You paced up and down your room at the dorms, your heart speeding up the more you thought about what you had found under the guest bed at the Todoroki household on Sunday morning by accident.

A small velvet box.

And there was nothing more than a beautiful promise ring inside it. It didn't take long for you to connect the dots and gather that it was meant for you, for it had your name carved inside it.

As you still wanted to keep chatting to Todoroki without bringing it up and couldn't get a coherent sentence out, you decided to do the next best thing. Which of course, was spam him with adorable pictures of the tabby kitten, Aki.

Hearing knocking at your door, you shoved your phone in your pocket. With a spring in your step, you put on the first hoodie you found, which happened to be Todoroki's navy blue one.

But, as you reminded yourself of who you were meeting to study together, you pulled it over your shoulders and picked up a different one.

As you were about to open the door, Yaoyorozu voiced, "Hello, (y/n). Apologies, I'm slightly early. I was excited that you would join our study session."

Your eyes brightened, and you gently picked Aki up from the floor, making her let out a sweet purr. "No worries, Momo. You're not allergic to cats, right?"

Yaoyorozu took a step back as you opened the door. She tugged on the sleeves of her cream jumper, shifting a tad in her place, not entirely confident of how she should treat you. "No, why do you ask if you don't mind telling me?"

"Well, I might not be the best study partner ever, but Aki is." You flashed her a bright smile, adjusted your school bag over your shoulder, and let Aki tail after the two of you once you shut the door behind you.

---

At the girls' changing rooms the following morning, you fidgeted with the edges of the scarf over your hero costume, still thinking about the promise ring. Yes, you could ask Todoroki about it outright, but would that ruin the surprise, or worse, make him regret getting it?

Given that you had found it on Sunday morning, he must have bought it before you told him about the drawback of your quirk you were yet to sort out.

Maybe, because of everything that had gone down since, he didn't want to give it to you anymore?

Heat rose to your cheeks as his words resonated in your ears. I don't want to do something that makes things harder on you. I respect you, and I want to treasure you.

Thankfully, Ochaco noticed your breathing beginning to spiral out of control- a sign that she had learnt to acknowledge as you started to freak out. So, she snapped you out of your thoughts by waving a hand before your face.

Once she got your attention, she put her hands behind her back as she tilted her head to the side. "So you're friends with Momo now?"

You took a shaky breath in, steading yourself before you nodded.

She zipped up her hero costume at once. "Oh, my days, by the same logic, does this mean you're going to apologise to Bakugo as well?"

"Maybe we can ditch logic for a bit, Ochaco," you found yourself saying as you shut your locker with a bit more force than you would have wanted.

"Yeah, sorry." Ochaco puffed out her chubby cheeks. "Some things just don't need to make sense?"

For some reason, Ochaco's words reminded you of something that didn't make sense to you at all; that time at the girls' toilet when you had overheard Yaoyorozu say that you were leading on Bakugo of all people. And that was an issue which could end up hurting Todoroki, so you wanted to make sure to wrap your head around it.

You lowered your voice, allowing the noise of locker doors shutting and water running from the showers to make your conversation go unheard by others. "Ochaco, what does my relationship with Bakugo look like to you? I'd say it's nonexistent, but I've had other people tell me otherwise."

"Oh, I'm not sure?" She yelped. After a few moments of gathering her thoughts as she picked some cat hairs from the fabric of your hero costume, she added, "Um, yeah, he hates you because he hates everyone, but he seems to tolerate you a tiny bit more than most? Well, that was until a few weeks ago when you two had a fight, I think?"

You had been ignoring him, so her answer matched your version of the truth. "Yeah, true. He owes me an apology, but things did get a lot better with Momo once we talked things through."

"You apologised to her after she talked badly about you behind your back?" Ochaco stole a few furtive glances at said girl's corner of the changing rooms, earning her a kind wave from the black-haired girl as she headed out.

"Yeah, you're right," you said, aware that Yaoyorozu's presence had left the room, yet not wanting to bad-mouth her.

"Woah, (y/n), that's great!" Ochaco jumped a few times and gave you a thumbs up. "It's not good keeping grudges because they always end up making people feel worse, so I'm glad you guys agreed to it."

A heavy feeling settled on your chest. Bakugo had never made so much of an effort to be friends with you, but Ochaco was right. He treated you differently. He didn't acknowledge half the class when they spoke to him, but whenever you ignored him, he tried to get your attention as if he deserved it, much to your annoyance.

You suspected that there was a small chance that talking things through with the explosive boy would help ease some of the stress involved in every interaction you had with him.

But, despite the fact that you had a feeling that this would help you overcome the newly discovered drawback to your quirk, you would consult with Recovery Girl before putting your neck on the line.

---

The next day, the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. Chairs screeched as the rest of the class shoved them under their desks and rushed out.

While you hadn't managed to address Bakugo throughout the whole day, your stomach churned when he narrowed his eyes at you.

And, even though you had Todoroki's blessing to talk to Bakugo so that you could reconnect and, in an ideal world, finally be on good terms with each other, your words got caught at the back of our throat.

Fed up with waiting for you to say something, Bakugo huffed and shoved his books in his bag. "Slowcoach, if you want to stay here, then that's on you. So, just fuckin' spit it out already, won't you?"

"What I wanted to say was... " You paused, as you noticed the veins popping on his forehead. Perhaps, you should have been prepared for him to become violent?

Bakugo gritted his teeth when he noticed the concern flash through your face. He hated anyone who pitied him with a passion. And why you always found a way to get on his nerves was beyond him, mainly when you ignored him, as you had since that day you two had that petty fight in the corridor.

Bakugo resisted the urge to kick a table, but he clenched his hands into fists until his knuckles became white. "Hah? What the fuck are you muttering about? You hung out so much with that shitty nerd, you became him? Fuckin' Deku."

"All I wanted to say was that I'm sorry!" you snapped back.

Bakugo's mouth dropped at first, stunned. Sorry? For what? Had he overestimated you? Or were the rest of your classmates about to flood into the room and tell him it had just been a lame prank?

"Oh, yeah." You let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I didn't mean to shout at you, all I wanted was to clear the air between us. I've been struggling with my quirk recently, and Recovery Girl told me that a way to help with this stupid drawback is to decrease the stress coming from relationships."

"What the fuck? So now you think we have a goddamn relationship?"

You froze at his harsh words.

Instead, Bakugo's crimson eyes roamed the classroom until they made it to you. Why did you always have to get involved?

Just when he thought he had gained control over these wretched one-sided feelings for you, you had to go and make things harder for him.

Hell, he wanted to hate you. But hanging out with you made him hate himself even more, because it made him question himself too much about what he could never have with you.

If you could restart your time U.A., would you? Would you have ever picked Bakugo over Todoroki if he had made more of an effort? And would Bakugo feel better about himself if you hadn't picked anyone at all?

Having had enough, he turned on his heel and sauntered away from you. He ground his teeth, wanting to blow the first sorry ass that crossed his path into space.

But before he could make it to the door, you said, "We'll always be rivals, but I want things between us to get better. I'm not asking you to consider me as a friend."

Bakugo's face scrunched up in anger, until, tentatively, a smirk broke on his lips. "Dumbass," he seethed.

Yet, the irony his tone held told you that, perhaps, your attempt hadn't been in vain.

---

The next day, you tightened your grip on your pen, your mind drifting from the lined sheet of paper to Todoroki. As you hadn't managed to find the strength to ask Todoroki about the ring yet, you had resumed keeping all of your conversations light-hearted.

Even when both of you texted, the overwhelming trend was that it consisted of Todoroki's most random musings that cheered you up, and memes you found hilarious, but he didn't always understand.

Todobaby🥺❤️:
Hey, how are you doing?

(y/n) is typing...

(y/n) is typing...

(y/n) is typing...

(y/n):
I'm okay, hbu?

Todobaby🥺❤️:
Yes, me too.
When shall I meet you in the common room?

(y/n):
give me half an hour
and I'll be done! :'))

You still needed to finish working on one of the assignments you had missed because your quirk had become messier than ever before.

You tapped the pen against your chin a few times. As much as you wanted to pretend that nothing had changed between you and Todoroki, instead of having him draw further away from you, your bond had only deepened. As if having the risk of having to split up had made both of you reflect on your actions thus far, and see how much you meant to each other.

He had asked you to delay making the decision between him and becoming a hero in the hope that you two could find a solution that would let you have both, without you collapsing at the most inconvenient of times.

So, you gathered that he probably wouldn't mention the promise ring. Though the ring made you feel like the luckiest girl in the world, in some ways, you wished you hadn't found it.

Because you weren't meant to.

Because it felt too sudden?

Slapping your flushed cheeks, you shook your head and pushed your chair back. I can't finish this assignment if I keep thinking about him. I guess I might as well leave it for later?

---

Treading with care as you made sure Todoroki didn't hear your footsteps, you approached him.

While he stared out of the window, with his hands in his pockets, he stole absentminded glances at the lift, his heart fluttering with the expectation to see you again anytime soon.

Although this newfound feeling rattled him from time to time, he had learnt not to mind it, but cherish it. More than that, you gave him something to strive for, and for that, he was grateful.

Todoroki's view scanned the U.A. grounds, making the day of the Provisional Licensing Exam spark back into his mind. The panic that had seeped through him as he had carried your limp body back to the dorms returned for the slightest moment.

Yet, he rubbed his temples, trying not to dwell so much in the past.

The only way now was forward, he had decided. He needed to make sure that never happened again, and that he was on top of his game to be able to support you as you helped him through thick and thin.

Good thing I took the stairs, you noted, stopping in your tracks a few meters away from Todoroki.

A cheeky grin crept up to your face as you brought your phone in front of you, and zoomed into Todoroki's handsome features.

You snapped a few more photos before choosing your favourite one - one where his gaze looked so lost that it made you want to take his hand in yours and walk with him wherever he longed to go.

But before you could get more distracted by this epic, secret photoshoot, you sent him a picture with the first cheesy caption that came to mind: "You look so cute here, my peppermint boy."

A notification brought Todoroki back to reality. Seeing that you had sent him a message, his gaze softened.

He let out a barely audible gasp at the sight of himself, mild betrayal flashing through his eyes as he turned around to find you waving at him.

Todoroki placed his phone back into his pocket and took a step forward. "You really went there, didn't you?"

You let out a few laughs, which sounded more like a hyena wheezing. "Todobaby," you cooed, mocking his endearing attempts to give you a pet name. "Are you lost?"

"So that's how you're going to play." Todoroki rolled his eyes towards the corner of the room, strolling closer towards you.

Your hairs stood on end, reminding you of the times he had trapped you against a wall.

While you knew that both of you had grown away from doing that since that day you showed him how flustering it could be by pinning him against the classroom's wall, Todoroki's expression turned serious.

And that could only mean one thing. Crap, I'm in danger.

But Todoroki didn't come any nearer to you and sat on the sofa instead. He patted the seat next to him, pressing his lips together, deep in thought.

Deeming it safe enough, you plopped beside him. First mistake.

"Hey, I've got a surprise for you," Todoroki began. "Could you please close your eyes?"

You shot him a curious look and gulped. What if he was about to give you the promise ring?

Time seemed to stop as you held your breath. Of course, you trusted Todoroki, but you had had more than enough surprises to last you a lifetime recently. "How come?"

Todoroki shuffled closer towards you, gingerly looking away from you as he came up with a way to convince you. "I'm learning how to smile, and frankly, I would very much appreciate your feedback."

Though you furrowed your eyebrows at him, a part of you hoping that he would, in fact, give you a beautiful ring as a symbol of commitment to each other.

To Todoroki's amazement, you complied with his request, and you shut your eyes. Second mistake.

"Okay, I won't be a second." Todoroki pulled you closer towards him, and placed your frame on his lap, making your heart pound in your chest. He extended his phone in front of him so that he could take a picture of the two of you. "Ready. You may open your eyes now."

When you caught sight of Todoroki's lips curled into a tight-lipped smile and your widened eyes on the screen, your heart dropped.

The realisation that he wasn't giving you the ring washed away that bit of hope that lingered inside you. But you swiftly put a pillow in front of your face as you slid onto the sofa, refusing to get your picture taken.

Todoroki gave you a once-over, noticing that all colour had drained from your face. "Does this... make you uncomfortable?"

You blew out your cheeks. "I mean, I prefer to be the one taking pictures?"

"What's the matter?"

You met Todoroki's puzzled eyes, which bore deep into yours. Not that he lacked common sense, but seeing your chin dip to your chest led him to believe that something he had done disappointed you.

A wistful smile broke on your lips, not prepared to tell him exactly what you had imagined the surprise to be. "I don't really know. It might just be me, but you just looked like you were gonna tell me that you loved me."

"Because I was," he stated, plainly.

You jolted in your place, a few happy tears gathering at the corners of your (e/c) eyes. Had you not been in the common room, you would have already thrown your arms around his neck.

Enthralled by your reaction, Todoroki leaned in closer to your ear so that no one around you two could overhear. "I love you. Nothing can change that," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Sho." Your warm breath tickled his cheek.

Todoroki gently lifted your chin with his hand making you look at him. With your faces inches apart, his view traced down to your soft lips as you tilted your head to the side and leaned in.

Yet, you sensed a presence, so you pulled away from a taken aback Todoroki and pointed across the room.

Kaminari stood there, gaping.

But the electric boy made his hands into finger guns to dissipate the awkward booby trap he had set foot in and said, "So, rumour's out that (y/n) and Bakugo are now friends, and I just thought we could arrange a game night with the squad as a peace offering."

You nodded in acknowledgement, encouraging Kaminari to continue.

"Ah, and I'd tell you two to get a room, but something tells me that joke wouldn't sit well with either of you."

Both you and Todoroki exchanged a funny look. Though no sound escaped Todoroki, he mouthed 'are you lost, babygirl?', referencing when he had pulled you into bed with him, half-asleep.

You snorted at the inside joke and playfully elbowed Todoroki's arm, earning you a pleading side-long glance, as if he was asking you to reply to Kaminari because he didn't feel like it.

Kaminari raised his eyebrows and palms. "That was... something."

"Sorry, Kaminari." You put your hands together in front of you. "The game night sounds like fun."

The electric boy winked at you before he remembered the real reason why he had interrupted your moment with Todoroki. "Oh, right. Also, this may come as a letdown, but Mr Aizawa was looking for you, (y/n). I think he's still in the dining room."

Thanking Kaminari, you stood up from your seat. "I guess it can't be helped."
Todoroki nodded slowly, crestfallen.

Kaminari shrugged and strolled down the corridor, so you followed him at first. But then the thought of leaving Todoroki on his own when you had promised you'd chill with him had you going back to the common room. The least you could do was say goodbye to him properly.

Todoroki's lips parted in surprise as he caught sight of your figure approaching him. There was no way you had talked to Aizawa yet, so he asserted, "Did you forget something, my Love?"

You shuffled in your place as you waited for him to stand up out of respect for you thanks to his ingrained manners. Shaking your head, you pressed your lips together and beckoned to him.

In spite that he almost missed the cue, Todoroki kept steady eye contact with you. He lowered his head as you stood at the tips of your toes, tenderly trapping your sweet lips with his.

This sheer bliss lasted for a few moments for you distanced yourself from him. "That's what I forgot." You let out a small laugh before you turned around and looked at him over your shoulder. "Thanks for helping me find it."

"No... no problem." Todoroki's breath hitched, and that's when he realised that you had him wrapped around your finger.

After waving him goodbye, you hurried down towards the dining hall, not without getting offered a fancy cup of tea by Yaoyorozu, which you politely declined. You were already late for your homeroom teacher so you reckoned that any further delays would only annoy him more.

When you met Aizawa, his stern expression made your stomach turn into an anxious knot as some unpleasant memories from the weekend resurfaced.

I'm trying really hard to get better. And I decided I'm not giving up on Sho yet. You reassured yourself.

You planted your feet on the ground. "So you wanted to see me, Mr Aizawa."

He blinked a few times, his dry eyes acknowledging your presence.

Nevertheless, a quick analysis told him you had gone through enough to expect the bad cards he was about to deal you. "Yes, as your classmates already caught you up with what the studies will entail, all I have left to say is that you need to be at your hundred percent before you are allowed to take part."

"Yeah, I think I understand," you delivered, noting that your chat with Recovery Girl about how to fix your broken quirk had reached him, too.

And, though no one could say you weren't trying your hardest, you knew you had the potential to do better.

Aizawa droned on in his monotonous voice, "Nonetheless, the question is: are you prepared to join Asui's and Uraraka's team, knowing that your uncle has been allegedly linked to the case they will be working on?"