Shoto Todoroki had dealt with some pretty heartbreaking things in his life. He had witnessed unspeakable things, mainly on his father's behalf. He had been on the receiving end of the majority of those happenings. He had built up such a tolerance that most things that should have resulted in him being emotionally hurt didn't affect him the way it would have affected normal people. With this however, he was not accustomed to having to help others through heartbreaking situations either. He had silently hoped he would never have to help somebody through anything like that. He could deal with situations he would be put in if he became a pro hero because he wouldn't personally know any of those people, it would just be his job. He just hoped to never get close enough to anybody that he would have to help them through a heartbreaking situation.

He couldn't get that lucky though.

After the Sports Festival, he realized it would be a lit more difficult than he originally thought it would be to keep his distance from his classmates. One problem by the name of Izuku Midoriya kept pressing his emotional limits relentlessly.

Then came the Hosu incident. He had practically sprinted faster than his legs should have worked in order to make it to the location Midoriya had sent to his phone. When he had rounded the corner to the alleyway, his heart had nearly stopped when he realized that Midoriya was fighting the Hero Killer by himself, and he had felt an unwanted pang of worry in his chest when he noticed that his other classmate, Tenya Iida, was on the ground incapacitated.

It was the League of Villains attacking the dummer camp that had done him in, however.

He had been walking through the forest with one Katsuki Bakugo. They had been keeping polite conversation when they noticed the gas.

The rest of the attack flew by in a blur, Todoroki's emotions surfacing more and more as the events unfolded.

When the villain, Compression, had released Bakugo from his blue-pearl prison, only for him to hold him by the neck as they disappeared through Kurogiri's portal, Midoriya had lunged for the portal, stopping just short of where Bakugo had been standing when the portal had closed.

The scream that Midoriya let loose when he saw the blond disappear was enough to completely break Todoroki's heart. He felt it shatter in his chest, not being able to breath.

To add to that, there was Kirishima.

Midoriya had passed out on the ground by where Bakugo had been taken. When Kirishima and Kaminari had shown up, Kirishima had been silent for several moments. When the paramedics had arrived, they hauled Shoji and Midoriya off on stretchers while the police started questioning Kaminari and Tokoyami. This had left Todoroki alone with Kirishima.

Todoroki could tell the red head was upset. He still hadn't said anything. He knew that next to Midoroya, Kirishima was the next closest thing Bakugo had to a friend. Todoroki felt nauseous, Midoriya's scream echoing through his head, but he knew he had to say something to try to comfort the other boy. He normally wouldn't, but he had felt his own heart shatter, and he was good at hiding his emotions. He couldn't imagine what somebody as emotional and caring as Kirishima might be feeling.

"Are you doing okay?" He heard himself asking. Kirishima tensed for a second, then punched a nearby tree so hard that it had tilted over.

"No." Kirishima's answer was forced out, and then he crumbled. Todoroki had absolutely no idea how to deal with a crying friend. He stood awkwardly for a moment, until Kirishima let out a particularly harsh sob, throwing himself onto Todoroki's shoulder, wrapping his arms around the other boy. Todoroki flinched at the contact, but hesitantly reached one arm up to comfort Kirishima.

"He will be fine. I'll do whatever I can to help." He heard the words roll off his tongue before he could even imagine what the circumstances might mean. Kirishima nodded into him, trying to control his sobs.

"God dammit!" He exclaimed, making Todoroki flinch again, "I haven't even been able to admit how much I CARE about him, yet!"

Oh.

Oh. Todoroki realized just how bad this must be for Kirishima if he had romantic feelings towards Bakugo. But oh man, he was not prepared to help somebody as emotionally open as Kirishima with romantic feelings. He couldn't even admit to himself that he had romantic feelings. How was he supposed to help Kirishima?

He decided to stay silent, continuing to rub circles on Kirishima's back until he could compose himself. They made their way over to the police to give their statements, then went on their ways.

~~~~~~~~

The next time Todoroki saw Kirishima was at the hospital, three days after the attack. Kirishima had froze when he saw him.

"What are you doing here?!" He asked Todoroki, looking slightly confused.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I.. I couldn't just sit at home and do nothing."

"Me too. I felt the same."

They fell into step beside each other, making their way up to the floors that their classmates were on. They were making their way to Midoriya's room when they noticed that Yaoyorozu was awake in her room. Not only that, but she was talking to All Might and a detective from the police department. They watched as the detective explained that they might know where the League of Villains was hiding out. They watched as Yaoyorozu produced a small GPS for the tracking device she had managed to put on a villain during the attack. Todoroki felt Kirishima fidgeting beside him.

"They'll get him back." He murmured to the read head, trying to comfort him. He had not meant to open the emotional floodgates again, but Kirishima was shaking, with tears in his eyes when he looked at him.

"No. We have to.. I can't just stand here. We have to help them. We have to go.. what if he's hurt??" His voice cracked on the last word. Todoroki stayed quiet, until he realized exactly what his classmate was suggesting.

"They're sending the number one hero after Bakugo, with heavy backup, and you think you want to rush in yourself to try to save Bakugo?" He was alarmed at the suggestion, though he had no room to talk after Hosu. The entire town had been crawling with pros, but he had still rushed in to save Midoriya and Iida. He also knew how he had felt, thinking that his friends were hurt. This unfortunately meant he knew there was absolutely no way of talking Kirishima out of this.

Which meant he would be accompanying him.

He sighed, "You know Midoriya will want to help."

~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, the entirety of class 1A, with the exception if the students still hospitalized and Bakugo, met at the hospital to visit their classmates. Midoriya had woken up, which was good news.

But it also meant that Kirishima would want to explain the plan.

They kept conversation, mainly taking note of just how bad if shape the green-haired boy was. Then Todoroki made the mistake of mentioning that Bakugo was missing. The class went quiet, and he watched as Midoriya allowed his heartbreak to splay across his facial features, tears welling in his eyes. Todoroki felt his own heart wrench at the sight.

"He was right in front of me, and I couldn't save him! Mr. Aizawa was right. What's the point in me becoming a pro when I can't even prevent myself from getting injured when I use my quirk? How am I supposed to be a hero when I couldn't even save somebody right in front of me?" Midoroya was falling apart shamelessly in front of their entire class.

"So, let's get him back." Kirishima said into the quiet, once Midoriya had stopped talking. Everybody stopped and looked at him.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Tsuyu responded. The rest of the class muttered, and nodded in agreement. Todoroki could tell that Kirishima was going to be set off at this negative reaction to his plan, si he prepared to step in.

"We should leave this to the pros! You can't possible expect to go after them! This is not the time to be getting involved!" Iida's reply was fervent, almost desperate. Todoroki knew he was remembering Hosu, and how much trouble they had gotten in, even though that had been self defense. This time, they were acting alone.

"Does this mean you plan on having Yaoyorozu make another GPS?" Iida's tone was hostile towards Kirishima.

"So what if it does?" Todoroki replied coldly, the look in his eye daring Iida to say something else.

Kirishima looked at Midoriya, who looked like he was instantly weighing the pros and cons of the plan. A doctor came in, requesting the class leave him with Midoriya, before he could reply to Kirishima. As Todoroki was leaving, he noticed Kirishima hung back.

"We already spoke to Yaoyorozu. If we're doing this, it's gotta be tonight. Meet us out front of the hospital if you're in. I know how badly you're injured, but I figured I'd still invite you since you must feel the worst about this." Kirishima followed Todoroki out of the room after that, leaving Midoroya alone with the doctor. They said nothing on their way down to the lobby, and they parted ways once they were out the doors. Todoroki had no idea how that night would go, he only knew he had to make sure Bakugo was rescued, for Kirishima's sake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kirishima was already standing out front of the hospital when Todoroki arrived that night. Todoroki could tell he was nervous, as he was standing very rigid and still. If he hadn't known any better, Todoroki would have thought that Kirishima had his quirk partially activated due to how tense he was.

"You think Yaoyorozu decided to help?" Todoroki asked, trying to make conversation. As he approached, he could tell Kirishima had been crying again, though his tears were dry now. The only tell tale sign being his swollen eyes, which looked sort of glassy, and puffy cheeks. Todoroki felt his heart lurch again. He couldn't believe he had allowed himself to tear down the walls around his heart, allowing himself to feel the pain his classmate felt. His father had taught him that it was a sign of weakness, and he had been thoroughly punished. Now, he felt himself worrying about Kirishima's wellbeing. He also knew that, if Midoriya decided to take Kirishima up on the offer, that his wellbeing would be just as bad, if not worse, than Kirishima's.

Kirishima only shrugged at his question.

"Dude. Todoroki. I… I don't know what I'll do if we dont get Bakugo back. I just… I can't even imagine…"

"We will get Bakugo back. I promise. We will get him back, and it will be fine. Everything will be okay, Kirishima." Todoroki replied as softly as he could, trying to allow his emotion to show through his voice. Kirishim seemed to have heard it, because his face softened, and new tears gleamed in his eyes.

"Why are you helping me?" Kirishima asked, almost hesitantly.

"You're my friend. I saw how hurt you were in the forest. I also saw Midoriya's reaction that night. I knew he would agree to help you, whether he was physically capable or not. I also cannot allow him to be harmed anymore than he already has been." He said it matter-of-factly, though what he didn't take into consideration was the way Kirishima could read people.

"Midoriya, huh?" Kirishima gave him a sad, yet knowing smile. Todoroki felt his face flush. He knew what Kirishima was asking, though he hadn't even admitted it to himself yet. Before he could reply, the front doors to the hospital opened, Yaoyorozu and Midoriya walking out to greet them.

It didn't take long before it was obvious that she had decided to help them, though complication showed up in the form of Tenya Iida. He was so upset they hadn't listened to him. He was worried. Todoroki understood. In fact, he realized he should probably be more worked up too, after the Hosu incident. Todoroki wasn't fully listening to Iid, though. His mind was stuck on what Kirishima had asked earlier.

Did he have feelings for Midoriya?

Todoroki looked over towards Midoriya at the same time that Iida decided to punch him right in the face. Todoroki felt his heart lurch, and an overwhelming need to freeze Iida into next week rose up inside him, though he shoved the feeling back down.

Oh. Maybe he did have feelings for Midoriya.

They made their way to Kamino Ward after Iida had decided to tag along as basically a chaperone for the whole mission.

~~~~~~~~

It took a while, and several mishaps later, but there they were, hiding behind a wall while an unknown villain was holding back All Might with his bare hands. Bakugo was about six meters from them, but didn't know they were there. The five of them were desperately trying to come up with a plan that wouldn't result in death for at least one of them. Todoroki was worried, and rightly so.

First, he knew how much this situation must be clouding Kirishima's judgment.

Second, he knew Midoriya was usually on some next level bullshit when it came to missions like this, so he was worried the green-haired boy would end up throwing himself into the open as a distraction, ultimately resulting in his own death.

The thought of that made him nauseous.

After several minutes had passed, though it felt like several hours, they ended up with a plan. It wasn't the best, but it was their best option at the moment. Iida and Midoriya would use their quirks to help Kirishima launch through the wall in front of them. Then, Todoroki himself would create a wall of ice for them to skate on, gaining momentum. This would catch Bakugo's attention, and when Kirishima called for Bakugo, they hoped he would listen.

Bakugo was stubborn. Todoroki feared he would ne infuriated at the fact that they had had the audacity to come to rescue him. He would claim he hadn't needed rescuing.

If he responded well to Kirishima's call, Todoroki knew it meant he probably cared for the red head as well. This was what Kirishima needed right now.

The plan went without a hitch, Bakugo grabbing on to Kirishima's hand as they blasted through the sky.

The relief that flooded Kirishima's face the second Bakugo's hand was in his was overwhelming. They weren't even completely out if danger yet, but Kirishima couldn't help his face lighting up like the sun when he felt Bakugo's fingers close around his own.

That moment was when Todoroki realized it wasn't necessarily a bad thing to allow your feelings to surface.

He still wasn't very good with his own emotions, or with helping others through theirs, but he knew he liked the outcome when he was able to help.

He promised himself to work harder at not pushing his feelings down.

But for the time being, they had succeeded.