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In all honesty, Shouto would be far from surprised if Uraraka turned down the idea when he so much as mentioned it in passing. It’s an odd suggestion at best and could easily be taken as pity or something of the like, which is not at all what Shouto is going for. But thankfully, Uraraka is entirely understanding and listens to his entire, totally not planned, explanation about what would happen.
Shouto’s really grateful that she’s as easy-going as she is with him, and he’s even more glad that he won’t have to go Christmas shopping and take wild guesses as to what she would want.
The plan is to go to the mall together on Christmas Eve and shop together, which would mean that they both get input as to what gifts they receive. Shouto hopes it turns out to be enjoyable, and he is honestly excited to buy her things that she will actually like. He’s always felt nervous buying gifts because what if his sense of what someone will like is off? He would feel so bad.
And so, on the morning of Christmas Eve, they both get up and get ready and prepare themselves for a simple day of shopping together. Shouto regrets setting the time so early (he should not be out of bed before nine in the morning on a day off), but he’s stubbornly brushing his teeth and pointedly not falling asleep standing up. He’d done that before, back when they were all in the dorms still, and Izuku has yet to let him live it down. It had been humiliating afterward, and Bakugou had laughed heartily about it for a solid hour or two.
And yes, Shouto knows he’s a bit of a dunce when it comes to certain things, but it had still hurt his pride a little bit.
So he’s not going to do that now.
A pair of arms loop around his waist and he feels Uraraka pess her face into the space between his shoulder blades with a satisfied hum. They’d been living together for several months now, sort of half dating with no real strings attached, and Shouto had grown rather used to the various physical displays of affection Uraraka tended to shower him with. She’s a touchy-feely person by nature and, well, Shouto isn’t opposed, he’s just more than a little inexperienced.
He hums in acknowledgement to her, sort of like a ‘good morning’ with his mouth closed, and she stands up on her toes to peek over his shoulder. She flashes him a bright grin before settling back to her normal height and moving to the side to deal with her hair. Shouto nearly chokes on his tooth brush when he sees a spot of red and purple blooming on her jaw. He splutters and coughs, none so gracefully, and she snorts a laugh at him.
“It’s not a hickey, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Uraraka’s eyes glitter with humour.
Well that douses one worry but only adds fuel to the fire of another.
“I got it yesterday in a fight with a villain.” Uraraka explains, pulling her hair back into a ponytail thing, “They kicked me right in the jaw. Nearly lost a tooth!”
Shouto stares at her for a moment. Then he quickly leans down and rinses his mouth of toothpaste before turning to look at her. He ever so gently reaches out and brushes the tips of his fingers over the frankly fantastic bruise, and Uraraka just grins up at him. She seems oddly proud of it, in a way. Heroes tend to wear scars and wounds like medals, but Shouto still can’t seem to kick the unease in his stomach.
“Hey,” Uraraka’s voice goes soft as she tries to get his attention, “I’m okay, Todoroki. Really, I am.”
“I know.” Shouto nods a little, eyes not leaving the bruise, “But you very likely could have not been alright.”
“But I am. Nothing bad happened.” Uraraka says.
“Except for the fact that you got kicked in the face.” Shouto points out.
Uraraka bats his hand away with a smile. “Alright, you big worrywart, knock it off. I need to brush my teeth or you’ll just complain about my morning breath all day.”
“Fine, fine.” Shouto rolls his eyes and slips out of the bathroom to go finish getting dressed.
He doesn’t feel like wearing anything spectacular today, so he settles on an old EraserHead crewneck over a pale grey turtleneck and a pair of simple pants because really, he isn’t aiming to impress anyone today. And, once he’s all dressed and ready to go, Uraraka exits the bathroom and hurries to the door. They both pull on their shoes and bundle up in their coats and then, together, they slip out the door.
————————————
Thankfully, the mall has heating. If it didn’t, Shouto would have had to keep his quirk active all day so as to keep Uraraka warm and, well, that would just be downright exhausting.
As they wander through the hallways of the mall, neither of them really say much of anything. Mind you, this is mostly because of Shouto. He has never been the talkative type, and he’s honestly glad that Uraraka doesn’t mind the long stretches of silence. It’s nice to just be able to be together and not feel pressured to say something.
They pass a store and Uraraka’s eyes light up. She grabs his arm and bounces a little as she asks, “Can we go in here?”
Shouto looks up at the name of the store, positive he’s never seen it before in his life, but he nods all the same. “Sure.”
Uraraka gives a soft ‘yay’ and promptly drags him through the doors and into the store. The music is a little too loud in the store for Shouto’s taste, but he doesn’t protest and lets her drag him through the store. Her eyes glitter as she walks around, staring at everything with an interest that Shouto is just a little too proud to say he wants focused on him. But he ignores this feeling and just focuses on what’s going on.
“Oh my gods.” Uraraka rushes over to one coat in particular and even Shouto can admir that it’s really really nice. It’s wool, a pale snowy grey colour, and it looks like it would go down to Uraraka’s knees or thereabouts. She grabs either side of it and looks it up and down, eyes shining, and Shouto immediately thinks ‘I want to buy that for her.’
When he touches it, he finds that it’s soft as all hell, and Shouto decides that yes, this is definitely worth buying for Uraraka.
“Does it have your size?” Shouto asks.
Uraraka blinks at him for a moment before saying, “We don’t have to get this.”
“No, we don’t.” Shouto says, “But I want you to have it.”
“Todoroki, it’s like thirty thousand yen!” Uraraka whisper-shouts.
“And?” Shouto raises an eyebrow at her. “Find your size.”
Uraraka splutters for a few moments before she huffs and gives in. She finds her size and holds it up to herself and yes, Shouto definitely wants her to have this. Especially with how her eyes light up when she tries it on.
When she has taken it off again and is putting her own coat back on, Shouto slings the to-be-purchased coat over his arm. He says, “Let’s keep looking.”
“Are you sure? We’ve got something for me, so shouldn’t we look for something for you?” Uraraka asks.
“Bold of you to assume I’m only getting you one gift.” Shouto mutters, “Let’s keep looking.”
Uraraka blushes and stutters an ‘okay’ before she turns and starts looking around again. Shouto begins to find, as Uraraka keeps finding more things she likes, he is really enjoying this, all things considered. The pile of things on his arm grows substantially before they wind up at the checkout and, before Uraraka can pay, Shouto pulls out his card and pays.
As they’re walking out, Shouto reaches over and takes her hand.
“You really don’t have to buy me all that stuff.” Uraraka whispers, adjusting the mask over her face that is serving as a budget disguise against the media. “I don’t need all these things.”
“Yes, I know, but you wanted them, right?” Shouto asks.
Uraraka puffs out her cheeks, “That’s not my point.”
“Then what is it?” Shouto stops walking and turns to face her, raising an eyebrow.
She sighs and squeezes his hand in hers. Quieter this time, she says, “I don’t think we should be spending this much money. It’s kind of a waste, don’t you think?”
Shouto stares at her, stunned, for a moment. Then he mutters, “Uraraka, You’re great, but you can’t seriously think I don’t want to spend all this money on you.”
Uraraka stares up at him, a little shocked. Then she averts her eyes and fidgets for a moment, before finally saying, “You sound an awful lot like a sugar daddy right now.”
Shouto tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. “I’m… sorry?”
“I-It’s not a bad thing!” She blurts immediately, “It’s just unexpected is all…”
“I see.” Shouto presses his lips into a thin line, “And do you want a sugar daddy?”
“Um.” Uraraka fidgets harder, clearly flustered and embarrassed. “Can we talk about it later?”
“Of course.” Shouto nods. “Where to next?”
“What about there?” Uraraka points to another store.
“It’s really up to you.” Shouto says.
Uraraka nods a little and says, “Alright, let’s go there then.”
And they’re off.
————————————
Later that evening, when they get back to their apartment, Shouto watches as Uraraka faceplants onto her bed, the many bags from various sops spreading out around her. He hums softly and drops the bags he had been holding as well, before walking over and perching himself on the edge of the bed. Uraraka turns her head and gives him a tired smile.
“I guess shopping ‘til you drop is a real thing, huh.” She jokes, and it brings a small smile to Shouto’s face.
“I guess it does.” Shouto nods in agreement. “Did you enjoy today?”
“Mhm.” Uraraka nods, “But it was… kinda overwhelming. You spent so much money today.”
“It was all worth it.” Shouto says certainly.
“You definitely sound like a sugar daddy.” Uraraka rolls her eyes.
“I’m still confused as to whether that’s a bad thing or not.” Shouto admits.
She purses her lips a little and sits up. “It’s not a bad thing, really. It’s just not conventional?”
“Well I’ve never been good at being normal or conventional.” Shouto admits.
Uraraka snorts at that and grins at him. “No, I suppose you’re not.”
“So… do you want a sugar daddy?” He asks, just a little cautiously.
“I-I mean…” Uraraka clears her throat, “If you’re offering?”
“I like you and I want to spoil you.” Shouto shrugs lightly, “If that sounds okay with you, then…”
“Alright.” She nods, smiling, “Let’s do it then.”
Shouto nods a little. This should be… interesting.