Midoriya's phone alarm went off at exactly four fifty-five that morning. Todoroki startled; somewhere in the night the phone had slid to be directly next to his ear, and while he usually had a habit of sleeping through his own alarms, it was likely because they were never directly next to his ear when they went off. Midoriya mumbled something incoherent on top of him, leg and arm still hanging over the boy, though somewhere in the night one of them had tugged the blankets over them. Midoriya had been using Todoroki's chest as a pillow, but now he looked up, blinking blearily at the light on in the kitchen behind them.

"Good morning!" Midoriya's mother chirped, whisking some sort of batter. "I'm making pancakes before I have to go today. All Might called and said he arranged to stop by Shouto's sister's apartment before stopping here, so you can go straight from here to the campus!"

In seconds Midoriya unwound himself from Todoroki, flushing with the embarrassment of being caught in such a compromising position. Todoroki, still trying to bring mobility to his body, made a sound of protest at Midoriya moving away, but he made no efforts to draw the boy back to him, no matter how much he missed the feeling of Midoriya lying on him.

"Mama," Midoriya called, "you didn't have to do this!"

"You boys made me dinner last night," she replied sweetly. "This is the least I could do."

Midoriya had a sweet tooth, Todoroki had discovered in their year of being friends. He wondered idly if he'd gotten that from his mother as they folded the blankets and tucked the bed away, the sweet smell of pancakes filtering openly through the apartment. By the time they sat down at the table and thanked Midoriya's mother for the meal, Todoroki was about as awake as he thought he could be, and his foot nudged at Midoriya's under the table. It had become something of a habit, so when Midoriya didn't nudge back, he glanced up expectantly.

Midoriya's face had paled and his left arm hung limply at his side. "Oi, Izu—"

"Hurts," Midoriya grumbled, staring at nothing in particular. "Really bad."

"Do you need a pain pill?" his mother asked from the kitchen, already fishing through the cabinets.

"Please," Midoriya whispered back, sweat beading at his forehead.

Todoroki's mouth fell into a thin frown. He'd seen Midoriya in pain before, but it was usually a loud pain – a yell of frustration or a bitter, pained laugh. Now it seemed different. Todoroki couldn't help but wonder if he'd overexerted his arm on his first day of being able to move it again. "Can you still move it?" Todoroki asked softly as Midoriya's mother carefully cut one of the large pills in half.

Feebly, Midoriya brought it up and rested it on the table in front of them. He winced. "I can, just hurts," he explained in a soft voice.

"Do you want me to pack up your things for you?"

Midoriya, still unable to move his gaze somewhere else, nodded numbly. "Please," he whimpered.

That was all Todoroki needed to hear. He pushed himself up from the table, meal forgotten (whatever; Todoroki didn't enjoy sweet stuff as much anyway), and disappeared into his friend's bedroom. Midoriya had mentioned off-handedly the night before that most of his things he meant to pack had been set aside by his desk. On the desk sat a large duffel bag, miscellaneous toiletries and other items half-thrown into the bag. He started by fully packing the toiletries into a smaller bag and tucking them into the bag in front of him.

Todoroki knew well that Midoriya wasn't as organized as him. Well, nobody in Class 1-A was as organized as him, but he digressed. What he meant was, Midoriya seemed almost on the opposite spectrum of him – not to a gross degree, it wasn't like there was garbage all over Midoriya's floor, but it did seem that most of Midoriya's wardrobe resided there. He poked his head out of the bedroom. "Izuku, what's clean and what's not in here?"

"Just a minute, Shouto," Mrs. Midoriya called back nervously. "Izuku's—um, he's getting sick."

Todoroki dropped the shirts he'd been holding, rushing into the main room of the apartment. Half of the pain pill had been taken, it seemed, but it likely came right back up; Midoriya's forehead beaded with sweat while he leaned over the sink in the kitchen, getting sick. His mother rubbed his back soothingly, even as Midoriya trembled and gagged. Not much else could come up, Todoroki thought idly, considering Midoriya had barely eaten anything.

"Can I get anything for you?" Todoroki asked to the room, though he certainly cared more about the pale boy gagging over the kitchen sink than the woman behind him at that moment.

"Water," Midoriya gasped out, trembling still. Todoroki rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, Mrs. Midoriya still rubbing her son's back.

"This has happened before," his mother explained to Todoroki. "The pain is just—"

"I understand," Todoroki nodded sternly, remembering with a grimace all the times he trained as a child and ended up vomiting up the little food he managed to sneak between training sessions. It always felt worse than normal when the vomiting was brought on by vigorous training rather than a stomach bug or something of that sort. He remembered suddenly a trick that his mother had taught him in those times that he hung over the toilet, vomiting even hours after particularly hard training sessions.

He placed the water bottle on the counter next to Izuku, who had (thankfully) stopped gagging in favor of just coughing – for now. He rushed down the hall to that same linen closet they'd grabbed the blankets out of the night before, having seen a stack of towels and rags in there. He grabbed a rag, took it into the bathroom and coated it with cold water.

Todoroki placed the rag in Mrs. Midoriya's hand. "Place this on the back of his neck," he murmured quietly. "My mom used to do this for me when—um." He cleared his throat awkwardly, but luckily Mrs. Midoriya's attention had diverted from Todoroki to her son in the time he'd been speaking.

Midoriya's breath came shaky for the next half hour or so, but he felt well enough to sit back at the table; his mother had taken both their plates of pancakes and, regretfully, threw the leftovers away. Todoroki remained across from Midoriya at the table, who still tried to steady his breathing. "How are you doing now?" he asked softly as Midoriya's breath came deeper and heavier.

"Better," he said with a scratchy voice. Despite the events that had taken place just a little while ago, he smiled, and Todoroki couldn't help but return the smile, not even bothering to cover it with his hand.

"I need to head out," Mrs. Midoriya announced a few moments later, scrambling to scoop up her things for the day. "Izuku, call me the second you get there, alright?"

"Yes, mama," Midoriya murmured in response.

"Good boy. Shouto, if he forgets, please remind him."

"Yes, ma'am," Todoroki replied, his eyes not leaving the shriveled boy in front of him.

"Good boy. Have a good training camp!" she called over her shoulder, then left with one final wave and a 'love you, Izuku!'

Todoroki tried to remember a time either of his parents had been so concerned as to ask him to call when he made it somewhere. His mom might have, if she wasn't in the hospital, but she rarely even knew when he was going somewhere.

"I'm gonna take that pill now," Midoriya announced quietly, then rose to his feet carefully. He swallowed the pill and with a bit of effort kept it from coming back up. "Where did you learn that trick about the rag on the back of the neck?" he asked curiously.

"My mom," he replied with a shrug.

"Ah." A pause. "Sorry you had to see that."

"Izuku, it's okay," Todoroki countered nearly immediately. "How often does that happen?"

Midoriya flushed and looked away. "Mm, probably fifty percent of the time?"

"And you didn't tell me?" Todoroki hadn't meant to sound accusatory, but even he had to admit it kind of came off like that, and he cringed inwardly at himself. "I didn't mean—"

"I didn't want to worry you," Midoriya replied softly. "I still don't. I'm fine."

"You don't have to act like you're fine all the time," Todoroki replied just as softly. "I can tell you're not."

It was like a wall crumbling before Todoroki's eyes. Midoriya went from an expression of nonchalance to an expression of a mix between anger and sadness in a second, tears budding at his eyes. "I..."

The buzzer inside the apartment sounded. Todoroki crossed over and opened the door, finding a tired All Might standing there. "Oh, good morning sir," Todoroki bowed. "You're early."

"Mrs. Midoriya sent me a message," he said, a bit breathless. "Is Young Midoriya alright?"

Midoriya waved feebly from inside the kitchen. All Might sighed and shook his head. "Are your things packed?"

"I started to pack them, sir, but then got...side-tracked," Todoroki replied before Midoriya could even open his mouth to say anything.

"I can pack my own things," Midoriya insisted, but sweat still beaded at his forehead with efforts to not be sick again.

"Izuku," Todoroki said sternly, "please worry about yourself. We'll take care of it."

So All Might and Todoroki took to a system in Midoriya's bedroom while said boy sat on the couch with a plastic bag clutched tightly in his fists. Todoroki folded clothes that smelled clean, and All Might packed them, and within less than ten minutes they had everything packed and ready. "Did you stop by my sister's apartment already, sir?" Todoroki asked once they finished.

"I did," All Might affirmed. "That's where I was when Inko texted me."

"Inko?" Todoroki mused, and All Might's cheeks erupted into a blush that rivaled Todoroki's embarrassed blushes around Midoriya.

"A-ah, well, since I'm early – let's stop on the way and grab some snacks for the trip, how about?" All Might quickly changed the subject.

"Mr. Aizawa said no—"

"Mr. Aizawa will make an exception," All Might said confidently, that heroic smile crossing his face. "Young Midoriya has had a rough morning and deserves some snacks for the road."

"Sure," Todoroki agreed finally, throwing Midoriya's duffel bag over his shoulder with ease. "Are we ready to go then, sir?"

"We are," All Might nodded.

The three walked down to the car, keeping pace with a slow Midoriya, who still held the plastic bag – though he didn't need it. All Might had thought last-minute to grab the bottle of pills from the cupboard, and soon enough they were in the car. Todoroki and Midoriya sat together in the back, pinkies linked across the chairs as they looked out their respective windows.

All Might stopped at a small corner store and ran in to grab snacks at the boys' requests. Neither of them seemed particularly interested, though, so after a few minutes of trying to pry the boys' favorite snacks from their stubborn, sleepy selves, All Might simply went in grumbling that they'd 'get what they got'. He returned just ten minutes later with four full shopping bags' worth of snacks, and despite Midoriya's efforts not to be sick, he laughed at the silliness of it all.

"Did you get enough snacks, sir?" Todoroki asked plainly, causing Midoriya to laugh even harder.

"I thought I should get some for the entire class," All Might countered. "Plus, this way Mr. Aizawa can't try to confiscate it."

Todoroki wasn't sure that logic added up, but he respected his teacher's purchasing snacks for them all the same, and expressed his gratitude by opening a bag of chips and happily munching on them as they drove.

They were the first ones to the school when they arrived, aside from Mr. Aizawa, who slept in his sleeping bag on the sidewalk leading up to the Class 1-A bus parking area. All Might helped Midoriya and Todoroki pack their things onto the bus, then went to wake Mr. Aizawa to alert him that they'd arrived. Mr. Aizawa, though, wanted nothing of it, and rolled a few feet away in his sleeping bag to continue sleeping unbothered.

Shortly thereafter, the other students of Class 1-A trickled in. Yaoyorozu and Jirou arrived next, together, and Jirou thanked the vehicle driver by name – whoever it was. They walked with their hands linked casually over to Todoroki and Midoriya, the latter having finally abandoned the plastic bag as his pain medication kicked in. Midoriya waved his left hand at them, and immediately the girls erupted into excited squeals. "Your arm!" they cried in unison, and Midoriya sighed to himself. Todoroki knew that sigh – it was the oh boy, everyone's gonna say that, aren't they? sigh that Todoroki himself knew too well.

And he was right; every student had at least some reaction to Midoriya's use of his left arm. Mostly they congratulated him; Sato told him to remind him when they got back and he'd bake a cake for the occasion. Midoriya's ears perked up at that – without the pain in his arm causing for severe nausea, he quite liked the sound of one of Sato's cakes.

They loaded their things onto the bus just as Aizawa decided he should get up, mostly for fear of being trampled by a group of excited teenagers. He stood in front of the bus door, sleeping bag still around him. "Listen up," he droned, but his voice carried across the parking lot and the class gave him their attention. "This isn't meant to be a relaxing getaway vacation. You will be training quite intensely in these next few weeks, so please keep that in mind before you go getting all excited."

"We're excited to train!" Kirishima bellowed out like a warrior cry, stirring up a chorus of shouts from students in agreement with him. Todoroki took the time to glance at Midoriya, who wore a hopeful smile that maybe he'd finally get to train with his classmates again.

"That's a fine thing to be excited about!" All Might called out from next to Aizawa. "Are everyone's things packed?"

Some mutters of acknowledgement filtered through the crowd of students. "If everything's packed, are we ready to go, Mr. Aizawa?"

"Not yet," Aizawa replied. "We're waiting on—"

"Sorry I'm late!"

Running from the other side of the bus came Mirio, stopping next to Aizawa and gripping his knees to catch his breath. "It's a pretty long run from my apartment to here."

"Mirio san, you ran here?!" Midoriya called excitedly, and the third-year huffed out an affirmative.

"What's he doing here?!" a cranky Bakugou snarled from the opposite end of the crowd.

"He'll serve as your camp counselor," Mr. Aizawa explained. Mirio nodded his head excitedly, offering a thumbs up to the students.

Most of the class whooped and hollered in excitement, save for Bakugou, who lit sparks in his hands in what would have been a menacing way, had anyone been paying him any mind.

"Alright, let's load onto the bus," Aizawa droned. "It's a long car ride there, so I hope everyone used the bathroom before now."

Of course Mineta had to run back inside to use the bathroom. In the meantime, the rest of the class loaded onto the bus. Midoriya and Todoroki sat together; Todoroki gave his friend the window seat. All Might argued with Aizawa near the front about the snacks. Mirio sat by himself across the aisle from them, his own duffel bag taking up the seat next to him.

Mineta waddled his way onto the bus about ten minutes later, and they departed shortly thereafter. Most of the students on the bus used the three and a half hour drive as a means of catching up on the sleep they'd missed from the early morning. Midoriya and Todoroki were certainly not exceptions to this; shortly after they'd departed, Midoriya pulled out his phone, put an earbud in his ear and offered the other to Todoroki. When Todoroki looked at him questioningly, he shrugged and said, "It'll help block out some of the noisy students."

By 'noisy students', he obviously meant Bakugou, who argued crankily with Kirishima at the back of the bus.

Todoroki took the earbud gratefully, subconsciously leaning a bit closer so the wire didn't stretch too far. Midoriya's head fell to Todoroki's shoulder, and Todoroki's head leaned against Midoriya's, and Jirou managed to snap a photo from the pair of seats in front of them. Jirou hastily sent the picture to a group chat – the chatroom named "Operation: Get Midoriya a Boyfriend" – which included all the girls in Class 1-A. Then, hastily typed underneath it from the only other girl awake on the bus:

Ochaco: are we sure they aren't together already?

Ochaco: no, if they were Deku would tell me

Ochaco: we NEED to make this happen during training OR ELSE!!!!!11

A few moments later, a reply:

Tsuyu: please ocha I am trying to s l e e p

Ochaco: sorry sorry!

Tsuyu: good night ocha

***

Todoroki slung both his and Midoriya's bags over his shoulder as they walked up to their cabin. Iida and Ochaco had gotten off the bus sooner and already had the door propped open, letting the warm summer breeze through the cabin. Midoriya followed closely behind Todoroki, insisting that he could carry his own things – but Todoroki refused to budge on the matter, even so much as jogging up the path to avoid being caught by the smaller boy.

They walked into the cabin together, a laugh still bubbling from Midoriya's throat from Todoroki running from him. The laugh died soon after, though, as they fully stepped inside and Todoroki lowered the two bags onto the nearest twin bed.

The cabin was large, with a few big windows letting in light. Iida had already cracked the windows open to let the early afternoon breeze inside, barely existent but satisfying nonetheless. On the left and right walls were two twin beds with a dresser in between them, leaving a narrow walkway to cross through the cabin between the beds. At the far end of the cabin was a small hallway that led to a toilet room on the left and a bath on the right. Ochaco unpacked hers and Iida's bags into the dresser while Iida looked around inside the cabin. "This place is gorgeous!" Midoriya exclaimed finally.

Todoroki couldn't help but agree. He'd never been one for "rustic" living, so he'd been a bit apprehensive of the lodgings this trip would have to offer, but this was...nice. Beyond that, even. With Midoriya standing on his side, Todoroki felt like there was no place he'd rather be other than here.

According to the schedules Aizawa had handed out before they left the bus, lunch was scheduled to begin in a half hour. There was also a small map of the campsite on the pamphlet; this place must be used for training camps often, Midoriya thought idly. There was a large bonfire area between the six cabins. From there, several roads branched off: one towards what was labeled as the 'Mess Hall', which Midoriya assumed was where they'd go to eat. Another path branched towards something called a 'Water Agility Course'; another towards the 'Intensive Training Clearing'; and a third towards something labeled as the 'Battleground'.

"Want to go walk around, Shouto?" Midoriya asked casually. Ochaco sputtered from her spot unpacking her bags.

"What is it, Uraraka?" Todoroki asked, his voice expressing just the hint of concern.

"Sorry, saw a spider!" Ochaco replied, hanging her head quickly and whipping out her phone.

Group Chat – "Operation: Get Midoriya a Boyfriend"

Ochaco: ladies, they refer to each other by their FIRST! NAMES!

Yaoyorozu: Are you sure they aren't already together?

Ochaco: dunno but i'll figure it out!!!

Iida rushed to Ochaco's side, ready to defeat the evil spider for her, but she whispered in a hushed tone that there was no spider. "Tenya, did you hear what Deku called Todoroki?!" she asked in that same frantic whisper.

"Um, no?" Iida responded at normal volume, because as Ochaco had had her head in her phone the two in question had left the cabin.

"He called Todoroki 'Shouto'!"

"And...?"

"And, that's a big deal!" Ochaco squealed. "Maybe they're gonna get together!"

Iida's face fell into a tight line. "Ochaco, are you meddling in their love lives?"

"What? Of course not," Ochaco shook her head. "Just...monitoring the situation."

Iida sighed. "Who else is in on it."

Ochaco swayed in her spot, a little nervously. Finally, she sighed. "All the girls in 1-A," she admitted sheepishly, tugging a strand of hair. Iida shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"As class president, I don't condone it..." Ochaco prepared for a lecture. "...but as Midoriya and Todoroki's friend, how can I help?"

***

Midoriya and Todoroki walked the campgrounds, chatting idly along the way. Midoriya snatched a bag of gummy worms from the communal snack table ("This is the only way it'll be fair," Aizawa insisted to All Might). He chewed on them, idly letting them hang out of his mouth while he ate, and it was driving Todoroki fucking insane.

Finally, Todoroki reached out and plucked the half of the gummy worm hanging from Midoriya's lips and ate it himself. He made a face, barely chewing it before he swallowed. "Gross," he decided finally.

Midoriya's mouth hung open, a dark blush on his cheeks as he watched the event take place.

"You'll catch flies like that," Todoroki teased, nudging the other with his shoulder gently. Midoriya closed his mouth.

Their pinkies were linked while they walked down to the edge of some sort of man-made lake. Midoriya wondered to himself if a single person made this with their Quirk, or if several people got together to build it. Todoroki's attention wandered to the obstacle course half-submerged in water. "So this is the water agility course, huh?" Todoroki asked casually.

"Guess so," Midoriya replied with a soft smile. As if neither of them had known the answer to that question before it was even asked. Midoriya took a seat on the rock at the edge of the water, removing his bright red shoes and his socks to let his feet dangle in the water. Todoroki tentatively followed suit, sitting next to him and removing his own shoes. He set their shoes on the sand.

The stone path leading here ended at the base of a dock which stretched quite far into the water. Todoroki almost asked why Midoriya hadn't wanted to sit down there, but he noticed soon enough that Midoriya had taken an interest in the frogs that swam by in the shallow waters. One latched onto his big toe and Midoriya stifled a giggle, mumbling about it tickling.

Todoroki traced the obstacle course in his mind, looking at the various platforms and bars hovering on or above the water. It didn't look particularly difficult; but then, not much appeared difficult with a Quirk like Todoroki's. Plus, he thought idly, he'd be able to draw from the water and create more ice with less physical strain on himself.

"Shouto," Midoriya spoke over the sound of soft waves licking the rock they perched on.

"Yes, Izuku?" Todoroki asked, his eyes still tracing the path he'd take in the course for maximum efficiency.

"Earlier today..." Midoriya drifted off, seemingly trying to pick the right words. Todoroki broke his concentration on the course in front of them in favor of watching his friend's feet in the water, which were being circled by frogs now.

"What about earlier today?" Todoroki prompted after a minute or so, and Midoriya jumped, like he'd forgotten he had begun the conversation in the first place.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he rushed finally, hanging his head.

"What? You puking your guts up in your kitchen sink?" Todoroki asked casually.

"A-ah, yeah," Midoriya's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.

Todoroki shrugged. "I know what that feels like," he replied simply.

"You—"

"To be in so much pain that you can't stop your body from throwing up," Todoroki explained. "I've never had nerves rebuilt, or anything. But it happened a lot during training with my old man."

Midoriya blinked. "I'm really sorry," he said softly, finally, and of course Midoriya would be sorry for something he both didn't do and that happened years and years ago.

"That's not the point," Todoroki replied with a soft sigh.

"What is, then?" Midoriya asked.

"The point is, you don't need to be embarrassed about anything around me," Todoroki said. He let his hand fall on Midoriya's between them, drumming his fingers casually the way Midoriya had done the day before while Todoroki wrapped his arm. "How do you feel now?"

"Not like I'm going to be sick," Midoriya said with that cheeky grin that Todoroki loved.

"Great," Todoroki replied with a small smile of his own.

Not too long after that, over some sort of announcement system came Mr. Aizawa's voice. "Lunch will be ready in about ten minutes. Please make your way to the mess hall."

Midoriya hopped up quickly, throwing his socks and shoes on excitedly. "Come on, Shouto!" he grinned over at his counterpart, who took his time moving to put his shoes back on.

"What's the hurry?" Todoroki countered softly.

"I'm hungry!"

Todoroki supposed he would be, especially considering what little breakfast he had had been emptied into the sink. Aside from that, Midoriya had eaten half a bag of gummy worms; the other half was tucked into his pants pocket.

They made their way back to the central campsite, pinkies locked as they did so, to see a few other students walking down the path to the mess hall. Midoriya heard Bakugou and Kirishima near the front of the group, arguing with their cabinmates – Kaminari and Ashido – about who would get which beds. "Careful before you fry your brain," Ashido sneered while Kaminari stuttered for an insult.

Iida and Ochaco walked down the side path leading from their cabin, seemingly arguing about something, though Todoroki couldn't quite hear what. As they drew closer, they quieted their voices, until Midoriya greeted them with that sunshine smile Todoroki loved so much. "Hey, enjoy your walk?" Ochaco asked.

"It was nice," Midoriya nodded. "We went and looked at the obstacle course in the water."

They walked together into the mess hall and reserved a table for the four of them, with Iida and Todoroki offering to get food for their respective counterparts. This left Ochaco time to grill Midoriya on the relationship status of him and Todoroki.

"So," she began sweetly, folding her hands together atop the table and using them as a cushion for her chin. "What's up with you calling Todoroki by his first name?"

Midoriya flushed and, probably, stopped breathing. "I...he, um."

"Are you two together finally?" Ochaco pressed.

"Finally?" Midoriya squeaked. "N-no! It's not like that! We're just—we're really good friends, that's it!"

Ochaco frowned. She could tell Midoriya was uncomfortable. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you feel bad or anything, I'm just curious."

Midoriya sighed in relief, then, the first time he'd breathed since Ochaco first brought up the 'first name' thing. "We're good friends," Midoriya insisted. "I just—"

"Just what?"

"I wish we were more," Midoriya confided finally, slamming his head down on the table with a frustrated groan. "He's so cute, Ochaco. Like, so. Cute."

"I don't mean to pry, so don't tell me if you don't want to," Ochaco prefaced, "but have you two...you know. Kissed before?"

"What?" Midoriya's cheeks erupted into a bright pink fit. "No, no we haven't!" He shook his hands for emphasis.

"They're on their way back," Ochaco warned suddenly. "Pretend nothing happened."

Seconds later, Todoroki set a tray down in front of Midoriya, earning a stiff smile from the latter. "Th-thank you, Todo," he mumbled, staring down at the food. He picked up his utensils and decided that it would be much better if his mouth was occupied with eating to keep him from saying anything else stupid.

"Oh, no problem," Todoroki sat next to him, obviously startled that Midoriya hadn't referred to him by his first name. Then again, he supposed Ochaco didn't openly call Iida 'Tenya', except for that one time, which likely had been an accident what with the way she sputtered after saying it.

They were maybe halfway through their meal when Bakugou approached, nervously passing a spark between his fingertips. "Deku," he said, probably louder than he'd intended, what with the way it reverberated off the walls of the mess hall. Most of the others grew quiet, watching the exchange with a sort of fearful anticipation.

Midoriya looked up, certainly not expecting Bakugou to be standing there – but even less expecting that nervous twitch to be rearing its head again. He hadn't seen Bakugou do that since they were kids, in grade school at least. "Yeah, Kacchan?" he asked, his voice a bit colder than it would be had anyone else approached him.

"I need—we need to talk," he said, trying to control the volume of his voice by dropping to a lower decibel. Midoriya stood, and Todoroki instinctively stood with him, but Midoriya placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay," he assured. Todoroki sent a chilling glare at Bakugou.

"I won't hurt him, half-and-half," Bakugou grumbled in response. Midoriya thought that might have been the first time Bakugou didn't tack 'bastard' onto the end of that nickname.

"Better not, or I'll show you what the bottom of the lake looks like," Todoroki seethed back. Midoriya would have found it hot, how angry he got, if he wasn't suddenly feeling sick again at the prospect of speaking to Bakugou alone. Still, he followed the blond out of the mess hall and down that path he and Todoroki had walked just an hour ago. They stopped at the edge of the dock, Midoriya a few paces behind Bakugou, like they were kids again.

"What is it?" Midoriya blurted, shuffling from foot to foot with nervousness. Bakugou winced at his suddenness, and Midoriya realized then that perhaps, perhaps Bakugou wasn't as tough as he always painted himself to be.

"How's your arm?"

It was quiet, and probably the first sentence in years that Bakugou spoke to him without calling him some sort of insult. Midoriya blinked. "It's...alright," he said slowly, contemplating his language. Even the slightest slip-up could result in another more irreversible injury, especially considering that they were alone now.

"I didn't mean to hurt you that bad."

Bakugou sounded a hell of a lot more vulnerable than Midoriya was used to from him. It was almost unsettling, but still, Midoriya managed to find some comfort in it...in a way. At least Bakugou had the conscience to feel bad about what happened. Despite himself, a small smile quirked at the corner of his lips. He didn't want to smile, but this was the closest to an apology he'd likely ever get from his childhood friend. "I figured," Midoriya said, and it almost served as an I forgive you.

"I thought half-and-half would hold me back," Bakugou admitted, his voice still quieter and more distant than Midoriya had ever heard it. "So I went all-out. Fucking hell, I'm sorry."

Okay, that certainly was unexpected.

"It's oka—"

"That's just fucking like you, isn't it?" Bakugou shot back before Midoriya could even acknowledge his apology. "I nearly blast your arm clean off and you're still so quick to forgive. Dammit, idiot, learn to hold a grudge." His voice grew in volume, and there was the Bakugou Midoriya knew, the Kacchan Midoriya knew.

"Well, it's almost completely healed now, so," Midoriya shrugged. "I'll just have to beat your ass once it's done healing."

Bakugou turned towards him, something between a mortified and an excited look on his face. "What the fuck did you just say?" But his voice didn't sound angry, no; that was definitely something between fear and adrenaline, like Bakugou knew that fight wouldn't be a surefire win for him. Also, probably because Midoriya had never cussed. Like, ever.

Midoriya somehow felt empowered by letting a cuss slip. He'd never done it before – something between being afraid his mother would wash his mouth out with soap and afraid he'd turn into one of those public-school thugs kept him from doing it. But here he was, and his mother wasn't here to wash his mouth out and he felt the same, with no urge to go thugging and stealing cars or whatever those kids used to do. Bakugou watched him, a sort of fire raging behind his eyes. "Yeah, alright, fuckin' nerd," Bakugou said finally. "I'll fight you. No help from your little boyfriend though, got it?"

"We're not dating," Midoriya mumbled, cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. Ah – there was the Deku that Bakugou knew.

"I don't care what you call yourselves," Bakugou shot back. "He won't interfere. Got it?"

"Sure," Midoriya replied. "But you try telling him that."

Bakugou sneered. "Alright, night before this training camp is done, it's fuckin' on, nerd."

***

Todoroki was, to say the least, not happy with the outcome of Midoriya's chat with Bakugou.

"You agreed to fight him, Izuku?" Todoroki asked, shaking his head in bewilderment. "What if your arm isn't completely healed by the end of the camp?"

Midoriya shook his head. "I got on the phone with Recovery Girl earlier today and she said it would probably be just a few more days."

Todoroki blinked. "Oh. You didn't tell me that."

"Was I supposed to?"

Midoriya sat on his bed in the cabin while Todoroki paced in front of him, having halted only at hearing the news that Midoriya's arm would be fully healed in less than a week. "Sorry, it kind of fell to the back of my mind today," Midoriya huffed as he relaxed onto the bed. "So much has happened."

Todoroki let himself fall onto the bed next to Midoriya. "Yeah, it has been a long day, hasn't it?"

Ochaco and Iida chose the fucking perfect moment to walk in, Todoroki thought sarcastically as the two opened the cabin door. They'd decided to take a walk, themselves, since Mr. Aizawa announced that today was mainly for getting acquainted with the surroundings. (All Might mentioned off-handedly to Midoriya later that evening that there had been training activities planned, but Aizawa had been too tired to go through with them.) They were laughing together when they walked in, finding Midoriya and Todoroki lying, staring up at the ceiling of the cabin, with their shoulders pressed together.

"Hey, Ochaco, Iida," Midoriya called out a casual greeting.

"Hey," they replied in unison.

"Sounds like they're going to start up the bonfire pretty soon," Ochaco mentioned nonchalantly. "We were actually coming in here to get you guys."

It was just past four in the afternoon, but with the shade the trees around them provided, the temperature felt much cooler than it would normally. Midoriya thought about throwing on a hoodie before he met the others, and Todoroki beat him to it, opening up their dresser and tossing a hoodie over to him. He grabbed one for himself, as well.

"H-hey, how did you know?" Midoriya asked.

"If I'm cold, you're cold," Todoroki replied simply. Ochaco and Iida exchanged a look.

Ochaco pulled a blanket out of the bottom drawer of their dresser; it seemed she'd prepared for this. Iida, on the other hand, grabbed a set of warmer clothing and disappeared into the bathroom to change. "We'll meet you out there," Ochaco said, practically ushering Midoriya and Todoroki out of the cabin.

"I just hope they don't do anything gross on my bed," Todoroki wrinkled his nose after they were a few paces away, hearing some...suspicious noises coming from the direction of their cabin. Midoriya snorted and leaned against Todoroki, laughing behind his hand the way Todoroki might.

Todoroki enjoyed that Midoriya had adopted some of his mannerisms, but he quite simply hated the way Midoriya looked when he covered up his gorgeous laugh.

They met with the others of Class 1-A (aside from Iida and Ochaco) around the bonfire. There were some lawn chairs, as well as several log benches to be occupied. Midoriya and Todoroki opted for a bench, despite there being two open lawn chairs much closer to them.

Jirou and Yaoyorozu came from the cabin nearest the campfire, with Yaoyorozu lugging a decent-sized stereo in her right hand. In her left hand was Jirou's, swaying carelessly as they walked. Neither of them particularly cared about PDA and how others felt about it, and well – it showed sometimes, especially the few times Midoriya accidentally walked in on them kissing in the commons area. "What's everyone want to listen to?" Jirou asked, already readying her Quirk as Yaoyorozu began crafting a guitar for her.

Several requests were called out as the two sat on a different bench just a little ways from Midoriya and Todoroki. Since the festival the previous summer, Jirou had gotten a lot more comfortable in her musical abilities. At her girlfriend's discretion, she even started a YouTube channel, gaining a hefty amount of followers from U.A. itself as well as about five hundred thousand more from other parts of the world. Midoriya could honestly say that, despite not being incredibly close with Jirou, he was proud of her and how far she'd come. Her battling had gotten stronger, too; she had become an opponent to be feared amongst the class.

Midoriya didn't know when he'd rested his head on Todoroki's shoulder, but shortly after he did Todoroki's head fell to rest against Midoriya's, and Midoriya thought he might implode. After maybe five or six songs (a few of which got the rest of the students to sing along with Jirou), Mr. Aizawa came out of the teacher's cabin, which was buried amongst the trees. "The mess hall has hot dogs for us to fry over the fire for dinner," he announced in his monotonous voice. The class cheered around him. Shinsou and Tokoyami offered to bring out the food, while Yaoyorozu got to work creating simple skewers for the hot dogs.

Somewhere in the mess, Ochaco and Iida had emerged from the cabin, their hair a bit mussed and their clothing wrinkled. Ochaco had thought ahead, though, and covered them both in the blanket, so unless one had an idea of what went down in the cabin (Midoriya and Todoroki had more than an idea, hearing the noises the two of them made), they likely wouldn't know any better. They had sat themselves on the other end of Midoriya and Todoroki's bench and swayed with each other to the rhythm of Jirou's rendition of the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

"Oh, no," Midoriya said idly, finally lifting his head from Todoroki's shoulder.

"What is it?" Todoroki asked, immediately concerned.

"I forgot to call my mother."

Todoroki frowned. "And I forgot to remind you."

Midoriya had put his phone on silent earlier in the day while they were at the edge of the water together. He hesitantly pulled it out of his pocket and winced at the sheer number of missed phone calls and text messages from his mom. He excused himself from the group just as Shinsou and Tokokyami returned with a wheeling cart of hot dogs and buns for the class.

He stepped a few paces away, then called his mother, shifting nervously from foot to foot. She picked up almost immediately. "Izuku!" she hissed, but she didn't sound particularly mad. "You forgot to call!"

"Shouto forgot, too," Midoriya mumbled defensively.

"Well? Are you doing alright?"

"We got here fine, yeah."

"And how's your arm feeling?"

"Good! I took a pain pill at lunch and I'll take another before bed."

"Good boy. I'm gonna let you go now, okay?"

"Okay, mama. Love you."

"Love you too, Izuku."

By the time Midoriya returned to the bonfire, Todoroki had two skewers in his hands and was roasting a hot dog for each of them. When he sat down, Todoroki passed the skewer into his hands, letting their fingers touch much more than they probably should have in such a simple task. "I got it started for you," Todoroki murmured under the class's group conversation happening around them.

"Thanks!" Midoriya replied chipperly, beaming up at him.

Shortly after dinner, All Might mentioned to the class off-handedly that he'd brought stuff for s'mores with him, bringing on a slue of whoops and cheers from the first-years around the campfire. "Shouto," Midoriya called to him over the hollering. Despite them sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, Todoroki still had a little trouble hearing him. He probably wouldn't have noticed without Midoriya nudging into his side. "Have you ever had a s'more before?"

"I don't like sweets," Todoroki countered, "so no."

"Will you split one with me?"

It wasn't a ridiculous proposition. Midoriya wasn't asking if he could – could kiss him, or anything. But still, he felt a bout of steam threatening to escape out of him and exhaled deeply, calming the heat by pushing it through his mouth instead. If Midoriya noticed, he didn't comment on it; he only tilted his head to the side, watching with those big green eyes for Todoroki's reply. Why am I so flustered? Todoroki thought hopelessly, peeling his eyes away from Midoriya's before he did something he would regret.

"One bite," Todoroki huffed finally, and Midoriya clapped his hands together with a smile bright as the stars above.

"They're tasty, I promise!"

Midoriya had been only half-right; Todoroki could have done without the marshmallow. Chocolate tasted pretty good – he supposed it might be the only sweet food he could tolerate for more than a few bites. He handed the messy s'more back to his friend, who already held another in his hand. "Oh, I made you one for yourself," Midoriya grinned that cheeky grin up at him.

"Why?" Todoroki asked. He'd said one bite – he didn't want to waste food.

"Because I thought you'd like it," Midoriya huffed softly, that playful pout crossing his lips again. "Do you not like it?"

"I don't like the marshmallow," Todoroki shrugged.

"What?! That's the best part!"

"The chocolate is alright—"

Ashido interrupted their petty argument by standing up and throwing her hands together, a bit of marshmallow stuck to the corner of her mouth. "I think we should play a game. Who wants to play a game?"

"Charades!" Hagakure shrieked, and when the group collectively turned to look over at the mound of sweatshirt and sweatpants that was Hagakure, she laughed maniacally. "Just kidding, guys!" she sneered.

"Truth or dare!" Jirou and Yaoyorozu chanted together.

"That sounds fun!" Ochaco added. Had Midoriya been looking, he might have caught the wink she sent to the other girls across from her at the bonfire.

Midoriya, the sweet, innocent boy, had no idea what he was in for.