My Hero Academia Oneshots

Let Me Help - TodoDeku

mixture of angst and fluff

Trigger Warning: references of abuse in the first half. I really dislike Endeavor. 

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Shouto crumpled to the cold tiled ground, his dual toned hair covering his eyes as he held his stomach, attempting to ease the pain shooting through his abdomen. He had gone through the same thing time and time again, the flaming, disgusted face of his father forever engrained in his head as he withstood every attack thrown at him. He now sat alone, tears pooling below his face as he shook, bent over in a fetal position.

Endeavor had just left, calling off the training early to assist in hero duty and leaving Shouto with plenty of free time for the night. He had escaped to his room the minute his father had picked up the phone, only knowing he had left when he heard the front door slamming shut. The coast was clear, he was safe now. Only the pain had to dissipate and he would be free to do whatever he wanted the night.

Before another thought could cross the damaged boy's mind, his phone rang. It had been resting upon his bed, haphazardly thrown there previously as he rushed to get on his exercising clothes after school. He forced himself up, staggering slightly as he leaned against the door behind him for support. The pain wasn't any better, and he knew his voice would sound beyond strained, but the slight chance that the call was from his father terrified him into answering it anyway.

What he didn't expect was the familiar name of someone he could only describe as his best friend, if not something more displayed in the screen. The name "Midoriya" flashed, and Shouto's face scrunched up with confusion. He thought a moment longer before deciding to press the accept button, "Midoriya?"

"Ah! T-Todoroki! How are you?" he squeaked through the cellular device. It was obvious that he was nervous; he had stuttered.

"I am fine, what about you?" he answered plainly, turning his head away from the phone before grunting in pain so the other end of the receiver wouldn't be able to hear.

"Good, good! I was um... I have a question for you," Izuku could barely force himself to speak. Something was weighing on his mind, and it was concerning the cold boy on the other line.

"Are you alright, Midoriya?" To most, Todoroki's voice would surely sound monotonous or emotionless, but Izuku had known him long enough to hear the small differences in tone. Currently, he knew Shouto was concerned.

"I'm fine, I just need to ask you something."

"Ask- ah- ask away," he had been struggling to hide the pain evident in his voice, but he knew Midoriya was observant. There was no way he wouldn't catch the way he had uncharacteristically faltered.

"Todoroki? Are you okay, you sound like you're in pain?" His voice changed as the conversation completely diverted.

"I... will be fine. I'm fine." He cleared his throat.

"Do I need to come over? Would that help?" Todoroki didn't respond. He would be lying if he said he didn't want the smaller boy's support, but he had no idea when his father would be back home and his few moments of sanctuary would be gone in the blink of an eye. Izuku broke his train of thought by speaking again. "Did he do something again?"

Todoroki sighed. That answered Midoriya's question enough. Of course he knew about Shouto's father. He was his closest friend, the one friend he trusted more than anyone else. When the bruises didn't line up with the fights in training, Izuku knew something was up. He had a keen eye.

"I'm coming over." His voice was filled with determination.

"You don't need-"

"I'm not going to sit here while you're hurting! Let me help you," his voice softened to a whisper, "please."

Todoroki paused before taking in a deep breath, "Fine. Can I go over to your place instead? That way he can't find me," the last part was barely above a whisper. It was rare for Izuku to hear his close friend so soft.

"That's fine with me, should I ask my mom if you can spend the night?"

"Yes, please." Todoroki packed a duffel bag for the night and slung it over his shoulder, being sure to pack his uniform for the next day neatly so it wouldn't be wrinkled. He grabbed his schoolbag too; he couldn't go to class the next day without it, and maybe he could study a bit with Midoriya.

By the time He has made it to Izuku's house it was nearly dark out. His phone was yet to start blowing up with messages from his father wondering where he was, which he planned to completely ignore. Knocking on the door, his nerves started to get the better of him. He could hide his nervousness well. Being used to masking his emotions around his father was probably unhealthy, but it came in handy when he didn't want others to see how he was feeling.

Midoriya opened the door immediately, ushering the taller boy inside and peering around outside for only a moment just to be safe. "Are you okay?" was the first thing he said.

"Yes, I'm alright now. Thank you for having me." He avoided eye contact, fearing he would be too captivated by those swirling pools of dark mossy green to look away.

The two were relaxing in the fidgety boy's hero-merch-covered room when a thought returned to Todoroki's mind, "Midoriya?" he waited until the other looked up to him with curiosity, "What were you going to tell me earlier?"

"O-Oh! It's not important!" he rubbed the back of his neck as his freckle-dotted cheeks dusted ever so slightly with a pink-red tint. It had to be important if he would react so panicky.

"Don't lie to me, it isn't hard to tell something is bothering you. I let you help me, let me help you," he stated blunt as ever. The other boy was baffled, surely Shouto didn't mean what he was saying, but his usually expressionless face had been replaced by one hinting towards concern, proving his words were indeed sincere.

"Just give me a moment. It's harder when you're here in person." He avoided eye contact. Todoroki inched a little closer, now sitting on Izuku's bed next to him. Perhaps the generally uncultured boy knew enough about the world to understand where this was going.

"Izuku," the boy in question stiffened at hearing his first name, "do you, perhaps, like me?" he leaned closer to the other, not realizing how his forwardness would freak out the sensitive teen next to him, whose face was erupting in a hefty shade of scarlet.

"Y-You can't just ask that out of nowhere!" he screeched, realing back.

"Oh, I see, sorry for drawing conclusions." Todoroki sunk slightly, assuming the answer was no. A deflated tone had filled his response, and it had broken Izuku's heart ever so slightly. He looked around frantically, trying to form the words to convey his thoughts.

"No!" He grabbed Todoroki's shirt in his hands, pulling his body to face the other's directly, "that's not what I meant... I... I do." He tried to hide his face as his body shrunk in on itself.

"Oh," the taller of the two repeated, a higher note representing the happiness he struggled to hide. He rested a gentle hand on Izuku's soft green curls, causing his head to immediately shoot up to meet the face of the other. His heterochromatic eyes sparkled slightly in the warm lighting of his room. The contrast of his pale red scar compared to the brilliant vibrant blue of his left eye was majestically noticeable within the small space between the two.

Deku shrunk back a bit, providing some distance to calm his racing heart. He looked away again, not receiving the reaction he was hoping for.

"Izuku, I like you as well."