You Are My Stars - Tododeku

Day 15: A Test of Bravery

December 15th

Two days before

“Izuku?” asked Inko, her plate of apples clattering to the floor.

Midoriya and Todoroki broke apart from their embrace, and they both turned to Inko. Midoriya’s face was as white as paper.

It was hard to tell, but Todoroki was an observant person. Izuku’s hands began to tremble.

The only sound that responded to the tension was the washing machine churning in the other room.

“Mom.. this is.. not how I wanted you to find out..” Izuku began, taking a small step closer. He enclosed his hands around his mother’s, like a clam would. “This is Shouto Todoroki,” he repeated, like how he had first introduced him. Now that he was in a better state of mind, a shaky grin widened across his cheeks. It looked more like he was terrified beyond belief, but he always smiled in extreme times. “We’ve gotten to know each other since the Sports Festival. Then at the hotel, he helped me out. I was soaking wet in all the cold. He’s not scary.”

Todoroki sure did look scary, appearance-wise. He was intimidating when it came to his muscles, and how he didn’t smile very often. His blue eye could send chills down your spine, and the scar that resided on his eye made it look like he had gotten into a nasty fight. While he demonstrated himself being a cold person, there was more underneath that. Midoriya had helped to find what he had tried to cover.

Inko had a reason to be scared before, but she trusted her son. They had formed an unbreakable bond once Izuku’s father disappeared, nearly seventeen years ago. Never once had Izuku lied to her, so she had no reason to be suspicious. She tentatively reached out, and brushed the bristles of hair out of Todoroki’s face, and then settled her hand on his cheek. Todoroki remained calm. He was feeling scared, but reacting would only disturb her trust in him.

He did what Izuku would do, and he presented a gentle smile.

Inko’s muscles in her face relaxed, and she finally broke into a smile. Todoroki was easily able to tell that Inko and Izuku were related because of how much their smiles resembled each other’s. Their eyes and their hair matched, too.

Todoroki towered over Inko, so she had to balance on her tiptoes to look him in the eyes. “You better take good care of him. He’s my only son. I am sure that he’s happy with you, though. That’s all I want for him. So I expect to see you a lot more.” She let go of Todoroki, and smiled back at Izuku. “Was Ochaco just a girl you wanted to impress me with?”

“No!” Izuku waved his hands frantically, shaking his head. “No, no, no. She’s a whole other story. I wouldn’t use someone like that, I promise.”

“Okay! Okay.” Inko laughed. “I was just wondering..” She returned her attention to Todoroki. “Speaking of coming back over, would you like to come over next week? I can make dinner, if you’d like.”

“Mom! Are you trying to ask him out for me!?” Izuku cried in disbelief.

Inko patted Izuku’s shoulder, calming him down. “I just want to get to know Todoroki more. If you wanted to go on a date beforehand, though, I’d have no problem. I don’t think I’ll even be home before dinner at that time.”

“Why’s that? Is this about All Might?”

“Toshinori? No, no.” Inko’s cheeks flushed.

So that’s where Izuku gets it from.

“Mom, I know that there’s something you’re not telling me,” Izuku probed, smiling.