The Realist(Shoto Todoroki x reader- Bakugo's twin sister)

Chapter 46

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A soft knock rattled my door, pulling me from the edge of sleep. I lay still for a moment, staring blankly at the ceiling as the faint orbs of color that danced in front of my eyes faded into the dark.

With a groggy sigh, I reached for my phone on the nightstand.

3:48 am.

"Ugh..." The sound crawled from my throat as I pushed the covers off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. "Coming," I mumbled, my voice thick with sleep.

Each step toward the door felt heavier than the last. My limbs moved on autopilot, mind still foggy and clinging to the warmth of dreams I couldn't quite remember.

I cracked the door open, eyes barely slitted against the harsh hallway light. "Yes?" I asked, squinting, my words slurred with exhaustion.

I blinked hard, the hallway light stabbing at my eyes like tiny needles. It took me a second to realize who I was looking at.

Shoto Todoroki.

Just standing there, his hair a mess as a couple strands laid out in front of his face while his eyes held a tired and hooded expression. He wore a black shirt and gray sweatpants like back at the internship.

I blinked again.

His usual calm expression was still there, but beneath it- just barely- I could see something else. Determination? Hesitation?

I couldn't tell. My brain was still foggy, trying to boot up.

"May I come in?" he asked, voice low and even, like he hadn't just woken me up at 3:48 in the morning.

I stared at him.

What the hell is going on?

I rubbed a hand down my face, fingers dragging through my hair as I tried to piece together reality from whatever half-dream I'd just been yanked out of.

With a tired sigh, I stepped back and mumbled, "Sure," barely awake enough to process anything beyond the fact that Todoroki was standing at my door at the crack of dawn.

He stepped inside quietly, moving with his usual grace, but I caught the way his eyes flicked over me, the sleep still clinging to my expression. For a second, something shifted in his face.

Guilt, maybe. Regret. But it vanished just as quickly as it came.

"Nice clothes." He almost laughed, a slight blush on his face. He shut the door gently behind him, the soft click somehow louder in the silence of the hour.

"What?" I asked in confusion, my eyes barely open before I looked down and saw my black towel almost falling off my body.

My eyes slowly widened before I clenched onto the material as if my life depended on it. "Didn't expect to have any guests."

He nodded. "I apologize for disturbing your rest at such an hour," he said, his voice smooth, almost rehearsed. "But there was something I needed to discuss with you."

"What is it?" I asked, barely keeping the irritation out of my voice.

All I wanted was to go back to bed and pretend none of this had ever happened.

I shifted my weight, suddenly very aware that the only thing separating me from full-on nudity was the towel wrapped hastily around me. Great.

Todoroki's eyes flicked down, just for a second. I caught it- the quick glance, the almost imperceptible change in his expression.