Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Author Note: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorite and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
"Something seems to be bothering you, Naruto."
Naruto blinked and jerked her head at Shouto. The 15-year-old boy had a small frown playing on his lips as his heterochromia eyes fixated on her. Her boyfriend had his head tilted to the side. He furrowed his eyebrows together, almost like he was trying to put the pieces together in a file. A puzzle that was probably what was going through her mind.
"I talked to Kouta," she closed her eyes and took in the earthy scent in the wind before looking up at the night sky. So many, shiny stars dotted around the night sky and there was barely a cloud on sight. Then again, Naruto had never really tried cloud watching when the sky was painted pitch-black instead of a lovely shade of blue.
Shouto stared at her for the longest time, not even attempting to open his mouth to question her. Naruto relaxed her shoulders and slid her hand into the pockets of her pants. W-Why would you say that? The stutter rung in her ear and the whiskered teen curled her lips into a weary smile. There were so few people who actually wanted to know about her life.
She shook her head and darted her eyes at Shouto. Her boyfriend finally decided to look away from her, choosing instead to focus on the beautiful night sky before them. I will keep that promise to you but you need to open up more to me. Her eyes moistened slightly and the whiskered teen rubbed her eyes before looking back at Shouto.
Taking in a deep breath, Naruto pulled Shouto into a hug and breathed in the spicy scent of his cologne. Shouto stiffened like he always did whenever someone showed him affection and the blonde knew that the boy would relax in another few seconds. His large hands wrapped around her, rubbing her back with a gentleness that made her breath hitched.
"Did he say something that hurt you?" His voice vibrated against her, bringing out another shiver down her back. Naruto crooked her head upwards and met the furrowed eyebrows of Shouto. He looked like a confused puppy with those furrowed eyebrows. A confused puppy who looked so adorable that her own chest tightened and her stomach fluttered again.
Hugging the boy tighter, Naruto closed her eyes and listened to the howls of the wolves. What should she tell him? Which part felt the most important thing for them to talk about? She couldn't tell him about the accusation, not when it didn't really affect her that much. But that curiosity about my own life is another thing entirely. Naruto nodded her head and relaxed her shoulders.
"No," Naruto admitted. Her hands began to crept up his back and rubbed through the hard muscles that belonged to his back and the whiskered teen smiled slightly when the younger boy sighed in relief. "He didn't hurt me in anyway but he did surprise me when he asked why I wouldn't even tell my own life story to him."
Shouto pressed his lips into a thin line and stared down at her eyes. Concern shone through his mismatch eyes as fireflies buzzed behind him, looking like little blobs of flames that highlighted just much of an angel that the boy had been to her. An angel who stuck by her side even when things had been difficult for her.
Those blue-grey eyes began to trace her face like he wanted to burn the image of her in his mind. His right hand crept up and rubbed her jawline. Naruto's breath hitched and she found herself leaning into his hand, trying to chase after the tenderness that his hand offered her. Shouto moved his hand from her jaw to her cheeks, caressing it like it was the most precious thing in the world to him.
"Why?" Shouto asked, moving his hand down to her neck. His finger danced around her neck, never fully touching the naked skin of her neck and always hovering above it. Was it strange she wanted his cold finger on her neck? Yeah, it was weird. If she wanted to feel more of his hands then she was probably no better than Ero-Sennin.
Just thinking of her mentor and godfather was enough to snap out of the haze that Shouto's hand brought upon her. Her godfather was truly a bucket of cold water for her.
"I learnt rather quickly that there is very little point of talking about my own pain," Naruto admitted, staring out at the hundreds of trees that stood out before them. "Orphans are common in the Elemental Countries and well there is at least one or two orphans in a class. In my graduating year, there were around six or seven."
"You think your pain can compare, Naruto? My parents died in a mission while you never knew yours! You know nothing, DeadLast!"
She took in a deep breath. "One day I saw a female classmate sobbing over the loss of her parents and I tried to tell her that she had memories of them. That they weren't really gone from her life and that maybe remembering them would ease the ache inside of her."
"What the hell do you know, ugly, little Fox? You don't have parents!"
Naruto exhaled and tightened her grip on her boyfriend as her heart twisted itself in a loop of pain. She was fifteen now, not the same 8-year-old in that memory but it still played like a scene from a movie. The tears in the girl's eyes alongside the way those brown eyes looked at her like she was a nuisance.
"She got so angry with me and told me that I didn't understand a fucking thing," Naruto exhaled and allowed a bitter smile to play on her lips as Shouto kept dead silent. "She told me that I never had parents so I didn't know a damn thing. I told her that I still lost my parents and not a day goes by when I didn't think of what they could look like."
Her throat tightened up even more as cold brown eyes flashed before her eyes.
"I tried to tell her that the pain was the same thing but well she told me that my pain was less than the pain she felt," Naruto closed her eyes and forced herself to smile at him…only to falter when her boyfriend frowned at her. She sighed and dropped the smile. "From that day on, I don't talk about my pain to people. The next time I tried to do it, I got the same result."
Blue eyes widened when Shouto hugged her tighter. It felt like a huge teddy bear was hugging her and offering her comfort, except teddy bears were soft and fat while her boyfriend was hard and muscular. Despite that, warmth still tickled throughout her bones and destroyed the lingering coldness brought upon by that terrible.
"Since when was pain a competition?" Shouto asked. His tone lacked any emotion, almost robotic but there was a lingering undertone of contemplation and that brought a tiny frown on Naruto's face. He continued rubbing her back and stared down at her before flickering his eyes towards the sky. "No one really has a right to make that decision. No one has a right to make your pain feel inferior to their pain."
No one has a right to make your pain feel inferior to their pain. Naruto stared up at the boy and closed her eyes. It was a rather strange viewpoint but it made sense in a way when she thought about it. The pain they felt came from different circumstances. You just couldn't compare pain and that was probably her boyfriend's point.
Exhaling, the whiskered teen looked up at her boyfriend, who now moved his hand to her hair. He detangled the tangles in her hair, gentling parting the little knots inside of her hair. It should relax her but all it did was made her shoulders trembled with the care he was giving her. Her heart raced against her chest at the quiet tenderness in his eyes.
She darted her eyes to his lips and shivered at the memory of his possessive kiss. That kiss stole her breath away and made her toes curled in a delightful way. It conveyed a lot of things to her. Things that made her heart ran like there was no tomorrow. She stared at his blue-grey eyes that shone so brightly against the night sky and her stomach churned.
She told me that she couldn't stand the sight of my left side before dumping boiling water on me.
Those words echoed in her ear, reminding her again that her own boyfriend hadn't experienced much affection since that day. Saying that I like you and those sweet words won't convey everything to him. It was rather easy to confess your feelings or repeat it again and again like Sakura had done for Sasuke but…actions always spoke larger than words.
Bobbing her head, Naruto leaned closer to her boyfriend and began pepping his neck with kisses. Salty. That was the first thing that came to her mind and a little giggle escaped her lips when the boy's breath hitched by her actions. His hands fell from her hair to her back and began rubbing her even more at her action.
She moved her lips from his neck to his jawline, smiling even more at the little hitch of his breath coming out from his mouth. She should slow down. It might be taking things too fast but she wanted to show him that she wanted to give him affection too. The same kind he gave her. That was why when she was done marking his jawline, she pepped kisses on his cheeks.
The scar on his left side probably got more kisses and her hand traced it gently as she parted away from him.
"Naruto, why did you do that?" Shouto asked. The brightness in his eyes faded, replaced with a darkened look. Not the bad kind that would make her shiver with fear but the other kind that made her lower part throbbed. The blonde gulped and pressed another kiss to his jawline and then to the scar on his left side of his face.
She wrapped her legs around either side of him and bit back the groan that threatened to come out when his erection pressed against her crotch. His cheeks burned a bright shade of red but Shouto kept his hands around her waist, not even attempting to push her away from him. Only curiosity, wonder and another unfamiliar emotion shone through his eyes.
"You always shower me with affection so I wanted to return the favor," Naruto admitted with a bashful smile. Her cheeks screamed with embarrassment as more blood stampeded towards her cheeks and her own hands began to fiddle around. Shouto only stared at her with lips parted like he didn't know what to make of her own admission. "If you didn't like what I did then I will slow things down 'cause I want you to be—"
The words died down when Shouto pulled her in for another kiss and hugged her even tighter. I really do understand better when he kisses me like this. Gratitude. Happiness. Desire. They were the emotions poured out in his lips as Shouto kissed her like a boy who loved the things that she had to offer him. The gentle strokes on her hair made her pulled him closer, chasing more of what he had to give her.
She could see herself doing this every day for the rest of her life.
"Jeez! You are like your mother!" The Kyuubi snarled. "Keep this up and you will end up becoming pregnant before you turn 16!"
A bucket of cold water washed over her at what the beast inside of her commented. Naruto tore her lips away from Shouto and took in several deep breaths, trying to calm down her racing heart as her eyes looked everywhere but at the flushed boy beside her. The boy stared at her, eyebrows furrowed before looking down at his pants.
The darkened cheeks and the way he ruffled his hair told Naruto of what conclusion he jumped to.
"I, uh, didn't mean—"
"Not your fault," Naruto choked out. He blinked and then knitted his eyebrows together before tilting his head to the side. The whiskered teen cleared her throat and covered her face. "The Kyuubi just reminded me of the importance of protection because neither of us are ready to be parents. Not that I wanted to do it now or that I don't wanna do it with you but we have been together for a few weeks."
Shouto flushed a deep shade of red and hugged her even tighter, dropping his own head down to her neck.
"I liked it so much that I forgot about controlling myself."
Naruto smiled slightly and linked their hands together.
"It takes two to do this, Shouto so it is much of my fault as well."
She should have better control of her urges after all.
"If you had to choose someone as your boyfriend then who would you pick?"
Naruto nibbled on her chips as Hakgakure posed this question on the girls of Class A and Class B. The moment she returned back from her rather lengthy talk with Shouto, all of the girls ushered her to go to Class B room to have some girl talk. A room that smelt almost exactly like the inside of the Yamananka Flower Shop with all the flowery scent clinging into the air.
And the first time I have a real girl's night and they wanna talk about boyfriends. Naruto slumped her shoulders and darted her eyes the other girls. Most of the girls furrowed their eyebrows, looking like they were very much contemplating over who they would want as a boyfriend, while a few girls frowned as if they didn't know.
If no one was going to start this talk then maybe she should just begin things.
The whiskered teen rubbed her neck and hummed. "Well Shouto is good."
All of the girls swirled their heads at her and tilted their heads. No words came out of their mouth and the only sound that could be heard were the pit-patter of their teachers feet. Naruto picked up another chip and began nibbling it. The cheesy favor overpowered mouth, killing every taste bud in her tongue. Good god. She was going to avoid that bag of chips from now on.
"You and Todoroki-san are very close," Kendou commented, leaning closer to her. The other girls bobbed their heads in agreement and fixated their hungry eyes on her. "I noticed that he made you blush earlier while the two of you were working on the vegetables. Mind telling us what he told you to make you blush?"
Yellow eyes sparkled with eagerness as the other girls leaned forward. Naruto only rubbed the back of her neck and flushed a deeper shade of red as teasing heterochromia eyes flashed before her. What about Princess? There was no way she could utter what Todoroki wanted to call her. These girls were like hungry wolves and they were going to tease her about her relationship with Shouto.
This was not a matter of trust but the matter of her dignity.
"Y'know Shouto can make me blush over the simplest of things," She reminded her friend. The orange-haired girl hummed while the other girls slumped their shoulders. Naruto inhaled and smoothed the wrinkle of her shirt before looking at the other girls. "Besides I'm close to Shouto because we understand each other and he is easy to talk to."
From across the circle, Asui tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows together. Her dull, green eyes regarded her for a good couple of seconds as if she was trying to figure something out. Nothing of what I just said, will give away that we are dating. She knew it but that did not stop her palm from sweating bullets at that contemplating gleam.
"If the two of you go out then he will probably be a very supportive boyfriend," Asui observed. Naruto relaxed her shoulders while the girls of Class A nodded vigorously. Most of the girls from Class B rubbed their chin. "And I'm sure Todoroki is the type to be devoted to his girlfriend nor would he try to look at other girls if he is dating someone."
No, Shouto isn't that kind of boy. Naruto quirked her lips into a smile and released a content sigh. Even though it probably had been over an hour since the two of them separated from each other, the tenderness and devotion in his eyes still played like a clockwork in her mind. Not once did she ever have to look over her shoulder to make sure he didn't eye another girl.
"But he does have one problem," Yaoyorozu commented from right beside Jirou. The black-haired girl grimaced and furrowed her eyebrows like she was deeply considering of how to word the problem. The Vice-President of Class A exhaled and bobbed her head. "He is still the son of Endeavour."
Naruto poked her tongue against her cheek and clenched her jaws together, while the other girls shuddered. I wish the bastard wasn't his father. Every single time she recalled the pain in Shouto's voice whenever he talked about the way the man punched him and screamed at his wife, Naruto wanted to dash straight to his house and punched the man.
The power-hungry hero never made Shouto feel like he was human, always treating him like he was his own tool.
"He will probably be really strict with any girlfriend of his son," Setsuna grimaced. The other girls gulped and nodded while Naruto forced herself to take in a deep breath. The green-haired girl leaned her body backwards. "I can totally picture that man either paying his girlfriend off or making her life difficult. You have to have some guts to date Todoroki with a hardass like Endeavour as his father."
Naruto frowned and knitted her eyebrows together at her friend. When Tokage puts it that way then she makes it seem like he wasn't dateable because of Endeavour. Guts weren't necessary. Putting up with Endeavour was worth it if it meant she could be around Shouto. If she thought like them then she would be nitpicking every guy.
But I guess nitpicking is better than being in denial over what kind of boy your crush can be.
She knew that but she still needed to clarify things.
"Endeavour isn't terrifying," Naruto informed them. She pressed her lips into a thin line and picked up the melonpan from the batch of snacks nestled right in front of them. Taking a small bite, the blonde continued. "He is just an asshole but that doesn't mean Shouto is impossible to date. If we think like that then every guy has some kind of problem that we don't like."
Everyone stared at her. Their eyes gleamed with thoughtfulness and they slanted their heads like they were actually contemplating over what she had to say. Naruto only furrowed her eyebrows together and deepened her frown at them. What was wrong with what she just said? It was the truth! Every guy in their year had some kind of problem.
She raised an eyebrow when Ashido fixated her curious gaze on her and asked. "What is it?"
"Well you like Todoroki-kun since the Sports Festival, didn't you?"
I didn't like him during that time. The words were on the tip of her tongue but something held her back. Maybe it was the curiosity of what made the girl jumped to that conclusion. What had she done to make Ashido jumped to that conclusion? You look pretty in the outfit. The deep, calming voice of Shouto echoed in her ear and the pure sincerity in his eyes played before her.
Naruto exhaled. "Are you saying this because he made me blush after calming me down from that stupid stunt of Mineta and Kaminari?"
"Well I never saw you blush like a little girl until he calmed you down," Ashido admitted. The other members of Class A nodded their heads in agreement while a few girls from Class B bounced in their seat at those words. Naruto only rubbed the back of her neck while the pink-skinned girl tilted her head. "You were so damn furious with Mineta and Kaminari but Todoroki-kun just calm you down like he knew what to do."
He didn't know what to do. The words were on the tip of her tongue but Naruto swallowed it down. Even though it was the truth, it felt wrong for her to spill those words. Those heterochromia eyes had been slightly confused over how to calm her down but the moment she vocalized her insecurity, he uttered words that made her heart stop.
"He only told me that I look pretty in that cheerleader outfit," Naruto informed Ashido. "But that wasn't when my feelings for him began to develop. If I develop feelings for every guy that calls me pretty then wouldn't that make me a shallow person? I mean it was meaningful but that wasn't when it started."
I can't exactly pinpoint when my feelings for Shouto changed. The whiskered teen frowned as silence hung over the circle of girls. She could pinpoint when she started to see Shouto from an acquittance, who couldn't mind his own business, to becoming her precious friend. But when did she began to have the fluttery feeling inside of her? Well that was like trying to pick a kunai from a haystack.
"Then when did it start for you?" Kodai questioned. The girl from Class B was probably one of the prettiest girls that Naruto had ever seen with her fair skin, black hair and bright blue eyes. No emotion leaked out of her tone and this was probably the first time that the girl opened her mouth since the other members of Class A swirled their head at the stoic girl.
Naruto hummed. "Maybe internship?"
"That is still a pretty long time," Setsuna observed. The green-haired girl tilted her head and slanted her eyes at her like how a lizard would eye its food. Naruto gulped down a lump as those green eyes flashed with suspicion. "Y'know in all the time I know you Uzumaki, I can't picture you as someone who would hide her feelings for this long from a dense guy like Todoroki."
Another pair of green eyes widened while everyone swirled their heads at her. They raised their eyebrows while Naruto choked at the words spilling out of her friend's mouth. Why the hell did her friend have to say that now? Now everyone was going to begin connect the dots. She wanted her relationship with Shouto to be private, not aired out to everyone in the school.
If they had been together for six months then it was fine but not after three weeks of dating.
"B-But it isn't easy to confess your feelings even if you are the most confident person in the world," Kinoko observed. Thank you for thinking of an excuse for me. Naruto vigorously bobbed her heads while the other girls hummed their agreement. "It will be terrifying to confess to someone and know that they might reject you."
And knowing my own fear of rejection, I probably would have done something to ruin it. She poked her tongue against her cheek and looked down at her bitten melonpan. If the negative voice played in her mind when Shouto confessed the second time then this warmth inside of her would never exist. Coldness would have been stuck inside of her and there would be a haze again inside of her mind.
"So are you planning to confess to him anytime soon?" Ashido asked with a slanted head and curious yellow eyes. Naruto blinked while the girls twisted their bodies around to regard her with curious eyes. Owls hooted and the wind whistled as everyone continued to regard her with eager, hungry eyes.
"I really like you, Naruto."
A tiny smile played on her lips as she chewed on her bun, eyebrows furrowed together. It had been three weeks since Shouto's second confession. Three weeks and her heart still pounded against her ribs, ready to burst with happiness from the memory. The knowledge that the girls would figure out the truth was enough to shove away the blush that threatened to consume her.
"There is no need for me to confess him, I mean I should focus on myself and my studies." She replied. The blonde locked eyes with the girls, only to falter when Setsuna, Kendou and Yaoyorozu raised their eyebrows to their hairline. The pressed lips informed her that all three girls didn't believe the words that came out of her mouth.
She shook her head and schooled her expression into a blank one.
"Well if you want help with confessing to him then we will help you!" Ashido declared.
Naruto nodded and quirked her lips into a smile.
"Oi IcyHot, outside now!"
Shouto frowned and schooled his expression into a blank look as furious, red eyes glared at him. Some of the boys blinked, opening their mouth to protest while Iida took a step forward. Midoriya flickered his eyes between them, green eyes burning with curiosity, before pulling back the Class President back. Shouto didn't know what the boy told Iida but the blue-haired teen quickly gave them a thumbs up.
Taking a deep breath, the dual-toned hair boy followed Bakugou out of their room. Several eyes followed them, almost reminding him of the time when they followed two half-cousins to the courtyard. He threw one last glance over his shoulders and relaxed his shoulders at the pale-faces of their male classmates.
The door shut and the two of them stood in the corridor. The only sound that could be heard in the corridor were the giggles and chatter from the Class B girls room. Naruto told me that they were going to have a girls night. That had been one of the reasons the two of them had to sneak out to the roof earlier than they actually wanted.
"What the fucking hell is your relationship with Whiskers?" Bakugou demanded. Shouto blinked and blinked while his blond-haired classmate narrowed his eyes at him. It should terrify him because those red eyes made the boy look like a devil, but nothing would ever compare to the anger that radiated from Endeavour's eyes.
Should I tell him that I'm with Naruto? Todoroki frowned and shifted his weight to the right as narrowed eyes demanded for him to answer the question. It would be the right thing but he wasn't the only one in their relationship. Neither him nor Naruto actually discussed of when to tell everyone about their relationship, not when their classmates did have a habit of nosing on business that weren't any of their business.
"If you are going to be protective over Naruto then let me remind you that Naruto can protect herself."
I think she will kill me if I do anything to break her heart. He exhaled and locked eyes with Bakugou. His classmate shoved his hands into his pocket and scowled, resembling a furious dog with those spikey blond hair and piercing red eyes. After a couple of second, the blond-haired boy clenched his jaws together.
"You think I don't know that shit? But I know Whiskers tells you shit that she won't ever tell anyone else," Bakugou growled. Shouto pressed his lips into a thin line while the blond-haired boy threw a glances at the door of Class B girls bedroom. "She trust the shit out of you and lets down her guard around you."
Don't hurt her. That was the underlying message in his words and Shouto paused. He did not know what the nature of Bakugou and Naruto's relationship but that message spoke a lot about the boy's feelings towards Naruto. There were a lot of things he could say to the older boy but there was only one thing that he could really tell him.
"You know I would never hurt her."
Bakugou eyed him for the longest time with his lips pressed into a very thin line. It was so strange for the older boy to act like this way. The older teen was always so loud, yelling at anyone who looked at him in the wrong way but the number of times he kept quiet could be counted with only one hand.
After a couple of minutes, the 16-year-old boy tore his eyes away from him and grunted. "If you hurt Whiskers in any shape or form then I will fucking kill you, the son of Endeavour or not."
He really cares about Naruto if he is willing to vocalize this much of his feelings. Shouto frowned and furrowed his eyebrows together. A wrinkled form on top of his forehead as Bakugou twisted his body away from him. The pit-patter of the rain pierced through the air, mingling in with the giggles and laughter from Class B girls bedroom.
"You should tell Naruto that you give a shit about her," Shouto finally said. He flickered his eyes towards the corridor and relaxed his shoulders at the lack of eyes peeking out of the door. The wood did not creak nor did the doors crept open. Only their light breaths echoed throughout the corridor and Bakugou finally clenched his hands together.
The blond-haired boy clicked his tongue. "I don't give a shit about Whiskers."
You do realize that you called me out of here because you care about her? Or you skipped school to check up on her when she didn't come to school? The words were just on the tip of his tongue but Shouto knew the boy would deny his words. His actions towards Naruto spoke volumes more then whatever bullshit that came out of his mouth.
"I believe you," Shouto said, schooling his expression into a blank one. Bakugou's ears twitched like he could hear the sarcastic undertone in his voice and the blond-haired boy swirled his head at him. I dare you to say what you actually want to say. That was what those red eyes told him and the mismatch boy raised a single eyebrow up to his hairline.
The teen grunted and clicked his heels together before twisting his whole body away from him.
"You better tell Whiskers that you fucking like her," Bakugou grunted. The blond-haired boy folded his arms against his chest and fixated his eyes on the door that belonged to Class B girls bedroom before moving to their own bedroom. "If you don't tell Whiskers then one of those horndogs will try to make a fucking move on her."
Shouto raised an eyebrow. "Do you really prefer me over them?"
Wouldn't you want her with someone who can openly show their emotions after knowing what she went through? The question was on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it down. If the Explosive Boy actually answered the question then Shouto didn't know how he would feel whether the male actually replied yes.
"I don't fucking care," Bakugou replied, shoving his hands into his pocket. Shouto blinked and tilted his head to the right. "But I prefer you and Spikey over those horndogs. Those bastards would fucking pressure the shit out of her."
Shouto's eyebrows twitched and the blond-haired boy grunted as his eyes fixated on the door. Red eyes gazed at the door for the longest time before flickering to him. Irritation flashed through his eyes like he knew what the hell was going through his mind. The mismatch boy arched one eyebrow at his classmate.
"It doesn't fucking matter what the hell I want or what I think," Bakugou informed him quietly as his eyes darted to the two doors. "Whiskers can and should decides who she wants to date and I will fucking respect her decision but I won't ever interfere with her love life."
Author Note: Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter and the story so far.