Waking up to your phone buzzing, there was an added weight on your torso that made it hard to move. You scrunched your eyes further in displeasure; if you opened your eyes to take the call of whoever was on the phone, you'd end up losing your sleepiness.
You had no trouble opening your eyes once you felt the weight shift, the memory of who you fell asleep cuddling with hitting you at once. There was a contact on your head which you tilted your head up to see and came nose-to-nose with a sleeping Todoroki. You couldn't help but awe.
Never in the five years you'd known him had you seen his face so peaceful. His eyes were shut and lips barely parted as he breathed softly, the peppermint-colored hair of his messily falling onto his face. All this while keeping one arm to you and close to him; you guessed the contact on your head just a few seconds ago had been his nose dug into your hair as he slept.
You wanted nothing but to take in the rare sight but this marked the second set of buzzes of your phone. If you didn't answer the person now, they'd probably give up after it.
You had to use every lesson you recalled on stealth and agility from UA to not disturb Todoroki as you got out of his arms. Picking up your phone, you smiled at the caller ID and quietly made your way to your room.
"Hey Kir-"
"(NAME)!!YOU NEED TO GET TO MY HOUSE ASAP!!"
Your heart dropped at the screams of fear you heard right after.
"Kiri?!What's happening?!", you breathed out, scrambling for your shoes.
"BAKUBRO'S RUINING MOVIE NIGHT!!!", he cried. You stopped your frantic movements immediately and glared at the wall.
"What the hell?!?I thought it was something serious."
"IT IS!!WE'VE BEEN PLANNING THIS FOR WEEKS BUT HE'S CHANGING ALL THE MOVIES TO VIOLENT ONES AND NOT LETTING US DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!!!"
"Sucks for you", you laughed,"You invited him."
"You were supposed to come", he whined,"He listens to you!!Like the first day of the trip!!"
You snorted,"Like hell. That was a one time thing."
"(Name)...", he begged. You sighed and rolled your eyes.
"Fiiiine. I'll be there in 20, maybe I can help."
══════════════════
Not even twenty minutes from your arrival, you were already tussling with the man you were supposed to calm down. It'd somehow gone from you playing peacemaker, to a yelling match, to a physical and verbal fight, to a violent fist fight in which the only sounds being produced were the occasional curses between you two.
Mina, ever so helpful, was taking photos from every angle,"YEAHHH!!GET HIM (NAME)!!"
"BACK DOWN, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!", you pleaded as you straddled his stomach to keep him from getting back up. Trying to fight him after he was under the influence of his violent movies was a clear mistake. Bakugou's already relentless stamina for personal violence was even worse than usual. He seethed.
"YOU TRYNA TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK TO DO?!?"
"PLEASE?!?"
He did not back down.
It took about thirty minutes for him to be satisfied enough with your fighting to sit on the sofa. You whined from the pain all around your body as you took the empty couch space next to him, which he scowled at but you were much quicker to give him a glare,"Don't you even give me some 'get the fuck away from me' bullshit, you probably broke one of my bones or something."
"Not my fault you're so weak", he grumbled.
"I literally got a higher ranking than you."
Bakugou sneered,"One fucking point doesn't make you a winner."
"It literally does."
The bombhead was back to delivering pain within a second. You cried out from the reversal of the roles, his full weight on you as he squeezed his hands around your neck and you relentlessly poked at his eyes in a panic. Mina kept helpfully snapping photos of you two until the moment Bakugou had enough again. You opted to stay quiet for the rest of the movie; at least you'd managed to keep your side of the couch.
You took your phone out to check the time. It read 11:56 pm.
Todoroki:D : [6 missed calls]
Your eyes flew wide open. All the commotion with Bakugou made it so that you didn't even feel the buzzes. Now that everyone was actually quiet for the movie, miraculously including the ash blond, it felt wrong to break the silence.
You were about to start typing up a message before Todoroki's own beat you to it.
Todoroki:D : Please tell me you're okay.
His text made you feel guilty. You'd left the poor man without an explanation and had him worrying for no reason. Your fingers worked quickly.
(Last Name): I'm okay, aside from a few bruises, courtesy of Bakugou :P I'll be home in a few hours.
You smiled at the read receipt that stayed for a few minutes. Hopefully that meant he'd calmed down.
Todoroki:D : You're with Bakugou?
Todoroki's caller ID showed up on your screen and you denied his call before your phone had the chance to start its ringtone; you were intent on not breaking the silence.
(Last Name): I'm so sorry but I really can't pick up the phone right now :(
The reply came quick.
Todoroki:D : Bakugou hurt you?
You laughed.
(Last Name): In case you haven't noticed, he's been doing that since UA. Don't stress about it though, he never goes too far. I kinda forced him to be my friend too, y'know?He just doesn't like admitting he likes me.
In a teasing mood, you opened a different chat.
maggot #2: Sup Baku :)
You grinned as Bakugou pulled out his phone and sneered at you, shoving his phone back down his pocket forcefully again.
maggot #2: Rude.
maggot #2: Yo
maggot #2: Imma spam if you don't answer
maggot #2: Yo
maggot #2: Yp
maggot #2: *Yo
maggot #2: Yo
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!", Bakugou had no problem yelling out of nowhere. Everyone else jumped but you stared back with a shit-eating grin as you pointed to your phone. Bakugou aggressively opened his chat.
Explodo-kills: Stop calling me that, you shitty extra
Explodo-kills: The hell you want now?
maggot #2: A favor <3
Explodo-kills: Go fuck yourself
You pouted, the reaction bringing a smirk to Bakugou's face.
maggot #2: I'll give you anything you want~
Explodo-kills: That's fucking nasty. I'm throwing up.
maggot #2: I DIDN'T EVEN SUGGEST ANYTHING, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT?
You had to hold back your laughter at the scowl on the ash blond that did nothing to hide his forming blush. He was so easy to mess with.
maggot #2: No but seriously, I need a favor. It's gonna be super late out by the time the movie marathon is over and it's kinda dangerous for me to be out by myself. Can you walk me back home?
Bakugou snorted.
Explodo-kills: You're a shitty hero.
maggot #2: It's kinda serious, Baku
You saw Bakugou lift his gaze from his phone to you with a raised eyebrow. He rolled his eyes soon after you mouthed a 'please?'.
Explodo-kills: Whatever. Can't help it if you're a wimp.
Explodo-kills: Annoy me and I'll leave you in the middle of nowhere.
You grew a wide grin.
maggot #2: I knew it.
maggot #2: You like me
maggot #2: I like you too, fyi <3
maggot #2: Also, can you stop manspreading?
You giggled as Bakugou threw you a middle finger, not sure whether it was aimed at your affection or your request. It dawned on you that Todoroki left you on read.
══════════════════
"Fucking bastard."
"I second that", you laughed sadly. Bakugou wasn't the most sympathetic person but for years you'd forced him to hear about the plants you held so dear at home, so even he knew how bad it'd been for you to see them in ashes. You could also always count on him for rude remarks to anyone who'd been in the League of Villains; the day he was kidnapped, he'd grown a grudge for them all, so that was something to bond over.
Maybe that's why he wasn't fighting off your hold on his arm as he walked you home, or it could just be him not wanting to try after all the years of doing so. The air of the pitch black night was calm anyway.
"That's why you're staying at the half-and-half's?"
"For now. My vines get stronger to the kind of damage they endure the most, which is why your explosions don't do anything to them anymore, and I'm trying to do the same with fire. Todoroki's a great help for it."
Bakugou grunted,"Bring me along when you look for the burnt fuck. I'll rip him a new one."
"And let you take all the credit?"
"I don't give a shit about credit."
You turned to him apologetically; he wanted to take down Dabi for a similar reason to you--redemption. You should've taken that into consideration a long time ago. It made an idea come to your head.
"You know", you started and Bakugou turned his half-annoyed, half-calm face to you,"Your suggestion doesn't sound bad at all. Maybe we can look for him together and give him the beating of his life."
The ash blonde eyes flashed with a glint of malice,"Damn straight."
"We'll be called 'Explosive-Greens'."
"The's the stupidest shit I've heard in my life. Let's do i-"
The calm air was gone as soon as a frosty fist landed right on Bakugou's face and sent him toppling to the floor. It'd happened in the blink of an eye; one second, the violent blonde had been entertwined in your arm and the next he was on the floor unconscious. The movement of it all jerked you and you would've followed if it hadn't been for the new hold on your arm that kept you from falling.
The hold felt very familiar.
You covered your mouth in shock as you laid eyes on Bakugou. His nose was swelling, bleeding, and most of all, it looked out of place.
"Oh my god", you breathed out. Bakugou's nose was broken.
You looked over at the culprit in alarm. Todoroki still had his hold on your arm, keeping you close to him and you could see every detail in his expression. There were none. His face was completely devoid of anger, remorse, anything that gave you a better understanding of what'd just unfolded. The vacant eyes he looked at Bakugou's laying form said nothing; the only thing out of place being the frosty exhale that told you he'd frozen his fist on purpose before landing it.
You'd seen it happen right in front of you but your brain understood none of it.
"Todoroki, oh my god, you broke his n-"
"I called you."
You lost your breath at the first words that came from him. Todoroki looked down at you with a forlorn expression and you felt his cold hand find a place on your cheek. The pure confusion of it all had you frozen in your spot. There was a hint of dejection in those mismatched eyes of his.
"You didn't answer. I was worried."
There were a thousand questions running through your mind and your mind understood none. The one thought semi-understandable going through your brain was that Bakugou was laying unconscious with a broken nose, but when you tried to turn your head at him, you felt Todoroki's hand move from your cheek to the back of your head, pulling you towards him softly.
"At me, (Last Name). I'm the one you should be looking at right now. I woke up to you gone. When I looked for you, you were gone. When I called you, you didn't answer. When I found you..."
His eyes left yours and turned cold at the man who laid on the floor. Todoroki looked back to you, his eyes landing on your neck. You tried not to whimper when his hand left the back of your head and his still cold fingers traced a line on your neck; a light bruising from your earlier petty scuffle on the couch.
"Bakugou did this?"
You nodded hesitantly. Todoroki nodded in acknowledgement, exhaling from his nose.
"Then don't feel bad about this. You made me your friend. You can't deny my protection."
Protection?That was protection?
"N-No, Todoroki, this is...What?No, Bakugou was walking me because he was protecting me. A-And you broke his fucking nose!!", you found the courage to finally break away from him and walk a few step backwards, sending him a glare of confusion.
Todoroki looked at your angry face with the same patience as always,"A broken nose was the best case scenario for him."
"What?"
"Bakugou doesn't protect. He's hurt you for years and now he's pretending he could do something if Dabi found you. It's disrespectful. He couldn't do anything about it the first time and it wouldn't have changed now. (Last Name), a broken nose is nothing compared to what I would've done if he'd put you in danger. This was the best case scenario for him."
Todoroki's words were crumbling the short-lived fire of anger you'd had. Not that you agreed but his justification sounded so real to him. He genuinely believed himself.
"Todoroki...You, um...you care for me, that much is obvious...", you picked every word carefully,"But Bakugou's never actually hurt me...and despite his violent nature, he does have a good heart. He would've protected me, you didn't have to lash out thinking otherwise..."
Perhaps you didn't choose your words carefully enough because the vacant eyes reserved only for Bakugou were on you now.
"Second to none."
"What?", you couldn't control your immediate reaction to the words he'd made you repeat only a few hours ago.
You were too stunned to speak anymore at that point. Todoroki stepped closer to you again and cradled your cheek, his fingers warmer now and thumb caressing the surface of your skin,"I'm the one you should be trusting the most. Whether it's because I'm most capable to protect you or because I care more than anyone else. You should've called me. Your trust should be on me first and foremost. Second to none."
His breath still came out in frosty exhales and you shivered at the feeling of it fanning your face. He was closer than ever. You almost panicked when he leaned down to press a kiss on your cheek before pulling away and grabbing onto your hand.
"C-Can we call someone for Baku-"
"He's a hero, (Last Name). He can handle it", Todoroki cut you off before the stern expression on his face turned soft again,"Let's go home. We can talk more there once you're safe."
You only nodded out of instinct, scared you'd hear more words from him that you wouldn't know what to do with, and softly being dragged along to the direction of Todoroki's home.
You were so caught up in the swirl of shock and fear that you couldn't feel the wide open turquoise eyes on you, just as stunned.
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FLUFF IS MY SPECIALTY,IDK HOW TO DO YANDERE. The amount of times I've considered putting this story on hold to write a fluff Bakugou fic. It's probably coming after this one though.
Written 1/5/2023
Published 1/5/2023