I Royally Decline// Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Chp. 30: The Wedding Pt. 1

Please make sure you have read chp 29 A Letter from Home first...

(Y/n)'s POV
I gently clicked my door shut and slid down to the ground. I wasn't mad at Rory, but I didn't know what to do. Sure, I couldn't stand my parents and hated them for what they did to Rory, but they were still my parents. In a perfect world, I would have had two parents who loved each child equally and only wanted their kids to be happy in life... but life's not like that. I had the tragic backstory, but that didn't mean I couldn't have a fairytale ending. Rory hated our parents, and rightfully so, but he was letting that hold him back from living a happy life. Our parents weren't going anywhere anytime soon, so we'd have to learn to live with it. Seeing Shouto's new attitude towards his father really changed my outlook.

"(N/n)? Can I come in?" Rory's soft voice filled my ears. It sounded as if he had been crying, but I was relieved that he didn't sound incensed anymore. I quickly hopped up and opened the door with a forgiving smile. I pulled him into a hug and felt his arms return my greeting. "I'm so sorry."

"Rory, you have nothing to apologize to me for. I keep forgetting you're still just a kid; however, that doesn't mean your livid anger is acceptable. I know you didn't quite ever receive parenting, so hear me out now. We can't change our past-"

"But we can change our future," Rory's pearly whites were exposed as he cracked a smile and looked up at me. We both giggled and released from the hug, as I patted his head.

"I would have you stick around longer, but I need to talk to Shouto about the wedding. Gosh, we only have a few weeks. We should have carried on like this was going to happen anyways, but no we had to be foolish," I chuckled and sent Rory to his room, before heading off to the training arena where Shouto was finishing up his practice for the day.

"The height of your flames has improved an immense amount, but you need to work on minimizing the time it takes for you to switch between fire and ice," King Enji was, surprisingly, giving constructive criticism to my beloved Shouto as he walked out of the arena.

"Yeah, I know. I'll work on it," Shouto responded without even a trace of irritation in his voice. I stood a few yards away completely chopfallen. Who were these people and what had they done with Shouto and the king?! King Enji's incident certainly did a number on the two, and for the better.

"Hey guys! Just came to steal Shouto for a bit, is that okay Enji?" I asked, causing the two men to turn their heads. Shouto smiled and wiped the sweat from his forehead, before his father motioned for him to "run along".

"You two seem to be buddy-buddy these days," I pointed out, while walking towards the garden with Shouto.

"I still haven't forgiven him for what happened to my mother, but I think he has learned a lesson or two. I mine as well mend our relationship before taking over the kingdom," Shouto still spoke in is typical matter-of-fact way, but his recent actions seemed so out of character when compared to the Shouto I met a year ago.

We wandered through the labyrinth, making mere small talk, and made our way to the old willow tree. I stepped away from my fiancé and towards the tree, allowing my fingers to run up and down its worn bark.

"I've only been here a few times, yet I feel as if every event this tree has experienced, I too have experienced," I spoke, mostly to myself.

"Don't go getting deep on me right now, I'm not in the mood to be emotional," Shouto stated, leaning next to me against the tree.

"Well, too bad because I need to be a little reminiscent before I get to my point," I turned and poked Shouto in the nose, causing him to roll his eyes. I sat down on the lush grass and patted the spot next to me, indicating for Shouto to sit too.