I do not own these characters or the world, that belongs to our lovely author of MHA, Kohei Horikoshi. Also, cover art was a commission by me from the artist Krumbs. Follow them on or Twitter—though I guess that's called X now—if you'd like! They are extremely talented!

A/N: I chose to post this tonight rather than tomorrow since I'm working for most of the day and regardless of whether I work 1hr or 12hrs, I basically feel like I wanna die after any amount being a nurse. Truly a terrible job. Do not recommend.
But...TodoMomo fans here you go! It isn't like my IzuOcha levels of mush, but to do something like that after I've written Todoroki as this very logical and semi rigid character just feels wrong and ooc…so I did it in a way that I thought felt natural for him. Poor guy has had such a fucked up life that any perception he has of romance or love is probably hugely skewed. While this story has been a slow burn for Izuku and Ochako, if this was primarily a TodoMomo story then it'd be an even SLOWER burn because for someone like Shoto I think him being able to realize that he liked someone romantically would be a really really slow process for him. It'd be like when you get out of an abusive relationship and decide that you don't actually know what love is because all you've ever known is abuse…you don't trust others right away and you certainly don't know what love is when it hits you and even when it does you don't know what to do with it. Shoto is like that; he's seeing elements of real love and warmth and he doesn't really know what it is let alone what to do with it.
But anyway, I hope you enjoy! Thank you for any reviews/follows/favs. They mean a lot!

Fifty

Who Thought He'd Be an Otaku

Sero, Aoyama, Tokoyami, Hagakure, Ida, and Asui all had bright red candied apples in hand that they munched on as the group continued through the festival. They paused at a few different shops to look over different merchandise before stopping at a booth that offered a shooting game. Aoyama had sashayed away, apparently uninterested in something as crass as shooting. Sero, Tokoyami, Hagakure, Ida, and Asui all got in line to compete though.

Shoto lingered behind them, not really interested in joining in the game. What was the point in playing some pretend game about shooting? If one wanted to increase their marksmanship abilities, they could find far better ways to do that without wasting time and money at some overpriced little festival game.

All through his childhood when regular children were enjoying such activities, he'd been prohibited from such frivolous endeavors. From his earliest memory, Endeavor had enforced in him a need to be perfect and to reject things that could be seen as silly or a waste of time.

Because of an incident involving his big brother Toya that had happened when he'd been an infant, he wasn't even really allowed to interact with his siblings. Normal sibling relations were also most of a mystery to him. He supposed that he sort of had more normal relationships with Natsu and Fuyumi now, but they were still probably largely different from the average sibling relations. He'd never even been afforded a chance to develop any real relationship with Toya since Toya had died before Shoto had been very old.

The only reliable and positive familial relationship he had was with his mother. He had countless memories of Endeavor berating her, speaking harshly to her, or even physically harming her and even though he'd been just a tiny child at the time, he'd reacted viscerally to such offenses and tried to stand his ground against Endeavor, desperate to protect her. She was the only light in an otherwise dark life and from the moment he could stand on his own he was swift to rush to her side. His siblings had rarely stepped in, likely too browbeaten by Endeavor's single mindedness and cruelty to even try to intervene. But Shoto had no one aside from their mother, so even if it earned him a beating by Endeavor or the ire of his siblings, he would've happily defended her to the death if need be. It was the only time in his life that he could recall when he felt reactive and passionate and full of something like hot fury instead of icy indifference…but then his mother had burned him, permanently marring the only positive relationship he had and Endeavor had done what he'd always done: react strongly and with cruelty and had her locked away.

While that relationship was forever altered it didn't change the fact that Shoto didn't blame his mother for her actions but rather, Endeavor. From his earliest memories he could recall Endeavor pushing her over and over again. It only made sense that she'd eventually snap, why wouldn't she? She was surrounded by children that looked like him with only Natsu having zero fire ability and no physical similarity to Endeavor. Of course, that kind of strain would push her over the edge and it was the very reason why he rebelled against Endeavor as long as he had and rejected a core part of his own quirk; he wanted no trace of that scumbag in him so he'd never use his fire abilities. It was the only way he could honor the woman who'd loved him, at least for a time until Endeavor broke her; reject the monster that broke her and embrace the gifts that she had given him.

He'd embraced that icy part of himself so much that it permeated into his personality and any fiery passion that he'd once felt was extinguished, encased in ice. The realm of reactivity and fire belonged to him and Shoto would have no part of that. He learned to control his emotions and reactions, to embrace the ice he felt in his heart and soul. Every time Endeavor tried to instruct him or make him use his fire ability he'd steadfastly refuse or make a point of strengthening his ice abilities. Every time Endeavor hit him, scowled at him, or berated him for ignoring his fiery potential, the ice in Shoto's soul expanded and hardened—he would never be what the man who claimed to be his father wanted him to be; he'd sooner die.

…but then he'd come to UA and become a member of class 1-A and somehow, mostly thanks to one freckle faced boy, the glacier that had grown over his heart started to melt. There was no way he could be certain, but he felt like Midoriya's words would resonate in his heart until the day he died. It's your quirk, not his! He found himself often repeating that same phrase after the sports festival and was shocked to find something other than ice in his heart. He started to make friends and he started to want to use his left side, the side he'd always rejected.

With Midoriya's influence, he'd found a small fire had been stoked in his heart and more than anything he'd wanted to reforge the broken relationship he had with his mother. He'd started seeing her regularly and had actually started having more normal interactions with his remaining siblings and while he still couldn't stand Endeavor, he found that he no longer passionately hated him; he'd started working his way toward feeling neutral in regards to his father. Neutrality or ambivalence was a far less toxic emotion to hold onto than hate. Shoto was still largely ruled by cold logic and controlled reactions, but slowly he'd started to find some semblance of who he was or at least, who he wanted to be.

A year ago, if he'd been asked if he thought that this was where he'd be, he would've said absolutely not. Shoto from a year ago never would've followed a frenemy to a festival because said frenemy wanted to tail the class lecher; Shoto from a year ago wouldn't have agreed to join others from their class as they wandered about the festival grounds looking at shops, buying not Endeavor approved food, and playing festival games; Shoto from a year ago wouldn't have even considered telling a pretty girl like Yaoyorozu that he thought she was beautiful; Shoto from a year ago wouldn't have noticed or cared…but now, now things were different. He was different.

"Whoo! I got the best score!" Sero shouted, interrupting Shoto's thoughts.

"Indeed you did," Ida agreed.

"I was a pretty close second, ribbit," added Asui.

"No fair! I'm no good at shooting games! If this was a goldfish scooping I'd beat all of you!" Hagakure whined.

"Outstanding job Asui! You nearly beat Sero, congratulations," Tokoyami congratulated as he nodded to their classmate.

A smile began to tug at Shoto's lips as he watched his classmates. Even though he wasn't participating in the game with them, he still found the interaction amusing. He was having fun. Was this what normal teenagers did?

"Todo—" Yaoyorozu started but abruptly stopped when a louder and deeper voice spoke over her.

"No way! Is that Sero? And dude, is that Asui, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Ida, Tokoyami, and Hagakure? Small world!" It was Satou's voice.

Todoroki looked over his shoulder and spotted Satou barreling toward them with Koda, Shoji, and Ojiro following more slowly behind him. Koda was practically pressed up against Shoji's large shoulder, his face tense and anxious. On first glance it might look like some sort of flirtatious or romantic gesture, but Shoto took in Koda's closed off body language and downcast expression and figured that it was more likely out of a fear of the crowd and being physically close to Shoji acted as sort of security blanket. Something about it made him think of his mother and when he'd been a tiny child and how he'd tuck himself into her body, hiding from the eyes of others.

"Oh my gosh! Ojiro! Is that you? Yay!" Hagakure's high-pitched voice rang out and a second later she darted away from the shooting game and in the direction of Ojiro. Shoto was mildly surprised to see her practically leap into Ojiro's arms, causing the poor boy to furiously blush.

"Nice! Hagakure hug! Lucky dude!" Satou said with a smile as he looked over at the two.

"Hagakure—come on, get off, you're making me blush!" Ojiro said as he tried to shake off the invisible girl.

"Sheesh Hagakure, could you be anymore over the top?" Sero asked. Shoto observed that he was holding what looked like a scroll or poster, which he'd not had before starting the shooting game. He assumed that that was whatever he'd chosen as his prize for getting the highest score.

"You forgot to mention moi!" The tinkling voice of Aoyama joined the others as the twinkling boy danced his way back into the group.

"Aoyama's here too? Cool!" Satou exclaimed once he saw the other boy.

"C'est vrai! When all the others were doing the shooting game I caught sight of most belle mochi shop one could imagine! Look!" Aoyama held out one of his hands, showing off three small mounds of what looked like glittery mochi.

"Oh my gosh is that glitter?! Is it any good?" Hagakure asked, releasing the still blushing Ojiro as she raced over to get a closer look at the mochi.

"Ribbit, I'm not sure glitter should be allowed for human consumption," Asui, who was now standing beside Yaoyorozu, said quietly.

"Glitter mochi? That's…interesting." Shoji had moved closer to Aoyama and his glittery mochi, Koda still close at his side.

"Ick! When it hits the street lights just right it hurts my eyes, Fumikage!" Dark Shadow—who apparently also had apparently been curious enough to emerge from Tokoyami all in an effort to see the glittery mochi—complained.

"Indeed. I doubt it tastes any good," Tokoyami agreed and took several steps away from the shiny mochi. Shoto didn't think it glittered that harshly in the light, maybe Tokoyami and Dark Shadow just didn't like glitter.

"Glitter? It can't possibly be real. I don't see how something like real glitter would get past food regulations and requirements," Ida said as he pushed his glasses up his nose and leaned over the mochi.

"It must be some kind of synthetic material made to look like glitter. There's no way that it's actual glitter. It's probably like the gold trim that you see on a lot of foods—it's not real gold, just a synthetic creation," Yaoyorozu suggested.

"Where did you even get that?" Ojiro asked as he too looked at the glittery monstrosity.

"From over there, mon chér!" Aoyama pointed behind him where on the other side of the path there was a particularly glittery looking food vendor that boasted glitter on everything.

"I want to try some!" Hagakure said eagerly and moved to grab one but paused, seeking the okay from Aoyama.

"But of course!" Aoyama said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yay!" Hagakure cheered and popped one into her mouth, or rather, what everyone assumed was her mouth since it disappeared a second after she'd picked it up. She coughed a second later. "Ahem, it kinda tastes like plastic." Shoto was certain that if they could see her face that it'd be pinched in disgust based on her tone.

"Just like pain is often beauty, so too is beautiful food!" Aoyama batted his eyelashes and let out a bell like laugh.

"That makes no sense, ribbit," Asui said with a confused expression on her face.

"Not to change the subject, but guys did you see Midoriya and Uraraka? Or Ashido and Kirishima? Or Bakugo?" Sero asked, immediately changing the tone of the conversation.

Shoji, Koda, Ojiro, and Satou exchanged confused glances before looking back to Sero.

"We saw Uraraka and Midoriya but nobody else that you mentioned" Ojiro answered.

"Just lots of other people," Koda said in barely a whisper. Shoji patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"Bakugo was in pursuit of a purse snatcher, I imagine he is still involved with that or has returned to Endeavor's agency," Shoto supplied, though he was confused as to why Sero was bringing it up considering the fact that he'd been there when they'd last seen them.

"Whoa, a purse snatcher? Way to go Bakugo!" Satou popped one of the glittery abominations in his mouth. His face pinched briefly before he swallowed and said, "it's kinda tart, but not bad."

"Yuck!" Dark Shadow said before retreating back into Tokoyami.

"Why do you ask—" Shoji started only to have Sero interrupt.

"Well a lot happened. We saw Midoriya and Uraraka here earlier, together it looked like, was that what it looked like to you? And Ashido came out and told everyone that she and Kirishima are dating which was pretty cool. Way to go Kirishima, am I right?" Sero waggled his eyebrows playfully.

"What?! She just came out and said they were together, together?" Ojiro asked, his eyes wide with shock.

"Wow, kinda surprised about Kirishima and Ashido but cool! And we didn't really ask Midoriya or Uraraka about that but it loo—" Satou began to ask only to be interrupted.

"Maybe they just ran into each other, ribbit, or were here as friends but it shouldn't really matter anyway."

"The darkness of night tends to bring out behaviors not previously seen under the light of day," Tokoyami said dramatically.

"You and darkness Tokoya—" Hagakure started but suddenly stopped and let out a squeal of excitement. She raced passed everyone else to a little shop ahead of them. All eyes followed after her, curious what had sparked such a display of excitement.

"Hagakure?" Yaoyorozu questioned as she too looked after the invisible girl.

The students followed after Hagakure, creeping closer to the store in question. The little shop that she'd been attracted to actually had a little walk in area where you could physically enter the shop and from what Todoroki could tell at a glance, looked like it sold a lot of random tourist junk. Likely a waste of time—wait, he thought to himself as he caught sight of what Hagakure had gotten excited about. The wall that she faced was full of merchandise for an anime, an anime called Galaxy Princess Girls; an anime that he was familiar with. Without even thinking, Shoto broke off from the crowd and joined Hagakure to look over the Galaxy Princess Girls merchandise.

There were keychains, a few collectible figures, cups, lanyards, acrylic stands of the three princesses, and even tee shirts! He'd not thought about Galaxy Princess Girls in a while since his weekends were spent at Endeavors agency and the only time he'd really watched it had been on the weekend.

The only reason he even knew about it was random chance, really. A few months back he'd gotten up late in the night to get a snack because he'd been hungry and had been surprised to find Hagakure seated on the couch, a loud and very colorful cartoon on the TV. He knew it was anime; he knew what was anime and manga were, but he'd never really actually watched or read any of it before. Such activities had always been deemed a waste of time by Endeavor, so he'd never really been exposed to it until that night.

He'd asked Hagakure what she'd been doing and she'd explained to him what she was watching. Through Hagakure, Shoto learned that Galaxy Princess Girls was a story about three girls that were princesses from other galaxies. There was Earth Galaxy—the main character—Andromeda Galaxy, and Spiral Galaxy. The story followed the three princesses as they battled evil around the universe while also dealing with their own personal struggles. While the show focused primarily on the character of Earth Galaxy, Shoto had found the quiet and somewhat distant character of Spiral Galaxy particularly interesting.

Spiral Galaxy had a troubled history and had ultimately chosen to leave her family because of those differences. She was the least bright and bubbly of the three princesses and also the softest spoken one. Her reactions always seemed muted and refined in comparison to the sometimes boisterous and loud reactions of her fellow princesses. However, as the anime progressed, Spiral opened up and started to be more cheerful thanks to the support of her friends. Her story resonated with him.

The overall story was simplistic and kind of stupid, but it was entertaining and entertaining in a way that Shoto had never been allowed to experience before. It was also extremely bright and colorful, more so than anything else he'd ever seen. It made him think of Ashido's skin except brighter and louder. Regardless of its silly premise, the characters had a surprising level of depth and soon Todoroki found himself often joining Hagakure whenever she happened to be watching it.

Since the work studies, he'd been limited in his ability to watch it but occasionally when he had time in the evening he'd try to watch an episode or two on his computer. But now here he was, in a random festival store and he was face to face with the most paraphernalia for something he liked that he'd ever seen in his entire life. He'd never actually seen merchandise like this before, or if he had he'd been immediately chastised and redirected for such a wasted interest…but now Endeavor wasn't with him and he didn't have some lackey of his father's watching him, it was just him and if he wanted to get something he could…

Shoto reached out his hand to one of the tee shirts that had all three of the princesses on it, though it seemed to focus on his favorite character, Spiral Galaxy. His fingers brushed the fabric of the tee shirt as he traced the outline of the image. He could get this if he wanted to, in fact, he could get a lot of these things if he so desired it.

"Oh my gosh! Look Todoroki! They have this cute little cup with Earth Galaxy on it! I think I'm totally going to get this!" Exclaimed Hagakure, who was knelt down looking at an array of cups and mugs.

"Galaxy Princess Girls really? Come on dude," Sero said, as he too looked over the merch. "I gave up on the anime once I started reading the manga and got to the ending. It sucked."

"You mustn't speak ill of such a delightful work of art! And bite your tongue you enfant ignorant! Do not talk about the manga's end—no spoilers!" Aoyama scolded with a glare in Sero's direction as he too moved into the store to start looking at the merch.

"Never would've taken you for an otaku, Todoroki. Cool!" Ojiro said with a bright smile.

Todoroki looked away from the tee shirt and toward Ojiro and the rest of his classmates. Me? An Otaku? Is that…okay? But when he looked at them, he saw no judgement on their faces, no lines of disappointment in their brows, and no heavy sighs of irritation at such a petty interest. His gaze drifted toward Yaoyorozu who stood with the others at the front of the shop, her cheeks slightly rosy, a soft smile on her face as she looked at him. The smile and expression in her eyes was genuine; no indication of guile or judgement in her face. Maybe it's okay to like things that don't have to deal with improving my quirk or myself, he thought to himself as he looked back at the tee shirt. Did he want it? Did he need it?

"I'm totally buying this cup," Hagakure exclaimed as she grabbed the mug she'd been eyeing and proceeded to head over to the checkout.

Aoyama had grabbed a particularly glittery looking banner that flamboyantly displayed all three princesses, as well as three acrylic stands, each one representing a different princess. "How could I resist? J'adore the Galaxy Princess Girls!"

"I've never actually watched much of the anime for Galaxy Princesses, but Hagakure loaned me some of the manga when we first started school. Do you have a favorite character?" Yaoyorozu asked, suddenly at his side and no longer with the others at the front of the store.

Shoto opened his mouth to speak but paused briefly as he became acutely aware of her proximity. Hmm, she's quite close to me…I think that that makes me excited or nervous, he thought to himself as he realized they were practically shoulder to shoulder. He wondered what it would be like to brush shoulders with her or to run his fingers along her kimono. Was it genuine silk or synthetic?

"I like Spiral. She is complicated and not all that likable at first but she opens up a lot as the show continues on," Shoto explained, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious. Why was he feeling self-conscious? Because he was explaining his interest in something childish or because Yaoyorozu was so close to him? He honestly wasn't sure of the answer.

"Sounds a little like you—not the unlikable part, but the complicated part and opening up," Yaoyorozu said softly.

Shoto turned to look at her, perplexed. "What?"

"You were so closed off when we first started school, cold and detached but now you're so much brighter. It kind of reminds me of Spiral. She is stiff and cold with everyone at first but then she realizes that the other princesses genuinely care about her and that she cares about them too and she's like a whole new person," Yaoyorozu explained, her gaze still on the tee-shirt that he'd been looking at.

"But…but you said you didn't watch it," Shoto questioned, unclear how she knew such details.

"I only watched a little of the anime, but I read all of the manga." Yaoyorozu turned her face to look at him and smiled, the smile extending all the way up to her eyes.

Shoto took an involuntary sharp intake of air when he saw her face. Something about it, the tenderness there, the acceptance transported him back in time to when he'd been a nervous child and the reassuring smile of his mother. He was suddenly overcome with an emotion that he didn't know how to describe with any word other than heavy. The pit of his stomach felt weighted and for whatever reason more than anything, he wanted to lean over toward Yaoyorozu, wrap his arms around her and bury his head in the crook of her neck and savor the closeness. Physical closeness wasn't something he had ever desired—not since he was a child, but now for whatever reason he wanted to touch her; he wanted to be close to her.

Before cold logic and icy control could seize control of his emotions, Shoto abruptly leaned over and did just what he'd wanted to do—he wrapped his arms around Yaoyorozu and hugged her. It was sort of awkward since they'd been standing side by side and he'd initiated the hug without warning which meant he was sort of hugging her from the side. However, none of that mattered to him because in that moment he felt seen by the raven haired girl by his side and his heart felt so warm and light he'd wanted nothing more than to hold her.

She see's me, he thought to himself as he rested his face on her shoulder, inhaling her scent. It was different from anything he'd smelled before and while her smile made him think of his mother her scent was far from that. Before his mother had been locked away, he'd remembered her smelling like clean laundry mixed with something like lemon blossoms. Yaoyorozu smelled more exotic, perhaps like plumeria or a particularly spicy rose. It was unique and if he was being honest with himself, he quite liked it.

"Uh, To-Todoroki? Um…what are you doing?" Yaoyorozu's voice broke through his reverie and cool logic and restraint returned. He instantly released her and scooted a little ways away from her.

"I apologize. What you said, it, well, it was something no one's ever really said to me before. I wasn't allowed to enjoy these kinds of things when I was growing up so for you to allow me to identify with it without judgement was…well," Shoto paused uncertain of what word he wanted to use, "…heartwarming." Yaoyorozu's cheeks were bright red, her eyes wide but he thought he could see a warmness in her eyes that washed away any regret he might've been feeling over hugging her.

"It's okay, it was just surprising is all. I didn't mind…it was nice," she smiled at him again, her cheeks still red and then quickly turned back toward the shelf. "Do you think you'll get something? This shirt seems like it focuses on Spiral." Yaoyorozu tugged at the shirt he'd been looking at.

It was nice. What did that mean?

"I'm not sure," Todoroki said softly as he looked back at the tee-shirt. Did he really need it?

"Momo! Todoroki! Come on! Lot's more stuff to see and do!" Hagakure called in Yaoyorozu's direction.

Both Yaoyorozu and Shoto looked over toward her to see that she and all the others were at the front of the store now. They'd all made their selections and purchases so he should hurry up and decide what he wanted to do. He wanted it…but there was too much restraint built into him. Perhaps one day, years from now, he'd have enough confidence and desire to buy something frivolous, but today, no. He couldn't justify spending money on it. While he wanted to buy the shirt he knew he didn't need it and he'd already been given a much better gift; Yaoyorozu's gift of seeing him was better than any silly tee-shirt could be.

He gave a little forlorn smile and dropped his hand to his side and turned away from the shelf. "Come on Yaoyorozu, let's go join the others," he called over his shoulder as he walked out of the store.

The group continued down the festival path. Shoto remained a little way behind the group, quietly enjoying watching his classmates have fun. Hagakure was jumping around excitedly with Aoyama as they gushed over their purchases; Satou was chatting up Asui, Tokoyami, and Ojiro; Ida looked like he was trying to embolden the perpetually shy Koda. It was nice to see them all having such a good time!

As he continued along, he realized that Yaoyorozu wasn't with the group ahead or at his side or even behind him. Where had she gone? Todoroki looked over his shoulder and caught sight of Yaoyorozu just exiting the little store they'd just been in, some sort of white cloth in hand. What was she holding? Had she decided to buy something at the last minute?

She jogged the short distance to catch up to him and then with rosy cheeks, she held out the white cloth to him. He looked at it curiously and cautiously took it from her. As he took it, he held it between his two hands and realized that it was a tee shirt, the very same tee shirt he'd been admiring. She'd bought it, for him?! Why?!

"Yaoyorozu…why did you buy this for me? It was a waste of your funds," he asked, and looked at her in confusion.

Her cheeks were still rosy and she looked down briefly before meeting his gaze. "I didn't buy it. I made it. I had to stop longer than I wanted to to look at what the shirt was made with, though I probably could've guessed easily enough, but then once I was certain I used my quirk and made a near perfect copy for you."

She'd…she'd made it for him? His first thought after shock was that the shopkeeper probably wasn't pleased to see someone blatantly ripping off their product. The second thought was confusion; why would she go to such lengths just to make him a copy of some silly tee shirt? He'd clearly decided that he didn't need the shirt since he'd left it, so what had compelled her to make him one?

"I would think the shopkeeper wouldn't be pleased about you copying his design." The words left Shoto's mouth before he could stop them. Ever logical and controlled. He regretted how cold and sterile they'd sounded.

Yaoyorozu laughed, which surprised him further. "I actually made two copies of it and gave the shopkeeper the second one as consolation for duplicating his product. He was a bit surprised by what I was doing but once I explained it and explained that I'd made him an extra shirt at no cost, he gave me his approval."

"But…why?" He asked and stared at her. She blinked at him, her brows knitting together for a second before softening again.

"Well, because you clearly wanted it and I've never seen you ever express interest in something that isn't really, well academic or performance related. So to see and hear you get excited about something that isn't related to either of those things made me just…happy. I could see in your face that you wanted that tee shirt and I was honestly surprised that you didn't get it for yourself and I saw your face when you left it, you looked…resigned," her voice trailed off and her eyes lowered.

She'd seen that? Had his face really been that transparent? Or was she just somehow well versed in identifying the subtle nuance of his facial expressions? When had that happened?

"But you didn't have to do it. It's a silly, frivolous thing that serves really no purpose. I felt like I'd already gotten a gift by just talking about it with you and having you make comparisons between my favorite character and myself. It would be a waste of money to buy it and I'm sorry you had to waste energy on making not one but two—" he said only to have Yaoyorozu interrupt him.

"Todoroki, just take it, accept it. I saw how just looking and talking about it made you happy, happy enough that you hugged me. So when you didn't get it I saw that as an opportunity to do something nice for you, a chance to give you something that you clearly wanted. So just take it," she said, her voice firm yet comforting.

"I'll pay you back, whatev—"

"No. It's a gift, from me to you. Just enjoy it, okay?" She smiled at him then and very gently touched his shoulder. "You deserve to have things that make you happy, no matter what they are—we all do." She gave the tiniest of squeezes to his shoulder before moving forward to join the rest of them.

Todoroki looked after her, his eyes wide with…with what? Alarm? Shock? Excitement? Awe? Awe, yes, that was what he felt. Yaoyorozu had just given him something simply because she thought he'd wanted it. He wasn't obligated to pay her back to get her something in return or rather, the only thing she wanted in return was for him to enjoy it; to enjoy something he liked even if it was silly and served no greater purpose.

He looked at the shoulder she'd touched, his left shoulder, and felt a warmth there that for once wasn't a heat that he'd generated himself. It was her warmth and it tickled a part of his heart that was rarely touched.

The glacier that still encompassed his soul cracked, a sheet of ice metaphorically falling away, revealing a tiny flame burning within. He looked after her and smiled.

Thank you, Yaoyorozu,…thank you for being you.