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“You’re going to get us in trouble,” Momo laughed into Todoroki’s shoulder, his broad frame hanging over her as he kissed her cheek and tickled her sides. They were supposed to be studying, they were always supposed to be doing something else, but somewhere it always ended in kisses.
It was late and most of their classmates were probably asleep, so the chances that Tsu would actually hear Momo’s giggles were slight but she couldn’t help but worry. Todoroki never seemed to care, he was always pushing the limits of their secret relationship. He had always wanted to tell people, ever since he approached her after class to get coffee with him on the pretense of studying, Todoroki had been ready to spread his feelings around everywhere.
But, they were still in training to be heroes, she didn’t want her name to be associated with his and earn a place in the big leagues based on social capital. She loved him, her sweet, sweet boyfriend who bought her strawberry mochi on test days to help with stress, who kissed her nose when the weather turned it red to ‘warm it up. Todoroki was amazing to her and she wasn’t ashamed of him, but she needed to hold her own in the hero world without him.
He had understood, but that didn’t mean he liked it. Hence the relentless kisses and tickles at two in the morning.
“Stop it,” she chuckled, shoving him back so his tight-lipped smirk peered down at her. It was her favorite look, and she wanted to frame it to hang above her bed.
“Sorry,” he told her, sounding absolutely not sorry at all, “you were too cute not to.”
Momo’s cheeks burned with a red flush she knew she couldn’t hide. Todoroki loved to get her worked up, she could tell from the way his eyes lit up at the sight of her. “You’re terrible,” she sighed at him, letting him lean down to give her another long kiss she would never get used to.
“You have to be at work tomorrow,” she reminded him as his lips grazed along her jawline, “six in the morning.”
Todoroki pouted against her face, she could only picture how adorable he looked, “don’t remind me.” Slowly and unwillingly he pulled himself away from her until he was leaning back on his ankles. “I sleep better when you’re around.”
If there was one thing Momo had learned since they’d started dating was that, yes Todoroki loved to make her blush but most of the time he said the most romantic things without meaning to. When he told Momo that he slept better with her he wasn’t trying to elicit any type of reaction, he was just making a genuine statement. He’d be the death of her eventually.
“Iida will kick your butt if you’re not on time tomorrow,” she rubbed circles into his arm with her thumb, something she knew that he loved. He had never been big on physical affection when they started seeing each other, but over time he became more comfortable with her, and now touching was his love language. Momo didn’t mind giving him as much as he needed.
At the mention of Iida, Todoroki seemed to realize how awful his life would be the next day if he didn’t leave her then. Iida and he had been working closely with an underground hero named Atlantis. Their quirk manipulated water in some way Momo couldn’t remember, but they were an expert at stealth. Todoroki and Iida had been handpicked by Atlantis to assist them in taking down a rouge vigilante who was involved in some kind of drug ring. Todoroki didn’t talk about it much and Momo didn’t ask, just made him promise he’d come back to her at the end of the day.
“Will I see you tomorrow?” He asked between kisses at the threshold of her room.
She smiled, “if you’re good.” He tilted his head to the right, his brows furrowing slightly like he didn’t understand the joke, “goodnight Shoto.”
“Goodnight Momo,” the taste of his lips lingered on her lips far past when the door closed. She fell asleep in one of his old t-shirts, the one she kept at the bottom of her drawer lest her friends find it and question her about it. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world and not a damn person knew it.
-o-
Class 3A was having a family dinner, which unfortunately took a lot of preparation because there were so many of them and nobody was very organized. Without Iida there to direct traffic the job usually fell to Momo who didn’t hate the task, but her heart wasn’t in it.
They’d decided to make a few dishes that were ‘suitable for the Spring’ as Mina insisted, but she wasn’t on the cooking team so Momo didn’t know why they were following her rules. Bakugo was in charge of the kitchen and she didn’t try to fight him on it. He’d picked Deku, Uraraka, Kirishima, and Sero to help him out but he had banned Kaminari and Mina from the room. Momo thought that was fair.
The rest of them were given tasks like cleaning, setting up, decorating, and other things. Aizawa was also involved in the plan, he was going to be bringing drinks. Though he’d almost choked Kaminari out for asking if they would be alcoholic. Ever since he’d started dating Shinsou, who Aizawa came to see like a surrogate child, he’d been less than thrilled with Kaminiari’s antics.
Todoroki and Iida were the only ones exempt from having to help because they were going to be out all day for their job. Something big was going on, that was all the information Momo, and the rest of the class for that matter got. Momo remembered kissing him goodbye last night, she should’ve snuck over and kissed him this morning for luck.
Preparations were in full swing, Jirou had plugged in her phone and started blasting one of her legendary playlists. She had a way of knowing exactly what mood the room was in and the kind of tunes they’d need. Momo was constantly in shock at her best friend.
Momo was helping with decorations, she liked the organizational aspect of it all. Mina, Tsu, Shinsou, and Tokoyami had volunteered to assist her and for the most part, they were great because they just listened to what she told them to do. That was the way Momo liked it.
“Hey!” A panicked voice came from the sitting room that Momo instantly recognized as Kaminaris’. “Everybody get in here!”
The entire building seemed to drop whatever they were doing, including Aizawa who was portioning out red solo cups with lemonade. Momo had been on her way to the elevator with Tsu to run upstairs and grab some tape when Kaminari beckoned for them all. The two of them rushed into the sitting room, sensing the vibe of the dorm was much more frazzled than moments before.
“What’s going on?” Uraraka was on Momo’s left, leaning onto the back of the couch where Sato was sitting. Bakugo was beside her with his arms crossed, but Momo could see the fear on his face.
Aizawa stood up, trying to demand the room's attention but to no avail because the thing that Kaminari had wanted them to see was in bright, bold, technicolor on the television screen for all to see.
A new reporter stood in front of a burning building, it looked like half of it had collapsed and the other half was waiting to follow suit. They could see quirks firing left and right, a crowd gathering despite police warnings and the reason that all of them were terrified was that the bottom of the screen read ‘underground hero Atlantis reported dead in a fight with Vigilante Drug Ring’.
Momo’s chest began to cave in, there wasn’t enough space for her heart to beat and her lungs to fill. She clung to the stack of cut-out pastel flowers in her hands until the lavender color bleed into her palms. Momo needed to remain calm, she didn’t know if Todoroki was hurt, only Atlantis was being reported on.
But was that because Todoroki meant nothing to the general public? She couldn’t understand that, he was everything.
“Class,” Aizawa seemed like he wanted to say more but he couldn’t. His body was frozen, his gaze glued to the chaos unfolding before all of them. His students, the kids that he’d considered almost family, were in peril. Over the years Aizawa had expressed that this class was different from any he’d taught before, Momo could see it now, truly, from the terror burning in his eyes.
“Are Todoroki and Iida still in there?” Deku spoke up, classic Deku, he always stepped up. He was good, he was a true hero. He asked the question nobody else in the room truly wanted an answer to.
As if she had heard them the news reporter said, “we’ve received information that two students from UA are still inside fighting the villains. One of them is reported to be in critical condition, and the other remains on their feet. Several other heroes have arrived to help but there have been no further updates. We’ll keep reporting as more information rolls in.”
Which one was in critical condition? Momo’s knees were wobbling, she could feel her heartbeat against her ribcage, her throat tight with worry. She needed to stop her vision from blurring but she couldn’t. Fog settled over her brain, imagining Todoroki dying on the floor of that burning building, unable to help him, to kiss him goodbye one last time.
Momo cared about Iida, he was a great friend but she loved Todoroki. She wanted them both back, she hated that the life she’d chosen, that they’d all chosen, meant this fate might be inevitable for almost all of them one day.
“Which one is hurt?” Mina’s voice cracked when she asked, her tears falling freely onto the fabric of her bright blue sweater.
“Does it matter?” Bakugo fired back, eerily calm. Momo sensed the terror, the anger, boiling just at the surface of his facade but she didn’t have the mind to dwell on it. She was barely holding herself together as it was.
Uraraka seemed to notice something was off, “are you okay?” Her voice was quiet, so quiet. Momo couldn’t tell if it was because Uraraka whispered or because something was clouding her mind, separating her from reality as a form of protection.
Momo nodded, at least she thought she did. Come on Momo get it together, Todoroki would hate to see you so panicked.
But if he never came back it wouldn’t really matter.
The tension around them could be cut with a knife as they watched another part of the building break off and crash land onto the street below. The newscaster appeared on the screen again, blond hair tucked behind her ears, horns shading her face, “it looks like Endeavor has arrived on the scene, his son Todoroki Shoto is one of the UA students inside so this fight might be personal for him.”
Momo’s throat felt so dry, when was the last time she had water?
The newswoman was named Kiyo, had her name been there the whole time?
Kiyo moved away as the camera zoomed in on the screen behind them, “it appears the UA students have been rescued, here they come now!” From the blasted-out doors of the building emerged four figures. Two of them were pro-heroes Rock Lock and Endeavor, and the other two were Todoroki and Iida.
Except Iida was walking, limping a little maybe, but Todoroki was being carried by Endeavor. Even from the other side of the television Momo could see the dark crimson coating his hero suit, his hand was limp as it hung from his father's grasp, and his hair was glued across his forehead. His skin was pale, he’d lost a lot of blood. They’d said critical condition but there was no way to tell how long ago that report was made.
“Oh god,” Mina choked out another sob, grasping her mouth in shock at the scene. Kirishima buried his head in his hands, Bakugo clicked his jaw, and Deku’s eyes began to overflow.
In that second, seeing the man she loved in such a state, Momo didn’t remember that she was supposed to be keeping it a secret. What did it matter anyways? If Todoroki died, Momo would be the only person who ever knew they were together and it made her sick to think about it.
She forgot how to use her words, her legs, and her arms. Momo’s body worked against her as she fell forward toward the ground, a guttural scream escaping her body like an unwelcome battle cry. It burned, she grasped at her throat and her nails dug in deep. The lavender flowers scattered around her like fractured pieces of a puzzle.
“Yaomomo!” Uraraka was by her instantly, petting back the hair that had fallen into her face. She’d worn it down that day because Todoroki always liked when she did. Maybe he’d never get the chance to see it again.
She felt another set of hands on her, it was Jirou, Momo smelled her cinnamon shampoo nearby. It was comforting but it wasn’t enough. The floor was nothing but a foggy wave in front of her, black spots swimming on the floor that threatened to be the end of her.
“Yaomomo are you alright?” Jirou asked her with worry, a voice she would know anywhere. Momo couldn’t even respond. “Get her some water!” Jirou was yelling now, who is she yelling at?
A glass was thrust in her face, and hands pulled her upward to sit properly. She saw steaks of black, pink, and purple. All of her friends were trying to tape her together as her world fell apart. Had Kiyo said anything else? Momo chugged back the water as it dripped onto her lips, she had never felt so thirsty in her entire life.
“There you go,” Aizawa pulled the glass back as she finished. Having distracted herself with the task of drinking gave her mind a moment to breathe, she saw everything a little more clearly now but she was nowhere near alright. “It’s going to be alright Momo.” He told her, he sounded so confident but what the hell did he know?
She whimpered, “he can’t be dead, not him, not Shoto.”
How absolutely embarrassing she must have looked at that moment. A crumpled mess was on the floor over a boy that was just a classmate. None of them knew they’d never know, and nobody would know. Momo, however, would be cursed forever with the memories of a person who could never be anything but a ghost from that point forward.
Aizawa pressed her face against his shoulder because he had nothing else to say. He didn’t know if Todoroki was dead, he just knew that she was losing her mind.
“This just in,” Kiyo’s obnoxiously chipper voice called out, “the villains have been captured and the building has been evacuated. Pro Hero Atlantis is the only reported casualty so far with only two others being taken to the hospital for treatment. UA student Shoto Todoroki and Pro Hero Gourmet. Thankfully no civilians were harmed in this fight, we thank our heroes for putting themselves in danger for us every day, it is truly inspiring.”
“He’s not dead,” Aizawa said, she felt her chest expand again, and felt the air come in a little easier.
Everyone was staring at her. Momo let her gaze drift around to their familiar faces and found no comfort in any of their expressions. All she found were eyes that asked why she was so upset, sympathetic eyes, eyes that were battling their own emotions.
“I’m sorry,” Momo whispered, noticing for the first time that Jirou had been holding her hand during the ordeal and squeezing it in reassurance. “I’m sorry,” that’s all she could say, all she could muster. “I’m so sorry.”
-o-
She wasn’t allowed to go to the hospital to see him, nobody was while he underwent surgery. That had been five hours ago. Aizawa told them he’d keep them all updated but how high on the priority list was he for information?
Momo sat at the kitchen table, a glass of warm tea in front of her Uraraka had made. She boiled the water too hot and burnt the leaves but it was the thought that mattered. Momo couldn’t really stomach much anyways.
“You’re a bit dramatic don’t you think?” Bakugo stood in front of her on the other side of the table, his arms were crossed and his red eyes were darker than normal. He was upset, that much was clear. Momo didn’t hang around him that much, but over the years Todoroki had wormed his way into Bakugo’s circle of friends so she knew enough about him to know that he cared even if he didn’t want people to know
“Back off Bakugo,” Mina told him from the kitchen a few steps away. She and a couple others were making them all something to eat, even though the feast had been canceled.
Bakugo didn’t turn away from Momo’s eye line, “what do you care about him anyways?”
Momo on a regular day would’ve been insanely offended, but she couldn’t blame Bakugo for wondering because it was off-putting that she was so upset. If somebody had started hysterically screaming if it was Jirou that had been hurt, Momo didn’t understand why she would be annoyed. Perhaps even think that they were looking for attention.
“Everybody grieves in their own way Bakugo,” Uraraka walked around the kitchen island and stood near them at the table. “Let Momo have her space.”
“No,” he fought back. He was upset about Todoroki, but he didn’t know how to express it. Coming after her for her reaction was all he knew he could do. Momo understood it and she was feeling way too numb to care.
Deku showed up, his face swollen from crying, “let's go Kacchan.” He reached for his friend's arm but Bakugo shook it off.
“What do you want me to say?” Momo asked him, she felt like her voice was a hundred miles away. Bakugo obviously didn’t know because he didn’t have an answer for her. He just stared with a hard-set expression.
The doors of the dorm opened to reveal Aizawa, his hair ruffled and eyes rimmed red. The news had affected him too, though this look wasn’t much different from his usual state. “Good news, Iida is alright, he was treated for a broken leg and is at home resting now. Todoroki got out of surgery an hour ago and he’s stable, they think he’ll make a full recovery. He’s been awake about twenty minutes now and his family is with him.”
Momo gripped the handle of her mug with relief, the numb shield she’d placed around her body began to melt away and now all she could feel was how exhausted she’d been with worry. Todoroki was alive. She wouldn’t let herself fully believe it until she was with him again, but the sentence alone flooded her body with enough strength to sigh in elation.
“Can we see him?” Deku asked, his joy seeping out of his body with every word. Momo couldn’t blame him, she felt the same urge to jump up and beg to be brought to him.
Aizawa shook his head, “not yet, family doesn’t want a bunch of people swarming the place right now. Except,” his gaze shifted towards the kitchen table, “he did ask for you Yaoyorozu.”
Bakugo narrowed his eyes, “what the hell?”
“I want to see him,” she stood abruptly, the chair sliding back enough to almost fall on the floor. “Please?” Everybody was looking at her, but she didn’t care. Momo had enough of Bakugo’s anger, enough of her friends' curiously pinched eyebrows, she didn’t owe them an explanation.
“I’ll pull the car around,” Aizawa didn’t wait to answer any of the other's questions, he probably didn’t have an answer for them anyways.
The room was eerily silent as soon as the door closed, everybody had been on edge for so long and despite the good news, the strangeness of Momo and Todoroki hung in the air. Nobody wanted to ask her what was happening, it just wasn’t the time. She could still sense it though, the desire to know was furrowing its way into all their brains.
“Tell him,” Deku looked at her, understanding but disappointed, “tell him we’re all thinking about him.”
She nodded, “I will.”
-o-
Hospitals always smelled like bleach, and Momo hated it. The stench clung to the inside of her nose and slithered down her throat like an unwanted snake. She tried to block it out as she made her way further into the building, Todoroki was all that mattered, not the cleaning habits of the hospital staff.
Todoroki’s sister Fuyumi and Endeavor were outside of the room, sitting on two plastic chairs that did not look comfortable at all. Endeavors' broad frame was threatening the structural integrity of the furniture, and it didn’t help that his flames kept turning on without his control. He was probably an emotional wreck.
He stood when she and Aizawa approached. Todoroki’s sister looked up in surprise, giving Momo the once over because she obviously didn’t recognize her. “Aizawa,” he greeted him with a handshake, so formal. Momo hated that man and even though Todoroki had forgiven him, she did not adhere to the same kindness.
“Can I see him?” She asked gently, knowing that her presence probably already confused them. Aizawa looked at the family, waiting for them to give her an answer.
His sister pointed to the door on their left with the number 245 on it, “Natsuo is in there right now, they only let one at a time. I’ll ask if he’s ready to switch.”
“Thank you,” she mustered a smile that Fuyumi returned, Endeavor glared at her. She could care less. Bakugo was scarier than this asshole.
Fuyumi leaned against the door to Todoroki’s room, it had no handle it just swung open, so through the new gap in the door, Momo saw him. He still looked pale, but his hair was no longer stuck to his skin. He had a million tubes coming out of him, oxygen being pumped up his nose, but his smile was still soft and sweet. Natsuo was leaning over him against the railing, laughing at something the two of them had shared. Momo clenched her fists to stop herself from dashing into the room without permission, but it was one of the hardest things she’d had to do.
At the sound of the door creaking open, both boys turned to look at Fuyumi and then passed her to Momo. Fuyumi never even got the chance to ask if Todoroki was alright with seeing her because his entire face lit up as they locked eyes.
“Momo,” he croaked, his voice was hoarse from the trauma he’d undergone, and the tubes they’d shoved down his throat from surgery but Momo didn’t care, hearing him speak was like classical music.
She stopped keeping her desires at bay, pushing past Fuyumi into the room with reckless disregard for the rules. “Shoto,” she reached him, she knew he was delicate so she simply grabbed his face, cupping his cheeks. He was cold to the touch, but his skin blazed under her palms. Natsuo backed up to give them space.
Despite the rule, Natuso didn’t leave, and Fuyumi didn’t close the door. It was as if they all wanted to witness the spectacle of them.
“I thought you were dead, what did you do that for?” Liquid pooled in her eyes at the rims, she hadn’t cried since she had her initial breakdown but the tears were forming effortlessly.
He gave her that tight-lipped smirk she thought of every night before she slept, “I’m sorry Momo, I didn’t mean to.” His shaking arm raised to twirl a strand of her hair in his fingers, she had worn it down just for him, and he loved to play with it. “I knew you’d be mad.”
Todoroki was joking, of course, she tried to laugh but she had to sniffle and pull back the tears. It came out as a claustrophobic chuckle, one that made his eyes soften with adoration. She’d seen that expression on his face many times before. Like the nights when he kissed her goodbye, when she organized his study notes for him without asking, and when she bought them matching Christmas pajamas last year.
She leaned forward and kissed him for a split second because she had to. Momo knew he was on the up, but what if he wasn’t? What if she woke up tomorrow and never got to kiss him ever again?
He offered her a content smile as she pulled away, “everybody is going to know now.”
Momo sighed, “I had a breakdown in the middle of the dorm,” which made his eyes go wide, “they’ll want an explanation.”
“A breakdown?” Todoroki panicked, “are you alright?”
She pulled away from him and laughed, wiping her already-drying tears on the back of her hand, “are you serious? You nearly die and you ask if I’m alright?”
“Of course,” he coughed a little as if to emphasize that yes he was in unbearable pain but her wellbeing meant more to him, “well are you?”
Momo patted his hair, smoothing down the flyaways he could never get ahold of, “I’m much better now.”