Because of you {Tododeku/kiribaku}

Chapter 7

Todoroki waited nervously by his front door. Midoriya had texted that he'd come by and they could ride the train to the school pool together. The teen had thought about saying not to bother or suggesting meeting somewhere else but hesitated. It was only fair since he'd shown up randomly at his home the day before.

"What has you so riled up? And why are you just standing there? Are you waiting for a delivery you don't want father to see or something?" Fuyumi asked, standing in the hallway with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Sister... It's nothing." He replied, turning to hide how big of a deal it really was to him.

The girl adjusted her glasses and walked up beside him, looking out at their large yard in thought. "Something has changed about you, Shoto. Ever since the sports festival you've been dare I say, happier. You've even started to go to see mom every week even though you get punished by father for it."

Todoroki didn't answer, his face starting to heat up as Midoriya's smiling face entered his mind. "Have I really been that obvious? Does that mean other people have noticed too?"

"I see... so you've met someone." She giggled, bumping him lightly with her shoulder.

The dual user sputtered and whipped his head around to look at her, unable to stop the violent blush that spread across his pale skin. "How did-"

"Oh, don't look so shocked, Shoto. I'm your big sister; it's my job to keep an eye on you. Besides, every time I see you there's a far-off look in your eyes like you're thinking of something or someone else.... Is that why you're crowding our entryway? Is she coming over to visit or something?" Fuyumi questioned.

"He..." Todoroki muttered, his face suddenly downcast. He watched nervously out of his peripherals, expecting to see his sister recoil in disgust or prepare to scold him.

The girl had a thoughtful expression for a minute before, to her brother's surprise, sighed in relief. "I think you've made an excellent choice, Shoto. I couldn't be more proud of you... and I bet mom will feel the same way."

Todoroki scrunched his nose in confusion. It sounded like she'd already figured out who the 'he' was, and even more, she brought up their mother like they'd still been in contact.

Fuyumi made a gesture to the look out the window on their door, Shoto's eyes immediately catching sight of a very awestruck, green haired boy. "You didn't think you were the only one going to see her, did you? Even before you had your breakthrough, mom made me promise to watch over you as best I could... and that boy, Midoriya I think he name is, he's something special so don't mess this up, little brother."

The elder gave her utterly dumbfounded sibling one more playful bump before turning to let him be. She was truly happy for Shoto but also understood exactly why he was so 'riled up' as she'd put it. If their father found out, he'd bring hellfire down on all of them.

Todoroki in turn, eventually snapped out of his shock just before Midoriya reached their door, and slipped out, being as quiet as he could. "Come on, we should get going..." he stated, unwittingly grabbing the smaller boy's wrist and pulling, tugging him across their lawn.

"Uhhh... is everything okay?" Midoriya asked, his neck twisting to look back at the mansion-sized home.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" Todoroki responded, still propelling them forward and out of the front gate.

Izuku squeaked a bit, his free hand coming to rest on the dual users. "It's just... we left really fast and... well... you're squeezing me kind of tightly..."

Todoroki let go immediately, a mixture of guilt and embarrassment flowing through him. He hadn't even realized he'd grabbed onto the smaller boy, much less how hard he'd been holding on. "S-sorry." He mumbled, keeping his gaze ahead of him and not on his crush.