Work Text:
It was way too late for Tenya to be doing schoolwork. Nothing good would come from it, and he knew that. Without enough sleep the brains capacity to work suffered greatly. Still, the class president once again found himself down in the common room at an ungodly hour, sitting on one of the unsightly, green couches. It wasn't even that comfortable, but it beat sitting in a desk-chair for hours on end. It was dark, the area of the common room only lit up by his computer screen in front of him. He had moved one of the coffee tables closer to better be able to work. It wasn't really ideal for his back, but he made it work. He had a calculator and a stack of worksheets placed next to school laptop on the table. He didn't even have anything pulled up on his laptop, the login screen lighting up his face as he worked. It was a picture he'd taken after the war, the first outing his whole class had been able to come to. It was just a simple picture of them all together at an udon place downtown, but he loved it. It reminded him that they were all okay, even with everything they had gone through.
After the war the whole class had quite a bit of schoolwork to catch up on, and even though they had more than enough time to finish it, Iida had a habit of often staying awake late while everyone else was asleep to work on the assignments. They had quite enough of time to finish it, but if he couldn't sleep, he saw it as a good opportunity to get something done and tire himself out a bit.
At the moment he was leaned back with an English-worksheet in his lap, tapping his pencil against his knee in thought. It wasn't especially difficult. He just had to write a short paper on how the hero branch worked in The United States. He pushed his glasses up, rubbing at the inner corners of his eyes, sighing. His eyesight had started going blurry an hour ago, his body basically screaming at him to stop trying to write in a dark room with only the blue-light coming from his laptop to help him see the paper in front of him. He knew that was a sign to go to sleep, anyone else from his class would think so too. Still, he was determined to at least finish this tonight. Otherwise he'd most likely lay awake, tired but unable to fall asleep due to his inability to stop thinking about the unfinished assignment.
"Hi Tenya."
Tenya couldn't help but jump, startled by the sudden sound. He thought he was alone downstairs. He hadn't even heard anyone come down. One of his classmates must've woken up. Iida turned around quickly at the sound, exhaling.
"Dear God Shouto."
Tenya looked up at the shorter of the two, putting his glasses back on properly. Todoroki was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie with the hood up. After the war the both of them tended to run cold a lot easier, due to the cases of frostbite they had suffered. And even though Todoroki could technically use his quirk to warm himself up, he didn't particularly enjoy it. Tenya could only guess that it was due to the lengths Shouto had had to use his quirk to defeat his brother. He was holding a mug in his hands, taking a sip as he looked at Tenya.
"Sorry. Did I scare you?"
Shouto asked softly with his signature, monotone tone, tilting his head in question. His voice was a bit raspy, probably due to a lack of sleep. He slowly circled the couch, sitting down next to Tenya and putting down the mug on the coffee table. He removed his hood, leaning back next to Iida before lifting up his legs to rest on the couch as well. Shouto glanced over at the screen of Tenya's laptop before reaching to take a hold of the mug now that he was properly seated on the couch.
"No no, you're fine. It was simply unexpected. I just-" Tenya explained, looking down at the time in the corner of his screen. 2:15 am. "why are you awake at this time? It is important to get a good nights rest you know." Tenya sounded a bit skeptical. He knew he wasn't following his own advice at the moment, but it wasn't the same. He was awake to finish school work, while Shouto clearly had some other reason.
None of them were exactly known for being night owls either, which further confused Tenya. Shouto brought the mug with some kind of warm drink up to his lips, taking another small sip. He looked at Tenya, letting the heat radiating off of the mug warm up his hands. Tenya couldn't help but let his eyes shift to look at the other's hands. Couldn't help but think of how soft yet strong they were, how delicate they moved and worked. Shouto's hands were slender, his fingers long and his nails perfectly cut and shaped. His knuckles were bony, slightly darker than the rest of his pale skin. Tenya's thoughts were interrupted by Shouto letting out a soft hum, his eyes shooting back up to his face.
"I couldn't fall asleep. - found no reason staying in bed trying."
Shouto settled on, clearly not sharing everything. He had always been like that, wanting to keep things rather short. Tenya didn't mind that at all. He had no problem playing detective when necessary. Although, he found no point in doing that right now, since this didn't seem like an urgent matter. Shouto looked rather well, other than the clear exhaustion on his face. Still, he seemed a lot better now than he had during the bad days Tenya had witnessed after the war.
"Would you mind if I stayed here while you do that?"
Shouto asked quietly, gesturing over at the massive stack of papers in front of Iida as he took another sip of what Tenya had now identified as hot chocolate, due to the very distinct smell. Tenya wasn't really surprised by the question. They often spent time together, finding moments and excuses to keep each other close. And this wasn't the first nor last time Shouto would ask to stay in the common room while Iida did school work.
"I would be happy if you'd keep me company."
Tenya said with a small smile. He had tried doing that more recently, smiling, just overall being a bit less serious. He found it unfair to make his peers follow every little rule like he had during their first year. As long as they were safe and felt happy in some way he would manage, even when that meant having to lie about someone's whereabouts to one of the teachers every once in a while, not like he'd ever done that!
Even though he found it difficult at times, he found it a bit easier when he was in the company of Todoroki. After the war they had gotten a lot closer, mostly due to their shared experiences. They were lucky in that department, that they both had someone to lean on, someone who understood what they had seen and gone through. They both needed that, needed each other. Tenya guessed for one that Shouto had come down for that reason. He had probably gone to Tenya's room to stay the night, like most nights, and when he wasn't there he'd come downstairs. That was only a guess though, but he was sure it was an accurate one.
Tenya went back to working on his English paper, opening up a new tab on his laptop to search something up about the topic. It was mostly silent for a while, the only sound being keyboard-keys being pressed down and soft clicking from the touchpad. Shouto put down his now empty mug on the coffee table, moving a bit closer and pressing his side against Tenya. Tenya didn't mind it at all, so he said nothing about the matter. He could feel the warmth from the other seeping into him, even with two rather thick hoodies separating them.
The only other sound was a rather loud thud from upstairs. Tenya could bet that it was Kaminari and one or more of his friends playing a video game a bit too enthusiastically. He'd heard noise coming from the blonde's room when he had come downstairs about an hour earlier. It was quite impressive that the blonde was able to make a sound that loud, being heard from the common room while his room was located on the third floor. Tenya would have to remind them to keep it down when he saw them in the morning. It was important to keep quiet during the night to give their peers the possibility to get a good nights rest. Eventually Tenya finished his English assignment, putting it down behind the laptop, eyeing the rest of the stack still unfinished. It was already 2:40 am, way too late to actually get anything efficient done.
He sat back up properly to crack his fingers, shaking them out a bit. His hands had suffered quite a bit of damage due to the injuries they had sustained and sheer cold they had been exposed to during the war, so they often cramped up. It wasn't very painful, but when writing all day, whether it was on a laptop or with a pen, they got pretty messed up. Shouto leaned a bit closer, reaching out to grab Tenya's hands with his own just as damaged ones, and Tenya let him without questioning it. Shouto started carefully stroking his thumbs over Tenya's knuckles, his hands still warm from the mug he'd been holding earlier. The warmth and gentle contact helped to relax Tenya's hands, they both knew that. Tenya didn't say anything. Why would he? This had become normal for them. They helped each other, and Tenya often used it as an excuse to share any kind of physical contact with Shouto. It calmed him down, and he knew it helped Shouto too. It gave them both something to do and focus on, something to keep them grounded.
"I'd like to try to go back to sleep. Come with me?"
Shouto whispered, looking up at Tenya. His lips slightly parted as he waited for a response from Tenya, continuing to hold the other's hands. What sane person would say no to that? Tenya was tired, and he couldn't think of anything better that falling asleep next to Shouto and continuing with his school work in the morning, when the words on his screen actually made at least mostly sense. Tenya nodded, slowly pulling his hands out of Shouto's gentle hold to gather up his things.
He closed his laptop, stacking all his things on top of it before standing up. Shouto stood up only a moment later, going ahead of him into the kitchen, probably to put his now empty mug in the sink. Tenya pushed the coffee table back to its rightful place before leaving the common room. He walked over to the elevators before stopping to wait for Shouto, watching as the other boy walked over, his slippers dragging gently against the cold floor. He should've heard him earlier with the noise they made, just another piece of evidence that it was time for him to sleep. The two of them stepped into the elevator together, standing close to each other as they went up to the third floor.
"I didn't know you liked hot chocolate. I've never seen you drink it before."
Tenya observed, looking down at Shouto with a fond expression. In the light of the elevator he could see just how tired Shouto actually was. His hair was a mess, and he could barely keep his eyes open, which Tenya found rather peculiar since he should have quite a bit of sugar in his system from the hot chocolate. Shouto looked up at Tenya, seemingly thinking of a way to respond as they both stepped out of the elevator instead of going up to the fifth floor where Shouto's own room was located. They didn't even discuss it, but they often found that spending time in Iida's room came naturally. Iida never questioned it. Maybe it was because his room was on a lower floor. In the end it didn't really matter.
"Any warm drink is enjoyable… feels good against my palms."
Shouto explained, stepping into Tenya's dorm-room first while the other held the door open, closing it behind the pair with a hum. Shouto walked further into the room, sitting down on the bed while Tenya struggled with putting his stuff down without dropping anything. It was a bit endearing to watch, the way Tenya's hands shot out to catch his pen from dropping on the floor while he very carefully tried to push stuff to the side to get room for his laptop. Of course everything in his room was neatly organized, except for his desk.
Tenya's room used to be quite empty, but with both his and most of Shouto's stuff in it, the previously bare space had been filled with manga, more clothes and an amount of blankets neither of them had any use of, even with combined efforts. Shouto slowly let himself fall back against the dark gray bedsheets, sighing and kicking off his slippers. Tenya's neatly-made bed was in the far corner of the room, his nightstand pushed up next to it and his desk across from the bed. He also had a dresser right by the door. Shouto looked at the contents stacked on top of the nightstand. A small pill bottle containing painkillers, a massive water bottle, a half-read copy of some book he was to tired to read the title of, and Tenya's headphones. He reached over to grab the pill bottle with a quiet grunt, tilting it back and forth to look at the way the pills gathered on either end.
"Does something hurt?"
Tenya asked, walking over and sitting down next to Shouto once he had finally gotten everything to actually stay on his desk. He studied Shouto's face. It didn't look like it. His brows weren't furrowed and his nose wasn't scrunched up or anything, he just looked tired. He did however notice the flaking skin around Shouto's scar. Tenya had noticed that the other often would absentmindedly pick at his skin, whether it was at his hands or face. Unfortunately, it seemed like the latter had become an all the more popular victim lately, and Tenya understood that. Of course it was difficult to leave ones skin alone when it was uncomfortable and flaking. Shouto's scar had been completely healed before the war, but freezing temperatures clearly didn't combine well with the frostbite scar, and had made the long healed injury resurface in some ways. That was honestly the aftermath from Kamino and Gunga that Tenya hated the most. Not the sleepless nights or the ache in his bones that didn't seem keen on leaving any time soon. They were nothing to him, not when the scar Shouto had had such a hard time with still wouldn't let him be, making it more difficult to forget the memories that haunted him. Shouto shook his head at Tenya's question, returning the bottle to it's former place in Tenyas nightstand.
"No? Can I help you with your-" Tenya gestured to his own face, his mouth forming a line as his sleep-clouded mind tried to find the words to articulate anything useful. "your scar? It's blistering a bit."
Once Tenya got a nod from Shouto he stood up again, disappearing into the bathroom. He opened the overhead cabinet, digging around until he eventually found the small tube of aloe vera gel. It worked surprisingly well with soothing any kind of injury, whether it was treating a sunburn, an irritated area or a scar. He then walked back into his bedroom, turning off the light behind him before walking back over to his bed.
Tenya opened the tube and crawled onto the bed, leaning over Shouto as he squeezed some of the gel onto his thumb. He put the tube onto the bed, leaning a bit closer to Shouto to gently brush his thumb over the edge of the scar. He started to carefully work the cool gel into the damaged skin, being very careful even with the knowledge that it didn't hurt Shouto. In Shouto's tired state he couldn't stop himself from smiling slightly, leaning into the other's gentle touch. It was quite a funny scene. Iida trying with all his might to get his glasses to stay on his face at the same time as he held himself up with one arm placed next to Shouto's shoulder, occupied with treating the blisters. Tenya couldn't help but crack a smile too as he gently brushed his thumb under Shouto's eye, watching as the other squinted slightly at the contact.
Helping each other had been an unspoken promise they had made, especially when the war ended. While Shouto warmed Tenya's hands and watched over his sleeping habits, Tenya let Shouto stay in his room and helped tending to scars the other often found too difficult to look at and remind himself of. It was a win-win situation.
Tenya couldn't help but find it slightly unfair though, because while he did help Shouto, he helped himself at the same time. It didn't upset him or anything, he just couldn't help himself from thinking about the fairness of it all. He liked sharing his space and doing this for Shouto. It was just another excuse of being close to him and getting to look at his face. Shouto was just so pretty like this, tired and giddy. He had moles on his face that Tenya otherwise didn't have the chance to trace his fingers over, and long lashes he didn't have the honor of studying up close like this, at least not while they were both awake. Not to mention Shouto's eyes. One of them gray and the other one cloudy and blue. He would never admit it, not like this, not now, but he loved the way Shouto's eyes looked different from each other, the way Shouto's scarred face made his injured eye slightly more droopy and closed than the other, the way his lashes weren't as long. There was something so wonderfully unique about it. It made Shouto beautiful in a completely different way, in a way no one else was.
"You need to stop picking at your skin, otherwise it'll never heal properly." Tenya whispered, rubbing the rest of the gel into Shouto's skin, his touch lingering a bit longer than necessary before pushing off the bed to place the tube of gel on his nightstand. He'd put it back in the bathroom in the morning.
Shouto hummed in thought, sitting up and moving the comforter out of the way, shifting to lay properly on the bed instead of laying straight across it and taking up all the room. He slowly lied down again, his undamaged cheek pressing into one of the pillows on Tenya's bed, his blurry gaze following Tenya as he walked back over, laying down opposite of him, turning off his bedside-lamp with a quiet click. Tenya had removed his glasses. Everything was a bit fuzzy, but even with his glasses on, he couldn't really focus on things when he was tired, so it made little difference. He grabbed the comforter, pulling it over them both and tucking it around Shouto, pulling him closer at the same time.
In turn, Shouto moved a bit closer, his hands slowly making their way under Tenya's shirt, wrapping his arms around him. He always did that since it made them both warm up a bit faster, and Tenya didn't mind. The physical contact felt nice, even when it took a while until the touch didn't feel like ice anymore. According to Todoroki, Tenya ran hotter quickly due to his bigger body-mass, at least when you didn't take Shouto's quirk into account, the quirk he barely used outside of school hours. Tenya couldn't argue about that since it made total sense, and he trusted Shouto's knowledge when it came to temperature. So this kind of closeness was normal. The pair only ever did this with each other. No way Tenya would ever lay this close with his hands on anyone else's bare skin, this was only with Shouto. But this was normal, totally.
"Now neither of us can see."
Shouto mumbled quietly, not taunting, just an observation. His good eye was pressed against the pillow, so everything was clouded over a bit, color's fading out at the edges.
"I think that's okay."
Tenya whispered, slowly reaching out to cup the other boy's face, his other hand mirroring Shouto's and pressing itself against Shouto's skin, slowly sliding up under his hoodie to rest against his back. He could see Shouto just fine, it was just everything further away that he couldn't, but that didn't really matter now.
"I still see you."
Tenya whispered softly, brushing back a strand of red hair from Shouto's face, his fingers gently brushing over the other's cheekbone.
Shouto moved closer with a huff, Tenya tightening his hold around him in turn, letting their clothed legs tangle together, making one of his pant-legs slide up his ankle.
"That's good." Yeah, it was good. It was enough, the only thing he really needed to see right now, in the dim light of his room at 3 in the morning. Shouto's hands had warmed up a bit and Tenya wasn't cold anymore. That was also good. And Shouto was close, his breath fanning over Tenya's skin. Really good.
"I like looking at your whole face, even though you can't see as good." Shouto whispered, his eyes seeming to trace over Tenya's features now that his glasses weren't in the way of anything. Tenya hummed in response, biting back a smile that still managed to push through. Not like it bothered him. His hand moved to Shouto's back, slowly tracing over the other's spine, his thumb slowly brushing over each of the bumps. It was therapeutic in a way, the way they were all the same, seemingly an endless row in his barely-awake state.
"I like looking at your face too."
It was quiet for a while, just the sound of soft breathing and Tenya's own heartbeat filling his ears. He continued to lazily trace over Shouto's features, his movements growing slower. Tenya didn't even realize that he had closed his eyes until Shouto gently tugged at his arm and he had to open his eyes to look at the other. Shouto was looking up at him, tugging at him again.
"I'm done now."
Yeah, of course he was. Tenya hummed, not trusting his voice, pulling the other flush against his chest since there was no reason for them to have any distance from each other. No reason to let any biting cold air gather between them. Had Tenya fallen asleep? How long had Shouto been looking at him?
He felt Shouto's nose brush over his collar bone, pressing his cheek against Tenya. Tenya sighed tiredly, resting his chin on top of Shouto's head, inhaling the scent of the other's shampoo. God, when had he gotten this exhausted? What felt like just moments ago he'd been doing schoolwork, and now it felt like he wasn't able to move a single muscle. He'd realized that Shouto had that effect on him, making him tired. To be honest, it wasn't really the tiredness he brought with him, but the calmness and safety needed to actually realize it lingered under Tenya's skin, waiting for a moment to reveal itself. He felt Shouto's hold around him tighten, but he couldn't find the energy to have any reaction to it other than a silent exhale. He could feel himself treading the thin line between sleep and consciousness. How funny was that? Shouto had been the one to sought him out for sleep in the first place, but in the end he had helped Tenya more. Shouto had lead him back to where he was supposed to be, tangled under the covers with the most wonderful person Tenya knew. He really was spoiled.
Moments before sleep overtook Tenya, he heard a gentle murmur, Shouto whispering something against his skin, three syllables long, soft words seeping into his skin and warming up his chest. Shouto really was incredible, the way he could chase away every ounce of coldness with just three simple words. Tenya hoped he'd be able to do the the same for Shouto in the morning, when his mouth finally caught up to his brain again.