#this chapter is p. tame angst wise

[emeraldwaves]

Title: In Which We Burn Together Angst Week Day 4 Pairing:  Todomomo Rating: M Word Count:  2,518 Read on Ao3 Summary:  

Todoroki Shouto has never believed in soulmates. Why should he? It didn’t work for his parents, so he doesn’t expect it to work for him, especially when he can’t even remember what his now burned off mark looks like.

Full fic under the cut! For @bnha-angst-week !! Day 4 Choice // Wish Thank you to @its-love-u-asshole for betaing! <3

Yaoyorozu cried after they completed their exam against Aizawa-sensei. Shouto wasn't really sure why since they both passed, but he didn't wish to judge her. By now he was aware she could get overwhelmed.

They made their way off the examination field, heading back towards the school. Shouto walked behind her, not wanting to bother her if she was internally processing things. Her plan had been amazing though.

"Mm..." he muttered, wondering why she was passing the credit to him when it had been her plan. "I think it was more thanks to you."

"A-Ah!" she waved her hands up and down quickly. "N-No! I think it was more thanks to you. If you hadn't believed in me-"

"How about we call it a team effort?" he said, cutting her off. That was part of the point of these team exams anyway.

She smiled, her eyes glistening again. "Yes," she said. "You're right. It was a team effort. But still... thank you for having faith in me."

Shouto stared at her, confused why she was thanking him for something that came so easily to him. "I always will," he said bluntly. He loved the way her cheeks grew redder at the compliment.

Shouto found he worked well with Yaoyorozu and more often than not, if they were able to pick their teams during any training, they would end up on the same team together.

During their first year, he often paired up with her for research projects or team battles, simply because he trusted her. Even when she had deep, internal anxieties about her abilities, Shouto knew she would pull through. He would watch Yaoyorozu slip her finger under her bracelet, running her finger against her skin. He never asked her what was underneath it, he never cared, which was something he knew she appreciated. He didn't know what was holding her back in her mind, but he knew she was stronger than it. She was an extremely capable woman, even if she didn't think so herself.

Either way, Shouto chose Yaoyorozu every time.

Their rather excitement filled first year was coming to an end soon, and Shouto silently hoped their second year would be quieter.

As the bell rang, marking the start of their vacation, he glanced towards Yaoyorozu, packing up her things. It would be strange, to not see her beside him everyday, and suddenly he was hit with an empty feeling. He would miss the way her cheeks flushed when he offered her any sort of compliment, even minor ones. He would miss the way she took notes with rigorous concentration and he would definitely miss the way she said good morning to him every day.

They would only be away for a little while, but still the idea of not seeing Yaoyorozu during the entirety of their break was... oddly disheartening.

"Yaoyorozu-san." Her name left his lips faster than he meant it to and she turned to stare, her dark ponytail swinging behind her, her black locks brushing against the back of her neck.

"Yes, Todoroki-san?" she asked. Her eyes were wide, eager, and interested in what it was he could possibly say. It was times like these she left him a little speechless, her cute enthusiastic energy too much for him to handle.

"Todoroki-san?" she repeated and Shouto almost jumped, pulled from his daze.

"Ah..." he muttered, realizing he didn't really know what to ask her even. "Would... you... over the break that is..." Why was it so hard to ask her this? Asking to train together was not a strange thing, not when they had been each other's choice partners for the majority of the school year.

She tilted her head, clutching two of her textbooks to her chest. Oh gosh that only made it worse. His eyes involuntarily glanced at her chest and he immediately snapped them back up to her face. He wasn't a pervert! Nothing like some of the boys in their class, but Yaoyorozu was pretty and intelligent, and amazing and admittedly, beautiful.

"What about the break?" she asked.

Right. He was asking her something. "Would you want to train together?"

Her eyes widened, shocked by the proposal. "Train with... you, Todoroki-san?"

"If you wanted to," he offered.

"Yes! I would love to! I-I mean I want to!" she smiled, looking a little flustered. "I'll text you my schedule for the break and we can find a time that works for us!"

Of course she had her break all planned out on a schedule.

As expected, she texted him almost immediately that night. He was impressed by the strict regimen she was sticking to. Even with school being on break, she set aside time to study, (mostly chemistry, for use of her quirk) and training of course. There was a part of him that wished to join her everyday, but he didn't wish to impose.

Instead, he picked a few times and sent them back, waiting for her to choose. She was quick to respond, setting their times into her schedule.

The next morning, he woke up to a text from her.

[Text from: Yaoyorozu Momo]: Good morning, Todoroki-san! I hope the first day of your break is both relaxing and productive!

A smile was quick to pull across his cheeks. He could hear it in her voice, could see her smile as she took her seat next to him. Yaoyorozu was so genuine and friendly. He'd never encountered someone like her. He didn't feel comfortable around most people, yet he enjoyed being around her. He liked it when she babbled on about something she was excited about, or when she didn't quite understand something and she thought about it extra hard in hopes of comprehending whatever confused her.

It was like his whole life he'd been waiting to meet someone like her... like a soulmate.

For the first time in his life, Shouto wished he knew his soulmark, and he wished, above all else, that Yaoyorozu Momo was his soulmate.

No.

He didn't believe in soulmates... and even if he did, Yaoyorozu was most likely not his. Though they were similar in many ways, they were also different, came from two different lifestyles. They both wanted to be heroes but...

No.

It was useless to think about, and he would never know if she was his soulmate unless they...

His face turned bright red and he turned over in his bed, burying his face in his pillow while willing the thoughts to go away. The last thing he needed was to think about how beautiful her lips looked sometimes, especially when she wore the shimmery gloss and-

No.

He pushed himself out of bed. He couldn't keep thinking about her like this. Eventually she would find her actual soulmate and then all of this wouldn't matter. It would honestly be easier for him if he was alone. He could focus on being a better hero and eventually passing his father.

For now, he was going to go for a run.

Yaoyorozu set the day for the them to train together a few days into the break, and Todoroki was silently dying. Even with their good morning texts, which she sent everyday, he missed seeing her cute smile and her cheerful eyes.

When had he started thinking about Yaoyorozu so much? Maybe after he saw her in the rain after the U.S.J. incident. Or maybe after the festival, when he showed her his burned soulmark... he had trusted her enough to do that... or maybe it was when they worked so well together it felt like he never wanted to partner with anyone else.

Is this what people called a crush? It was such a foreign, unfamiliar feeling.

Shouto hated himself for wondering what was underneath her small bracelet. With his burn and his inability to remember what his soulmark looked like, they wouldn't be able to tell if they were soulmates anyway, so he didn't know where these small tugs of caring came from. He would never ask her about it anyway; he wasn't rude like the rest of society.

When the day finally came to meet her, Shouto arrived at her house a little early. Knowing Yaoyorozu, she would be expecting him to be punctual. Her house was very large, as many of their classmates discussed before when she held study sessions at her place and Shouto had to buzz an intercom to get in.

"Todoroki-san! Good morning!" she said, meeting him at the front gate. "It's good to see you." She bowed politely and he did the same, though they were friends, with her everything was always on the formal side.

"It's good to see you too, Yaoyorozu-san," he said, unable to stop the small smile which pulled across his cheeks.

"Come!" she said. "Let me take you to our training room!" Unsurprising she would have one of those. His house had one too, though the memories in there were anything less than pleasant.

Her fingers wrapped around his hand as she led him to the room. It was a large square room, mostly white and completely empty. "It's proofed for quirk use, so please don't feel like you have to hold back your ice or fire. In fact, I would prefer you don't!" she said.

She slipped off her jacket and Shouto glanced away for a moment. The clothes weren't revealing, but the black tank top dipped far down her back, leaving space for her to produce whatever object she might needed.

"I wouldn't hold back," he said, leaving his bag outside the door as he followed her inside. He would never offend her like that.

"Good," she said and bowed to him again. "Should we begin?"

"Alright," he nodded, and took a stance.

He knew she would mostly likely wait for him to charge for her first, and knowing her she was probably calculating out his various moves in her head. She would assume he would use his ice first, as he often favored that side, but things were different now... he knew he could handle the fire... his fire.

He leaned towards his right side but was quick to ignite his left, sending a row of flames barrelling towards her.

Yaoyorozu was faster than that though. She dodged, pulling a shield from her back and a spear from her arm. She clutched the items tightly, panting from the heat, and he stomped his foot down, sliding across the floor on a path of ice he sent across the room. He shot more fire her way and she continued to dodge.

The problem was, she had a difficult time getting close to him as he moved around the room with ease. Even using a long range weapon, he was able to freeze a variety of objects she tossed his way.

Eventually she fell to her knee, panting heavily... the lipids in her body most likely running low. "Yaoyorozu-san, are you okay?" he asked.

"Mhm..." she nodded, though she looked slightly ashamed.

"You did excellent-"

"Todoroki-san! Can we train more tomorrow?!" she asked and Shouto blinked, surprised by her outburst.

"I'll train whenever you are free, Yaoyorozu-san."

Maybe it was pathetic, but any excuse he had to spend more time with her the better.

So he spent his break training with her. Every morning he got to hear her gentle voice and see her smiling face wish him a good morning. They would train together, until she grew too tired, having used her body too much. However, each day she improved more and more.

The sessions would last longer, tiring Shouto out and towards the end of summer break, they would spend hours going back and forth, her trying to get hits on him. She often did, even when he tried to deflect, she occasionally would make a break and knock Shouto to the floor. Yaoyorozu grew more and more impressive with everyday.

School was close to starting up again soon, and Shouto found as much as he thought he would miss seeing her everyday in school, he knew he would miss training privately with her even more.

He stood across from her on the penultimate day of their break, ready to challenge her. They usually waited to see who would make the first move, but this time, Yaoyorozu was quick to rush him. She pulled a spear from her arm, dashing towards him. Shouto aimed ice at her feet, but she jumped up to avoid it, and she spun the spear down, hitting against his arm as he collapsed to the floor, her spear and hand pinning him to the ground.

"Amazing..." he whispered, staring up at her, not bothering to move. He always knew she was incredible. He expected her to kick his ass one of these days, so it was unsurprising to find himself laying on his back, staring up into her dark eyes.

"A-Ah! Todoroki-san!" she breathed out, looking down. "Are you hurt?!" She held out her hand to him, her small bracelet sliding down her wrist.

"No..." he muttered and took her hand, sitting up, his eyes fixated on her wrist. They both sat on the floor, attempting to catch their breath.

He remembered what she said about her parents not being soulmates... how they lost their actual soulmates and found each other later. He knew it didn't matter to her. He knew she wouldn't care if they were soulmates or not, right? They could choose to be with each other... like her parents.

"Tomorrow," he said softly.

"Ah yes! Tomorrow is our last day to train like this. Though I'd be happy to train at school if you want to-"

"Go out with me."

"Eh?" she squeaked, pausing to look at him. "T-Todoroki-san?"

"Tomorrow... instead of training... I... I want to take you to lunch, or dinner... whatever. I, uh, I don't know..." he stammered, suddenly unsure why he blurted those words out so suddenly.

"L-Like... a date?" she asked. It was rare for someone to ask someone on a date if they didn't know their soulmark. It was practically unheard of. Of course she would be thrown off by the prospect of going with someone like him, destined to never know just from looking.

"...if you're... interested. I know I don't know your soulmark and you know I don't know mine-"

"Yes..." she said, and she slid her fingers to lace between his. "I would love to go on a date with you, Todoroki-san." She turned her face towards the floor, her cheeks flushed the brightest red he'd ever seen.

He squeezed her hand back. "Okay..." he breathed, still not quite sure what to say as they sat there with their hands laced together, but his chest felt warm. She was smiling, and that was enough for him.

Tomorrow, he would go on a date with Yaoyorozu Momo, and it didn't matter if they were soulmates or not.