SHOTO WAS UNABLE TO sleep at all. No matter how many times he had rolled over in his bed to try a position where he would be comfortable enough to fall into a deep slumber, or absentmindedly scrolled through his phone to kill time in hopes that he would eventually get sleepy, he just couldn't. This was unusual for him.
And I say unusual, because usually he'd just close his eyes and doze off into sleep without putting any effort at all. However, that really couldn't be the case right now after the events that had went down recently. After meeting Momo, she hit his life like a train and now he couldn't go back to being his usual cold asshole self because of her being... well, her.
It was crazy, really. How a mere girl could take such an effect on someone like Shoto Todoroki.
She was always so intelligent and had great perspectives on things which took an influence on him quite a bit. Her adorableness made him want to hold her close and never let go. But, no matter how much he wanted to go back to being an emotionless asshole, whenever something bad happened to her, he would be very distressed.
And that was applying to him right now, when he found himself climbing up the stairs(he wanted to take the elevator but it was already being used by a particular raven haired girl at the time, so he took the stairs instead) as he headed to the rooftop of the dormitory building so he could make an attempt to clear his thoughts there.
His dorm room didn't have that warm and inviting aura to it like Momo's did. It was dull, lonely and very cold(seriously, he should just install a heater there for how cold it was, especially during the night when the extremely cold air would somehow find its way in his room). So, he figured that blankly staring at the view which midnight had to offer high up in the rooftop in a place where he expected no one else to be there especially during the late hour would help him compose himself for once after a long stressful week.
He'd never been to the roof before. But today he reckoned that he would make a short trip there because, according to his little friend Izuku, it was a great place to ease up and forget about your problems within the tranquil atmosphere as there were barely ever any people there. So, naturally, he believed that no one else would be there and he would be completely alone as he wished to be.
He thought that no one else would be there.
However that didn't quite appear to be the case as when he stepped out in the concrete floor of the very roof, he found there to be a particular figure with midnight colored hair resting her hands on the railing in the distance with the moonlight shining down on her making her look like the absolute angel she was. Of course, it was Momo. But, no matter how much he wanted to stare at her beauty forever, that was the least of his concerns of the moment.
It was pretty clear that she did not want to be near him, especially after she ran away from him like that today. He didn't want to make her feel worse by replaying that moment again.
So, trying to think of a solution, he stood. Yes, he literally just awkwardly stood there, for approximately two minutes and fourteen seconds, thinking. Now he had come up with two choices; one, flat out run away to not make her uncomfortable by his presence, or two, keep his promise with Kyoka and try to fix things once and for all.
It seemed that he had chosen the latter option when he buried his hands in the pockets of his black sweatshirt and suddenly approached her on her left as a small smile crept on his face when he found himself unable to look away from the surprised yet adorable look on her face and spoke, "Hey there, Momo."
To his surprise, Momo didn't back away. Instead, she kept her gaze locked on him with her eyes widened from shock. She wasn't ready to face him again. However, she didn't expect him to be greeting her so casually after all that happened. And she definitely did not expect him of all people to be here. So with pure curiosity laced in her tone, she dismissed his greeting and asked innocently, "Why are you here?"
The dual haired man's smile faded and he looked up to the star filled sky, with Momo following along as well. She stared at it in awe. Momo didn't realize how beautiful the sky was today until he unintentionally made her realize.
Deep shades of black and blue painted the sky with countless stars sprinkled around. Hazy clouds covered the crescent moon slightly, out of which silver moonlight shone on the school campus underneath, including the pair as they stargazed in pure silence nearly dismissing the raven haired girl's question. Oh right. Momo asked a question.
He quickly snapped back to his thoughts and responded with his eyes still subconsciously locked onto the breathtaking sky, "Couldn't sleep." Silence between the two came around again for a hot minute as Momo looked to the side and she mumbled almost inaudibly although it was just enough for Shoto to hear, "...Me too."
Shoto glanced at her for a second before looking back up to the sky in an attempt to not look at her to prevent a blush from spreading on his features. I mean, how could he not? She was so adorable in her pajamas with her cheeks flushed of surprise from how mesmerizing the sky was. And the way her midnight locks draped down across her shoulders contrasting from her usual ponytail, the way her peachy lips parted in awe as she stared at the view, the way the stars and the blue hues of the night sky reflected on her onyx orbs as she kept her gaze locked onto it... she was just perfect. Too perfect.
However, he couldn't let himself get a little too distracted by her beauty just yet. He had problems to fix. And he wouldn't let himself forget that so easily. Not when it's about Momo.
Out of the blue, after a long moment of the pair silently gazing at the stars, the dual haired man who was known to be cold and emotionless asked in a soft tone with genuine concern edging on his voice, "So, ready to explain why you've been avoiding me?" Momo stopped spacing out after hearing the sudden voice, and looked at Shoto with her brows furrowed in an attempt to make a face of denial as to what he was saying. "Ignoring you? What-"
Whether it was a good or bad thing that she was extremely bad at lying, it showed and Shoto could see through it just clearly. He turned to face the girl and stared back at her with in such a face which was devoid of any emotion with his moonlit eyes looking at hers sternly. "Don't lie to me, Momo."
Momo could read other people's emotions easily. She was an expert at dealing with emotions and serious issues in the most mature ways possible, like how she was trained to be since the young age of five. But even with Shoto, her usually lighthearted best friend, she was unable to place a finger on his blank and unreadable expression that begged her for answers. And it scared her. She wasn't quite sure of how to respond to that.
The raven haired girl's eyes widened in mere shock for a second before looking away from him to hide the tears that threatened to pour out. She then turned on her heel to run away.
Shoto couldn't let her do that again any time soon, which was made evident as he instinctively ran towards her before wrapping his calloused hand around her wrist, not planning on giving her a chance to go anytime soon. Momo tried pulling away, but his grip on her wrist tightened. She parted her lips in surprise and her eyes glistened with tears as she turned her head to face him. Shoto's head hung low with his dual colored hair falling over his eyes.
"Don't run away from me... not again..." He moved his head to face the girl in front of her as they kept eye contact. "...please?" His tone so genuine, it was almost pleading, his eyes were so sad with a new emotion she had never seen from him before, causing crystal-like tears to stream down her flushed cheeks as her lips quivered.
They looked at each other in cold silence, their throats dry, each of them trying to find the words to say. Shoto couldn't bear seeing her cry any longer.
"I'm... so sorry... really... really sorry...", Momo managed to choke out between small sniffles as she looked away from him with their hands still interlocked, not wanting to see his sad face with a wave of extreme guilt kicking in. Shoto didn't respond for a moment, making Momo fearful of hearing what he would say to her, before he at last let go of his grip on her hand and wrapped his arms around her from behind into a warm embrace.
The raven haired girl wasn't sure how to respond for a moment as she stood still with his arms still wrapped around her back. Never did she expect to be getting a hug from Shoto Todoroki, who she had a deep hatred for long ago, but at this moment, it felt just right.
She found herself giving in as she turned around to face him and hugged him back with her head buried into his neck as she cried her heart out, her flood of tears definitely dampening the collar of his black sweatshirt, but they didn't care about that right now. They didn't care about anything right now. They had each other and that was all they needed.
"Hey, don't be sorry. Even if I don't know why, I do know that you've definitely been going through a lot. It's not your fault, okay?" He smiled reassuringly at the girl in his arms even though he knew she couldn't see it. He found that Momo had a sweet scent of vanilla, however he tried his best to direct his thoughts away from it as he was in quite the serious situation here.
"I... I wasn't even allowed to talk to you, Shoto, I... My m-... mother..." His smile faded after hearing her words. Kyoka was right all along. Her mother really did cause this. Though his heart ached to know more, he hushed her up and spoke softly in a tone barely above a whisper, "Shh, it's alright. I understand." He thought carefully for a second trying to collect the right words. "But you know, being so obedient to other people might get you hurt in the process. So, just know that, it's fine to make decisions for yourself once in a while."
He felt the raven haired girl nodding to his words in the crook of his neck as she let out another small sniffle and found his lips spreading to form a smile once again. She was always so adorable, it melted the ice of his normally cold heart.
"Thank you... so much... Shoto..." Anything for you, Momo., His heart yearned to say to the girl he loved so dearly, but after remembering that they (unfortunately) were nothing more than just friends, instead all that came out was a reassuring, "Mhm."
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ (𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣!)