Keeping You (Todoroki x Reader)

Soft knocks brought me out of my stupor, shattering my reflection on the memory of today. And what it meant for the future. Curious, I stood up and walked to my door, pulling it open to find Shoto standing there to my surprise.

He stood in a black turtleneck and dark dray sweatpants, his feet clad in socks and his inside slippers. He looked so warm and toasty. I wondered what it would feel like to cuddle him right now...

'Y/N?' Shoto asked, and it was then I realised he'd been calling my name a few times. 'Hey, you okay?'

I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. 'Sorry, yes. What are you doing here, Sho?'

He gestured with his thumb down the hallway towards the elevator. 'The others have gone down for dinner. Yaoyorozu said you were still in your room so I came to get you.' His eyes scanned over me, narrowing with skepticism. 'You sure you okay? You look like you just fought Bakugou or something.'

I scoffed. 'Thanks. Nice to know you have zero faith in me if I ever have to fight Bakugou.'

'I'm just saying you look terrible.'

'Not any better, Sho.'

He blew out a sigh of irritation, running his fingers through his hair in a calming manner. I walked back over to my bed and sat, giving Shoto an open invitation to walk in and shut the door behind him. I rubbed at my tired eyes, hoping that my stress and anxieties would leave with it. They didn't.

'I'm sorry,' I said softly. 'I just... Today was a lot.'

'Tell me about it,' Shoto agreed, leaning against my desk opposite me. 'To be honest, I didn't expect Class B to step up that much today.'

'We've never given them the credit they deserve,' I added.

He nodded, folding his arms across his chest as he looked out my window thoughtfully. Despite my inner turmoil, I couldn't help but admire the boy in front of me. How his arm muscles strained underneath his turtleneck. How the rise and fall of his chest only accentuated how broad it was. He was the perfect picture of cool, calm and collected, though fire and ice raged beneath his skin. With fight, with purpose, with passion. I could feel it.

A dumb smile stretched across my lips. And he is all mine.

My heart stuttered when his piercing blue and grey eyes turned back and locked onto mine, catching me like a deer in the headlights. His eyes narrowed, but this time with confusion. 'What are you staring at?'

My goodness, he was oblivious. My cheeks burned as I switched my focus to my hands in my lap, fingers fidgeting from embarrassment. 'Nothing.'

It fell silent for moment again. Then, his footsteps grew closer and closer until he stood right in front of me and bent down so his eyes could meet mine once more. He wrapped both his hands around mine, forcing them to still and be soothed by his caressing thumbs. 'You're not okay, are you?'

'Sho,' I started, 'I told you, I'm fine-'

'You are not okay.' It wasn't a question this time. My protest died in my throat at the fierce gaze he looked at me with. 'You are not okay, and it has nothing to do with the matches today. It's... something you can't tell me, isn't it?'

The hurt, the pain, the absolute dread in his voice broke my heart. Like when I couldn't tell him about the Shie Hassaikai raid. Like all the times I couldn't talk about One For All and my connection to it all. I clutched tightly to his fingers. I couldn't tell him everything, but perhaps I could start with just a little.

'Partially,' I said sadly, holding back a wince at the sadness that sagged his face. 'But... it's to do with my quirk. About my connection to All For One.'