sucked on his neck!”

“Are you dating or something?”

While questions were still being hurled at him, he slipped down onto the ground next to Todoroki. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to make you uncomfy.”

“I’m fine. It’s just weird.”

Kaminari nodded at the confirmation, taking more pride in his hickey-giving skills. Once the chaos of the situation calmed down, and people were no longer yelling, Kaminari started to explain. 

“We’re not dating. We cuddle as bro’s because he’s touch starved as fuck,” He told them. He could see Todoroki’s face heating up a little, obviously embarrassed at being called out like that.

“You literally just sucked on his neck.”

“With friendship! I sucked on his neck with friendship! Jeez, y’all just don’t understand friendship.”

The class just stared at them in utter shock and confusion. Then, Sero started cackling, causing the rest to follow.

It worked out in the end. The friendship hickey being the last straw really helped in the long run. Todoroki got cuddled aggressively by the entire class, and Kaminari had a foolproof way of winning the rainbow bridge. Worked every time.