Chapter Text
Todoroki continues to see his mother even with his busy schedule. At first, seeing her was an obstacle, of sorts. His heart had told him that he needed to do this, but his gut was telling him to turn around and run. Seeing her meant confronting a whole mirage of personal demons that he wasn’t sure he could handle. But his mother was surprisingly calm, and she was happy to see him. Their conversation, albeit short, was pleasant. It was just the two of them, with the beeping of distant machines and sunlight pouring in through the open window.
She likes sunflowers, he notices, so he buys her a bouquet as much as possible and changes the water. Amidst all the white and gray, it’s a nice splash of color, and it perks her up. Todoroki isn’t very fond of sunflowers, as they make him sneeze, but he’ll endure the watery eyes and itchy nose if it makes his mother happy. School gives way to summer, and the first few days of summer break provide an opportunity for Todoroki to finally relax and stretch his limbs. Despite this, he finds himself restless a week into break, and thus takes more trips to the hospital to see his mother. He goes to the flower shop and picks out tulips this time. The elderly woman at the shop smiles at him and adds a few more tulips in the bouquet before cutting the stems, tying it with a ribbon and wrapping it in paper. Todoroki pays for the flowers and leaves, hurrying through the bustle of people to catch the train.
The hospital downtown is always adrift with people. There’s so many people milling back and forth that Todoroki can swim through the current without being noticed. Occasionally, someone will stop him to ask if he is indeed Endeavor’s son and how proud he must be to the son of the second greatest hero. Todoroki always manages a polite smile and answers questions diligently, even though what he really wants to say is that he hates his dad and doesn’t want anything to do with him. He signs himself in, the nurses all know him by now, and takes the elevator to the third floor. He steps out onto the third floor, which is much quieter than the lobby and makes his way to his mother’s room. He knocks three times, and her voice filters through under the door. “Come in.”
He slides the door open, excusing himself before stepping in fully. His mother is reading by the window, and she laughs at him.
“You don’t need to be so formal, Shouto. You’re my son after all. Oh, are those tulips?”
He arranges them in the vase nearby, and glances at her from the corners of his eyes. She still looked pale, but there’s color in her cheeks and her hair is brushed. Before, she looked wan and skinny, with big haunted eyes that seemed to look right through him. It scared Todoroki, he felt as though he were looking at the ghost. Watching her now makes it easier to breathe. She seemed to getting a hold on herself, she's becoming more stable with each passing day. He spends the next hour talking to her about exams and school, and she smiles from ear to ear.
“That Midoriya boy sounds like a very nice young man. Have you two grown close?”
“I guess you could say that,” Todoroki replies. “He’s a good friend.”
“I’m happy. I was worried about you for a while, Shouto. You’re so quiet. It’s so nice to hear that you’re making friends.”
Something warm and unfamiliar unfurls itself inside Todoroki. He fiddles with the drawstring of his hoodie. “There’s no need to worry about me, mom. Just try and take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
They have steaming bowls of curry for lunch, and Todoroki goes get ice cream bars for dessert. He walks down the hall to the vending machine and gets a strawberry for his mother and chocolate for himself. When he’s walking back to the room, he thinks he sees a girl with a long ponytail in another room, but when he blinks, she’s gone.
Todoroki ends up staying longer than expected, visiting hours have long since ended, and he apologizes to the nurse who comes in minutes later to gently escort him out of the room. He bids his mother goodbye and promises to come back soon. The night air holds a hint of chill, unusual for the beginning of summer. Todoroki catches the train back home, and finds nearly the entire train filled. He can’t find a place to sit and he’s out of breath from running to the station. Standing for the entirety of the ride doesn’t sit well with him.
“Todoroki!” At first, Todoroki thinks he’s hearing things, but then he sees her. Momo Yaoyorozu is waving at him shyly, an empty seat beside her. He’s shocked to see her honestly, but navigates his way toward her. He plops down in the empty seat, relieved at the chance to rest his legs. Momo is donned in a summer dress and kitten heels, her hair in its standard ponytail.
“What brings you here, Todoroki?”
“I was visiting my mother.” he replies. “What about you?”
“I just wanted to spend the day downtown.” she says, smiling. “It’s summer break after all!”
Todoroki nods, and the rest of the train ride is spent in comfortable silence. He’s not really sure how to talk to Momo. It wasn’t that she was unfriendly, far from it actually, but they weren’t close like he and Midoriya. Todoroki would’ve struck up conversation, but the day’s events had left him drained socially. He was grateful for the quiet between them.
The train screeches to a stop, and they both disembark. They stand at the station, trying to avoid bumping into anyone.
“I’ll see you around, Todoroki.” Momo said.
“Will you be okay getting home?” Todoroki asked. It wasn’t that late, but it was dark outside, and he wasn’t very comfortable with the thought of Momo walking home alone. She smiled gently at him. The dappled night lights make her face glow.
“I have a ride picking me up. What about you?”
“My house isn’t too far from here.”
“Okay well...have a good night.” She waves goodbye to him, and disappears into the crowd.
Todoroki watches her leave, and he takes his time walking home.
Notes:
i'm sorry that this chapter is pretty short but this idea popped in my head at 3 in the morning when i should've been asleep so. here you go. i actually did some planning on this story, and i hope it works out well. please tell me what you think! <3
Chapter Text
The days go by. Todoroki hangs out with Midoriya and Uraraka, and it’s a new type of fun that he hasn’t felt in a while. They go eat barbeque and go to the arcade. Iida accompanies them, and they spend time at the mall downtown. Kaminari tags along, and soon enough nearly all of class 1-A meet up daily to spend the days together. They can’t get enough of each other, it seems, and it’s nice. Uraraka, Tsuyu and Momo tag along with Midoriya, Iida and Kirishima on a shopping spree. The afternoon is filled with raucous laughter and various stops to eat. They’re eating at a fast food place and Todoroki treats them to anything they want. It’s mostly out of spite because he likes to spend his dad’s money, why not spend it on friends? Uraraka almost cries she’s so grateful, and seeing her beam from ear to ear makes it worth it. Todoroki sits on a nearby bench and sips on his soda. He’s caught up watching a group of middle-schoolers jostling for a racing game that he doesn’t notice Momo take a seat beside him until he catches a whiff of her perfume and smell of greasy food.
She bites into a burger and sighs, closing her eyes to revel in the flavor. She doesn’t normally eat fast food, and her mother never approved of it either, but this is one of those rare days in which Momo can spare to let her hair down and indulge in as much grease and sugar as she wants.
“This is so good,” she says, words muffled through the food in her mouth, and a smile quirks its way along Todoroki’s face. “It’s been so long since I had fast food.”
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Todoroki asks, and inwardly cringes at how awkward he sounds. He never has this problem with Midoriya.
Momo doesn’t seem to care, however.
“Yeah! I love being out here with everyone.” she digs through her bag for fries. “How is your mother doing?”
Todoroki almost forgot their meeting at the train. He’s surprised she even remembered their conversation.
“She’s doing alright. I’m going to see her tomorrow.”
Momo nods, biting into a fry. “You’re a good son, Todoroki.” she comments, and before he can react, she gasps and covers her mouth with a delicate hand. “Oh no! I sounded like such a grandmother just then, didn’t I?”
“No…”
‘Yes, I did! I always end up sounding like a mother!” a blush rises to her face, and she laughs. “It’s so embarrassing.”
He thinks it’s nice.
When Todoroki goes to see his mother again, he spots Momo down the hall. So she was the girl he saw all those days ago. She’s talking to an old woman hooked up to an I.V., was that her grandmother? Todoroki passes by without saying hello and the day resumes as usual. His mother is fed up with staying in her room, and gets permission to walk around with Todoroki by her side. They keep the conversation light, and stop at a vending machine. The hospital’s vending machine is stocked with these chocolate chip cookies that Todoroki has grown incredibly fond over. He can’t admit to anyone other than his mom that he has an enormous sweet tooth, and if he wants to raid every vending machine in the hospital for a specific cookie well, that’s his own business.
“Oh, Rei!”
Todoroki turns, Momo is walking towards them, with the same elderly woman from before beside her.
Momo blinks in surprise at seeing Todoroki, but relaxes into a smile.
“Sayuri!” Rei brightens. “It’s nice to see you finally up and walking.” Sayuri has an arm linked with Momo's, and a kind, smiling face made up of wrinkles. She has gray hair with subtle streaks of brown, and her eyes are a warm green.
“Is this your son?”
Rei ushers him forth and nods proudly. “Yes, this is Todoroki.”
Todoroki bows. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Sayuri grows pink and places a hand on the side of her face. “He’s so handsome, Rei!" she gushes. "And so polite, you must be proud.”
Todoroki tries to hide his blush under their praise and catches Momo’s eye. She’s smiling sympathetically at him.
“Is this your granddaughter, Sayuri?”
“No, I’m just here to assist.” Momo explains. “I volunteer here most of the time. I’m Momo Yaoyorozu, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Momo…” Rei trails off, eyes skyward in thought. “Oh, you’re Shouto’s classmate, aren’t you?”
“Yes! We attend the same school.”
Momo talks with his mother some more, and Todoroki glances out the window. He doesn’t know why, but for some reason, he feels vaguely uncomfortable. He’s engaged in formal small talk before, but this is different. He can’t seem to keep conversation with Momo going. Uraraka was chatty and upbeat, she could talk for hours if prompted to. Even Tsuyu, who was quiet as well, was easier to talk to than Momo. What was it? Maybe he was just too awkward…
“Shouto?” Todoroki snaps out of his thoughts and turns towards his mother. Momo and Sayuri have already left, and he blinks in surprise.
“Um, yes?”
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Good, let’s head back.”
He meets Momo at the train station again, and they sit next to each other once more. He's a lot more relaxed now that they're headed home. Momo has a tote bag in her lap, and ruffles through it.
“Todoroki?” she says gently, and he turns to her.
“Yes?”
She offers up a bottle of sweet iced tea, one already in her lap. “Would you like one? I just thought...since it’s so warm outside…”
“Thank you.” He’s parched honestly, and takes the iced tea. After a minute of silence or two, Todoroki says, “I didn’t know you volunteered at the hospital, how long have you been volunteering?”
“Uh, about..six months or so.” Momo replies, dark eyebrows wrinkling in thought. “I just wanted to get out of the house, I really wasn’t expecting it to go on for so long.”
“What do you do there?”
At this, Momo fidgets just a little, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by him. “I mainly help out with the elderlies who have a hard time getting around. It’s nice, better than lying around the house, I guess.”
The train shudders on, the outside a canvas of black with white streaks of passing lights, and Todoroki takes a long swig of his iced tea. He glances briefly at Momo from the corner of his eyes, and she’s fiddling with her hair. She always looked so poised, so proper. But there was the slightest wrinkle in her brow, and he wondered if there was more to her story than she was willing to tell.
Notes:
another short chapter!! i haven't been sleeping well as of late, so all of my chapters aren't very lengthy, but i hope with some proper sleep i'll be able to make a longer chapter. thank you so much for reading!
Chapter Text
It becomes a routine. Meeting his mother at the hospital, riding the train with Momo, attempting small bursts of conversation. By now they’ve gotten past the awkward stages and are now talking easily with each other, but Todoroki is still reserved, and Momo is still shy. They are two flowers, slowly blooming, what happens when they unfurl?
Sometimes Rei doesn’t do so well. For the most part, she’s improved by leaps and bounds, but things like this don’t stay forever. Those are the days when the curtains are drawn and she sits curled up on her bed, knees pulled to her chest like a little kid. She unknots her body and stares listlessly at the walls. Try as Todoroki might, he can’t seem to pull more than a few mumbled words out of her. The worst of it is when she won’t look him in the face. He knows she’s seeing Endeavor instead of her son, and she grips at the sheets of her bed until her knuckles grow white. There’s a chill in the air that has to do with both her quirk and the stressful tension that seems to smother the boy sitting across from her. Anxiety is a coiled snake inside his stomach.
The nurses all reassure him that this isn’t permanent, she just has days like this. It was all a part of her recovery. Logically, Todoroki knows this makes sense, but his heart is telling a different story. It was hard to stay hopeful and indifferent to the situation when she’s giving him such frosty glares. He can only bare it for so long until he makes an excuse.
“I’m going to use the bathroom, mom.” he tells her, the words feel heavy and clumsy on his tongue. “I’ll be right back.”
She doesn’t answer, but her lips press into a thin line.
Todoroki nearly sprints out of the room and uses the men’s restroom. He looks himself in the mirror, at that ghastly, damned burnmark. He can feel the heat across his face and smacks a hand over the scarred part of his eye, fingers trembling slightly. His knuckles grip the marble sink, and he has to stop himself from creating a sheen of ice over the mirror. He hates his fucking dad.
Todoroki takes a few calming breaths, trying to remember the technique that Midoriya taught him when the anxiety gets to be a little too much. After feeling like he can breathe a little more easily, and when his heart returns to a normal speed, he leaves. Todoroki really doesn’t want to go back to his mother’s room, and he feels a surge of guilt. It wasn’t her fault she was like this, and if it were up to her and not the demons in her head, he’s certain she would only smile at him for now on. He just needed to be a bit more patient on days like this…
A body slams into him, and Todoroki almost trips.
“Oh!” Momo is standing before him, a hand on her forehead. She’s blushing down to the roots of her hair, but quickly manages to compose herself. “I’m sorry, Todoroki. I didn’t see you!”
“No, it’s my fault. I really wasn’t paying any attention.” he gives her a once-over. “Are you hurt?”
Momo shakes her head, hand falling away. “No, I’m okay.” she gives him a look. “Are you okay, Todoroki? You don’t look so good.”
He’s not about to tell her the real reason behind his complexion, and he finds lying to her rather easy. “I think I might be catching a cold.” he replies. Momo goes from concerned to strict in a blink of an eye, and she gasps.
“You should get yourself examined!” she says, eyes bright. “It wouldn’t be good to get your mother sick as well, or make matters worse and end up here yourself! Would you like me to escort you to a nurse?”
“N-no. I really am okay, Yaoyorozu.” He side steps her quickly, eager to get out of from under her scrutiny. She was almost as bad as Iida. Almost. “I’ll take better care of myself, so don’t worry.”
He can’t see her expression, but he can guess that she’s blushing again as he walks away from her.
“Y-Yes...alright! Take care, Todoroki!”
He waves her goodbye, and finds that something in him was more grounded than it was moments before.
After an unsuccessful day of getting his mother to open up, Todoroki takes his leave. He makes sure his mother is resting before he exits the hospital. He’s early to the station, so early that the train doesn’t come for another twenty minutes, and he stalls on what to do. His stomach gives an undignified growl, and he sighs. He wonders if he’ll feel up to making dinner once he gets home…
“Todoroki!”
And there she is, like every single day for the past two weeks. Her boots are clicking on the pavement as she approaches, gently excusing herself as she passes through the throngs of people.
“Are you feeling any better?” Momo asks, and Todoroki had to smother down a smile. Leave it up to her to be the mother-hen, even when she didn’t need to be.
“I’m fine.”
“The train doesn’t come for another twenty minutes, I think.” Momo said, glancing at the diamond studded watch on her wrist. “Do you want to grab a bite to eat?”
“More fast food?” he can’t help but tease her, and Momo laughs outright at that, scratching the side of her head.
“It’s growing on me, what can I say?”
They end up at a burger joint, and share a plate of fries between them, two large soda’s accompanying them. The waitress gives them a smile that’s way too big when she sets their food down, the way all adults do when they suspect a budding romance between children, no matter the age. They sit in comfortable silence, light music playing in the background. It’s the most relaxed Todoroki has been today, and he can’t help the visible drop in his shoulders when he realizes they’ve been raised for nearly the last couple of hours.
Momo doesn’t seem to be faring any better. She nibbles on her fries with a look of dazed concentration, lost in her own thoughts. Todoroki’s own thoughts are running rampant. He can’t seem to shake the stress from earlier. His mind has been on an anxious loop, replaying every single ugly memory from his childhood that he convinced was long-since buried.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he asks, desperate for a distraction. Momo looks up, surprised and smiles.
“I just have a lot on my mind.” she says. His eyebrows raise, telling her to go on.
Momo sighs. “Do you ever...hate living at home?”
Her tone is so weary that it takes him by surprise.
You don’t know the half of it, Todoroki thinks. “Sometimes, yes. Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just..need some air, away from my parents. The volunteering is nice, but coming home at the end of the day is starting to become tiresome.”
“Maybe you should spend a night with a friend?” Todoroki suggests.
“Like, a sleepover?”
He nods.
“I’ve…” Momo falters. “I’ve never been on a sleepover before.”
Todoroki had forgotten that Momo lived a sheltered life of riches much like him. He’s never been to a sleepover either, his father said it wouldn’t do for him to mix with commoners and fall in with a bad crowd. Fall in with a bad crowd, at the age of eight? It was laughable. Todoroki suspects Momo’s parents thought the same thing. Momo is still talking.
“....I don’t even have Mina’s phone-number, and if my mother knew I was staying with a friend for the night at the last minute she’d be very angry and…”
“Mina?” Todoroki cuts her off without meaning to. “That’s who you want to have a sleepover with?”
“Yes, but…”
In a flash, Todoroki has pulled out his phone and thumbs through his contacts. He had Mina’s number saved when she had bribed him with sweets to get the answers for homework one time. It wasn’t that he was easily swayed by candy, no, that would be absurd. He just didn’t really care about her copying his work, that’s all.
He sends a quick text.
Todoroki: Can Momo sleep over with you tonight?
Not a moment later, his phone dings.
Mina: Sure! Are you with her now?
Todoroki: We’re waiting for the train and the subject came up. Do you mind?
Mina: Not at all! I’ll bring Jirou and Uraraka too. Have fun waiting for the train. ;)
He stares at her reply for a long time. Only someone as brazen as Mina would think waiting twenty minutes near a station in the heat of summer was romantic.
“She says it’s fine if you sleep over.” Todoroki says, sliding his phone back into his pocket. Momo watched the whole exchange silently, not wanting to be rude and tell him to stop, but not wanting to decline the invitation as well. A pull of temptations.
“Okay.” she breathes, and sits back with relent. Todoroki dips a fry into some ketchup and checks his watch.
“Time to go.” he said, and plucks the fry into his mouth.
They part ways again, and by the time they do, all traces of frustration had left Momo’s face, and she smiles, excited at the prospect of hanging out with her friends.
“Thank you for doing this, Todoroki.” she says. “It really means a lot.”
“It’s nothing.” he shrugs. “One of us might as well be happy today.”
At that, Momo tilts her head in confusion, and Todoroki inwardly swears.
“Are you having a bad day?”
His gaze drifts from her face to somewhere above her shoulder, watching as the sky begins to darken.
“Something like that.” he responds, voice low.
He texts Midoriya on his way home, and hours later, he receives a text from Mina. There’s a picture attached of Momo, Mina, Jirou and Uraraka all settled in Mina’s kitchen. The table is a complete disaster of flour and sugar with a tray of cookies sitting nearby. Uraraka has flour on her face and is giving a peace sign with her arm linked with Jirou’s. Mina’s face practically takes up the whole picture, and she’s sporting a peace sign as well while Momo sits in the back, smiling apologetically.
Thanks for setting it up! Momo says she owes you big time!
In the privacy of his own bedroom, Todoroki doesn’t feel the need to hide his smile.
Notes:
i wrote this in the span of an hour, and now i'm off to bed! things are progressing slowly for our two heroes, aren't they? enjoy!!
Chapter Text
When Momo had seen the volunteer flyer on the bulletin board at school, it was a complete accident. She was walking to Recovery Girl, trying to figure out how she was going to explain to the elderly woman why her hands wouldn’t stop shaking, when she stopped at the bulletin. There were all sorts of papers and pamphlets pinned there, offering clubs, private tutoring sessions, upcoming school activities and job offers. Momo had taken to looking at all the various papers, stalling for time. She hated bothering Recovery Girl when the woman already had so much to deal with. She was certain that if Midoriya showed up one more time that Recovery Girl would quit right on the spot.
That was when she saw it.
It was a light blue flyer near the bottom, asking for volunteers at the downtown hospital with a number to call at the bottom in case of questions. This was it. This is what she needed. Momo couldn’t take the monotony of her life. It was nothing but school, work, and lessons in between. Momo didn’t mind studying, and she thoroughly enjoyed school, that wasn’t the problem. It was coming home. More specifically, it was her parents. Her mother was nice enough, but everything she did for Momo was for the sake of her reputation. Momo remembered very clearly being twelve years old and listening to her mother bring up the topic of marriage in the living room.
Momo was supposed to carry the tea tray into the living room and be a good host to the circle of friends her mother invited over weekly. It was nothing but two hours of having her legs crossed at the ankles and doting on the adults in the room, trying to show off her good manners.
“Marriage?” one of her mother’s friends had echoed. She was a gorgeous woman with a string of pearls around her neck. “Goodness, when?”
“When she finishes school, of course!” Momo’s mother said, waving a gloved hand in the air. “If it’s a little earlier than that, however, I won’t be upset. It’s important for Momo to marry a strong quirk user who comes from a good, rich family.”
“I agree,” another woman pipes up, fanning herself. She’s wearing way too much lipstick, Momo notes. “My grandmother was wed at fifteen, and I was preparing for a husband at nearly fourteen. The younger, the better, I say. Get them trained early.”
This piques a round of laughter, but Momo doesn’t get the joke. Would she be married when she turned fourteen, too?
Ever since that day, it seemed that the notion of marrying into a good family was being drilled into Momo’s head continously. It only got worse as she grew up, and summer meant dinner parties with all of her mother’s friends and connections. Volunteering at the hospital seemed like the perfect way to avoid staying home with her mother.
Momo was happy to apply, and the hospital was even happier to have her. She was assigned to an old woman named Sayuri Fukude, who was looking for a companion to spend some time with. Though she was old, Sayuri held a fire that buffered nicely with Momo’s demure nature, and they made a great team.
When Momo lets it slip that her mother is parading her around during dinner parties to look for a suitable partner, Sayuri flares up in her bed.
“Now, Momo, dear, I don’t mean to be rude--but your mother is way out of line!” the old woman huffs, and Momo can’t help but wonder if Sayuri was like this even as a young woman. “You should marry for love and when you think it’s the right time! Nothing else besides that matters!”
Momo smiles in that way she does when she doesn’t know what to say, which seems to be happening quite a lot these days.
“You’re right, ma’am.” she says, trying to placate her. “But please, don’t overwork yourself. Do you want something to eat?”
Volunteering solved the problem for a while, but going back home would bring back all the memories and feelings she was trying to avoid. So when Todoroki seems to drop into her daily routine out of nowhere, it’s a surprise. She’s never really talked to Todoroki much, so conversation is short and stunted. He was so...withdrawn. Even when Momo wanted to get to know him better, she had a hard time trying to break through his cool exterior. He didn’t blush or fidget or trip over his words, unlike her. He was effortlessly collected, and that piercing gaze of his only caused Momo to become even more lost for words.
But as time went on, they both began to open up to each other, and it’s gotten to the point where they can talk freely. Well, not entirely. There are still some things she’s not willing to confess, and she figured he was probably the same. But she doesn’t expect him to text Mina and arrange a sleepover, she just felt like being listened to. It was such a nice gesture that she couldn’t possibly deny him, and isn’t this what she really wanted? To act like a girl for once and just have fun? So when she gets home and packs a bag, Momo decides to do something nice in return.
As it turns out, returning the favor is harder than she thought. For starters, she doesn’t even know what Todoroki likes to do. What was his favorite color? His favorite type of music? What did he do for fun? Momo wasn’t sure what a boy liked. Jirou is tuning her guitar when Momo goes to her for advice.
“Do something simple,” she responds. “Don’t overthink it.”
Momo gives a sigh. That wasn’t helpful in the slightest, overthinking was her middle name.
She goes to Midoriya.
His answer is as simple as Jirou’s.
“Take him out to eat.” he supplies, and Momo falters.
“That’s it?”
“Yeah!”
“But…” Momo grapples for what to say. “But that seems so...plain? Shouldn’t I do something more?”
At this, Midoriya’s green eyes roll to the ceiling in thought, and he shakes his head. “No. If it were me, that’s what I would want. To sit down with good company and eat the food that I enjoyed.” Momo smiles, of course he would say something like that. Midoriya was just too sweet.
But he did have a point, and slowly a plan begins to form.
She has to pull some strings, but eventually she’s able to get Todoroki and his mother outside. Momo thought the crowds and the noise would be too much for Rei, but the hospital has a lovely outdoor garden with benches available. It’s a perfect place for Todoroki to spend time with his mother outside her hospital room.
She doesn’t say anything to him about it, one of the nurses ends up persuading them to take a walk there after Momo pleads with her. Momo can’t contain herself, and excuses herself momentarily to watch it all unfold. She sprints down to the lobby and near the back, nearly pressing her nose against the glass to catch a glimpse of them. They’re sitting down on one of the benches, and Rei is laughing. Todoroki even looks more at ease, and he’s smiling gently at her.
Sure, it wasn’t a day out with food, but it was something. Momo hopes she did enough.
One of the nurses comes out to talk to them, and Todoroki turns. Oh, darn! He wasn’t supposed to see her! Momo can’t hide, she’s caught now. Instead, she gives her best smile and waves at him through the glass. His expression is one she can’t decipher, and for a moment, she thinks he might be angry at her for meddling in his private life. But he smiles her softly, and that’s all she needs.
Todoroki seeks Momo out once he’s said goodbye to his mother. She hasn’t left the hospital yet, and finds her still talking to Sayuri, in the process of gathering her things. Not wanting to intrude, he lingers out of sight by the doorway.
“It was so nice having you again today, Momo.” Sayuri says. “Having you around is such a pleasure.”
“Oh!” Momo sputters, and Todoroki can tell she’s waving her hands around. “I-I don’t know about that…”
“It’s true! Oh, remember, dear, my grandson and my daughter are coming to visit tomorrow. I’m sure they’d be happy to see you.”
There’s a pause that’s too hard to ignore.
“Okay.”
They’re sitting side by side on the train, with Momo staring out the window. She’s less talkative today, and there’s a crease in her forehead as she gazes out the window.
“You did that for me, didn’t you?” Todoroki speaks up, startling her out of her thoughts. “Letting me and my mom spend the afternoon in the hospital garden.”
Momo perks up slightly. “Yes. I wanted to repay for what you did for me last week. I hope it wasn’t too much.”
“No, it was perfect. She really enjoyed herself.” he manages to hold her gaze. “Thank you, Momo. Really.”
Todoroki can’t help but think that her smile could be a lot brighter. “It’s no problem!”
Momo is sitting in Sayuri’s room, tapping her foot against the floor. It’s an anxious habit of her’s, but she can’t seem to stop. Sayuri’s grandson and daughter are milling about the room, poking and prodding things. Sayuri is overjoyed at seeing them, which only suggests that she hasn’t seen them in a while.
Her daughter has short brown hair and a designer coat with a peacock-patterned scarf. She looks bored, and her son is no better. He’s older than Momo, perhaps in his twenties, and he spends his time leering at the nurses and periodically glancing at her. Momo shifts uncomfortably. She picked the wrong day to wear a skirt.
“It’s so nice to see you again, Sakura.” Sayuri beams. “I was hoping you’d come by soon. Did you bring the cheesecake?”
Cheesecake was Sayuri’s favorite. “No,” Sakura says, picking through the drawers.
“Really, how come?”
Sakura gives a sigh. “I forgot, mom.” she wrinkles her nose and picks up a sweater. “Why do you still have this? It’s so old.”
“You bought it for me, remember? Of course I still have it.” Sayuri doesn’t notice her daughter rolling her eyes, but Momo does. Sakura gives a noncommittal grunt and drops the sweater back in the drawer. A sleeve hangs out, and she doesn’t bother to fix it or push the drawer back in.
“What do you do again?” Momo looks up as Sakura’s son, Jiro, addresses her.
“Uh, I help Miss. Sayuri around when she needs it. Sometimes I take her out to eat or shopping. Things like that.”
“Do they pay you?”
Didn’t she just say she volunteered? “No, I do this for free.”
Jiro raises his eyebrows, eyes skirting to the side. “Good luck with that.” he mutters, and Momo’s hands clench in her lap.
“Mom, all of your clothes are terrible!” Sakura gasps, aghast. She turns to Momo. “I thought you said you take her shopping?”
“I-I do, but..” she can’t say that Sayuri refuses to let Momo pay for her things, instead insisting on using the allowance she gets from the woman before her. In truth, Momo could make more at a part time job than Sayuri gets a month. The words press against her throat, but she swallows them down instead.
Luckily, Sayuri cuts in.
“Momo is in highschool! She shouldn’t be wasting her hard-earned money on an old woman! She should be spending it on herself.”
Hard-earned money. Momo can feel some sort of hysterical laughter bubble up inside of her. Yeah, right. Momo would spend every last penny on this woman if she was able to.
“Maybe if you gave me a bit more cash, I’d be able to buy some better clothes.” Sayuri is obviously joking, but Sakura gives her such a glare that Momo is startled.
“You know my job is tough, mom. I can barely afford to support myself as it is.” her tone is verging on snappish, and Momo eyes her coat again. The same designer coat that her mother has, the one that costs so much yen that it makes Momo sick just thinking about it. Jiro snorts and looks to the window.
“I know dear,” Sayuri says, and Momo can’t believe how submissive she’s being. For once, Sayuri looks old. Old and hunched and sad. “I’m just happy that you’re here.”
“Is there anything else to do?” Sakura asks, having grown tired of picking apart her mother’s wardrobe. She sits in a vacant chair and crosses her arms. “I had to miss a day out with my girlfriends for this, you know.”
Sayuri flounders, unsure of what to do. “We...we could take a walk.” she suggests. “There’s a lovely garden nearby, isn’t that right, Momo?”
“Yes.” Momo musters up a smile, trying hard not to let her voice crack. Something hot and wild is swirling in her chest. “It’s very pretty, you might enjoy yourselves.”
“It’s too hot. It would ruin my makeup.” Sakura isn’t even looking at her mother, so she doesn’t see the crushed look on her face. Momo can’t take it anymore. She excuses herself to the bathroom and nearly races out of the room.
When she finds a private place, nowhere close to the bathroom, Momo cloisters herself in a small hallway. Her hand clenches into a fist and she bangs it on the wall, placing her forehead on the cool exterior. She takes a deep breath. She has to breathe, but it’s so hard. She feels like she’s being strangled. Something hot is blocking her throat, and Momo can feel herself begin to shake. The floor is swallowing her up, and if she doesn’t do something quick she’ll drown…
“Momo.” A hand grabs her by the elbow and Momo jumps. She turns around to see Todoroki, who is looking at her worriedly.
“T-Todoroki…” she can barely say his name, and it only serves to make her more frustrated.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He gently lets go of her. Momo nods, but her movements are jerky and stiff.
“I’m fine.”
“You look sad.”
“This is my natural expression.” she replies automatically, eyes darting to the floor.
“Your natural expression is you about to cry?” He can’t help a hint of sarcasm, and Momo gives a snort, which gives way to a short laugh that crumbles into a sob. Hot tears blur her vision, and Momo tries to will them down, to no avail. Her throat closes up painfully.
“I’m fine, Todoroki.” she says, but her voice is high and strained. Momo places a hand over her eyes. God, she was pathetic. But it wasn’t fair. Sayuri was so kind, and sweet and good. Her family was so horrible to her, Momo could never imagine saying such terrible things to a member of her own family. Why was Sayuri so passive with her daughter? Why didn’t she get angry and voice her opinion like she did everything else? Is that what money did to you, did money make you cruel and mean? Did money turn you thoughtless?
Momo’s voice is aching, and she realizes that she’s said this all out loud. She’s trying so hard not to yell, and a spark of pain erupts in her hand. Momo gasps painfully. Todoroki slowly reaches out and takes her hand, uncurling her fist with a gentle, practiced hand. Her nails have created crescent marks into her palm, red and swelling with blood. It only makes Momo cry harder, and she hates herself. She couldn’t keep it together for even a second. What makes her think she had what it takes to be a hero? Would she crumble at every injustice and sadness that came her way? When was she going to grow up and be strong?
“You’re too hard on yourself, Momo.”
That’s when it hits her. Todoroki is calling her by her first name. He’s been doing that for a while. When did he stop using her surname?
“You can cry, you know. Everyone cries at some point in time. Some things are just...sad, and you have to embrace that. It’s not a bad thing.” He meets her eye, and she’s floored by the intensity of his gaze. Momo takes a breath, and the anxiety loosens in her stomach. “Do you want to go back?”
Momo wipes at her eyes. “Yes,” her voice is raw. She owes it to Sayuri. It’s the least she can do. “I want to go back.”
Todoroki walks her back to Sayuri’s room, but not before giving her a bandage for her hand. Her face has returned to its normal color, but she can’t do anything about her red eyes. Momo glances in the door to find Sayuri handing over a bundle of dollar bills to Sakura, who takes them without saying thank-you and slips it into her purse. Jiro is standing by the door, and notices Momo. He gives her a look that’s bordering on predatory, and Todoroki squeezes her hand. She turns to him, and his mouth is pressed into a thin line, irritation creeping onto his features.
“I’ll see you later, Todoroki.” she tells him, and he hesitates before nodding and leaving.
Sayuri’s family leaves quickly afterwards. There’s an awkwardness in the air as Sayuri busies herself, folding her clothes back that Sakura so carelessly messed up.
“What would you like to do now, ma’am?” Momo asks.
Without looking at her, Sayuri gives a cough. “I’m feeling a little tired today, Momo. Why don’t you head home early for tonight?”
“Okay.” Momo gets up, smoothing out her skirt. “Have a nice night, ma’am. I will see you tomorrow.”
Sayuri nods, her back still turned. “Yes.”
Momo’s hand throbs.
Notes:
i wanted to focus on momo a little bit more, the poor girl is too hard on herself. tell me what you think!
Chapter Text
“You called me by my first name.”
Todoroki is sitting in the park, on one of the swings with Momo beside him. She’s glancing at him as she swings back and forth only slightly, feet dragging in the dirt. She’s wearing sneakers instead of her usual flats or heels, and it feels nice to not care about dirtying up her shoes.
“Oh,” Todoroki hadn’t even noticed, and for a minute, he thinks he’s crossed some sort of line. “I’m sorry, would you like me to call you Yaoyorozu instead?”
“No! I don’t mind, it just surprised me, that’s all.” Momo smiles. “We’re becoming closer friends, it’s nice.”
As a matter of fact, he’s starting to call everyone in their class by their first names. Midoriya was thrilled and almost cried about it, the softie. Todoroki doesn’t know where it comes from, but they’ve been through so much together, keeping up formalities just seems like a waste of time to him. For once, they’re not at the hospital, and while they both enjoyed spending the days there, talking outside of the hospital was enjoyable too.
Todoroki doesn’t know why he picks a park, but these days he’s starting to feel less like a kid. His mother’s mood fluctuates. He can see the shadow of his father looming over him more and more. The only thing that cheers him up is hanging out with his friends, so he’s taking what he can get. Momo is smiling more, but there’s a hint of strain in it, as if it’s taking all her energy to do so. He was worried about her when she broke down crying in the hospital yesterday. She hasn’t talked about it, and he didn’t pry.
That seemed to be the basis of their relationship, didn’t it? Never really reaching into the problem, but helping each other out when they could. Todoroki doesn’t know if that’s a bad thing or not. Weren’t you supposed to break down walls and have arguments as friends? Maybe he was overthinking it.
“It’s hot.” Momo says, wiping at her forehead.
That was another thing that added to Todoroki’s unpleasant mood. The weather. If it got any hotter he was going to scream.
“We can get something to drink.” he suggests, and they unpeel themselves from the swing sets in search of beverages.
There’s a convience store around the corner, and Momo’s phone rings. She digs it out of her pocket, and tells Todoroki to go inside without her. “I’ll be there in a second.”
He enters the store and picks out two drinks. He sticks to water, but he knows Momo is fond of sweet tea, and pays for both at the register. When he returns outside, Momo is hanging up and looks crestfallen, pulling back her hair into a tighter ponytail.
“Is everything okay?”
She manages a half-smile. “Yeah, it’s just my mom. She wants me to attend a party tonight.”
“You don’t want to go?” he takes her drink out of the plastic bag and hands it to her.
“I hate dinner parties.” She accepts the tea and twists off the lid. “They last forever.”
Todoroki can tell that it’s more complicated than that, but he doesn’t say anything. They walk aimlessly, away from the park, into town. As a boy, Todoroki attended various parties as well, and he hated it just as much as she did. Luckily, with Endeavor’s busy schedule, he hasn’t gone to any in months.
“What about Sayuri?” the words come out of his mouth before he can stop them, and Momo turns to him.
“What about her?”
He stares at her, she stares back.
Finally, Momo sighs. “It’s complicated,” she admits. “I can’t do anything about her awful family, and I can’t do anything about my mother. I just...have to take it in stride, I guess. I can put up with my mother and I can try to make Sayuri as happy as possible for as long as I can. There’s no use crying over it.” She gives him a determined smile. “I’m going to do my best!”
She sounds like Uraraka. Momo was always taking things in stride, wasn’t she? Never letting anyone see just how hard she was trying. Todoroki supposes he was like that too, but this was different. Momo deserved to let everyone know what she was feeling once in a while. He figures that yesterday would be the only time Momo allowed herself to cry in front of him.
They keep walking, talking periodic sips of their drinks.
“Do you like your parents?” Todoroki asks, and Momo has to think for a moment.
“Yes, I think so.” she pauses and asks, “Do you like your parents, Todoroki?”
“I like my mother.”
“What about your dad?”
It takes him a long time to answer, and Momo starts to backtrack. “I’m sorry, that--that was rude of me to say…”
“No, it’s fine. He’s not...he’s not someone I would consider to be a good parent.” It’s the nicest way he can put it, and even then there’s an edge to his voice. Momo’s eyes dart to the burn mark on his face and then dart away just as fast. There were rumors about his scar in class, and Mina was a magnet for gossip. She brought it up on occasion whenever the girls got together, which had sparked different theories and debates. Momo had her own share of curiosities, but she never voiced them. It just didn’t seem polite.
Momo sighs and wipes at her forehead again. This heat was becoming unbearable.
A thought comes to Todoroki then.
“Do you want to go to my house?”
Ten minutes later, Momo is at the front steps of his house, suddenly feeling shy and hesitant. This is her first time at a boy’s house. Todoroki has already unlocked the front door and is stepping inside.
“You can come inside, Momo.” Todoroki says, when he sees that she’s still lingering outside.
“A-Are you sure? I don’t want to be an inconvenience!”
“I invited you here.”
Momo blushes, feeling like a dork. “Right...I know. Okay.” she steps inside and removes her shoes. It’s much cooler inside, and Todoroki closes the door behind them. Immediately, footsteps can be heard shuffling into the living room, and Fuyumi Todoroki comes rushing into view. She immediately relaxes upon seeing Todoroki, and places a hand on her chest.
“Oh,” she breathes, glasses slightly askew. “Shouto, you scared me. I didn’t know you were coming home so early.”
Ever since summer break began, Todoroki spends most of his time outside the house, not coming home until nearly 9 o’clock.
“It was hot so I decided to come home, I brought a friend over as well.”
Momo’s posture gets even straighter and she bows deeply. “H-Hello, I’m Momo Yaoyorozu. I’m a classmate of Todoroki.”
Fuyumi bows back. “It’s nice to meet you, Yaoyorozu. Please, make yourself at home.” Fuyumi is giving Todoroki a look that he pointedly ignores, and instead is focusing on her hair.
“Did you just wake up or something? Your hair is a mess.”
“Shouto!” Fuyumi blushes and pats at her hair, smoothing it back into place. “I was taking a nap, for your information! If you’re going to be here, just make sure you don’t make a mess. Dad won’t be home until late tonight.” She gives another bow Momo’s way and walks back to her room. Todoroki nearly smiles. Teasing his older sister was just too easy. There was a time when she was almost too nervous to even smile much around him, too burdened with guilt from being unable to protect him against their father’s wrath. Talking to her like this is much easier.
Momo takes in the house. It’s nice and clean, with expensive wood furniture and painted vases. There aren’t many family photos, and it leaves a strange feeling of loneliness in her chest.
Todoroki is opening the sliding door that leads to the backyard, and Momo trails along after him. Outside, there’s an enormous pool glinting under the sun with chairs spread out. Momo’s family owned a pool as well, but it wasn’t nearly as big as Todoroki’s.
“You have a lovely home.” Momo says, and wonders if she’ll ever stop talking like someone’s mother and more like a teenager.
“It’s alright.” Todoroki replied in a bored tone. “Do you want to swim?”
“Swim?” Momo echoed, and now she’s growing flustered again. “I--uh--I don’t have a bathing suit! And my clothes will get ruined! Really, I don’t think I can…”
“You’ve never jumped into a pool with your clothes on?” Todoroki asks, and realizes that maybe his question wasn’t the right one to ask. Todoroki used to jump into the family pool without thinking about it on many occasions, when he couldn’t stand looking at his father and the smothering atmosphere of his own home. It started when he was nearly nine and it just grew into a habit. He’d sink at the bottom of the pool and try to block the whole world out. There wasn’t much incentive to do it now, but the urge is still there, especially today.
“No! It would be improper!”
Todoroki shrugs and walks over to the pool. He watches his reflection distort and feels the heat on the back of his neck.
He doesn’t want to think right now.
“Todo--!”
SPLASH! He hits the water and lets the cold take over him. It brings back a myriad of memories, and the stress that has piled up inside of him leaves in an instant. Todoroki breaks the surface of the water and shakes his hair. Momo is staring down at him in astonishment, mouth agape. Her eyes are sparkling in a weird way, the sun is making her hair nice and glossy. Todoroki blinks.
“Todoroki, are you okay?!”
“It’s just water, Momo. I’m fine.”
Momo looks like she’s trying to form a coherent sentence and is failing miserably. “Get in.” he tells her bluntly.
“What?!”
“Get in. You’re hot, aren’t you?”
“W-Well, yes, but--” Momo hesitates. But what?
Momo creeps towards the edge of the pool.
She doesn’t want to think right now.
Momo jumps into the pool and the sting is wonderful. Her world is a rush of blue and white until she, too, breaks the surface of the water and comes up laughing. Her hair is sticking to her neck, her clothes are sticking to her body, and the water laps at her skin. Momo runs a hand down her face and catches Todoroki staring at her. They don’t move or speak, they just stare at each other, floating mere inches away from the other.
“I didn’t know you could be so spontaneous.” Momo says, after a pause.
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.” there’s a grin sliding across his face, and Momo can feel her heart thud.
When they come out of the pool nearly two hours later, there are towels and a change of clothes laying on one of the chairs. Momo races for a towel and wraps it around herself before Todoroki can see how drenched her clothes are. The last thing she needs is for him to see her bra. Fuyumi had laid out an old pair of clothes for her, and Momo takes them gratefully. Todoroki points her to the bathroom before going to his own room to change.
The pants and the shirt are too big for her, but Momo gives her thanks to Fuyumi anyway, who had since gotten up and was preparing sandwiches for them. Momo blow drys her hair and lets Fuyumi take her wet clothes into the dryer. Todoroki comes out minutes later, still drying his hair and they both sit on his couch. Fuyumi lays out the sandwiches, and iced tea before excusing herself back to her room. They sit in silence, and Momo realizes that she hasn’t been this relaxed in a very long time.
The sleepover. The pool. What more could he possibly do for her?
“Thank you Todo--er, Shouto?” Momo stutters. “C-Can I call you Shouto?”
“I’d like that.”
Momo is sitting in the living room, the smell of perfume thick in the air. Her mother had picked out a dress for her, a red number with a plunging neckline that’s much too tight for her. Momo almost wishes it would rip so she could put on something else. Her heels are too tall and it makes her feet ache. The jewelry feels heavy, her makeup feels caked on. Her hair is tied up in a too tight bun that makes her scalp sting.
There’s people everywhere, and it’s overwhelming. Momo has been smiling and exchanging pleasantries for over an hour, and all she wants to do is retreat into her room and go to sleep. Maybe if she sits on the couch and doesn’t attract any attention she can get through this evening without having to talk anymore. Her mother, ever present and domineering, is glaring at her from her position by the food table.
She insists Momo be a good host and greet their guests politely, but she cant bring herself to do it. She may be sitting dressed to the nines, but she’s still swimming with a boy with heterochromatic eyes.
In a flash, her mother is standing beside her.
“Get up, Momo. You’re being rude.” she hisses, trying to mask her words through a drink she has raised to her lips.
“Mother, I’m really tired.” Momo says. “Can’t I just...sit here for a few more minutes?”
“No. I didn’t throw this party for you just so you can ruin it! You’re acting like a child.”
Momo wants to point out that she is a child, but there’s someone sliding up towards her. He’s a handsome young man with wavy brown hair, and he’s gazing at her the way a wolf looks at a rabbit.
“Hello, Miss. Yaoyorozu.” he interjects smoothly, and Momo’s mother smiles, all traces of anger gone from her face in a flash. “Am I interrupting?”
“No, not at all!” She subtly pushed him towards Momo, who was still seated. “This is my daughter, Momo.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Momo.” he says, and she plasters on a smile.
“Thank you.” She doesn’t mean it in the slightest. Maybe if she sounds bored enough he’ll get the hint and leave.
“Would you be so kind as to accompany me around your home? It’s just beautiful.”
It takes everything within Momo not to roll her eyes. Why can’t he walk himself? Doesn’t he have legs?!
She’s about to refuse, and there’s a cold fury in her mother’s eyes that Momo can’t ignore.
I can do this, she thinks. If she could put up with Sayuri’s family for an entire day, she can certainly deal with him.
She takes his hand and stands.
Notes:
thank you all so much for taking the time to read this! it really means a lot to me. things have been going pretty well for todoroki and momo, but that's all about to change within the next chapter or two. please tell me what you think and enjoy!
update: i really shouldn’t write fics when i don’t wear my glasses and i’m half asleep because i just fixed a ton of spelling errors and it’s pretty embarrassing.
Chapter Text
Fuyumi has been staring at him for almost five minutes now. Todoroki is laying on the couch, scrolling through his phone. The air conditioner is on full blast and it’s just the two of them inside the house. His older sister is sitting across from him on the other couch, eyes glinting behind her glasses. He’s pointedly ignoring her, even when she tries to catch his eyes.
“So,” Fuyumi drawls, leaning forward. “You and Momo are friends, huh?”
“Yes.” Todoroki responds.
“She’s pretty.”
He doesn’t respond to that.
“Shouto,” Fuyumi’s voice goes from teasing to serious so fast that Todoroki looks up from his phone to address her. “You’re my younger brother, and as your elder sibling, it’s important for me to make sure you’re doing alright and developing properly like a young man should.”
He actually snorts at that. “You sound like a health teacher.”
“Do you like Momo?”
“Well, we’re friends, if that’s what you mean.”
“You know what I’m talking about.” At this point, Todoroki has gone back to his phone, and he has to take a deep breath before speaking again.
“Momo Yaoyorozu is my friend and nothing more, Fuyumi.”
“You invited her into the pool, you never do that! Jumping into the pool was your thing and no one else’s, remember?”
“It was hot.”
“You talk about her sometimes, too. And I see you getting off the train together as well.”
Todoroki raises an eyebrow. “You’re following me now?”
Fuyumi gives a groan of frustration, placing her head into her hands. Teenage boys were impossible!
“Shouto, be honest with me. Do you like Momo, in a romantic way?”
There’s a long stretch of silence in which Todoroki doesn’t say anything, and Fuyumi is waiting with bated breath. Todoroki is pretending to contemplate this, eyebrows furrowed and eyes searching the ceiling.
“Hm,” he says, finally, and Fuyumi is practically on the edge of her seat. “I’ll need to think about that in my room.”
“What?!”
He’s already getting up and leaving, with Fuyumi sputtering after him. “S-Shouto, don’t leave! This is important!”
“Is it?”
“Don’t hide from your feelings! I’m your sister, you can confide in me!”
“Uh-huh.”
“She’s very pretty, you two would look cute together!” Her words die out as Todoroki closes his bedroom door.
Do you like Momo in a romantic way?
Todoroki scoffs and flops onto his bed.
His sister was ridiculous.
Momo is laying on her bed, trying to quell the rolling in her stomach. She’s wearing her warmest, fluffiest pajamas despite it being summer, and has buried herself under a mountain of covers. She doesn’t feel like going out today. She called Sayuri on the phone and talked to her, apologizing for being unable to come visit.
“Don’t worry about it!” Sayuri says. “You’ve visited every day since you started here, stay home until you feel better.”
She was so understanding, unlike Momo’s own mother. The dinner party was a complete fiasco, and Momo had retreated into her room the minute it ended. She hadn’t left since, and her mother showed no signs of caring. Momo knows that staying in her room isn’t the answer, but she can’t bring herself to leave the bed.
Her mood got like this from time to time. Her anxiety would reach an all-time high and Momo would hide herself away. Mina and the other girls would try their best to cheer her up, and they sent her a plethora of texts hoping to see her soon. In reality, the only person she really wanted to see was…
Momo let out a sigh and rolled around in bed, trying to clear her head. She liked Todoroki as a friend, that was all! She shouldn’t get all starry-eyed just because they’ve grown closer as friends, it didn’t mean anything!
Todoroki was kind and polite and good-hearted. He was easy to talk to, and was pretty good at comforting others when the occasion arose. So she liked the graceful way he moved and thought he had pretty eyes, so what? Tsuyu’s eyes were pretty, that didn’t mean Momo had a crush on her. There wasn’t anything wrong with pointing out the good qualities in a friend, right? Right.
Momo throws the covers off, agitated. She couldn’t stay in this room a moment longer. She needed to talk to someone.
Going outside, it figured, did wonders for Momo. It wasn’t as hot as yesterday, and a light breeze had begun to pick up. Getting some fresh air made her negative mood dissipate in an instant, and Momo decides to head to the hospital. Sayuri was the only woman she could think to ask about these types of things.
It comes as a complete surprise when she bumps to Aizawa, who is still wearing black despite it being summer. The only difference is that he’s wearing a jean jacket, and his long hair is pulled up into a ponytail. Momo is astonished, he looks pretty good.
“H-Hello, sir!” Momo bows to him, and Aizawa lifts a hand.
“No need to be so formal, Yaoyorozu. You can call me Aizawa outside of class.” He’s sitting on a bench in the lobby, and makes room for Momo to sit beside him.
“Why are you at the hospital, sir? Are you sick?”
“No, I was visiting someone here. Don’t you volunteer here, Yaoyorozu?”
“I do!”
“That sounds like something you’d do. You’re caring like that.”
Momo blushes under his praise, and a thought occurs to her. “Sir, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
Momo hesitated for a second or two. “Were you pressured by your parents to marry into a good family when you were young?”
It takes a minute for him to answer. “The subject came up from time to time in my youth. Is that what’s happening to you?”
Momo fidgets. “Something like that. I don’t know what to do. I can’t go against my parents, but this isn’t what I want.”
“Things like this are difficult to go through. I would suggest you try talking to your mom and dad. Be honest, and tell them how you really feel. They may try to teach you what’s best, but this is your own life and you should live it how you want.”
Momo let that sink in for a moment, staring down at her shoes. “That’s a lot easier said than done.”
Aizawa gave her a gentle smile. “These things often are. But you’re a strong girl, Yaoyorozu. I believe in you.” With that, he gets up, and Momo does as well, feeling a blush creep along her skin.
“Thank you, sir!”
He gives her one last smile before leaving through the front doors.
There are days when Sayuri doesn’t do too well. She was well into her diagnosis when Momo came to volunteer, but the teenager had never seen Sayuri without a smile on her face or a spark in her eye.
Today is different. She can tell the minute she steps into the room,
Sayuri is confused and can’t seem to focus on a subject, she’s also highly sensitive today. She goes from greeting Momo to talking about her school days to her daughter in a span of a couple minutes. There’s a pale, waxen look to her, and her eyes look tired. When Sayuri divulges the fact that her daughter was always selfish and never took the time to visit her, she breaks down in tears. Momo tries her best to comfort her, but Sayuri won't hear of it. Her poor body is wracked with sobs and the anxiety that Momo has been feeling all week seems to boil up inside of her.
The nurses come to settle Sayuri down and politely ask Momo to leave. She doesn’t feel comfortable leaving Sayuri in such a distressed state, but she doesn’t have a choice.
The door closes behind her, and Momo is left standing in the hall.
When Todoroki doesn’t hear from Momo for three days, he grows worried. He still goes to visit his mother, accompanied by Fuyumi, and their mother is practically bursting with joy. It’s nice to involve his sister in this, who brings new clothes and books for her. Sayuri’s door is closed when they leave for the day, and Todoroki’s eyes scan the entire hospital floor and the train station for her familiar ponytail. Maybe she had visited early. Perhaps she was sick. When Fuyumi asks who he’s looking for, with that same eager look on her face, he evades her question easily and suggest they go order take-out.
By the third day, Todoroki’s worry grows to a boil and he seeks her out. They’ve started texting as of late, and she won’t even answer those. He calls her and it goes straight to voicemail. On the evening of the third day, just as the sun starts setting, Todoroki is convinced something awful has happened to her and needs to re-affirm for himself that she’s okay. It’s only when he’s pulling out his keys to lock the front door that he realizes his hands are shaking.
It takes him not even ten minutes to get to Momo’s house, and when he knocks on the front door there’s a sharp pain in his side from running all the way there. A tall woman answers the door, and she's the spitting image of Momo, but holds none of Momo’s warmth.
“Hello?”
Remembering his manners, Todoroki bows. “My name is Todoroki Shouto, I’m a friend of Momo’s. Is she home?”
Shock flits across the woman’s face. She must recognize the surname, and lets him in immediately. She points out her room, and is still gazing at him in surprise when he thanks her and walks up the steps to the second floor.
Todoroki knocks on the door, still trying to catch his breath. “Momo?”
There’s a long pause, and her voice is small. “Come in.”
Todoroki has never been in a girl’s room before, and he’s a little nervous at the thought of entering. Nevertheless, he allows himself in, bowing and apologizing.
Momo is curled up in her bed. Her room is immaculate, and she’s dressed in sweats. It was a little odd seeing her without a skirt or a dress. Even her hair is down, and he tries not to get distracted at how long it actually is. Why doesn’t she wear her hair down all the time?
She straightens up when she sees Todoroki, tossing her pillow to the side. “S-Shouto! How did you…? I mean, why are you here?”
“I didn’t hear from you for a while and I…” he trails off, suddenly shy. “I got worried.”
“Why are you breathing so hard?” Then, she pieces it together and her eyes widen. “Did you run all the way here?!”
“Well, yeah…”
“Please,” she’s already getting up and pulling out her computer chair. “Sit down, you must be exhausted!”
Todoroki nearly collapses onto the offered seat, and wipes at the back of his neck.
“I didn’t mean to worry you, Shouto.” Momo sits back onto her bed, crossing her legs. “I just needed some time to myself, that’s all.”
She’s giving him another smile, and Todoroki almost wants to scold her. Doesn’t she know he can see right through her?
“Are you doing alright?”
“I’m doing fine!” Momo brightens. “Sayuri isn’t feeling so well, so the nurses decided that she needed some rest.”
There’s a long stretch of silence between them.
“Are you telling me the truth?”
Momo blinks in surprise. “Why would I lie to you?”
“Because you tend to make sure everyone else is okay so they don’t worry about you.”
Momo’s mind is drawing a blank. She doesn’t know how to respond.
Todoroki leans back in the chair and sighs. “Momo, you know you can talk to me about anything, right? We’re friends, after all. Even if it’s bad, you can tell me. You know I won’t judge you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Momo says, and her voice dead. “Talking won’t help anyway.”
“What are you saying?”
“Don’t you get it?” Momo grips at her blanket, a dark curtain of hair falling over her shoulder and obscuring some of her face. “It doesn’t matter what I say or do, nobody is going to listen to me.”
“Momo, what’s this all about?”
“I was groped at my mother’s dinner party.”
The confession is said so blankly that it takes Todoroki a minute to process what she just said.
“What?!”
“I even told her, and you know what she did? Nothing. She made it seem like being violated by a perfect stranger was something to be proud of. She doesn’t care about me, Shouto.”
“Momo…”
“Sayuri has dementia.” Todoroki has to keep his mouth from falling open in surprise. “She had it long before I came to help her. She’s getting worse every day, and her family doesn’t seem to care. There are times when she looks at me and I can tell she doesn’t know who I’am.” Momo is shaking, and she’s staring into her lap, refusing to meet Todoroki’s eyes.
“I’m being herded like a sheep into a life I don't want to live. My mother doesn’t see me as a daughter, and the only woman in my life who I can connect to is dying. Soon, she won’t remember me at all.” her voice is wavering, and Momo runs her hands down her face. “There’s nothing I can do about anything in my life and I hate it! It’s not fair!”
Todoroki has never seen her like this. Seeing her cry before was enough to shake him, but this was different. She was breaking right in front of him, and all he could do was watch.
“I don’t know if I can keep doing this, Shouto. My life is just...too hard right now. I know it won’t always be this way, but it’s starting to feel like it is. I want to be happy! I want to be a kid! I’m chipping away parts of myself to keep everyone happy, and each day I’m slowly forgetting the girl I used to be.” She gives a shaky gasp, face crumbling as she hangs her head. “If I can’t...if I can’t survive this, how can I call myself a hero? What good am I, then?”
And then she’s crying.
Todoroki sits there frozen as the dam inside her breaks, and Momo sobs into her hands, shoulders trembling. Her cries are agonizing, with sharp, heaving sobs that sound like some wounded animal and not a girl at all. Todoroki stands before he knows what he’s doing, and sits on her bed. He can’t think in a time like this, not when she needs him now more than ever. Slowly, Todoroki pulls her into his arms. She still won’t look at him, and he can feel her erratic heartbeat as he wraps his arms around her. She’s warm and soft and he finds that having her in his arms is the most he’s ever come to physical contact with another person that wasn’t a family member. He likes hugging her, her scent is intoxicating.
Todoroki shakes his head. Idiot, he can’t focus on something like that now!
He clears his throat, trying to search for the right words. “I’m sorry, Momo.” he says, and the apology feels lame, he searches with desperation for something, anything, to make her feel better. “I don’t...I don’t know what I can say or what I can do to cheer you up right now. I’ve never had to face this type of situation, but...but I do know you have every right to feel this way. Breaking down at something like this doesn’t make you weak, it’s the exact opposite. You’re going through this the best you can, and no matter how hard this gets you’ve never stopped being kind to people. That’s a kind of strength that most people don’t have. If I were in your position, I don’t think I could handle it with as much grace and strength as you have.”
Todoroki tries to imagine his mother with dementia. It was hard enough with her mental instability already. He couldn’t even picture showing up to see her one day and having her not know who he was. Just thinking about it makes something horrible twist inside of his chest. “I know it’s been difficult for you, but you don’t have to hide from me. You don’t have to shut yourself away. Even if your parents let you down, I’m always going to be here for you, Momo.” His grip on her tightens subconsciously. “You don’t have to go through this alone. Even if it seems hopeless, I want us to share our struggles together. I want you to share yourself with me.”
His voice had gotten deep and low as he said this, heat thumping wildly. There’s an untamed sort of emotion washing through him as he holds her. Todoroki finds that everything he’s saying is true. He does want to help Momo, he wants to know everything about her. He wants to go through this with her. “If Sayuri ends up dying, I want to be there every step of the way. This is your burden, I know. But you don’t have to shoulder it alone.”
It’s the most Todoroki has said in years. He feels somewhat hesitant after that entire speech. Would she say that she didn’t need anyone’s help? Would she push him away, after he bared a part of his innermost feelings to her? Momo’s sobs have declined until she’s wiping at her face as best she can with Todoroki’s arms still wrapped around her. She doesn’t know what to say. He sounds so...passionate, so sincere. When was the last time anyone has spoken to her that way?
“You do so much for me, Shouto.” Momo mumbles. “You always see me at my worst, I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. This is what we do.”
“I’m so tired of crying.”
Todoroki shrugs, resting his chin on the top of her head. “I think that’s normal. You’re going through some very heavy things.”
Momo almost doesn’t want him to let go, but he pulls away eventually and she finds herself craving him again. The loss of contact gives her the opportunity to get her head together, and she pats her face a few times. “T-Thank you, Shouto.” she says, feeling herself get embarrassed all over again. “I don’t know what to say…”
“You don’t have to say anything.”
Simultaneously, they both flop down onto her bed, heads hitting the blankets in unison. A fresh pull of air after being thrown about in a sea storm. Momo’s hair is fanned out around her, with strands falling over her neck. They both smile at the other before looking to the ceiling.
“Momo?”
“Yes?” her voice is gentle and sweet.
“Can you tell me the next time you go to a party?”
“Uh, sure.” She glances at him from the corner of her eye. “But why?”
“I’ll go to a thousand parties if it means you don’t get groped again by some creep.” he says, and that’s putting it mildly. He’s not about to set her bed on fire because he can’t control his temper.
“Okay.” Momo says, and the hole inside her chest is filling slowly. “Deal.”
Notes:
ahh, more angst! i can't help putting these two through the wringer and seeing how they come out on the other side. things are going to get more emotional and heavier from here on out, but i'm going to make sure that our heroes turn out happy. please tell me what you think, and enjoy!
Chapter Text
Life returns to normal, in a way. Todoroki and Momo still go to the hospital and leave together. They spend whatever free time they have hanging out with friends and texting in between. On the surface, all appears as it should be. On the inside, however, things were swirling to a change.
Todoroki doesn’t want to think about all the things he said when he visited Momo, doesn’t want to think about how he practically spilled his heart out to her in the most emotionally-fueled ramble he’s ever been on. If he thinks about it too much, his heart starts doing funny things and his skin flushes. Fuyumi notices a change in him straight-away, and it takes her even less time to figure out why.
“You like her, don’t you?!” She shrieks in delight, when he briefly mentioned that he went to go see her. “You like Momo!”
“Fuyumi…” Todoroki is about to tell her to drop it, and he finds his words drying up in his throat. She’s still staring at him expectantly, and he sighs. It’s tiring, he realizes, keeping things bottled up. “Fine. I like her.”
Fuyumi couldn’t be happier. She’s almost crying. “I’m so happy!” she blubbers, wiping at her eyes dramatically. “I’d always hoped you’d find a nice girl to spend your youth with! Mom even mentioned that you’ve made a couple of close friends, isn’t that right? You’re opening up, Shouto!”
“Fuyumi, there’s no need to start crying about it.”
“Well, I can’t help it!” she laughs. “I’m your older sister, I’m supposed to get all sappy at these types of things. When are you going to tell her?”
That was a problem. Todoroki kept pulling it off. For whatever reason, whenever he drew up the courage, all he had to do was look at Momo and all of that courage would dry up like a dead flower. He’s faced off against villains and his father and whatever else, but confessing to a girl was a new type of fear that he wasn’t accustomed to. Maybe he should ask someone, but who…?
He meets Kirishima at a restaurant, accompanied by Midoriya and Uraraka. He promised them all food if they showed up, and they all quickly agreed. Midoriya didn’t need food to hang out with a friend, and really, neither did Kirishima and Uraraka, but it helped. So once they all sit down together and the food is served, Todoroki, once again, finds himself stalling. He could barely admit his crush to his own sister, could he really say it in front of his friends? Would they make fun of him for it?
“So,” Uraraka says, picking up her chopsticks. “Why did you call us out here, Todoroki?”
“Is everything okay?” Midoriya is immediately worried.
“Yes, everything’s fine. I just…” Todoroki takes a sip of water. “I just wanted to know...how do you confess to a girl?”
The entire table has fallen quiet. Kirishima, Midoriya and Uraraka are all looking at him with comically wide eyes. Todoroki can’t meet their gazes and pretends to be interested in the noodles swimming in his bowl.
“YOU LIKE A GIRL--!” Uraraka’s words are cut off as Midoriya claps a hand over her mouth.
“Uraraka!” he hisses, looking frantically around the restaurant. “You’re too loud!”
She pushes his hand away, blushing furiously. “Sorry, sorry! It’s just...I’m surprised, is all!”
“Me too!” Kirishima says. “I didn’t think you were interested in things like that.”
Todoroki feels a little embarrassed. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. Midoriya can see right into him, however, and interrupts.
“I think it’s great, Shouto. Who is it?”
“I can’t say.”
“Ooh, a mystery woman!” Uraraka smiles. “How romantic! Where did you meet her?”
Torodoki can’t tell them about the hospital. “Uh, at the train station.”
“It’s like a movie!”
“You said you needed to know how to confess to her?” Kirishima said. “Why can’t you just tell her you like her?”
“It’s not that simple, Kirishima!” Uraraka says. “A confession is supposed to be romantic and passionate! It’s a hard thing to do!”
“Hmm…How did Kaachan confess to you?” Midoriya says, and Todoroki raises his eyebrows in surprise. Since when were Bakugou and Kirishima a thing?
“Well, he sort of, like, yelled at me.” Kirishima said, scratching his head. “I didn’t get it at first, but once he calmed down a little he told me that he liked me for a while and said we should go on a date some time.” the red-headed boy is blushing now, but there’s a pleased smile across his face. “It was really nice.”
“That’s so sweet, Kirishima.” Uraraka gushes, and Midoriya nods.
“You should just be yourself.” Midoriya gets back to the point, pausing to take a sip from his drink. “Say what’s in your heart.”
“Yeah! You’re a nice boy, Shouto. All of the girls think so. Whoever you confess to is going to be really lucky!” Uraraka beams and it lifts Todoroki’s spirits just a tad.
“Maybe, but…What if she doesn’t like me back?” just the thought of that makes Todoroki want to run and hide.
“Then she’s insane.” Uraraka points her chopsticks at him. “Insane, and stupid. You’re a catch! Who wouldn’t want you?”
“Whatever you do, Shouto, do it with confidence.” Midoriya advises. “We’ll be rooting for you.”
Todoroki digs into his food, lost in thought.
Momo is walking through the hospital, thinking of some way to decorate Sayuri’s room. The old woman seems to be regressing at an alarming rate, the nurses talk that she may be catching a cold. Normally, this news would send Momo into a tailspin of frustrated tears, but she can’t afford to cry now. She has to pull herself together sometime, after all. Todoroki being there for her when she broke down in front of him did more for her than she could ever explain. A part of Momo still felt childish for doing so, but there was a comfort in knowing that he’d never judge her, out loud or in his thoughts, he said so himself. That made exposing her vulnerability to him a bit easier. It was nice, knowing that she could show her true colors in front of someone. She didn’t have to be the class leader or the well-mannered, soft-spoken daughter. With Todoroki Shouto, she was Momo and Momo only. Nothing else.
Thinking back to that day made her heart skip a couple of beats. It sounded almost like a confession on his part, and Momo wondered if he really did feel something for her that went deeper than a normal friendship. Did she?
Momo stops in the hallway to try and control how hot her face is getting. There was no point in denying the fact that she was head over heels for this boy, but it still made her shy. She hadn’t even told Mina or the girls about her interactions with Todoroki. For all they knew, she was volunteering at the hospital and nothing more. Mina might have suspected something, but if she did, she kept her lips tightly sealed. Momo wasn’t entirely sure what to do now that she had accepted her crush on Todoroki. Would he confess first? Would she? What if she was jumping to conclusions and he didn’t even like her like that? God, that would be terrible. She’d have to leave the country.
So lost in her thoughts, Momo doesn’t notice anyone rushing towards her until her name is called.
“Momo!”
She looks up, and Todoroki is advancing towards her, trying to weave his way through the doctors and nurses that are striding back and forth. He’s carrying a large bouquet in his hands as he gets closer. Momo doesn’t have time to get all flustered, because he ends up tripping over his feet. She races forward to catch him before he falls, and he ends up having to cling to her to get his balance, causing a shower of petals to fall over them. Momo is surprised to find the normally unflappable Todoroki Shouto so clumsy, and he rights himself quickly.
“Hey!” Momo greets, laughing gently. “Are these for your mom?”
“Uh, no. Well...these are...these are for you.” he hands them over and wills himself to stop shaking.
“Oh!” Momo’s face brightens and she takes them, noticing that the petals have dusted themselves on his shoulders and even his hair. It makes him look incredibly graceful, and she smiles. “Thank you! They’re beautiful!”
Her smile makes goosebumps erupt on Todoroki’s arms, and he tries to smile back without making himself look awkward. Buying the flowers was a spur of the moment decision, but Todoroki had meditated on what to do next for the past few days. He was finally going to confess to her, just not here. A hospital didn’t seem like the type of place to do this.
“Can I take you somewhere, Momo?”
“Oh, right now?”
“Yes.” He had to do this now before he lost his nerve.
“Uh, okay. Let me just say goodbye to Sayuri and then we can go.”
There’s a place that Todoroki used to go to all the time when he was a kid. Granted, it wasn’t exactly a secret. The garden had been around for years, owned and designed by Todoroki’s relatives. It was well kept and clean, but no one had stepped foot in it for years. It was mainly for show, which still puzzled Todoroki to this day. Why spend so much time keeping up a garden if no one was going to use it? Todoroki spent much of his time there growing up, mainly because it was quiet, and his father never suspected he would hide there. Most of those memories were pretty lonely, with Todoroki sitting on the benches or hiding in the shrubbery. It was his own private piece of the world. That, coupled with his jumping in the pool, were his only outlets before he transferred to U.A.
Inviting Momo to this place was more or less nerve-wracking. He just couldn’t seem to get himself together. Momo, however, was delighted. She was still holding the flowers, and was gazing around the garden in surprise. Her parents were extravagant as well, but even they didn’t have a garden as big as this.
“It’s so pretty here!” Momo said. “I haven’t been to a garden this nice in forever.”
“I used to come here all the time as a little boy.” Todoroki says. “It’s been a while. I haven’t had to stay here in some years.”
“Why did you come here?” Momo asks, they’re crossing the bridge, and she leans over the red wooden railing to gaze at the koi fish swimming back and forth.
“To get away from my dad.”
“Oh,” Momo is still gazing into the water distractedly. “Why? Was he always nagging you? My mom was like that.”
“He used to beat me.”
Momo’s head whips up so fast the exact same moment Todoroki realizes that he put his foot in his mouth.
“What?!”
“I--I mean...that’s not...that’s not what I meant….” Todoroki is rambling and can’t seem to stop now. Why couldn’t he stop talking?! “I mean he did beat me--used to! But I’m fine. Sort of.” Momo is still staring at him incredulously, and Todoroki slaps a hand over his face, snapping his mouth shut. This wasn’t supposed to happen! He was supposed to confess his feelings to this girl, not accidentally unload his childhood trauma on her!
“Shouto…”
He peeks at her through his fingers and takes his hand away. “It’s fine. I’m okay. Let’s just forget about it, okay?” Desperate to fix his awful blunder, Todoroki takes Momo by her hand and leads her over the bridge.
“Shouto, is everything okay?” Momo is looking at him worriedly,
“Everything’s fine. Don’t worry.” Todoroki leads her over to a bench and sits her down. “That’s not what I was trying to say.” He has to take her mind off what he said before she works herself into a fit. For a moment, they sit in silence, and Todoroki really thinks that maybe he can't do this after all. He remembers what Midoriya said, about doing this with courage.
Todoroki takes a deep breath. Focus, he thinks. You can do this. They were sitting so close, shoulders touching, and he was so aware of her.
“Shouto--”
“I like you, Momo.” his voice was low, and it takes everything in him to keep eye contact with her. His heart is beating so loud that Todoroki can barely hear himself. She was a blushing rose, and her own eyes were sparkling with something grand. “I’ve liked you for a long time, now. I’m not...this sort of thing is new to me, so I’m not sure how to say these things but...I haven’t been this close to anyone in what seems like forever.” He’s leaning forward, and the next words he utters are whispered in her ear, achingly tender. “I like you immensely, Momo Yaoyorozu.”
Notes:
did you think this was the end of the story? nope! there's more to come! i wasn't feeling so well these past couple of days, so that's why this fic hasn't been updated in a few days. this chapter is pretty short because i'm still not totally well yet, but i hope you guys like it. your comments really mean a lot to me, and it makes me so happy knowing so many people enjoy reading my work.
i hope this 2019 is kind and loving to you all. happy new year!
Chapter Text
There was a large stretch of time in which neither of them spoke a word. Everything in Momo felt incredibly light, as if she were floating on air. The whole world seemed to wash away, with nothing but the two of them suspended in space. Todoroki was still staring at her, having long pulled away.
Say something! Her brain yelled. Don’t just stare at him!
Momo opened her mouth, heart pounding…
And then she laughed. It seemed to bubble out of her slowly and gradually gain momentum until she was doubled over.
Something inside Todoroki shriveled up and he leaned away from her. She was laughing at him. A hot feeling was creeping up Todoroki’s neck and face. Oh, that hurt quite a bit. Todoroki prepared to stand up.
“Wait!” Momo yelled, trying to get herself together. She stood up and went after him. “Don’t leave!” she grabbed his hand just as she tripped over her feet. Todoroki turned and they became entangled with each other, falling in a heap in the grass. Momo braced herself on her hands, Todoroki hit his head on the ground.
“Oh!” Momo gasped. “I’m sorry!” She was straddling him, hair in disarray and brushing against the grass. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Todoroki said simply, he refused to meet her eyes. The urge to remain cool and run away at the same time was insurmountable inside of him.
“I like you too, Shouto.” Momo said, softly. There were tears in the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. I was just relieved, that’s all.”
“Relieved?” He was meeting her gaze now.
“Yes! I was so worried about what I was going to say to you. I was so scared about confessing to you for days now.” She was smiling down at him, and it was as radiant as the sun. “But there’s something about you that makes me courageous, like I can do anything. I like you a lot, Shouto.” Then she leaned down and placed a kiss, tender and feather-light, on the side of his face. “Won’t you stay with me?”
Todoroki can’t stop staring at her, and for the first time in years, Todoroki believes in magic again.
Todoroki is accompanied by Fuyumi when he goes to see Rei. He brings her tulips this time, vibrant red ones. Rei, of course, is delighted to see them, and Fuyumi wastes no time in telling her all of Todoroki’s business.
“Shouto has a girlfriend!” she says, five minutes into their visit, and Todoroki shoots her a look.
“Really?!” Rei gasped, putting a hand to her chest. “Shouto, is this true?”
“I mean, I guess…” he really doesn’t want to have this conversation right now. He’s still reeling from Momo kissing him. It wasn’t even on the mouth, but it was enough to have him dizzy for hours. He would relive that moment for the rest of his life, Todoroki was sure of it.
“Oh, Shouto, that’s amazing! Who is she?” then, her eyes get even bigger. “Is it that Momo girl?”
“Yes.”
Fuyumi and his mother spend the next six minutes squealing and laughing about this latest development, with Todoroki pretending not to notice them and examining a nearby wall.
“Will you two be going on a date?” Rei asks, having finally calmed down.
“I don’t know.”
“Will you be meeting her parents?”
“I don’t know.”
“Shouto, this is important!” Fuyumi says.
“Look, it just sort of happened! I haven’t thought it through all the way.” Todoroki can feel a blush coming on. “I’ll do it one step at a time.” He doesn’t want to rush things or overthink them.
“I think it’s incredibly sweet. Momo is a nice girl, Shouto. I’d like to meet her sometime.”
That makes a smile flit across his face. “Okay.”
All is right within the universe for the next couple of days. They go slow, as neither of them have been in a relationship before. In fact, much of their relationship has stayed the same save for the little things. Todoroki walks her home and they talk over the phone late into the night. He sends her good morning texts, she links their arms together whenever they weave through large crowds. At night, when they both leave the hospital together, Momo rests her head on his shoulder as the train shudders on, and Todoroki takes her hand and laces their fingers together. It’s small and sweet moments like this that keep Todoroki up at night.
As for telling their friends, both of them agreed not to say anything at first. It wasn’t that they would disapprove or anything, but it was sort of exciting, keeping this between just the two of them. It’s one day when they’re going home does Momo bring up the idea of a date.
“I know it hasn’t been very long,” she stutters, face pink. It always surprised Todoroki to some degree that they could still get so flustered with each other. “B-but I thought it might be nice? Or...we don’t have to, you know? Not if you don’t want to…”
“No, I don’t mind.” Todoroki gives that gentle smile that he only uses for her. The one that’s so different from the one he gives anyone else. “A date sounds fun.”
“Really?” Momo perks back up like a flower in the sun. “Where should we go?”
They throw out suggestions as Todoroki walks her home. By the time they get to her house, the sun is setting and both of them are in terribly high spirits. They decide to go downtown and eat three days from now. Todoroki bids her goodbye and when he glances back to make sure she’s safely inside, he doesn’t miss her mother staring at them through the window. The curtains flick, and then she’s gone.
Momo spends the next three days in an utter panic. She goes through every single item of clothing in her closet and drawers, picking over her outfit. She almost breaks down and decides to buy a whole new wardrobe before she tells herself she’s being dumb. She almost wants to call Mina to ask for advice, but decides against it in the end. An hour and several pep-talks later, Momo has her entire outfit picked out, and she puts the whole ordeal to rest.
Fuyumi helps him pick out an outfit, and goes over the finer points of a first date. She doesn’t need to tell him to be a gentleman, Shouto was naturally polite. Her advice quickly falls to the wayside when she begins asking questions.
“When did you confess to Momo? Did you kiss her? Where did you do it? Have you told your friends yet?”
“Fuyumi, please, don’t ask me anything else. I’m already nervous about this, and you’re making my head spin.” Todoroki goes into the living room and throws himself on the couch. He can’t keep thinking like this, he’ll go insane.
Minutes later, Fuyumi comes and sits beside him with two bowls of ice cream. She hands him a bowl, a spoon and turns the t.v. on. Todoroki lays on the couch, making sure not to kick his sister, and leans on the armrest.
“Don’t worry, Shouto.” she says, eyes still glued to the screen. “Everything will work out, trust me.”
He relaxes a bit more. “I do.”
The date comes quicker than expected. Momo is a nervous wreck, on the fact that her mother decided to frighten her by talking about all the horrible ways a first date could go wrong. By the time Todoroki comes to the door, her mother is convinced that either 1, Momo will do something to embarrass herself and ruin the relationship before it even begins or 2, that Todoroki was hiding a secret agenda and would take advantage of Momo the minute she let her guard down.
“Mom, please!” Momo says, trying to control her temper. If she raises her voice she’ll only get into trouble. “Shouto would never do something like that, he’s my friend! Now please, stop...trying to freak me out. I’m leaving!”
Todoroki had only just knocked on the door when Momo opens the door and steps outside.
“Hello!” she puts on a smile and shuts the door behind her. “Ready to go?”
“Shouldn’t I meet your mom first?” Todoroki asks and Momo shakes her head.
“No. Nope. Not at all. Let’s go!”
The restaurant they go to is incredibly expensive. It has low lighting and overhanging ivy. Todoroki had insisted they go to one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, mainly because his dad has been getting on his nerves recently and retaliates by spending a ton of his money. It’s the only real way he can get back at him, even if it was petty. Momo is a vision of loveliness. She has her hair down, a rare sight that sets his heart galloping. Her entire outfit, from the pink blouse to the skirt and heels, makes her look even more delicate and regal than she already is. He feels like he’s in the presence of royalty.
“So, how’s your mom?”
“She’s fine. She wants to meet you.”
“Really?” Momo smiles. “I’d love to meet her, too.” Todoroki knew she would say something like that. She was always so optimistic.
“Oh, so get this. Did you know that Kirishima and Bakugou are a thing?”
Momo nearly drops her fork. “Seriously?!”
“I know! I had no idea.”
“Wow, I wonder how that played out.” Momo can’t even imagine it.
“Kirishima said that Bakugou yelled at him.”
Momo laughs outright at that. “That sounds like Bakugou. But now that I think about it, those two were always sort of close, weren’t they?”
“Yeah.”
A silence lapses between them.
“Do you think Midoriya will tell Uraraka he likes her?” Momo said.
“Probably not.” Todoroki says, cutting into his steak. “He’s super shy. He’ll probably keep it a secret.”
“You think Uraraka will confess first?”
“She’s bold, so yeah, probably. Have you seen the way they look at each other?”
Momo grins. “It’s sweet.”
They go from friends to childhood memories, with Todoroki telling her about the time when he “accidentally” knocked over a chocolate fountain at a fancy dinner party just to piss his dad off. Momo regails him about the time she ran away from home and had even bought a bus ticket before the police found her and she was hauled off to boarding school as soon as possible.
“I was like, ten, when this all happened.” Momo said. “I had never done anything like that in my life. I guess living with my mom made me a little crazy.” she looked sort of uneasy, and Todoroki shrugs.
“All kids do things like that from time to time.” he assured her, and Momo smiles at him.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
After they leave the restaurant, they spend some time walking around, looking into the department store windows and holding hands. They go to a vendor selling taiyaki, and there’s an old song from the 80’s playing from the radio. The taiyaki is warm and sweet, and they eat on the walk home, with the stars watching above them.
Todoroki walks her home, and just like that, it’s over.
“Momo, can I ask a question?”
“Sure.”
“Were you as nervous about this date as I was?”
Momo breaks into a grin. “Oh yeah, definitely!”
They both end up laughing, partly from relief, partly from the knowledge that the two of them would forever be awkward.
“Do you ever think we’ll stop being nervous around each other?” Momo asks.
“Yeah, I do. It’ll just take time.”
Momo is still laughing, and it grinds to a halt when Todoroki leans down and kisses her. It was so sudden, Todoroki mentally kicks himself. He didn’t even ask! Momo doesn’t seem to mind, because she steps closer to him and kisses him back, shy and gentle. The noise from the street falls into silence, the world melts away until there’s nothing but the two of them. Moments later, they break apart, and reality comes rushing back to them. Gracious, Todoroki loved kissing her. He longed to do it again.
Instead, he nods to her. “Goodnight, Momo.” he whispers, and Momo nods.
“Yes...goodnight.”
He’s almost out of sight before Momo remembers herself. “Text me so I can know you got home okay!” she calls after him, and Todoroki waves, not looking back.
“I will!” she can hear his smile, even if she doesn’t see it.
Momo gets to her room, dodges her mother’s room and closes her bedroom door. She presses her back against the door and slides down to the floor.
Her heart is fluttering like a bird, and Momo squeals into her hands.
She was a girl in love, and nothing could hurt her now.
Notes:
another short chapter, i'm sorry. i'll try to make the next one longer. if you guys are interested, the song briefly mentioned in this fic is "Stay with Me" by Miki Matsubara. it's a wonderful song and i'd suggest you listen to it when you get the chance. happy reading!
Chapter 9: listen to yourself (the rest doesn't matter)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
They had agreed not to tell anyone, but Momo was finding it hard to keep this piece of news to herself. She was just so excited! The only person she could think to talk to was Tsuyu. She invited the girl over for cool drinks and movies, a whole day dedicated to laying on the couch. When Momo tells Tsuyu, all she does is nod and smile. Granted, Momo didn’t expect her to jump up and down or scream or anything, but still.
“I’m happy for you, Momo.” Tsuyu says, she’s donned in a sundress, the both of them laying haphazardly on the couch. “I think you two go well together.”
“Really?” Momo smiles at her, and Tsuyu nods. “I think so too. He makes me happy.”
“Does your mom know?” At this, Momo’s face falls flat.
“Yes, I don’t think she’s happy about it.”
“How come?”
Momo shrugs. “I don’t know. She’s complicated. And mean.” a sigh escapes her. “I hope I never grow up to be like her.”
“I don’t think you will.” Tsuyu says. “Daughters learn a thing or two from the women who raise them.”
“You’re so wise, Tsuyu.” Momo complimented, and the girl beside her blushes. “Are you in love?”
“Me?” Tsuyu ribbits, and her face, if anything, gets even redder. “I-I don’t think so…”
“Don't think so?” Momo sits up from her upside down position on the couch, shifting her legs onto the floor. “Is there someone?”
When Tsuyu doesn’t answer, Momo’s curiosity grows. “Tsuyu, you don’t have to answer me now. But if there’s any possibility that you like someone you have to tell me!” For as long as Momo had known the girl beside her, Tsuyu was a closed book. She was quiet and mysterious, and only rarely shared what was on her mind when the situation called for it. In a way, Tsuyu reminded Momo of a pond, quiet and serene.
Tsuyu gives a small laugh. “Okay.”
They’re at the hospital. Momo is nervous, and she keeps fiddling with her hair. Todoroki had suggested she meet his mom, and Momo had agreed without giving it a second thought. Now that she was here, however, Momo was starting to have her doubts.
“You’ll be fine, Momo.” Todoroki said, taking notice at her trembling hands. “My mom is really nice.”
“I can’t do this, Shouto.” Momo sighed, eyes to the ceiling. “I’ve never been very good with talking to others.”
“Momo you’re class president.”
“Iida is the class president.”
“Well, I voted for you, so I feel like technically that counts.” He gives her a smile. “You’re going to do just fine.” He’s already sliding the door open. “Come on, let’s go.”
Momo has no choice but to follow.
Rei is, for once, not laying in bed. Instead, she’s up and looking at herself in the mirror. Fuyumi had recently bought her hairpins and combs of all different colors, and she was now trying on a pair of hairpins when she spotted them in the mirror.
“Shouto!” Rei turned and gave her son a hug. She pulled away and graced Momo with a smile. “Momo, it’s nice to see you.”
“Yes!” Momo bowed lower than necessary. “It’s nice to see you again, ma’am.” she rights herself and gives a big smile, trying to subtly wipe her palms on her jeans. She desperately hopes that the sweat on her forehead isn’t too noticeable.
Rei takes an instant liking to Momo, and they spend the next ten minutes talking to each other, with Rei insisting she braid Momo’s hair. Todoroki had excused himself to the bathroom, leaving just the two of them alone.
“So,” Rei says, a playful smirk on her face. “Which one of you confessed first? Shouto gets embarrassed whenever I ask him.”
“Shouto confessed to me first.” Momo said, blushing at the memory. “I was sort of relieved, because I was planning on telling him first and I was freaking out on how I was going to do it.”
“Ah, that’s so sweet.” Rei sighs, fingers gently combing through Momo’s hair. “He told me all about your date, however. I think it’s wonderful that he’s found someone like you.” As she’s saying this, something akin to sadness is flickering across her face. Her fingers slow. “I hope you two stay happy.”
She grows quiet, and Momo examines the woman’s face in the mirror. Her eyes look slightly glazed over, and her mouth presses into a thin line.
“Ma’am?” Momo said, and Rei seems to come back down to earth. She shakes her head.
“Sorry, just thinking. There, what do you think?” she’s crown-braided Momo’s hair, and had weaved a red ribbon through the strands.
“It’s beautiful!” Momo grins, touching delicately at her hair. “Thank you so much!”
Rei smiles down at her, all traces of sadness gone. “No problem.”
Sayuri is over the moon when Momo tells her about Todoroki. She’s spending more time in bed, and she’s having trouble getting her thoughts together, but she’s excited all the same. She had already forgotten about meeting her daughter just one month prior. “It’s been a year since I last saw my Sakura.” Sayuri smiles. “She called on the phone and said she’d be visiting in a couple of days.” Momo plasters on a smile and promises to visit that day.
She bids farewell to Sayuri and tells Rei goodnight, thanking her again for braiding her hair. Todoroki spends some time talking to her before they leave, and they walk hand in hand to the train station, as they have done what seemed like a hundred times before. When they get back home, Todoroki walks Momo home and kisses her silly on the front steps of her house. She’s always surprised when that happens. Todoroki was so reserved and cool-headed most of the time, she never thought he’d be this bold, even with a romantic partner. Sure, he was still quiet and aloof, but Momo was slowly starting to see parts of himself that he kept tucked away. She knew that he had a great laugh, even if he didn’t laugh very often. She knew he had a deadpan sense of humor, and that he was blunt about his past if you asked the right questions.
She also knew, with his arm wrapped around her waist, that he was definitely a passionate person underneath all that cool. When Todoroki pulled away, he was trying to smother down what was most likely a full-on grin, and Momo laughed at that.
“How is it that you can be so forward and so bashful at the same time?” she asked, and he shrugged, both of their faces still red.
“Your hair looks nice with that ribbon.” Todoroki commented, and Momo smiled.
“I love it! Your mother is really nice.” Momo is giving him a gentle look, and Todoroki wonders how he got so lucky. “Thank you for letting me spend the day with her.”
“Of course, it was her idea, after all.” Momo stands on her tiptoes and plants a kiss his cheek.
“Goodnight, Shouto.”
He takes her hand and bestows her knuckles a gentle kiss. It sends an electric jolt through her, and Momo bites her lip. He releases her hand.
“Have a nice night, Momo.” she waves goodbye to him and steps into her house. Her mother is waiting, sitting on the couch and sipping wine, flicking through a magazine absentmindedly. She appears relaxed, but Momo knows better.
“Hello, mom.”
“Another day out with that Todoroki boy?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Hm. You sure are spending a lot of time with him.”
Momo remembers the dinner party. “I thought you’d be happy about that.” she can’t hide the snark in her voice even if she wanted to. “Don’t you want me to run off and get married to a rich boy as soon as humanly possible?”
“You’ll never get married at this rate.” her mother quips, and something in the way she says that makes Momo halt in her walk up the steps.
“What do you mean?”
“You may be rich, Momo. But boys only care about one thing.” She’s looking up now, gazing at Momo intently. Momo stares back, confused.
“Sex.” her mother says pointedly. “That’s all men care about, and your little boyfriend is exactly the same.”
Momo feels a spark of indignation flare inside her stomach. “That isn’t true.”
“Isn’t it?” mockery practically drips from her mother’s voice. “You’ve been stared at for as long as I could remember. At first it was because of your face. I always got compliments from strangers about how pretty my daughter was. A couple of years later, and no one’s staring at your face anymore.” Momo knows her mother is true to an extent. She knew that her body had garnered much unwanted attention for years now, and many boys had practically tripped over themselves just to get a closer look at her chest. It was uncomfortable and demeaning, but Shouto wasn’t like that. He wasn’t. “Have you two had sex yet?”
Momo nearly jumps a foot in the air, blinking rapidly. “N-No!” she exclaims, trying to control the heat rushing to her face.
“Well, if you’re really serious about being with this boy, you’ll put your body to good use. Or you’ll risk losing him.”
“Shouto doesn’t care about that.” Momo says, her heart is beating erratically. It’s taking everything in her not to start yelling. “You have no right to say that to me!”
“You’ve gotten pretty ballsy as of late, haven’t you?” her mother stands, setting down her wine glass. Momo is a little shocked, she didn't think her mother could speak like that. Her movements are stiff with growing anger. “You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but I’m right. Aside from your wealth, what else do you have to offer him?” silence falls between them, Momo’s chest is tight and her hands are shaking. She had nearly forgotten how hurtful her mother could be. The urge to defend herself and her relationship dies inside of her. Tears of anger are threatening to gather in her eyes.
Momo rushes up the steps and slams her bedroom door, feeling breathless. She had never slammed her door before, she had never spoken up to her own mother like that. Momo shakes her head, trying to get herself together. Her mother was wrong. Momo had long since learned not to trust everything her mother said, now was one of those times...and yet, despite this, Momo can feel seeds of doubt taking root. She changes into a pair of pajamas and crawls into bed. It’s still early, but Momo wants nothing more than to sleep.
Aside from your wealth, what else do you have to offer him?
Momo heaves a sigh. She won’t play her mother’s game.
It takes two days of Momo staring at herself in the mirror before she reaches a breaking point. She’s not giving into her mother’s ridiculous notions, and the two don’t speak to each other for the rest of the week. One night, when Momo is bored and there’s nothing on t.v., she decides to raid the kitchen for junk food. Part of her knows that she shouldn’t be eating candy, but whatever. She has all her life to be healthy. Curiosity overtakes Momo, and she goes snooping through her mother’s wine cabinet. Dark glass bottles of every wine and champagne available line the shelves. Momo wasn’t well-versed in the different types of alcohol, her only expertise is tea. She drinks not even half a bottle of Dom Perignon before she feels nauseous. This was the most disgusting thing in the world! Why did adults drink this? She pours the rest down the kitchen sink.
It doesn’t take long before the champagne takes effect. Her tolerance for alcohol is embarrassingly low compared to her mother, who drank the stuff like it was water. Ugh, she feels sick. Momo considers laying down until the churning in her stomach passes, but instead takes her phone and leaves the house. She’s attempting to walk in a straight line and act composed, like she does everyday. Her? Drinking? Absolutely not. Momo knows it isn’t smart for her to be doing this, she should just go back home and lay in bed. But she doesn’t want to spend another minute in that house with her mother.
The rolling in her stomach has ceased momentarily when she raps her knuckles on Todoroki’s front door, a bit louder than necessary. Momo blinks, trying to get her eyes into focus. Why was she seeing double?
The door opens to reveal a surprised Todoroki.
“M-Momo?” he says, blinking down at her. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you!” she smiles cheerfully. Todoroki’s eyebrows wrinkle in confusion.
“Momo, are you drunk?”
Momo plants a hand on her hip, and in doing so she wobbles on her feet. “No.” she replies resolutely, but her face is flushed and she looks like she’s trying not to burst into laughter.
Todoroki takes her by the arm and leads her into the house before she can say anything. He takes her to his room and shuts the door behind him.
“What’s going on?” he demands, as Momo takes a seat on his bed.
“Nothing,” she’s squinting at him. “You’re lights are like, super bright.”
“Momo…”
“Look!” she holds a hand up, effectively cutting him off. “I’m fine, okay? I really am. I just got bored and drank some champagne from my mother’s cabinet, that’s all. You’ve done that before, haven’t you?”
Todoroki wants to say no, but can’t bring himself to lie. Fourteen was a wild year for him. “What did you drink?”
“Dom Perignon.”
Todoroki looks disgusted. “That tastes horrible.”
“I know!” Momo throws her hands in the air, and a laugh escapes her. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Todoroki takes a seat beside her, noticing that the flush on her face makes her look even prettier. He leans in close to her and rests his head on her shoulder, and it takes him by surprise when Momo squirms away.
“Momo--”
She stands up, unsteady on her feet, and turns around to face him. “Shouto,” her voice is serious. “Are you attracted to me?”
“Uh, yeah?” Todoroki gives a small smile. “You’re my girlfriend.”
Girlfriend. Momo resists the urge to let out a happy squeal. She needs to focus. “What about...sexually?” she can barely get the words out.
Todoroki’s eyes widen. “Momo…”
“I can’t have sex with you!” she blurts out, interrupting him again.
“Momo, oh my God.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just. I mean…” she puts her face in her hands, well aware of the fact that she sounds completely crazy. “Oh, God, I can’t even have this conversation.”
“Momo,” Todoroki is trying to get his heartbeat under control. “What is this about?”
Momo takes a deep breath, running her hands down her face. “How do you feel about sex, Shouto?”
“I think…it’s...okay?” he’s completely lost, as if he’s being presented with a big test that he hasn’t studied for. “I really don’t think much about it.”
“You don’t?”
“No. Do you?”
“No!” Momo shakes her head frantically. “I just wanted to know if sex was important to you when it came to relationships.”
Todoroki takes a minute to think this over, crossing his arms. He supposes that this topic was bound to come up at some point. Fuyumi had been trying to engage in a discussion about this recently and so far, he had avoided her successfully. He just...can’t talk about that with her. He really couldn’t.
Wow, his arms are amazing. Momo thinks, and her eyes widen. Stop that! Stop it!
“I think you can have a fulfilling romantic relationship without involving sex.” he tells her honestly. “Tons of people do it.” he raises an eyebrow at her. “Why did you bring this up?”
“My mom thinks that you’re only with me because of my body.” Momo admits, feeling angry and ashamed all over again. She should’ve defended him more. “She told me that if I was serious about you, I’d put my body to good use, otherwise I’d lose you.” She can’t even look him in the eye, and the silence that follows her statement is practically suffocating. Why won’t he say anything?
“And do you believe her?”
“No, not at all! But...” she can see his face fall from the corners of her eyes. “But I’ve always been looked at...you know, in that way, even in school. After a while, a part of me had just begun to assume that boys only really noticed me because of my body and nothing else.”
When Momo finally gathers the courage to look at him, she finds that his eyes are crackling with anger, and she rears back in surprise. “Sh-Shouto?”
“I didn’t want to be your boyfriend so I could have sex with you.” he says gruffly. “You’re an attractive girl, Momo. But there’s more to you than that.” he wasn’t going to get angry with her for thinking that way. It was pretty hard not to miss the stares she got while in school, and it always made something uncomfortable roll inside Todoroki’s stomach whenever he caught notice of it.
“I’m sorry,” Momo’s voice is soft. “I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
“No,” he shakes his head. “It’s not your fault. I just think it’s bullshit that your mom said all of that to you.” It was like nothing else about a girl mattered except her body. And why were adults so pushy and obsessive about sex in the first place? Didn’t they realize that some teenagers didn’t think about sex 24/7? Didn’t they see how creepy that was?! Todoroki feels a rant coming on, but takes a deep breath instead.
“I shouldn’t have listened to her.” Momo’s eyes are downcast, and she rejoins him on the bed.
“We have pretty crappy parents, huh?” Todoroki says after a moment or two, and Momo laughs.
“Yeah, kinda. Except your mom!”
“Except my mom.”
He takes her hand, and laces their fingers together. “I think that part of our relationship can wait until we’re both older.”
A sigh of relief escapes her. “I feel the same.”
Notes:
me? falling into a writing slump for the 80th time? it's more likely than you think.
i guess my writing streak for this fic is dying down, but i'll try my best to keep going. this chapter was hard to write, in a way. i've been noticing a lot of t.v. shows that are aimed at teenagers have a ridiculous amount of sex in them despite the characters supposedly being, y'know teenagers, and it really bugs me. i think adults need to realize that not every teen is interested in that, and i wanted to incorporate a bit of my personal feelings about that into this chapter. i hope i wrote it in a way that doesn't confuse anyone.
also i'm sick of the large amount of porn on this site like ??? please. i can't take it. end rant.
Chapter 10: several points of light
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Momo’s father was an enigma. Of course, she knew he existed. When Momo was younger, her father was the joy of her life. He was kind and patient, the complete opposite of Momo’s mother. Back then, her parents were much more affectionate. They’d hold hands and cook together, sometimes her father would turn up the radio and drag her mother into a spontaneous dance. Momo would watch with fascination as he’d twirl her mother into a circle, they both of them laughing and smiling. Momo thought her parents were the happiest people alive, and she longed for a romance like that herself. Back then, her mother’s strict nature and mean streak towards her would be easily quelled by her father’s hug and gentle words.
It seemed so strange that two people who were so in love with each other could grow to be so distant in a matter of years.
Her father was always away on business. Whatever business he conducted, Momo never knew. When she was a girl she’d climb onto her father’s lap while he filled out papers at his desk. Now, she rarely ever saw him. He seemed to be away for what seemed to be months now. Momo had suspected for a while that he was having an affair, and the thought was so depressing that she never gave it any more attention. Her parents were strangers now, one of which was barely around. Momo wondered if the situation bothered her mother, but if it did, she never showed it. Momo was so close with her father, and the growing rift between them had hurt her deeply as she grew up. He was suddenly too busy to pay any attention to her, and he no longer tried to calm her mother’s temper. Her mother would berate her, her father would sigh, and Momo would take it.
Now that she wasn’t speaking to her mother, Momo felt lost. A part of her thought that maybe she should apologize, but Momo couldn’t bring herself to do it. Even with their ups and downs, Momo tended to get along well with her mother. Well, not great. It was a complicated gray area that she had a hard time dissecting critically. So it surprises her beyond all reason when she comes home from hanging out with Jirou to see her father sitting in the living room, smoking a cigar as if he had done so every day of his life.
“D-Dad?” Momo exclaimed, halting in the doorway.
“Hello, Momo, dear.” he greets, his deep timbre of a voice bringing back a tidal wave of memories. When she was little, Momo thought her dad had richest, gentlest voice in the world. “How have you been?”
“Uh, fine?” she doesn’t even know what to say. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I live here.” he chuckles at her. “Why wouldn’t I be here?” Any smart remark that immediately enters Momo’s brain is shoved down, and all she can manage is a shrug.
“Alright, well. It’s nice to see you.” she’s making a bee-line for her room, unable to handle awkward tension that has grown between them. She almost considers going back out in the ninety degree weather.
“Wait, Momo!” her father gets up, and Momo stops on the stairwell. “I have something to give you.”
He’s fishing through his pockets, and pulls out a beautiful jade bracelet, silver markings engraved on it.
“I got this on my way back into town. I wanted you to have it.” He clasps it around her wrist, and Momo lets him do it. She’s not sure why the bracelet feels so heavy, like a chain weighing her down.
“Thank you,” Momo says, ever polite. “It’s very pretty.”
“Good, I’m glad you like it.” It’s growing awkward again, so Momo gently excuses herself and heads to her room. She sits down on her bed, a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She almost contemplates texting Shouto, but decides against it. Instead, she calls Jirou.
“Yo.” Jirou says on the second ring.
“Hey,” Momo greets, unsure of how to approach the subject. Before she can overthink, she blurts it out. “So, the minute I step into my house, I see my dad.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“What did he say?”
“He just said it was good to see me. As if he hasn’t been gone for months on end.”
“Damn, that’s a lot. How do you feel?”
“I...don’t know?” Momo flops onto her bed, and outstretches her arm, watching the jade bracelet on her wrist glint under her bedroom light. “He gave me a really nice bracelet. But, other than that, I don’t know why he’s here or how long he plans on staying.”
“Do you want to stay over my place tonight? In case your parents start to argue or something?”
“I don’t think that’ll happen.” Momo says, and she sighs. “I wish adults weren’t so...strange, when it came to their children.”
“Girl, you are preaching to the choir.” Jirou quips, and that makes Momo laugh. “You wanna hear a song?”
“Yes.” She wants nothing more than to be distracted. Momo turns her phone on speaker and closes her eyes. The gentle strum of a guitar fills the silence, and a smile crosses Momo’s face. Jirou’s music always made her feel better. Maybe she should get her to play for Sayuri sometime.
Todoroki is getting ice cream with Uraraka. It’s so hot that he doesn’t decline when she asks to go on one of their eating excursions. This is what they did, by the way. Uraraka would call him to hang out, and Todoroki would immediately take her to eat. It didn’t bother Todoroki that she mainly wanted to eat, she was good company, and he felt rather easy with her. They had eaten their heart’s content at a fast food restaurant and then went to get ice cream. They’re walking side by side, and Uraraka is wearing a pair of eye-catching space tights.
“So,” she starts, earrings jingling as she walks with a particular pep in her step. “Did you confess to your mystery woman?”
“I did.” Todoroki admits, and Uraraka’s face lights up.
"Oh, that’s great! What did she say? Does she like you, too?”
“Yeah,” Todoroki eats more of his ice cream to avoid looking at Uraraka, who gives a happy squeal. “We’re going out.”
“I’m so happy for you, Todoroki!” Uraraka is beaming, bright and cheerful. “When do I get to meet her?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Can you at least tell me her name?”
“Nope.” he smirks, and her face drops into a pout.
“Come on, we’re food buddies! You can tell me anything!” All he does is give her a sly smile, and Uraraka tosses her hair back. “Okay, fine. But I’ll find out eventually.”
They talk and eat, relishing in the cool breeze that makes sporadic appearances. Todoroki finds that he enjoys spending time with Uraraka. It wasn’t hard, she was so positive and likeable, and didn’t try to push him to talk. He could walk in comfortable silence beside her without feeling awkward.
“What about you?” Todoroki says, a slight tease in his voice. “Aren’t you going to confess to Midoriya?”
“W-What?!” Uraraka almost drops her ice cream, her face heating up. “That’s...I don’t…! I’m not talking about this!” she saunters forward, and Todoroki musters up a laugh.
They part ways a few minutes later, and Todoroki looks at her. The sun is setting, casting everything in an orange glow, with yellow dappled here and there. He’s been feeling rather sentimental lately, whenever he thinks of his friends. Todoroki has spent so much of his life closed off and alone, and then they came along, and they cracked open that frigid heart of his. Now something wild and warm is spilling out, like water between his fingers.
“You should go for it.” he tells her, and Uraraka stops.
“Huh?”
“Midoriya. You should tell him how you feel.”
At this, Uraraka’s previous embarrassment fades, and she smiles. “Yeah, maybe!”
“Are you afraid?”
“A little.” She plants her hands on her hips and sticks out one of her legs, showing off her tights and her ice white sneakers. “But with legs like these, how can he resist me?”
Todoroki outright laughs at that, yet another thing he liked about her. Uraraka was a funny sort of girl.
Todoroki remembers very vividly, a time when he was younger and his dad had punched him. At that time, Endeavor was a dominating presence in his life, casting the entire house in a horrible, chilly gloom. He walked on eggshells most of the time, and every boom of his father’s voice sent Todoroki’s heart galloping at an unhealthy speed. Aside from the constant beatings, that was what Todoroki feared the most about his father. The yelling. His voice was already loud, and when he was in a good enough state, Todoroki was certain that his father could bring the entire house down.
His father was yelling about Todoroki not living up to his potential, going on about him being a failure of a son at not even ten years old. Todoroki had been trying not to look his father in the eye, it only made things worse. His father yelling had made his knees shake, and anxiety was rising like bile in his throat. Todoroki can’t even remember what his father had said specifically. All he remembered was that he had his eyes trained to the floorboards, and the next minute he could see his father’s fist obscuring his vision and sailing into his stomach.
The pain was so bad that, for a minute, Todoroki had thought he was going to pass out. It was like a fire in the pit of his belly, and the whole world was spinning on its axis. Over time, Todoroki had forgotten the incident. One punch had turned to two, he couldn’t keep track of them over the years. That didn’t stop the shakes he got whenever he dreamed of it, like tonight. The moon was high and round in the sky, showering his bedroom with comforting beams of moonlight. Todoroki wakes up in a cold sweat, his stomach clenching as the nightmare fades. The shock of it all, and the terror that spikes, however, is still present.
He takes a few deep breaths, pushing his hair out his face, forehead damp with sweat. Instinctively, he reaches for his phone and checks the time. 2:30. He’ll never go back to sleep at this rate. He contemplates calling Momo, but he doesn’t want to bother him. It’s incredibly late, after all. The darkness of his room is smothering however, and he can’t be bothered to turn on the light. It’s just him and the moon. Before he can give it anymore thought, he’s calling her.
“Hello?” her voice is muted and groggy over the phone, thick with sleep. Guilt rocks in his stomach.
“Momo.” he says, hating how shaky his voice sounds.
She must’ve picked up on that, too, because she sounds more concerned. “Shouto? What’s wrong?”
“I, uh, I had a nightmare.” he replies, screwing his eyes shut. “I can’t fall back asleep.”
“Oh. Do you want to talk about it?”
He doesn’t want to, not really, but the words are already being pulled out of his mouth. “It was a memory, about my dad.”
“You told me that he used to hit you.” her voice is soft. “Is that what you dreamed of?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to come over?”
What? “No, you don’t have to do that. It’s way too late.”
“What can I do to help?”
He doesn’t respond. He doesn’t know how. No one had ever asked that before. Todoroki can feel that wall building up again, that distance he puts between himself and others. The one they just can’t penetrate. He doesn’t want to do that anymore, not with Momo. But it’s difficult, incredibly so.
“I don’t know.”
There’s a pause. “Hold on.”
He waits, several seconds later, Momo returns. “This is going to sound so corny, but can I read you a poem?”
He actually laughs at that. “That doesn’t sound corny. Why poems?”
“I used to read them whenever I couldn’t sleep. It helps, at least, it helps to me. If I had a voice, I could sing to you.”
“Alright.” the fear is already fading. “Read to me, please.”
Momo starts, he can hear her flipping through the pages. She reads the Love-letter of Alfred J. Prufrock, Walt Whitman’s O’ Captain, My Captain, and she’s just finished the first part of Robert Burns O Were My Love Yon Lilac Fair when he interrupts.
“You can stop.” Todoroki tells her gently. He’s already at ease, the last traces of his nightmare fading into dust. Her voice is like a tender birdsong, and it’s lulling him to sleep. “I think I’m okay now.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” He turns onto his side, staring up at the moon and the sprinkling of stars. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Don’t apologize! I’m glad you called me. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No, you’ve done enough. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yes. Goodnight, Shouto.”
“Goodnight, Momo.”
He hangs up and sets his phone aside. He doesn’t have time to think, and he falls asleep with Momo’s voice still whispering in his ears.
Notes:
this is a short chapter, i know. but i'm trying to figure out how these next few chapters are going to go without making the story feel all over the place. and, behold! we have a surprise appearance. i wasn't sure how to write momo's dad, but i tried my best. i wanted to create her parents as the type of people who can't bring themselves to divorce the other even though it's probably what's best for everyone. you'll see them interact more as the story progresses. thank you for reading!
Chapter 11: nothing scares me anymore
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
There’s a routine quickly falling into place with her father. He seems to shower her in gifts at every turn, and takes her out to eat. Momo’s wardrobe is filling up with heels and the most expensive dresses money could buy. She likes the clothes and the jewelry, even if it is a little much, but what she wants most is her father’s company. On the rare times that he wasn’t whisking her away to some restaurant, she sits down and tells him about her life. She mentions her school and all the friends she’s made, her hero work and her volunteering at the hospital. She doesn’t tell him about Todoroki, that’s a part of herself that she wants to keep private.
He seems interested enough, but there’s a rift there. After so long of not talking, not even a letter or a phone call, they don’t know how to talk to each other. It’s sad, but Momo isn’t daunted. Talking will get easier with time, it always does. When she’s not at home, still avoiding her mother, she’s at the hospital. The next visit with Sayuri’s family is even more disastrous than the first one, and Momo is having a harder time than usual keeping her temper in check. Sakura uses her mother’s rapidly deteriorating memory to take more money from her, and all Momo can do is look on in sorrow. She can’t say anything, it’s not her place. But how can she sit by and watch as Sayuri is so clearly taken advantage of?
Sayuri tries to engage with her daughter, who is dismissive and rude as usual, and by the time she leaves, after spending only an hour there, Sayuri’s eyes are glassy with tears that she keeps successfully hidden until her daughter is gone. Momo excuses herself and before she knows it, she’s running down the hall, blood simmering in her veins. Enough is enough.
“Sakura!” she calls, and the woman stops in her tracks.
“What?” her tone is flat and impatient.
Momo tries to catch her breath, unsure of what to say. But she takes the anger that is flowing through her and uses it to her control.
“I’m not going to say that you don’t have a right to visit your own mother,” she begins, voice wavering, but her eyes are steady. “But you and I both know that you don’t care about her.”
Sakura’s eyebrows immediately bunch together in anger. “You have some nerve saying this to me. You’re not her daughter--”
“No, I’m not. But I sure treat her better than you do.” Momo is trying hard not to raise her voice. “It’s nauseating the way you talk to her, as if she’s some stranger. You know she’s getting sicker every day, you know she can’t remember the last time you visited, and yet you don’t have a problem taking things from her.”
“And so what if I do?” Sakura’s normally pretty face is marred with disgust. “It’s not the place of some little girl to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.”
Momo advances toward her, not knowing if she was going to hit this woman or not. Every rational thought has flown out of her head. “Listen to me,” she begins, and the fierce, visceral anger she feels is absolutely wonderful. “I don’t care how you feel about Sayuri, but as long as I’m with her, you won’t be taking any money from her again. I’m not afraid of someone like you.” Momo's next words are whispered through her teeth. “But if you make Sayuri cry again, I’m going to make you sorry.”
Sakura actually takes a step back, a brief glint of fear in her eyes before she regains her composure. Momo doesn’t react in time, Sakura’s hand is already moving through the air. She smacks Momo across the face with a resounding crack, and her neck flies back, strands of black hair obscuring Momo’s vision. Her face feels as though she’s been kissed by fire, but that doesn’t stop Momo from meeting Sakura’s intense gaze with her own.
Suddenly, white hair fills her vision, and Rei Todoroki is standing in front of Momo, shoulders raised.
“Don’t you dare!” Rei exclaims, drawing the attention of passing nurses. “What is wrong with you? How could you hit a child?!”
A nurse comes by and inquires about the problem. Patients and passerby’s are looking on with interest. Sakura gives one last look to Momo, who is still staring at her, face flushed with anger and the growing mark on her cheek is already red. She leaves in a huff, pushing past the nurse and stomping to the elevators, out of sight. Rei takes Momo’s arm and gently walks her away, giving a flimsy excuse to the nurse.
“Are you okay, Momo?” Rei asks hurriedly.
“Yes,” Momo says, dazed. “I’m fine, really.”
“Here, sit down, sit. Let me get you some water.” She’s ushered into Rei’s room, and the woman runs off back down the hall. A cup of water and several reassurances later, Momo has managed to get Rei situated back in bed. She heads to Sayuri’s room, the old woman under the covers and has now busied herself with knitting that she keeps in one of her drawers. She had no idea what just happened. The adrenaline that had been roaring inside of her had settled, leaving Momo light-headed. She shouldn’t have argued with Sakura, it wasn’t right. What if she took it as a threat and Momo was no longer able to volunteer here? Rei needed her rest, she couldn’t afford to get Momo out of trouble because she couldn’t control her temper. Momo gingerly touches the side of her face, wincing at the brief spark of pain. Guilt and hopelessness surge inside her stomach.
What on earth was she going to do?
Momo watches Sayuri for a moment, taking in the lines of her face. She’s getting paler, her hands tremble.
“Sayuri,” the old woman looks up. Momo has stood up from her chair, and she’s putting on her best smile. “Let’s go out for your birthday, hm?”
They can’t go out, the nurses won't allow it. Momo tries not to wonder just how long it’s been since Sayuri had been out of the hospital, and works around the problem. They end up watching an old black and white movie on t.v. Momo had went out to buy a cheesecake and had given Sayuri a stunning amethyst necklace she had seen in a department store window. The next two hours had consisted of just the two of them sitting side by side, watching the movie and eating slices of cake. Sayuri was happy, and that was enough for Momo. She tried to push her worries aside and focus on the woman beside her. She deserved to be happy.
Momo leaves hours later, with a happy Sayuri nursing a cup of tea and watching a soap opera. When Momo gets home, she’s in better spirits, and walks in her house to see her dad at the kitchen making dinner.
“Hello, Momo!” he greets her cheerfully. Cheerful was never a word she would describe her father. Sure, he was a happy man, and he had a big smile and a mustache that reminded her of someone’s cozy uncle, but he was always serious to her. From the smell, Momo can tell he’s cooking stir-fry, and from the smoke, she can tell that he’s burnt some of it.
“Does mom even know that you’re here?” Momo asked, putting her coat on the coat-rack.
“She does. She’s upstairs with a glass of wine pretending I don’t exist.” If he’s offended, it doesn’t show, and he turns off the stove with a flick. “Dinner’s ready!”
They sit at the table, with Momo pushing her food around with her chopsticks. The food is good, and only slightly singed.
“So,” her father starts. “I noticed that you and your mom aren’t talking a whole lot. Did you guys have a fight?”
Momo isn’t so sure if she should tell him that. What would he do? “She’s being difficult.” is all Momo says.
“Hm. I’m sure the two of you will work it out. You always do.”
Momo doesn’t have the heart to tell him that “working it out” between her and her mother consisted of Momo eventually caving in and apologizing, even when her mother was in the wrong. She isn’t sure where her father fits in her life anymore. She wished she didn’t have to think about such things. When her father leaves (he’s rented a place somewhere near the house, he admits to her as she sees him to the door), Momo heads to her room and texts Todoroki.
Not a minute later, her mother comes in without knocking and stands in the doorway.
“Is your father gone?” she says, voice hard.
“Yes.” Momo is under her covers, sitting up and scrolling through her phone. She doesn’t want to talk to her mother.
“It smells like smoke. What did he make?”
“Stir-fry.” Momo would normally never be this dismissive of her mother, but she has too much on her mind right now.
“Hm, well, don’t expect him to stay here long. He’ll be off on business soon enough.”
“Okay.”
With nothing more to say, her mother leaves, closing the door with a harsh clip behind her. Momo sighed.
Parents were so exhausting.
Todoroki and Fuyumi are playing Mario Kart in the living room. His older sister is surprisingly good at video games, and they keep jostling one another and getting closer to the screen. Currently, Todoroki is hunched over, with Fuyumi practically on top of him as she puts all her weight on one side, leaning her arm on his head and pressing buttons frantically.
The score is tied and it’s the last race, Todoroki refuses to lose. His phone is sitting somewhere near Fuyumi, and he can’t be bothered to pick it up when he hears it buzzing. He’ll get it in just a moment…
Fuyumi yells as she almost crashes and practically lands in Todoroki’s lap.
“Fuyumi!” he exclaimed, leaning away from her. “Get off!”
“Sorry!” she rights herself, hair in disarray, biting her bottom lip in concentration. They were in the final lap. Todoroki blinks as the bright lights of Rainbow Road go flashing across the screen. He was almost in first place. Close, closer…
“Shouto, Momo is calling you.”
All of his attention is immediately diverted as he looks away from the television. “Really?”
“HA!” Fuyumi flies past him and wins first place. She throws her arms in the air, the controller landing on the floor with a thump. “I win!”
“You cheated!” Todoroki is looking at his phone and turns to his sister, scandalized. “She didn’t call!”
“You totally fell for it.” Fuyumi laughs. “That’s what you get for falling in love.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“That means I get the rest of the ice cream!” she’s getting up and Todoroki darts after her. They make it to the fridge and Fuyumi yanks the door open, pulling out the ice cream carton before Todoroki, sliding on the hardwood floor in his socks, goes slamming into her. Fuyumi shrieks as he pulls his arms around her, trying to jump on her back and grab the carton away from her. She nearly drops to the floor, and before he knows it, they’re both breathless and laughing. They slip and slide until both of them are leaning against the furniture. Fuyumi is grabbing onto the table, Todoroki is leaning against the counter. This moment is sweet and light and it’s the most fun he’s ever had with his sister.
“Okay,” she breathes, tossing her hair back. “Lets share.”
“Cool.”
He texts Momo as he sits in the living room. Fuyumi pops in a movie and excuses herself to the laundry room. She comes back with blankets and drops them onto the floor.
“They’re hot.” Todoroki says in surprise.
“Yeah, I put them in the dryer.”
“It’s a little warm for that, don’t you think?”
“Maybe, but I haven’t done this in years.” She cozies herself under the blankets and grabs her bowl and spoon. “This is nice.”
Todoroki can’t help but agree.
Todoroki decides to take Momo dancing as their next date. He was actually a pretty good dancer, which was a secret that he always thought he would take to the grave. There’s a nice place downtown that he would pass by as a little kid. A dance hall with the lights always dimmed low, with couples swaying to the classical music that Todoroki could only faintly hear. It was a place of refinement, something that he never paid much attention to. But his mother would look at the dancing partners with a wistful look in her eyes. To a romantic like Momo, that was the perfect place.
He’s going over the finer details in his head as he boards the train and heads to the hospital. Would she even like dancing? It’s a beautiful day, and for once it’s not scorching hot. Todoroki takes in the downtown bustle and greets the nurses as he enters the hospital. The thought of dancing sounds lame at first, but as he gets to the third floor, he can’t help but feel somewhat excited. Just the thought of being so close to her, dressed to the nines, makes his heart flutter like the wings of a bird.
He gets to the third floor and walks to his mother’s room, lost in thought. He turns a corner, and the floor is sucked from beneath his feet. The noise of the world grows to a mosquito whine.
Momo is in the hall by his mother’s room, and she’s talking to Endeavor.
Notes:
another short chapter! i'm getting a little frustrated with this, as i always planned for my chapters to be pretty lengthy. maybe i'm being too much of a perfectionist, but i'm feeling a drop in quality when it comes to the recent chapters. of course i work on them for days, but i don't feel very satisfied with the end result, even when i have nothing else to write. am i being too hard on myself? who knows.
also, we're reaching the end of this story, isn't that crazy? i deeply appreciate all of your kind comments and the time all of you take to read this story of mine. please enjoy! <3
Chapter 12: your love is electrifying
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
For a moment, Todoroki can only stand there. There’s a tightness in his chest that he can’t identify, and he’s afraid he may pass out. Todoroki can’t even bring himself to move, and it’s only until Momo tucks a strand of hair behind her ear does he get the feeling back in his legs. Endeavor practically dwarfs her, a deep, black pit eclipsing the last bit of sunlight in Todoroki’s life. He watches as Momo bows, and Endeavor gives a curt nod toward her before turning around and leaving.
They see each other, and even to this day, it’s still hard to look his father in the eye.
“What are you doing here?” Endeavor asks, voice hard and flat.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Todoroki tries to control his temper. “Why were you talking to her?”
“Do you know that girl?”
“She’s my classmate.” Endeavor doesn’t know a thing about his relationship with Momo, and if Todoroki is smart enough, he never will. “She volunteers here, and I help from time to time.”
“Isn’t that nice of you.” Endeavor looks and sounds like he could care less. “I was asking her where room 201 is.”
Room 201. That’s his mother’s room.
“And?”
“She says she didn’t know. This entire hospital is useless.” he brushes past Todoroki and rounds the corner. He’s gone, just like that. Todoroki can’t quite believe it. He rushes over to Momo, who looks visibly more relaxed.
“Momo!”
She looks to him and waves him over.
“What did he say to you?” it’s strangely difficult for him to catch his breath. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Momo is smiling gently at him. “He wanted to know where your mother was, but I was blocking the door number and told him I didn’t know. The nurses said she wasn’t accepting visitors anyway.”
Todoroki raised an eyebrow. “She’s not?”
“No, I lied about that too.” she looks guilty. “I’m so sorry! I know I shouldn’t have done that, but I panicked and--”
“No,” Todoroki shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. I’m glad you did that. Seeing him would definitely set her off.” he looks at her worriedly. “But you’re really alright? He wasn’t rude to you or anything?”
“No, actually, he was rather polite.”
“Hm.” Todoroki spares a glance down the hall, just in case his father might return. The tightness in his chest has loosened considerably, and it astounds him that his own father can still place that kind of fear in him. “Listen, Momo. I wanted to take you dancing this week.”
“Dancing?” she says, surprised. “Really?”
“Yeah...why, is that lame?”
Momo laughs. “No, that sounds wonderful! I love to dance!”
“Good. So, how about Wednesday?”
“Wednesday sounds perfect.” Momo takes his hand. “Let’s go see your mom, okay?”
When they enter her room, Rei is reading a book. She watches Todoroki out of the corner of her eyes, and if she notices the slight tremble of his hands, or the pale expression on his face, she doesn’t say a thing.
Sayuri is getting worse. She’s confused, and is seen wandering the halls more than once. Momo does her best to help, but this situation is out of her hands. Sometimes Sayuri looks at her, and it’s evident that the woman has no idea who she is. It hurts more than Momo can explain, but whenever her friends inquire about her red eyes or the frown on her face, Momo only smiles and says she’s fine.
Todoroki has noticed it, too. He goes to visit his mother one day, and Sayuri walks up to him, a worried expression on her face.
“Young man,” she says, eyebrows wrinkled together. “Have you seen a little girl around here?”
“A little girl?” Todoroki echoes. Was she looking for her grandchild? “What does she look like?”
“She has black hair in a ponytail. I can’t remember her name, but she always used to visit, and now I can’t find her. Do you know where she might be?”
Todoroki grows cold, and he swallows hard before answering. “I...I can look ma’am. But right now, you’d better head back to your room.”
A nurse spots Sayuri and gently escorts her back to her room, apologizing to Todoroki for the bother. He watches her as she leaves, and his throat has gone dry. He can’t tell Momo, it would just upset her. And if he didn’t know any better, Todoroki bets she knows already.
Wednesday approaches fast, and Todoroki brushes up on his skills by dancing with his sister. It results in him “accidentally” dropping her when he attempts to dip her and the rest of the afternoon is spent with them wrestling in the living room. She’s just as much of a kid as he is, and it’s another profound surprise to Todoroki. Perhaps his sister was always like this, bubbly and cheerful with a playful, competitive streak. He had never noticed it as a child, but with Endeavor out of the house, it’s like Fuyumi has become a different person.
Momo has done up her hair and put on her makeup already. She takes extreme care not to ruin her dress. It’s a ballroom dress that’s made for twirling, the color a royal plum. It’s beautiful and eye-catching and just a tad bit sexy. She spends nearly ten minutes looking at herself in the mirror before she gets herself together.
She heads downstairs, trying to keep quiet in her heels as to not wake her mother. She’s just made it to the door when…
“Momo!”
Momo jumps and spins around, earrings jingling. Her father is sitting in the living room, smoking a cigar and reading the newspaper. Damn, she completely forgot about him.
“Um..hi!” the forced cheerfulness in her voice makes Momo cringe. Could she be anymore obvious?
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going dancing.”
Her father raises his eyebrows. “With a boy?”
“No…” the doorbell rings, and Momo plasters on an even bigger smile. “Okay, well, I gotta go--”
“Momo, just who is this..?”
“It’s a friend! No a boyfriend! Just a friend...friend-boy.”
“I want to meet this ‘friend-boy.’”
Oh no. “Uh, well...I don’t know…”
“Momo, I have a right to know who your friends are. I’am your father, after all.”
“Yes, I know, I know. I’ll tell you everything when I get back home. I promise. But if I don’t go now, I’ll be late.” the doorbell rings again. Her father gives her a long hard stare before relenting.
“Alright. But be back by ten.”
Momo sighs, relieved. “I will. Bye!”
Todoroki can’t take his eyes off Momo. She’s stunning, her skin seems to glow even under the dim lights of the dance hall. The slit in her dress shows off the smooth creamy white of her long legs. Todoroki doesn’t want to gawk at her for too long, but it’s so hard when she looks like that. If he’s this flustered, he can’t imagine what he’ll be like when they finally started dancing. The dance hall isn’t too crowded tonight, but there’s enough people that they blend in without being seen. They’re the youngest couple there, and they had garnered quite a bit of stares when they entered.
They sit at a table, admiring the soft classical music and the lovely, swaying couples.
“I’m a little nervous.” Momo admits. “I’ve never danced in front of people before.”
“Neither have I,” Todoroki agrees. “and I know they’re not really paying any attention to us, but it still feels like we’re being looked at.”
“I know.” Momo giggles. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so shy.”
Todoroki stands up. “Let’s try overcoming that together.” he takes her hand, and Momo stands as well. He walks her to the center of the dancefloor, wrapping an arm around her waist. He leads, and soon they’re moving back and forth just like everyone else. Todoroki can’t help but pull her just a little closer, and she blushes, gripping his hand tighter. They don’t talk, they don’t find the need to. Just staring at each other is enough.
There’s a palpable energy between them, it’s almost smothering. Todoroki can see the glint of diamonds on Momo’s neck, the way her chest heaves with every deep breath and she tries to control her nerves. The brush of her dress against his pants legs, the smooth skin of her palm. He takes in all of her, he can’t help it. She’s like a dream in his arms. Momo can’t even bring herself to stare at him for too long. His stare was so intense, she could feel the heat of it travel up her spine. Goodness, he was gorgeous, the electricity between them was making her dizzy.
They’ve been so wrapped up in each other that they don’t notice that the music has sped up. Todoroki twirls her, and indeed her dress goes fanning out like the waves of an ocean. He pulls her back to him, her back hitting his chest gently. Todoroki can smell the flowery scent of her perfume and closes his eyes. Boldly, heart thrumming, he wraps an arm around her waist, and nuzzles into her neck. Goosebumps immediately erupt on Momo’s skin, and she starts.
“You’re a very good dancer, Momo.” he whispers into her neck, and Momo bites her lip.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” she says, and she sounds rather breathless. “This is a side of you I’ve never seen before.”
“I can be romantic when the time calls for it.” He trails his hands up her arms and grips her shoulders.
“You’re very...touchy.” Momo swallows, trying to supress the shivers that go dancing up her back.
“How can I resist, with a girl as pretty as you as my dance partner?” Before Momo can react, he’s spun her once more, into a graceful dip, his arm strong and steady on the small of her back. He pulls her up, and his hand snakes to her thigh. He has to stop himself from going any further, her hips are already flush against him.
“Do you want me to stop?” Todoroki asks, because they’re dangerously close to crossing a line.
Momo grips his tie, and gives him a smile that’s downright vixen. “I don’t think so.”
He smothers a laugh into her neck and relaxes his hold on her.
Todoroki feels drunk, and it’s amazing.
They leave an hour later, dizzy from each other and their feet hurting. Todoroki hails down a cab, and they drive to Momo’s place. In the car, they hold hands, and Momo rests her head on Todoroki’s shoulder. The streetlights go whirling by, illuminating Momo’s jewelry.
“I had a really great time.” she whispers. “I’ve never danced for so long before.”
“Me too.” Todoroki takes their clasped hands and presses a light kiss on her knuckles. The cab pulls up to her house, and Momo gives Todoroki a quick kiss on the cheek before sliding out. She waves goodbye to him, and enters her house, closing the door behind her. The cab soon drives to Todoroki’s house. He pays the driver and steps into the cool air of his own home. He finds Endeavor sitting on the couch, and Todoroki tries to ignore him as he takes off his shoes.
“Where did you go all dressed up like that?” his father asks gruffly.
“Grocery shopping.” Todoroki quips, and mentally berates himself for not thinking of something more clever. He can do better than that.
“Watch it, boy.” Endeavor rises from his seat, staring at him harshly. “Are you really volunteering at the hospital?” At first, Todoroki has no idea what he’s talking about, but it all comes back to him soon enough.
“I said I was.” Todoroki replied without missing a beat. “Why?”
“Your mother is in that hospital, did you know that?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Are you seeing her?”
“Why, is that a problem?”
“I don’t want you seeing her. It’s going to distract you from your training.” Endeavor’s face is grim. “Not that you haven’t been distracted enough already.”
“Okay.” Todoroki says, and takes his shoes before walking to his room. Endeavor’s words had gone over his head so hard Todoroki nearly laughed. He wasn’t going to listen to some jackass who put his mother in the hospital. He shuts his door with a bit more force than necessary, and takes off his suit. There was no way in hell he was going to let his father ruin his good mood. Just thinking about Momo is making his heart pound all over again, and he flops onto his bed with a smile, closing his eyes and blocking out the rest of the world.
Momo practically melts into a puddle the minute the cab pulls away. Her dad has stayed in that exact spot on the couch, and regards her with amusement.
“Someone had a good time.”
“It was great!” Momo sighs, starry-eyed, and takes off her heels. “I’m exhausted!” she heads upstairs, and he almost stops her, wanting to know about the boy she went dancing with but there’s a happy glow about her that he hasn’t seen since he came here. He won’t ruin it now.
The next day has Momo once again at the hospital. Her previous night with Todoroki has still left her with a lovestruck afterglow, but it dulls immensely when she learns that Sayuri has gotten sick. The nurses say she has pneumonia, and the outlook isn’t good. Momo is only allowed to visit for a few minutes instead of the entire afternoon, and she talks softly to the woman beside her.
“Todoroki took me dancing, Sayuri.” she says. “You should’ve seen us, I’ve never had so much fun.”
Sayuri doesn’t answer. She already looks so bad. Her skin is pale, deathly so, and her breathing is raspy.
“You’ll have to get better soon. I haven’t introduced you to my friends yet.” Momo stares into her lap, fiddling with her hands. “I think you’d really like Jirou, she plays the guitar. Remember when you told me you played the guitar in high school? Uraraka is really nice, too. All of them are. I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”
Momo rubs at her eyes, and her voice is breaking into pieces. “So you have to wake up soon, alright?”
Sayuri sleeps on.
Notes:
i like to think that these two dance like fred and ginger. things get pretty heavy in the next couple of chapters, so prepare for some major angst. enjoy!
Chapter 13: face my fears
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The house that Todoroki lives in is perpetually cold. Perhaps it was the lack of family things, like photos on the walls or bowls in the sink. There were no signs of living. Maybe it was the absence of his mother, who was never fully stable to begin with, but whenever she was around, Todoroki would feel some semblance of warmth to block out the smothering chilly air. Or maybe it was his father, who would loom over the house like a cloud blocking out the sun. He has grown suspicious of Todoroki’s volunteer work, and it’s getting hard for Todoroki to go to the hospital without seeing his father. Both him and Fuyumi are worried about their mother, Endeavor was the worst thing for her right now.
Momo, despite Sayuri’s illness, never fails to smile. They hang out more often, talking well into the night and hanging out with their friends. Uraraka is holding hands with Midoriya one day, and if that’s not a surprise, Momo is astonished to see Mina staring after Tsuyu, who was examining a frog themed mug in a store, a blush dusting across her pink skin.
Momo tugs on Todoroki’s arm, trying her hardest not to point. “Look!” she whispered. “All of our friends are falling in love!”
Todoroki is speechless, he can’t quite articulate the strange happiness he feels.
Summer is winding down, they only have a short time left until they go back to school, and the urge to do as much as possible before that time is abundant. They go practically everywhere. Amusement parks, festivals, firework shows and shopping malls. Momo is growing somber, but she manages to check in on Rei and update Todoroki on how she’s doing. She’s fine, for the most part, but she misses Todoroki. Momo suggests he go visit her, despite the threat of Endeavor finding out.
Momo’s mother has become meaner of the last couple of days, something Momo didn’t think was possible. Her father has now become quite a comfortable piece in her life. He still doesn’t stay over, but it’s gotten a lot easier to talk to him. One night, when they’re both watching a movie, Momo can’t help but speak her mind.
“Dad?”
“Hmm?”
“Have you talked to mom since you came here?”
“I have, quite a bit, actually.” he gives a sad smile. “It seems that all the time I spend here can’t make up for the time I’ve spent away.”
“Are you going to divorce her?” the question is asked so blatantly that her father looks a little shocked.
“Uh...I don’t think that’d be good...not for you, at least--”
“Sometimes it’s best that two people remain apart and make peace instead of being together and unhappy.”
Her father pauses, ruffled. “When did you become so wise, Momo? You’re far too young to know such things.”
Unable to think of a proper response, Momo says, “I read a lot of romance novels.”
That makes her father laugh.
Todoroki visits his mother again. Damn what his father says, and Fuyumi tags along. They had bonded over visiting her, after all, they weren’t going to lose momentum now. Rei, they find, has been doing well, and she hugs them both tightly when they visit. Despite her happy disposition, she looks a little pale, and she has a hard time collecting her thoughts. Todoroki makes sure she eats and gets enough exercise over the past week.
He also hears from the nurses that Sayuri’s condition is getting worse. She may die soon. Momo soldiers on and keeps her happy disposition. She opens the curtains in Sayuri’s room, places new flowers when the old ones start to wilt. Whenever he asks her how she’s doing, Momo just smiles.
“I’m going to be okay. Sayuri is going to wake up soon, I just know it.” She sounds so sure, so confident, that he can’t bring himself to tell her otherwise. Todoroki greatly doubts that Sayuri will recover, but a part of him still holds out hope that maybe, possibly, something will change. Jirou even comes to the hospital. Todoroki didn’t even know she was there until he walked past Sayuri’s room and saw her strumming her guitar, softly singing. When he sees that, with the warm sunlight pouring across the floor, and Jirou’s peaceful expression, there’s a tightness in his heart. He has the ridiculous notion that he may start crying.
There’s a shift in her parents that Momo can’t put her finger on. They’re much more cordial towards each other, the awkward air between them has diminished. It was a slow progression from general iciness to mutual amity. Her mother is speaking to her again, she’s no longer snarky or mean. Instead, she just seems...calm. The tension has left her father’s shoulders, and more than once Momo has caught the two of them talking together, shoulder to shoulder, voices hushed. It’s the closest they’ve been in years. One day, her father tells Momo that they’re getting a divorce. It’s the best decision, he says, for the both of them.
Momo doesn’t know how to feel about this. It’s a little shocking, to say the least, but she can’t say she didn’t see this coming. She knew her mother and father were drifting apart, perhaps it was only a matter of time. The day after, when Momo is getting ready to leave to visit Sayuri, her mother stops her at the doorway.
“I’m sorry.” Momo turns to look at her mother, confusion written over her face. “About what I said about you and that Todoroki boy.” Her mother is sitting on the couch, regal and lovely as ever, but there’s a sadness in her eyes that Momo had never seen before. Her mother was always detached and fierce, never letting anyone see her weakness, Momo didn’t think her mother could look so vulnerable. “I think I was just...jealous.”
“Jealous?” Momo’s eyebrows nearly raise into her hairline. “Of what?”
“Of you. Your relationship.” a bittersweet smile makes its way across her face. “I remember being that happy and that twitterpated when I met your father. I was certain that this happiness would last forever. But things changed, and that happiness faded over the time. My marriage started falling apart, and I couldn’t fix it. So when I saw you that night, looking so lovestruck, I just wanted you to be aware of what love could do to you.” Her mother gives a shrug, looking down at her lap. “Growing up, I was made to believe that sex and beauty were the the biggest weapons a woman could use to make it in this world. If you didn’t have the looks and if you didn’t have the money, then you were always at the mercy of someone else, and I tried to force those ideals on you as well.
But you’re not like me, Momo. You have a good heart and a mind of your own. I should’ve apologized a long time ago.” Momo can barely see her mother because her eyes are filled with tears. Her mother gets up from the couch, clearing her throat. “Well, don’t let me keep you, Momo. Your train leaves soon.” She heads into the kitchen.
Momo closes the door behind her. She wipes at her face and rushes to the station.
Sayuri doesn’t wake up, it’s been nearly two weeks. Momo can barely stand to look at her. To distract herself, she picks her favorite book and reads to the old woman. Momo hopes that wherever Sayuri is, she can hear her, calling her back to the world of the living. One day, Momo leaves early, and buys herself an iced tea at the store. As she’s walking home, she sees Bakugou of all people, standing by a lamp post and thumbing through his phone. From the way he’s standing, it’s almost as if he were waiting for her.
“Hello Bakugou.” Momo greets him, and they end up walking side by side. He gives a grunt and she manages a smile.
For a minute, they walk in silence until he speaks. “Aren’t you dating that icy-hot bastard?”
“You mean Shouto?” Momo asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yes, I’am.”
“How’s that going?” he says it like her dating Todoroki is the worst thing in the world.
“It’s great!” Momo perks up, feeling herself blush. “I’m having a lot of fun!” Bakugou is staring at her, and Momo’s eyes dart to the ground.
“How is your relationship with Kirishima?”
Bakugou’s face goes bright red. “H-How did you hear about that?!” he sputters, looking both flustered and furious.
“Kirishima told me.” Momo is smiling up at him. “I think it’s cute.”
“Who the hell cares what you think.” Bakugou grumbles, but he lacks the usual amount of bite in his voice. He reaches up and fiddles with his hearing aid, the blush on his face a lovely dusky pink. It’s nice, Momo thinks, talking with him. It was rather easy, which was a complete surprise. Bakugou was so...irritated most of the time that she thought it would be hard to make conversation with him. But underneath his angry exterior, Momo was certain he was probably a softie, and that was nice. It was a nice thought, a happy thought…
“Are you crying?” Bakugou asks in alarm, and Momo shakes her head.
“No!” she says, but her eyes are hot and something even hotter is blocking her throat.
“Momo, you’re clearly crying.” Bakugou tells her flatly, and they stop. “What’s the matter? Did...did I like, say something or whatever?”
Momo shakes her head again, wiping a hand across her face. “It’s just nice that you and Kirishima are together.” she blubbers, brain scrambling for an excuse.
“It’s nothing to get all teary-eyed about.” Bakugou scratches his head. “If anything, you should be crying about the fact that you’re dating Todoroki.”
That actually makes her laugh, a short, choppy one. “That’s mean.” Momo whispers, but the ghost of her old smile is back.
“What’s wrong?”
Momo ends up telling him everything. Sayuri and her illness, her ungrateful daughter. Of all people, Momo never guessed she’d be saying all of this to Bakugou. He stays silent during the duration of her story, and is silent after she’s finished.
“I don’t know what to do.” Momo finishes at last. “And I’m sick of crying all the time. I spent ninety percent of my summer crying.”
“You can’t change people, Momo.” Bakugou finally says. “No matter how fucked up it may be, if someone genuinely doesn’t see something wrong with their actions, they’re not going to change.”
“I know.” Momo’s voice is dejected.
“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.” His eyes are staring into her’s. Two bright red sparks like twin fires.
“It won’t do any good.” Momo sniffs. “It feels like nothing I did made any difference.”
“I don’t think so.” Bakugou shrugs. “I mean, everybody dies, Momo. Some die earlier than they should, but I think it’s the time you spend with others while you’re alive that makes a difference. So Sayuri has a shitty daughter, so what? It sucks, sure, but don’t you think that you being there with her day after day helped, even just a little? You spent as much time with her as you could, and now it’s drawing to a close. The important thing is that you were there , right? She could’ve been alone all this time, but she wasn’t. It’s the little things like that that make a good hero.”
Momo blinks at him, speechless, and Bakugou scowls. “What?” he snaps.
“You’re very wise, Bakugou.”
He rolls his eyes at her. “Whatever, you’re worse than Deku with all that crying. I’m going home.” he begins to walk away.
“Wait!” Momo says, and he stops, turning on his feet. “Did you come here just to talk to me?” At his silence, she already knows the answer. “Why?”
“Jirou mentioned that you looked sort of sad lately.” he turns on his heels and walks off. Momo stares after him, a strange mix of surprise and happiness washes through her.
Momo texts Jirou later about her talk with Bakugou. She knows it was planned, and she’s thankful.
Jirou texts her back a minute later.
What are classmates for? ; )
It’s times like these that Momo really loves her friends.
Todoroki and Fuyumi visit Rei again. Her mood is different, they can feel it the minute they step into the room. She’s cold and distant, and her eyes hold a fear reminiscent of all those years ago whenever Endeavor would walk into the house. They try to distract her the best they can, but it doesn’t seem to be of any use. Her instability is worrying, to say the least. Todoroki leaves Fuyumi with her to use the bathroom, and she tells him to get snacks from the vending machine when he gets back.
Five minutes later, Todoroki emerges from the bathroom and heads back to Rei’s room. Fuyumi is picky about her snack foods, and if he gets the wrong thing she’ll only make him go back and buy something different, so he might as well ask her.
“Mom, please!” he can hear Fuyumi exclaim from behind the thick wood of the door. “Let go of her!”
Todoroki yanks open the door in one quick motion, and his heart stops in his chest.
His mother is gripping Momo by the scalp, a bright silk ribbon intertwined in her fingers. Fuyumi is trying desperately to pull her mother away, but Rei pushes her back with a force Todoroki didn’t know his mother had. Ever since he was a kid, he always found his mother to be small and skinny. She was as fragile as a porcelain vase. He was only aware of her strength when she was able to hold him down and burn him. Seeing her like this immediately brings back a floodgate of painful memories.
Momo’s whimper brings Todoroki back to reality with a horrible jolt. Her knees are buckling, and she’s biting her bottom lip so hard he’s afraid she’ll start bleeding. Her hands are shaking, and she’s trying to push Rei’s hands out of her hair.
“Mom!” Fuyumi’s voice is sharp and her mother actually flinches. “You need to let go right now--”
“Don’t you raise your voice at me!” Rei snaps. Todoroki can see that unhinged look in her eyes, the one she gets when she has too many nightmares and no one to talk to. “I’m trying to protect the two of you!”
“You’re hurting her!” Fuyumi’s voice is cracking. “Momo isn’t dangerous. Please just calm down.”
“I’m not going to let Shouto get hurt anymore,” Rei says, eyes filling with tears. “I know that I wasn’t as good a mother as I could’ve been, and I’m sorry. But you won’t get hurt anymore, you or your brother! I promise!” she twists her hand, knuckles white, fingers clenching even deeper into Momo’s hair. A thousand questions are running through Todoroki’s mind. He knew on days like this his mother was liable to go off at a moment’s notice, but how did Momo get involved? Todoroki rushes into the room, not bothering to close the door.
“Mom,” he begins, voice low. He puts himself directly in her line of sight. “I need you to listen to me, okay? Can you let go of Momo?”
“I don’t want you getting hurt…”
“I’m not. Momo is a friend of mine.” He makes sure to make eye-contact with his mom, speaking in a gentle low tone. She still has an iron grip on Momo’s hair, and it makes his heart twist painfully. Todoroki steps closer to Rei, and he lays a hand on her wrist. “Trust me mom. I’m okay.” Rei’s lower lip trembles. He can see her coming back to herself. Slowly, after what seems like an eternity, she releases Momo’s hair, and Todoroki can see strands of her hair pulled loose between Rei’s fingers. Momo stands up and Fuyumi pulls her away. Rei sinks into a nearby chair, grief clouted across her face. Todoroki blinks. His eyes are hot, the figure of his mother is getting blurry.
Rei puts her face in her hands, and the world grinds to a halt.
Afterwards, when Rei is finally stable, she spends the remainder of the day in bed. Todoroki can’t find Momo, and Fuyumi sits with him outside their mother’s room.
“She was hoping mom would do her hair again,” Fuyumi explains. “Everything just happened so fast…” Fuyumi sighs. “I didn’t think mom would lose it like that.”
“Neither did I.” Todoroki says grimly. “Whenever she got like that, it was always about Endeavor. Why would she attack Momo like that?”
“I don’t think it was on purpose.”
“It still happened.” Todoroki can’t help the spark of anger he feels.
“I know.” Fuyumi is quiet for a moment. The ticking of the clock above them seems unusually loud in the hallway. “You were pretty good back there, talking her down, I mean.”
Todoroki shrugs. “You were the one who talked to the nurses. I was afraid they’d send her to a different ward.”
“Me too.” Fuyumi puts her head on Todoroki’s shoulder. “It won’t always be like this, you know.” she mutters, and he wants to believe her. He can see how tired she is, the bags under her eyes and the disarray of her hair. He wonders when she last slept. Fuyumi was doing everything she could, he realized, between dealing with their mom and helping him, she was like an island in a sea of chaos. Despite how miserable he felt, Todoroki can’t help but appreciate her, in this moment. Who else would do this if not her?
Todoroki doesn’t answer Momo when she calls, and he can’t bring himself to look at her worried texts. He can’t shake the picture of her caught in his mother’s grip, face screwed in pain and eyes watering. He knows that ignoring her won’t solve anything. He was doing what she did months ago, trying to hide his feelings and distance himself. It seemed almost hypocritical to do this to her, he knows this.
The darkness that shrouded itself over his family was slowly reaching out for her, and it scared him to death.
Notes:
i know what you guys are thinking: this bitch doesn't update for a month and now she leaves us with this mess?
i'm sorry for making you all wait so long. life got in the way and i just didn't have the time to really sit down and write like i wanted. this came out a lot more angsty than i originally intended, but i'm a hoe for angst-filled romance and you all have to deal with it.
also this is going to sound horrible but i deadass just realized that todoroki has an older brother.
please read and enjoy~
Chapter 14: stars in orbit
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Momo’s scalp is still stinging. When she parts her hair, her scalp is red. Todoroki doesn’t answer her when she calls, ignores her texts. She gives him some space, she knows it’s hard for him to talk about his family problems. But she’s worried, and she can still see the look on his face when Rei had released her. Momo had never seen him so scared before, but she knows what she has to do. She gives him his space and tries to work out how to handle this.
She gives him a week, and it’s one of the longest weeks of her life. Momo busies herself any way she can, and gives her best smile to anyone who asks how she’s doing. Surprisingly, it’s her mother who sees right through her sunny demeanor. Momo is reading on the couch when her mother enters the living room and takes a seat across from her. At first, Momo doesn’t think anything of it and continues reading, until her mother clears her throat.
“So, Momo.” she starts casually. “What happened to you?”
“Hm?” Momo looks up from her book. “Nothing happened to me. Why do you ask?”
“You’ve got a red patch near your hairline, honey. And I can tell when you’re lying.” Her mother doesn’t sound angry or accusing, she just talks as if she’s stating a fact. “Who hurt you like that?” At once, a hard edge grips her mother’s voice. “It wasn’t Todoroki, was it?”
“No!” Momo waves her hands. “No, it wasn’t him. But…” she trails off, uncertain. Momo doesn’t want to lie to her mother, but she also can’t bring herself to talk about Shouto’s mother either. It just seemed so private. She’s almost certain he wouldn’t want just anyone knowing about his ill mother, especially since he hadn’t even met her own mother yet. “It’s nothing mom, just a little accident, that’s all.”
Instead of grilling her like she expected, Momo’s mother only shrugs. “Okay then, suit yourself.”
Silence stretches between them before it’s broken again. “What about your time at the hospital? Do you still enjoy it?”
The hospital. Sayuri. Guilt rolls in Momo’s stomach, and the sadness she had tried so hard to push down came roaring up inside her. Momo realizes now that this is something she actually wants to tell her mother, so she does. It takes nearly an hour to tell the entire story, and by the time she’s finished her mother is looking at her with an unreadable expression on her face.
“This woman means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”
Momo nods, eyes fixated on her lap. When she finally looks up, her mother is giving her a tender look. She almost feels guilty for thinking this, but Momo didn’t think her mother was capable of making such an expression. It warms her up from the inside.
“I think it’s wonderful that you spent this time with her, Momo, even if it is limited. I think you made a bigger impact on her life than you think.”
Momo blinks. She didn’t think what she did was all that special. “Really?”
“Yes, of course.”
“But...she’s still dying and her daughter was never nice to her. I couldn’t help her through any of that, if anything, I just made things worse…”
“Well, Momo, that’s not something you can control. It’s very unfortunate, but that’s how people are. It seems wrong, I know, but I think you more than made up for it just by being by her side. You need to realize that you’ve done all you can, and that has to be good enough. Stop thinking about all the things you could’ve done differently, Momo. You’ve worked hard.” her mother smiles then, pretty and radiant.
“I’m proud of you.”
That night, Momo is laying in bed, replaying her earlier conversation with her mother. It was such a stark contrast from how her mother usually acted, what had gotten into her all of a sudden? Momo shakes her head. No, this was good, wasn’t it? They were finally having healthy conversations like a mother and daughter should. She didn’t want to ruin it by overthinking. Her bedroom door was open just enough for Momo to hear her parents voices filter down the hall. Momo had eavesdropped on her parents plenty of times as a little girl, but they never said anything interesting. Tonight, she figured, would be no different and closed her eyes.
“...you had a talk with Momo today? How did that go?”
“It went well, I think.”
Momo opened her eyes slowly, straining her ears. Was that her dad? Since when did he get in? Momo thought her parents weren’t seeing each other anymore. There was a click, and then the t.v. turned on, drowning out their voices. Momo sat up in bed and carefully got to her feet. She made her way to the door, careful of the weak spots in the wood of her floor. She poked her head out into the hallway, fully aware that eavesdropping was a childish thing to do. But they were talking about her, and didn’t she have a right to know what was being said about her?
At first, Momo can’t hear a word they’re saying, with the t.v. being so loud. She’s just about to give up and go back to bed when she hears her mother.
“I think...I think Momo saw that woman as a mother, of sorts. She went to her because she couldn’t go to me about her problems.” her mother gives a sad bark of laughter. “Now what does that say about me?”
“Don’t punish yourself, dear…”
“But it’s true. I’m not a good mother. I wasn’t there for Momo when she needed me. Have you seen that red mark on her scalp? Something happened to her and she thinks she can’t talk to me about it.”
“Do you want me to talk to her?”
Momo hears her mother sigh. “No, if she didn’t tell me I doubt she’ll tell you. I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot, dear. You’re just coming to certain realizations now. It’s better than you figuring it out too late, and it’s much better than you not changing at all. Today was a step in the right direction, and I’m sure Momo knows that. Just give her time.”
Silence. Momo listens in for more, but there’s nothing but the drone of the t.v., and the light from her parents room flicks off.
It’s Monday when Momo goes to see Shouto. She had arrived on the front steps just as Fuyumi was heading out, and the two just manage to avoid colliding into one another.
“Oh, Momo!” Fuyumi gasps, and she bows. “I didn’t see you. I’m so sorry about what happened back at the hospital, really I’am! My mother has been ill for a long time, but she’d never hurt--” at this, Fuyumi stops herself, and she straightens up. “I mean...I’m certain she’d never hurt you on purpose. Please forgive her.” Momo finds herself nodding.
“Please don’t worry, Fuyumi.” Momo gives a small smile. “I never blamed your mother in the first place. I know this is something she can’t help…” Momo’s words die off as tears gather in Fuyumi’s eyes, and before she can react, the older woman has thrown her arms around Momo in a hug.
“Thank you, Momo, dear!” Fuyumi exclaimed tearfully. “You’re such a kind girl, I can’t even think on how to repay you!”
“You don’t need to, really.” Momo placates her, and Fuyumi finally releases her. “But...is Shouto home? Is it okay if I see him?”
“Yes.” Fuyumi has composed herself, wiping at her eyes. “He’s in his room. I think he’ll be pretty happy to see you.” Fuyumi leans in and whispers, even though they’re the only ones on the street right now. “He’s been kind of a wreck since the whole incident happened. I tried talking to him, but maybe you can get through to him.”
Momo nods seriously and Fuyumi takes her leave then, bidding Momo good luck. She feels a little strange, entering someone’s home like this, and places her shoes neatly by the doorway before closing the door behind her. Momo darts her way to Shouto’s room. She knows that only Shouto is in the house, but still feels like a trespasser, as if someone was going to pop out of a nearby closet and demand she leave.
At his closed door, Momo hesitates. What if he doesn’t want to talk to her? What if they tried to talk and it got awkward? Momo sighs, she shouldn’t have waited so long to approach him. Oh well, no point in thinking about that now. She knocks three times on his door.
“Shouto?” she says, loud and clear. “Are you in there?”
Nothing.
“It’s me, Momo.” Now she’s getting worried. “Can we talk?”
Nothing happens for so long that Momo is about to turn around and leave, but the door creaks open and her breath catches in her throat. Seeing Shouto both elates and worries Momo at the same time. On the surface, nothing about him appeared distressed, save for his mussed hair, but his eyes tell a different story.
“Hi.” she tries to greet him with a happy smile. “Can I come in?”
Shouto blinks, and he appears to look embarrassed before nodding and widening the door. Momo steps into his room and Shouto closes the door behind her. There’s nothing amiss save for some books scattered on his desk. Instead of sitting in his desk chair, Momo takes a seat on his bed instead. They sit opposite each other, both glancing at each other before looking away. Now that she’s here, she doesn’t know what to say.
“How have you been?” Shouto says, and maybe she’s imagining it, but Momo thinks she hears a faint longing in his voice.
“I’ve been okay.” Momo shrugs, and she smiles at him. “I’ve missed you.” Momo suddenly realizes how much she means that. It had only been a week, but the distance between them had been growing ever since the incident at the hospital. Something flickers across Shouto’s face before it disappears.
“I’ve missed you, too.”
That makes Momo laugh good-naturedly. “You look so serious!” she teases him, and his lips quirked up into a smile that he manages to smother down. Her smile fades as well. “If you missed me so much, you should’ve called.” her tone isn’t stern or accusatory, and it makes Shouto relax just a little. He knew that isolating himself from her didn’t fix the problem, but he’s also relieved that she didn’t hold it against him.
“I’m sorry.” It’s the only thing he can think to say.
“Don’t apologize, Shouto.” Momo shakes her head, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “I know why you did it.” She pauses for a moment and continues. “But...would you have reached out to me eventually?” Momo is suddenly afraid that if she hadn’t been the one to seek him out, Shouto might’ve never gotten around to speaking to her. Shouto takes a moment to respond. If he was being really honest with himself…
“Yes.” he responds. “Though, it might’ve taken a while.” His eyes trail up her face. “How’s your head?”
Momo fiddles with a strand of hair, “It’s better. What about your mom? Is she doing okay?”
Try as he might, Shouto can’t keep the hard edge out of his voice. “She’s fine.” He hates the way he sounds, so harsh and angry, but he can’t help it. He doesn’t want to hold a grudge against his mother, because he knows this isn’t her fault, and yet…
“Please don’t hold this against your mom, Shouto.” Momo’s dark eyes are looking right through him. “I know she’d never hurt me on purpose.”
“But it still happened.” he counters, and that old familiar anger is sparking up inside of him. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened.” His voice is so low that Momo nearly misses it, and her eyebrows draw together.
“What do you mean?” she asks, and her voice is almost a whisper. Shouto just shakes his head. He can’t discuss this with her, not now at least. Momo inwardly sighed, he was so secretive sometimes!
“You know, Shouto--”
“Momo, I--”
They both speak at the same time.
“Sorry, you go first.” Momo says, eager to hear him out.
Shouto begins to look uncomfortable, there’s a flicker of something in his eyes before it passes. “I know you don’t blame my mom for what happened, and I know you’re very understanding about this whole situation, but...if this feels like too much...if being with me begins to feel like a burden…”
“You can’t possibly think that.” Momo deadpans, and Shouto flounders, grasping for something to say. “Shouto, being with you is not a burden for me.”
“What happened with my mother may not seem like that big of a deal to you, but next time it could get worse.” Shouto swallows and realizes that his heart is beating much too fast. “I don’t want you getting hurt again, Momo.”
She gives him a smile that takes his breath away, even if it is tinged with sadness. Slowly, she crawls across the bed, giving him a playful smirk. Shouto tries not to focus on how dark her eyes are or the swerve of her hips. Momo was completely innocent in just about everything she did, the least he could do was stop his thoughts from going into the gutter right now. Soon, she’s only inches from him, their noses practically brushing.
In a flash, she’s got him by the arms and is tugging him towards her. They go rolling across the bed in a flurry of tangled limbs and flowing hair. They stop, and Todoroki is on his back, with Momo sprawled across him like a house cat. Her hair curtains him as she looks down at him, and he can’t stop himself from breathing in the sweet scent of her perfume.
“Shouto, with relationships, there’s always a chance that someone could get hurt. It’s unfortunate, but that’s just the way things are. Going through those hardships and overcoming them together is how we grow and develop, not just as friends or classmates, but as partners.” She gives him a soft smile, her eyes glinting. “There will be times when bad things happen and we think it’s better to hide ourselves away from others, but that’s the exact time when we should reach out to people. You don’t have to hide these things from me anymore, Shouto. We can go through these things together. You told me something like that before, didn’t you?”
Shouto is stunned into silence. Of course, he had told her that before. He didn’t forget. But this...this was different. She was starting to get a glimpse of the darkness in his life, something she had probably never experienced before. It could easily overwhelm a person...but then again, Momo wasn’t exactly a regular person, was she? She was so much stronger than he gave her credit for. She was fiery and passionate and stubborn underneath her polite manners and soft voice. Momo Yaoyorozu was just...more, in every sense of the word.
How strange, Shouto thought. Momo was just a classmate a few months ago, someone who he respected but never really talked to. A whole summer had changed that, a measly three months. How in the world did he ever land someone so kind, so wonderful? Shouto takes her hand, intertwining their fingers together. Momo snuggles closer to him and begins to tell him about her week. Shouto listens attentively, only just discovering how much he missed the soft music of her voice, and that hole inside his heart starts to fill.
Notes:
hello everyone!
i know it's been a VERY long time since i worked on this fic, and i sincerely apologize. i didn't mean to abandon this story for so long. to be honest, time just got away from me. not only that, but i was starting to dislike this story. i was losing my steam and there were chapters in this fic that i didn't like anymore. i thought about re-writing them or just deleting the story altogether many times. but then i realized that this was my first multi-chapter fic that i had ever written, and of course there would be some things that i wasn't happy about. i just needed to cut myself some slack and stop being so hard on myself. i'm going to see this story through until the end (which isn't that far away), and be proud of this work despite it all. again, i'm sorry for abandoning this story, i know there were people who did like reading it. and i hope you'll continue to read it. thank you very much.
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Cat_unicreating on Chapter 1 Fri 11 Jan 2019 04:02AM UTC
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kittymochi on Chapter 3 Fri 21 Dec 2018 06:38AM UTC
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queenvenus on Chapter 3 Fri 21 Dec 2018 08:14PM UTC
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Emberstork (Guest) on Chapter 4 Tue 01 Jan 2019 10:14AM UTC
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queenvenus on Chapter 4 Tue 01 Jan 2019 05:08PM UTC
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Cat_unicreating on Chapter 4 Fri 11 Jan 2019 04:30AM UTC
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NadeskaSky on Chapter 4 Tue 15 Jan 2019 05:30AM UTC
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star_on_a_staff on Chapter 5 Mon 24 Dec 2018 07:03AM UTC
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queenvenus on Chapter 5 Mon 24 Dec 2018 07:08AM UTC
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Ahmei on Chapter 5 Mon 24 Dec 2018 07:13AM UTC
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kittymochi on Chapter 5 Mon 24 Dec 2018 05:08PM UTC
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khunspocket on Chapter 6 Tue 25 Dec 2018 06:58AM UTC
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kittymochi on Chapter 6 Tue 25 Dec 2018 06:34PM UTC
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EmpressAnais on Chapter 6 Thu 27 Dec 2018 07:44AM UTC
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EmpressAnais on Chapter 6 Thu 27 Dec 2018 07:46AM UTC
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mustard (Guest) on Chapter 7 Tue 01 Jan 2019 06:46AM UTC
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Blukookie on Chapter 7 Tue 01 Jan 2019 07:58AM UTC
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Emberstork (Guest) on Chapter 7 Tue 01 Jan 2019 10:32AM UTC
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kittymochi on Chapter 7 Tue 01 Jan 2019 06:03PM UTC
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Emberstork (Guest) on Chapter 8 Wed 02 Jan 2019 09:19AM UTC
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Cat_unicreating on Chapter 8 Fri 11 Jan 2019 02:58PM UTC
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Wild_card on Chapter 9 Wed 09 Jan 2019 02:34AM UTC
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queenvenus on Chapter 9 Fri 11 Jan 2019 05:55PM UTC
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NadeskaSky on Chapter 9 Tue 15 Jan 2019 07:06AM UTC
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queenvenus on Chapter 9 Tue 15 Jan 2019 05:52PM UTC
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NadeskaSky on Chapter 9 Wed 16 Jan 2019 05:08AM UTC
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Debjoy on Chapter 9 Thu 09 Jul 2020 07:56PM UTC
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