#1 In My Heart

Mall

Todoroki POV

Before I can go into the office I feel my phone buzz. I look at it real quick. Of course it's our group chat. I laugh to myself as I read the text chain.

E: you got this babe
K: we both know you're always secretly nervous before seeing Trace. We can't wait to hear about your day when we get home.
K: also you left before we could tell you this but you look incredibly sexy in that suit.
E: Kats. Don't tease him before his app. That's mean
K: I'll take the punishment later
S: you guys are the absolute best
S: I'm sure Ei can come up with something for you

I put my phone back in my pocket. I try not to think about what Kats said. The last thing I need is a boner going in to see my therapist.

As usual every Tuesday, I sit in the recliner, ready to talk about my past week. I can't wait to tell her about dating Kats and Ei. But I also know I need to tell her about my little breakdown. I'm nervous about that.

"You're nervous about something. What happened?" She says sitting down in her desk chair.
"I had a breakdown..." I respond. I can hear the sadness in my voice as I admit it.
"Kats had to go for emergency hero work. And it just made me wonder why they never call me... I'm a pro hero too... Why can't I work too? Why am I the only one stuck with desk duty..." I feel tears run down my face as I continue to talk about it. The nightmare. The panic attack. Everything. She hands me tissues as she listens.
When I stop talking she says "I'll talk to them about putting you back into the field." I'm pretty sure she saw my eyes light up. "Seriously?" I ask getting excited. "Of course. I can see how much you want this again. And you've been doing so good. You deserve to be put back in the field with everyone."

"Thank you Trace. That seriously means everything to me"
"I can't promise anything will change, though. But I know if I can get Dr. Sinclair to come with me, they'll at least think about it."
"Thank you Trace. You're amazing"
"You'll still see me weekly right?" She asks.
"Of course. That will probably never change unless you retire" I laugh back. She lets out a smile. "Has anything else happened?"
"I'm dating Kats and Ei" I say with a smile.
"I'm so happy for you Shouto! You talk about them so much I knew it was gonna happen sooner or later. But I'm so incredibly happy for you. You deserve this. You deserve to be happy." Tears stream down my face again. This time from happiness. Everyone is so happy for me. I'm so grateful for everyone in my life.

The rest of therapy was uneventful. We talked about my meds again. I scheduled another appointment with Dr. Sinclair to get them adjusted again. As I get into my car, I check the time. It's 10:30 am. I have the day off. Kats and Ei won't be home till later. I rest my head on the steering wheel as I try to figure out what I can do with my day. I don't really just wanna sit at home all day. Hm. I could go shopping. It's been a while since I've been to the mall. Actually I don't think I've been to the mall since I attended UA. I turn the engine on and use the GPS to find the mall. Usually this was always out of my comfort zone. But I feel comfortable today. I walk around the endless supply of stores. There's a store specifically dedicated to containers? That's funny. I somehow always find myself near a soba shop. I sit down with my food to hear a little kid come up to me.

"Uhm. Are you the Pro Hero Todoroki-san?" He asks.
"Yes I am" I say with a smile.
"NO WAY! YOURE LIKE MY FAVORITE HERO. YOUR QUIRK IS SO COOL. CAN I GET YOUR AUTOGRAPH???" Suddenly there's a lot of people around me. "Of course you can. What's your name?" I say to the little boy. "My names Daiki!" He says with a big grin. He hands me a notebook specially for Pro Heroes. "You know. You remind me of a friend of mine" I say reminiscing about the notebook Midoriya always carried in school. "YEAH?!" He gets excited. "He's a Pro Hero too now. He goes by Deku usually." He jumps up and down. "YOURE FRIENDS WITH DEKU!" "I went to school with him!" I say back with a smile. "You know. If you work really hard, you could go to UA too. Then you'll become a Pro Hero and I'll be asking for your autograph" I say back to him. Poor kid looks like he's about to faint. "Thank you so much. I'm sorry my son ran up to you like that. Please excuse us" his mom says to me. "It's really no problem. I don't mind. I quite like getting to meet the future generations of pro heroes" I say back patting the boy on his head. Soon after that the word spread on where I was and I was crowded with fans and questions about when I'll be returning. I choose not to answer the questions but I gladly give out the autographs and take pictures. I check the time and realize I've been here for a few hours. Kats and Ei should be home soon. I run quickly to my car as I tell everyone I have to go. I sit in my car for a minute. I quite missed interactions like that. I used to hate them. But that one of the things Trace worked with me on. So I can be very approachable and personable now. Kats probably won't want to cook tonight. I'll just order take out while I'm out. Instead of guessing, I should just ask them.

S: I'm out and about and decided to grab take out for dinner. What do you guys want?
K: we know you are
E: you're all over the news
K: do a little meet n greet at the mall today, huh?
S: shush. It wasn't like that. I just didn't know what else to do and didn't want to sit around the house waiting for you two. Also, answer the question. Dinner?
E: pizza
E: so you go to the mall? Lol
K: anything but pizza. Holy shit. We always get that
S: stop bickering or I'll get soba
K: shut the fuck mr suddenly popular
S: not my fault I'm cooler than you
E: now who's bickering
S: I'm just gonna get all our favorites since we can never decide on food together
K: sounds good
S: see you both at home.

I put my phone in the cup holder. I drive to all our favorite places. I'm looking forward to soba since I didn't get to eat mine earlier.

I can't wait to tell them about what Trace said earlier.