Chapter Text
Upon arriving back from his mother's new home, the first thing that seems odd to Todoroki is the silence in the usually lively hotel he shares with his squad. Second is finding the note from Hagakure on the table that informs him that everyone had gone out except Yaoyorozu, then looking at the clock and knowing that it is past dinner time.
Yaoyorozu would never miss dinner time.
Third, it's the sound his demon side manages to pick up, the known frequency of his captain's voice reaching his ears in the form of sobs.
Without even thinking about it, his body moves on its own until it reaches her room, his heart pounding in his ears at the slightest thought that something could have happened to her. Opening the door ready to fight, he stumbles upon her armor on the floor, her sheets rumpled, and the tears that keep falling down her cheeks.
When Yaoyorozu's eternally black eyes stray from his equally shocked gaze at the sight, and with her hands she grips a long scar across her stomach, Todoroki understands the situation faster than he would like to say.
Because for Momo, her war marks don’t mean pride, an "I risked my life for a cause and I'm still here." For her, they were a constant reminder of things she could have done better, of a different strategy she could have used to avoid getting them and achieve more effective results.
Her scars embarrass her to the point of feeling down just by looking at them in the mirror.
And as much as Shouto weighs that idea in his head, it just doesn't make sense. There are things that even she, the best warrior in the kingdom, cannot prevent. Things happen, life is not planned and yet, her squad is able to continue living in it with minimal injuries and losses thanks to her. Thanks to her, situations that could easily have gotten out of control are controlled with maximum precision.
It makes no sense for Yaoyorozu to be ashamed of the evidence of her ability.
Todoroki awakens from his mental state when he hears a sob coming from her and his heart immediately breaks. A phantom hand squeezes his chest when Shouto sees her figure, —which he remembers tall, upright and determined—, wrapped around herself, trying to disappear and merge with the ground.
He really doesn't know what to do, but he is not willing to leave her like this, not the woman who has helped him when he needed it, not his friend, not the one who more than once has saved his life with her actions and words.
“Yaoyorozu.”
His voice is low and soft, he doesn't want to scare her away. Slowly he approaches her trembling form, stooping to sit next to her. She doesn't even look at him when he rests a hand on her shoulder.
Todoroki is terrible at comforting people and has zero experiences in it, but for her, he tries. He briefly remembers the way Momo herself once made him come out of his shell of ice and tries to copy her.
“Please look at me.”
His left hand slides down her back and moves it in circles, waiting for them to carry the calming effect she once gave him. Her skin is soft and very cold to the touch, so he slightly uses his fire magic to give her some warmth and Yaoyorozu trembles. But apart from that small tremor, it is the only reaction he gets and something ugly turns upside down inside him when he notices that the tears, big and heavy, keep falling down her cheeks.
“Momo.”
Todoroki says it in a voice that he has never really heard in himself before. It's almost a plea for her to react in some way, any way, to do something that tells him she's here with him.
That's where Yaoyorozu deigns to finally turn her head to see him. His throat clenches when he sees her beautiful face twisted in pain, her lips trembling in place, her nose wrinkled, her long lashes wet and closing to make way for more tears, her black eyes wrapped in pain. For a moment, he's the one who feels like he can't breathe.
“…Todoroki-san...”
Her usual sweet voice is broken and he feels his face contort in the pain that the sight causes him. In an impulse, he embraces her tightly, trying to imbue the curves of the foreign body into his chest, trying to transfer the foreign pain to his body and hide her from everything that wants or has damaged her.
Her breath begins to calm down slowly, her shoulders relax and her hands wrap around Todoroki's waist, returning the hug. They stay like that for a few moments and Yaoyorozu lets herself be enveloped by the warmth that his being brings her. Calming her own thoughts little by little, she feels the tears diminish their torrent, until they are nothing more than a fine thread on her cheeks and in a few seconds more, they stop coming out completely.
For a few moments, they don't move. The soft inhale and exhale of them being the only thing that interferes in what could be a peaceful silence, until Yaoyorozu's tired voice says softly.
“Sorry.”
A confused expression lands on Todoroki's face and he places his hand on her hair, slowly stroking it.
“Why do you apologize?”
Yaoyorozu separates and lowers the hand that caressed her hair, taking it between hers and staring at it.
“For this…” In his hand there’s a fresh slash across his fingers' phalanxes. “If I had been faster, more alert... Then they wouldn't have hurt you...”
Shocked, he looks at her in surprise.
“Yaoyorozu, this is not your fault.”
Todoroki had forgotten that the wound even existed, but... Of course he remembers when it happened, given it was just this morning.
They were finishing a mission when a vermin had tried to escape. Using cloning magic, he created six versions of himself. The guy was good with knives, but his clones were physically weaker despite having the same level of mastery with them.
Yaoyorozu had fought three while Todoroki took care of the rest, effectively defeating them and approaching his captain to share the information, both of them being confused by the finding: They were all clones.
Behind a tree, an inconspicuous figure rose and threw a knife at Yaoyorozu's head.
Neither one had the time to conjure their magic, Todoroki barely noticed the movement and almost made it, his hand went to stop the knife's trajectory. In record time, the blade cut through his fingers as Todoroki's palm pressed against it and touched the handle, sending the knife flying to another location and landing on the ground near them.
A great sound of surprise came from Yaoyorozu's mouth as some blood splattered on her face and the red that stained his palm began to fall to the ground, as he grasped his hand with a slight expression of pain on his face.
Another sound, that of a blow was heard and the captain looked to see Ojiro in the distance, with one foot on the back of who had thrown the knife.
“At that time... If I had been faster, then...”
“Yaoyorozu.” Something in the tone of his voice prevents Momo from continuing whatever she was going to say. "There was no way you would have known that."
Todoroki, who says those words to her with such certainty, feels exasperated at the mere thought that she had said such a thing.
"This." Pointing to his hand, to the fresh wound on it that the healers couldn't fully heal from a certain enchantment on the knife. "It’s a small price to pay for your life."
Shouto had not thought of that before, he had acted on instinct. But that knife, which left a tiny wound in his hand, was aimed at Yaoyorozu's head.
“If at that moment something had happened to you, I...” For a few moments, he hesitates. Fear of losing her, and of something he didn’t know existed, stirs in his chest, while honesty slips from his lips “…I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Unsure, Todoroki gets lost in Momo's sparkling eyes, which waver in expectation of his next words. But he himself didn’t know what to say or what to do. He could not imagine a future without Yaoyorozu by his side in his life and think that for some stupid moment he could lose her.
“I'm proud of this.” He exclaims, pointing at the wound on his hand. “It is a sign that I was able to protect you. And so you, above all people, should be proud of your injuries. Because they are signs that you have survived, that you have been in the worst possible situation and yet have been resilient enough to cope with it. Because they are your war marks, they are yours only and they are part of you, a part that is as important and beautiful as you, Yaoyorozu."
With a sigh, his heart leaps as Yaoyorozu's hands, a warrior's hands that are anything but soft, feel like velvet as they carefully take his and place them on her rosy cheeks.
“Thank you very much, Todoroki-san.” A whisper so tender it seems to be a sigh escaped her lips.
She was simply beautiful. No, not simply. Yaoyorozu's beauty is extremely complicated, it's was much more than just her appearance; Yaoyorozu is beautiful when her hair flutters when she runs and her armor shines in the sun, when her sword sinks into her enemies and her smile stays stagnated in his memory, when she offers him words of support and hugs him, for a second so short that it becomes unbearable to wait for some other instant that would bring him the miracle of having her so close.
So no, it isn't simple. And at this very moment Yaoyorozu is undoubtedly, extremely, and complicatedly beautiful.
... And at this very moment, Yaoyorozu is also only in underwear.
His temperature raises so fast that Todoroki feels forced to put his hand in his face to try and calm the heat with his magic while looking away out of respect. His demon side tempts him to look at her again, but Todoroki, true to his morals and his respect for her, closes his eyes and decides to inform Yaoyorozu of the situation.
"Yaoyorozu."
His throat rolls as he gulps. Somehow this is becoming physically difficult to say.
"Is there a problem?"
Even with his eyes closed, he can perfectly see her confused expression. The innocence in her voice makes him feel slightly guilty and his voice comes out much higher than he wants.
"...You are not wearing your armor"
A sound of surprise followed by one of complete shame escapes Yaoyorozu's sweet lips, causing Todoroki to scream inside his head; that was currently full of thoughts about her.
"Ah--- A-A second please!"
Covering his face with both hands, the shame threatens to come out of his body in the form of flames and ice in front of the hurried bustle of her, who opens what he believes is her closet and then tortures him, making him hear the sound of her clothes gracing against her skin.
"I...I beg your pardon, Todoroki-san. You can open your eyes now”
As he did so, his captain's rosy cheeks came into view. She is holding tightly onto a simple shirt of the same tone as she casts her nervous gaze at him.
"No pro-” His voice cracking mid-sentence makes Todoroki want to disappear in his place. Clearing his throat, his entire face is the same color as his hair, and his serious voice wavers as he speaks "No problem, Yaoyorozu."
She looks everywhere but at him and he does exactly the same. The feeling of wanting to escape and yet having the others presence nearby kept them locked in place; facing each other, sitting on Momo's bed. With a soft voice, she breaks the suffocating silence.
"...Thanks not looking."
"I would never betray your trust" As he announces it so solemnly, Yaoyorozu's eyes become extremely warm and he can’t help but copy her expression "...With your permission, I’ll take my leave"
With one last glance at his captain, he stands up and walks to leave her room.
"Todoroki-san"
Yaoyorozu's voice stops him as he is about to close the door.
"I sincerely appreciate everything"
And with those words, Yaoyorozu gives him the most beautiful and brightest smile that Todoroki has ever had the honor of seeing.
Closing the door so fast that it almost breaks, Shouto leans against it, holding the incessant galloping of his heart in his chest.
How was it possible that his captain, who is fierce, determined and a perfect leader on the battlefield could become so, but so tender?
Todoroki had never seen her like that.
At the end of the day, Todoroki realizes his captain is a person. To be more specific, a woman.
A woman who now he realizes is beginning to wreak chaos in his head and who had long ago wreaked havoc in his heart.