The sun was slowly setting over the snow-laden trees. It was nearly six p.m., and Momo was sitting cross-legged on the floor beside her bed with her current favorite person, Shouto Todoroki. 

Todoroki was staring down at the papers sprawled out in front of them. They were working on the final touches for their project, which they would have to present the following week.

Momo had her hands cupped around a mug of tea. She was leaning against the side of her bed, her eyes half-lidded and tired-looking. She was lost in thought but didn't quite know what she was thinking about. 

After a few moments of spacing out, Momo felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She instinctively flinched away from the sudden touch. Her tea sloshed out of the cup, and Momo felt a scalding burn cover her hands. She let out a hiss of pain before quickly setting the cup down on the floor.

"Shit-" Todoroki pulled his hand away. "Yaoyorozu, I'm... I-I'm so sorry..." Todoroki stumbled over his words nervously, unsure about what to do. He took the book that was sitting in his lap and practically tossed it across the room as he leaned over to examine Momo's hand.

Momo felt her face heat up, and it wasn't just from the pain. Staring down at her hand, she saw the skin turn red and swell up slightly. Letting out a shaky sigh, she shook her head. "It's fine. I just need some ice..." Right after speaking, Momo instantly regretted her choice of words.

Todoroki reached out his right hand and grabbed Momo's. His palm felt calloused from years of hard work and training. Momo felt her breath get caught in her throat, and her heart stopped. His hand was freezing from the use of his quirk. She glanced up from where their hands were touching at Todoroki. He was frowning, his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to fix Momo's injury.

As Todoroki's hand shifted slightly, Momo saw a scar that ran across his knuckles. It looked jagged and uneven, so it was nothing like Momo had ever seen before. How had she not noticed it sooner?

"Sh- uh... Todoroki?" she murmured, trying to break the awkward silence. He glanced up, his mismatched eyes not letting up any expression. "That scar... on your hand. What happened?"

Todoroki took in a deep breath. "Nothing," he responded bluntly. "How's your hand?"

"Uh..." Momo let out a disappointed breath. She wanted Todoroki to trust her. She wanted him to feel comfortable with her. "Y-yeah, it's feeling better."

"Good." Todoroki slowly pulled his hand away, leaving Momo's hand feeling tingly. She glanced back to her now half-empty mug of tea and sighed. 

"How are you feeling about the presentation this week?" Momo asked. Todoroki scoffed and rolled his eyes, picking up the stack of papers in front of him and shuffling through them.

"Not great. Presenting in front of people is the..." he let out a sigh, leaning back. "the worst."

"Yeah, it is." Momo murmured. At least I got an extremely hot partner. She thought to herself, making herself blush.

"I-I'm gonna bring the mug back to the kitchen. I'll be right back." Momo pushed herself to her feet and grabbed the mug by the handle. Most of the tea had spilled out onto her skin, and it wasn't that hot anymore. She rolled her eyes and quickly slipped out of her room, speed-walking down the hallway.

Neither of Momo's parents was home. Her father was at work, in a big corporate office stuck in a cubicle for eight hours. Her mother was probably out either grocery shopping or drinking. She didn't know, and frankly, she didn't care.

As Momo reached the kitchen, she drew her fingertips along the cold marble of the counter-top. Unlike Todoroki's hand, the chilled material was smooth against her skin. She let out a sigh, Momo set the mug down in the sink. Todoroki was so reserved. He had walls around him, and Momo had no clue how to break them down. She didn't want to push her luck with being his partner in a project. 

What if he stops talking to me after this project is over...? Momo felt a wave of anxiety crash over her. Her eyes fluttered closed as she let out a deep breath, trying to shove her emotions away. I can't force him to like me. I can't force him to do anything. She brought up her hand to the bridge of her nose and pinched it with her index finger and her thumb. Stop thinking like that. It's only going to make things worse.

The only time Todoroki seemed really open to her was when they hugged in the park. Now, that all seemed meaningless. His personality had gone back to being quiet and unspoken. Inside, he seemed so tormented and alone. Momo could see it in his eyes. If somebody told him a joke, he would smile like others, but that was it. His eyes never lit up, and Momo had only heard him laugh once. It worried her. If he was struggling, the last thing she wanted was for him to do it alone.

Shaking her thoughts away from the subject, she took in a deep breath and started back towards her bedroom. Pushing the door open slightly, she peered in, and that's when her heart stopped.

Momo's knuckles turned white as she attached a death grip on the doorway. All the color drained from her face. Her heart stopped. Todoroki was holding her sketchbook in his hands. His eyes were traveling down the picture she had drawn of him.

"Did... Did you draw this?" Todoroki asked, his gaze locked on the paper. 

"I-I..." Momo could barely talk. Her mouth was dry, and she began to sway on her feet. Fighting to keep consciousness, she shook her head violently. "W-Where'd you... f-find that, Todoroki?"

"The floor."

"Yeah, I um..." Momo cleared her throat, using Momo.

Why the FUCK did I not clean that up sooner?

"Listen, I'm really sorry that you found that." Momo let go of the door and stumbled over to him. She stopped at his shoulder and stared down at the page, disgusted at her own drawing. To her, it was awful. However, it might just be because that drawing may have ruined her relationship with her crush.

Todoroki still didn't say anything. He blinked at the drawing for a few seconds, then turned to Momo. "It's really good. You even drew in my s-scar." he murmured.

"Why wouldn't' I?"

Todoroki sighed. He gently set down the sketchbook on Momo's bed and turned to her. "Whenever my father has people draw me or take pictures of me, he always makes them... he makes them remove my scar. Either by erasing it or using photoshop."

"Todoroki, I- that's awful..." she glanced up at him. "Can't you tell them to just keep your scar there?"

He scoffed, running his hand through his hair. "I've tried, believe me. You really think my father would listen to me?"

Momo narrowed her eyes, examining his scar. She tried to make it look like she wasn't staring but probably failed. "You don't have to confirm nor deny this, but... You got your scar from a burn of some kind, didn't you?" she asked.

To Momo's complete surprise, Todoroki nodded. "Yeah. "It's from..." he shook his head. "Yeah, it's a burn."

Momo nodded. She glanced down at her drawing of Todoroki and compared it to the real thing. She had gotten most things right. "I'm really happy you like my drawing." she chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck.

"It's amazing, Yaoyorozu." Todoroki nodded, his expression still stagnant. "Thank you."

Todoroki suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around Momo, pulling her close. Momo returned the hug gently, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes. She knew that her cheeks were dusted an embarrassing pink, and Todoroki could probably hear the way her heart was racing in her chest. 

To him, this is probably nothing more than a friendly hug. To me, this is everything.

______

Hey guys! I'm SO SORRY for the super late update, I've just had no motivation. I've been feeling really sick, and pretty down recently. It's nothing major, I just haven't been feeling like myself. I decided I should use the one thing that cheers me up - Todoroki! Originally I wasn't going to have him in this chapter, but I needed more Todoroki content so here you go. <3