#ksksks todoroki is all 'FIGHT ME' and momo is all 'sTOP IT'

[momostodoroki]

lord knows i’ve failed you time and again (but you and me are alright)

so i absolutely forgot to post this fic i wrote inspired by @vertigospirit‘s lovely art which everyone should be fawning over imho

so anyways enjoy fighting!shoto and stressed-out-because-of-him!momo, they’re my babies i adore them

-

 '"Oh, not again, Todoroki-san."

 Yaoyorozu's tone is mildly scolding. He's sitting in the nurse's office despite his protests that his split lip and bleeding nose don't actually bother him.      You should have seen the other guy    , he tells his black-haired classmate as she dabs at his lips with antiseptic. When she presses the cotton swab against his lips instead of scolding him, he holds back a groan and chuckles so he can see her cheeks color with irritation at his carelessness.

 The truth is, Shouto doesn't know why he keeps getting into fights. He knows      when     it started (it involves the birth of his scar and a life-changing visit from CPS), and he knows the only person he's hurting is himself (and hey, also the douche who called his mom a psycho), but every time his common sense tells him to take the high road, there's an image of his father commending him for 'upholding the family name' and he just… loses it. Next thing he knows, he's sitting in the school principal's office, waiting for Fuyumi to pick him up.

 He also doesn't know how he ended up bagging Yaoyorozu's friendship. He remembers her in the school entrance exams, proud but humble about her first place - an odd amalgamation of what his life could have been like, had his father not been so incredibly shitty. He also remembers her falling apart in their seventh year project for Mr. Aizawa's class, and supporting her through it. Next thing he knew, they went from saying 'good morning' from neighboring seats to spending the evenings studying together.

 It's not like he doesn't like it. He's come to enjoy Yaoyorozu's presence in his life just as much if not more than that of his other close friends: Midoriya, Iida and Uraraka. Shoto knows he can trust her.

 Especially at times like the one he's in right now, when the school nurse has all but given up on him (      I literally just treated that split lip last week, Todoroki-kun    , she'd said upon his entrance) and he's kind of a chicken about applying disinfectants. She shows up out of nowhere, school jacket forgone in the temperate spring days, hair held up in a no-nonsense ponytail. When she treats him, her hands are tender but precise, and it makes a weird warmth settle under his ribcage.

 "Todoroki-san, please stop looking for trouble." she chides, sitting beside him as she's done looking after him. Shouto would never admit it, but when Yaoyorozu looks at him with a mixture of annoyance and exasperated fondness the way she is doing right then, he's thankful that the nurse refuses to treat him anymore.

 "It's nothing." he replies, offering her an only slightly bloodied smile. "Don't worry."

 Yaoyorozu's brow furrows. They've had this conversation a hundred times - sometimes over tea, sometimes sitting down at the park while petting whatever stray cat has approached them that particular time. She hates his getting into fights, hates seeing him bruised and having to watch as his sister takes him home to get yet another 'talking to' from his father.

 (but Shouto loves the adrenaline, loves disappointing his father and, most importantly, loves having her over to bring him their homework when he's dismissed early.)

 "You're going to be the death of me." She declares, standing up and offering him her hand.

 "Or someone else, probably." he quips, following her to lunch. She gets him cold soba, and Shouto ends up thinking it's her who is going to kill him.

  -

He's really done it this time.

 Momo is standing in Todoroki-san's room, watching his sister dab ointment on the swollen skin around his left eye.      Well    , she thinks,      at least whoever he fought this time had the decency to punch him in a discrete place.  

 Todoroki-san is Momo's favorite person in the whole world. She thinks she started developing feelings for him sometime between their weekly study sessions in eighth grade and the silent but unwavering support he provided when she and her team participated in the school sports festival against Itsuka Kendo-San from class 1B. But even obviating the romantic aspect of her feelings for him, Todoroki-san is just… dependable.

 Or he would be, if she didn't have to constantly look out for him to make sure he hasn't gotten into yet another fight. She sort of gets why he does it, though not really. She knows he has a complicated family history and trusts he will tell her about it if he ever needs to or feels comfortable doing it - and for her, that is enough.

 But he's been doing so good lately, barely even gotten into a fight in almost a month. She thinks it has something to do with his last fight being against Midoriya, and the conversation that followed. He's even seemed… Happier. Not happy exactly, but more relaxed, softer around the edges.

 Momo has always admired his serious personality, but privately thought he seemed lonely. She'd felt happy to see him open up, to see him direct small smiles at her from the other side of the cafeteria. Elated to know, without a single ounce of proof, that the tingling sensation at the nape of her neck was from him having touched her hair in passing as he exited their classroom.

 She'd even begun believing he might reciprocate her feelings. She'd finally managed to ask him, heart pounding in her ears, if he'd like to grab a bite sometime, and he'd said yes without a blink of his mismatched eyes. When she'd rushed to clarify that she meant her offer in a more-than-friendly way, and he'd very faintly blushed before reassuring her that the answer was still affirmative, she had been sure this was the start of something new for them.

 And then he goes and stands her up in favor of getting into yet another fight. Momo is going to kill him - bust first she's going to get some answers.

 -

Fuyumi is the worst sister in the world.

 A great big sister wouldn't have let Yaoyorozu in. Instead, Fuyumi leads her into his bedroom and, as soon as she's done putting ointment on his bruise, leaves them alone, door closed behind her. She is      not     getting a birthday present from him.

 Yaoyorozu sits on his desk chair. For a moment, neither of them says anything: her looking straight at him with those big onyx eyes, him looking everywhere but at her. Eventually, Shoto hears her sigh, and then she speaks.

 "I waited for you outside of school." she says, and Shoto can just picture her wearing the very same red turtleneck and black skirt and standing by the door, onyx eyes hopeful. He feels like an even bigger douche, letting some idiot get the best of him and in doing so, letting her down.

 " I'm sorry I missed our date, Yaoyorozu." Shouto says, pulling at a loose thread on his blue sweater's sleeve. "I was looking forward to it."

 "May I ask why, if that was the case, you missed it?"

 Shouto thinks that if she knew, Yaoyorozu would forgive him. But he doesn't want Yaoyorozu to hear the way that disgusting jerk talked about her. He lowers his eyes, looking at her fisted hands.

 "A guy said some things about me and I… lost control." it is, technically, not a lie, but he doesn't think it's enough of the truth to salvage their budding relationship.

 "Todoroki-san…"she laments, digging into her forehead with the heel of her hand. "How many times will I have to ask you to stop getting into trouble?"

 She leaves not long after that, and though Shouto is rarely ever cold, the room seems to lose warmth without her.

-

Momo's heart is going to explode.

 She's searched and searched around the school, but she can't find Todoroki-san. She knows, realistically, that this can wait until tomorrow. She is also aware that her parents would greatly disapprove of the way she is running around and interrupting conversations and classes just to find one boy - but she might actually shatter into pieces if she doesn't talk to Todoroki-san right now.

 Because he didn't not want to show up to the date. He was freshening up after basketball practice when some idiot from class 1B started talking about how Todoroki-san had 'bagged the hottest chick in their year' and 'totally' needed to 'share the deets on her bod when he was done with her'. Todoroki-san, her kind, caring Todoroki-san, hadn't been willing to humor that douche's disgusting comments. He had fought Monoma and beat him to a bloody pulp, but had to face detention and pay for the guy's hospital bills. That's why he'd stood her up.

 And after a week of barely talking, Ashido-San had finally had enough, and let her in on the incident (which she'd learned through Kirishima-san). Needless to say, this information gave Momo a different perspective.

 So she runs, to no avail because he's nowhere to be found, and neither are her friends, so she starts the way back home. When she's waiting for her ride, she notices a commotion in the school's adjoining park. There's a crowd surrounding something, or rather some people , as she finds out when she approaches. One of the people in question is Todoroki-san, shirtless and with a gash on his arm, green uniform pants stained with dirt. The other one is a short freshman with purple hair, clearly in over his head in regards to the fight. Covering her mouth with one hand in worry, Momo approaches the fight. She doesn't notice the way the crowd parts for her, but she does feel a spark of anger ignite in the pit of her stomach.

 Soon she is at the edge of the circle, close enough that when Todoroki-san throws a punch and hits the shorter guy square in the jaw, she can't help but yell his name in horror.

 "Yaoyorozu?" Todoroki-san asks, looking around for her. She's so mad at him for getting into yet another fight and also being so hot while not wearing a shirt, so she channels that anger into grabbing him by the hand and running towards the thicker part of the little wood in the park.

 Once they're alone, she lets the anger blaze.

 "Do you have a death wish? Are you out of your mind? Is this how you're going to be all of high school?" she scolds, holding one shoulder in her arm and poking his chest with every question. "I am      tired    of watching you hurt yourself, Todoroki-san."

 "Yaoyorozu…"

 "I'm not done! I know you fought Monoma-san and stood me up because he was being disgusting about me. I would have appreciated it being you who told me that instead of Ashido-san" she tells him, narrowing her eyes at him. In response to that, Todoroki-san's cheeks turn faint pink, and he looks away in apparent embarrassment.

 "I'm sorry, Yaoyorozu." he apologizes.

 "But Todoroki-san… Does this mean you didn't just get into a fight to let me down gently?" she asks, looking at him, her onyx eyes full of hope.

 "Of course not." he replies firmly. "Yaoyorozu, I would have never consented to a date with you if I weren't sincerely, positively interested in you."

 And then she's kissing him. It's the single most impulsive, inappropriate thing she has ever done. Her etiquette tutors would have her head. But it's also the greatest thing she's ever done. Especially when Todoroki-san gets over the shock and holds her cheek with one warm hand as he returns the kiss. Meanwhile the other, oddly cooler hand undoes her ponytail so he can tangle his fingers in her hair.

 There's so much still wrong with them, but in that moment, everything is perfect.

 "Todoroki-san?" she calls after they part.

 "Yes, Yaoyorozu?"

 "Are you okay?"

 "Don't worry." he reassures her, taking her hand in his as they walk back to procure his shirt. "I'm doing just fine."

 And he really is.