【ｇｈｏｓｔ】| shoto todoroki x oc

~family?~

nervously, i tap my knuckles three times on the hard wooden surface. i wait, time ticking down in my brain and my palms growing more and more more sweaty. shoto wasn't allowed to come with me, so this task is proving to be a lot more difficult than i first thought.

"for fucks sake, these heroes just can't get enough can they?" i hear a loud, husky voice of complaint from inside.

after a lot of awkward silence, in which all i could hear was my own uneasy breathing, the door swings open to reveal a very tired jin bubaigawara, wearing a white vest and grey joggers. his mask is fully off, and he yawns as he scratches the top of his head, ruffling his messy, dirty blonde hair. it takes him a moment to ingest who i was, but when he does his eyes widen.

"yurei!?" his mouth widens into a large grin as he beckons me to come inside hurriedly, "oy, kid! we got a guest."

"is it eraserhead?" i hear a terrified voice originating from upstairs.

"no, it's not, so stop shitting yourself and get down here!" he demands, grabbing a cigarette packet from his pocket and pulling one out, resting it in between his lips, "god, it's good to see you."

he pulls out two chairs at the dining table, and plops himself on one of them. i parrot his motion, sitting on the other chair, and peering around the room. the heroes gave them a disclosed, temporary home- one that no one would ever suspect to be a hideout, simply because it's just a normal house placed in the suburbs. the entirety of it feels homely, from the magnets on the fridge to the shoe rack by the front door, which is coloured a pleasing mint green colour. the dining room connects with the kitchen, acting as just a simple table and chairs placed by the back door, which leads into a nicely tamed garden.

"did you decorate the place?" i ask him, and he laughs slightly.

"wish i did, though i have been doing some gardening. keeping myself busy, y'know?" he stares at the table surface blankly, pulling out a candle lighter from his pocket.

"yeah, it looks really nice," i say, admiring the bright blue flowers and almost ripe strawberries that i can see through the crack in the back door, "how is it, living here?"

"shinsou loves the place, loves the fresh air, loves his room... i guess you could say he loves the freedom," he shrugs, smiling slightly.

"and how about you?" i ask.

"eh y'know, i have good and bad days, but i've always had that. the nightmares are less frequent, which is good. i think about you a lot, we've really missed you kid," he tells me, looking directly into my eyes. i can't help but notice the stitches connecting his forehead. i'd seen them before, but before he had always had his mask on or his face had been hidden away. i can't help but notice that he looks slightly melancholy, of course he's always looked slightly sad when his mask is off, but this time it feels different, even his voice seems a little more dull.

"i've missed you both too, i've been worried sick about what you've been doing, or if you were alright," i smile at him, looking around, "but this place doesn't look so bad."

"it's more than enough, especially after what i did, i guess heroes aren't as bad as i first thought, huh?" he puffs on his cigarette, creating large clouds of smoke that slowly float out of the open window.

i hear creaks coming from the stairs becoming louder and louder, and i twist around on my chair until i spot a purple streak first appear in the doorway.

shinsou stops mid-step, obviously shocked at my presence.

"yurei?" he almost squeaks.

"hello shin, i thought i'd pay you two a visit, since i'm finally allowed to," i tilt my head at him, and his mouth stretches into a smile.