Rescue // Shoto Todoroki x OC Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Four

He didn't want to leave her side. Maybe he was finally admitting to himself how he felt about her. Shoto wasn't sure. But all he knew was that he wanted to stay with her, and he wanted her to want him to stay. But he was aware of the fact that he couldn't make her feel any kind of way about him, no matter what he did.

"If you really want to, then you can stay longer," she told him. "I don't have a problem with it. I just don't want to be an inconvenience to you."

"You keep saying that, but I've been trying to tell you for a while now that that's not how I see you."

"Then how do you see me, Shoto?" she asked, locking eyes with him. He tried to search her eyes for any hint at what she was truly thinking, but like always, he had no clue.

He had always been terrible at reading people, and Katsumi was no exception, regardless of how he felt about her.

Shoto thought about her question for a moment, debating on how to answer her. His stomach was in knots as he thought about all the different ways to answer the question.

He could say that they were friends--but what kinds of friends kissed their friends' foreheads while they slept and blushed when they looked at them? That answer didn't make sense. Of course, that's what he could say, but it wasn't the truth. It's not what he wanted out of their relationship anymore. He wanted more than that. 

"I- I don't know," he stuttered, not sure what to say. He was starting to understand how he truly felt the more time he spent around her. But he knew for certain that she wouldn't feel the same way, so telling her didn't make any sense. If anything, it would cause her to drift further away, and they might end off worse than when they started a few weeks ago. 

Katsumi finally looked away, but from the way she crossed her arms and huffed at him, it was obvious that she was dissatisfied with that answer. Shoto wanted to say more--he truly did, but when it came down to it, maintaining the little bridge between them that they'd managed to build over the last few weeks was more important to him than pushing his feelings onto her. 

Knowing she wouldn't feel the same way, he knew he'd lose her entirely if he were honest with her. 

* * * 

The rest of the night passed in silence. Katsumi didn't know what to say or feel about Shoto's presence in her apartment anymore. 

Well--knew knew she wanted him there. She didn't like feeling lonely. And as far as company went, he wasn't too terrible. He kept her fed and comfortable, and she could tell he cared. She just didn't know why he cared so much. 

If he wasn't doing this because he felt guilty, then why? Was he too embarrassed to admit that he wanted to be her friend or something? She wasn't sure. Nothing seemed to be making sense about his behavior, and she didn't like that she couldn't make sense of it. 

Katsumi was a very no-nonsense kind of person. She liked things straightforward, and she liked to understand things. But Shoto Todoroki was an enigma to her. When she looked at him, she could never tell what he was thinking or feeling like most people. While it wasn't true that he was cold on the inside, he had a very icy countenance that often made it hard to figure out what was going on inside. 

He still sat right beside her on the couch, and occasionally she'd steal glances, hoping to maybe catch a crack or a break in the personality he put forth--hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of what he was feeling. She hated not knowing. It didn't matter to her how he was feeling--well, not quite meant like that... but it just bothered her that she didn't know. She just wanted to know, and she couldn't just come out and ask him things like that. They weren't close enough for that. 

As far as friends went, Katsumi really couldn't recall how she became friends with any of her current ones. Ochaco had always been a constant in her life since starting at UA, and the same with Midoriya, even though she wasn't as close with him as the latter. Bakugo was always just kind of there, and she didn't know if she was allowed to count him as a friend. Then there were the rest of the girls from UA. Ochaco was friends with them, which kind of dragged Katsumi in by default. Ochaco was always trying to get her to go out to the 'girl's nights' with her, and Katsumi often went. She didn't know if they counted as friends since she was just kind of a default edition to Ochaco. 

Katsumi hated that she didn't understand people. She hated that she didn't know how others went around making bonds with others so easily when she seemed to struggle with he little things. At work it was different; Katsumi kind of had a different personality she put forth around those she worked with, and that worked for her. She didn't need to know anyone she worked with on a personal level. 

Then, there was Shoto Todoroki. She wouldn't say that they'd been enemies--more like rivals back during their time at UA. Their rivalry had been carried from school into adulthood, yet somehow, they'd finally broken free of that pattern, and Katsumi didn't know where to take things from here. 

Shoto shifted on the couch beside her, and the small movement pulled her from her thoughts. They'd been watching another movie in silence, but she couldn't help but look over at the man next to her. His eyes were fixed on the screen and he had his legs pulled up close to his body on the couch with his arms and chin resting on his knees. Katsumi's eyes traced the outline of his jaw, then wandered down to his arms. God, she loved his arms. She liked to watch the way his forearms flexed and relaxed when his hands tightened into fists. Shoto was absentmindedly popping the knuckles on his hands one by one, and she watched his hands as he did, her eyes completely fixed on the little gesture. 

He must have felt her staring because he glanced over at her briefly before a small blush formed on his cheeks. Even though she'd been caught and her stomach was starting to tie itself into nervous knots, she couldn't look away. He probably thought that his blush was hidden in the dim light of the living room, having only been illuminated by the TV, but she could see it. And she couldn't look away. The light from the TV danced across his face, and she watched the shadows move on his skin. 

He glanced over again, this time meeting her eyes for a brief second. She finally had the sense to look away after that and felt her own face flushing red now. 

Katsumi tried to piece together what she felt when she looked at him. She'd always found the man sitting beside her attractive. She knew that. But then there was the feeling deep in the pit of her stomach--the heat there, whenever she watched him. Even the smallest of his movements caught her attention. She thought about what this might mean, and she hated it. 

She did not have a schoolgirl crush on Shoto Todoroki. No way.