Solar Eclipse (TodoBakuDeku)

~12~

"Me and my family, we're different from others of our kind," Todoroki explained. "We only hunt animals."

We had found a small clearing filled with wildflowers after our rather intense conversation. Todoroki had started to answer any questions I had, filling in blanks I had otherwise been oblivious to.

"And you can survive like that?" I asked him, my knees pulled up to my chest as I swayed slightly.

He shrugged. "It's like a human living off of only tofu. It keeps us alive, but never quite satisfied. It wouldn't be like drinking your blood, for instance," he said with a sort of joking smile. I didn't get the joke, but he seemed proud of himself.

I looked over at him curiously. "Any human? Or just me?"

I had only asked because of how he acted during biology. He didn't seem to have that sort of reaction to anyone else. Maybe I was just thinking too much about it.

"Anyone, but especially you. Your scent... to put it lightly, is intoxicating. Like my own personal brand of heroin."

Okay, so maybe I wasn't overthinking.

I turned to fully face him, sitting up on my knees. "Why me? What is it about me?"

He blinked at me a few times, nearly as confused as I was, but shook his head. "I don't know. Honestly."

I slumped back down, feeling defeated by the answer.

There was quiet for a few moments before he sat up straight, looking down at me. "You're a mystery to me, I can't read your mind like the others. Tell me what you're thinking. Please?"

I thought for a second before looking back up and holding his gaze. "I'm scared," I admitted to him.

His shoulders sagged as he sank back to the ground in a devastating sort of way. "Good, you should be."

I let out a quiet laugh and rolled my eyes at his dramatics. It caught him off guard and he perked back up as I scooted closer to him. I took his head in mine, marveling at the cool temperature as I held it. "Not like that. I'm scared I'm going to lose you. That I'll wake up one day and you'll be gone."

We stared into each other's eyes, his were a bright gold that morning. I wasn't yet sure why his eyes changed color, I'd have to remember to ask later.

He hesitantly brought his free hand up to my face, cupping my cheek. I leaned into the touch, closing my eyes for a few seconds.

"And so the lion fell for the lamb," he mumbled.

"Stupid lamb," I said with a smile.

He laughed softly. "Sick masochistic lion."

(There Mercy, I added the line)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, as I lay in bed, I thought through all of the things that had turned upside down in my world. All of the certains that were no longer so sure.

But there were three things I was absolutely positive about.

I pulled myself from my bed, slipping on a hoodie as I walked over to my mirror.

One, Todoroki was a vampire.

I messed with my unruly hair. I wasn't expecting to do much, but it didn't hurt to try.

Two, there was a part of him, however small or significant, that thirsted for my blood.

A thud from outside caught my attention. I walked over to my window and looked out, finding Todoroki leaning against his car in my driveway. I smiled as I looked down at him. I faintly saw one side of his mouth quirked up as he returned the gesture.

And three, I was falling unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We skipped class again that day. I wasn't too worried about falling behind, seeing as my old school was a little further ahead than Forks. I already knew what we were learning in most of my classes.

We ended up on a coastline on the other side of town. It was empty seeing as it was early morning in the middle of the week. We found a nice spot by a rocky pier, looking out over the ocean, and took a seat.

"So how long have you been like this?" I asked him, watching the waves come in and back out.

He let out a puff of air. "Since eighteen nineteen. That's when Aizawa found me."

"Where'd he find you?"

"In a hospital, dying of the Spanish flu."

From the little details he gave, I could tell he didn't enjoy remembering it. My curiosity was too great though, and I knew he understood that.

"What was it like?" I asked while messing with some of the rocks below us.

"Excruciating seems like a good fit," he said plainly, with little emotion. "But what Aizawa did was much harder."

I tilted my head slightly in question. "Why? Didn't he just have to... bite?"

He shook his head. "It's not that simple. It's a bite, yes, but the taste of blood... it sends us into a frenzy of sorts. It's nearly impossible to stop. Not many of us have the restraint to do it."

"But Aizawa did."

"First with me, then with his husband, Yamada. The others came later."

I nodded, taking in all the information.

We ended up walking down the coastline some more, both of us seemed reluctant to stay stagnant for too long. As we walked, I kept up the questions. "Does someone have to be dying... to become like you?"

Todoroki shook his head, his eyebrows knitted together as he stared at the ground ahead of us.
"No, that's just Aizawa. He wouldn't do this to someone who had another choice."

"So Aizawa is the reason you hunt animals then, right?"

He stopped walking, making me still and look back at him in question. "He's not the only reason."

There was a pause, so I nodded to encourage him to keep going.

"I don't want... to be a monster."

I grabbed his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Good thing you're not then."

He flashed me a small smile before we continued our walk, hand in hand. 

"So can all of you... read minds?" I asked curiously, peeking up at him. 

He shook his head with the faintest smile. "No, that's just me. Yaoyorozu can see the future though." 

Way to just casually drop that bomb. 

I scoffed quietly, kicking at a loose rock in front of me. "Bet she saw me coming from a mile away." 

Todoroki stopped walking then, making me look back at him with concern. "Her visions... they're subjective. The future can always change." He was looking at me resolutely. I guessed there was something he planned to change. 

Are we surprised that I came back just to finish the twilight parody? The answer should be no, this was completely expected.