shoto todoroki x reader
anime | boku no hero academia
IT'S AS VIVID as yesterday. The crisp image of an empty seat in front of you, occupied on cozy coffee dates never left the mind whenever your gaze fell towards a particular spot you once loved sitting on, coffee at hand while having another idle chat. His face—dashing enough to make the billboards of every clothing brand in New York was always there whenever your eyes closed, even just for a little while, maybe a minute, or a mere second. The same, exact feeling of rain seeping through your shoes as you stood outside during a heavy downpour, watching him turn his back on you and walk until he was no more than another person in a crowd of bustling people.
And the ache, the oh-so-painful, indescribable ache; crushing your lungs slowly as you let out muffled cries with your back against the front door of your apartment, feeling so devastated. Everything felt too real to be part of yesterday, or the other day, or the other week.
"This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved, we cover the case of the Isdal woman, one of the most mysterious, cold cases of all time,"
It was a Friday night, which meant that it was time to bring out your most prized possession—a cheap wine glass you bought online for a decent price. You didn't need to rethink your decisions, knowing very well that you'd wake up to piles of wine bottles around your couch as well as a few stains of it on the floor. Drinking became your means of escape ever since that day, retching the euphoria you had borrowed from tomorrow afterwards in the toilet. All was good. Pretty much.
Ryan and Shane, you twist the cap off the first bottle of wine, thinking, are seriously the gayest of the gays, excluding Eugene from Try Guys, of course. It was important to note your weekend schedule: get home from work, get comfy and buy heaps of liquor and get alarming stares from the cashier and other people, drink and binge watch anything on YouTube that you found interesting. Weekends used to be so much fun before, but it can't be helped.
"Here's—" you take the wine glass's narrow stem in between your fingers, similar to those back in the posh days, and clinked it against the bottle, mimicking a toast. "—to forgetting him."
The fruity, sour taste felt good on your tongue. You've been craving for a glass the whole week while at work, and now was simply the best time to indulge. It didn't even matter that it was all you've been consuming for the last few weeks. Receipts from convenience store all had the same thing printed from your purchase: liquor. Liquor, liquor, liquor.
Someone was ringing at the front door. You sighed, leaning forward to pause the episode. Who on Earth visits me during a weekend? Of course there was only one person who did. Him. And there he was, standing outside of your door, completely soaked. It had been raining, apparently, but you were too occupied to even notice.
You frowned. "Ugh. What are you doing here?" You said, cocking your head in disgust.
He only stared back, his two, odd pair of eyes boring holes into yours was almost painful. After all this time, it was still, unfairly beautiful. Looking away, you said, "Get out."
"No."
He just kept his eyes on your face, staring hard, as if he'd never seen you before and had caught his attention. Only, it had happened years ago. "Please. I just need a place to stay for now."
You crossed your arms. "Why here?"
"Because you're the only one I can count on," he replied. "Everyone's gone ever since."
Your lips stretched into a small grin. Ah, you thought. Must've suffered a lot of consequences after that. "You should've thought twice before making that mistake, Shoto," you quipped. Deciding to shut him out for the better, you reached for the door handle. "Now run along. You're not gonna gain anything from talking to me."
However, Shoto wasn't going to walk away easily. He placed a foot beside the door, stopping you from shutting him out completely. A look of desperation painted his face, and he leaned in, closing a huge amount of space between the two of you once more. You could smell the hint of cologne and rain on him, making you feel strangely nostalgic.
"Please. Just this time, (Y/N)."
(Y/N). It was your name, coming from his lips—the one that you loved kissing so much. It felt so weird hearing it being said by someone who used to love you as much as you did to them. Has it been that long since you last heard his voice? You could barely remember how sweet it could sound, when it was barely morning and you and him were huddled on the couch, watching Friends on his Netflix account.
"Fine." Oh. What were you saying, exactly? What was this force swelling deep inside of you, urging you to open the door wider for him to come in, welcome him and say, 'Welcome home,' after a long day of work? You didn't know, and what's worse, was that you didn't even question why.
At that moment, you took your very words you said during your toast—"Here's to forgetting him." Right now he was in front of you, not a thousand miles away, not a city apart, but inches from you. Your heart felt so full, you were scared it might overflow, and then you'd have to put it all back inside for the second time.
A tear slipped from the corner of your eye. "Todoroki Shoto, I missed you."
***
That night, he took something away from you—one that you once gave to him a long, long time ago. He was a thief; leaving after he had obtained something valuable. He walked out of the door quietly, when he thought you weren't awake, but sadly, you were.
You stood up from the couch, wearing only your undergarments and clothes at hand, and walked towards the door. The more you remembered the sound of it clicking close the more something spilled from you. The little amount of dignity and happiness you were saving for yourself, and only yourself, was all gone, and not a single drop was left. Everything was once again, empty.
Sinking down to the cold floor, you began to cry. Even though you were all alone, you still didn't have the courage to wail out loud and ease the ache inside your ribs. Perhaps your mistake was that you were too naive. Too keen on the drug-like experience love gave. Too caught up in your heartstrings that you didn't notice how someone had cut it all off at once.
[ a/n ; spontaneously written. hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for more! ]
