Todoroki and Izuku lay on the couch, Izuku fast asleep with his arms around Todoroki, who lay there awkwardly. His arms were lifted, trying not to disturb the sleeping boy.
Shinso snickered in the corner with Kaminari, from where they were reading a book on sign language.
"You just wait till I slip out!" Todoroki hissed.
Shinso, Kaminari, and Mina who had joined watched as Todoroki slowly but surely slid out form underneath Izuku, getting caught in various awkward positions until he finally collapsed to the floor.
The group burst into muffled giggles.
"Traitors".
***
Eri ended up at a park for the night, curled in a small green tunnel. Green like Izuku's hair, just... uglier. And colder.
She waited out the night in there, drifting in and out of sleep and jolting awake at the slightest sounds. The wind kept her cold, but once she fell asleep it was easy enough to ignore it, until she was jolted awake by some strange noise all over again. Tears pricked at her eyes. All she wanted was Izuku...
***
Aizawa was in charge of sending the kids to bed that night, as school was the next day. He made sure everyone had eaten, and the bathrooms were shared as they got ready.
Izuku was locked in his room for the night, as was Todoroki and Shinso.
"Sorry. Protocol," Aizawa had muttered.
But the lights were out now, and Todoroki was bored. Their were enough pins in the room it was easy for him to pick the door, and he was careful not to make any noises creeping up the stairs. Todoroki ended up at a room he was hoping was Izuku's, and started picking at the lock.
Stepping inside he knocked once. "Izuku?"
"Todoroki? What are you doing here?"
Todoroki blinked as the lights blinded him, and Momo sat in bed, looking at him confusedly. "What's wrong?"
"My apologies, wrong room". Todoroki hastily turned to leave, only to hear footsteps coming down the hall. He quickly shut the door, and ducked next to the desk instead.
Aizawa carefully opened the door just as Todoroki ducked out of sight. "Lights our Momo, sleep well".
"Uh, yes sir..."
Aizawa did a quick glance around the room before leaving.
"Sorry," Todoroki apologized again, coming out of the corner. "I didn't mean to interrupt your sleep".
"No, it's all good. How did you get out of your room?"
Todoroki shrugged nonchalantly. "It wasn't that difficult. If they really wanted me to stay they should've at the least added more locks."
"I see," Momo hummed. "Well, I'll let you get to Izuku. Tell him I said hi, and be careful sneaking to his room. Aizawa is way better at catching people then you'd think."
"I think I can handle one man," Todoroki snorted back. He'd been sneaking around his father for years- how hard could a single mental rehabilitation worker be?
The door opened silently as Todoroki crept out carefully, making sure to remain totally quiet as he headed towards Izuku's room. He was nearing the end of the hallway when a tall figure appeared literally out of no where.
"And where do you think you're going?" Aizawa stood with his arms crossed, his voice sounding like that of a disappointed dad. Todoroki was only too familiar with that.
"I'm going to visit Izuku," he announced after some consideration. There was no harm in informing the man of his destination, Todoroki decided. After all, what was the worst he could do?
"No, your not, you're going to go back to your room," Aizawa corrected, stepping forward threateningly. Not in the I'm-about-to-hit-you way, but the your-going-to-do-what-I-say way.
Todoroki narrowed his eyes, watching the man cautiously as he made his way to him. "What exactly are you going to do about it?" Todoroki hissed, daring the man to raise a hand. "Hit me? Push me? Hurt me? Well guess what- been there, done that," he spat.
Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "Now we're getting somewhere. And no, I'm not going to hurt you, just... have you returned to your room."
Faster then Todoroki expected, Aizawa darted behind him, grabbing his arms and forcing them back, lifting him slightly so he couldn't resist as Aizawa started dragging him back to his room. Todoroki tried to fight and twist out of his grip, but it was to no avail.
"Let. Me. Go!" Todoroki seethed, trying to kick his feet back at Aizawa. "You bastard!"
Aizawa ignored his protests. "I had to deal with Bakugou, this is nothing," he muttered, easily avoiding Todoroki's attack attempts.
Todoroki ended up being shoved back into his room, the lock being switched back into place with an audible click. Todoroki rolled his eyes. How annoying. He got the pin back out from where he'd stored it on the desk and unlocked the door once again, but this time he opened it on a waiting Aizawa, sitting in a chair right outside his door and reading a book.
"Don't even think about it." Aizawa didn't even look up.
Todoroki sighed in defeat. This was turning out to be way more trouble then it was worth. Wordlessly, he slammed the door shut, and crawled into bed. Might as well get some good rest while he could. He'd try again after a quick nap.
***
Eri jerked awake as squeals filled the playground. Light was shining through the tunnel, and she peeked her head out to see a group of three little boys running in. That was all it took for her to slide out, quickly going to the opposite direction of the kids. Surely their parents wouldn't be too far behind, and adults led to questions. Questions led to trouble.
Eri was sore from sleeping on the solid flooring, and her neck was stiff from being in a awkward twisted position all night to fit in the tunnel. It still felt like a cool early morning and not many people were in sight.
She hummed to herself as she walked along the sidewalk, looking for a big building or any signs. A school would be a perfect hiding place, though a change of clothes and some food would be nice too. Her stomach grumbled at the thought. Izuku always made sure Eri had enough to eat, sometimes at the expense of his own portions. She was used to spread out meals, but also to being full during that time. When Izuku took food, he took a lot.
***
Izuku sat on his bed, curled up, drifting in and out of sleep all night. When morning finally hit and the first rays of light started shining through the boarded off balcony, he could hear Mic's yells almost immediately.
"TIME TO WAKE UP!" Something very noisy was clanging as he made his way up and down the dorms. It hurt Izuku's ears with its miserable clashing noise. "RISE AND SHINE!"
"SHUT IT!" Katsuki yelled back, while from across the dorm someone let out an ungodly screech.
Not even a yell- just a long, held out, "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-."
It didn't bother Izuku, who stayed in his feeble curled up position, however Katsuki was a different story. "DENKI KAMINARI IF YOU DON'T SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW I'LL GIVE YOU A REASON TO SCREAM LIKE THAT-,"
"That's enough," Aizawa silenced, with a load roar. Both their voices reluctantly fell down, though a loud crack could be heard when Katsuki punched the wall angrily.
Slowly, people started filing out of their rooms and into the bathrooms to get ready. They all had crisp uniforms on, and Izuku noticed a pair next to his door. He hadn't noticed anyone slipping in last night to place them there. Not that he cared. He wondered for a minute if their would be string in the pants he could use.
Izuku forced himself up to check it, but was only met with disappointment, because when could life ever go his way? Instead of taking the effort to go back to his bed, he simply dropped to the floor, curling back up once again, stuck with his thoughts. Eri. Why? Why did she have to die first? Why couldn't it had been him? He'd give up anything for it to have been him.
***
Todoroki woke up to the yelling and clanging even more exhausted then when he'd went to bed. True to his words, he'd tried all night to make it to Izuku's room, sure the boy wasn't sleeping. Aizawa foiled every single attempt that was made, even an all-out fighting match. Todoroki had to admit, the man was good.
This time when he left his room refreshed in a new suit and feeling cleansed for the first time in a while, Aizawa (thankfully) wasn't at the door. Todoroki met up with Shinso in the hallway, both of them unsure of where to go to get their toiletries for the bathroom.
"How'd you sleep?" Todoroki muttered, black rings under his eyes.
Nothing compared to Shinso's dark circles. "I didn't. You?"
"Here and there," Todoroki admitted. "I tried to see Izuku."
"And we will not be having a repeat of last night," Aizawa sighed, making them both jump.
For people who have had to rely on their survival instincts to survive all their lives, this man knew how to surpass all of them.
Todoroki tilted his head at him and blinked. "Of course. Next time I'll actually make it to my destination."
Aizawa rubbed his eyes. "Fucking problem children." He turned towards Iida, who was just leaving his room. "Show them the way to the bathrooms, would you? I need to go get Midoriya."
Iida saluted Aizawa, then sheepishly put his hand down. "Right, sorry. Please, follow me," he muttered to Shinso and Todoroki, all confidence gone.
The two boys shared a look, but followed the third down the corridor. This would be a long day.