Authors Note: So everyone seemed to like the last chapter. So I wanted to do something more modern day with the idea too. I own nothing.

A Little Bitter

The discussion of father's was one that Todoroki was wholeheartedly trying to avoid. Class had ended about ten minutes ago, everyone heading together to the lunch room. He'd decided to join Midoriya and her friends at their table. The talk had turned to their fathers when Uraraka had brought up that she didn't know what to get her father for his birthday. They all seemed to have clued in that Endeavor wasn't a good point of conversation, likely from his loud proclamations at the sports festival that even the ever optimistic Present Mic hadn't been able to twist to encouragement. So instead Uraraka had turned to Midoriya.

"What about you Deku?" She shrugged.

"I haven't seen my dad since I was three. I have no idea." Her matter of fact statement made everyone at the table blink. Uraraka looked devastated and Midoriya quickly backtracked. "Oh no I'm sorry. He's been working abroad, since I was three." The excuse sounded lame, even to Todoroki. The usual glimmer in Midoriya's eyes had gone out and she quickly stood taking her half finished tray with her. "I just remembered I need to talk to All Might about a thing." With that lame excuse she scurried away. After she had dumped her tray she bumped into Bakugou who turned to yell at her like normal but stopped short. She seemed to apologize and scurried completely out of the lunch room. Bakugou's friends looked after her, concern on every face as Bakugou stalked over to their table.

"Ok what the fuck did you bastards say to Deku to make her cry?" Todoroki blinked.

"Isn't making her upset usually your job?" He asked the blonde, feeling a bit defensive at the thought of doing anything that would upset Midoriya to the point of tears. Bakugou glared at him and would have snapped at him if Uraraka hadn't spoken.

"I just asked her about her dad." Bakugou deflated slightly at that, glancing over his shoulder at the door Midoriya had left through.

"Fuck, yeah that would do it." Iida raised a concerned eyebrow.

"I don't understand, if her father is working abroad then why does mentioning him upset her so much?" Bakugou snorted.

"So she fed you that line too. It's all Auntie Inko would say when I asked where he was when we were little." Bakugou growled slightly then plopped himself down in Midoriya's vacated spot and spoke lowly so only those at the table would be able to hear him.

"I don't want you fuckers spreading any of this around. Deku's dad is a piece of shit. He left when she was three, he hasn't so much as visited since." Uraraka went pale. Iida looked off after Midoriya and Todoroki felt his anger spike. Bakugou continued. "At first, he'd call them every week, then once a month, then just on holidays and birthdays. Then he just stopped calling, about five years ago. Auntie Inko likes to kid herself that the fucker is coming back. But Deku isn't that stupid. She figured out a while back that he doesn't give a shit about them. She doesn't like talking about it though. Pretends to believe what Auntie Inko told her. SO if you don't want to upset her don't bring that bastard up around her." Iida and Uraraka nodded but Todoroki wasn't paying attention to the explosion user anymore. Bakugou shook his head as Todoroki got to his feet and left via the same door Midoriya had left through.

It didn't take him long to find her. Her sniffles gave her away. She was sitting in the empty classroom trying to pull herself together before the other students arrived. Todoroki cleared his throat and she jumped quickly plastering a painfully fake smile onto her face.

"Oh Todoroki! I hope you didn't just leave lunch to come after me! I'm fine. Not that you would… I mean…" She cut off her own babble as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. The fake smile cracked and fell away and she sobbed into the handkerchief. He had never been very good with crying people. "Did Kacchan tell you?" He nodded and she buried her face deeper into the piece of cloth. "Why wasn't I good enough?" She sobbed out the words like she would break if she kept them inside and something in him pushed him forwards.

"If he didn't think you were good enough he was a complete idiot." She hiccupped in surprise like she'd forgotten that he was even there. But he kept talking. "You are one of the best people I know. You care so deeply about everyone. You are going to be an amazing hero." He had crouched so he was eye to eye with her where she sat at her desk. She sobbed one more time into the handkerchief and sniffled before blowing her nose. She looked at him her eyes bloodshot and still shining with unshed tears. He kept going hoping to make her smile. "You are the most intuitive person I know. You helped me through something no one else even realized was a problem." He looked down at his left hand. "You gave me back my power, don't let him take yours." She sniffled again but nodded, a small smile on her face, but he called it a triumph anyway. She glanced at the handkerchief and went bright red.

"I'm sorry. I'll wash this and get it back to you." Todoroki shook his head.

"It's fine, you keep it." They both jumped at the sound of the door opening, leaping apart like they'd been burned. Yaoyarozu looked at them in confusion as Midoriya quickly turned in her seat and buried her head in her text book and Todoroki went to his own desk and began to prepare for the next lesson. She shook her head and went back to focusing on her studies.