cloud 9 - shouto x reader

3. my mom

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my mom's sick, she's in a hospital bed
i've got a word for all you ghosts in her head
and all you skeletons in her closet
leave her alone, please

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You're alone with Todoroki on the train, shoulders brushing in a packed car. Rush hour sucks, why didn't Mr. Aizawa warn us? Of course, he had warned your class, you just weren't listening. Your knee bounces up and down, up and down, up and down, until finally Todoroki asks:

"Are you alright?"

You turn to face him, eyes slightly wide. "Oh, yeah, sorry," you say nervously, "Was that bothering you? I can stop—"

"No," he says, face unchanging even as he expresses concern for you. "It didn't bother me. You just seemed on edge." You exhale sharply though your nostrils. "Is it because of my father?"

You sigh, leaning into your seat. "Yeah, I guess," you say, shrugging. "Not really looking forward to spending so much time with him."

"Me neither," Todoroki mumbles, and you laugh softly.

You check the time on your phone. We've still got an hour to kill. "Wanna play would you rather?" You ask. He blinks, and then nods. "Okay. Would you rather change gender every time you sneeze, or not be able to tell the difference between a baby and a muffin?"

He stares at you in disbelief, and you burst out laughing. "Is... this how you usually play this game?"

"Yeah," you say, still choking on your laughter and tears. "It's no fun with serious questions. It's gotta be weird."

He hums, thinking deeply about your question as if it actually matters. "I suppose the first one," he says finally, "I... don't want to eat a baby."

Your nose scrunches up, amused. "Good pick. Your turn."

You go back and forth with him for a while. Todoroki is... not very creative at first and, though he does get the hang of it eventually, you still let him Google questions for inspiration.

"If you found out a year later that your baby had been switched at birth, would you want your biological child back or would you want to keep the baby you had been raising?"

"Todoroki... What the fuck?"

"What?"

You raise a brow in fake suspicion. "Trying to see what kinda mother I'd be?" You joke.

His eyes widen. "No—" Your laughter stops him from backpedaling. Now that he knows you're joking, he says, "Well?"

"Uh, I'd probably keep the kid I was raising," you say, squinting up at the roof of the train as you think. "That'd be fucked up, switching kids. Maybe I could just be friends with the other family and it'd be a traumatic story you tell while laughing so no one feels sorry for you."

He hums. "Your turn."

"Would you rather be a strawberry with human thoughts, or a human with strawberry thoughts?"

He smiles. "Strawberry thoughts sound nice."

You laugh. "They do," you agree, and the train reaches the station. Todoroki leads you to his father's agency, the fucker apparently not caring enough to send a car or anything for you. Fine by me, me and Todoroki are gonna play a mean game of iSpy.

"I spy an asshole," you whisper, leaning into Todoroki as you both enter his father's office. He hides a laugh behind a cough and his fist. You, in turn, hide your proud little grin by biting your lip.