Todoroki One-Shots that were supposed to be one shots but we see how that went

Finding a Snow Day Pt.2

He didn't find something. Didn't even try. He sat in his white turtle neck and long coat alone while he finished up some of the worksheets Aizawa had assigned (this was a class trip, not a vacation, is what the man had said) and sipping on his green tea.

He had finished three paragraphs on the advantages of an icy terrain with his quirk when his name was called from the direction of the kitchens.

It was Aizawa who beckoned him, waving his index finger to gesture Todoroki over. Todoroki dodged empty tables and kept his footsteps light as he walked to his teacher.

"Damn, I give you guys time off and you do homework? You kids are so dull sometimes."

"You said it-"

"Whatever. Help the shipment crew outside with carrying boxes back and forth."

It had sounded easy enough. Move boxes with a crew who made a living off of moving boxes.

Turns out, the crew was two people. Both were used to driving and had only come alone because the company back on the mainland was short-handed. Their truck was far away from the kitchens, down a snow-covered hill, and it was windy out.

Better than doing nothing.

The two crewmen insisted on helping him. So he'd created a small sled of ice they could push some of the boxes up on. He was pretty proud of the design, it wasn't spikes or simple squares. He'd come a long way from the sports festival.

"Thanks for helping us kid!" This guy definitely smoked. "We appreciate it."

"Sure."

He always managed to get roped into doing work whether it was at school, the dorms, his house, or out in public. It was a bad habit of his he'd hardly registered he'd had.

Once the boxes were up, he helped stock the shelves, and Aizawa had joked about how the chef should just give him an apron and put him to work at that point. Thanks to several child labor laws that outcome was avoided.

He decided that he shouldn't stay inside the entire trip, and suited up in a big jacket and normal pants. He would wear the snowsuit unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Hey, kid."

Todoroki turned from the door outside to face Aizawa and a little girl dressed in layers of snow jackets. He'd seen her before at the school festival, hanging out with some third-years and Midoriya.

"Sensei?"

"Take her sledding. Sorry to pick on you." He scratched his head. You're the only one around."

Todoroki tilted his head. "Sledding? I uh-"

"Just keep her safe whatever she wants to do. I'll be in the lounge."

Eri stood there holding a bright red sled and pulling her pink beanie down on her head. She looked nervous, and Todoroki wasn't good with children. They liked his quirk but not him. Which was just his luck.

"Uh sorry, what's your name?"

She twisted her heel on the floor. "Eri.
W-What's yours?"

"I'm Todoroki. Did you still want to go sledding or something else?"

She nodded excitedly and walked beside him outside. After almost slipping off of the mountain, she grabbed his gloved hand and didn't let go.

He sat behind her on the sled, letting her hold onto the reins. She started giggling out if what he could assume was nervousness, and without warning him, pushed the sled down the hill. At first, there was an adrenaline rush, but then he focused solely on the child who seemed so reckless in this moment.

When they made it to the bottom, she was laughing and jumping upside down, begging to go on the gondola. He obliged, telling her that as long as she held onto something they could ride it up.

She seemed so astounded by the scenery. Like she'd never seen snow before.

He'd seen the news, heard the stories, she probably hasn't. But that's okay. She's experiencing it now and she likes it. That's good.

"Woah! Look it's Deku!" She pointed down at the mountain and tapped Todoroki's shoulder. "He's racing someone!"

Todoroki followed her line of sight and saw Midoriya racing Bakugo. Of course they would race. It was probably Bakugo's idea and Midoriya was just trying to keep the peace.

"Deku always gets me candy apples."

It was silent since he had no idea how to talk to kids. Telling his life story didn't work, he knew that much from experience. So...

"You like apples?"

"Yea! They're super sweet and I like them with candy on them."

"Have you ever had caramel apples? I heard they're good."

She shook her head. "I had a caramel chocolate bar though. And a chocolate pie."

On the subject of pie, "What about apple pie?"

Her eyes lit up. "They have that?"

"Here? I'm not sure but it...exists."

She looked so happy in that moment. Like when Fuyumi got a kid's makeup set for Christmas, or when the maids gossiped with mom and treated her normal. When the neighbors returned the remote control helicopters to Natsuo after he'd dropped them in by accident.  He wanted to keep that feeling potent. To make it last.

"We can try and find the ingredients? I'm not great at baking but I know how to make apple pie."

She grabbed into his thick sleeve and nodded. "Can we?"

He warmed the apples and cinnamon sugar with his left hand, while watching Eri use a plastic fork to press the pie into the tin.

The gift shop had a lot of what they were looking for. Utensils. Spices. Metal pie tins. Everything but the apples. Since he'd helped with the shipment earlier the chef had donated a few apples to their cause.

Now he was cooking out on a deck, warming up this plastic bowl enough to cook the contents and not melt the bowl. Thank goodness for his impeccable control.

"Eri, hand me that spoon?"

She did, and he emptied the bowl into the pie tin, which was lined with uncooked dough. Eri caught a whiff of cinnamon and grinned so widely Todoroki thought the smile might never stop growing.

When it was cooked through, he cooled it enough so she could eat it right away. The hum of contentment was all he needed to know he'd done a good deed for the day.

"How'd you know how to make this?" She was practically shoveling food into her mouth. "It's so good!"

He tried a bite of apple, it tasted just like he remembered. "I made it once. With my mother." Well, he really watched her make it, but she let him stir the apples with the spices. He liked that memory.

"You're really good at cooking. Can we give some to Mr. Eraserhead?"

Todoroki wasn't sure how that would go down, but it couldn't be bad, right?

"Hm. Guess I'll have to let you watch her more often." Aizawa said between chews of the pie.

Todoroki didn't mind that. Eri was good company.

"But don't use your quirk here again."

"Yes, Sir."