Please note that this will likely be the last new story I will post on this site until the email issues are resolved. As for my stories that are still in progress, rest assured that I will still update them as they are written. If you want to read any of my new fics, look for me on Ao3!
I've been binging some fics of my pre-TodoMomo OTPs from other fandoms for inspiration, and all I can think when I'm reading them is that I wish some of these fics were canon (2 of the ships were even killed off zz). And then the idea of utilizing Momo's scar from the final arc came up. I just jotted down a quick paragraph about that and then I couldn't stop adding to it.
The lack of crumbs for TodoMomo in the last 200+ chapters bothers me way more than it should… I'll love this ship whether it's canon or not, but part of me still wants to see it! The next best thing is writing the scenarios I see in my head for vivid details so here you go~
Rated T mainly because of Bakugou's mouth
Following the conclusion of the war, the U.A. students spend the next few weeks assisting the restoration efforts. Though still nowhere near done (complete restoration will take at least a few months if not years), the Hero Association deemed that they have done more than enough. And so, classes finally resume again.
While the students entered U.A. in hopes of going through exciting hero activities, after they've borne the full brunt of the worst a pro-hero can suffer and more, even the most energetic students find solace when they are back in their normal student lives where the biggest thing to worry about is the upcoming exams.
And that includes Todoroki Shouto.
School life at U.A. has been a mixed bag for Todoroki. On one hand, he's had his family's history aired out to the public, and he's found out his brother, Todoroki Touya, is responsible for causing many, many deaths. However, he's also found out that his brother, flawed as he may be, was still alive. Touya even managed to survive the terrible burns he inflicted on his own body. Todoroki will find the time to visit his brother in prison once his condition improves.
On the bright side, Todoroki's made numerous friends during the school year; Midoriya Izuku, Iida Tenya, Uraraka Ochako, and Bakugou Katsuki to name the ones he's closest with (though the latter still refuses to be called that). Last, and certainly not least, is the one walking beside him now, Yaoyorozu Momo. She's the one who visited him the most when he was recovering. And the one who he's walking with right now.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Yaoyorozu asks with a worried expression. "I can help you ask the teachers for more time off if you need it."
"Thanks for offering. Iida also asked if I was sure about this. I told him if I'm well enough to be discharged, I should go back to class. And…"
"And?"
"I miss being around… everyone."
She flashes him the smile that makes his heart swell. "I- we all miss you too."
Using his quirk requires him to be hydrated if he doesn't want to suffer any aftereffects, and he definitely overdid it without the necessary amount of fluids in the final battle. Especially when he contributed to the fight against All For One even after using all he had to restrain Touya. As a result, he suffered from various side effects afterwards. One of those side effects was temporary blindness, something that he never experienced before.
The beginning of his recovery was the worst where he was stuck in bed for the first few days. Now that he can see properly again, he sees the red, horizontal line on the bridge of Yaoyorozu's nose.
"Is there something on my face?" Her voice brings Todoroki back to reality.
"Yes. How did you get that scar? The one on your nose."
"Oh, that's right. You couldn't see very well after giving it everything you had back then. When Toga used her quirk to summon all of those Twice clones, I defended Hatsume-san from them. Debris and shrapnel flew everywhere in the chaos, which gave me this." She scratches her nose.
"Are you okay now?"
"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Hatsume-san told me to abandon her if necessary. I wouldn't have listened to her request regardless, but I'm glad it didn't come to that."
"That couldn't have been an easy situation to navigate. Excellent job as always to keep you and her safe."
"T-thank you."
"Are you going to get rid of that scar?"
"Huh?" Yaoyorozu frowns. "Are you asking because… you don't like it?"
"No, of course not." He quickly responds. "I mean, how could I? Just look at me." He points towards his left eye. "It's just that I've heard that women pay more attention to their appearances than men and I personally know it can be a little… difficult going around in public with a scar on your face. It shouldn't be hard to remove it with modern medicine and certain quirks. Especially with the amount of resources and connections your family has."
"I see, so that's the reason. You're not the first person who's asked. I'm going to leave it alone for now. It doesn't hurt and it's small. Plus…"
He waits to hear the rest of her sentence that never comes. "Plus?"
"...I've heard it builds character." She blushes slightly, clearly a little embarrassed about admitting it.
"Sounds like a line from a manga I was reading in the hospital. I thought you didn't read them?"
"I heard that line from Kaminari-san… He was trying to be supportive and said it to Jirou-san and I."
"Okay, Kaminari definitely got that line from a manga. I've literally never seen him read anything else without falling asleep." Once again, his heart skips a beat when he sees her chuckle.
"You would be surprised. Now that we can focus on being students again, he's gotten a second wind and is hitting the books these days."
"I have to see that to believe it."
"It's not just him. All the students are finally taking their studies as seriously as they can."
"Really? Kaminari alone is already hard enough to believe, but everyone else at the bottom of the class as well? Sero, Aoyama, Hagakure, and Ashido? All of them? I guess I've missed a lot."
Yaoyorozu nods her head. "Don't worry. Knowing you, you'll catch up on everything quickly. I'll lend you my notes if you need it."
"Thanks. So they're finally acting like students… I guess I should follow suit. What else do normal students do?"
"Other than studying, you mean? They join clubs- though our school doesn't have those. We keep ourselves busy with work studies and internships. Aside from that…"
He waits for a continuation that never comes. "Can't think of anything else?"
She looks at him before looking away with a faint pink on her cheeks. "They- uh, try new things. New experiences and opportunities before going out into the world after graduation."
Todoroki feels like she was going to say something else and changed her mind at the last minute. He brushes that thought aside before opening his mouth. "New experiences? Like trying new restaurants and movies and stuff?"
"I think so. I'm not completely sure myself…"
"Then let's learn together."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Todoroki-san?"
"Hm?"
"Could you recommend some of your favorite manga to me?"
"Sure. Recommend me some of your favorite novels too."
Compared to their first year, no exciting events happen during their second year. Months pass and there are no surprise villain attacks or catastrophes or the like. Which is a good thing; Todoroki barely had time to breathe back then now that he thinks about it.
Even if there are no random events, he still wouldn't call the year boring. The students have a lot more free time now that they aren't allowed to train for the first few weeks of the semester. Students are only allowed to volunteer with strict time limits and everyone does their part to help. First comes rebuilding homes for the many refugees, then creating other necessary places such as supermarkets, and then the rest of the buildings follow. Thanks to Cementoss especially this is all done in relatively short order. Foreign countries from around the world also provide labor, materials, equipment, and anything else that is needed.
For the rest of Todoroki's free time, he's been going to more places like he said with Yaoyorozu. A few times the whole class goes together, sometimes he goes with a handful of his friends, and other times… it's just him and Yaoyorozu. And those times are bliss.
If he is in a group, he would defer to others to come up with the topics and occasionally chip in. He would speak more when it's only the two of them. At first, they would only talk about things they both know; classes, training, the dorms, etc. After the first few meetups, they delve into other subjects: her favorite novels, his favorite manga, life at home (most of it is already out there so this is just him clarifying the details for her). Their talks occasionally transition into serious topics. And today is one of those days.
They are currently studying in his room since they used her room last time. When he first moved in, he only had one chair. Now, he has two and she's sitting on the other one when she asks him a question: "Have you ever thought about the alternatives if you ever wanted to quit being a hero?" She poses it as an innocently as she can, but he knows her well enough by now that he should choose his words carefully for her.
Todoroki, who was working on his homework, now puts his pen down before twisting his upper body to look at her. "...Are you thinking about quitting?" He's asking to make sure since this isn't something he wants to just assume or guess.
Unfortunately, what she says confirms his suspicions. "It's come to my mind once or twice."
Before and after the war, plenty of heroes have dropped out of the profession. He didn't pay attention to it until now, but maybe more of their classmates feel the same way as her. And he knows she's lost people close to her… though that doesn't make it any less shocking. "I've never thought about it, no. It'd be a lot harder to visit my brother if I weren't a hero. Not impossible, but much more inconvenient."
"...I see. You've always been strong, Shouto."
"I'm only doing this because I don't have any alternatives."
"You have more reasons than anyone to quit. Yet, you'll still persevere. And there's no way you don't have more options. You're more capable than me and more powerful. That's why I think you're strong."
He doesn't know why she always has such unreasonable expectations for him. "I'm not as strong as you think. And I definitely don't agree that I'm more capable than you. I've been raised to be a hero my whole life. Heck, that's the reason I was even born. As much as I'd like to tell my old man to shove it and watch as his creation goes against his wishes, that wouldn't help anyone else. And my quirks are definitely specialized in combat. You're different from me. You can help people in so many more ways than I can.
"I think you're a lot stronger than I am. You're still sitting alone at the top of the class even with your doubts. It takes a lot of strength to not let it show and worry the people around you. I'm ashamed to admit I wouldn't have noticed if you didn't tell me. And I'm glad you did.
"You probably don't need it, but I'll support you in whatever you want to do. I know you'll be amazing no matter what you do."
"...You really think that highly of me?"
"I always have."
She flashes him a warm smile. The smile that always makes his heart flutter. "I'm lucky I have you. I couldn't ask for a better friend. But..."
"But?"
"Could you close your eyes for a second?" She seems to see him confused and she quickly adds a: "Just trust me, please."
That's all he needs to hear to follow her orders. "Okay." Now that he can no longer see and she's not saying anything, he can only rely on his imagination. And his imagination seems to be telling him that she's leaning closer and closer towards him. Just as he can feel the heat of her face in front of his-
"Oi, Half-and-Half! Dinner's ready! You better not let my cooking go cold!" Bakugou shouts as he forcibly opens the door. "...The fuck?" Todoroki suddenly opens his eyes and the first thing he sees is his imagination wasn't fooling him; Yaoyorozu is just a few centimeters away from... kissing him, if he's not mistaken. She slowly backs away, causing Todoroki to look at Bakugou instead. Bakugou's face morphs from his usual natural angry face to a blank expression. The three of them stare at each other for what feels like an eternity before Bakugou opens his mouth again. "Fucking never mind. I didn't see shit, so don't give me any crap about this. Come down whenever the fuck you want." He says before closing the door gently (by his standards), clearly rattled.
The two of them remain in silence until they hear the elevator arrive at their floor and go back down. And then they both let out the laughter they've been holding in. Todoroki is the first one to speak. "I've never seen that kind of expression from Bakugou before."
"I've never seen anything stop him from finishing his sentence either."
"That's what he deserves for so rudely interrupting. It almost sounded like he was trying to apologize at the end."
Yaoyorozu chuckles. "I thought so too."
A short silence envelopes them until their stomachs grumble. "...He said the food's ready. Should we go down now?"
"Yes, let's."
As they wait for the elevator to arrive, Yaoyorozu voices another question. "Shouto, do you have plans tomorrow?"
"No. Do you want to do something?"
"Yes. I'll let you know after I think of the details."
The next day, Yaoyorozu invites Todoroki to walk with her around the riverbank near the school.
"Thanks for coming with me on short notice." She starts with the same line she always does.
"I said I had no plans yesterday, so of course I'd come with you."
"Sorry for putting you on the spot yesterday. I don't think I was thinking clearly."
'She's not talking about the almost kiss, right?' He shakes his head and realizes it has to be about the topic that came up just before then. "Don't worry about it. Supporting each other is what friends are for."
"Friends, huh?" She was slightly in front of him while they walked before she stops. He follows her lead and also pauses. "That's the reason I wanted to talk to you today." She then turns her body to face him. "Do you remember when you asked me before what normal students do? When you got discharged?" He nods his head and she continues. "There is one thing I omitted from my earlier explanation."
"What is it?"
She smiles at him. The smile that's always melted his heart. "They go on dates with people. Maybe they even fall in love."
Seeing the breeze blow her long hair that's not tied up right now is almost intoxicatingly sweet to Todoroki.
"Do you have someone in mind?"
"Yes. I wasn't sure when I was going to tell him before. Now, I think doing it as soon as possible would be best."
"Hm." As much as Todoroki finds himself lacking when it comes to relationships with other people, even he knows that there's something special between them. Still, he doesn't say anything else as she seems to have a plan in mind.
Her smile is illuminating when she speaks, albeit about a seemingly unrelated topic. She points to her nose where the scar is. Now that a year has passed, the color is much less vivid than before. "I know I told you something else before about why I kept this scar as is, but there is another reason. And that's the real reason. You're the first person I'm telling this to. Can you guess what it is?" He just shrugs at her because he really does have zero idea. "The person who I admire the most has a much more visible scar, but it doesn't make him look any less stunning."
'Someone with a much more visible scar on their face?' It takes him longer than he'd like to admit to figure out who she's referring to. "You're talking about... me, right?"
"Yes. And..." She takes a deep breath and beams at him, "the person I admire is the person I love. I love you, Todoroki Shouto." A few seconds pass and she quickly adds: "Though I said all that, if you're not fond of this scar or if you're uncomfortable with it, that's a different story. And it's okay if you don't want to reciprocate my feelings. I just hope that we can still be friends-"
"Don't overthink it. I just needed a few seconds to think of my response." Todoroki interrupts her, something he would normally never do. Today is an exception. "I love you just the way you are, Yaoyorozu Momo." He clasps her shoulders and delivers a swift peck onto her nose.
Her face becomes redder before she just starts laughing. "Hahaha." She walks up to embrace him with tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy right now. I can't put it into words."
Todoroki returns her hug and rubs her back. He wouldn't mind staying like this forever, but since she just confessed all of her feelings, he feels he should do the same. "To be honest, I wasn't sure if we were already a couple or not."
She releases him and takes a step back. "Why did you think that?"
"I mean, we were already doing all kinds of things couples were doing. We went on dates pretty much everywhere we could think of. Restaurants, tea houses, movie theaters, and the times we're studying alone together. Maybe I should count the festival we attended in our first year too."
"...Why didn't you say or do anything before?"
"Well, not all people are into public or physical affection like that. And I was happy just being with you."
"I'll just say now that I'm not one of those people who are opposed to doing those things."
"Sorry. I probably should've said something. I'm not opposed to trying those things if you want to."
"Yes, you should have. If you want me to forgive you, let's continue where we left off yesterday before we were interrupted."
'What we were interrupted from doing? It can only be that, right?'
"I like that idea a lot."
She cups his face and leans into him. It's like all of his worries disappear into the air.
Jirou is walking back from the bath when bumps into Yaoyorozu and sees she's practically glowing. "Yaomomo, you look really happy right now."
"Haha, do you think so?" Yaoyorozu laughs. "It's because I'm dating Todoroki-san."
Jirou wonders when the punchline is coming. "I knew that for a long time?"
"What do you mean you knew for a long time? I just confessed to him a few hours ago."
"...You mean you two weren't dating all this time? Even though you went on like a thousand dates together?"
"They weren't explicitly dates. And it wasn't that many… the total number is only around a couple dozen. Shouto had the same question for me, funny enough."
"Seriously? Todoroki figured out your relationship status before you?" Jirou can only shake her head. She knew Yaoyorozu was awkward about certain relationship topics but didn't know it was this bad.
"Hmph." Yaoyorozu frowns. "Don't insult my boyfriend like that. He's a lot smarter than you think-"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. You two were 100% made for each other,"
"Thank you. I think so too."
Jirou just sighs before deciding to go to sleep. She's too tired to deal with this today. "Congratulations and good night."
"Good night."
I hope I hit the right balance between fluff/humor/angst because I was struggling a lot with it. Tbh I was on the verge of removing the dialogue where Shouto was like "I thought we were already dating," and then the Jirou moment at the end because it didn't fit with what I was going for, but then I couldn't think of another ending... Hopefully it doesn't seem too out of place 😅