Chapter Fourteen
Next to him on the train, Kat wrung her hands.
Shoto reached over and grasped one. "Nervous?"
She looked up at him. "Who? Me? Of course not! I'm just about to meet your whole ass family at once, what's there to be nervous about?"
"You don't have to be. Trust me, they'll love you. Mom already does-they might just kick me out of the family and adopt you instead. And besides, my father won't be there so it's not my whole family."
"I just hope I don't say anything stupid." She squeezed his hand as if doing so would somehow reassure herself that his family's early Christmas wasn't anything to be nervous about. Though he knew it probably wouldn't do any good he still squeezed back. For all he knew, it would-and besides, he wanted to. "You know how stuff tends to . . . just fall out of my mouth."
"It'll be fine, I promise."
The presents sat between their legs. A couple for his sister, his brother, and his mom. They had to do Christmas early with his mom because of how insistent Endeavor was that they have it on Christmas Day, and obviously the two parents couldn't have it together. His mom never acted like she minded having it early. She was just happy to have her kids with her. She even made sure to make a special mention to Shoto that he needed to bring Kat, which launched his siblings into a barrage of questions about who she was. He wondered if they were expecting a friend . . . or a girlfriend.
She nodded. "Okay, I'll trust you, but just don't hate me if I accidentally make an ass of myself."
"Not possible, but okay."
All through the train ride he could hardly keep his eyes off her. He couldn't stop thinking about his talk with Levi.
She sent him a message to meet her after class without Kat. It was a strange enough occurrence to catch his attention-though she and Kat were best friends, Levi really only interacted with Shoto if the two happened to be with Kat at the same time. Same with Kat and Bakugo, really. Curiosity piqued, he agreed. After school, he made some excuse to get away and met Levi where she'd designated: outside the dorms.
"Hey, it's good to see you," she said as he approached. "I was almost worried you wouldn't be able to get away."
He shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. So what was it you wanted?"
"Let's go to dinner."
"What?"
"I'm starving, and we need to talk about this. So treat me to spaghetti."
Shoto deadpanned. "You don't get to tell someone they're going to treat you to dinner."
His words brought a wide, puckish grin to her lips. "Oh trust me, with what we have to talk about, I think I can."
And because he didn't know how to argue that point, Shoto agreed. The two went into the city to a small restaurant that sold Italian food. By the time they got there he'd gotten hungry too, so he ordered two plates. They found a spot tucked away in the corner of the restaurant by the window. For a long time, Levi just sat stuffing her face without saying anything. People bustled around them, silverware clinking against plates, a low murmur of voices humming all through the air.
"So what was it you wanted to say?" He finally asked.
Levi looked up at him with noodles hanging out of her mouth. She finished eating them and, after wiping her mouth on a napkin, leaned forward with her elbows on the table.
"Tell me, Todoroki, how do you feel about Kat?"
Though outwardly he made no change in his blank expression, on the inside Shoto felt like Levi had punched the air out of his lungs. Of all the things he imagined Levi might have needed to talk to him about (advice on an unwanted pregnancy with someone who held the surname Bakugo, for example) he didn't think she would just come right out and ask about his feelings for her best friend. And how was he supposed to respond? Was he supposed to say "I love her so much it hurts. I want to be around her all the time, and when I'm not with her it feels like I'm missing something important. I'd do anything for her if it makes her happy. I feel like knowing her has made me a better person, but I have no idea if she feels the same about me and I would rather keep all of this to myself rather than risk pushing her out of my life completely"? That didn't seem right.
He shrugged. "Why?"
"Because she's in love with you, that's why, and as her best friend it's my job to make sure you're not going to hurt her."
Heat washed into his cheeks. "She's . . . in love with me? What makes . . . what makes you think that?"
Levi groaned and pushed the loose hair out of her face. "Jesus, how is someone as smart as you this stupid? Did you never notice how she follows you around like a damn puppy? Todoroki, she hangs out with you more than she hangs out with me!" She shrugged, bit off a bit of a meatball, chewed it, then after swallowing added "Besides, I've been her friend forever. I know her. So trust me. Why did you think I was stealing your stuff?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I figured you were just a bored kleptomaniac."
"I mean, yes, that too, but also because I could see her falling in love with you-like, I could see it happening right in front of my eyes-and I wanted to talk to you."
"So . . . rather than just talking to me like you ended up doing anyway, you launched a full-scale war?"
"That was Kat's doing! This is the first time she's ever retaliated!" She breathed a little laugh and looked down at her dinner. "Which I guess just proves how in love with you she is." Her small smile faded, and she pushed the noodles around her plate. "I just want to protect her, Shoto. I don't want her to put herself in a position to get her heartbroken . . . though I guess it's already too late for that."
For what felt like a long time Shoto just stared at Levi as she leaned her chin into her hand. She no longer ate with the ferocity of a starving woman, but instead pushed her food around as if she could no longer stomach it. Not once had Levi ever called him by his first name. It only served to add weight to her words. She really was worried about Kat, probably more than Shoto could ever understand.
He sighed. "Listen, I'm not the kind of person that talks about this kind of stuff with just anyone. But I understand how serious this is for you so . . . I'm going to do my best." Shoto paused to gather his thoughts, then continued. "Levi, I'm going to tell you in no uncertain terms that I'm in love with her too, and I have been for a long time. I'm happy to hear she feels the same, and I swear you have nothing to worry about in regards to me hurting her."
Levi eyed him, unconvinced. "You know that if you tell her you love her, you can't take it back." Her voice drew thin and she must've heard it. She dropped her gaze as if embarrassed. "You can't tell her you love her, then change your mind after a while. If you don't think you can do that then you might as well tell her to buzz off now. I'm not going to watch her fall back into that dark place again because of you."
Every bit of Shoto went into not getting angry that she would just assume he'd hurt Kat like that. She was just worried about her and it wasn't as though they were good enough friends for Levi to just know that's not what he would do. Instead of getting upset, he just locked his gaze on her. "Levi, I promise you have nothing to worry about."
A small smile poked the corner of her lips. "Yeah, I guess I'm just being overprotective. I mean-I dyed your hair green and you're still here."
"Exactly."
"I do appreciate that, by the way. You stuck with her even through all of . . . that."
"Levi, not to put a challenge at your feet or anything, but I'd be with her no matter what you did. Clearly. You saw how she looks in yellow."
Days later and he still couldn't wrap his mind around it-the girl at his side on the train, whom he loved, loved him too. Though ultimately unnecessary he was glad he'd gotten Levi's blessing. It was nice to know the most important person in the world to Kat supported him whenever he decided to take the next step with her. Now it was simply a matter of working up the nerve.
The train stopped. They gathered up their presents and got off at their stop.
"You're sure I look okay?" Kat asked. They'd spent an hour trying to put together what she ended up wearing an off-the-shoulder, somewhat cropped black sweater with sleeves that covered her hands, black jeans, and her combat boots with the platform heels. She freaked out over the shirt, asking if it was too cropped. If it, paired with jeans, showed off her tummy too much. As if she had a tummy to worry about. Really all it did was make him want to push her up against the wall and kiss her on the small sliver of skin that showed between where her shirt ended and her jeans began. Knowing what he did from his talk with Levi, it was a desire he almost wasn't strong enough to fight against.
"You look great. I promise."
"I just don't want to show up and have them look at me and go 'oh look, Shoto brought a whore.'"
He laughed. "They wouldn't think that anyway, but especially not with what you're wearing today." She smiled at him, and when she looked away he couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off her. "You're beautiful."
Her face turned bright red. "W-Well! Aren't you feeling charming today?"
"Maybe a little."
Fuyumi and Natsuo were already in their mother's room by the time Shoto and Kat showed up. Everything had been done up in shiny silver accents, with green stuff that both looked like forestry decoration and like plastic imitation lined the doorway and around the window. Fuyumi must have brought their mother a small green Christmas tree and some tiny decorations at some point because one sat on the end table by her bed all lit up and sparkling. Right away he could sense Kat tensing up-but as afraid as she might have been about making an ass of herself, Kat somehow managed to flow into the situation with smiles and laughter that Shoto could tell won his siblings over. As Fuyumi took what they brought and put it with their own gifts, his mom got up to embrace her son and his friend, gushing about how happy she was that they were there.
How it was that someone like Kat, who worried so much about this kind of thing, could go from a nervous wreck to a breezy social butterfly was beyond him. But he was glad for it. As the afternoon wore into evening and Fuyumi went to get them something to eat from the hospital cafeteria, Natsuo threw an arm around his little brother and grinned at Kat.
"You know, you're the first . . . uh . . . friend from school Shoto introduced any of us to!" He ruffled his brother's hair, which both irritated and embarrassed Shoto. "You must be pretty special!"
"Nat-"
Kat laughed. "I guess I must be!" She put her hand over her heart. "Shoto! Is there something you're not telling me?"
That got Natsuo laughing and hard. He ruffled his brother's hair again and went to sit with their mom. As he got talking about a story from class, turning so he could address everyone in the room, Shoto took a step toward Kat. When he was close enough, she brushed her pinkie against the back of his hand and sent electricity jumping and popping up the length of his arm. All the embarrassment from Natsuo's teasing evaporated out of him and he smiled.
Yeah Natsuo, she is special. In fact, I'm in love with her.
"I'm back!" Fuyumi chirped as she opened the door, arms loaded with food. Shoto and Natuso hurried to help her and got everything arranged in the room so everyone could sit and eat comfortably. His brother sat next to their mother, with Fuyumi between him and Kat, and Shoto on Kat's other side. They began eating. Fuyumi smiled over at Kat. "So does your family have anything special planned for Christmas?"
"Oh, uh," she never let her smile falter, even though Shoto could tell talking about her family had made her uncomfortable. "Actually, my parents are coming in to stay with my aunt for the holidays."
"Really?" Shoto hadn't meant to say it out loud but realized that he did too late.
She nodded. "Yep!"
Despite the enthusiasm she forced into her voice he could tell the whole thing made her nervous. There had to be a way to direct the conversation elsewhere-
"What are your parents like?" Natuso asked. Shoto wished he could've hit him.
"They're good. They're pro heroes back in America . . . Misty Manta and Scarlet King."
"Oh I've heard of them!" Natsuo grinned. "That's pretty impressive! You know, now that you say that, you do look a lot like Misty Manta!"
Not a compliment, my poor idiot brother.
He couldn't begin to imagine how Kat must've felt finding out that her parents were in Japan-but he sure knew how he felt. It was impossible for Shoto not to think back on when she fell back into what she and Levi called her "dark place" because those people had made her childhood a living hell and James was the only one that made it bearable. They made her feel worthless, small, and invisible. It almost made him want to ask Levi for her aunt's address so he could burn that house to the ground in belated retribution for how they treated the girl he loved. It wasn't as though Levi wouldn't have happily gone along with it.
Luckily the rest of the night went much easier. They ate, talked with Shoto's family a little longer, opened presents-he'd gotten her a little Gudetama makeup bag, which made her make some sort of half-laugh, half squeal nose that was a mite too loud when she opened it. A shade of pink burned into her cheeks when she looked up and realized Shoto's family was looking at her. Their expressions morphed from mild confusion to outright shock when Shoto couldn't hold back a laugh at the whole thing.
And Kat got him a book. A book that, though it took him a minute to realize it, was a purchased copy of the one he borrowed from her that night they met. The night of Levi and Bakugo's stupid rematch.
Had his family not been so tightly gathered around them that would've been the moment he did it. The words sat on his lips waiting to fall-I love you, Kat-but he didn't say them. He thanked her emphatically for the book instead and relished the look of pride on her face.
After everything was finished and everyone said their goodbyes, Shoto and Kat walked back to the train station together bundled up in their coats against the cold winter night. Kat seemed to try to burrow her neck into her black leather jacket with the fur lining and the Twin Peaks references on the arms and across the back. Shoto breathed a little laugh at the sight.
"You didn't tell me your parents were coming to Japan."
"They're already here."
"What?"
She nodded. "They've been in town for two weeks. I've been doing my best to avoid them. Luckily I think they mostly forgot I live here so it hasn't been that hard."
"Are you . . . going to go to their Christmas thing?"
A gust of frigid wind whipped up Kat's hair. "I don't want to, but I have to. It's just one night. I . . . I can endure one night."
Sadness settled over him as he heard the melancholy in her tone, saw the way she wrapped her arms around herself as if to keep her pieces together. She might have been able to endure one night but that didn't mean he wanted her to have to on her own.
"I could go with you, if you wanted."
She stopped. He hadn't realized until he walked a few steps ahead, then turned to face her when he did. "You'd come with me?"
"Of course." He walked back to her. "Maybe it'll be easier if you have some backup." He smiled and hoped doing so would ease the nerves he knew Kat had. "Or, at the very least, you and I can make jokes at their expense. I don't imagine it would be that hard."
Whether he actually helped her or not didn't matter when he saw her smile. At least he managed that much. "You sure? It's not just my parents-its my sisters and brothers and probably a whole shit ton of other pros they want to rub elbows with. It's not like with your mom. It's going to be a whole thing."
Shoto held a hand out to her. "Then you'll have someone to avoid them with."
Light flooded into her eyes when she reached out and placed her hand in his. Hands clasped, Kat hopped to Shoto's side. Neither really noticed when their fingers laced. "Shoto Todoroki, you're in a mood today aren't you?"
"I have no idea what you mean." They started again for the train station.
"Look, you can't say stuff like that but keep that blank face. I can't tell if you're joking or not." She leaned on his arm. "You're just extra sweet today is all."
"Is that bad?"
"Not at all. I like it."
Tell her now, he thought as they approached the station. It's perfect. Just say it. Say "I love you, Kat." It's not like you don't know if she feels the same way. Just-
"Kat?"
She smiled up at him. "Yeah?"
Heat burned into his cheeks and he looked away. "Um . . . do you know if . . . this thing with your parents is casual or formal?"
"Formal, for sure."
"Oh good, then we can make every woman there jealous that you're there with this guy." He pointed at himself, and she laughed so hard she almost stopped breathing. It got him going too, and before long the two of them were standing at the train station laughing like maniacs over a joke he didn't think was particularly funny.
"Sorry! Sorry! I just didn't expect that to come out of you!" She wiped a rogue tear from her eye, and he couldn't deny the pride in his heart. "Seriously though, they really will be so jealous! After all, the loser daughter of Misty Manta and Scarlet King shows up with the best looking guy in the world on her arm-who would've expected that?"
The best looking guy in the world . . . he couldn't stop repeating those words in his mind, even as the moment faded away and they were on their way back to school. No one had ever called him that before. Not with the hideous scar torn across the left side of his face . . . and to hear it from her . . .
Shoto went blank staring at the great, sprawling mansion before them. People flooded in all dressed up in their finest, glittering with diamonds and gold. "Oh. I didn't realize you were rich. I guess I really should've let you treat me that day at the mall."
Next to him, wearing a gorgeous black sleeveless dress with a body-hugging form and tulle flowing out from around her waist, and with her Twin Peaks jacket on her shoulders, Kat squirmed. "Well-I mean-" she gestured at her dress. "Do you think I could afford this many goth clothes if I wasn't?"
He shruggd. "Fair."
"Though honestly, it's my family's money. Not mine. Levi convinced me I'm duty-bound to spend it if they were going to treat me the way they do and still give me a card-"
"Kat?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm joking." He held his left arm out to her. To match her black dress and black high heels with PVC bat wings against her ankles, Shoto decided to wear a black button-up shirt, black dress pants, and a red vest. When he showed up at her room and she saw how he looked-he didn't think she could've been happier if she tried. He even went to the extent of bringing a black jacket to wear over all of it while they were out in the snow. Though he was sure her jacket kept her arms warm and her black tights helped with her legs, he still offered to let her walk on his left side so his quirk could add just a little extra warmth. "Are you ready?"
She linked her arm with his. "Just remember, don't leave my side for a second."
He smiled softly. "Not a single one, I swear."
Together they walked in through the huge front doors and were swept into a sea of people Shoto recognized only by name, and even then he had to look hard to see it past their secret identities. Kat hadn't been kidding when she said her parents invited a whole slew of pros to hobnob with.
I guess if there's one thing I can say positively about my father, he thought as he and Kat grabbed a passing glass of champagne. He'd never go to this much trouble to get in good with anyone.
The night before the party Kat told Levi that Shoto was going to go with her to her parents' party. After recovering from how shocked she was that Kat hadn't bothered to tell her that "those assholes" were in town wore off, she turned her eye on Shoto. Something shifted between him and Levi since their talk. Where Levi once just saw him as that guy Kat hung around with sometimes, she now radiated an air of respect whenever she saw him. As if she finally accepted that the two were on the same level. Even if just tentatively.
"Congratulations," Levi said. "You get to meet the people responsible for this mess." She gestured at Kat.
"Hey!" Kat frowned at Levi, then shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, what can I say? She's right."
Levi made Shoto promise to burn something down while he was there. He hadn't intended to do it-but then decided to see how the evening went. If they were too cruel to her he might set a tablecloth or two on fire. Oops, wow, wonder who did that.
"Hey Shoto," Kat said as she lingered by a potted plant next to the archway leading to a huge parlor. She let her hand slip away until she held into his fingertips with her own. "Thank you for this. So far, it's been easy to get through."
"That was the goal," he sipped at his drink.
She looked down into the sparkling bubbles of her drink, sloshed it around a bit in its glass, then looked up at him from under her long, dark eyelashes. Levi convinced her to do whatever she wanted for her makeup that night-and because she did Shoto couldn't take his eyes off her. Dark eyeshadow and long, sweeping black cat-eye eyeliner, and black lipstick meticulously applied on her full, kissable lips. "You look great, by the way. Did I tell you that?"
Twice before they left, actually, but he didn't want to tell her that. He loved hearing it. On top of doing his best to match his outfit with her's in a show of solidarity, he also went to the trouble of styling his hair so it was all pushed back from his face. It was a pain in the ass to do but when she lit up after she saw it he decided the whole effort was worth it.
"Yeah, but I don't mind hearing it again." He cleared his throat and sipped a little more from his drink. He let his gaze slide up and down her body, taking in the way the heels made her legs look incredible. The way the high-collar of her dress made him want to reach around and unzip it just enough so he could brush his lips against the soft, delicate skin of her throat. He cleared his throat and pushed his gaze off her. "You look beautiful."
She blushed. "Thank you, Shoto."
"Oh, Kathryn! There you are!" A woman who looked like a taller, slightly older version of Kat with bleached blond hair glided over to them and linked her arm with Kat's. All at once Kat's demeanor changed-he could almost feel her tense up at the approach of this woman in white gossamer. A woman who didn't even know Kat's name. "I thought I saw you!" She turned her eyes on Shoto and he thought he saw her grimace. "Who's this?"
"This is Shoto. He's my-"
"I'm her boyfriend." He extended a hand to the woman. "Shoto Todoroki."
"Oh! how rude of me!" she placed her hand in his palm as if her fingers were something delicate and she didn't want him to break them. "My name is Vivienne. I'm Kathryn's oldest, and prettiest, sister."
Shoto shrugged. "That's funny."
"Why?" She grinned and flipped her wavy bleach-blond hair over her slender shoulder. "Because I look like her younger sister?"
"Nope, I was actually going to say because her name is Katrina, not Kathryn. Also, if I had to guess just by looking I'd say you were her mother. Also, I can see your roots."
Kat grinned as her sister melted. She waved him off and turned to her sister, all the muscles in her mouth tight and strained. "Kathryn, Mom and Dad are dying to see you!"
"I very much doubt that Vivi."
"They are! Come on!" She started to walk off with Kat, then tossed a glance over her shoulder at Shoto. "You can come if you want I suppose."
Kat's sister, Vivi, walked with Kat on her arm until they found her parents, then abandoned her to float over to them. Kat hung back as Shoto took his place beside her again. She leaned in and whispered "boyfriend?"
"I don't get why, but Levi told me to say it if I met your family. She said it would make them uncomfortable." He shrugged. "I'm guessing because she knew they wouldn't like my scar."
"I hate the reasoning behind why it works, but I'm glad you did it." She reached over and squeezed his hand. All at once whatever insult he might've felt at the prospect of being judged negatively by this gaggle of people he already hated evaporated. He hadn't come here expecting to like any of them. He just wanted to help Kat get through the night. He squeezed back. "Just be aware, Vivi was the mid-boss. Mom and Dad are like . . . end game material."
"Luckily you've shown me how to play a lot of your games, so I'm ready for the final boss."
Though even as he said it he hadn't expected her parents to be the two haughty socialites in the corner. She must've gotten her weak chin from her father, becuase her mother was all harsh angles and beady, leering eyes, and his was the roundest face Shoto had ever seen on a man. Her father's black hair was coifed back from his head as if he were proud of the lines drawn across his forehead. Her mother looked as though she hadn't eaten anything more than an olive in her entire life, her body hugged by a red dress that didn't suit her. Vivi waved at them as she, Shoto, and Kat approached.
"I found Kathryn!" Vivi announced.
She sounds like a dog begging for a treat.
"Thank you, Vivi," Kat's mother said, though she didn't sound all that appreciative. Vivi seemed to have been knocked off kilter by that. Had she hoped that her parents would praise her for fetching them? If what Kat told him was true, she was stupid to think something so simple would get any acknowledgment at all. Her mother walked away from her father and nodded at Kat. "Kathryn." She lifted her icy cold gaze to Shoto. "And who is this?"
"This is Shoto, Mom. He's my . . . my boyfriend."
Her mother raised a pencil-thin, probably drawn on eyebrow. "You look awfully familiar-what's your last name, boy?"
Though being referred to as "boy" irritated him, Shoto retained his composure. "Todoroki, ma'am. Shoto Todoroki."
"Todoroki . . . Todoroki . . . now why does that name sound familiar . . . ?" She turned and waved Kat's father over. "Henry! Dear! Where do I know the name Todoroki?"
"Ah!" Kat's father clapped his hands as he came to stop at his wife's side. "That's Enji! You remember, dear. Enji Todoroki."
"That's right!" Her eyes grew wide as she turned to look at Shoto. "Wait, are you Endeavor's son?"
"Unfortunately."
"Oh how wonderful!" Kat's mother seemed genuinely ecstatic to have Endeavor's son at her party. Ecstatic enough to ignore that he had said 'unfortunately.' Clearly, all that mattered to this woman was the fact that he was Endeavor's son. With every word, Kat's sister Vivi wilted. "It's lovely to have you here dear-and Kathryn, you said he was your . . . boyfriend?"
"Yeah, he's my boyfriend." She reached down and grabbed his hand as if wanting to make a point, though by the way her hand shook Shoto could tell she just wanted support. He gave her hand a squeeze.
"Good, good. Glad to see you've finally made a better class of friends." The horrible woman brushed her hair, which had been permanently melded into place around her head by what Shoto imagined was probably a staggering amount of hairspray, with the tips of her fingers. "Though to be honest, I don't see the appeal. Shoto dear, you could do so much better than Kathryn."
Okay Levi, you'll get your wish. I'll burn their fucking Christmas tree down.
"Actually, Katrina is one of the best people I've ever met." Anger propelled him forward, broke through any reservations he might have had about speaking these things aloud. He wanted them to squirm for treating her this way. Anger, it seemed, was stronger than shyness. "She's incredibly smart and beautiful- she's so much fun to be with and one of the kindest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing." Shoto let his gaze wander over to Kat, who blushed. "To be honest, I have no idea what she's doing with me."
Her mother shrugged, waving her hand in an indication of confusion. "Whose Katrina? Oh, dear, is he cheating on you already?"
"I'm Katrina, Mom. You know that. You named me."
"Well if he is cheating on you, I can see why." She reached over and took a few strands of Kat's hair between her fingers. "You really should get something done about this. It's so limp and unmanageable."
Kat stepped out of her mother's reach. "I spent three hours on my hair . . ."
"And that's the best you could do?" Her mother shook her head, tsking.
Shoto glared at her. "I think her hair looks fantastic." He smiled at Kat. "You did a great job. It's beautiful."
"Mom, Dad, I forgot to tell you!" Vivi swept back in. "I just got my thesis paper published! My paper is going to be part of the curriculum in Quirk Studies next year!"
"That's wonderful dear-how many tries did it take you again?"
Though Vivi never stopped smiling, it started to look to Shoto more like a grimace. "Six."
"Exactly. Don't be too excited."
Who were these people? Even with the way Endeavor treated Shoto and his siblings, they never had to argue for affection like this. Natsuo and Fuyumi and Toya-they might have been treated differently than Shoto, but none of them scrambled like this. And this is what Kat had to grow up with? No wonder James leaving hit her so hard. Shoto only had to be around these people for a few minutes and he already wanted to rip his hair out. He couldn't imagine eighteen years with them.
And they're heroes?
Shoto put a hand on the small of Kat's back. "You should see Kat at school-she's one of the strongest in our class."
"One of the strongest?" Her father asked. "Not the strongest?"
Who should I set on fire first? You or your wife? "Our teacher is the toughest grader in the school and Kat still got a B on our last Quirk Evaluation test." But getting a B with an unsympathetic teacher didn't appear to carry as much weight as Shoto thought it would. So he added, "I only got a C."
Kat put a hand on his chest. "Shoto, it's fine. It-"
"No Kat, it's not fine." He clenched his jaw. "You people are disgusting. You can't even appreciate how wonderful your daughter-" he glared at Vivi. "-Or your sister-" back to her parents "-is! She wants so much for you to love her and you just don't! I'm not even sure if you're capable of it! All of you make me sick."
Her parents tsked at each other and Vivi beamed, probably knowing that Shoto's outburst would knock Kat down a few points in the minds of their parents. Enough that Vivi might be able to climb over her anyway.
"Well, that's unfortunate," Henry Garrison said as he dropped his empty champagne glass on a passing tray without so much as looking. "I had hoped Endeavor's son would be raised better than this. You're really incredibly uncivilized!"
"Shut the fuck up Dad."
Everyone turned to look at Kat. Henry frowned. "What did you say?"
"I told you to shut the fuck up!" Shoto heard the wobble in Kat's voice, felt her shaking. He tried to find a way to swoop in and save her but she didn't give him the chance. "Shoto is right-you're all disgusting! No wonder James ran away! Shit, it's no wonder I ran away! You probably didn't even notice I was gone!" She shook her head. "You can talk shit about me-there's clearly nothing I can do about that-but I'm not going to let you stand there and insult him!" She raised a hand and put it on Shoto's arm.
"Kathryn, lower your voice!" Her mother hissed. "You're an embarrassment to this family!"
"Good! Fantastic! Then you won't miss me! Once we walk out that door you're never going to see me again!" She threw her drink on the ground and the delicate glass shattered. "Believe it or not, I've got people who love me! Actually love me! And you know what? I'd rather go spend Christmas with them than be here one more second!" She stepped on the glass and ground it into the carpet with her heel. "I'm finished with this fucking family!"
A hush settled over the room as the last of Kat's words vanished beneath the piano player struggling not to lose rhythm despite the outburst. She grabbed Shoto's hand and stormed out of the house. Quietly, in the back of his mind, Shoto was glad neither of them had taken off their jackets. They probably should've but no one said anything about it and Kat wasn't crazy about handing her favorite jacket to a stranger, so they wore them regardless.
He pulled her to a stop right before they left the room. He turned and faced them. "One last thing, her name is Katrina. Not that any of you have any right to say it."
On their way out of the house, Shoto may not have set fire to anything but he sure did leave a good burn on one of the expensive sets of curtains by the front door. Once out in the bracing cold Kat raced to the edge of the property with more skill and precision than he would've expected from someone with her level of coordination wearing heels as high as her's.
"Kat-"
"I hate them Shoto." She muttered as they walked. She drew her arms tight around herself, but he suspected she was too keyed up to really feel the cold wind as it blew the freshly falling snow around. "I really fucking hate them."
"Kat, hold on-"
"I can't believe I came tonight." She laughed and tears slipped down her cheeks. Each one dragged with it a bit of her black makeup, smearing it all down her face. "I'm so fucking stupid! Then they started talking shit about you and-!"
"Hey, hold on." Shoto got in front of her and held her in place. By that time they were already on the sidewalk and a decent amount of the way away from the house. Her bottom lip quivered and broke his heart. "Where are we going?"
"Back to school, I guess. I don't know."
But he didn't want to go back to school yet-not while she was so hurt. He didn't want to give her up to everyone else in their class until he had time to soothe the wounds those awful people inflicted on her heart. He nodded over his shoulder. "There's a park just a little ways away. Let's go for a walk. Here, walk on my left side and I'll keep you warm."
She nodded and they walked in silence. It was a small victory to see her calm down enough not to go racing blindly through the streets.
It was no big surprise to find the park abandoned when they got there. It was too cold and too late at night for anyone to be there, aside from a few homeless that Shoto just assumed were there. Snow covered every surface and the soft yellow glow from the street lights scattered around the park winked off the flurries of snow. Little specks of white landed in Kat's hair, looking like stars against a deep black night.
"I'm proud of you, Kat," He said softly. "You really stood up to them. I bet that took a lot, and you did a good job."
She shrugged. "Thanks." She sniffled and rested her head against his arm. "What hurts the most, I think, is that they're right."
"No, they weren't."
"You don't even know what I'm talking about."
"Doesn't matter. Everything that came out of their mouths is wrong."
Kat walked away from him and went to lean on a nearby tree. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket but only succeeded in smearing her ruined makeup sideways. "I know all of that about you being my boyfriend was just something to mess with them but . . . they had a point. Shoto, I don't know why you want to hang out with me. I don't . . . I don't bring anything to the party here, okay? You have to help me so much with everything and I can't do anything right and-"
"Listen," Shoto closed the distance between them. Snow crunched under his black dress shoes. "That's bullshit. I meant what I said back there." He reached a hand up and brushed her hair out of her face. Instead of taking his hand back, he just kept doing it. "You're so smart, Kat. So smart, and more beautiful than anyone I've ever met before-and you're so fucking kind. You went into a house full of people who I don't think are capable of feeling anything at all, and part of you hoped something would've changed, didn't you? You hoped those awful people would've seen that something isn't right and changed it. I'm just sorry it didn't work out that way. Do you even understand how incredible I think that is?" He moved his hand out of her hair and brushed his fingers along her jawline. "And you have no idea how happy you make me just by being in the room. When you smile at me its like . . . like nothing else matters. I could've had the worst day of my life but just seeing you smile is enough to make it the best day. And when I hear you laugh? Kat, that's the best sound. You've made me laugh more times since I met you than I have in my whole life. Don't you dare let those people-" he gestured in a vague direction. "-tell you what you're worth, because they have no idea. You let them in and they'll just keep hurting you until there's nothing left. You were right to tell them you were done. You don't need them if they're going to treat you that way. You've got me, and Levi, and fucking Bakugo for that matter-and everyone else in our class, and my mom and Natsuo and Fuyumi-there's so many people who love you for who you are, Kat, with no strings attached. You don't have room for those assholes back there."
Back pressed against the tree and her eyes wide, Kat took in everything that had come falling out of Shoto in the heat of the moment. Then a small smile lit up her face. She wiped the new tears away with her sleeve. "Shoto Todoroki, do you know what you are?"
"What?" He asked, just relieved that she was smiling.
"You're my hero."
Those words-they were so simple, and to anyone else might not have meant anything at all-were enough to rock him at his core. They knocked the wind out of his lungs. They made him realize he really was hopeless when it came to her.
Shoto stepped forward and brushed his lips against her's. She hesitated at first, then the longer he kept the kiss going the more she melted into it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he slipped his around her waist. He hugged her close, deepened the kiss. When they stepped out of it she was bright red.
"I love you, Kat."
The words left him breathless as they fell from his lips, but at the same time he was glad he finally said them. She looked into his eyes for a moment. Then the shock wore off and she smiled wide.
"I love you too, Shoto."
That time she kissed him. They stood beneath that tree in the park while the snow fell all around them, his arms around her waist and her arms around his neck.