A/N
Guess who's back from the shortest hiatus in history owo

Thank you all for your lovely ideas in the last chapter. I've tried my best to add in as many as I could, so I hope you enjoy it.

Also, if you haven't already, please check out ShriQuinn 's fantastic book called 'Writings of a Peppermint Boy.' They kindly offered up a cute character that will come into play from this chapter on.

Thank you all for reading :))

---

Todoroki could not let you know he was crumbling slowly. He tapped on his leg, attempting to distract himself, as his father's words echoed in his mind. He was still processing the scene of you and Bakugo fighting against each other. It just didn't make sense to him. But what troubled him the most now was that the Provisional Licensing Exam was looming over him.

"Sho, please. Hear me out," you said, reaching out for his hand.

Yet, Todoroki crossed his arms over his chest. While he looked away from you, to the corner of the large, concrete Gym Gamma, you spotted that there was something he was trying to hide.

The alarm blared a few times, signalling the end of Aoyama's and Tsu's turn against Iida and Ojiro. You smoothed your brand-new (f/c) capturing weapon you wore as a scarf, trying to pull yourself together. Todoroki's silence stung like hell. He had yet again put up the ice walls that you thought you had managed to bring down.

Even as you ambled towards Bakugo - your partner for today's hero training exercise - you longed to fix what had fallen to pieces. Maybe, that's why when you stood beside Bakugo, his jarring words reached you.

"Oi, (y/n), about earlier..." An apology from his part was overdue, but you knew well that that was too much to expect from the explosive boy. "You've never even seen me, but I don't fuckin' wanna mess with you two."

You tilted your head to the side, not understanding what he meant by 'seeing him.' Conflicted, you bit your lower lip. Bakugo wasn't exactly your friend. You had always associated him with the primary school bullies that had also driven you over the edge.

Bakugo had finally come to terms with the fact that you would never look at him the way you looked at Todoroki. In a wavering whisper, Bakugo expressed what had driven him to push you around for such a long time. This was the only way he had learnt to express his repressed feelings in his violent household. "The only thing I fuckin' want is for you to see me for who I am, you dumbass."

Bakugo's buff shoulders shrank due to another defeat since he joined U.A. He hated himself for that: failing and letting himself down again... All while you, and even Midoriya, seemed to smile so brightly and kept pushing past any hurdles you came across.

You stopped stretching your arms when you realised that Bakugo didn't believe that he was better than everyone. He dreaded that others thought that he wasn't good enough, that he was in any way inferior. So... Bakugo wants me to see him as a rival?

"I think I do see you that way now, Bakugo. We still need to make a plan to confront Deku and Tokoyami."

Bakugo huffed. "Always so goddamn practical about everything, huh? You and that damned Icy-Hot bastard are so fuckin' similar yet so different. Like you were made to break the shit out of each other's hearts."

Stealing a glance over your shoulder, you met Todoroki's icy eyes, making a heavy feeling settle on your chest. You had been dating Todoroki for almost a month, but, for the faintest of moments, the fear that you didn't really know him struck you.

"Damn it." Bakugo let out an exasperated sigh. "I know I've been a fuckin' dickhead to you. I've fuckin' messed up more times than I care to count."

You gritted your teeth as you remembered the time Bakugo had destroyed your precious music box. Todoroki had blamed himself for it. The fact that Todoroki hid so much of himself when he was around you made your head hurt, so you placed your hands over your ears to calm yourself down.

"I would never fuckin' break your heart," Bakugo said, in a barely audible whisper.

He gulped as he eyed you by his side, but you were far too overloaded thinking about Todoroki to hear the ash-blond boy. "Did you say something, Bakugo?"

"No." He adjusted his sleeveless tank-top, trying to obscure his wounded pride from you. He didn't stand a chance; he was far too late for that.

---

Should I have gotten him video games instead? I'm not sure if he's a fan of them, though. You put your purse back into your pocket and stepped outside of the convenience store. Though it still hurt that Todoroki had been so quiet around you since yesterday, you had made up your mind to prepare for your one-month anniversary. It had been a while since you cooked anything, but you were going to put your best effort to learn and give him something he would like. Homemade cookies and soba, you had decided.

Wait... what if I made him a soba bath? Would that be too much? You let out a laugh as another idea came to mind. Or maybe I could have gotten him an album by that famous artist who sings 'Hot and Cold.'

The street winded over the hill, the sound of your steps echoing as you pushed your shopping bag further up your shoulder. It weighed you down a bit due to the bag of flour, the excellent soba and vegetables. You sped up, now giddy with excitement to get to the dorms, hoping to see Todoroki smile once again.

But then you heard some small whimpering cries by a wooden bench. Furrowing your eyebrows, you stepped to the side and knelt down. Out of the blue, you became aware of the fuzzy life energy emanating from the weather-beaten cardboard box. Worried that there was some animal trapped in there, you opened it.

A tabby cat.

The kitten rubbed her pink nose with its paw, staring at you in curiosity. She still hadn't realised that she had been left to fend for herself when all her brothers and sisters had been taken into a loving home earlier that day.

As you picked the small kitten from the box, she stopped whimpering, but she tensed up at your touch. The image of Todoroki was the first thing that popped into your mind. It reminded you of the first time you hugged Todoroki's touch-starved self, on that bench, a few blocks away from U.A. after going to the cinema. You had felt it from that first embrace: you wanted to do anything in your power to be there for him. The kitten's fur felt soft as you patted her head, behind the natural M-shaped marking on her forehead.

You studied the box and the note that said to take the cats because they were unwanted. You found it so unfair that someone would so willingly get rid of them. Life is precious. You can't gain anything without first giving something in return. I should know that better than most.

"What should I call you, little one?" You noticed that the kitten shut his eyes, falling asleep in his weak state. As a dim light shone from your hands while you donated some of your life energy to him, the kitten let out the sweetest of meows you had ever heard. "Oh, or how about I let Sho decide? I'm sure he'll like you a lot. He hasn't settled on a nickname for me yet, though."

---

Todoroki leaned against your closed door, deciding whether he should knock on it or not. He loosened his collar, struggling to control his breathing as he heard that endearing voice you reserved for him.

"I really hope Mr Aizawa doesn't find out, but I might have to ask him for permission, so you don't get kicked out." You stroked the tabby kitten behind her head. Then, you placed some newspapers on the floor at the corner of your room so that they could serve as a temporary litter tray.

Though Todoroki didn't want to think about the worst, he fretted that he knew who was in your room. He heard your kind voice again followed by some lively giggles, "What if I call you Kat? Nah, Kat sounds way too much like Katsuki."

The colour drained from his face, as his heterochromatic eyes widened. What if he was someone you didn't want around? Todoroki couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal, which made it even more painful to walk down the corridor, back to his room.

---

You steadied yourself, as you held your tray in your hands. Todoroki was nowhere to be seen, again. Nothing hurt more than acknowledging that even after your many attempts to talk to him, so you could make up, he was still avoiding you.

Mina patted you on your back, as you sat down next to her. Smiling back at her didn't feel right, not when you didn't know what had made Todoroki distance himself from you.

After dinner, you lied on your bed, staring at the ceiling. You heard knocking at your door and stood up to hide the kitten who napped next to you. But you recognised Todoroki's presence as he knocked again.

You made your bed and straightened out the clothes you were wearing to make yourself look presentable. Opening the door a bit, you said, "Do you wanna talk? I can come meet you soon."

Todoroki pushed your door open. "If you let me in, we can talk here."

His harsh tone made you take a step back. "Wait, Sho. What if we get caught?"

"(y/n), I don't care about any of that right now. You let Bakugo in, so why not let me in?"

"W-what? That's not true. You know boys are not allowed in girls' rooms, and I'd never do that to you." Though your voice broke, you let Todoroki sit next to you on your bed. You hugged yourself in shock, trying to occupy the least space you could.

Todoroki glanced at the kitten. She scratched her grey stripped back against one of the legs of your desk, which had some drafts of letters addressed to Todoroki sprawled on it. "Why is that cat here?"

"Oh." You were about to ruin the surprise. But by this point, that didn't matter anymore, as you didn't want to hide the truth from him. "Happy almost one-month anniversary?"

"Did you, by any chance, think about calling her Kat?"

"Yeah, but I thought you'd be able to come up with a better name," you admitted. You stood up and lifted the kitten from the floor so she could meet Todoroki. "You need to be careful. She doesn't trust people very easily. She'd been abandoned when I found her."

"Thank God." Todoroki covered his mouth, shaking his head. A pang of guilt hit him as he realised that he was such a bad boyfriend to even imagine you would see Bakugo behind his back. When Todoroki locked eyes with you, as you took care of the cute kitten in your scratched arms, he suddenly felt more at home than he ever had. "How about Aki? I always wanted to name my cat that, if I ever had one. To add, it matches the colour of her fur perfectly."

"Yeah, that's a beautiful name."

Todoroki stroked Aki's back, earning him a grateful purr. "By the way, I didn't forget about our anniversary. My gift to you hasn't arrived yet."

"It's okay, Sho. I should've talked about it with you, but I wanted it to be a surprise. Like the surprises you've given me." You gently placed Aki on the floor so you could sit next to Todoroki.

Letting out a deep breath, he relaxed his shoulders and leaned his head on your shoulder. "You make it difficult for me not to overthink. You make it look so easy, but do you know how hard it is for me to open up to you? Even when I said I wouldn't keep you in the dark about myself anymore..."

You held on to your oversized sleeves, tears threatening to escape your eyes. I have to be strong so that Shoto can rely on me. I don't want him to see me cry, even if this is our first fight. You still hadn't been able to explain the grim memories that had made you react with such violence against Bakugo only a few days ago. "Please, don't beat yourself up like that. I understand it's hard."

Todoroki brought his arm over your shoulder, bringing you closer to him to soothe you. "Even when I get annoyed at you, I still love you. I don't know when to quit, do I?"

"No, you don't." Seeing his dejected expression, you dug out the paper bag with the failed batch of chocolate cookies from your school bag. "This was my first attempt, but I'm sure I'll get there before Saturday. I'm not a quitter, either."

Recognising that you had put so much effort into making something special for him was enough to lift his mood. "(y/n), I... didn't want to believe my feelings for you at first. I didn't want to believe that I could lose you, which makes me want to train even harder to become the greatest hero."

You wrapped your arms around him, putting your cheek against his chest, allowing you to hear his steady heartbeats. "You'll be number one, Sho. You're my number one already."

Todoroki rested his chin on top of your head, as he tightened his grip on you, holding on as if he would never let go. He rubbed his temples, feeling silly that he ever doubted you. "Hm. I'm always telling you not to trust people so easily. Maybe, I was wrong. I am the one who needs to learn to trust."

"We're both learning from each other, bit by bit?" You looked up to him, brushing his bangs away from his eyes. The second you touched his scar, he straightened his spine. "Sho, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

To your amazement, Todoroki took hold of your hand and pressed it against the left side of his face. Your fingers trailed across the hardened, fibrous skin that screamed of the agony he had endured his whole life. Todoroki wanted to warn you about what Endeavor had told him the last time he went home. However, he stopped himself as he cherished this unusually comforting moment. How many times did he need to keep it inside?

Nothing healed the past like time, though some of the scars of the past were more challenging to erase. Even though this thought chased Todoroki as he shut your door behind him, he noticed someone stood at the end of the corridor. With no excuse to spit out, Todoroki clenched his fists, as an unimpressed Aizawa raised an eyebrow at him. To say that both of you were in trouble would be an understatement.