chapter title: an ice for an ice

notes: ice skating prompt for 12/24 for shouchakochristmasweek2018! I just thought it was so funny if todoroki couldn't ice-skate (even though in reality he probably skates super well) so i had to write a fic like this lololol but yeah hope you guys enjoyed!

disclaimer: i do not own my hero academia.

summary: Revenge is best served ice-cold.

It was a cold enough temperature now, and Todoroki Shouto was nervous.

This holiday season was the first Christmas that the couple was going to spend together since they had started dating.

He knew that she was going to ask him to engage in the dreaded activity as soon as the temperature hit below freezing. It wasn't his fault, really. Just because he could control ice as (half) his quirk didn't exactly mean he could slip and slide and glide over it the way normal people did.

With those shoes and those blades.

That's right—Todoroki Shouto was nervous to ice-skate.

Here's the thing: he had never had any trouble gliding over the ice when he had control of it (when he made his own course, really), but in a publicly controlled ice rink, with tall bladed ice skates and hordes of people pushing and crowding, he had the balance of a cartoon elephant slipping on a banana peel.

The result: a mess.

He had an incident, when he was 6 and his mother took him to an ice rink for a fun day off of training, that involved a stray shoelace, a very translucent wall, and a broken ankle. He swore off ice-skating after that.

But Uraraka loved ice-skating. And she was surprisingly good at it, too (He was sort of surprised, since she was extremely clumsy on land. She constantly tripped over her own feet and sometimes even air, and he always made sure to watch her out of the corner of his eye to catch her in case she fell.)

Today, here they were, at the local ice rink. He eyed the rink filled with civilians warily, before hearing a light giggle come from behind him.

"Oh, Shouto, don't look so tense," Uraraka laughed, resting a hand on his shoulder consolingly. "You look like you're going into a difficult battle."

He didn't respond, choosing to narrow his suspicious gaze instead. She didn't know—this was a difficult battle. One that he was pretty sure he would lose.

She handed him a pair of skates, and he took them, staring hard at the shoes of doom clutched loosely in his grasp. Why couldn't he just skate in his hero shoes? He did it all the time.

Honestly. Civilians.

Uraraka's amused giggle floated over him, and he was momentarily distracted by the her bell-like laughter. "Come on," she nudged gently, in the most encouraging demeanor possible. He put on the skates with her careful instruction, and they slowly approached the rink together.

With an excited squeal, Uraraka stepped into the ice gracefully, and he watched her slide and glide around like she had belonged there all her life. She swooped by with a strange elegance in her movements, and she whirled and twirled and even jumped (he was slightly nervous) but landed perfectly.

Wow. She was better than he thought.

Todoroki peered into the entrance cautiously, finding his nerves knotting in anxious anticipation. This was a terrible idea. It wasn't too late to back out—

"Shouto!" Uraraka had stopped right in front of him, beckoning him into the ice with her mittened hand.

Rats. Now he had no choice.

He lifted his leg gingerly and placed it on the smooth surface of the ice—so far, so good—and shifted his weight to lift his other leg onto the ice as well and—

Bam.

Uraraka snorted with barely concealed mirth, covering her mouth with her gloves, at the sad, crumpled form of her boyfriend on the ice floor, utterly defeated by his own element.

Todoroki glared at her obvious snickers from his position on the frozen ground, his rear feeling miserably sore already.

She then proceeded to guffaw obnoxiously at his disgruntled expression, and he had to wonder why he was dating her. When did he deserve this cruelty, he silently asked the universe.

The rest of the afternoon was not much better, and he had to resort to gripping the side of the wall like it was life or death in order to move a few inches at a time. Uraraka suggested that he use one of those kiddy handicaps that were shaped like penguins and he vehemently refused to look like an idiot (he still had his pride, dammit.)

As he fell for the umpteenth time that day, dragging Uraraka with him, he thought that maybe ice skating was just not for him. He really didn't want to ruin the holidays for her and be a pathetic boyfriend, but maybe this was just his limit. Todoroki frowned dejectedly, rubbing his overly bruised legs and nursing his overly bruised ego as well.

He was a failure.

"Shouto?" Uraraka seemed to pick up on his gloomy mood, her hand still clasped in his. "What's wrong?"

There was suppressed frustration seeping into his usually nonchalant expression. "I—I just—It's just that—" Todoroki exhaled in dissatisfied irritation (mostly at himself), before trying again. "I'm sorry for ruining our date."

Uraraka looked taken aback, her eyes wide with a million unanswered questions. "Wha—"

"I can't seem to skate for more than eight seconds at a time, and I've caused you to fall at least a hundred thousand times," He cut in, his frustration growing with every word he spoke. "My death grip probably caused your arm to numb, too…"

She immediately grabbed his hand in response, forcing him to make steady eye contact with her concerned chestnut gaze.

"Shouto," Uraraka comforted tenderly, her eyes softening at the sight of his stressed, creased forehead. "I don't mind at all—it's almost sort of funny, in a way." She laughed freely, and Todoroki relaxed minutely at the sound of her happy glee, despite her light jab at his sorrowful ineptitude.

"But really, this was so much fun, Shouto…" Her expression turned shy, and her gaze darted quickly away from his. "I just liked holding your hand," she mumbled with flushed cheeks and a bashful smile, and he was suddenly hyper-aware of the soothing warmth seeping through his gloves due to their interlocked hands.

Todoroki felt a slight tug at the upper corner of his mouth. She was adorable.

His chest felt warm and full, despite the chilling, dull ache that covered most of his limbs and joints from falling so many times. Uraraka's comforting heat emanated from their interlaced fingers, and Todoroki reluctantly decided that the humiliating pain was (almost!) worth it.

But for now, he was definitely done with ice-skating for the day. He didn't want to break his bones like Midoriya so often had no problem doing.

As the pair exited the ice rink, still hand-in-hand, Uraraka leaned into his shoulder lightly and flashed him a guilty grin. "Y'know, Shouto...do you want to hear a secret?"

Todoroki glanced at her in mild confusion.

"My secret to why I ice-skate so well," she clarified at his puzzled reaction.

His eyebrows shot up, and he nodded a bit too eagerly.

"Well," she giggled nervously, her lips pursing a bit in a contrite manner. "I...uh...float."

He stared at her.

"I've been working on how to seem like I'm seamlessly gliding on different surfaces, but in reality I'm just floating a few millimeters above the ground…" she explained quickly, her hands waving around wildly, slightly panicked. "Sorry to trick you like this…"

He just continued staring.

"I'm not actually that good at ice-skating, to be honest," she continued rambling, rubbing her neck anxiously. "Sorry, Shouto!"

He turned away crossly, his head shaking in righteous indignation. No wonder she was so good. Ridiculous. He was doubting his own masculinity, for pete's sake!

"Shouutttooo…" Uraraka cajoled teasingly, trying to get him to look at her.

Todoroki was not falling for those tricks. If he looked at her, he would give in to and forgive her and her stupid big brown eyes easily. Instead, he pulled her squarely into his chest.

"Wha—" Her voice was expertly muffled by his embrace.

Todoroki felt the girl in his arms slowly turn fuchsia, blushing furiously from head to toe. He smirked in amusement, knowing that she'd become super embarrassed by the sudden public display of affection.

"Payback," he whispered into her ear in the low, raspy voice that he knew would fluster her the most. He then released her, turning around to walk away nonchalantly as if nothing had ever happened.

The poor, red-faced girl was left, standing alone in peak embarrassment. "SHOUTO!"

.

He chuckled. It was just so much fun to tease her.

.

fin.

here's the way i pictured the kiddy handicaps shaped like penguins LOL: /2014/01/22/toddler-ice-skating-at-planet-ice/

but hahah merry christmas eve! :)

-soybeanprophecy