Here's a tododeku oneshot for all of you tododeku shippers out there! It's not an AU—I always have the need to say this for some reason?—but it is a bit... weird nonetheless. I mean, it's my mind, what can you expect, really?
Hope you enjoy!
To be able to trust is a gift.
I'm not talking about trusting someone blindly, but just trusting someone; being able to turn your back on them and have no fear that a blade will dive into your back, being able to trust their judgment, despite not being entirely sure whether it's a good idea or not, listening while they speak to you in spite of being two steps away from the edge of a rooftop and ready to jump, being able to take the hand reaching out to you and holding onto that one person you know you can trust.
It isn't easy… for the love of God, it's harder than everything I've ever faced.
I'm trying, I really am; but no matter what I do…
I can't seem to find that one person who I can claim I'm able to trust.
"Todoroki!" Sometimes there needn't be villains for evil to make its move.
Sometimes all it takes is a wrong step, an accidental move, a reckless fit of curses… and you find yourself holding onto something you're not even sure is able to hold your weight, such as a branch that seems ready to let go, a branch that for some reason seems more than just willing to go down that hellhole with you.
Sometimes things just don't go according to plan.
"Todoroki!" His eyelids fluttered open as the voice called out his name again. He'd thought it was only his imagination the first time he heard the call.
"D-Down here!" He cursed under his breath.
"It doesn't look good. I'll call Mr. Aizawa. Do you think you can hold on for a little longer?" The moment the green-haired boy's mouth closed, Shouto's little finger slipped, and he almost let go.
He growled. "I-I don't think–"
"Give me your hand!" Izuku was met with wide eyes and a shaking head. "Todoroki, there's no time, just take my hand!" He pressured, but Shouto wasn't reacting. "Please, Todoroki, just trust me for once!"
"It's too risky!"
"I know, but what other choice do we have?!"
"I-I'm not sure if–" Shouto closed his eyes as his hand shook.
Tears had welled up in his eyes; though, he wasn't sure if it was regret that he'd been so stupid as to go there alone, if it was sadness because he'd probably really die there and never be anything more than his pathetic present self, or if it was because of how angry he was at himself for needing help getting himself out of this mess, a mess that he himself had made.
"Todoroki, this isn't funny, please! Just take my hand! Just trust me now, and when we go back, we can pretend this never happened, I promise. That's all I ask of you, just trust me and give me your hand!" Izuku's face was red, his freckles hidden due to the warm, dark color that was covering his cheeks. Tears had long ago started rolling down his cheeks, and if it hadn't been for the situation he was in, Shouto would have thrown his head back and laughed, because really…
Which one of them was about to fall down a cliff again?
Izuku's concern when it came to, pretty much, everyone—even him, silly, lonely him—never ceased to surprise him.
Maybe he could...
"I can't do it, I-I'm–"
"Scared? I know, I know, I get it. But you have to trust me now and just gi–" His scream was so loud that Izuku's breath hitched. The green-haired boy closed his mouth instinctively, not managing to finish his sentence.
"Stop saying that word!"
"The word scared?"
"No, idiot, it's– Gah!"
"Todoroki!"
"Stay where you are! Don't you dare!"
"B-But you–"
"Shut up! Can't you just shut up?!"
Izuku flinched. Shouto breathed in, trying to keep his hold on the branch steady. Izuku was silent, and Shouto couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at how harsh he'd sounded.
Well done, you're going to force the only person who still cares for you to leave. Well done, really.
"Sorry." Shouto said.
"It's alright."
When the silence became uncomfortable, Izuku cleared his throat.
"You still can't use your quirk... can you?"
"Already tried. It-it doesn't work." Now that he thought about it, he'd never realized just how useful his quirk was until now that he couldn't use it.
"You really had to come with us, didn't you?"
"Yes." It took him a little while, but Shouto replied to Izuku's question, despite knowing damn well that the green-haired boy probably wasn't waiting for an answer.
It was only a couple of days ago, when his quirk was erased. It wasn't permanently—if what that girl had said was the truth, at least—since the effect of her quirk was supposed to fade away in a couple of days. His father was furious and his sister concerned; however, Shouto had still insisted they took him with them in the trip to the woods. Of course, while his classmates would train using their quirks as much as they could, Shouto could only train his body and mind.
And everything was fine… well; until he accidentally fell from the edge of that cliff, that is.
"Midoriya, if I don't make it–"
"Are you serious?!"
Now it was Shouto's turn to flinch. Lips parted and lungs filled with oxygen, yet just as the words were ready to come out of his mouth, the branch cracked.
It cracked and without a warning broke, as though an invisible someone had cut it in half. Shouto had nothing to hold onto anymore, and he let out a scream—though, if he was to live, he'd never admit it—as he fell down.
He squeezed his eyes shut, mentally preparing himself for the impact of the cold, hard ground… but it never came.
Arms wrapped around his waist and he was pressed against a warm body, he was turned around and instead of facing the sky, he was now facing the ground. He'd been too shocked to speak, yet if he was sober, he would've shouted the green-haired boy's name and demanded to be told what was going on.
But now he was drunk in the adrenaline, drunk in the sweat on his bow, drunk in the fear of falling, the fear of dying. He was drunk in the feeling he'd soon crash in the mud, and now that he was being saved, his dizziness from all that he'd drunk was making it hard for him to realize what was happening.
"Are you okay?"
In the end, it was only Izuku's feet that hit the ground. He'd obviously used his quirk, and Shouto made a note to himself to ask him how in the world he'd managed not to break them. Izuku let go of him, and he—much to his embarrassment—had to grab the green-haired boy's arm, afraid his knees would give up on him right then and there.
"Just fine." He answered through gritted teeth, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips an awkward, thin line as he let go of Izuku and attempted to stand without leaning on him.
"Please tell me you told at least one person I was here." Shouto said and held his breath, waiting for what Izuku would say.
"I, well, I didn't exactly–" The shorter man attempted to explain.
"You've got to be kidding me." Shouto pinched his nose, letting out a sigh.
"Well, we wouldn't have fallen in the first place if you'd just taken my hand! I could have just pulled you up!" Izuku defended himself, glaring daggers at him.
"You were too far away. I wasn't sure if I would make it."
"And you really think this is better than just trusting me for once?"
"It's not about trusting you, it's–" Shouto started, but Izuku cut him off.
"It is about trusting, Todoroki. The branch wasn't that far away from me, you could have just jumped and I would have caught you. But no! You always think you know best and that's exactly what got us in this mess!"
"Are you seriously putting all the blame on me? I didn't ask you to save me, you know; you could have just let me fall! If you did that, I at least wouldn't have to put up with your childish whines!"
"You know I could never leave you like that! And you take that back right now!" Izuku had walked up to him, and as they shouted, he was looking up and Shouto was looking down at him. The green-haired young man didn't let the fact that the other boy was taller than him discourage him; he kept on screaming back at him, holding his ground.
Who the hell did he think he was?
"What if I don't? It's true!" Shouto said, and Izuku wasn't able to reply, for his parted lips never actually closed. "You're always getting on my way and it's pissing me off!"
"Stop trying to run away from it and face it; you're afraid! You're afraid of accepting your quirk, you're afraid of facing your own father, you're afraid of talking to people, you're too scared of letting me be your friend. Just admit it! It's not that you can't trust me; you don't even want to try!"
"That's not true!" Their chests were now touching, and it took all Shouto had not to punch Izuku in the face. He was such an idiot. "I want to try and be friends with you, you just never seem to have time for me these days! It's always Iida or Uraraka or your 'Kacchan' and just, anyone, literally everyone else but me! And I can't constantly run after you when you clearly don't even want me around you anymore!"
"So this is it? That's the reason you've been so distant? That's the reason you don't want to trust me, the reason you didn't take my hand earlier?" Green orbs shone under the warm glow of the sun. It wasn't hard for Shouto to tell that tears had welled up in Izuku's eyes.
"It's not just that, just wait… you always get into conclusions so fast, and it's so-so–" Shouto's fingers gently wiped away the tears that had escaped Izuku's eyes. "Frustrating."
"It's your fault." Izuku muttered, voice hoarse after all the shouts they'd exchanged.
"How is it my fault?" Shouto asked, and Izuku chuckled, leaning to the taller boy's touch. His fingers were now caressing his face, hovering over his freckles and slowly moving down to his jaw.
"Even though you're as easy to read as an open book, I can never tell what your next move will be." He admitted, and Shouto's hand froze midair. He, too, chuckled.
"Is that so?" His fingers were now wrapped around Izuku's neck. Their lips were now only a couple of centimeters away.
"Mhm." Izuku hummed, leaning in.
Once the kiss was broken, he looked up at him, his eyes shining with something Shouto couldn't quite read. Was it pride, was it doubt, was it regret? He couldn't tell.
"What now?" He asked, and Shouto's lips curved into a small smile.
"I guess we wait for someone to find us."
Izuku titled his head to the side.
"Shouldn't we do something to get out of here ourselves though?"
Thank you for reading! Don't hesitate to comment your thoughts on this; I welcome feedback and constructive criticism with open arms!