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a comma in the middle of a phrase

Summary:

Todoroki really is the prettiest boy in class-- up close like this, Kaminari's constant prattling on attractiveness a strong influence in the back of his head, it's hard not to see. More than just the altogether aesthetically pleasing features-- even including the scar, which is its own strange sort of beauty mark-- there's kind of an unearthliness to his quiet, solemnity and restraint in the stillness of a teenage boy that's otherworldly, like one of the paintings that'd be on display. The one with the fox in front of the moon, an elegant silhouette clear against a dark shroud of fog and mist.

"Is something wrong?" Todoroki asks, and Hanta flushes with the realization he'd been spending the last minute contemplating Todoroki's face.

"Your eye is just-- it's really blue," Hanta sputters out, looking away as he combs his hand through his hair.


Sero and Todoroki run into each other at a museum and realize they both really like traditional art, so it becomes something of a regular thing.

Dates, to Todoroki.

It takes Hanta a while longer to catch up on that part.

Notes:

For the BNHA Kink Meme request: Sero/Todoroki: Asian Art Museum Dates

(See the end of the work for more notes and other works inspired by this one.)

Work Text:

It's a crisp fall afternoon a few Sundays into the second term of their second year when Hanta runs into Todoroki at the museum. It's a literal run-in-- Hanta had been trying to take a closer look at one particular painting from the special exhibit, mindful of his knobby elbows and gangly arms, stepping back respectfully when one of the museum-goers glances his way, when his heel lands on something soft and definitely not the floor. He winces and turns around to apologize, and it turns out it's Todoroki's foot he's stepped on.

"Crap, hey, sorry about that," Hanta apologizes, moving quicker now to fully step out of the way. It's the last Sunday of the exhibit, and Moon Above the Daimotsu Bay is the highlight. He should have probably known better than to come today.

Todoroki looks at him curiously. "Did you not want to see the painting?"

"Ahh, yeah, but it's alright. Too many people right now." He grins, scratching his head. "Didn't expect to see you here."

That's not entirely true, either. Todoroki showing up at a special exhibit at a museum dedicated to ukiyo-e is actually very likely, when Hanta really thinks about it. Todoroki's room has a tatami mat, for god's sake. Out of all his classmates he's absolutely the type to show up at a place like this, but somehow in the last year or so Hanta's separated Yuuei from the mundane, so maybe that's why.

"I wanted to see the exhibit," Todoroki says. "And I like museums. They're peaceful."

Hanta grins. Just last week Todoroki had landed in the hospital after a skirmish at his internship. Two weeks ago there'd been an attack right by the school. The museum being peaceful is a little of an understatement.

"I know what you mean," he says. "Wanna look at the other paintings first, maybe wait til closer to closing so we can see this one last?"

Todoroki blinks up at him, a flash of what's probably curiosity in his eyes before he nods, following Hanta over to the less-crowded areas of the exhibit.

Hanta usually prefers just to appreciate the art for what it is, his interest less on the history or backdrop and just a vague, hazy sort of nostalgia for the traditional, but Todoroki's keen and smart, has stories to tell about some of the pieces they view that draw Hanta in a little bit more. He learns more about the artist from listening to Todoroki's explanations than reading the dry little descriptions beside each work, and though Todoroki's tone is steady and even, there's a glimmer in his gaze, a faraway look in his eyes, that Hanta isn't used to seeing on him.

"You're really into this stuff, aren't you?" he asks at one point, unable to guise the awe in his voice. When Todoroki pauses, looking a little uncertain, Hanta is quick to add, "It's great! I like knowing about it, that's all."

"I was required to learn it," Todoroki says. "My father was very strict about my education. But my teacher made it interesting."

Hanta blinks. "You had to learn it?"

"Yes, my father had specific ideas about my upbringing. I didn't agree with all of his methods, so I suppose it was a small act of rebellion to enjoy what I was learning about. To know it not so I can use it to get better grades, but just... for its own sake."

"I think it worked out well for you," Hanta says after a short moment. He grins when Todoroki cocks his head at him. "I mean. You found something you enjoy, and you got to do that even despite his intentions, right? And now I'm learning about it too, so it's a win-win!"

"It's not boring?"

Hanta shrugs. "Not to me." He laughs, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "But I guess there's a gap in coolness between me and the rest of you guys, huh? So I don't know if my opinion really counts."

"It counts to me," Todoroki says. "If you don't think it's boring, then it's not boring."

"Okay. Well, and if you like it, then you should enjoy it. Deal?"

"Deal." Hanta's not sure if he imagines it or not, but it looks like Todoroki almost smiles at when he says that, just a small tug at the corner of his lips, a softening in his gaze.

Todoroki really is the prettiest boy in class-- up close like this, Kaminari's constant prattling on attractiveness a strong influence in the back of his head, it's hard not to see. More than just the altogether aesthetically pleasing features-- even including the scar, which is its own strange sort of beauty mark-- there's kind of an unearthliness to his quiet, solemnity and restraint in the stillness of a teenage boy that's otherworldly, like one of the paintings that'd be on display. The one with the fox in front of the moon, an elegant silhouette clear against a dark shroud of fog and mist.

He's not like most of their classmates, and in a class full of already extraordinary people, Hanta feels almost irrelevant in that moment. Not with the crippling, crushing weight of self-doubt and insecurity, but the kind of even-keeled assessment of facts as they stood. Hanta is going to be a hero, sure, even an above average one, but Todoroki is someone destined for one of those long heroic arcs, the kind you read about in manga. It's that kind of bearing, that kind of gravitas. Not everyone's got that.

"Is something wrong?" Todoroki asks, and Hanta flushes with the realization he'd been spending the last minute contemplating Todoroki's face.

"Your eye is just-- it's really blue," Hanta sputters out, looking away as he combs his hand through his hair. "It's pretty cool. Hey, I think there's fewer people by that centerpiece now. You wanna head over and see it?"

"Alright," Todoroki says, and he doesn't push further, ask more about why Hanta was so busy staring at his blue eyes or something. He probably gets it often, honestly.

It occurs to Hanta later that maybe Todoroki had intended to spend the afternoon on his own, as Hanta had, but by the time they get back to their dorms early that evening he thinks maybe Todoroki didn't mind.

Hanta doesn't really think much of that museum run-in again, but Todoroki asks him if he's ever been to the open air museum, so the next free weekend they have they take the train to Koganei Park and walk into a demonstration on Edo-era bamboo screen making and printing.

It's a solid hour and a half so it's nearly lunch by the time it's done, but Hanta doesn't mind and Todoroki looks like he's paying equal attention to it as well, when Hanta's gaze flickers over to check.

"That was pretty interesting," he says later, wandering down the museum's park and taking a look at the different buildings they could go into. It's still a little chilly, summer long gone, but there are enough benches to spare, only a few other visitors strolling around. He picks a free bench and takes a seat, leaving enough room for Todoroki to be comfortable. He takes out the onigiri they'd picked up from the konbini on the way over, plus a bottle of water to keep himself hydrated, watching Todoroki do the same. "Did you like it?"

"I was hoping they'd talk more about the paintings," Todoroki admits. He takes a bite off his onigiri and chews thoughtfully, and for a moment Hanta's a little struck by the absurdity of how normal their conversation is. He almost forgets Todoroki can freeze an entire stadium over-- has, in fact, done so to him at one point-- when he's sitting a foot away, taking neat little bites of food.

It's nice though. Having this level of normal. Before they moved to the dorms Hanta had at least a whole evening with his salaryman father, his stay-at-home mother, his bratty little sisters. Since then it seemed to him there'd been no respite from the chaos of training for pro hero work, and though Hanta loves every minute of it he can't really go at full speed all hours of the day, all days of the week.

"Yeah, I'm more into the prints, too," he agrees. "I think they said next month they'll be doing ink wash paintings. Do you want to go then?" His onigiri is gone in two bites; he picks up another one and tears into it too.

"I'd like that."

They do go to the demonstration for the ink wash paintings, which is actually a little better than before. The speaker sets up a few seats in the room, some supplies laid out before them, and Todoroki and Hanta are lucky enough to be some of the first arrivals. They grab seats next to each other, and at the end of the presentation they're walked through the steps of creating a typical painting of the time.

Hanta glances over at Todoroki at one point, sees him moving his hand so very very carefully across the canvas, a contrast to the fuck-it-yolo principle that's ruling Hanta's own rash, sweeping strokes. As though sensing his gaze on him, Todoroki looks up then, his eyes twitching oddly at Hanta until he realizes that's because his tongue is sticking out the side of his face, as it normally does when he's concentrating on a particularly difficult problem or intricately involved task. Hanta beams, nodding at Todoroki's canvas.

"How's that going?" he asks.

"Poorly."

Hanta laughs. Todoroki's not mincing words-- his efforts are commendable, but in his heavy concentration the brush strokes are evenly thick throughout the lining, losing the depth and texture characteristic of the paintings. "I'd still put it on my wall," he says. "Probaby. I thought you did calligraphy?"

"I know how to write those characters," Todoroki tells him. "I don't know how to write mountains." He peers over at Hanta's own work. "You're better at this than I am."

"That's-- that's not saying much," Hanta says with a snicker. "I'll trade you after, if you like."

There's a twitch of confusion on Todoroki's face, something that looks like mirth flashing in his eyes. "Well," he says, "It's your wall."

It becomes a Sunday thing, the museum trips, but they begin to talk more even outside of those days.

Talking to Todoroki at Yuuei feels like a breath of fresh air. They bring up exhibits they're interested in or museums they want to go to when they get a chance to have lunch together, picking a nice quiet place on campus where they can eat quietly. Hanta picks up a thing of origami paper on impulse once and asks Todoroki over to his room, where they try to fold as many paper cranes as they can before calling it a night. One afternoon, Todoroki heats up a pot of special tea he'd ordered with his father's account and they sit in the kitchen making plans for their next trip.

They still have their Sunday thing, but now they also have their Todoroki-and-Sero things.

The exhibit on textiles has been on Hanta's calendar since he first heard it was happening, and when he flips his calendar to December and sees the reminder for it there, his first instinct is to head over to Todoroki's room next door.

"Sorry, did I disturb you?" he asks, eyeing the book Todoroki holds in his hand. He blinks slowly, his lips moving like he's fighting back a yawn.

"Just going over some homework. What is it?"

"There's a textile thing next week. This Sunday," he adds, because Todoroki visits his mother on Saturdays. "Um. They're gonna have like, old looms and dyes and things. Dunno if that's your thing, I was gonna go alone, but if you're free--"

"Yeah, that sounds interesting. I'll go with you."

"Great, thanks!" Hanta says, grinning. "Hey, uh, is that English you're working on?"

"Hm? Yes."

"Did you understand the reading?"

"Yes. Was there anything about it you had questions about?"

"Uh. Probably everything?"

"I can go over it with you if you like." Todoroki opens his door wider, stepping back to let Hanta through. His gaze catches on his attempt at a painting-- relatively better than Todoroki's, maybe, but ridiculously out of place among the pristine and tastefully but expensively decorated room-- hanging beside the wardrobe.

He fights the urge to ask Todoroki to take it down, following him over to the kotatsu he'd set up in the center. "Do you even need this?" he asks, grinning.

"I like the blanket," Todoroki says simply, and yeah, he does look pretty cozy, his large fuzzy turtleneck sweater tucked snugly by his chin, the hems on his sleeves hanging low, covering up to the second knuckles in his fingers.

Hanta tries to fold himself small enough beneath the table, but since they're sharing a textbook he can't sit across from Todoroki, he ends up knocking against his calf a few times until he's comfortable. "Sorry," he mutters.

"Don't worry about it." Todoroki opens the textbook, flipping to the passage they were supposed to read, leaning closer so that the two of them could go through it together. "Which questions did you have trouble with?"

The textile exhibit is on loan from Kyoto, only a month-long engagement, so Hanta's determined to make the most of it. Though he usually likes sleeping in on the weekends, and knows Todoroki enjoys his late mornings as well, they head over there bright and early before the young families and the elderly start showing up.

"My grandfather had a loom set up like this in his house," Hanta says, his fingers itching to skim the beautiful old wood, carved with intricate designs and set atop a small elevation, spotlit and protected by an unintrusive rope barrier. "He found this carpenter who specialized in that kind of stuff, you know? Paid him to recreate them. But there's something about the quality of the woods-- he says it's not really the same."

"Your grandfather wove?"

"Yeah. I got my quirk from him, but his elbows shot out silk. Kind of felt natural to go into weaving after that, but he worked with other fabrics too. He really liked using ramie. Said he liked how his dyes looked on them."

"Your room--"

"Yeah, he made most of it." Hanta grins.

"Do you know how?"

"A little bit. I'm not really super consistent, but he showed me the basics. Dying things was always pretty fun. Messy, too. Sorry, I'm talking your ear off, aren't I?"

Todoroki shakes his head. "You really like this, don't you? I like hearing about it." He points to the next loom on display. "Is that much different from this one?"

"Oh, yeah, no, only a little bit." Hanta takes a closer look, Todoroki beside him, his arm brushing lightly against Hanta's. "I think this one's supposed to produce coarser fabrics. Oh, they have samples over there, come on."

He doesn't think twice about tugging Todoroki over, bony fingers closing around Todoroki's slender wrist. He doesn't think twice about it because Todoroki lets himself get dragged along. And when Todoroki pulls his wrist back, lets his fingers close around Hanta's own, it just feels like the most natural thing in the world.

"Have you heard of Seishuu Handa?" Todoroki asks. They're getting ready for a game of quirk tag, but the class has been divided into two groups and they're waiting for their turn while the first group plays.

"He's that young calligraphy artist, right?" Hanta's in the middle of his stretches when he tilts his head to the side, turning to look at Todoroki. "Haven't heard that name in a while, though."

"He was on some kind of sabbatical, but he has a solo exhibition coming up soon." There's a shout from the game-- both of them turn to see what Bakugou and Midoriya are doing, because of course the two of them are at it again-- but Todoroki resumes talking with hardly a change in tone or demeanor. "It's in an art gallery in Bunkyou, if you wanted to see it too. My family received invitations."

"Really? Yeah, sure!" Hanta says with a grin. "Sounds like fun."

Todoroki nods solemnly at that. "It's a date, then."

"Okay!" Hanta says, waving him away when Iida comes over to start strategizing with him. His mind catches up seconds later. "Wait, a what now?"

Beside him, Kaminari whistles. "Bro. You have the prettiest boyfriend, urgh, tell me your secrets."

I have a what?"

"Run this by me again," Kaminari says, a crease between his brows, thumb and forefingers massaging his temples, one hand on his hip. It's later that afternoon, classes done for the day and dinner in an hour. They're in Kaminari's room; he insisted. "You and Todoroki haven't been dating?"

"I don't know!"

"So that's a no," he says with a wince. "Because I'm pretty sure both parties knowing is kind of a requirement. I mean, call me crazy, but that's my wild guess." He runs his palm down his face, and when he pops both eyes open he pins Hanta with a sharp look. "Haven't you two been hanging out a lot lately?"

"Yeah but that's--"

"You're always doing something on Sundays."

"We like the same things so we've been--"

"And you have lunch with him a lot."

"Sometimes!"

"It's a lot. And twice last week I went to look for you and you weren't in your room and I heard you two talking in his!"

"We didn't do anything!"

Kaminari narrows his gaze, leaning closer, as though he can glean from a look the truth in Hanta's words. Hanta for his part keeps his eyes on him, projecting as much surprise and panic as he can. It seems to satisfy Kaminari, who moves to cross his arms and flop down on his seat. "That's a shame," he says with a sigh. "Todoroki really likes you."

"A shame?"

"I mean, because you're gonna have to let him down?" Kaminari clarifies, a half-shrug. "A little awkward, sure, but the right thing to do, right? And I think he'd understand. I mean you could talk to Midoriya and see what he thinks, since he knows Todoroki a little bit more."

"Wait--"

"Hm?" Kaminari looks up at him. "You said you didn't see him that way."

"I didn't say--"

"So, wait, do you?"

Hanta's brain stutters to a stop. "Um." He can't ask whether it matters, because apparently Todoroki seems to think so. But he hasn't even entertained the idea, didn't let himself so much as-- "I don't understand."

"Do you want to date him?" Kaminari asks, impatient until Hanta lets out a helpless whine, and then he rolls his chair closer. When he speaks this time his tone is kinder. "And when I say date, I mean spending time with another person you like and want to get to know better while you do fun things together."

"I know what a date is," he says weakly. "I just. Why would he--" He lets himself drift off, but the question hangs thick in the air. He's an extra, plain and not really all that cool, serviceable but ultimately forgettable. He hadn't questioned hanging out with Todoroki because he's used to occupying a nice, comfortable, friend-shaped spot in everyone else's life. It doesn't add up, doesn't make sense in his head, and it must show, because Kaminari's looking at him with a growing sort of alarm.

"Are you kidding, bro?" he asks. "Why would Todoroki-- dude, why wouldn't he? You're super cool? You're really handsome, you're strong, you're the most emotionally stable person I know-- seriously, if we hadn't become bros first and I'd already smelled your farts I would totally crush on you, like, a lot. Also you're tall and I like that, uhhh, but that's a taste thing, maybe Todoroki has the same thing? Anyway-- don't give me that look, I'm not just saying this too. And if you don't believe me, well, does there really need to be a reason?"

Hanta shrugs. But he thinks, it would be nice to know if there's a reason, so he can keep being those things. "I guess."

"Dude," Kaminari says. "He likes you and you like him. And he's asked you to a date and you've already accepted."

"Yeah?"

"So like. Maybe you don't believe he does yet but... is there actually a problem? Do you want to not go anymore? Stop going out with him?"

Hanta knows Kaminari knows the answer. And Kaminari's got a point. It settles the flurry in his head, but now it's his chest that feels a weird sort of jumpiness and unease.

He takes a deep breath and makes a decision. "I think I'm gonna need something to wear to this thing."

It's a fancy exhibit at a fancy gallery with fancy people. Hanta assumed something like it when Todoroki says they received invitations, but then Todoroki gives him the ticket at lunch and, among the details listed, the attire had been specified.

"I'm too young to need a suit," he mutters to Kaminari that afternoon, and at Kaminari's raised eyebrow, he shows him the ticket. "It says formal wear. I didn't know they did that kind of thing for these."

"Your boyfriend's a fancy man," Kaminari tells him, "and let's face it, you guys are into fancy shit."

"Where am I going to get a suit though?" Hanta asks.

Kaminari grins. "I have an idea."

The idea has a name, and her name is Yaoyorozu Momo. She shows up one evening on the fifth floor, knocking on Hanta's door and asking if he has some time to have his measurements taken.

"Oh, and I want to get Todoroki's, too."

"What-- why?" Hanta follows her next door, sharing a look of confusion with Todoroki. But he lets them both in, and really when Yaoyorozu is in a helping mood she gets really hard to refuse.

So they stand up straight when she asks, holding up a tape measure from their shoulder to their feet. They hold out their hands on either side of them, letting her take down the distance between shoulder and wrist, then the area around their chest, their waist, their hips. The distance from shoulder to waist, hip to heel. She writes down these measurements in neat, little handwriting, and Hanta doesn't realize how many parts of his body there are to keep track of.

"Isn't this against the rules?" Todoroki asks at one point, though there's no accusation in his voice, just a careful kind of curiosity.

"Todoroki, are you suggesting I'm about to use my quirk for personal reasons?" Her eyes kind of sparkle wetly with unshed tears, hand to her mouth. "I know a tailor, that's all. They're very skilled. Besides, it sounds like it could be a very fun date. I want you two to enjoy yourselves."

Hanta feels the heat creeping into his cheeks, his gaze steadfastly on the floor as Yaoyorozu moves from Todoroki to Hanta to take the last couple of measurements. He chances a quick glance at Todoroki, finds him staring straight at him so he smiles weakly in return, then shifts his gaze back to the floor.

"Whoever you're spending time with these days," he tells Yaoyorozu-- Jirou, most likely-- "They're maybe rubbing off on you too well."

"When does the exhibit open again?" she asks, her smile angelic. When Todoroki tells her, she nods. "These will be ready before then!"

And just as quickly as she shows up she's gone, a mini-tornado of helpful enthusiasm that leaves Hanta awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry about that," he says. "I told Kaminari and I guess--"

"Your face got red," Todoroki points out. "When she said she wanted us to enjoy ourselves. Is there-- are you okay?"

"I am, I am!" Hanta says, flushing anew. "I just-- uh. Getting used to the idea, I guess."

"What idea?"

Crap. "Of, um. Of dating you?"

"But we've--"

"I-- I hadn't realized. Not that I didn't want to! I just-- I didn't realize."

"Oh," Todoroki says, his cheeks . "I'm sorry, I--"

"Hey, no. Like I said, I don't mind," Hanta tells him, grinning. "I really, really don't mind."

Kaminari comes to deliver the suits with Yaoyorozu the afternoon of the exhibit opening. Their smiles are too pleased, the pep in their step just this side of perky, and Hanta figures out why, when he opens the box and instead of a suit he finds a fabric of beautiful dark charcoal, subtly textured with intricate patterns. A haori, folded carefully atop a matching hakama. Beneath both lay a simple black kimono.

"We can't wear this!" he tells Todoroki, noting the unconcerned look he wore. "Can we?"

"These are formal clothes, though," Todoroki says, fingering the material of his obi with something like reverence. It's his haori and hakama that are black, his kimono in charcoal. These are matching kimonos. "She's outdone herself this time."

"Yeah. Yeah, she has."

"I can help you with the obi once you're done putting your kimono on," Todoroki offers shyly. "I usually-- I've never really done them. My sister always--"

"Yeah, of course I'll help." Hanta sees now, what Kaminari and Yaoyorozu were trying to do. It's not like they're the subtlest of people, but watching the smile bloom on Todoroki's face, he can't find it in himself to be anything but grateful.

It's a chilly winter evening a few Sundays before the end of the year when Hanta finally, actually goes on a date with Todoroki.

Notes:

TFW you start running out of research patience for traditional activities so you resort to what you learned from anime. <.< >.> (Seishuu Handa is from a real anime/manga series. Check out Barakamon if you get the chance; it's really cute.)

Thank you for reading! If you liked what you read, I've written other BNHA fics. I haven't written other Serorokis but I write a lot of Kiribaku.

Kudos and comments are love. If you want to talk about BnHA with me, I'm on twitter.