"That was a close one!" Ashido Mina sprawled on the ground as her legs gave in after the tedious fight against a trio of feisty villains. She had melted every sharp projectile thrown at her with her acidic shield, covering the citizens to allow her fellow colleagues to do the work.

"But we did it anyway!" Uraraka Ochako pumped her fists in the air excitedly, tasting victory for the umpteenth time ever since her hero career started a few years back. "Even though Todoroki did most of the work!"

Todoroki Shouto wiped sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. "This is a teamwork effort. We should share the glory together. Thank you." He smiled, and the onlooking crowds started to cheer, especially fangirls whose penetrating shrieks resounded in the air.

"Those fangirls are sure crazy," Taping Hero, Cellophane, or Sero Hanta rolled his eyes at the perpetual screaming of the fangirls as he dragged the villains that were bound by his tape and levitated by Uraraka's quirk. "I wish I am that handsome."

His ex-classmates shook their heads in denial, and he sighed exasperatedly.

"Do plastic surgery. It surely works," Red Riot, Kirishima Eijirou smirked. He waved at a few children who were jumping gleefully at the sight of their beloved heroes.

Todoroki smiled. It took him a long time and a long lecture from his friends to tell him that he was handsome and people liked handsome men, thus explaining his popularity among the people. He finally came to terms with his popularity, but he didn't like how fangirls were 'heads over heels' for him.

"By the way~" Ashido chirped in a singsong manner. A mischievous grin spread across her face. "I heard the gossip of you moving into a new place, Todoroki~"

"How come I didn't hear anything like that?" Sero broke in an outburst as he handed the battered villains to the police. "I thought we're friends! Invite me to your new abode!"

"You're outdated. It's all over the news. Pro Hero Shouto moving into a new apartment...... with a mysterious woman."

Sero choked, coughing violently as if something horrid was stuck in his throat. Uraraka covered her mouth, holding in a laughter that threatened to explode like a dam. From the curious emotion on her face, she seemed to know more about the 'mysterious woman' than anyone else in the Internet or probably the whole world. It was a secret she was trying hard to keep, but the curious looks on her friends only left her overwhelmed with laughter.

Todoroki sighed a little and frowned hard at Ashido's phone, which was showing the gossip news of his moving. In the photo, his telltale hair stood out in the darkness as he moved luggage from a car into the condominium, while beside him a barely recognizable person helped him out, whom the media assumed to be a woman judging by his/ her height and body size. Todoroki hated the media who continued to stalk him because everything of him was 'tantalising' news to the world. He regretted letting the media know any bits of his private life, and often condemned them whenever they tried to pry any small details from him during interviews.

"Who is she? Are you dating? Is she someone we know?" his friends skewered Todoroki with questions, and he tried hard not to freeze them and make a run for it. His closest friend, Uraraka Ochako knew everything but she was not helping him out. Instead she watched on with amusement as if his torture was her joy.

Todoroki sighed. "It was everyone else. Iida, Midoriya, Uraraka, Takasaki...... they were helping me to move into the apartment. And I think the so-called 'woman' in the photo was Midoriya, judging from the statute," he replied calmly.

However, Midoriya shared the same height with someone else. Yet Todoroki didn't divulge that particular information so as to not 'misdirect' his friends to that certain someone.

Sero and Kirishima clucked their tongues disapprovingly. Todoroki's answer was not satisfactory to their greedy desires for gossip.

"Then you're still single?" Ashido pursued further, not giving up until she had what she wanted to hear.

Todoroki peered firmly at her. "Yes. I'm single," he replied resolutely.

"Unbelievable. If you can't find a girlfriend, how am I supposed to find one?" Sero groaned.

Ashido gave out a long, defeated sigh. She cursed under her breath as she was unable to satisfy her desire to learn lovey-dovey gossip from Todoroki. On the other hand, Uraraka wore another curious smile. But she remained silent, watching her friends as a form of entertainment.

"There's no way it was Midoriya! I swore it was a woman! See! This bump here is boobs! Mineta and I double confirmed it!"

"God you two are so perverted but I hate to disagree with you. I'm sure it's a woman too! Everyone on the Internet says so!"

"But it did look like Midoriya in a way......"

"Midoriya doesn't have boobs!"

"I swore it looked like a woman! And I thought it was Eria!"

The trio continued their endless banter while Todoroki watched, and a small playful smile crept onto his face.

"I said I'm single. I didn't say I'm available."

The banter immediately quiet down. The trio threw a sharp look of disbelief at Todoroki. Then, their excited shrills pierced the air.

"TODOROKI!!!!!!"

***

After a long day of work, Takasaki Eria dragged her heavy, exhausted, leaden legs to her apartment. She unlocked the door with her access card, and the light overhead automatically lit up the dark doorway.

"I'm back......" she muttered. But there was no one there to reply her in the gloom.

She stretched her limbs and turned on the light. The air was slightly musty so she opened the windows to let in some fresh air. The view outside the window was quiet and calm. Street lights gleamed against the dark canvas of the sky where stars were barely visible as it was tainted by the city lights. It was the only view she ever got to see after work ever since she started her hero career. For once, she hoped she could see a beautiful sunset where the sky was seeped with brilliant colours of gold, apricot and vermillion.

Eria dropped her takeaway dinner from the nearby Family convenience store at the kitchen counter. She planned to have a good relaxing bath before sitting down to eat her dinner.

A soft, musical tone resonated in the doorway and the doorway light lit up as someone entered the apartment. Eria immediately hopped onto her feet excitedly; all the exhaustion in her vanished in thin air. It was one of her favourite people in the world - or rather, her most favourite person.

"I'm back," Todoroki Shouto said as he dropped his work bag on the sofa. He lit up a small smile when he saw Eria in the kitchen. Her presence was like a battery that charged his exhausted soul.

"Welcome back," Eria chirped. "I bought omurice for me and zaru soba for you. I even bought fruits for dessert!" She lifted the bag of food in the air, showing it to him.

"Thank you. I bought you a stalk of rose." Todoroki gave her the red rose he bought from the florist he'd passed by every day from work to home. It had become a habit for him to buy different flowers for her every once in a while, though he never explicitly explained why.

Happily, Eria received the rose and sniffed it. It was fragrantly sweet. "Thank you." She placed it in the vase with the other flowers he had bought. There were pink and white camellias, red tulips, red roses and violets. Some of them were still blooming brilliantly while a few withered away, but Eria still kept them together because she thought it would be wasteful to throw them away.

"Do you want to bathe first or eat first?" Eria asked.

"Anything's good," he replied.

"Then let's eat first." She placed her omurice in the microwave for reheat, while Todoroki unpacked his zaru soba that was best served cold.

To anyone, they would look like a couple, but unfortunately no. They were not a couple. They were just good friends renting out the same apartment, to Eria's deep regret. Moving in together was supposed to a couple's intimate thing as their relationship progresses. But no. She and Todoroki Shouto still remained as 'friends', a word that she came to loathe for years. Her huge crush on him increasingly deepens as days passed, but the lack of progress from friends to couple was killing her slowly.

Even though she wanted to be more than friends, she slowly grew accustomed to the fact that living with Todoroki would probably be the best thing that had ever happened to her and she would have used up her entire life's luck for this happen. Thus, the possibility of 'friends to couple' had become so slim, even slimmer than a strand of hair.

"Fuck," Eria cursed under her breath, cursing her life every time that same thought entered her mind just to make her life more miserable.

"What did you just say?" Todoroki looked up from his food.

"Nothing."

Between bites of her food, Eria occasionally scrolled her phone, reading the latest news of the day. Usually, she wasn't a fan of gossip tabloids, but one title drew all her attention.

It wrote: 'Shouto and Creati: reasons why we love this hero couple'.

Eria nearly choked. On the Internet, there were various articles that wrote about hero couples people liked, and the most popular one was undoubtably Todoroki Shouto and Yaoyorozu Momo. No one knew exactly when this 'hero couple' became a trend, but abruptly everyone started to ship it.

Well, almost everyone.

This was the fifth Shouto and Creati article Eria had read this week. Although she loathed the journalist who wrote it, it still tempted her to click the link and read its contents. Most of the contents would focus on how the two heroes supported each other and how good they would look as a couple. They seemed to be a couple made in heaven, people said. They seemed to be dating in secret too, people said. They were also going to get married next month too, people said.

Eria briefly shot a glare at the unsuspecting Todoroki Shouto, who was enjoying his meal quietly, and wondered if he was actually dating Yaomomo in secret. Her heart ached just a little, even though he had denied the rumours. Plus, if he was really dating, he would definitely tell her. They were best friends after all.

Eria's grip on her spoon tightened unconsciously. A little more strength and she would snap the metal into two.

Half-formed thoughts raced against each other in her mind as she let her imagination run wild. She slowly lost her appetite to eat and a veil of gloominess settled upon her face; all of which did not go without being unnoticed.

"Something wrong?" Todoroki asked, his gaze fixated on her face.

Eria shook her head and feigned a smile. "Nothing," she replied sweetly, though in her mind there were ideas of murdering the journalists and the fans who supported Shouto and Creati couple. Not to mention was the heartsore she felt when she realised there would probably never be a Shouto and Eria couple.

"You know I know when you're upset of something. I can tell with your fake smile," Todoroki pointed out bluntly.

Eria internally cursed his sharpness, even though he used to be dense about stuff like this all the time.

"It's fine."

The man continued to watch her intently. His face slowly turned into a scowl, but he didn't insist further. He knew she would talk to him if she wanted to, so he was patient.

"Say, the class gathering this Saturday...... are you going?" Eria said, hurriedly changing the subject. "I'm going."

He scratched his neck, looking a little reluctant. "I'd like to go, but I didn't like the drinking."

Eria chuckled. She remembered the last time they had a class gathering. It was three months ago. At a small bar in a quiet street where they won't be disturbed due to their popularity, Class A of U.A. gathered to reconnect with each other for the first time. There were plenty of drinking, since everyone had come of age. Eria was one of the many who enjoyed drinking because it was the adult thing to do and it helped her to relax from the stress at work.

"You said that because you fainted after one mug of beer," Eria said teasingly.

Todoroki rolled his eyes. "At least I'm better than someone who was drunk and challenged everyone to arm wrestling and nearly broke their arms."

Eria looked away sheepishly and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She cleared her throat, trying to argue with a better point. "People do crazy stuff when they're drunk. And I don't remember much so I think you're just making that up."

"People especially you do crazy stuff when they're drunk. And trust me, Ashido had it all taped on her phone. I can ask her to show you -"

"You little shit......" Eria cursed under her breath, her face blushing red from the embarrassment.

He let out a small, melodious chuckle. Her face continued to burn, but this time it wasn't from the embarrassment.

"Fine. I'll go. Just to keep an eye on you so that you don't go breaking people's legs this time."

Eria snorted. "......Brat."

The phone on the table vibrated. It was a good friend of Eria's: Bakugou Katsuki. Without hesitation, she picked up the phone. "Oh, hi Bakugou."

Todoroki's face was slightly contorted with disdain, but she didn't notice.

Bakugou Katsuki often liked to yell in the phone, so Eria thought one day if she gone deaf before she was old it would be entirely his fault. Even though Kirishima had taught him the 'proper' etiquette of calling people on the phone was not yelling every word he says, Bakugou was still unable to contain the loudness of his gruff voice.

"You're eating dinner?"

"Yeah."

"That's shitty early!"

"It's almost eight...... a little longer it would be called supper and not dinner," she retorted. She heard someone else speaking and urging Bakugou in the background, and roughly she thought it was Kirishima. Those two were inseparable.

"Well then...... would you like to......eat supper with me?" His voice was a little gentler this time, which took her by surprise. "......And with Kirishima too."

"Sorry, I don't think I have time for supper today. I have to sleep early tonight. Maybe next time?"

There was short, disappointed sigh on the other end of the phone. "......Fine."

Eria didn't like to disappoint Bakugou, since he had invited her out for several times and she refused most of them because she was too exhausted to leave the apartment. "Next time for sure!"

"You say that every time, dumbass. Bye then."

"Say hi to him for me," Todoroki spoke. He had ceased eating his dinner to focus on the phone call.

"Todoroki says hi," Eria said on his behalf, though blissfully unaware of the hidden intention of the latter.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" was Bakugou's hot answer whenever Todoroki Shouto was mentioned. "THAT HALF-AND-HALF BASTARD!"

Eria quickly cut the line before she had to hear Bakugou grumble on Todoroki for an hour. The last time, she mentioned Todoroki's name when she was on a call with Bakugou and for the next 24 hours her ears gone temporarily deaf. She didn't want to experience that again.

"Why does he still dislike you after all these years? You two work well during jobs though," she muttered, puzzled.

Todoroki shrugged. "I don't know either," he replied. But Eria didn't notice the small, deceitful smile that appeared on his face, as it felt like a small victory he had won against Bakugou in a secret battle between themselves, unbeknownst to everyone else, especially to Takasaki Eria.

***

On the night of the class gathering, it was one of the rare times when everyone had no pending missions on hand, and Class A was extremely lucky to have their free time synchronised for once. As the previous class monitors, Iida Tenya and Yaoyorozu Momo took the liberty to arrange the gathering, albeit it was simple, they spent a lot of time to coordinate everyone's timing and search for a perfect location where they wouldn't be disturbed. The last gathering location was a small bar, but they could no longer step foot inside after a few of the drunken ex-classmates made of fool of themselves, namely Mineta, Kaminari, Sero, Bakugou, and Takasaki.

For once, Takasaki Eria got off early from work today. It was a Saturday but she still had to work because heroes don't rest on weekends; her off days were Sunday and Monday every week. On her walk to her destination, she enjoyed the brilliant colours of a sunset that seeped into the sky, and the clouds overhead were painted with the dreamy colours of gold, peach, apricot and cream. She informed Dekusquad that she was on her way and jollily hopped to the bar. She could practically taste the sweet bitterness of beer in her mouth. Beer was such a fascinating thing she had discovered after she became a working adult, because she could drown her sorrows in it and forget about reality momentarily.

The bar was another quiet spot nestled in a tiny alley, where the class could hide from prying eyes and fans. The neon lights gleamed above the bar entrance wrote: Tatsuya's Bar, and although it looked shabby on the outside, it was wide and bright and sophisticatedly charming on the inside. Eria wanted to glean over the mystical bar and the details of its decorations before someone called her name.

"Oi," it was low, gruff voice that sounded quite disinterested in anything else in the world. Eria could easily guess who it belonged to before she turned around.

"Hey Bakugou," she greeted with a small smile. Bakugou continued to stare at her intently, and his silence took her by surprise. "You're early."

"I'm waiting for you, dumbass. Follow me," Bakugou said and headed out of the bar, not waiting for Eria to answer or refuse. She sighed and thought, how typical.

They walked to an alley beside the bar, where it was dark and humid and stank of some weird musty scent. There were no lights to shine their way, but fortunately the last of the sun's rays were still bright enough for them to see. Bakugou stopped after walking further into the alley, as though he was trying to not let anyone pry on them.

Silly ideas ran through her mind as Eria followed him, wondering what the mysterious boy was up to. She thought that he might wanted to fight her, or maybe make a secret drinking bet, or the worst possible idea: a confession. But the last idea seemed so ridiculous to her that she thought it could only happen when pigs fly -

Before she realised, Bakugou had took a few steps forward and pushed her to the wall. He slammed his hand onto the wall, caging her in as his red ruby-like eyes stared intensely at her face.

"Baku......gou?" Eria's voice came out as a squeak, and she could feel her face burning from the proximity. Despite the horrid smells of the alley, Bakugou's somewhat refreshing scent of cologne was intoxicating.

He watched her silently, taking in her facial features. His burning glare turned gentler and longing for something Eria had not been able to comprehend.

"I want to eat dinner with you every day."

Eria froze. "I'm sorry...... what?"

It was slowly getting dark, but the blush on Bakugou's face grew apparent.

"I said... damn it... I want to eat dinner with you every day...... so be my girlfriend."

It was clear, concise. It sounded more like a demand than a request, but that was the least of Eria's problems.

Honestly, Eria had sensed his feelings for a long time. But she didn't acknowledge them just as much as he did himself - he never took any action at all, so she thought she was just imagining things. And most of her attention often fell upon Todoroki Shouto, a phenomenon that had lasted for years.

But Bakugou's confession took her completely by surprise. Her mind was entirely blank. She didn't know what she should do or what she should say, yet her face was a huge blushing mess and her heart thrashed wildly in her ribcage. The world around her turned silent like when snow blanketed everything with white, and time seemed to pass extremely slow. She felt light-headed and started to suspect it was a dream, but Bakugou's intense, passionate gaze said otherwise.

Eria never thought of Bakugou in a romantic way. After all, she had always loved Todoroki Shouto. There was no way Eria could reciprocate Bakugou's feeling, at least for now, and she tried to think of the best way to put him down gently.

But there was none.

She didn't want to hurt Bakugou. He was such a precious friend to her. Her lips trembled, trying to say something at least, but no words came to her aid. Her eyes stared deeply into his, as if they were magnets that kept attracting her and it served as a perfect distraction.

Bakugou leaned in, and if he was any closer, their lips could meet. He didn't seem to have any intention to stop, and she wondered would it be possible to push him away without hurting him.

But eventually, she had to do it. She couldn't lie to him.

"Bakugou... I -"

"Shut up," he growled lowly. But it sounded sad instead of anger. It was as if he knew what she was going to say before she spoke. Her face probably gave it away.

"I'm sorry, I......" Eria stuttered, trailing off. There were no more words to say, for he had already known what she wanted to say.

Bakugou's head was lowered. She couldn't read the emotions on his face. It scared her. She didn't want to lose him as a friend just because she rejected him. Her hand was raised slightly aloft, poised to touch his arm or his face as a way of giving comfort, but her hand stopped midway in the air, for somehow, she knew touching would do worse than good.

The man seemed to have accepted the rejection rather calmly, as though he had expected the answer long before he asked the question. He leaned in, but not for a kiss - instead, he placed his head on her shoulder, and she thought she felt him trembling ever so slightly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, but she didn't push him away, for she thought he deserved this much at least.

But it was a very brief hug. Suddenly, Bakugou's head thrusted upward very quickly, and nearly collided with Eria's head. He jerked himself free from her, and his face bore a mysterious concoction of various feelings: anger, grief, pain, embarrassment. He looked up in the sky and she followed his gaze to the rooftop of the building nearby. There were a few familiar faces moving on the roof, but she could tell it was Kaminari from his telltale golden hair, Kirishima from his sharply jutted crimson hair and Sero from his foolish, toothy grin.

"FUCKING IDIOTS! I DID YOUR FUCKING DARE! NOW IT'S PAYBACK!" Bakugou roared angrily at the three men laughing uproariously.

"We didn't know you would actually do it!" Kirishima laughed.

"You're so dead Kaminari!" Sero playfully punched the blond, whose face was getting paler by the second.

"Oh shit!" Looking appalled, Kaminari dodged when Bakugou threw a garbage bin at his face.

Watching their antics, Eria was utterly confused. What happened to the heartbreaking confession? What happened to the pain, the grief that was abruptly replaced by laughter?

"So...... it was all fake?" she asked, blinking unfathomably.

"Of course! You'd think I'd be dumb to confess to you right now? Those idiots challenged me to a stupid dare because they said I wouldn't have the guts to confess to a girl. Now who's the winner? I'll get to burn dumbass Kaminari's hair into ashes," Bakugou screeched through gritted teeth, and his words were clear and concise, but Eria was still having a hard time to believe all this.

Feeling like she was tricked and her feelings were used and thrown away like discarded garbage, Eria wanted to strangle the men, especially Bakugou. But the angry man chased after his friends who bailed into the other alley, leaving her behind with her jaw hanging in mid-air.

She so wanted to kill them now. But with a long, exasperated sigh that escaped her lips, she decided to just leave them be. She would figure something out to sort her revenge some other day.

It felt as if a huge rock in her heart was lifted. The tension in her muscles relaxed from Bakugou's fake confession. At least, she didn't have to hurt him for any rejection, which was a relief. Their friendship would still remain intact. Everything was just the way it used to be: just normal, plain old platonic friendship between her and Bakugou.

However, a teeny tiny part in her heart cried otherwise, because no matter how it turned out, he didn't explicitly deny any of his feelings for her.

***

Eria stood in the dark for a rather long moment before she decided to join the others in the bar. She took a long time to mull over the possibility of the 'fake' confession as the real thing, masked under layers of jokes, tricks and lies. Her phone buzzed constantly in her pocket and she knew it was probably her friends chattering in the group chat, complaining and urging the latecomers to hurry up.

Finally, she gathered a little strength in her legs to move. As she passed the corner, something on the ground caught her attention. It was a red rose, freshly pluck from its stalk, lying ever so pitifully on the dirty ground that never matched with its elegance. It reminded her of the flowers Todoroki brought to her every other day, and the dark, gloomy feeling in her worsened.

Eria eventually found the way to the bar, where Iida Tenya was standing by the entrance, hands tucked at his waist and stern eyes chiding her like a mother to her child who came home late.

"You're late!" Iida said. "Hurry up! We're all waiting for you."

Eria nodded half-mindedly and let Iida usher her to the private dining room. The turmoil inside could be heard from outside: shouts, screams, yelps, cries, laughter, clink of metallic cutlery, clang of beer-filled glasses. The warm, noisy atmosphere greeted her as soon as the doors slid open, so Eria put on her best smile, trying to pretend what had happened just now never happened. But it was hard, with Bakugou sitting on the other end of the long table, gulping down glasses of beer and casting longing glances at her.

Eria avoided looking at anyone, only smiling if someone called her name. She sat next to Ochako, across Todoroki. She wanted to talk to someone: Ochako was the most plausible choice, but there were too many eyes and ears, and it was not supposed to be heard by anyone.

Drowning in her own troubles, Eria took a large gulp of beer, hoping it would drown out her troubles like it always did. But a large clang of glass against table that came from the seat opposite her drew her attention.

Todoroki Shouto was drinking beer, gulping it down like water. It seemed as though he bore some resentment against the mug of beer as he glared at it, though for a split second there Eria thought he was glaring at her.

"I didn't know you like drinking," Midoriya Izuku commented, watching with awe and horror at his friend's drinking.

"I didn't. I still don't," Todoroki muttered angrily in an undertone. It was a peculiar answer, but Eria wasn't in the mood to ask. "I just... want to forget something."

"Then drink!" Kaminari popped out of nowhere, and filled up Todoroki's mug. A part of his hair was singed, but at least he was still alive. "It's a pleasant evening to drink after all! Boy, Todoroki, you do drink a lot! I didn't expect that from you."

Unhesitatingly, Todoroki took the mug and gulped it down again. It made Eria a little worried. She nudged at Ochako, who was laughing with Tsuyu on her right.

"What's wrong with Todoroki?" Eria asked timidly.

Ochako shrugged. "He looked kinda upset when he arrived. But he wouldn't say anything. He just drinks."

"The problem is...... he hates drinking. He was never this upset even about things at work."

"Well, maybe it isn't work. Maybe it's something else."

But what? was the important question here. Eria hesitated on asking Todoroki directly, for somehow she sensed it was vaguely because of her.

"You should really stop drinking that much in such short time," Eria said, grasping onto the mug that Todoroki wanted to drink from again. But the man only shot an angry, drunken-like glare at her and snatched his mug from her without saying a thing.

Eria sighed, anger slowly brewing in her. Before she had a sip of beer, a dizzy spell had arrived. First it was Bakugou, now it was Todoroki. It was too much. She decided to ignore Todoroki and drink, casting away her troubles and drown in fake happiness.

As the night went on, the class grew more restless. But thankfully, Iida and Yaomomo were sober and were able to put a tight rein over the rest of the people, making sure they were not causing any havoc or troubles.

It was only Eria's second mug of beer, yet she felt no more desire to drink. The alcohol barely intoxicated her as Bakugou's 'confession' continued to lurk in her mind. She was never going to forget it that easily, and she expected she would be thinking of it for years to come.

Todoroki probably had at least five mugs of beer, but he didn't bother to count. After the last sip, he used all his might to keep his head from slamming against the table and stared at Eria, in a rather dreamy gaze.

Oh how much she wanted to shake him and wake him up and probably punch him for no apparent reason. Everyone seemed irritating to her, including Todoroki.

But Todoroki did the thing everyone had least expected him to do.

Rosiness in his cheeks, Todoroki blinked slowly, eyes half-lidded as he spoke.

"I love you, Takasaki."

Was it the alcohol in her system? Or was it the stars of the universe had aligned in the most perfect position that gave her the best luck of her life? For two men confessed their love for her today.

Eria slapped her cheeks, trying to stay awake. She thought she was delusional, but apparently, she wasn't. Everyone else had heard Todoroki's confession, and heads craned into their direction, faces gleaming and flushing with excitement. There was a sharp intake of breath, and everyone was quiet.

Eria was sure it was not good luck but bad luck. She could practically feel Bakugou's jealous glare and hear the crack in his mug as he squeezed angrily.

It was a mixture of surprise, bewilderment, disbelief and a little bit of glee when Eria looked at Todoroki. "Todoroki, you -"

"I love you, Midoriya," Todoroki turned to his green-haired friend, and confessed.

The green-haired man was blushing furiously. "To-to-todoroki?" he gasped, while Eria swore she heard another glass crack as Ochako held her mug tightly.

Dazed and drunk, Todoroki turned to Iida, and confessed the same thing aloud. "I love you Iida."

"Well, thank you, Todoroki. I love you too. As a good friend," Iida replied, unable to grasp the true meaning of the situation.

"I love you, Uraraka."

Ochako yelped. "...... okay."

"I love you, Sero."

"I love you too, dude!" Sero cried, tears brimming in his eyes. He was the crying drunk, who would cry at any slightest actions.

The poor, drunk Todoroki Shouto went a whole round, confessing his 'love' to everyone in the room. They accepted his professed 'love' graciously, laughing at his drastic change of personality, which was completely different than his blunt, aloof self. Some even jokingly said they preferred this Todoroki, but Eria didn't. For despite the laughs Todoroki brought to the party, she couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. It made her felt that she was nothing special than the rest, since he equally 'loved' everyone. She was just a friend to him, like everyone else.

Fuck, she thought and took a large gulp of beer.

Maybe she should swear off love and men. Just maybe.

***

"Are you sure you're okay carrying him back alone?" Kirishima asked, concerned. He was still sober after drinking so much alcohol.

"Why? Are you afraid I would accidentally drop him when we fly home?" Eria asked, shooting an angry glare at Todoroki who was leaning against Midoriya. The alcohol didn't make her feel happier; instead, she was seething with anger. She was mad at Bakugou, at Todoroki, and mostly, at herself.

Kirishima sighed. "Yes. Maybe Bakugou should -"

"No," Bakugou gave a prompt reply. He shot a glare at Eria. Apparently, he grew grumpier as the night carried on, spurred by Todoroki's confessions.

"It's fine. Even if I do drop him, it will be a painless death," Eria replied sarcastically.

Kirishima still looked uneasy. He nudged Bakugou, but the latter only turned around and wanted to walk off. Then, Midoriya joined them while Todoroki leaned helplessly against him, whose face was as red as his hair from the alcohol.

"Since Todoroki is living with you in the same place, is it okay if I leave you with him? I have to take Uraraka back -" Midoriya was cut off mid-sentence by a piercing cry that resounded in the air. Ashido Mina was floating in the air with Uraraka Ochako. Apparently, the latter accidentally activated her quirk and touched Ashido, but she was too drunk to deactivate her quirk.

Midoriya let go of Todoroki, who was barely able to stand on his own and bounded towards the floating girls to retrieve them. Eria reluctantly acted as Todoroki's walking stick and slung his arm over her shoulders. He was sickeningly warm, with a thick alcoholic stench that permeated her nose every time he breathed. She sighed exasperatedly, resigning even though she was angry at him.

"You fucking what?" came a deep, fierce snarl. Bakugou turned around to look at Eria, his bloody red eyes glared angrily at her. "YOU TWO LIVE TOGETHER?!" he roared profoundly loud this time, and would have rudely jerked Todoroki from Eria if Kirishima had not held him back with all his might.

Awakened by the loud roar, Todoroki groggily looked up at Bakugou and gave a small hiccup. "I love you, Bakugou -"

By a split second, Eria pulled Todoroki out of the way of Bakugou's extended, claw-like arms that swiped in the air ferociously, wanting to rip out Todoroki's throat. Little sparks flickered in his palms while Kirishima struggled to hold him back.

"FUCKING GET BACK HERE HALF-AND-HALF!" Bakugou roared into the air as Eria flapped her wings and carried Todoroki with her. "GET OUT OF MY WAY, SHITTY HAIR!"

As Eria and Todoroki soared into the dark sky, Bakugou's angry shouts grew distant. She made sure the man didn't follow them and she flew into the direction of her apartment, obtaining her bearings from the familiar neon lights that dotted the city's skyscrapers. Todoroki lightly snored, hanging onto her side, unaware that his feet had long left the solid ground, for if he were sober he would have never flown in the air like this. Somehow, he disliked the idea of moving without ground beneath his feet. She clasped his waist tight, making sure he wouldn't fall to his death even though she was supposed to be angry at him. But the sight of his gentle, peaceful look made her heart felt an immense warmth that she forgotten why she was angry at him at the first place.

Their tiny, two-bedroom apartment was located on the 10th floor, which guaranteed a good view of the city from the balcony. They landed on the small balcony and Eria slid the sliding door open, while carrying Todoroki in her arms like a bride. She gently placed him on the sofa that they bought from Ikea with the cheapest price available. The man barely woke from the commotion.

Eria sighed and stretched her limbs. She turned on the lights in the kitchen and poured herself a tall glass of warm water, which warmed her system as it flowed down into her stomach. She was contemplating on whether to leave her friend out on the sofa like this or carry him to his room when she heard a groan.

Todoroki Shouto rose from the sofa, rubbing his temples, but he was not entirely sober. His eyes were half-lidded, his cheeks rosy-pink and his face bore a sleepy look that gave the impression that he was not entirely awake.

"I'm going to bed now. You can go back to your own room, right?" Eria asked, but there was no reply. Instead, the man silently stared at her, looking mystified, probably wondering if she was real or just an illusion.

However, in a very mysterious way, Todoroki Shouto found his strength and grabbed Eria's wrist, preventing her from leaving. Eria turned to look at him, who was holding her face in a gaze.

"Don't...... leave me......" he mumbled very gently.

"I'm going to sleep." Eria pried his fingers from her wrist, but the man pulled her into his embrace, enclosing her with his strong, toned arms. Taken aback by surprise, Eria tried to free herself, but his warmth and the gentle beating of his heart was deeply soothing.

Eria shook her head, trying to clear her mind off things that the alcohol and Todoroki's warmth were tempting her to do. She gently pushed against his chest, putting a little distance between themselves.

"Sleep," she insisted.

Todoroki's head moved, as if he was shaking his head to reject the suggestion. He staggered closer to her and she backed up to a wall, and in a split second, he caged her in with his arms.

A little part of Eria wanted to punch him in the gut as a way to put him into sleep.

Todoroki let out a small hiccup and looked at Eria, though his eyes seemed to be wavering from the drunkenness. "I love you, Takasaki......" he croaked, the same confession he made in the bar to literally everyone in the gathering.

Eria sighed, for the alcohol was reigning control of her system, and it was lulling her into sleep. Any second now, she could fall asleep standing.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too. Now please let me sleep," she said dismissively, pleadingly.

Everything that happened next felt like a wishful dream. Todoroki's arms shifted. For a moment there, Eria thought he was going to retreat, but it was the complete opposite.

Todoroki's calloused right hand gently cupped Eria's cheek, and in a smooth, swift movement, he pressed his lips on hers.

***

Author's notes:

1. Another cliffhanger!!! Please don't kill me!!!

2. After ages of imagination, I finally wrote this special oneshot story!!! Yes, they kissed! But what's going to happen next??? I'll let you imagine it XD And yes, this might be canon to my story! Finally, yes, there might be a sequel for this!

3. I implicitly inserted a lot of shipping in this story, like TodoDeku, TodoBaku, TodoIida, Seroroki, TodoChako...... boy, Todo does love everyone!!!

3. Todo might be a little OOC in this story, but he's supposed to be 21 in this story, so he should have grown and understand social cues better than he used to be when he was 16.

4. Bakugou's confession was supposed to be sadder than the one above. I purposely rewrote it because it was too heartbreaking (poor Baku!) to make it a little happier. The original part was as below:

##

Bakugou's head was lowered. She couldn't read the emotions on his face. It scared her. She didn't want to lose him as a friend just because she rejected him. Her hand was raised slightly aloft, poised to touch his arm or his face as a way of giving comfort, but her hand stopped midway in the air, for somehow she knew touching would do worse than good.

The boy seemed to have accepted the rejection rather calmly, as though he had expected the answer long before he asked the question. He leaned in, but not for a kiss - instead, he placed his head on her shoulder, and she thought she felt him trembling ever so slightly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, but she didn't push him away, for she thought he deserved this much at least.

But it was a very brief hug. After he murmured sorrowfully in her ears, he left without turning back.

Eria's heart was completely broken.

"I wished you have chosen me instead."

## ends.

5. The next chapters of the original storyline of this story is still work in progress. I'm still figuring out some small details, so please be patient :)

Thank you for reading!!! Lots of love!