"Um....I was told you wouldn't be here."
"Did you break into my home?"
You'd heard about Endeavor's change into a better person after All Might's fall but having his voice boom down at you, daring you to say the wrong thing, made you feel like you were back to being his intern. You wouldn't lie, he was probably one the very few people that actually scared you.
"Leave her alone, old man."
My hero.
You gave Todoroki a smile as he made his way to your side. You recognized the disheveled look of his hair,"Morning, Todoroki."
He looked at you softly despite the stern tone he'd just used,"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"I did", you lied. All the talk about Dabi resurfacing from underground to look for you was probably the reason for the dream you'd had. The old memories had been so lively that despite not having actually used your quirk, you were starving.
Endeavor's big eyebrows furrowed at the small interaction and you spotted his mouth opening, ready to start interrogating you again but Todoroki beat him to it,"I invited her here. A villain's after her and I offered her our protection. Is that a problem?"
The room grew quiet. With Endeavor being here so suddenly and not so thrilled about your surprise visit, it really did feel like you were intruding, which is why your jaw dropped at the calm tone the big man took on next.
He sighed,"It's not, Shoto. I just wish you would've told me about this earlier. I came here with plans to spend time with my family only."
Who was this man and what did he do to the Endeavor you knew?Last time you remembered the three of you being together, he only viewed his son as a tool to surpass the previous number one hero. Now he was treating him like an actual human being. You were elated at the visible difference.
Todoroki, at your side, wasn't. His father words almost sounded like they suggested you didn't belong there. The thought that you might take his father's words to heart rubbed him the wrong way.
He glared at the older man,"You spent years not caring about spending time with family. It can wait this once."
You internally gasped at the cold tone. It was a little uncalled for; even Endeavor's face seemed taken with shock. You looked over at Todoroki's concern. Was this him lashing out over something?Over the years, you'd learned that it was something he'd tend to do.
You took his arm and succesfully brought his eyes down to you,"Todoroki, is everything okay?"
Your touch brought him back down to normal. Seeing you so concerned about him was all he needed for his head to clear again. It was something he was always thankful to you for. He nodded,"I'm fine."
This was the second odd interaction between the two of you Endeavor witnessed within the past few minutes. He remembered a much different relationship years ago. Nonetheless, he could see that you were somewhat of a sensitive topic, so despite his questions, he kept them to himself.
"Flora", he opted for a different type of questioning,"What's this talk about a villain being after you?"
Your nerves grew at the question. He was the one housing you while you worked on your quirk but you couldn't tell him the truth. If you mentioned you were going after Dabi and vice-versa, he'd take the matters into his own hands, which would defeat the whole purpose of the unspoken 'challenge' you and Dabi were trying to pose for each other.
"Well, you see...", you started without an idea of what to say,"I uh..."
"It's none of your business."
What was it with Todoroki not only coming to your rescue but coming for his father today?Endeavor narrowed his eyes and then rubbed his temples at his son's unusual behavior. He decided to just let the topic drop.
A timely interruption took place before the air got too awkward when a woman with glasses walked into the kitchen. You knew who she probably was so you smiled eagerly while she stared at you curiously. Her gaze was just as curious when they landed on the other unexpected guest she did know.
"Father?", she sounded surprised. Her tone was probably the gentlest one you'd hear in the entire house. Endeavor gave her a stare you supposed was his way of greeting her before she turned to you and you smiled.
"I'm (Last Name) (Name), but you can call me (Name)."
Todoroki felt a slight pang at his chest at that. He'd been using your last name for so long that he forgot no matter how close the two of you were now, he still didn't have permission to regard you in a way that showed it.
Fuyumi's eyes brightened,"Ah, Flora, right?!", you nodded and grinned at the sheer kindness you could feel radiating off of her,"I'm happy you're letting me call you by your first name. If that's the case, you can call me Fuyumi. It would probably be confusing for you to call multiple people Todoroki, right?" she giggled. You were already giggling with her.
Todoroki cut both of you off,"(Last Name), you haven't eaten yet. I'm assuming that's why you came in here to begin with."
You smiled at his concern,"It's embarrasing to admit but yeah, I'm starving."
"Oh!", Fuyumi perked up,"We have all the ingredients to make cold soba. I wanted to surprise Shoto with it when he came back from his trip so I got a lot, but it should be enough for all of us to have breakfast together!!"
You had the most endearing sight when Todoroki perked up beside you. He must've been a fan of the food. Fuyumi assured you she'd let you all know when the food was ready and Todoroki asked you to follow him out, which you did without question.
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"Is it just me or does Endeavor not look happy to see me?", you asked Todoroki while balancing your steps on a thin tube lifted a few inches off the floor. You had no idea what it was actually for but it served well for you to play with.
"Ignore him. He agreed with you staying which is what matters. We won't see him after eating anyways."
"Right, because of training. Don't go easy on me just because I'm adorable, okay?"
He couldn't promise that. Not only due to you being adorable but the thought of your improvement coming along with the chance of you leaving sooner. It conflicted him; he wanted you able to protect youself from Dabi but he wanted you to stay.
"By the way, why'd you bring me here?", you questioned him. Todoroki had taken you to an outdoor-sy area. You thought a garden would be nice due to the amount of sun it was getting.
Todoroki looked at you straight in the face,"So you can photosynthesize."
"What."
You looked at him with a blank expression. You couldn't have heard him correctly, right?
Todoroki's distinct eyes looked at you with complete seriousness,"You've said the sun helps you replenish your energy and that you're starving. This is so you don't feel as hungry while my sister finishes making breakfast."
"That's..."
You had no words. You would've thought he understood that the sun helped your quirk's capacity, not yours, so the absurd reasoning he had to expose you to bring you outside was completely wrong. But it was so adorably sweet of him to try something like this for you that you felt like you couldn't actually tell him.
"That's...", you repeated, holding in your laugh as best you could,"That's really thoughtful, thank you. I do feel a lot better actually."
Todoroki nodded and you could sense a bit of pride from him; he was content having helped you out. It felt patronizing to mislead him but he was being so thoughtful you couldn't help it. It would also probably embarrass him if you told him he had your quirk's components completely wrong.
The sense of pride gave Todoroki the courage to take a certain step. The man got closer and leaned down to place--and you had to take a couple of seconds to confirm this with yourself--a kiss on your forehead.
The world stopped then and there for you. Your eyes were wide open--Had you accidentally fallen off the tube and hit your head?Did you enter some kind of universe were Todoroki's and your roles were reversed?Denial was all that was going through your head because no way Shoto Todoroki kissed your forehead out of nowhere.
Todoroki looked down at your frozen face with hesitancy. The courage he'd had was a rush of adrenaline that was leaving at the complete lack of reaction from you. He'd thought with your affinity for affection, you'd be the one less shocked about it than him. Clearly he was wrong.
Still, he couldn't feel any regret over it. Turning the tables and being the one to give you affection was making him discover that giving and receiving affection, when involving you, were two different types of thrills. One kiss was't enough for him to know which of the two he liked best.
So he moved to give you a second kiss on the forehead. That was what finally brought a reaction out of you and Todoroki enjoyed the sight of it. It was adorable to watch your face explode into a crimson as you started stammering and pointing at him accusingly.
"O-Okay, what the hell?!?Since when are you so...so...so me?!?"
Todoroki shrugged. You gaped at the familiar indifference he was having. It was unfair when you were so shocked and you pouted,"At least give me a warning or something?", a realization came and you looked around you frantically before sighing in relief,"Thank god. At least no one was around. Can you imagine if some kind of visitor, or your dad, had seen?"
Todoroki didn't see what the problem would have been. If anything, people seeing him kiss you on the forehead didn't sound bad at all. Maybe they'd mistake your relationship and stay away thinking you were already taken.
He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out, getting the message he'd been expecting.
"(Last Name)."
"What?", your tone still sounded flustered and it made him smile.
"Sit next to me during breakfast."
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"Did I never teach you manners?", Endeavor grimaced in disgust as you stuffed yourself.
"Nope. You were too busy yelling at me and calling me mean things to 'bring out my potential'", you air quoted with your fingers before going back into indulging the delicious breakfast. You'd already cleared the air and apologized to everyone in advance for how ugly you were about to eat so you didn't see the problem.
"That sounds like you, dad", Fuyumi giggled and you nodded feverishly.
"He called me a defective sapling once", you spoke after a big swallow.
Todoroki did remember that. He also remembered you calling his father a rooster under your breath right after. It was amazing how much the sense of humor he loved from you had stuck since then and he'd spent the entire time ignoring you.
At least it was different now. He had you in his home, laughing and eating breakfast with most of his family, right beside him. It brought a thought into his head.
He hadn't thought of his mom much as of late. He'd been distracted by you, though he obviously still valued her as much as always, but maybe it was time to visit her again. Maybe he could take you to meet her too. You had been the one to make the last visit even better for her.
You'd also be meeting her later on anyway. Todoroki already had indisputable intentions for you to become his.
His train of thoughts were cut off by girly giggles. He looked at you beside him and noticed you were whispering back and forth with Fuyumi; the odd thing about it was that Fuyumi was sitting opposite from you and therefore a distance away. The whispering was louder than regular talking, but based on what you were talking about, he could tell it was on purpose.
It almost brought a smile to his face. You were whispering childishly offensive comments about Endeavor to Fuyumi who only laughed in response, not adding anything but clearly enjoying the way you were trying to work up her father, who was hearing all of it. Among the comments, Todoroki heard you claim you 'wished Endeavor's hair would singe off already so you could slap his bare head'.
Todoroki was throughly enjoying having you so comfortable in his house. It was what he wanted all along. Endeavor, however, wasn't.
"Flora. Get up."
You quieted down at his sudden demand. It'd come out of nowhere(well, not really). Had you gone too far?You'd only been joking, he knew that, right? The stare down he was giving you suggested he didn't.
You almost got up without retorting before Todoroki's arm extended in front of you, a way of telling you to stay still. You looked at him worryingly--now you had two people telling you what to do. Todoroki spoke up for you, "She's eating", his voice came out cold,"If you value manners that much, you'd let her finish."
"Stay out of this, Shoto. Flora, I told you to get up."
"Uh- If I'm allowed to ask", you tried to be the first one to actually figure out what was going on,"What's happening?Are you kicking me out?"
Todoroki's voice came out lower than ever before,"He's not."
The silence after his statement was icy--no, the air was icy. The temperature had definitely gone down. You didn't know if the goosebumps you got was from that or the tension that formed so suddenly. You looked over to Fuyumi to see if she could feel it but she seemed either too taken by the scene unfolding in front of her, or her ice quirk helped her not be bothered by the temperature. Maybe both.
Endeavor observed his son's behavior. It was giving him all the more reason to separate you from him for a moment, though clearly it wouldn't be easy without assuring him first. He sighed.
"I'm not kicking you out. I'm taking you to the training grounds."
Your eyebrows shot up,"You're hazing me?"
Todoroki straightened up with a scowl in displeasure immediately and Endeavor was quick to shut any upcoming defense of his down,"Get ahold of yourself, Shoto", before turning to you,"And you, Flora. You ask even more questions than you used to. I'm taking you to the training grounds before you eat properly for a test. I deserve to know whether I wasted my time by interning you."
An understanding started settling down on everybody. You sighed in relief. Now instead of worrying about whether he would kick you out, you'd only worry about how badly the strongest hero in existence was planning to pummel you over all the mean things you said earlier.
You grabbed onto Todoroki's arm, which was still draped in front of you defensively, and smiled at him appreciatively for how concerned he'd been. Todoroki took in your smile as he watched you stand up. Trying to come along would be useless; he knew how picky his father was with spectators.
"Bring it on, Fuego."
That made Todoroki's eyes widen: yet another thing he remembered you calling his father so long ago.
How could he have ignored you so easily?
Endeavor rolled his eyes in distaste before walking out, you following suit and playfully blowing a kiss towards Todoroki before disappearing behind a corner to your likely death. Todoroki blushed as he went back to his cold soba. It felt stupid to enjoy such a childish gesture, but he really enjoyed it.
Fuyumi fake coughed and his attention went back to her. He was developing a bad habit of forgetting about other people when you were around--apparently, even when you weren't around. She had a big smile on her.
"Are you not telling your big sister about what you have for (Name)?", she asked happily. Todoroki looked away with her with heat gathering on his face and took another portion of food into his mouth. It was all she needed to confirm her assumption. It filled her with joy.
For the longest time, she'd seen her little brother not interested in anything other than becoming a hero through his own means instead of his fathers; it was a drive she'd seen distance him from others. Even with his drive becoming more pacifistic, his social skills hadn't become any better. It'd been a complete surprise when she'd woken up to you in the house. Watching the strong concern he held for you was refreshing too.
Todoroki had finally found someone who reached his heart. Fuyumi couldn't be any happier.
She smiled, her happiness practically coming off in waves,"Are you official yet?"
Todoroki shook his head without looking up from the food,"Not yet."
The fact he wasn't even denying it made her happiness grow. She nodded,"Not yet, okay. Wow. I really like her too!! I can see why she's important to you."
Todoroki agreed with a short response again as he enjoyed the cold soba,"She is."
"It'll be dissapointing when she leaves", Fuyumi sighed. She shook her head in dissapointment just thinking about it and perked up at the silence; her brother usually guaranteed her at least short answers, but when she looked over, he'd let go of his plate and looked down at his food with a darkened look over his mismatched eyes. It squeezed her heart.
"Sorry Shoto, I didn't mean to make you think about i-"
"She won't leave."
Her breath hitched at the sudden statement. Fuyumi's forehead scrunched up as she tried to understand what he'd just claimed,"She's not leaving?So she doesn't have anywhere to stay?"
"I'm not letting her leave", he specified solemnly as he took his food again. Fuyumi gasped quietly. She was having a hard time understanding and reading her baby brother, but uneasiness was starting to crawl up in her from his choice of words.
He couldn't be possibly be saying it in the manner it sounded like. Todoroki wasn't the best in expressing himself, so maybe his intentions were different than from what he was communicating.
"Shoto...", she spoke slowly and uncertainly,"She's a hero. You know she won't want to stay here forever, right?", she desperately hoped that she was understanding him wrong.
Todoroki shook his head,"She's not leaving. I'll use any means possible to restrain her if she tries."
Fuyumi's entire good spirit crumbled at the words that calmly fell out Todoroki's mouth as he continued eating his cold soba.
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I've been waiiiiiting to start the yandere arc, so happy rn
Written 1/1/2023
Published 1/2/2023