Chapter Four
Elena POV
It's finally the weekend. Elena and the rest of the girls have a plan to hang out, and she has been looking forward to it all week.
"Let's dress up tonight and go out!" Mina proposes, as she catches up to the other girls. Afternoon classes have just ended and the students all feel relaxed as they walk back to Heights Alliance, their dorm, for a weekend of relaxation.
"Nooo, I hate dressing up," Jirou whines. Elena isn't surprised by Jirou's reluctance to dress up, seeing as how Jirou hates all things girly.
"Pleeeeaseeeee! I am so sick of these uniforms. We need to dress up, do our makeup, and go to that night market!" Mina says, twinkling her hands in front of her face for special effect. Elena's eyes widen.
"Night market? I always wanted to go to the night market!" Elena exclaims. Her mother had always been too busy to take her as a child but she had always wanted to see the lanterns and food stands.
"Don't encourage her," Jirou groans. Elena and Mina both pout their lips, each tugging on one of Jirou's arms.
"I would love to go to the night market! They have an excellent imported tea booth, and I have been running low on my English breakfast tea!" Yaoyorozu says, smiling supportively. Mina and Elena high five, having won another vote.
"Fine, we can go to the night market. But there's no reason to wear dresses to a market," Jirou protests.
"The reason that we are wearing dresses is because we are beautiful, sophisticated, and powerful women. Meet at 6 PM!" Mina calls over her shoulder while happily skipping away. Uraraka and Elena laugh, while Jirou sighs in defeat.
"Cheer up Jirou-chan. There will be live musical performances-ribbit," Tsuyu says, affectionately patting her back. Jirou's eyes slightly light up at the mention of live music.
"Wow! I wonder what I will wear! I wish that I could wear the dress that I borrowed from you Momo-chan, but it got destroyed on I-Island," Uraraka says, slightly frowning. Yaoyorozo laughs it off.
"I have plenty more dresses that you can borrow!" Yaoyorozo insists, as they all begin walking to their dorm rooms.
Elena's dorm is on the fifth floor, next to Tsuyu's. Her room is simple and clean. She has a cart in her room full of medicinal herbs and medical supplies. Although she technically isn't licensed to, she often creates medicinal concoctions and poultices which she tries on herself. She has only become critically ill from trials once or twice.
She jumps onto her bed, happily deflating into the soft mattress.
Walking to the dorms after classes feels so natural and good, like something all normal high schoolers do. Elena savors the moments with the girls especially because they are her first group of real friends.
After reviewing the files of the students in another class, Elena begins preparing for the night market. It's early September so Elena is excited to wear a dress before it becomes too cold to.
She opens her wardrobe, checking her options. She doesn't have too many dresses, but decides to wear a white satin slip dress that reaches past her knees and a thin strappy black heel.
She notices that her hair is getting far too long, but can't bring herself to cut it anytime soon. Leaving her hair down, she braids the pieces framing her face into a headband. She carefully applies a thin layer of eyeliner, accentuating the catlike shape of her eyes. She naturally has tan skin and freckles along her cheeks and nose which she doesn't bother covering up with foundation.
To finish off the look, she paints her lips with a coat of red lip gloss. Elena smiles at her reflection. There is no shortage of adjustments that could be made to improve her appearance, but she feels like enough in the moment.
Below in the common room, her friends are waiting for her. Elena becomes more excited, seeing them dressed up for their evening out.
Uraraka, wearing a tight black dress that accentuates her curvy figure, excitedly waves Elena over. The girls spend a few minutes gushing over how beautiful the others look and they are off. The walk to the subway station is a flurry of conversation and laughter as they stroll through the warm, September evening.
Elena walks beside Tsuyu who is wearing a white blouse and a navy blue skirt. Tsuyu is telling a story about her hero internship last semester when she helped stop smugglers from entering Japan. Elena is enthralled by her story, amazed by her classmate who had played such a huge role in stopping a real criminal.
"We're here!" Mina announces, pointing towards the night market.
Elena gasps.
Rows of booths have been set up alongside the river which is moving lazily along. Merchants are selling handmade goods and jewelry, while restaurants have set up booths of delicious hot foods, desserts, and drinks. Children are running around, as their parents sit down on nearby chairs. Lanterns hanging from wooden posts illuminate the night sky, twinkling. The air is crisp and warm, full of different delicious scents swirling around.
"Hello classmates! Isn't it a lovely evening?" she hears Tenya yell. The girls giggle at his formal voice. Tenya and Midoriya are approaching them.
"Wow! You all look so beautiful!" Midoriya awkwardly exclaims, waving at them far too excitedly. They are dressed in casual clothes, but seem to have been waiting expectantly for the girls.
"This is supposed to be a girl's night!" Mina pouts, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Well, Uraraka invited us along and we wanted to see the Pro Hero booth! They are selling All Might merchandise! Some of the other guys are here too!" Midoriya exclaims. Uraraka apologetically rubs Mina's back, but Elena is focused on wanting to see the hero booth.
She begins looking around, trying to find it before Midoriya can.
To her surprise, she sees Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Kaminari approaching the group which has begun congregating in the center of the night market.
Todoroki is wearing a black hoodie, white t-shirt, black jeans, and his usual gloomy expression. His hair hangs low against his face. It's Elena's first time seeing him in casual clothes and he looks much more approachable out of his school uniform.
The girls greet them happily, and the large group of classmates begins splitting up into smaller groups as people decide what they want to do first.
Elena is still deciding between the Pro Hero booth or a food booth. Seeing as how Midoriya is sprinting full speed towards the All Might merchandise and will likely take all the good ones, she decides to choose a food booth.
"Hi Elena-chan."
Todoroki is standing there. She realizes that all of her classmates have already walked off, leaving her alone with Todoroki. Elena suddenly feels slightly self-conscious in her dress, pursing her sticky lip gloss coated lips together.
"Hi," she responds, breathlessly.
They stand there for a few seconds, silently waiting for the other person to speak.
"Do you want to eat zaru soba?" he asks, nodding his head towards the food booths. She remembers how he seems to really enjoy soba. She agrees and they begin walking.
"How was your day?" he asks. Elena is surprised that he is engaging in a normal, non-Quirk related conversation with her.
"It was actually.. really nice," she says, thinking about how happy she was feeling. She smiles warmly. "I really like spending time with the girls."
"Oh... I'm sorry. Would you rather be with them right now? We can probably find one of them around here," he says, looking around for one of the girls.
"Oh no! That's not what I meant," she laughs.
Despite being one of the strongest and smartest students, Todoroki severely lacks the ability to detect sarcasm or figurative speech. He is as earnest and sincere as a puppy, and it takes every ounce of Elena's conscience not to mess with him.
"Do you have any plans for the weekend, Todoroki-kun?"
"I'm going to see my mom," he says.
At the mention of his mom, Elena's curiosity bubbles over. After having witnessed his traumatic childhood memory, she wants to ask him more questions, but doesn't want to come off as pushy. She wants to use her Quirk to observe what he is feeling, but worries that she might become overwhelmed with traumatic memories like last time.
Instead, she decides to turn her Quirk off for the night, and just experience a regular evening with a regular guy on a regular Friday.
Except that Todoroki isn't a regular guy.
Standing to the right of him, Elena can see his right side well. His white hair is the color of the ice he produces. But Elena doesn't think this is a fair comparison. Ice doesn't effortlessly sway in the wind like his hair does. The shiny varnish catches the light from the lanterns surrounding him like a gentle halo, and she can't help but want to reach out and run her fingers through it.
She can hear people whispering about him as he passes by and girls fawning over his attractiveness. He is well-known after his amazing performance in the Sports Festival and for being the son of Endeavour. Yet he doesn't seem to notice the buzz around him, as he intently searches for zaru soba.
Elena is amazed by all of the food booths.
She sees Uraraka practically inhaling two or three strawberry mochis at the same time, while Midoriya and Tenya urge her to pace herself.
She and Todoroki stop in front of the zaru soba booth. Before she can place an order, Todoroki quietly orders two portions of zaru soba. She realizes that he has bought her soba.
Does that mean we are on a date? What constitutes a date? Does he just want to eat two sobas? she thinks.
"Let's sit over there," he says, walking towards a small table alongside the river. It's a pleasant feeling following behind him.
Todoroki POV
Todoroki's hands never get sweaty.
His right hand has always been too cold to produce sweat, while his left hand is always consistently too warm to.
Yet currently, his palms are clammy and sweaty. He wipes them onto his jeans, after setting down the two trays of soba onto the table.
Elena looks beautiful tonight.
Her long white dress glows angelically, and he can't keep his eyes off of her pouty red lips. An avalanche of thick brown hair falls along her back, framing her freckled features. Todoroki traces her bare shoulders with his eyes, noticing the crevices of her collarbone. He closes his eyes before they can settle on a different dangerous part of her sun-kissed body.
It doesn't feel fair to enjoy her beauty without her permission, but Todoroki doesn't know what else to do sitting across from her. Is this burning sensation in his chest just attraction?
"... and that's why heroes shouldn't wear capes," he hears her say, finishing a story that he had completely missed. He awkwardly stares at her, unsure if he should ask her to repeat it or just nod as if he had heard the whole thing.
He decides to just begin eating his soba, which is delicious.
She is eating too. As she slightly leans over to eat, Todoroki notices her cleavage is slightly exposed. His palms are sweating again, and he doesn't know what is happening to him.
"Elena, what does it mean if I suddenly feel really hot and sweaty? And my stomach feels like I'm going to vomit?" he asks. She looks up, slightly frowning and her green eyes are wide with concern.
"What are your other symptoms?" she asks, instinctively reaching for his forehead to check his temperature, like his mom used to as a child. The sensation of her soft, small hand on his face sends his body temperature skyrocketing more, that burning sensation in his stomach demanding his attention. "Oh, you are burning up. Maybe we should get you back to your dorm?"
"No! No! You are enjoying this a lot right? I'll just.. Uhm," he stammers, knowing that he isn't sick at all. He creates a brick of ice with his hand and practically slams it onto his forehead, trying to cool himself down although it melts quickly.
"Don't worry about me. You might be sick," she says, scooting her chair closer to him to examine him further. He can fully see her body now, which is being softly illuminated by the overhead lanterns. His eyes are following the curves of her body to dangerous places, and he is fully panicking now that she will realize what his mind is on with her Quirk. He needs to calm down but her body is so close.
"Where are we?"
"I.. uh… I.. UA?"
"What's your name?"
"Uhhm.. uhh. I.. what?"
"Oh my god, Todoroki. We need to go to the dorms now, come on," she says, grabbing his hand and marching towards the subway station. Before Todoroki can gather his thoughts, Elena has somehow managed to get him onto the subway as he blubbers like an idiot.
It's completely selfish and Todoroki knows that he doesn't have a real fever, but he can't help but enjoy being coddled by her. Her presence is warm and attentive and he isn't used to being cared for by anybody. If it means enjoying this for a few moments longer, Todoroki is willing to feign sickness.
But maybe he really is sick because he cannot form a single coherent sentence, as she continues touching his face and hands and leading him into the dorms. He continues burning up, worrying Elena more and more.
Suddenly, he finds himself opening his dorm room, as she leads him inside. Todoroki nearly passes out cold when she quickly begins taking off his hoodie and t-shirt and reaches for his belt buckle. His hands fly out, stopping her from undressing him further.
"What Todoroki! You have to be comfortable! You can't sleep in your jeans," she says. He realizes that she is completely in nurse mode and would have just changed his clothes without hesitation. He slightly wishes he hadn't stopped her, but fears what may have happened if he had allowed her to keep going.
"I-I can change myself," he says awkwardly.
"Okay! I'll be back! I have medicine for you! Change and get in your bed!" she says, practically sprinting down the hall to her room. Just as he has finished changing out of his jeans and into his track pants, Elena swings the door open, marching in with medical supplies in hand. She has taken off her high heels and is barefoot, completely determined to treat a patient who isn't really sick.
Todoroki's shirtless chest is burning with embarrassment, as she practically slams him onto his bed and begins checking his temperature and blood pressure.
"You definitely have a fever. And you're sweating so much! I'm worried you might have the flu," she says, gently dabbing the sweat off of his face with a damp towel. Her intimate motions leave Todoroki's mouth dry, and he fumbles to process what is happening. Somehow he is shirtless in his room, alone with Elena who is taking care of him for an imaginary sickness. How did they get here?
Her warm green eyes are twinkling with concern as she continues wiping his face with a towel.
"Are you feeling good?" she asks, after a few minutes have passed. She has placed a cold towel on his forehead, and she is sitting on her knees beside the bed. He doesn't know what to say.
Yes, it feels good to have her caring for him.
Yes it feels good to be the sole object of her attention as she treats him.
Yes it feels good to lie down in his bed, with Elena close enough to touch.
But this desire in the pit of his stomach, burning with a heat that he doesn't recognize or understand, does not feel good. He doesn't know what is wrong with him.
"Can you try creating some ice? I think that will help your body naturally reduce its temperature," she suggests, lifting the towel off of his face. He is still laying down, but lifts his right hand up towards the ceiling and begins absentmindedly shooting thin layers of ice.
Elena's gasp catches his attention, and his hand falls down. He looks up and realizes what he has created. Thin snowflakes are swirling throughout his room, gently following the breeze entering from the balcony. The moonlight peeking through the windows bounces off to create moving shadows on the walls of his dorm. He has created a snow globe.
Elena is still sitting on her knees, looking up at the ceiling in wonder. Her mouth is slightly ajar, overwhelmed by the beauty of Todoroki's delicate creation.
Watching her enjoy the sight, Todoroki realizes something.
The source of his sickness is Elena, but she also seems to be the medicine.
She reaches out to catch a snowflake, before it melts in her warm hand. In the same way, he feels that something about her is melting something within him.
Elena checks his temperature again, before instructing him to drink plenty of water. She inserts her phone number into his phone and tells him to call her if he starts feeling sick again, before quietly closing the door and leaving his room.
Todoroki is alone, staring up at his creation.
The snowflakes have all melted when he finally falls asleep, a small smile on his lips.