Matters of the Family (Pro-Hero Shoto Todoroki x Reader)

ℝ𝕠𝕜𝕚

It was now common practice that, after the café closed and you'd cleaned up, Todoroki would come over to spend some time with Amai and tell her all the stories of growing up with Endeavour as a father, although you couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't telling her everything. She'd even got so comfortable around him that she'd dropped the Mr and now just called him Roki, which was quite sweet. Today was no different than the others. You woke up, got dressed, woke Amai ready for her tutoring and then got the café ready to open. It wasn't until you caught sight of the date on the calendar that your heart dropped. It was your least favourite day of the year. You had no idea why everyone made such a big fuss out of it. You'd never understood why being born was such a huge achievement that it had to be celebrated every year. It was, of course, your birthday. There was only three people in your life who had ever celebrated your birthday. They were your mum, your dad, and him. Amai's father. He always managed to arrange to come and see Amai around your birthday and he always brought something. No matter how many times you told him you didn't want or need anything from him and that he should save his money for Amai's birthday, he always brought you something. It varied most years. You'd get a new watch or some fancy chocolates or some expensive wine or a meal voucher for a fancy new restaurant, but the one thing that stayed the same were the bunch of beautiful blue flowers he brought every year. You had no idea whether they were expensive or not but it was usually the only part of the gift he brought that you enjoyed. He'd told you once that they were his mother's favourites. Turns out they were your favourites too. They didn't have much of a scent to them but they just looked so pretty. They also had a bitter side to them thought. Their intense blue reminded you of his quirk. Every time you thought of it the scar on your face throbbed, as if your body was reminding you of why you left him in the first place. You shook your head, dispelling all thoughts of him as you focussed on the first customers to walk through the doors.

You were quite tired by the end of the day, but you knew that there was one more thing you needed to do. After cleaning the café and locking the front doors you headed into the back to find Amai. You found her in her room, lying on her bed talking to her Endeavour doll. You gently knocked and leaned against the doorway, smiling. "Hey peach, guess what day it is today." She sat up and seemed to think really hard before shrugging. You couldn't help but smile more before coming into her room and perching on the edge of her bed. "It's Mamma's birthday, so guess what we've gotta go do." Her face brightened as she shot off the bed, jumping up and down with a huge smile on her face. "We've gotta go visit Grandma and Grandpa!" She grabbed your hand and tried to drag you out of the door. She loved visiting your parents. It's something you both did around 4 times every year. You visited on both of your birthdays, Christmas and New Years. You both pulled on your shoes and jackets as today was a little cold. Amai insisted on bringing her doll. You grabbed your purse, phone and keys before leading Amai outside and locking the back door. You take her hand in yours as you both make your way down the streets.

It doesn't take long to get to where you need to be. It was their wish to be close to you so you made sure they were buried close to your café. There was a graveyard just down the road from where you lived so it didn't take you guys long to get there after making a quick stop to buy some flowers. You layed the flowers in front of the shared gravestone and smiled. Your mother had passed away just before Amai was born but your father had been able to meet Amai before he passed. Amai had adored her Grandpa as a baby, and he adored her just as much. You had been an only child all of your life, your mother and father had never expressed any want to have any more children so once you'd grown up they never thought they'd have another baby in the house. your father always told you that your mother would have loved Amai, and you were sure that she would have. You sat back on the grass as Amai rambled on and on, talking about what she'd been doing since New Years. When the sun began to set you decided it was best to take Amai home before it got too dark. You picked up takeaway on the way home because you really couldn't be bothered to cook. As you rounded the corner to your café your eyes widened. Leaning against the front door was none other than Todoroki. You hadn't been expecting him. As you came closer he looked up and smiled at you. "Hey, I texted you but you didn't answer and then I heard from a really sweet old lady that I was your birthday so I figured you might have been busy but I wanted to give you this." He held out a cute pink gift bag, lined with feathers. You couldn't help the smile that spread on your face as you chuckled. You took the bag from his outstretched hand and ignored the blush on his cheeks. "Would you like to come in? I bought takeout and I can guarantee we won't eat it all." He smiled and nodded, following you around to the back of the shop after picking up Amai who had insisted she carry him. She started rambling again about how you'd just gone to visit your parents. Todoroki chuckled. "How were they?" Your keys stopped in the lock as you turned to him, about to explain when Amai shook her head. "Silly Roki, of course they're okay, they're having a party up in heaven." Todoroki's face fell. "I....I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to.." You can't help but laugh. You didn't mean it to be rude but you really couldn't help it. "It's fine. It's not something you should have just known, relax." You finished unlocking the door and pushed it open, kicking off your shoes before heading through into the living room. Todoroki placed Amai down before taking off his own shoes and following her into the living room where you began setting out the food. 

It was nice having a meal together. You all laughed and joked, giggling at Amai's antics. Once all the food was eaten Amai began to get sleepy which meant she got super clingy. This usually meant she stuck herself to you but this time she wouldn't let go of Todoroki. Eventually, she fell asleep with her head against his left leg. He looked down at her and smiled. "She's really cute, huh?" You smiled at the way he instinctively lowered his voice so he didn't disturb her. You quietly stood up. "Help me put her to bed? I don't think she'd be too impressed if I moved her off you." He nodded and gently picked her up, carrying her through to her bed and tucking her in. She stirred a little before cuddling up to her Endeavour doll and settling back down. You leaned against the doorway and watched him gently brush some of the white hair from her face before he stood and came back over to you so that you could close her door and let her sleep. You smiled softly as you headed back through to the living room to clean up the remains of the takeaway. Todoroki being the gentleman he is, obviously helped you with this. You thanked him once you were done but your gut was telling you that you didn't want him to leave. Your brain came up with a last ditch effort to get him to stay. "Do you....wanna stay and have a drink with me? I don't really wanna crack open a bottle of wine by myself." To your joy, he agreed. 

A/N: I've hidden clue number one to Amai's father's identity in this chapter. Have fun finding it!!