she's a survivor in more ways than they know

SERENA WAS FORCED TO STAY in the hospital for the remainder of the week. However, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Her classmates came to visit her throughout the week, informing her on all the gossip that was roaming around the school. Someone found out about what happened at USJ and figured out that Serena was the one who managed to save her classmates. She was highly praised among the students, and Serena hated every bit of it. She knew that when she returned, she'd be the centre of attention — something she did not like at all.

Serena was glad when her classmates would pop by, giving her the notes they made for her while she was absent. Yaoyorozu even did some of her homework for her, which she was very grateful for. Bakugo and Kirishima were with her most of the time. They always came to see her straight after school, and it warmed her heart when she saw them walk in with bright grins on their faces, well, Kirishima's face. Bakugo would always hide his smile, although both of them always knew it was there.

It was currently ten in the morning. Serena was supposed to be checked out of the hospital in the evening. She was all healed up and ready to go home. She couldn't wait to leave and go to sleep in her own bed. She missed her teddy bears — a lot.

"SERENA!" Hearing the voices of her friends, the blue-haired girl looked up, watching as they all stumbled in with bags in their hands.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, observing as they all plopped down around her. Kirishima and Bakugo walked in with the former grinning widely, moving to sit at the chairs by her side. Midoriya and his friends all sat on the other side of the bed, pulling the chairs forward. The rest all stood in front of her.

"We're spending the day with you!" Hagakure bubbled, plopping down onto the floor, pulling out games from her bags.

"But it's the weekend. Don't you want to spend time with your family?" They all shook their heads.

"We have all week to spend time with them. We came to see you today!" Ashido beamed, sitting opposite the invisible girl.

"We figured you'd be bored, so we thought why not," Kaminari said, shrugging his shoulders with a grin stretched across his face.

"Thank you," she smiled, genuinely thrilled that they chose to spend their time with her. And thus began their day with the beauty that saved them all. The guys had brought many games and films with them, while the girls brought food for them all to munch on. Serena could tell they had planned this and she was extremely delighted.

The whole of Class 1-A was here except for Koda, Sato and Mineta, who they refused to let join because of some comment he made in class. They were all chilling around her hospital room; some people on the floor, some sat on the chair, and some on her bed. Serena was playing a game of UNO with Ashido, Jiro, Hagakure, Ojiro, Sero and, surprisingly, Shoji. On the floor, playing Monopoly was Aoyama, Kirishima, Kaminari, Bakugo and Yaoyorozu, who were all very competitive.

Asui and Tokoyami were cuddled up in the corner watching a movie on the formers phone, their headphones plugged in. Midoriya, Iida and Uraraka were talking about some Pro Heroes, all three of them sitting by her bed. Todoroki sat on the chair by her bed, on the other side, reading a book, his eyes lazily following the words inked onto the paper. He'd occasionally glance up at the blue-haired girl, and when they locked eyes, she'd flash him a smile that would speed up his heartbeat.

"But do you guys ever wonder what happens when we die?" asked Kaminari as he moved his boat-shaped piece across the Monopoly board.

"What a solemn question," Jiro muttered from her spot next to Serena, throwing down a red +2 card, gaining a whine from the invisible girl who was after her.

"I'm serious!" Serena chuckled, shaking her head.

"I'd like to think that, when we die, we all find our peace," spoke Midoriya, who paused his conversation with Uraraka and Iida to join theirs. Serena hummed, agreeing with him.

"If I die," Bakugo started from his spot on the floor. "Donate my entire body to science." The class stared at the blonde in shock. "Except for my middle finger."

Serena rose a brow.

"Give it to Deku."

Serena shook her head while some chuckled. Midoriya looked at Bakugo with confusion, slightly scared. The blonde didn't even look up from the board as he said that, which resulted in more laughter from Serena.

"Only you, Katsuki," she said, rolling her eyes with an amused expression on her face. Her classmates all tensed up when they heard her say his first name.

'Just how close are they?' most thought.

Time flew past quickly. Serena was laying down on her hospital bed, the rest of her class laying on the ground when the doctor came in and told her to rest up a bit. Her friends were allowed to stay, but Serena needed to rest her body.

So, she laid down on her bed, curled up under the thin blanket. Suddenly, Serena began to feel hot. Heat licked at her skin like an attention-seeking kitten. She groaned and threw the blanket off her, not liking how it was starting to stick to her.

"Can someone please switch on the ac?" she asked, fanning herself as the heat intensified. She hated feeling hot. She felt all sticky, and it was disgusting.

"It's already on," replied Sero. "Can't you use your quirk to cool yourself down?"

"It doesn't work on me." she sighed, continuing to use her hand to fan herself. Todoroki, who was still seated in the same chair, placed his book onto the bedside table and stood up.

"Move over," he said softly, motioning for her to scooch over. Serena questionably stared at him but obliged. Todoroki sat on the bed, both of them able to sit comfortably. He laid down and grabbed ahold of her, pulling her onto his chest. Serena's eyes widen, along with Yaoyorozu, who was the only who saw the interaction happen as the rest of the class stared up at the tv screen. She watched with a fond smile as Serena let out a sigh of relief when she felt her body cool down once he activated his quirk.

"Thank you," she mumbled, turning to lay half on him and half on the bed. Todoroki didn't reply; instead, he turned to the side, bright pink flushing under his cheek. Serena grabbed the blanket and covered them, both of them slowly falling asleep to the calming presence of each other.

"They're so cute!" Ashido gushed when she saw the two on the bed, both of them fast asleep. The rest of the class turned to see them; all of them feeling a venomous feeling begin to form in their chests. They didn't like how Serena cuddled up to the ordinarily aloof classmate of theirs. Especially Bakugo and Kirishima.

'That stupid half 'n half bastard! Who does he think he is touching Serena like that?!' growled Bakugo in his thoughts. He clenched his fists, ready to explode Todoroki's face open.

Kirishima, seeing the angered expression on the blonde's face, grabbed his hand that laid beside him, lacing their fingers together. When Bakugo turned towards him, Kirishima held a look in his eyes that told the explosive boy that he shouldn't do anything stupid right now.

Bakugo let out a 'tch', looking away. However, he didn't remove Kirishima's hand from his, nor did Kirishima remove his hand. In fact, they were both quite content with holding hands.

Class 1-A soon left, one by one, when they realised that the blue-haired girl wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. Todoroki awakened at around sunset, watching it through the window.

"Oh, you're up?" Todoroki turned to see Serena's father enter with a soft smile on his face. He was glad to see his daughter opening up to people and seeing all her friends come to see her made his whole day. He knew that they loved her a lot, some more than others he noticed.

"Hello, Mr Akari," he greeted, nodding his head. Rin could already see many similarities between the boy and his father. But he knew that the child hated his father and Rin believed he had every reason too. Endeavor, after all, was a dick.

"Please, call me Rin." he grinned, waving him off. He looked down to his daughter that was wrapped up in the boy's embrace. She was curled up on his chest, Todoroki's arms holding her protectively and possessively, even if he wouldn't admit it. "Could I ask you to do a favour for me?" Todoroki nodded. "I've been called on a mission, so would you mind taking Serena home? She can leave when she wakes up; I've already done all the paperwork. Is that all right?"

"Of course," he said, looking down at the girl sleeping on top of him. Rin beamed.

"Thank you, Todoroki," he said before excusing himself shortly after, waving goodbye and going to do whatever he had to do.

Todoroki couldn't help but love the feeling of Serena in his embrace. His grip on her tightened as he rubbed the remainders of sleep from his eyes, gazing out at the horizon through the window; its vivid light extended across a rosy sky. He supposed this was something the majority of people would consider beautiful, but he found it strange, hard even, to find something so meaningful in something so every-day. It's not like the sun wouldn't rise, it had, after all, been reliably happening since the beginning of time. So what was so special about it? Todoroki could never feel the joy from it others did, the magic that drew so many artists and photographers in, as if they had some lens or filter he'd missed out on.

The dual-colour haired male glanced down as Serena stirred awake, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Her eyes opened, slowly getting used to the light in the room, her eyelashes faintly batting against her lids when she blinked. It took her a few seconds to remember what happened before she slept, and upon remembering, she looked up to see the male she fell asleep on.

"Hi," she breathed. Todoroki felt his heartbeat spike up at the sound of her raspy voice. It sent chills down his spine.

"Hello," he greeted, looking back out at the sunset. Serena smiled, shifting in his arms so she could also look out. She turned on her side, not minding the small amount of pain that struck her body as she accidentally pressed on one of her bruises. She stayed in his arms; in fact, she gripped onto them, holding them tighter to her body as they both sat in silence, both of them watching the sunset.

As the blazing sun descended, it burned the sky, a gorgeous and compelling mix of amber and blood-red. The dying sunlight seeped into the room, creating a warm sensation for the two in the room. It was then that Shoto Todoroki grew to like the sunset. He would forever be reminded of the time he cuddled with the girl that made his heart beat faster and his face flush with heat. He began to love the sunset because it reminded him of the beauty the girl in his arms held.

Serena's eyes drifted to Todoroki, whose eyes were already fixed upon her.

"Your dad asked me to take you home," he said softly. "He was called into work at the last minute." Serena hummed, nodding her head as she moved to sit up, wincing as the same pain struck her again though she ignored it.

"Did my dad bring any clothes?"

"No, but Ashido brought you some of her clothes." Serena grinned, slipping off the bed and walking over to the chair that he pointed at. She excused herself and went to the bathroom, slipping out of the hospital dress they gave her, which was thankfully tied at the back.

She pulled up the sweatpants, sighing in relief when they fit. They were surprisingly comfortable. She then grabbed the plain black shirt and looked at it wearily. It was a bit tight, she noticed. Serena tried to put it on.

Keyword: tried.

"Todoroki," she called embarrassingly as her arm got stuck in the sleeves of her shirt.

"Yeah?"

"Can you get one of the nurses? I'm a bit stuck," she trailed off, giggling. Todoroki sighed; he could only imagine what the girl looked like. When his trail of thoughts lead him to a not so lovely place, he quickly shook his head and walked out of the room, searching for any of the nurses in the hospital. He could only spot a male nurse, but no way was he going to let him help Serena.

"There are no female nurses there," he said as he walked back in.

Serena sighed in frustration. "Can you help me then? I can't move,"

Todoroki blushed as she managed to unlock the door. She was standing there with Ashido's sweatpants on and one of her arms stuck in the air, her shirt not going beyond her bra covered breasts. He averted his gaze as his blush intensified. Gently, he removed her shirt, making sure not to touch any of her injuries or bruises.

"Thank you," she breathed once he got her out of the shirt. "It's so tight." Todoroki walked back out, grabbing an article of clothing he discarded on the side when he first came to visit her.

"Here. You can wear this," he said, handing it to her. Serena smiled gratefully as she took it, slipping it on in front of him. She found no reason to go back inside and change when he already saw her in her bra. To her, it wasn't anything wow while to Todoroki; he was blushing madly, his heartbeat increasing.

"Let's hurry and go, strawberry milk," Serena said as she gathered her stuff, slipping on some shoes that Ashido also left. She was glad that they were the same size. "I want to go home and sleep on my bed."

Todoroki chuckled quietly, successfully regaining his composure. The two left the hospital, saying goodbye to the nurses that were left. They walked out together, enjoying the cool breeze that swept by them on their way to Serena's place.

Except the blue-haired girl didn't want to go home so soon. So, she took a detour in their path, and the two ended up at the beach. "Why are we here?" Todoroki asked as he watched Serena plop down onto the sand, sighing in content at the refreshing feeling.

Serena shrugged. "I didn't want to go home just yet."

Todoroki's lips twitched upwards. He sat down next to her; both of them gazing up at the sky. Stars lit the sky like snowflakes in the night, yet appeared still, like an old photograph. They were the promise of life in the darkness, a sense of warmth springing from the cold. No matter the years that passed, Serena saw each night sky as a fresh gift given anew. It was the moment anyone that paid attention to details would see her eyes smile and her breathing deepen just a little.

Todoroki saw just that, and he couldn't help the smile that tugged on his lips. Seeing the girl in his hoodie brought him a sense of warmth in his body. He liked seeing her in his clothes, and he especially loved having her in his arms.

"Todoroki —"

"Call me Shoto," he cut her off, averting his eyes and regaining his emotionless expression. Serena rolled her eyes but smiled. She was slowly getting him to open up.

"Shoto," she said, watching as he involuntary shivered once his name rolled off her tongue. "Thank you for staying with me."

"It's fine," he mumbled, looking away. Serena couldn't help but chuckle as the usually reserved and stoic boy blushed again.

"You're so cute," she giggled before standing up, ruffling his hair. Shoto could feel the heat growing in his cheeks. By now they must be beyond an attractive rosiness. He followed after her, looking down so she wouldn't see the blush on his cheeks, even though it was as clear as the stars that burned brightly in the sky.

They walked to her house in silence, enjoying the comfort their company brought. "And we're here," Serena said once she stood outside her house. She could see the lights on from behind the curtains. She could also see her dad taking a peek outside. Serena rolled his eyes at his childish actions.

The blue-haired beauty turned back towards the boy, smiling gently at him. "Thank you again,"

"It's fine," he brushed off, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Serena stood on her tippytoes, pressing a kiss to his cheek before walking to her door, only glancing back once at the boy that stood frozen in his spot before entering her home.

Shoto quickly regained his composure and made his way back home. He gently raised his fingers to his cheek, his fingers pressing against the spot where her lips touched.

'So soft,' he thought as he walked back to his house, his hands in his pockets and his mind racing with thoughts of the blue-haired girl that managed to capture his cold heart and was slowly warming it up with that beautiful smile of hers.