[ Probably for the best... Shouto decides it's best if he doesn't think much about it. ]
I didn't really mind, but it's probably something we should keep an eye on. [ Since Ashido seems a little out there as it is. ] Whenever it is that we go back, I'm sure she'll be one of the people asking the most questions.
Yaoyorozu won't pry either. I'll probably talk to her personally about our attempts to annul the contract, though, since I'm pretty sure her family has dealt with quirk marriages too.
[ What a headache... at least some of their friends won't make it worse. ]
I am a little, too, but I think he's trying to take a dig at All Might by picking you.
[ He tilts his head further back with a sigh. ] But I'd try to annul it if it was Yaoyorozu, too. We're friends, now, but I don't like her like that, and if I marry someone I want it to be my choice. Their choice.
I'm not All Might, and you're not him. Not even close.
[She sighs and stretches out for a moment before settling back into her resting posture.]
I'd prefer that too... I was talking to my mom before. She said she was worried I wouldn't find anybody to marry since training and being a hero takes so much time. Part of why she agreed was because it looked like I liked you. I mean, I do like you, but I wasn't thinking about marriage any time soon.
[She looks confused at him for a moment before she rethinks her words and immediately colors bright red.]
I mean- yes, of course I like you. Of course I like you and hanging out with you and being able to talk with you- A-as a friend, I mean! You're my friend! A-A really good friend.
[ While he's... pretty socially inept a lot of the time, Todoroki Shouto isn't completely dense. He wants to question this further, because he doesn't. He knows people think he's cool, or thaf he's attractive even with his scar, but he doesn't think he's the type of person anyone should like like that.
But he doesn't ask, doesn't say that, and instead goes for his immediate honesty for the sake of understanding. ]
You were my first friend. [ He bows his head a little, using his bangs. ] I didn't have any when I was younger, not even my brothers or sister. I wasn't allowed to play with them. So...
[She looks at him as he talks. She'd gotten that impression somewhere along the way, between his awkwardness and his blunt honesty. The more and more she learns about Todoroki's past, the more she hates his father.
She sits back down, and tugs him into a hug, pressing her face against his shoulder.]
I'm glad to be your friend. I'm always glad to be your friend.
[ Being hugged doesn't necessarily surprise him, because it's Izuku, but he's still caught off guard. Shouto blinks down at her for a few seconds, as if trying to process the affection, before he just...
Drops his nose against the top of her head, bringing a hand up to curl his fingers into the back of her jacket. His other hand's fingers clench briefly before relaxing against his thigh. ]
Thank you. [ Yet again. But... ] I like you, too. Like this, as a friend.
[ Shouto is a poor liar. He has no practice at it, and was punished by Endeavor for any assumed lies throughout his childhood. But he doesn't think this is lying, even by omission. He doesn't know what these emotions are and what they mean, and he wants to better understand them before he tells her more.
So he holds onto it, mulling over it as he shifts so he can nuzzle her soft hair a little as he goes to put his chin on her head instead. It's nice. This us nice. ]
[She giggles softly, and hugs Shouto a little tighter. He's warm and comforting and this... it's nice. Hugging him like this, she could stand to do it a little more often.
She was talking about the tiny little upgrade in familiarity from -san to -kun, but she gets the feeling Todoroki would be fine if she dropped the suffix all together. (She's not so sure she's ready for that though.)]
Alright.
[She should probably let go some time soon, but she finds she really doesn't want to.]
[ The fact that it sails right over his head, that he doesn't even register the change, speaks volumes of how very fine he is with it. Shouto is comfortable with Izuku as it is - she could call him whatever she liked and he would likely be fine with it.
Not like he really can care about it, when he's being hugged. It's not something he gets much, so having the closeness seems to take him from tense to slowly relaxing, radiating warmth faintly from his left side. ]
... this is fine, too. [ He says it in a bit of a murmur, because it is, but he also doesn't know how to express his feelings like a normal person. So. ]
[It's hard for her to tell what's going to be okay or not- she didn't have that many friends growing up and so she tended to err on the side of overly polite. But... Shouto's definitely a close friend now, -kun only seems appropriate.
She considers the words for a moment. This? Their friendship, the hug or the tiniest step of closeness she made?
[ Neither of them really have much of a basis for understanding friendships, but at least Izuku is more emotionally competent than him. But she just... barged into his life, at the sports festival, and it only continued after that. She's been nothing if not supportive, and his friend. And it's helped him quite a bit, from understanding himself to finally letting go of his demons.
So, it is all three, in a way, as he curls his fingers in the back of her jacket. ]
Yeah. [ Maybe this whole engagement thing won't be so bad, so long as they're in it together to break the contract. It'll be a long process, and difficult, but Izuku is someone he trusts. They'll take care of it. ]
[The image of Shouto undoing the ice of his right hand with the fire of his left- it was just so unbelievably sad to her. If she fought him, she was absolutely going to force him into using his left side. It's Shouto's power, all his and she's glad he's finally recognized that.
She settles into the prolonged hug for a little longer before finally pulling away.]
[ Everything about this is based on their powers, which couldn't be more ironic to him if it tried. Shouto's powers, Izuku's powers - they belong to them, now. And they'll use them as the heroes that they are, with one another right there to remind them.
When she starts to pull away, he loosens his grip, letting his hand fall away. He can feel the warmth of it, a change noticeable enough to register to him. But it's not... bad. It's just different. Soft. ]
I'm sure we will. [ Confident, before he actually grimaces a little, remembering. ] I'm sorry for all of the exposure to my old man you're going to have to deal with.
[It's a quirk marriage that's landed them in this mess, but they're strong and they'll figure out how to get out of it. She's pretty sure of that much at least.]
Endeavor? I didn't talk to him much during the sports festival, but I didn't like him.
Meaning he was probably being himself and not putting up his public act like some damn politician. [ At least he doesn't say that with venom. Just disdain, as he sighs heavily and visibly, watching the colder breath dissipate.
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... even if he does very much remember her stepping over him earlier. ]
Ashido was very, very excited to have me help with that part of the cooking.
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She's... surprisingly fond of burning things?
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I didn't really mind, but it's probably something we should keep an eye on. [ Since Ashido seems a little out there as it is. ] Whenever it is that we go back, I'm sure she'll be one of the people asking the most questions.
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[But they're definitely going back to a barrage of questions.
She's not excited.]
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[ He's not ashamed to admit that he escaped. Not with the excitement that was building up in the halls before he bailed.
A part of him doesn't want to go back, but. They have to. ]
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So... at least there's that.
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[ What a headache... at least some of their friends won't make it worse. ]
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I'm a little surprised he didn't try to set you up with Yaoyorozu-san instead of me. You two seem to have known each other for a while.
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[ He tilts his head further back with a sigh. ] But I'd try to annul it if it was Yaoyorozu, too. We're friends, now, but I don't like her like that, and if I marry someone I want it to be my choice. Their choice.
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[She sighs and stretches out for a moment before settling back into her resting posture.]
I'd prefer that too... I was talking to my mom before. She said she was worried I wouldn't find anybody to marry since training and being a hero takes so much time. Part of why she agreed was because it looked like I liked you. I mean, I do like you, but I wasn't thinking about marriage any time soon.
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[ And with All Might out of the running, Shouto is sure that he'd expedited everything. And that's how they learned about it.
But those thoughts fly out of his head, and he drops his head to look at her properly again, blinking dumbly. ]
You like me?
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I mean- yes, of course I like you. Of course I like you and hanging out with you and being able to talk with you- A-as a friend, I mean! You're my friend! A-A really good friend.
[Let her die right here, please.]
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But he doesn't ask, doesn't say that, and instead goes for his immediate honesty for the sake of understanding. ]
You were my first friend. [ He bows his head a little, using his bangs. ] I didn't have any when I was younger, not even my brothers or sister. I wasn't allowed to play with them. So...
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She sits back down, and tugs him into a hug, pressing her face against his shoulder.]
I'm glad to be your friend. I'm always glad to be your friend.
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Drops his nose against the top of her head, bringing a hand up to curl his fingers into the back of her jacket. His other hand's fingers clench briefly before relaxing against his thigh. ]
Thank you. [ Yet again. But... ] I like you, too. Like this, as a friend.
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She feels like somehow there's something he isn't saying, but there's something she isn't saying either, so maybe it's for the best.]
... I'm glad, Todoroki-kun. Um... is that fine?
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So he holds onto it, mulling over it as he shifts so he can nuzzle her soft hair a little as he goes to put his chin on her head instead. It's nice. This us nice. ]
What, our being friends? I'd hope so.
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She was talking about the tiny little upgrade in familiarity from -san to -kun, but she gets the feeling Todoroki would be fine if she dropped the suffix all together. (She's not so sure she's ready for that though.)]
Alright.
[She should probably let go some time soon, but she finds she really doesn't want to.]
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Not like he really can care about it, when he's being hugged. It's not something he gets much, so having the closeness seems to take him from tense to slowly relaxing, radiating warmth faintly from his left side. ]
... this is fine, too. [ He says it in a bit of a murmur, because it is, but he also doesn't know how to express his feelings like a normal person. So. ]
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She considers the words for a moment. This? Their friendship, the hug or the tiniest step of closeness she made?
Possibly it's all three.]
Then... can we stay like this a bit longer?
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So, it is all three, in a way, as he curls his fingers in the back of her jacket. ]
Yeah. [ Maybe this whole engagement thing won't be so bad, so long as they're in it together to break the contract. It'll be a long process, and difficult, but Izuku is someone he trusts. They'll take care of it. ]
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She settles into the prolonged hug for a little longer before finally pulling away.]
We'll figure this out.
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When she starts to pull away, he loosens his grip, letting his hand fall away. He can feel the warmth of it, a change noticeable enough to register to him. But it's not... bad. It's just different. Soft. ]
I'm sure we will. [ Confident, before he actually grimaces a little, remembering. ] I'm sorry for all of the exposure to my old man you're going to have to deal with.
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Endeavor? I didn't talk to him much during the sports festival, but I didn't like him.
Oh- but you'll get to meet my mom!
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And then he looks at her. ] Your mom?
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