You let yourself sink into the deep end. The chlorine made your eyes itch as you glanced up at the sun rays glimmering from the surface of the swimming pool. Sitting down at the bottom of the pool, you realised that you had hit rock bottom when your father's words echoed in your ears.

"There is no need for you to worry about me, (y/n). I didn't tell you my quirk was coming back to normal because I didn't want to give you false hope.

See? I can't use it anymore.

While it is true that your uncle's got a bit of a gambling habit, he would never do anything to hurt me. He is a hero and my brother, after all."

Noticing that you had already spent a few minutes underwater, Asui decided to check on you. You had become numb ever since the police let your uncle off. They hadn't even removed Daiki's hero license, as if he wasn't the prime suspect for your father's injuries.

You felt the frog girl's long tongue wrap around your waist as she pulled you out of the water. Placing your hands at the side of the pool, you coughed a few times and blew your nose at the disgusting taste of the school's pool water. As you thanked Asui for snapping you out of your trance, she unconsciously stuck her tongue out.

"Alright! Tsu can hold her breath for the longest, and (y/n) comes second!" Mina announced as she skipped towards the two of you.

The rest of the girls cheered, drawing the attention of the other side of the pool. And boys eyed you in curiosity while they stretched.

Todoroki didn't miss any of this as he tilted his head to the side while he looked at you with care.

Seeing him lifted your mood, as it reminded you that you had agreed to go out for some ice cream after this training session. Trying to shake off any bad feelings, you propped yourself up and joined the circle of girls.

"Yeah, we could get a ball and play catch!" Ochaco beamed.

Asui scratched her chin. "But I'm not sure whether we're allowed to borrow school equipment, given that we are unsupervised. Ribbit."

"I would be delighted to make one for us!" Yaoyorozu soon materialised a volleyball ball out of her chest. She threw the ball up in the air, which Mina caught and then passed to you.

You caught it with one hand, with a small smile on your face as you appreciated this wholesome moment distracting you from your worries. "Woah, this is so cool," you said before hitting the ball up into the summer sky and diving into the water.

Later on, you helped Yaoyorozu record when the boys made it to the side of the swimming pool for their freestyle competition.

Todoroki positioned himself at the start blocks, his toned muscles straining as he pulled back to gain some momentum.

You held back the urge to shout some words of encouragement to him to avoid making your flourishing relationship with him too obvious. You settled for a discreet thumbs-up, which still fueled Todoroki with motivation as he acknowledged that you would be watching him.

Your mouth parted slightly when you saw Todoroki use his ice to glide across the swimming pool, although you found it funny that he didn't even try to swim. Todoroki placed his hands on his knees once he made it to the edge, somewhat tired but proud of his timing. When you approached him to congratulate him, he eyed you from head to toe, taking in your new (f/c) swimming costume.

"(y/n), I think..." He stopped himself from complimenting you, as the rest of the class gathered around you to wait for the next set of swimmers.

"Later?" you mouthed, to which he replied with a nod of mutual understanding. Both of you would have to wait until your classmates left to go off together.

Nevertheless, the fact that you both restrained yourselves around each other did not go unnoticed by Aoyama's twinkling indigo eyes. He flicked his fair blond hair back before whispering to himself, "Jeune amour."

---

Once in the showers at the girl's changing rooms, you stayed still, letting the warm water run down your back. You understood Todoroki's reasoning for keeping your relationship a secret. Yet, that did not stop you from wanting to go official with him, and spend time with him to your heart's content.

Studying the steamy mirror, you noticed that the scars on your hands ran deep, like a river. You cherished being close to Todoroki enough to not ask for anything else. The two of you needed some time to heal after all you had gone through.

Unbeknownst to you, Todoroki thought about you as he dried his face with his towel. He remembered how soft your hair felt to his touch when he tucked it behind your ear, as both of you sat on that bench near the mall. You had helped him accept himself for who he was and no one could take that away from him.

The half-and-half boy heard the ruckus of Bakugo's explosions popping in his calloused hands. "Icy Hot, we'll need a proper final to prove that I'm the fuckin' best one day."

"We'll see about that," Todoroki mused, making Midoriya flinch, as he overheard this conversation from the corner of the changing room.

---

Todoroki had wanted to try this popular ice cream place for quite a long time, but he usually wasn't one for treating himself often. He took note of the various couples that sat around their small, circular tables, being especially enthralled by one interaction. A tall boy, around his age, opened his mouth to let his flustered girlfriend feed him some of her ice cream. Todoroki ran a hand through his damp hair before looking at you, as you enjoyed (your favourite flavour) ice cream.

"(y/n)," Todoroki called your attention.

Looking up to him across the table, you noticed that his mouth was open. He leaned closer to you with an expression so severe that it made you let out a laugh. "What's up, Shoto?"

"Can I try some of your ice cream, please?"

Caught by surprise by Todoroki, you bit your lip. "Do you really want to?"

As he nodded, you brought your chair closer to him and scooped a bit of your ice cream with your plastic spoon. When Todoroki tasted it, you blushed, realising that this was an indirect kiss. It's a little childish of me to think about it that way, though.

"Not bad, but I prefer this strawberry one," Todoroki said, hunching over as he looked down at your rosy cheeks. Times like this made him doubt whether it was worth telling the world that he wanted you to be his.

---

You shivered, your hair still a little damp from swimming earlier today, as both of you came to a stop before the U.A. gates. "Bye-bye. I probably won't be able to see you before the training camp, but we can still keep in touch, okay?"

"Yeah, I understand. See you soon," Todoroki said, remembering that last time he had gone to see his mother, she had encouraged him to open up a bit more when he was around you. The ghost of her sweet smile burned in his mind as he struggled to find the right words. He should try and show how he felt, something he had become so used to hiding. Todoroki took his navy hoodie off, leaving him in his baggy t-shirt.

"Hey, (y/n)," he called after you.

You had only taken a few steps when you turned around, pushing your sports bag up your shoulder.

Todoroki pressed his lips together, still not certain of how to phrase it. "(y/n), I must admit that I'm not sure I know how relationships work. I also know I have said it before, but don't hold back if there's anything you want to tell me."

He extended his arms towards you with his hoodie neatly folded in his hands. You looked down at it with care before he explained himself, "I noticed you were cold."

"Are you sure you won't get cold? I haven't got to walk far."

Todoroki shook his head. "I've got my quirk for that, haven't I?"

"Thank you, Sho," you said, giddy with excitement as you put on his hoodie. Even though it was too big for you, its warmth and scent brought a smile to your lips.

"Sho?" he pointed at himself, still struggling to come to terms with your endearing nature.

You nodded. "Unless... you're not okay with it?"

"I like it. I might have to come up with a nickname for you, so we are on a level playing field."

You felt your heart thumping, your body almost moving on its own as you stood on your tiptoes next to Todoroki. His heterochromatic eyes widened when you gave him a light peck on the cheek.

You scratched the back of your neck as you took an awkward step back. "Let me know when you make up your mind, Sho. I'll wait for you as long as it takes," you said, not only referring to your nickname, but also in some ways as to what you currently meant to each other.

As Todoroki saw your figure growing smaller in the distance as you trotted away from him, he brought his hand to his cheek to touch where you had kissed him. When you turned around and gave him a wave, he dusted off his trousers with ease. But he felt like something wasn't quite right with you since your father had to be rushed to the emergency department at the hospital. Especially since you had told him about your dad losing his quirk. Your smile mirrored the one you had given him at the train station the day he had met you; one drowning in despair under the gleaming surface.

And he wanted to give you hope. Looking down at his left hand, he noted that you were putting your dreams on the line to care for your family, making him understand your vexation at the lack of action on the police's side. Little did both of you know that while their efforts had been planned to not let the cat out of the bag too soon, they might have underestimated the threat you were facing.