A/N:
This one is on the shorter side of things, but there's a good mix of fluff and other shenanigans.
Again, keep in mind that this story is honestly just interconnected fluff one shots with the occasional plot.
Chapter 9: steven wants to commit murder (and shoto wants to let him)
Steven splashed some water on his face, leaning over the sink in emotional exhaustion. Looking in the mirror, he could see that the pink discoloration had spread to his entire face, and he swore he wouldn't let it get any worse.
With that thought, he dried himself off and sat down on the bed— his bed, rather, seeing as no progress had been made on him returning home, meaning he might be stuck here for a very long time. He'd pulled up satellite imagery of every warp pad location he could think of, and not only did none of them give him anything useful, most places were completely different to what he remembered from home.
It was a scary thought— did Gems even exist in this universe? Clearly they never made it to Earth, and without a way of contacting them even if they were somewhere among the stars Steven had no way to contact them.
He gingerly picked up his new guitar, the weight and feel already familiar in his hands. Maybe he didn't have his therapist, so he couldn't really work through his anger and stress like that, but music always had a calming effect on him.
Steven's thumb brushed against the low E string, left hand already fretting a G chord in preparation. From that moment on, time blurred together. Chord progressions filled his mind, subconsciously adding embellishments whenever necessary, and his fingers gracefully danced across the fretboard by pure instinct.
It was a testament of his skill that he managed to make the next hour of guitar interesting to listen to, had anyone been listening in. Steven was shaken out of his musical trance by someone knocking at the door, and before he let them in he checked himself in the mirror.
Still pink, but no longer dangerously so. Good. It still looked as if he were constantly blushing, but that was more than manageable.
With a cautious click, Steven turned the doorknob and opened the door the slightest bit. "Yes?"
The student on the other side— Sato, he was sure— cleared his throat awkwardly. "U— Steven," he hastily corrected, "on behalf of my classmates, I'd like to personally offer my apologies. Monoma should never have been allowed in, and he didn't do anything good."
He raised his arms, holding in them a tray of… cookies?
"I figured you might not be feeling too good, so I went ahead and baked you some chocolate chip cookies," Sato smiled. "Of course, if you don't like them, I can make something else—"
Steven opened the door all the way and shook his head frantically. "Please, you don't have to! Really, the cookies themselves are already a little much."
"Don't worry about it. I bake a lot, and I can't eat too much of my own baking since my quirk activates off of sugar," he confided. "I do love sharing it with others, though."
He looked at the small tray of cookies, and he had to admit that the gooey chocolate was pretty mouthwatering. "Alright, I'll accept the cookies," he grinned. "Thank you. It's not your fault, or anyone else's, really. I wasn't having the best day to begin with, and Todoroki's suspicion was somewhat justified. And, uhh, when I'm feeling better, would you mind if I join you in baking? Back home, my friend Lars was teaching me some things and I figured…"
"No, totally!" Sato agreed readily. "Whenever you're up to it, if I'm not downstairs I'm on the floor above you, second room on the left."
"Thanks, again!" Steven said, placing the cookies on the nearby desk. "It was nice of you to drop in."
"No problem," he waved and closed the door. Steven looked at it, touched by his act of kindness. He bit off a chunk of still-warm cookie, and almost moaned at how good it tasted. He'd have to get the recipe at some point— these were delicious.
It was twenty minutes (and four cookies) later that someone knocked on the door again. He had half a mind to just ignore them, but he didn't want to be rude in case there was a legitimate issue (or, perhaps, someone else with a peace offering of baked goods).
Steven opened the door, only to find on the other side a student he really didn't feel like talking to at the moment.
"Todoroki," he schooled his expression into something resembling neutral.
"Steven," the scarred boy replied in an equally deadpan tone. Except… was he blushing? "I came to apologize."
Steven blinked. "I'm sorry?"
He nodded. "Yes, I wanted to say that."
Did Todoroki just make a joke? Honestly, he seemed so ignorant of social cues (not that Steven could claim the opposite) that it was hard to tell. He just opened the door a bit wider and gestured. "Uhh, come in, I guess?"
The boy walked inside, coming to an awkward stop in the middle of the room. "As I said," he began, "I believe I need to apologize. I was suspicious of your origins and the outlandish stories you told, and as a result I felt the need to accost you."
"That—"
"Furthermore," Todoroki barreled forward as if he was reading a script, the red on his cheeks deepening. "I did nothing to prevent Monoma's harassment of you. I realize now that, even if you are not an alien as you say, your lack of a quirk combined with your previous demonstrations of your abilities means that you might as well not be of this world."
He ended the apology with a deep bow, and Steven struggled to find a non-awkward way to respond. "I a-accept your apology?" he said, a questioning lilt entering the sentence. When Todoroki didn't rise from his bow, Steven coughed into his fist and added, "You can get up now."
He looked at the boy standing opposite him, and almost laughed to himself. Todoroki really didn't mean anything bad, if the stiff, blushing mess he was right now signified anything.
Steven relaxed. "Don't worry," he smiled. "I know you didn't mean any harm. I wasn't in the best place in the first place, and I think you have the right to be a little suspicious of me. I mean, if one of you just appeared in front of me back home, I think I'd feel the same way."
"Oh," Todoroki said quietly. After a moment of silence, he said, "E-earlier you said something about someone you knew with ice and fire abilities…?"
"You mean Garnet?" Steven perked up. "Here, sit down," he walked over to his bed and patted the spot next to him. "I'll tell you all about her."
"So this Garnet is actually two people?"
"Technically," Steven shrugged. "Gems can do this thing called fusion, where they can combine their forms into one being. And that's why Garnet's future vision changes from Sapphire's— Sapphire's is kinda like Nighteye's actually, where they both generally see the path that is most likely to occur. Then, when they fused, Ruby's fiery impulsiveness affected Garnet's future vision and let her see multiple branching paths depending on what she decides to do."
"That sounds useful," Todoroki commented.
"It is," he agreed. "And it was all thanks to Ruby, because she reached out to Sapphire and saved her, y'know?"
"Yes," he whispered. "I do know."
Steven sensed that Todoroki had something to say, and allowed him to continue.
"When you said earlier that Garnet is essentially the fusion of ice and fire, I was angered. My father is the current highest ranking hero in the nation, but… he isn't a good person. He created me to be the perfect mixture of fire and ice, an unstoppable force to overcome his legacy."
"When you say created, what do—"
"My father's marriage was arranged. He drove my mother mad, and because of him she gave me this scar. It's because of him that my eldest brother incinerated himself with his own quirk. And it's because of him that I avoided using the fire aspect of my quirk. A few months ago, Izuku reached out to me the same way you say Ruby did."
The room was quiet in the wake of these revelations, until Steven lifted himself from where he was laying. He wouldn't find out until later, but in that moment his eyes were glowing an unnerving shade of intense pink.
"That sounds awful, Todoroki. On a completely unrelated note, I was thinking about having a quick word with your father. Be right back!"
Before he could get up fully and launch himself off the balcony, Todoroki reached out with his right hand and stopped him with an ice-enhanced grip.
"Don't, Steven," he warned. "No matter my father's actions at home, he is still the number one hero. He is still a symbol of strength, and if he stepped down the heroics industry would destabilize even more."
The glow subsided, and Steven collapsed back onto his bed. "You're right. Sorry, I overreacted."
"No, it was a fairly typical reaction. Also, you wouldn't have known where my father is."
"Fair."
"And you probably would have been arrested for illegal quirk usage," he added.
"Illegal— what?" Steven asked. "It's illegal to use quirks?"
Todoroki shrugged from his spot on the bed leaning against the wall. "In public, if you're not a hero, yes. It's necessary to prevent chaos from taking over."
"That… doesn't seem right." Steven frowned. "And also, I don't have a quirk."
The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Do you think a police officer or hero would believe you?"
Steven was at a loss for words.
"You know what, fair."
"Thank you!"
Steven grabbed his plate and scanned the room. Today was (apparently) one of the uncommon days where the whole class sat down to share a meal. However, he technically wasn't part of the class, and he wasn't sure if he should sit down among them or not.
At least, not until he locked eyes with Todoroki. The boy inclined his head slightly, vaguely gesturing to an empty spot next to him, and Steven took that as a formal invitation, claiming the seat for himself.
"Hey guys!" He greeted Todoroki's immediate neighbors— Uraraka, Midoriya, Iida, and Tsu. The class was actually split into two tables, each with space for twelve occupants, probably since a table fit to seat twenty would have taken up quite a bit of room.
"Universe-senpai!" Iida straightened and adjusted his glasses. "As class president, I feel it my duty to apologize for Monoma's actions! I find it inexcusable that—"
"Don't worry about it, Iida-san," Steven interrupted. "It's not your fault, and I don't think he meant to insult me. And please, just call me Steven."
"Of course, Steven-senpai!"
Uraraka giggled at his subsequent facepalm, and even Todoroki could not suppress a snort. Steven had to admit, it was pretty funny, but it couldn't be that hard to call him by his name, right?
"So, Steven, how is U.A. treating you so far?" she asked.
"It's not too bad," he responded. "I mean, there's been a few hiccups, but overall I've been having a decent time." His expression darkened. "But really, I'm just hoping we can figure out how to get me home."
"We?" questioned Tsu.
"Principal Nedzu is helping me out," responded Steven. "I know he's smart, but we've had no progress. Honestly, I'm not even sure there are Gems in this universe, or at least near this planet."
"How does that work, exactly?" Uraraka leaned towards him from across the table, resting her face in her hands. "Like I know you said that Gems are aliens, but what are they?"
"Oh man, that's a pretty big question," he laughed. "It's weird because they're, like, technically not alive? They don't have skin, or skeletons, or organs, or anything like that. I think the term some of them like to use is inorganic, compared to humans which are completely organic."
Steven thought for a moment. "I guess… Gems aren't born, not the way we are. They don't really grow either. As far as I understand it— and most of it kinda goes over my head— Gems are created by the injection of some sort of special liquid into the ground, which absorbs all the life in the surrounding area to create a Gem that just climbs out. They already have orders and don't need to learn anything because they're already programmed with their assignments, jobs, and skills."
"So they're like computers? Or robots?" Uraraka asked.
"With thoughts and personalities and the ability to control light, yes."
"Fascinating!" Iida exclaimed, straightening his glasses. "It is truly remarkable that there exists such a species, even if they are located in a universe different to this one. I must wonder, however, what exactly do you mean by their creation absorbing the life around them?"
Steven grimaced. "It means what you think it means. The Gem Empire used to colonize planets for the sole purpose of being able to create more and more gems. When they finish, it's like there was never anything alive on the planet. No plants, no animals, even the ground turns brittle and lifeless."
This killed the conversation, and he tried to regain the light-hearted atmosphere of a moment ago. "Don't worry, they stopped! Well, I stopped them. I convinced the leaders, the three Diamonds, to step down, stop colonizing, and free any colonies from their control. They're a democracy now, too."
Nobody really knew what to say to that, but Todoroki came to the rescue. "Izuku, why aren't you eating?"
Steven looked over to see that Midoriya had, in fact, not touched his plate yet. Rather, he was scribbling in a notebook, but he stopped when Todoroki drew attention to him.
"Oh, Midoriya-san, is that a notebook?" he asked, genuinely interested. "What are you writing?"
"Nothing!" he squeaked, face turning red as he hid the notebook under the table. "Just… homework."
Iida nodded. "Indeed, homework is important, Izuku! But perhaps you should focus on eating your meal."
"It's probably cold now. Would you like me to heat it up for you?" Todoroki asked.
"Shoto! Please refrain from using your quirk at the dinner table!" Iida scolded, though Midoriya meekly nodded.
Todoroki just looked at him blankly. "I meant at the microwaves."
"I see." Iida straightened his glasses. "Carry on, then."
He took the plate to the nearby microwaves, and then, without breaking eye contact with Iida, he summoned flames to heat the food.
"Shoto!" Iida sputtered. Across from him, Midoriya choked on his water and Uraraka was practically wheezing at their friend's audacity. Even Tsu was softly laughing to herself, and Steven found it difficult to hide his grin at their antics. "You said you were going to heat the food in the microwave!"
Todoroki returned Midoriya's plate (although the boy was preoccupied by his own laughter) and clarified, "I was not at the table." It was this nonchalant statement that finally set him off, and he joined the wheezing ranks of Uraraka and Midoriya.
"And he said he would do it at the microwave, kero." Tsu added. "He did not lie."
"Thank you, Tsu." Todoroki resumed eating his own food, though a glint in his eyes showed he knew exactly what he was doing.
Shouta peered into the common room, not sure what to expect. Whatever it was, he definitely wasn't expecting the bright and laid-back atmosphere, not with what he heard had been happening.
The building had definitely rumbled earlier that day, though only Nedzu's quick call prevented him from charging in to look for a villain. Indeed, he thought he'd have to do damage control (Monoma may not have been in his class, but Todoroki certainly was and he specifically asked them to remain civil at the very minimum), but he was pleasantly surprised to see Todoroki and Steven chatting like old friends.
Well. It seemed some things do work out after all.
End Notes:
God I love sassy Shoto it's incredible.
Honestly like 90% of this chapter was inspired by the singular (1) person who messaged me on Discord, god bless them what a saint.
Let me know if I missed anything or if there are formatting/grammar issues.
Thoughts on relationships among the 1-A kids? Not sure if I want to keep it all gen, or have a bit of hinted stuff, or just actually have some of them get together (cough kiribaku cough) but it doesn't matter to me too much. Let me know what you think! (about other things too, not just shipping)
lol sorry i posted this a day late cus i completely forgot that ffn existed