The Curve of His Smile

Midoriya Izuku tossed a few pinches of salt into a bowl of minced beef, adding chopped green onion into the mix, to make that burger extra special for Todoroki.

Izuku wanted to cheer up Todoroki with a delicious burger that Todoroki could never get at any restaurant in town. And more than anything, he needed the gesture to put that small smile back on Todoroki's face; it had been painfully absent since the Provisional Hero License Exam.

Sighing softly, Izuku glanced down at the vegetables that he just chopped up. "Maybe I'll cut a few bell peppers too...but does Todoroki like bell pepper?"

"I think I saw him eat it a couple times, I know I saw him eating curry, so he might like it but I also saw him push it away that one time in the cafeteria." The boy tapped his forehead, mumbling up a storm as he pondered the meal.

"Ah I got it!" The boy punched the air for the perfect solution had come to mind.

"I'll make a few types of burgers, separating half of the meat into another bowl, then I'll add the bell pepper into that one, leaving this bowl with just the green onion!"

Todoroki could always choose his preferred burger, Izuku thought with a smile, proud that his quick thinking prevented a cooking crisis.

Humming his favourite song, Izuku chopped up the bell pepper to the beat of the song, believing nothing could go wrong after that dilemma but little did he know how wrong that assumption would prove to be.

Heat from the stove fanned Izuku's face as he flipped the burger, the meat sizzled upon contact with the hot metal, reminding Izuku of a certain boy.

Ever since Shouto started training with his left side, Izuku noticed that Shouto would slightly catch afire during combat practice, the way Shouto's body steamed after he melted the ice, would leave Izuku in awe; no one in class 1-A could top Shouto in power and grace, the boy was perfect.

Beep beep beep! "Ah! What!?" Midoriya snapped out of his daydreaming to find the burger had blackened, burnt to a crisp.

"Wah! No no no! Water! Water!" Fumbling around the kitchen, Izuku knocked over the flour for the buns, his elbow sent eggs splattering to the floor.

With a sinking heart, he grabbed the spatula and scraped out the burnt lump of beef from the pan, his eyes watered with defeat. "Dan...dang it...it's ruined now."

Fortunately, the boy managed to successfully prepare dinner the second time around and had barely freshened up when the doorbell chimed.

Ding dong! Izuku's heart sped up at the sound of the doorbell and he scrambled to the front door not wanting to keep Todoroki waiting.

Slapping his cheeks, Izuku tried to settle his fraying nerves before opening up the door. And outside, stood a handsome Shouto clad in a dark sweater and snug jeans that fit him too well.

"Uh." Izuku gulped, disbelieving that he had just gaped at the boy without saying anything. "Go-good evening, Todoroki, co-come in."

Returning the greeting, Shouto stepped into the apartment, taking his shoes off at the mat. "Good evening, Midoriya."

"Do you want anything to drink?" Izuku asked before popping into the kitchen.

Declining the offer, Shouto headed into the living room. "No thank you."

"Okay, I'll get the popcorn." Izuku curled his lips at the soft answer; he secretly loved how polite Shouto was.

Sauntering into the living room, Izuku put a large bowl of popcorn on the centre table. "Uh, I was thinking we could watch a Sci-Fi movie, what do you think?"

"It's fine," Shouto said from his seat on the couch.

Tapping the remote, Izuku chose what he hoped would be the perfect movie for them to watch on Netflix; avoiding all Hero films was a must since Izuku wanted to take Shouto's mind off heroics for the evening.

He grabbed the bowl of popcorn from the centre table, settled next to Shouto on the couch and rested the bowl on his own lap.

Glancing at Shouto whose gaze was fixed on the screen, Izuku belatedly realised that he was alone with his crush in his own home, watching a movie together as if it were a date.

No way! Izuku shook his head, mindful that Todoroki did not like him romantically and Izuku should be instead grateful to spend time together with Shouto outside of the dorms like this.

Nevertheless, that fact did nothing to stop Izuku from gazing at Shouto's side profile, his eyes raked over fiery red hair, the burn scar and the pale skin of Shouto's neck. And never in his life, had he wanted anything more than to run his fingers through Shouto's hair.

Just as Izuku had switched his attention back to the screen, Shouto's hand brushed against his own, sending a pleasant shiver down Izuku's spine.

Both boys stared at each other before breaking eye contact, cheeks ablaze as they pondered the meaning of the contact.

"Okay, I know it was an ancient movie but did you like it, Todoroki?" Izuku chewed on his lip, flashing Shouto an expectant look.

"Yes, it was thought provoking, I didn't expect Gort to be the actual alien."

Flopping back on the couch, Izuku laughed. "haha, me neither...we should watch more movies together, only if you want to, of course."

Shouto latched his gaze onto Izuku, his expression thoughtful. "I'd like that."

"Do you need help?" Shouto asked above the racket that Izuku was making with the dinnerware. Izuku smiled over his shoulder at him.

"Nope, I got this, just sit right there, Todoroki." That soft smile had accompanied Izuku's invitation to spend the evening here together and it was all Shouto could do to accept the invitation and not melt at Izuku's feet.

And Shouto gawked now as a serious Izuku carefully placed a plate of glistening burgers nestled between fluffy buns upon the centre of the table.

The distinct scent of spices and herbs soon teased Shouto's nose as Izuku put plates of seasoned chips on either side of the burgers, along with ramekins filled with dipping sauce.

"Midoriya," Shouto began. "Did you make all of this yourself?" He may not have eaten much Western food but the care that went into the preparation of the meal was obvious.

Placing a milkshake in front of him, Izuku pulled out his own chair next. "Yup, I did."

Shouto raised a brow, looking down at the food again before settling his gaze on Izuku. Why did Izuku make such an elaborate dish? While the question baffled him, the opportunity to eat Izuku's cooking made Shouto's heart feel full.

"Ah, right, do you want the burger with just the green onion or is bell pepper okay? I kinda noticed you pushing bell pepper away during lunch before."

"The bell pepper is fine," Shouto said softly, cheeks tingeing.

Bringing the burger to his lips next, Shouto took a small bite, brows rising as the juicy, succulent burger melted in his mouth. "Divine."

"I'm g-glad you like it." Izuku ducked his head, his cheeks reddened from that single word, making Izuku more adorable to Shouto.

"I was wrong," Shouto dipped a forkful of chips into the dressing.

Izuku's hands stilled on his fork."W-wrong about what?"

"I'm not the only one in class with a dual quirk." Shouto gestured to the food causing the boy to chuckle.

"Ahaha, I don't cook much, I just wanted tonight to be special."

Shouto's eyes widened and Izuku sent him a startled glance in turn.

"It is special," Shouto said with a tiny smile.

Shouto rolled up his sweater's sleeves at the kitchen skin, uncapped the bottle of dishwashing liquid, intending to wash the dishes.

Izuku tried to stop him, waving his hands around. "I'll take care of those later."

The taller boy shook his head. "I want to do this, it's the least I could do to show my appreciation for today."

The evening was more than he could have hoped for, spending time alone with his crush, Izuku, in the comfort of Izuku's home had relaxed him like none other and truth be told he wanted to stay with Izuku a little longer.

Izuku's face reddened. "O-okay, but I'-I'm drying them."

Shouto's lips twitched into a smile at Izuku's adorable stammering, then he and Izuku gradually cleared the mountain of wares, leading Shouto to think that the two of them made a good team regardless of the task at hand.

"It's great to see you smiling again!" Izuku's voice vibrated with feeling as he wiped off a plate.

Shouto's brows creased. "I stopped?"

"I-I mean, you haven't done a lot of it lately, not that I was checking for it or anything, you had your reasons, I mean with-"

"My reasons." Shouto interrupted, voice leaking with bitterness as the memory of his fight with Yoarashi replayed in his mind.

"Hey, you get to take the exam next month, right? You'll pass it this time and then we'll all have our licences."

"It wasn't supposed to happen like that." Shouto set down the sponge before frost climbed up his arm. "I thought I changed, Midoriya."

The last thing Shouto ever wanted in life was to be like Endeavour, yet he was compared to the man and lost his cool the same way Endeavour always did, making his nightmare a reality; he had not grown at all.

"You've changed, Todoroki," Izuku tried to plead with him. "Just ask anyone in class and they'll agree with me that you've opened up a lot this year, you're one of the kindest, strongest, most reliable guys that I know... set backs happen all the time but they don't change the fact that you've being doing so good, you're-"

"I'm doing so good that you needed to save me again?"

Shouto squeezed his eyes shut as guilt rolled through him like lava, for the boy who shattered each bone in their hand, sacrificing their medal chance so Shouto could use his left side, should not have to turn around and save him again; Shouto repaid him in the worst way.

"Why wouldn't I, Todoroki? You're my friend, I care about you, if you're in trouble I will help you out, we'll get through this together, I believe in you," Izuku rasped.

The gravity of the shorter boy's words hit him, the emotion in that voice tore at Shouto's heart, it was only Izuku who knew just what to say, stripping away his insecurities.

"I'm sorry, I thought I disappointed you." Shouto turned to face Izuku, wiping away the tears that stained Izuku's freckled cheeks. "Please don't cry, Midoriya.

"You could never disappoint me, Todoroki," Izuku murmured, nuzzling his hand. "I love you."

Shouto gazed lovingly into the depths of those warm, green eyes and embracing the rare gift that he was given, Shouto kissed Izuku softly on the lips. "I love you too."

The End

A/N: Thank you for reading!