Momo rolled over in bed, eyes shooting open at the wall. A quick glance at the alarm clock on the side table told her it was three in the morning.
She huffed, rolling on her stomach in an attempt to find a more comfortable position. At this point it had been a couple hours that she had been tossing and turning without a wink of sleep. Momo had thought that her first night in the dorm would be smooth since she was exhausted from moving in as well as from the impromptu Best Room Competition, but the pull for sleep just wasn't present. Every time she closed her eyes, they shot back open like springs that she couldn't control.
Was this what Kaminari felt like all of the time? She remembered him mention at one point that he was an insomniac. She couldn't imagine being up like this all of the time.
Momo kicked her covers from her legs, freeing herself from the heavy comforter. She hadn't realized how restless she was really feeling until she stretched her leg high into the darkness. She was twitching to move. Even just lying down was becoming a chore.
Momo's mind wandered to the kitchen on the first level of the dormitory. She wasn't really hungry, but she could easily convince herself that she was if it meant she could get out of her stuffy room for a minute.
Legs itching with energy, Momo rolled out of bed and landed heavily on her feet. She was pressed up close to her desk from the lack of space her canopy bed warranted and she had to side step carefully in the darkness until she was past the length of her bed.
Now that she was up closer, she noted a faint glow of light at the bottom of her door that wasn't noticeable from her bed. She pulled the door open and sure enough, there were faintly lit lights mounted to the ceiling in increments down the hallway.
Not as exquisite as at home but she appreciated that they got the job done. Momo glanced back in her room, the dim light from the hallway giving her just enough light to make out the jacket she had resting on her desk chair.
She wouldn't have to change would she? It was very unlikely that anyone other than her was crazy enough to be up at this hour when Aizawa had made it perfectly clear that things were going to be picking up again the following day.
Momo closed the door, forgetting the jacket all together. She was already in pajama pants and was too hot. Maybe she just needed to tinker with the air conditioning in her room to make it comfortable, but she wasn't quite sure where the thermostat was. That was going to be a task for the morning...or, when the sun came up that is.
She was on the fifth floor and there wasn't an elevator, not that she would have used it anyway. She would have been too nervous that she might wake someone up or get in trouble for being out. Technically she wasn't supposed to be out after curfew, especially since she was part of the group that went after Bakugou just a few days prior, but she couldn't stop her feet as she glided down the hallway.
Her eyes flicked at the doors as she passed them. Todoroki's room was right there, dark and looking devoid of life. She wondered if maybe, on the other side of the door, he was just as awake as she was. But then Momo lightly patted her cheeks with her palms to clear her head.
He was sleeping, she told herself, the way she should be.
Momo momentarily considered forgetting her excursion and return to her room, but the thought of the stuffy air and weighted comforter drove her to the staircase. She was just going on a walk to relieve some energy and then she'd be back in bed in no time. She was fine.
The steps were cool against the soles of Momo's bare feet, a sensation that she welcomed full heartedly. She noted how it progressively got cooler with every floor she descended. Maybe the heating in the whole building was a little off? If she noticed it then it was probably safe to say that Iida had figured it out already too.
The staircase gave way to the open space of the commons room. It was mostly dark except for the faint glow of appliances in the kitchen and a dim lamp in the corner. She supposed that it was left on by accident by one of the boys—Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima had all decided to stay up while Momo and the others retreated back to their rooms earlier in the night.
She moved over to the table to turn the lamp off but nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a human body in the recliner next to the lamp. "Oh my God," she whispered hoping she didn't wake the person up. Whoever it was, they were under a blanket.
"I was wondering when you were going to see me," a deep voice responded.
"Todoroki," Momo said instinctively. His voice was tattooed in her brain. "What are you doing down here?"
The blanket bunched up right where his chest was, and slowly the blanket slid down first revealing his duel colored hair, then his eyes, until finally his face was poking out of the blanket. She had to admit, it was quite a sight to see Shouto Todoroki curled up in a lazy boy with only his face uncovered. "I couldn't sleep," he said flatly.
She waited to see if he would elaborate further, but he didn't. "I couldn't sleep either." She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, unsure of what to do with her hands. "It was too hot in my room."
"You have the thermostat in your room, you know."
Momo felt her cheeks grow warm and she was thankful for the poor lighting. "I'm perfectly aware," she said sharply, "but I'm uh...I just don't know where it is. Or how to use it." Before she could stop herself, she added, "I'm hungry too!"
The ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. The break in his usual stoicness was a surprise, but Momo couldn't help but think how much more handsome he looked with a full smile instead of the rare half smiles she sometimes caught him with.
She realized that she had been staring and forced herself to recollect her thoughts. "What about you then, Todoroki? What brought you down here?"
Momo was also curious about the blanket. He said that he couldn't sleep, but he sure had looked like he had been sleeping when she first found him. And why would he have a blanket if he hadn't planned on sleeping down here?
To her, it looked more like Todoroki didn't want to sleep in his room and purposefully came down to the commons area to rest. But none of that really made much sense.
Todoroki stirred again, his hair becoming more disheveled as he moved. She liked the way stray locks of red hair folded over his white. Everything about him looked soft. "I was antsy up stairs. I came down here to read," he pointed to a novel setting beneath the lamp on the table, "but I guess this chair was more comfortable than I anticipated."
Momo nodded, resisting the urge to ask why he didn't want to stay in his room. "I see. Well, I'm sorry for bothering you while you were resting, Todoroki."
She bowed her head slightly as she moved around the table. "Leaving already?" he asked.
Momo halted, looking over her shoulder. Todoroki was sitting up in his chair now, the blue blanket falling down his chest to reveal his sleep shirt. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged. "Thought you said you were hungry. Don't leave on my account."
Momo slowly straightened, suddenly feeling silly. She had completely forgotten that she had told him about wanting a snack. "Ah, right."
The dark haired girl turned her back to Todoroki as she shuffled into the kitchen, though she could still feel his eyes watching her as she moved to flip on the lights. Why did she have to be so awkward around him these days?
Something had changed in their dynamic during their fight with Aizawa those few weeks ago; something that made Momo more self conscious while in Todoroki's presence. She wasn't dense enough to not realize her growing feelings for him, but she did have the sense to keep her feelings under wraps. Todoroki was too busy aiming for the number one hero position to be thinking about relationships and Momo silently agreed that it was best for her to focus on getting stronger as well.
But even though it was easy to talk herself into the logics of her choice, there wasn't an easy way to stop the chest convulsions and cold sweat that started up whenever he was around. It was a daily battle to keep her inner emotions in check and he had no idea how much of mess he turned her into just by existing.
Momo peeked through a gap in the kitchenette. Todoroki was stretching his arms high above his head, his fingers curled around the cuffs of the long sleeved shirt that he was wearing. Why did he have to look so soft and warm? She could easily imagine how comfortable it would be to curl up beside him in the chair, her head nestled in the crook of his collar bone…
His head shot up, their eyes meeting each other, and Momo felt her hand slip from where it was propped up on the counter. She let out a short shriek as she jerked to her right harshly before righting herself.
"Yaoyorozu!" Todoroki rushed to his feet, stumbling slightly from the open recliner and blanket wrapped around his torso.
Momo laughed nervously, waving her hand in the gap so he could see that she was fine, but also kept her face from view. "I'm good!" she said a bit more pathetically than she had meant to.
She had to get out of here before she made more of a fool of herself than what she already had. Find a snack, she told herself, and get out. Keep it together just a little bit longer. She hoped Todoroki wasn't paying attention to her.
Momo checked the fridge first and much to her disappointment found nothing but a case of bottled water and a single lemon. What was this pathetic joke? She closed the fridge.
It was reasonable for there to be nothing in the fridge since it was their first night there and it made sense that no one would have thought to bring something...but who the heck brought a single lemon and put it in the fridge? Probably Kaminari or Sero, but there wasn't anything she could do at this time of night.
"Ashido hid some fruit things in that top cupboard," Todoroki's voice said. Momo whipped around to find the boy leaning up against the kitchenette doorway. His hair was more disheveled than before and he had blue socks on that went up to his shins despite wearing shorts. "I had one earlier."
"Really?" Sure enough, when she opened the cupboard they were on the top shelf, just barely out of her reach. Well, looks like she wasn't going to be getting a snack after all—
At first the warmth against her back had Momo confused until she quickly pieced together that Todoroki was directly behind her; and not only that, but he was reaching over her as well! Momo felt could feel his chest and arms as he leaned over her slightly.
He wasn't much taller than her and his breath tickled on her neck. "I got it," he said, grabbing two packets from the top shelf. Momo gripped the counter top, thankful that the marble was cool against her sweaty hands. This jerk had no idea how much turmoil he was putting her through! Why couldn't he just keep his distance and make it easier for her to forget about him?
Todoroki dropped on of the fruit snack packets in front of Momo and kept the other for himself. "Ah," Momo grabbed the small bag, grateful that he returned to his position in the doorway, "thank you, Todoroki."
"Mhm."
Momo ripped her bag open and popped one into her mouth. Why was he just staring at her?
Todoroki seemed to read her mind because he coughed, breaking the awkward silence, and turned away hurriedly. "So you'll be on your way back to bed then, I take it?"
"I guess. I doubt that I'll be getting much sleep though."
"Are you...already missing your family?" His voice seemed distant as he asked the question, though Momo was unsure why.
"Maybe a little," she admitted. The wrapper in her hands crinkled. "I think I'm mostly anxious about the upcoming provisional exam."
"I see."
Momo could have easily dropped the subject there; left it at that, told him goodnight and that would have been that. Nothing but a random run in with the most capable boy in their class. But she liked talking to him and just like earlier in the night, she spoke before she could stop herself. "I feel a little numb...in regards to my abilities as a hero. And I'm afraid that I'm never going to improve to where I stand out in a crowd the same way Midoriya, Bakugou, and...you do."
Todoroki shifted uncomfortably against the doorway. Well that's great, now she's scaring him with her problems. Momo turned, making sure that her hair fell so that it screened her face from him. "Sorr—"
"Yaoyorozu." Momo's head snapped up at his voice. Though still looking unsure of himself, Todoroki crossed the gap between them and leaned up against the counter beside her. "I'm not very good at this whole comforting people thing, but you shouldn't be measuring yourself against Midoriya, Bakugou, or me."
Momo inhaled deeply, then dropped her shoulders. "But I was recommended to this school. And I don't have anything to show for it." Todoroki scoffed, catching her off guard. "What?" she demanded, glaring at him softly.
He wasn't smiling, but the faintest hint of one was there, as if Todoroki would break into a laugh at any second. "You held your ground at the USJ, sailed through the sports festival, took out Aizawa during exams, managed to to put a tracker on the nomu during the training camp attack and went after Bakugou when everyone said not to." Todoroki shrugged, crumpling the now empty wrapper in his palm. "If you don't think that's impressive, then I think that you're setting your standards too high."
Momo considered his words for a moment. Sure, she had a quick wit about her most of the time but that didn't mean everything was always going to go according to plan. When brute strength was needed, which seemed to be all of the time, then she was out of luck. The sports festival was her mark of shame.
Still, her thoughts came back to what he said about high standards. He was one to talk. "What about you, Todoroki? According to that logic, you set too high of standards for yourself as well."
Todoroki's face flushed slightly, but he kept up his composure. "Perhaps," he conceded after a beat, "but the difference is that I don't measure my potential against other peoples. Midoriya and Bakugou are strong, capable rivals but that just means I have to train harder to surpass them. That doesn't mean that everything I've done until this point is pointless."
He paused, brushing his shoulder against her just enough to send chills down her spine. "You're strong, Yaoyorozu. And smart. You have what it takes to be a real hero. So don't get down on yourself because you don't have a flashy Quirk. Be proud of what you've done and treat them as stepping stones as you improve."
Momo's heart clenched. Now what was she going to say? Every word he spoke was soft and his unguarded expression revealed how truthful he was being. He thought she would be a great hero. Emotions were just building in her stomach, waiting to manifest in some way. Probably tears if she were being honest since she hadn't had a good cry in a while.
"Todoroki," she murmured. She quickly rubbed at her cheek with the back of her hand.
Todoroki shifted again, and then Momo felt his arm on the small of her back. It was a hesitant gesture, like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to touch her. Momo scoffed slightly, leaning into his left side. He was warm. "Thank you," she whispered.
"I didn't do anything." He rested his head against hers.
"You believe in me." Momo felt her eyes droop. "That means alot to me. I'll train harder and be the number one hero."
"I look forward to that day, Yaoyorozu."