Realise This Feeling

His hand was on my head, stroking my hair in a soothing rhythm while the other was cradling me securely, his voice whispering into my ear that gave me a sense of belonging.

"I'm here, I'm here... Don't cry anymore..."

My sobs had died down, now only heaving with small hiccups and the occasional sniffle.

There were probably red lining the bottom of my eyes by now, the skin swollen from all the tears that spilt onto them.

Feeling the same warmth coming from the hand around me, I became more aware of the situation and leaned back, alerting him.

"I-I'm fine now..." Voice hoarse from my previous crying, I looked down to avert away from his burning gaze.

The silence that followed my response was suffocating, making my nerves spike from how quiet Todoroki was.

"We should head back to class..." I muttered, a wave of disappointment washing over me as I try to get up.

"Wait, Shiro." His hand shot up to grab onto my wrist, stopping my movement of getting up.

"...What-?!" Tugging my wrist, I started to fall backwards and into his arms, encasing me in them as he tightly caged me.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, his head buried in the side of my neck as I sat frozen, feeling the puff of his warm breath hitting my skin.

"What for...?" I asked, lifting a shaky hand and placing it over his locked hands in front of me, feeling the calloused skin of them.

"Everything. I shouldn't have been cold during the Sports Festival. I shouldn't have lost my trust in you so easily. I should've came to school with you, to protect you from all the people that insulted you. I-"

Hearing enough of his words I hastily turned around to face him, my arms around his neck in a single movement as I clung onto him tightly.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Shoto. I should be the one apologising." Leaning back, I look into his eyes, seeing how bright and full of meaning they were, a small smile on my lips.

"I should've told you my Quirk rather than hiding it. But I was scared, I couldn't. I'm a coward."

"No, you're not." He cuts in, hands gripping my arms while his eyes burned with passion and determination.

"For all I know, you're one of the bravest people here. You've limited yourself in a place filled with power-gifted people without even thinking of what might happen. You showed your strengths that you worked hard to get without your Quirk." His words were soft, yet filled with meaning as he stared at me, my own eyes staring back with shock.

"I don't know why you had to hide your Quirk from us, but I won't pry if you don't want me to." Todoroki's eyes had softened and his hands were cupping my neck, thumbs caressing my cheeks gently.

"Shoto..." Speechless, I simply stare at him with wide eyes, mouth agape not able to form words nor a reaction.

"Just know that, even if everyone else hates you, I'll be there for you." The corners of his lips tugged into a little smile, eyes reflecting a sense of security as he looked at me.

Seeing Todoroki lean down, I feel a gentle touch of contact on my forehead, feeling warmth spread from the spot as he backed up.

"Come on. Let's head back to class." Stroking his thumbs over my cheeks one more time, he let's go and gets to his feet.

My mind was reeling over the fact of the touch of his lips that was on my forehead just moments ago, then going back to the same thing but from the Sports Festival.

"Shiro?" Snapping my attention back to the present, I hastily stand with a red blush all over my cheeks.

"R-right...!" I muttered, flustered and embarrassed as the two of us walked back to our class.

-x- TICK -x-

Sliding open the doors to the classroom, all attention immediately went to us, eyes boring into both of our very beings as we stood there.

"Uhm... Sorry for that..." Mumbling, I bow my head, the tied up locks of black and white falling against my left shoulder.

The silence was thick, the feeling of their gazes as if piercing through me and staring into my very soul, such only caused my nerves to grow even more.

"It's fine, Shiro-chan. You don't have anything to be sorry about. All of us still see you as our classmate." The voice of Yaoyorozu broke the tension, causing my head to snap at her direction.

"Yeah! It doesn't matter, Quirk of no Quirk, you're still the same person!" Kirishima chimed in, a grin sporting his face as the rest of the class joined in on their exclamations.

"There's no way we'd hate you!" Kaminari.

"You're our friend, Shiro-chan! We have each others back in every situation!" Uraraka.

"Right! It is indeed shocking to have reveal your Quirk this late, but that is of minor detail compared to the relationships within this class!" Iida.

"So if you ever feel the need to let it out, just know that all of us are here for you." Midoriya.

"Tch, stop with all that bullshit. No one gives a fuck about what the media thinks, so why should you huh? " Bakugo.

Their words were overwhelming, brimming my eyes with a newfound wave of fresh tears as a smile crept up my lips.

"Everyone..." Muttering my words, I could barely manage to hold the small incoming sobs caught in my throat.

A hand was gently placed atop my shoulder, my head lifting up to see Todoroki smiling down at me.

"See? We're all here for you." He whispered, myself nodding as I wipe away the tears that escaped.

Despite all of the words of encouragement being thrown all throughout the classroom, my mind couldn't help but send images of flashing memories.

"TRAITOR!"

"You-you're a Monster... Look at what you've become..."

"No one will love you if they know who you truly are."

"SHUT UP! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY ANYTHING!"

Flashes of people, sprawled on the ground appear in my mind, muffled overlapping voices echoing as I flicker through them all.

"We're all here for you."

"I'm here, I'm here... Don't cry anymore..."

"Just know that, even if everyone else hates you, I'll be there for you."

Then, that familiar warmth from that voice blurred out all the images, changing them into those with the boy with dual coloured hair and heterochromatic eyes.

Now, looking into them right in front of me, that burst of warmth seemed to grow.

"Thank you, Shoto." Whispering back those words to him, a sudden realisation had occurred to me.

My heart thumped wildly from the thought, seeming as if trying to explode out of me as a whole roaring erupted from my stomach.

'Since when... Did I not realise this feeling for him until now?'

《THE CLOCK STRIKES TWO》

======To Be Continued======
Damn, I left for one week and I lost so much reads and votes and comments than my daily average.

I'm sadding right now. And yes, I created that word. :((((

-Kuno HikaYashi
7th September 2018 (Unedited)