Chapter Text
Yaoyorozu just got off the phone with her parents. They had been helping her put together a list of places Todoroki might want to spend his birthday. Normally she would send letters to her parents, but considering Todoroki’s birthday was only a week away she couldn’t afford to waste any time communicating via mail.
She sat at her desk looking over her list, which had about 2 dozen locations written down. After doing a bit of research on each place, she crossed a few of the names of the list.
“This should be a good amount of places for him to choose from,” she said to herself, satisfied with her work.
And with that, she left her room to go search for Todoroki…
Todoroki had just finished his endurance training. Since his quirk was mostly endurance based, he often trained his body for endurance as well. He never liked to let battles go on for long periods of time, but on the off chance one did occur, he didn’t want to be unprepared.
He sat down on a bench in front of their dorms after having just completed a 6-mile run. You’d expect that much running to be exhausting, but he was in such good shape that it only took him a minute or two to catch his breath.
Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, he started to get up from off the bench. He paused when he noticed a dark-haired figure hiding behind a tree to his left.
“Um… Hello?” Shouto said.
The person stepped out from behind the tree.
“Yaoyorozu?” he said in surprise.
“Sorry,” she said apologetically. “I didn’t want to interrupt your cool down.”
This was a lie, of course. All she really wanted was an excuse to watch a sweaty Todoroki after a workout.
“Oh, um, thanks.”
Apparently he didn’t pick up on her lie, because he sounded genuinely impressed by her small act of consideration.
“So, uh…what’s up?” He asked her.
“Oh, right.” She walked over to him, then pulled a neatly folded list out of her pocket. “Here,” she said, handing it to him.
“What’s this?” he questioned.
“Remember the other night, in the kitchen; when I told you I’d help you decide where to go for your birthday?” She gestured toward the list with her hand.
Todoroki looked down at the paper in his hand, then realized what she was saying. “Oh, right, um…thank you.”
“Mm-mm,” she hummed, nodding her head.
She spun around, about to walk back to the dorms, but Todoroki spoke up.
“You’re headed back inside, right? Wanna walk together?”
She smiled at him. “Sure.”
Together, they entered through the front doors of the Heights Alliance Dorms. Both of them, intent on going to their rooms, walked toward the elevator. The two stood next to each other silently once they were inside.
The elevator ride, to Yaoyorozu, felt way longer than just a short 20 seconds. After a moment of standing there next to him, she remembered what happened the last time the two of them were in the elevator together. Thinking about that moment, her face began to turn red. She looked away from Todoroki, hoping that he wouldn’t notice her blushing.
Unfortunately for her, that didn’t work. When she turned away from him, Todoroki glanced over at her. Her face wasn’t to him, but it was angled just enough that he could see the faint redness emanating from her cheek.
“Hey, what’s-” he started to say.
Yaoyorozu, not wanting to be rude, turned around and looked up at him. “Yes?”
He was going to ask her ‘what’s the matter?’ or something to that effect, but right when he started talking he, too, began to remember. He remembered looking down at her face, just after she had fallen asleep in his arms; how small her face looked compared to the chest it rested against. That night, he was so concerned about Yaoyorozu that he didn’t stop to consider how that might’ve looked: him carrying her unconscious body the way he did. If anyone had seen them that night, the rumors about him and Yaoyorozu would’ve never ended.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “I was just remembering something.”
Yeah, me too, she thought to herself.
When they finally reached the fifth floor, after what felt like an eternity for the both of them, they went their separate ways: Yaoyorozu went to her room, and Todoroki went to his. After a quick bath and dinner with his class, Todoroki went back up to his room.
He sat down at his desk and looked over the list Yaoyorozu had given him. He looked into each place she had written down (all of which were places he was interested in going to). He thought that was funny: Despite having a list of locations right in front of him, he still had difficulty just picking one.
Todoroki decided that he needed help choosing where to go, so the next day he went to find Yaoyorozu…
It seemed like he’d walked around the whole campus before he found her:
Yaoyorozu’s back was to him. She was talking to a guy Todoroki assumed was an upperclassman: He was a tall boy with broad shoulders and a handsome face—for a guy, that is—his dark hair flipped to the side. One of the popular kids, Todoroki figured. Part of being a hero meant that you had to be able to analyze any situation to figure out what the problem is, and being able to identify social dynamics was no exception, as most issues spawn from social conflicts.
Todoroki, standing a few meters behind Yaoyorozu, glared at the boy in distaste. He’d never liked popular kids; something about them always getting what they wanted when they wanted it—for the sole reason that they were popular—didn’t sit right with him. Of course, he too could be considered a “popular kid”, though he couldn’t imagine why. He always just assumed that his ‘popularity’ came from being the son of Endeavor. He hated that as well, that most of the people that are popular are only that way because their parents are important, or rich, or are celebrities. It didn’t seem right to him that your chances of success in life essentially boils down to a roll of the dice.
The dark-haired boy must’ve noticed Todoroki’s unsettling glare, because he muttered a quick word to Yaoyorozu then walked away.
Todoroki narrowed his eyes at the boy as he walked away. He stared so intently that it was almost as if he was trying to burn a hole through his back with his eyes. It wasn’t until Yaoyorozu spoke to him that he snapped out of his trance.
“Todoroki… Todoroki?” she said to him, sounding concerned.
“Who was that?” Todoroki asked her, gesturing with a quick nod in the direction the tall-boy strutted away.
Startled, her eyes followed the direction he gestured. “Nobody important,” she said, then turned back to Todoroki. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Todoroki said, ashamed that the only reason he showed an interest was because he was jealous. He didn’t like it when boys he didn’t know talked to her, especially when it was a boy who looked like that.
Yaoyorozu suspected there was more to his inquiry than he was letting on, but she didn’t pressure him for a response. “So, what’s up? Did you need something?”
“Oh, um…” he pulled her list from his pocket. “I was wondering if you could help me decide where to go? I’m having trouble picking.”
She smiled at him, then cheerfully said, “Of course.”
They were back in Yaoyorozu’s room, where they sat at her desk looking over the list.
She thought for a little bit. “Well, considering money won’t be an issue for your family, I’d recommend you go here,” she said, pointing to one of the listed locations. “I’ve never been myself, but I’ve always wanted to; I’ve heard good things about it and the online reviews are better than any other location on the list.”
“Okay, we’ll go there then.” Todoroki said.
“Really? Just like that?” said a surprised Yaoyorozu.
“Yeah. I don’t really mind where I spend my birthday.”
“Oh… Maybe that’s why you had so much trouble deciding where to go?”
“Yeah…maybe...”
Not sure what to do now, Shouto got up from the desk. “Well…thanks for the help.”
“Y-yeah, of course.” she said.
Todoroki felt bad. He felt like he was using her, somehow; like, the only reason he ever bothered talking to her was when he needed something; like he always relied on her for things he should be able to do himself.
As he reached for the door, Shouto hesitated. He turned back. “Yaoyorozu, would you…want to come to my party?”
Yaoyorozu was startled by the offer. “N-no, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“No, you wouldn’t be. You helped me choose where to go, after all. Inviting you is the least I can do.”
“Well, I…” she looked at his face. His eyes were just screaming: please say yes, please say yes, please say yes! She didn’t know why, but he seemed like he was desperate for her to be there; like, if she didn’t come, something bad would happen.
After seeing his expression, she replied with what she thought to be the only possible answer: “Okay, I’ll go.”
“Great,” Todoroki said, his expression softening. “I’ll give you the time and date tomorrow.”
And with that, he exited her room.