Todoroki Shouto smiled at the sight of her finally waking up. "Yuuki..." He was glad she was awake, but the image of her being beaten while he could only watch flashed through his mind in a brief instant. He hesitated to walk forward to her because he felt a helpless feeling eating at him; it was the same feeling from when he helplessly lost his mother. He could feel the younger him haunting him in his very own shadow.
Yuuki was so happy to see him first thing in the morning. She tried to get out of the bed and take her first step of the day.
"Yuuki!"
The first step did not go well because she was falling. But that's okay, he caught her and he helped her stand up again.
"Hee, sorry about that. I wanted to walk to you." She couldn't stop blushing because she actually heard his confession when she was sleeping. Her heart couldn't stop beating, what should she do?
Todoroki helped her back to her bed. He sat on her bed too and he pulled her close to him with his right arm. The top of her head was against the side of his chin, she looked comfortable because she looked happy to be close like that. He stroked her head again and again, Yuuki closed her eyes in comfort because his right side was cool.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
"Huh?"
"All I could do was watch you get hurt. If Iida wasn't there, I know for a fact I would have jumped out to save you. Iida wasn't wrong, but I felt it in me to remove you from danger if he didn't hold me back." His right hand was on her forearm, the touch was freezing because of the wavering emotions in his heart. "Every second of you being hit, I thought you'd end up leaving me." He could hear it. He could hear the younger him crying in the shadows of his heart. That night, he felt the same helplessness from his childhood days. He hated that. He hated seeing his loved ones getting hurt but he could do nothing about it.
"We all did our best. You made that ice wall, I saw it before I passed out." The moment she said that, only Todoroki could hear the sound of glass shattering. The worry and the shadow shattered because the gentleness from her voice. "And you did save me, Todoroki."
"I did?"
Yuuki touched his heart and she gently pushed against him. She looked at him and he looked at her. She could feel the fast rhythm of his heartbeat and she was blushing because she knew the cause of the pace was because of her. "I'm waiting for you to wake up. I'm not going to hide this feeling anymore. If you wake up, I want you to be a part of my world because you're someone I've opened my heart to. You're someone I want to love forever, Yuuki." She looked at him with innocent love in her eyes. When she heard his confession, she felt happiness all over. "I heard you calling for me, Todoroki."
"Y-you heard me? T-that's not..."
"But I did."She moved his right hand back in front of Todoroki. She looked at his left hand and she reached for it too. Holding both of his hands felt funny because one was cool to the touch while the other was warm to the touch. She dragged his hands to her cheeks and she made him cup her cheeks. "Your world is just the right temperature. Will you let me into your world?"
He would love that, but was it really okay?
She could see the hesitation in him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she brought him into a gentle embrace.
'She's warm...' Todoroki looked at the snow whiteness of her hair. Seeing the close view of white hair within a warm embrace felt nostalgic. He wrapped his arms around her waist, "Is it really okay? I don't know how to make you happy, but I still want you in my world. Is it really okay for someone like me to keep you?"
Yuuki nodded. "You called for me when I was in the darkness. That's enough for me."
Todoroki moved back a little to look at her eyes. The blue in her eyes were really beautiful, it reminded him of the forget-me-not flower sitting innocently in the vase. It was truly a beautiful blue. "Look over there." He pointed at the blue flowers in the vase.
"Hm? Which flower should I focus on?"
"The blue ones. Do you know what forget-me-not represent in the Japanese language of flowers?" Because he grew up in a traditional Japanese home, learning about the language of flowers was nothing new. "Do you want to learn its meaning?"
"Hm."
Todoroki gently tilt her chin up and he leaned in. And just before their lips meet, he spoke one last time. "It means true love."
Yuuki closed her eyes and she allowed the kiss to happen.
Unknown to them, there were two people outside the door. Bakugou and Kirishima saw what happened in there and the two of them chose not to say a thing and leave. They both made it down from the elevator.
"You're not angry, Bakugou?" Kirishima asked his best friend.
"I personally dislike half-and-half, but if that's what Yuuki decided, that's all there is to it." Bakugou liked Yuuki a lot too, but if Yuuki's feelings were with another, he had to accept it. There's no point in holding onto someone whose heart was not with you. "Even if you love it, you don't have to have it."
Kirishima smiled and he rubbed Bakugou's back. "It's hard for me too, but I believe Todoroki will make her happy."
When they both met the ray of the sun, they both shielded their eyes from the light.
Kirishima smiled, "Even if she doesn't go by Michiyo in this world, the heart still beat for Todoroki, huh?"
Bakugou looked at him with a glance, "You're talking about your different world mumbo jumbo again?"
"Yeah. Haha, don't mind me!" He had seen it many times. Many times he had seen Michiyo excluded from a happy ending. But seeing Yuuki get her happy ending with Todoroki, it still counted, right? He truly believed it still counts.
"Hmph!"
"Let's order a lot of food and pig out, Bakugou!"
"Fuck off!"
"Come on, two people with broken hearts are better than one."
"Mine is not broken, only yours is because your hardening sucks ass!"
"Don't be so cruel!"
Todoroki pulled back to see Yuuki was crying in silence. "D-did I hurt you?"
"N-no. I...I'm happy. I don't know why my tears are falling." It'd be weird if she told him the tears doesn't feel like it's her own. She will keep it to herself.
"Yuuki..."
She leaned against his heart and she closed her eyes, "Can I call you Shouto from now on? I feel like I should be calling you that from now on."
He patted her on the head like usual, "Of course."
"Shouto," For some reason, calling him by his given name felt so right. "Shouto..."
For some reason, he could feel this pain in his own heart when she called his given name. The feeling was as if they have been waiting for this very moment the whole time and finally found one another. It was strange. They didn't know what to do but just be in one another's embrace and stay there in silence.
"Shouto, I love you."
"I love you too."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuuki was waiting for Todoroki outside his home. She couldn't find the doorbell so she waited outside.
"Huh? You're Ratel."
Yuuki looked back to see Todoroki Enji. He must have just finished with his hero work and now coming home to rest.
"Hi, I'm Hachimitsu Yuuki! I can't find the doorbell!"
"How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long, maybe an hour?"
"...do you want me to get Shouto for you?"
"Please do! I can smell him but I thought it was rude to just barge in."
Todoroki thought he heard Yuuki's joyful voice. He slide open the door to see Endeavor walking her out of the main gate. "What the-?!" He quickly put his shoes on and chase after them. Images of his dark childhood days resurfaced; will his father destroy the next thing he loved too?!
"Sto-!?"
Endeavor walked her back out to the main gate. No, he's not kicking her out, he's just telling her that the doorbell was located beside the Todoroki wooden plaque. "Press this from now on if you come over."
"Oh, I walked past it! Haha! You must think I am an idiot, huh? Ahaha!"
Endeavor noticed his son was watching them. He could also see Todoroki was cautious right now.
"Shouto is a good kid, Yuuki."
"I know that already!"
"Good." Endeavor looked at his son for a brief moment before entering his home.
"Yuuki, you okay?"
"Huh? I'm fine. I should be the one asking if you're okay, Shouto. You look like as if a storm was coming."
He was scared his father would harm Yuuki. He wouldn't be able to stand it if Yuuki was hurt by his own father! Todoroki breathed out in relief and he hugged Yuuki close to him.
Yuuki ran her fingers through his hair and then she looked at the Todoroki traditional home. When she looked at Todoroki Enji in the eyes, she could see a storm inside...a storm that's trying to break free into a calm day once again. "Shouto, you told me to come to your place today."
"Let's go visit my mom. I want to introduce you to her in person." There's no point introducing Yuuki to Endeavor since the Pro Hero already heard about her anyway.
Yuuki's tail wagged, "Sure~."
...
Just like his son, Todoroki Rei loved to pat Yuuki's head and scratch the black cat-like ears on her head. Rei had always heard of stories about Yuuki, and now she could finally meet the girl. She was more than happy knowing Yuuki had become her son's girlfriend.
"Hee~." Yuuki's tail was swishing left and right because her ear was being scratched.
"My son talks about you all the time. Each story always differ from another, it's always exciting."
"Really? I didn't know Shouto talks about me. Are they good things?"
"Yes. Whenever I ask him about you, he always have a small smile and he could for hours and hours. Seeing him talk about someone with such happiness on his face, I knew you were someone special."
"I don't know what to say. I'm not that special." Yuuki was a little shy now. "I wish I can talk about Shouto too, but you probably know everything about him." She looked around the room and she spotted a single amaryllis flower in a vase. 'Ah, Shouto's dad came in here before...' She knew about the Todoroki family situation from Todoroki's point of view, but she never asked about the siblings' point of view. Todoroki also reminded her she shouldn't ask anything about it to the perpetrator; because Yuuki WILL have the balls to ask if he didn't remind her!
"Actually...a lot of things happen so I don't know so much about Shouto either."
Yuuki's ears perked up, "Don't worry! I'll tell you!"
Todoroki was asked by his mother to buy some drinks. He was happy knowing his mother liked Yuuki a lot. It all started from small things before he completely fell in love. The ears on her head, her innocence, the color of her hair, her fearless personality, and her smile that could melt sadness...he knew she was the one. It was as if they were supposed to be together and they're finally together.
He opened the door to his mother's room to hear a conversation he had forgotten about.
"And then he shouted 'MOM!' In front of Kuon and I. Oh, and he called me that again within an empty classroom too."
"Yuuki?!" Todoroki forced himself to forget about the time when he accidentally called her mom and now it's resurfacing again!
"Shouto, do you really miss me that much? I know Yuuki-san have white hair like me, but..." Rei had to look away because her body was trembling with laughter. "I think this is the first time you mistaken someone else as your mom."
"It-it's not like that..." Todoroki couldn't believe it! He's so embarrassed! Could this get any worst?!
"My, my...well, at least only your father and you know." Rei wiped the tears of laughter away.
"Oh no, the whole class knows."
"They do?!" Todoroki was horrified! He didn't know they all know?!
"Kuon told them when they came to eat at Pancake House the other day. When we went on a date."
"Is that so...?"
"Hm. And when you're not there, they make impressions of you and shout 'Mom!' At the top of their lungs."
Todoroki knew what he had to do the next time school starts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's lesson was a capture activity; whoever's the last one caught wins! All Might planned this lesson because he wanted to raise everyone's competitiveness and also see how much their Quirks evolved. He had planned this lesson for three nights and he expected it to last an hour-
"Kya!" Yuuki was lifted up like a princess by Todoroki!
Before anyone knew it, a great ice wall had captured every single members of Class 1-A! All Might fell in defeat because he had planned for this activity to last a whole hour!
Todoroki was normal and cool on the outside, but he was raging in anger on the inside. This will teach them not to make impressions of him behind his back.
"Shouto, when are you going to put me down?" Yuuki asked as he walked away with her in his hold.
"When I feel like it."
"Hee~, that means I am never coming down." She was laughing, completely unaware her boyfriend took revenge against everyone but her. "Shouto~."
Todoroki closed one eye with a small smile when she kissed him on the cheek.
"Yuuki, do you want to go on a date after school?"
"Sure! Are you going to unfreeze the others?"
"No, it will melt at room temperature."