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: …and it's a todomomo chapter. Anytime I try to write TodoMomo, I'm always like, 'okay, this time I'm going to make them hold hands' or 'this time I'm going to make them do something clearly romantic' and yeah, no, that doesn't happen. Maybe it's because I'm writing from Shoto's POV, but that poor boy has had such emotional trauma and likely has no idea what a healthy relationship really looks like, let alone, what a romantic one should be. So yeah, TodoMomo chapters I write, are always muted, for which I apologize. Shoto needs baby, like premature baby steps.
Anyway, thank you for any reviews/follows/favs—they mean a lot. I read all of them. Drop me some more if you feel like it, otherwise enjoy!
Sixty
Sukoshi
Shoto Todoroki sat at the cafeteria lunch table, Midoriya and Mineta across from him, Ida at his side; in front of him a large bowl of duck ramen. It was a bit of a deviation for him; usually if soba was available—it was today—he was inclined to have that, but today he'd wanted to branch out and try something else. Part of the reason that he'd chosen duck ramen was because he'd seen Yaoyorozu eat it on more than one occasion and even though he wasn't entirely certain why, he wanted to try out some things that she seemed to like.
Why not just get what you know and like? The soba at UA is decent; less of a risk than duck ramen, Shoto thought to himself as he popped a pickled plum into his mouth that had been floating in the broth. An explosion of sweet with sour tickled his tongue. He'd had pickled plums before but never ones at UA. He liked it!
"Branching out from the soba, eh Todoroki?" Mineta asked from across the table.
Shoto looked up from his ramen to his smaller classmate and gave a subtle head nod. "Yes. I have soba almost every day; I figured I'd try to expand my tastes."
"Duck has to be one of my favorite types of poultry though I'm not too big a fan of the duck in UA's ramen," Ida added to the conversation as he looked over at Todoroki's ramen.
"So how do you like it?" Asked Midoriya.
"I like the plums," Shoto admitted with a little smile.
Movement from the buffet selection caught Todoroki's eyes as he realized that Yaoyorozu was exiting the buffet and about to take a seat. When had she entered? He'd made a mental note to himself before coming to lunch to keep an eye out for her; he'd decided that he wanted to sit with her for lunch.
It had only been a few days since the festival but he found that she had often been on his mind since then. During his work studies on Sunday, he'd felt mildly distracted because Yaoyorozu's smiling face kept popping into his head. It had been frustrating and had caused him to lag behind both Bakugo and Midoriya in their continued efforts to keep up with Endeavor. Eventually he'd managed to get his thoughts under control but the fact that his mind kept drifting to her was…surprising.
When they'd been in class yesterday and today, he'd found himself looking in her direction without even realizing that that's what he was doing. That morning when they'd been in the UA gym to do practice runs for whatever group work study that they'd be doing later in the week, he'd felt disappointed when she'd been reallocated to a different group. He'd been so bothered by it he almost approached Mr. Aizawa to inquire why the sudden change but had ultimately decided against it.
Since the festival he seemed to be preoccupied with her, or at least, she kept popping into his head when he least expected it. Not only had these thoughts become more common but they almost always carried an unfamiliar warmth with them. He'd catch himself staring at her or thinking about her and his stomach would almost instantly fill with fluttery butterflies. It was an…odd sensation and one that he wasn't overly familiar with.
He understood anxiety, fear, and anticipation; those emotions carried a similar fluttery feeling with them…but this strange tickling in his belly wasn't accompanied with any of those emotions. Rather, they were almost always paired with warmth and…fondness.
Shoto found himself often recalling his impromptu hug and how Yaoyorozu had referred to it as being nice. He wasn't entirely certain what that meant. Did that mean that it had been wanted? Did it mean that it was something she liked and potentially wanted more of that in the future? Or did it just mean that it was okay to sometimes hug her when the occasion called for it? He wasn't sure and he had no idea how to broach such a subject with her without sounding like a robotic lunatic.
Yaoyorozu passed by his table and toward a table behind him, with a few of the other girls. Once she passed, Shoto stood up, tray in hand and began sliding past Ida.
"Todoroki? Where are you going?" Ida asked as Shoto continued to move past him.
"You just barely got started on your ramen," Midoriya said in concern.
"I'd like to go sit with Yaoyorozu," Shoto explained as he successfully moved past Ida.
"Wha—" Deku started but Mineta's voice cut him off.
"Yaoyorozu? What?! Dude, spill! Did some stuff go down at the festival? Is everyone getting some except me?! But spill!" Mineta practically shouted the words at him. Shoto paused in his movements, looking on at his classmate in confusion. Why should choosing to sit with Yaoyorozu trigger such a vocal reaction from him?
"Mineta! That is highly inappropriate and rude!" Ida chastised.
"Don't care class rep—if Todoroki is about to bag a babe like Yaoyorozu, I have to know!" Mineta snapped in response, now leaning over the table, eyes wide as he looked on eagerly at Todoroki.
"I don't understand why me sitting with Yaoyorozu should make you believe that we are together. I'm friends with her just like I am with you," explained Todoroki.
"Well it's not like you were going to sit with her anytime before the festival so something must've happened there! So dude come on, spil—" Midoriya's voice suddenly rose over Mineta's, interrupting him.
"So Mineta, the book that you er, uh, loaned me—the book with the fruit on it—I had some uh, er, questions on it. Since I assume you've read it, I just, er, uh, um, I wanted to discuss it with you!"
Mineta's head whipped over in Deku's direction and he pushed back to a proper seated position. "Oh? So…you read it I take it?"
Shoto watched with mild interest as poor Deku's cheeks started to darken with embarrassment. He vaguely recalled that a while back Mineta had thrown a book in Deku's direction and made some semi suggestive comment about him being of the oral persuasion. Shoto hadn't really thought that much of that, chalking it up to Mineta's crass nature.
"Um, well that is…yes." Deku's cheeks were bright red.
"So, young padawan, what do you need guidance with?" Mineta asked, his voice taking on a wizened elder's tone. Todoroki took that as his opportunity to make an exit.
He slid the rest of the way outside of the table he'd previously been seated at and began to move toward where Yaoyorozu was stationed. She was seated at a table towards the back of the cafeteria with the other girls. Half of the table was filled with the girls from class 1-A and the other half filled with class 1-B. A few of the girls shot curious glances at him as he made his way closer to the table.
Yaoyorozu was seated next to Ashido and Hagakure with Asui and Uraraka on the other side of her. He came up behind Asui and Uraraka and cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward. All eyes suddenly turned to him. Even the girls seated on the other side of the table from class 1-B were now looking at him. He was starting to feel anxious…or perhaps it was self-conscious.
"Um, Yaoyorozu, I was wondering if I could sit with you for lunch," he asked, his voice even and cool as ever, not even a trace of some of the uncertainty that he felt.
The dark-haired girl stared at him with wide eyes, her cheeks beginning to turn pink. "Wh-what?" She questioned.
"I was hoping to join you for lunch," Shoto said, hoping that his rephrasing would make his desire clearer.
"But…" her voice trailed off, her eyes still locked on him and staring. Yaoyorozu's frozen form suddenly wobbled as Hagakure shoved her.
"Momo! Go sit with Todoroki! He wants to sit with you, so go do that!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.
Ashido looked between both Momo and Todoroki before smiling and saying, "My girl Hagakure is right; go sit with Todoroki!"
Couldn't he just sit with all of them? He opened his mouth to speak but the idea of being able to sit alone with Yaoyorozu finally permeated his brain. If they sat alone then it could be more like when they were at the festival. They hadn't really been alone but they'd been able to talk just amongst themselves while also enjoying their classmates.
"Is that what you want Todoroki?" Yaoyorozu asked, breaking Shoto out of his inner thoughts.
Was that what he wanted? "We can sit together with the others or by ourselves; I don't mind either." Coward, a voice whispered internally.
"Well—" Yaoyorozu started but class 1-B's Kendo suddenly slid down closer to the girls from 1-A.
"This table is kind of full with all of us here, so you two would probably be better off at a table with less people," Kendo said with a casual smile directed at Todoroki.
"Plus, this table can get really loud," Hagakure added and gave Yaoyorozu another gentle shove.
Todoroki didn't recall the girls' table being all that loud. If anything, his table was on the louder side considering that they often sat with Mineta who was prone to lewd outbursts.
"Okay, I guess—yes," Yaoyorozu said, her cheeks still red and began to rise from the table.
Shoto watched as Yaoyorozu rose from her place at the table and then proceeded to slide out from it. He cast a quick glance around the cafeteria to try to find a less occupied table. Many of the tables were fairly full, though he spotted a relatively empty one toward the back corner of the room. He nodded his head in that direction.
"How about we sit over there?" He asked.
"Sure," Yaoyorozu agreed and began heading in the direction of the mostly vacated table.
As they walked away from the girl's table, Shoto became aware of several eyes on him. The table that had been between his usual spot and where Yaoyorozu sat, in particular had eyes on him. That table usually sat Bakugo, Kirishima, Kaminari, Satou, and sometimes Sero. Some of the boys from class 1-B would intermingle on it as well, but today it was just the usuals.
Both Kirishima and Kaminari had stopped mid meal and were openly staring at them. Shoto realized that even Bakugo was giving them the occasional glance, though he seemed less interested than the others and even had a slight smirk on his face. Was it really so odd that he'd want to sit with Yaoyorozu? He knew that it was possible that his classmates might view something as innocuous as moving to sit with a girl as suspicious of something romantic, but he hadn't actually thought that anyone would think that. Had that been the wrong assumption? Was moving to sit with a girl not actually innocent? Why should that matter? If he'd chosen to move from his usual spot and to Bakugo's side, would he get the same staring looks? He doubted that such an action would garner anything more than a solitary thought. Why was the same action but with a girl so different? Why must a double standard exist?
The two arrived at the table and Shoto immediately sat down. Yaoyorozu paused briefly, clearly trying to decide if she wanted to sit next to or across from him; she chose to sit across from him. Once she'd been seated, Shoto resumed eating his meal, feeling mostly unbothered by the interaction. He didn't think it should be such a big deal to sit with one of his classmates, even if she was a girl; so he certainly wasn't going to make a fuss over it. The only way to overcome a double standard or inappropriate world view was to normalize it.
"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why did you want to sit with me?" Yaoyorozu's soft voice interrupted Todoroki's thoughts and he paused, ramen noodles precariously coiled in his chopsticks.
Why did he want to sit with her? The question bounced about in his head like a racquetball in an empty gym. He lowered his chopsticks back into the soup broth before resting them over the bowl and met Yaoyorozu's gaze. "I enjoyed our conversation and time together at the ume matsuri, so I wanted to repeat that. I like sitting with Midoriya and Ida and the others, but today I thought I'd like to sit with you and talk to you."
The blush that had managed to fade a little from the raven-haired girls' cheeks, returned in full force. "Oh." The single word answer seemed strained. Was choosing to disrupt the previously determined seating arrangements that abnormal?
"Is that okay?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"No, it's fine, I am just surprised. I didn't expect you to uh, I guess enjoy our conversation and time together so much that you'd want to sit with me during lunch," Yaoyorozu was quick to explain.
So her previous reaction was surprise and not strain…that was good. Shoto scooped up the ramen noodles with his chopsticks again, eager to finish his food so that he could then focus on talking with the girl across from him. There was another pickled plum floating in the broth that he was looking forward to eating. Would this one be as tasty as the one he'd eaten before?
"I didn't know you liked duck ramen. Don't you usually eat soba?" Asked Yaoyorozu as she took a spoonful of miso soup into her mouth. Her tongue briefly darted out and catch a droplet of broth that lingered on her lip.
It was a subtle and innocuous movement that shouldn't have drawn his attention and yet, it did. Todoroki found himself frozen in place as he watched Yaoyorozu's pink little tongue peek out to catch the errant drop of soup. He felt a fluttering in his stomach and the tiniest of aches in his groin as he watched her. The fluttering he found perplexing and the ache he recognized almost immediately as the beginnings of arousal.
Shoto felt himself start to frown at that realization. How uncouth to feel excitement at something so benign as eating soup. What was wrong with him? Why was he feeling this now? His mind wandered to the last few weeks and the way Yaoyorozu's cheeks had been red tinged during their encounters and how he'd considered at one point that perhaps she might have more than just friendly affection for him. Did, did he have more than friendly affection for her? Did he feel desire for her?
The possibility of such a thought made a cold chill run down his spine. More than affection; as in what? Romance? Desire? Sexual attraction? The thought made his stomach churn with disdain and no matter how much he avoided memories of Endeavor and his mother, they now came flooding back to him in painful clarity.
Theirs had been an outdated arranged marriage, so there was no real love, romance, or probably even sexual attraction so to speak. When both of his parents had occupied the same space, he could hardly recall seeing shared loving expressions, affectionate touching, and any true sense of desire. Rather, the only emotion that permeated that time was tension, expectation, obligation, duty, disappointment, and cruelty.
Shoto Todoroki knew so little of love and even less of romance. They were alien concepts to him and frightening ones at that. But, a little voice whispered to him, whether you care to admit it or not, you do know a little of love; it might not be like when other's use the term, but you love the friends you've made. They've helped you see that life isn't all black and white; not all ice and fire, but rather shades of grey and a harmony of fiery passion and icy calm. Izuku Midoriya helped you remember the love you felt for you mother and the love she felt for you. You know a little of love and you can learn more of it…if you want to. Feeling more than just friendly affection is okay; it doesn't make you bad or make you a monster like your father was; it's part of growing up, and how you grow up and treat a romantic partner is your choice. You do not have to be your father; you are not him.
Todoroki felt his stomach flipflop with anxiety as that inner voice whispered reassuringly to him. His gaze moved from Yaoyorozu's mouth and to her eyes and he felt himself tense up as he felt like he was really truly seeing her for the first time, or rather, allowing himself to see her as something more than just a friend—as a crush, as someone he was beginning to feel romantic attraction to.
It was a foreign and frightening realization and one he immediately tried to squash down, but that same inner voice whispered calm to him, and slowly he felt himself relax a little. I am not Endeavor and I will be who I want to be, regardless of my parentage. I am uncertain what this feeling means or if I should act in some way because of it but…I am willing to explore what it means to me.
"Todoroki?" Yaoyorozu's voice pierced through his stormy thoughts. He'd been so caught up in his own mind and alarmed at feeling mildly aroused by her that he'd completely zoned out of any conversation that they'd been having.
"Sorry, I got distracted. I believe you asked me if I usually eat soba and yes, that is correct. I do change up my lunch choices from time to time but soba is my favorite dish so usually if it's on the menu, I'll have some," Shoto explained and then gave a small bow of apology.
Yaoyorozu put her hands up and shook her head. "No, that's quite all right, you don't need to apologize. I just wanted to make sure you'd heard me since you went so quiet all of the sudden."
"Yes, I had some, uh…well, some distracting thoughts," he explained, his voice an ocean of calm but something like uncertainty and insecurity bubbled within. How odd, he thought to himself as he attempted to soothe the emotional turbulence.
"So do you like the duck ramen? I don't think it's my favorite but I've had it many times since we've been at UA," Yaoyorozu asked casually.
"It's good, though, I can't say I like it more than soba," Shoto paused for a moment to center himself before continuing, "what do you think is your favorite dish?"
"Oh well part of the reason I like duck ramen is because duck is on the fattier side and since my quirk requires that I take in a lot of lipids, the fattier the better!" Yaoyorozu said with a smile that she followed up with a heavy sigh as if fatty foods weren't actually what she enjoyed eating.
"I understand that that's essential for your quirk to function but regardless of that, what is your favorite food? What do you actually like to eat?"
He watched as Yaoyorozu opened her mouth to speak but stopped, her eyes darting off to the side as she thought about what to say. Shoto wondered if she actually had a favorite food since she'd likely spent a lot of time eating simply to maintain her quirk's usefulness. Something like that might make one hate food. Though, he was fairly certain that Satou loved sweet foods despite the fact that his quirk operated in a very similar way.
"I think I like plain old miso soup the best. It's not really ideal for storing lipids but it's simple and easy and is just a comfort food for me. I almost always have a small bowl of miso soup with whatever my main course is for lunch and dinner," she explained thoughtfully.
Shoto nodded though in truth he was mildly surprised at the admission. Miso soup was pretty plain and someone like Yaoyorozu who came from wealth likely had been exposed to a vast number of different types of food and could've developed a finicky palette, but instead she preferred something simple and cheap. Not that anything he'd ever observed from her made him think that her tastes were on the lavish side—there were some things that definitely spoke to the fact that she came from money, but aside from those, her tastes appeared to lean more toward practicality and efficiency.
"I agree that miso soup is a good comfort food. What do you think your favorite type of fruit is?" Shoto asked as he eyed the remaining pickled plum in his ramen. Did she like plums? Had he ever really seen her eat any other type of fruit?
Yaoyorozu laughed then which surprised and pleased Todoroki. He decided then and there that he liked the sound of her laugh and felt his mouth begin to tug upwards in a smile.
"I hadn't given it much thought, really…I guess maybe pomegranates? They're kind of difficult to eat but you can't beat the taste. There's also quite a bit of mythology around the pomegranate that I find interesting and since you asked me, what is your favorite fruit, Todoroki?" Yaoyorozu asked, her laugh having morphed into a friendly smile.
What was his favorite fruit? He'd always had a wide array of fruits and vegetables to choose from, though they were always vetted to some extent by Endeavor. Endeavor had always been painfully fussy about everything that Shoto ate which he'd found endlessly irritating. It meant he got to try all kinds of fruits and vegetables but it also meant that non-nutritious foods like candied apples, crepes, or candy in general weren't allowed. At least, they weren't allowed…until he came to UA.
"I think mine would be golden kiwis," he answered after having to think about it for a minute or two.
"Ah, those are pretty good. I like them better than regular kiwis; less fur on the skin. A little less of a sharp taste than a regular kiwi," Yaoyorozu agreed as she took another sip of her miso.
"I learned to eat them with the skins. More nutrients that way," explained Shoto as he popped the last pickled plum into his mouth.
Yaoyorozu looked at him with wide eyes. "You eat the skins? Really?!"
"Yes; they aren't so bad. As you said, there is less of a furry texture on the skin so the texture isn't really that much of a turn off. They add a bit of a counter to the sweetness in my opinion." Was it really that odd to eat the skin of a kiwi? A regular kiwi he could see how one could be shocked by that but a golden kiwi? Wasn't it just like eating the skin of an apple?
"I guess, I just, well I never would've thought to eat the skin," Yaoyorozu said softly as her gaze dropped to her lunch.
Shoto resumed his focus on the ramen, eager to finish it so that he could maximize any socializing he could get with Yaoyorozu. He was acutely aware of the ticking of the clock and the shrinking amount of time they had left for lunch.
He finally slurped up the last bits of his ramen, though he found that he wasn't a great fan of the duck. It was definitely on the fattier side and was sitting rather heavily in his stomach. A beef or pork ramen would've been preferrable.
"When we were at the ume matsuri you said you'd read the manga for Galaxy Princesses; do you have a favorite character or princess?" He asked as he pushed his tray of finished food slightly off to the side. Shoto noted that Yaoyorozu looked like she was mostly done with her lunch as well.
"Um, I don't know. I like Spiral a lot because I think she has the most character development. Earth is always a fan favorite I think just because she is so easy to like. Andromeda is probably my least favorite simply because she is the most stubborn and abrasive at times," she paused briefly, likely considering all the characters. "I think my all time favorite character is probably Earth's love interest and Spiral's best friend, Kuchi. He's very upbeat like Earth and really quite loud but I think that it's the dynamic that Spiral and Kuchi share that makes him my favorite. While Earth is his love interest, Spiral's personality meshes so well with his and vice versa. They make for an interesting dynamic."
Shoto nodded as he too recalled the complicated relationship between the two characters. Spiral was the picture of seriousness and severity in the beginning and absolutely despised Kuchi at first because he was so opposite from her. But as the series continued on and Kuchi and all the rest of the princesses spent time with each other, his influence seemed to help bring Spiral out of her shell and helped turn her seriousness into something more playful.
"I wouldn't have picked you as someone for liking Kuchi. He's not a lot like you," Shoto admitted. "Were you in the camp that wanted Kuchi and Spiral to be together rather than him being with Earth?"
A blush colored Yaoyorozu's cheeks. "I was more pro Spiral and Kuchi, yes," she stopped as she cleared her throat and averted her gaze, "I know I'm not like Kuchi but part of the reason I like him is because he's so different from me. He never hesitates, never gets caught in his head; he always acts and speaks up immediately for something he believes in. I envy that ability."
The blush in Yaoyorozu's cheeks made Shoto want to smile again. Was she feeling bashful about admitting to being against the canon ship? Or was she feeling self-conscious because she liked a character that she felt she had so little in common with? Shoto couldn't help but remember her failings at the sports festival and how that had permeated into their test before the botched summer camp. She most certainly was subject to being caught up in her head.
"I don't think that being hesitant or initially cautious is something to feel ashamed of. One could argue that Kuchi is impulsive and often subject to his emotional whims; he doesn't think before he acts. He is a prime example of the good and the bad that can come from acting without hesitation," Shoto countered. He knew that Yaoyorozu was like anyone else in that she could get stuck in her own insecurities, but he was certain that that wasn't something that should make her feel bad. Kuchi's character had landed himself in some pretty bad situations because he'd reacted rather than responded with thought and intent.
"That's true and I'm not saying I envy his impulsivity but rather…I guess I envy his passion. When his character decides to do something, he does it with his whole self and forges ahead despite impossible circumstances. I like to think that I'd be able to do that but I'm also a realist and fear that any passion I had would dry up in the face of overwhelming adversity." Her eyes were still downcast; she was either embarrassed or ashamed to be admitting this to him.
Todoroki couldn't help the curl of disgust that he felt tug on his mouth. Passion. It was an emotion and feeling that he was not a fan of. He admired passion he'd seen in others like in Midoriya or even in Bakugo, but his personal relationship with passion was a muddy one. He associated passion with fire and reactivity which were all things inherently tied to Endeavor. He'd spent the better part of his life diminishing impulsivity and cooling the fiery passion that he'd once felt so strongly when defending his mother. Coming to UA had helped him develop a less strained relationship with it and seeing it on display in a positive light in his classmates had further improved that…but he couldn't shake its' association to his history that easily. That would probably take years of positive experiences and a continuous stoking of his own internal fires.
"What's that face for?" Yaoyorozu asked, an elegant eyebrow raised in question.
"I…just think that you and I have differing perspectives of passion. I agree with you that his dedication to sticking to something he believes in is admirable, but sometimes that kind of single mindedness does far more harm than good," Shoto explained his face returning to neutral and his voice defaulting to icy calmness. She does not understand your history or your experience with passion and how it can go astray.
Yaoyorozu was watching him carefully, her grey eyes slightly narrowed as she watched his face. He wondered what she saw there since both internally and externally he felt calm and cool. Could she make out some turbulent emotion beneath the surface that he was barely aware of? Or was she simply watching the change in his face and voice and its return to cool and detached. You could explain it to her, explain it to her like you did to Midoriya, suggested the same voice that had whispered reassuringly to him earlier. No, she doesn't need to know that; no one does, he thought to himself.
"Todoroki, what—" the school bell gently pinged overhead, announcing to all that lunch was concluding.
Shoto rose from the table, grabbing his tray before turning to Yaoyorozu. "Shall we head to class together?"
Yaoyorozu gave him a long look, an unfamiliar emotion in her eyes before she gave a single nod and picked up her tray and joined him. They walked in silence as they bussed their trays and then exited the cafeteria.
Todoroki was aware that there were many eyes on them but he paid them little attention. He was just walking back to class with his classmate, that was all. It was completely innocuous and innocent and shouldn't draw such attention. They were classmates and friends; nothing more…
…but you could be more if you'd like. It doesn't have to be right away but you could explore what she means to you and you could start that by telling her about some of your history. Your parentage doesn't define you and you are more than your trauma but you will never rise above them if you hold onto them and never let anyone else in. Learning to love and to be loved takes time and practice but learning those things and letting someone else in is the first step to achieving that. All you have to do is let her in, not a lot, just a little…
They made their way down the hall and toward the classroom. Shoto could see Bakugo and Kirishima ahead of them, Ashido at Kirishima's side, her hand interlaced with his. A bold display of affection. He glanced over at Yaoyorozu briefly, a sudden fluttering sensation in his stomach. He was close enough to her that he could brush hands with her if he wanted to. She was on his right side and while that side almost always felt cool, it felt warm now; warmed by Yaoyorozu's proximity.
Shoto stopped as their classroom came into view, his normally cool and collected thoughts moving to far stormier waters. Not a lot, just a little. Did he want that? Did he want to let someone else into his life, into his pain? Midoriya and Bakugo knew more than enough; they were sharing the hurt in his heart and it'd felt better after he'd talked to them…the burden, the pain didn't feel quite so heavy anymore. Certainly, that was enough, wasn't it? Would Yaoyorozu want to be a part of that? Would she be okay sharing that burden? It seemed cruel to knowingly rope someone else into his familial drama.
"Todoroki?" Yaoyorozu's voice interrupted his thoughts. He blinked to see her standing in front of him, her head tilted to the side; expression puzzled. "Are you okay?"
Just a little, when you're ready.
"Yaoyorozu…I," his voice wavered and he broke their gaze, uncertain of what he wanted to say or convey to her. "At some point I think, I think I'd like to tell you a little about my…history, it might explain some things. I don't want to, or, I am not ready to do that right now but I think sometime in the future I'd like to share it with you. As long as you are okay with that."
Yaoyorozu looked at him with wide eyes, clearly surprised. Whatever she'd been expecting him to say, it hadn't been that. Shoto felt a stab of doubt touch his heart and he wondered if he should have said something else but then she spoke and his insecurities washed away.
"I'd like that. Whenever you feel like you want to have that conversation, I can make time for it." She smiled at him, the smile reaching all the way up to her eyes.
The doubt evaporated and the fluttering in his stomach returned. He felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards into a smile. His heart felt light as if those words alone made the hurt deep inside him all that much lighter. The proverbial flame in his heart flickered brighter; the glacier beginning to melt in earnest.
They stepped into the classroom together.