Work Text:
"Is it just me or does Half’n’Half always look fucking immaculate?" Katsuki grumbles over his half-finished bowl of Cheerios as he watches his classmate make his way to the kitchen.
"That's gay, dude," Eijirou smirks.
"You literally slept in Katsuki’s room last night," Mina says, pointing at the two of them with the knife she was using to butter her toast.
"Fuck off," Katsuki snaps. Mina grins.
"Seriously though, I've never seen him in, like, house clothes. He's always dressed like he's going to visit his grandma or some shit."
You’ve noticed it too?” Denki says, sliding into the empty seat next to Mina. “I swear he gets dressed in the morning, goes down to the bathroom and takes a shower, then gets dressed again in a new change of clothes.”
“That is weird,” Eijirou says.
Izuku notices as Todoroki grits his teeth at the conversation coming from the breakfast table. The group are apparently completely oblivious to how far their voices carry, even if they’re sort-of whispering. Of course Kacchan isn’t wearing his hearing aids, which isn’t helping the situation.
Izuku heads to the cupboard to grab his own coffee mug, and leans against the kitchen counter to wait until Todoroki is finished with the fancy coffee machine that Yaoyorozu had bought for the class to use. It’s one of those ones with the capsules, which Izuku was surprised to learn came in more flavours than simply ‘espresso’.
“Good morning, Todoroki!” he says, flashing his classmate a broad smile.
“Morning,” Todoroki replies, glancing between Izuku, the group at the table, and back to the coffee machine. “I’ll just be a moment, then I’ll be out of your way.”
"Oh, it’s no problem, Todoroki! We’re all up quite early, so there’s still plenty of time.”
Todoroki doesn’t answer, just watches his coffee drip slowly into his mug. The light on the machine turns green indicating the coffee is ready, and Todoroki takes the mug, wrapping his right hand around the mug and taking the handle with his left. Izuku watches him as he leans against the counter and takes a sip of his coffee. Izuku selects his own coffee and sets the machine to start.
“I didn’t realise that was unusual,” Todoroki says to no one in particular. Izuku follows his eyeline to Katsuki, who is having a very heated debate with Denki over… something.
“What?” Izuku asks.
“Getting dressed before leaving my room in the mornings,” Todoroki clarifies.
Izuku frowns. “I wouldn’t say it’s unusual…”
“I am the only person here who does it,” Todoroki points out.
Izuku can’t deny that. The coffee machine finishes and he takes his mug before turning his attention to the dorm’s expansive collection of cereals.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Todoroki, why are you always so well-dressed? Not that there’s anything wrong with the way you dress, of course, but i’m sure no one will mind you wearing lounge clothes around the dorms. I mean, you saw movie night, most of us wore our pyjamas and no one minded.”
Todoroki nods. “It’s… just a habit.” He takes a long sip of his coffee. “My father doesn’t appreciate us showing up for breakfast looking slovenly, so I’ve always dressed before leaving my room.”
There’s something about his choice of words that worries Izuku. The more he hears about the Todoroki household, the more he questions whether Endeavour deserves the title of number one hero.
“Well, your father isn’t here, and I’m sure no one is reporting back to our parents about whether or not we look presentable when we’re just hanging around the dorms,” Izuku says matter-of-factly. The corner of Todoroki’s mouth quirks into something that looks almost like a smile.
Shouto doesn’t own clothes for “just hanging around the dorms”. He stares at his not-insignificant collection of neat everyday clothes, formalwear, gym clothes, and pyjama sets. It occurs to him that he doesn’t even have a pair of well-worn jeans like his classmates all seem to. He does, however, have a comfortable allowance automatically transferred into his bank account, access to a myriad of online stores, and a place to get things delivered to where they won’t be subject to his father’s approval.