Hopeless - Shoto Todoroki x Reader

4. Night out

Almost begrudgingly, you got out of your own car and walked into your house. You were home later than normal, and you did not want to deal with hypocritical questions about where you were or listen to the passive aggressive remarks about it being too late to even eat dinner now. Sighing, you twisted the door handle and scrunched up your face, bracing yourself for the tirade.

"Hey," your boyfriend called softly from the kitchen. You peaked over at him and felt your eyes well up. He was in the kitchen, washing dishes with an apologetic expression on his face. Dinner was waiting on the table, his plate untouched. Looking around, you noticed he had picked up all through the house, even vacuumed. Your mouth dropped as a few tears spilled down your face.

"Listen baby, I'm really sorry," he said as he dried his hands and made his way over to you. He took the bag off your shoulder and hung it up. "You were gone when I woke up," he said seriously his hands coming out to rest on your hips. "And for a few minutes, I was terrified. I thought you had left, more than just for work. I thought you left me, and I realized that I would have deserved it," he continued as you just stared at him, your lips parted in shock, silent tears spilling over your lower lids every so often.

"I don't want to push you away, but that's exactly what I'm doing, and I'm so sorry." He put his arms around you, and you held each other. In this moment you were so happy. This man was your everything. You shaped your life around him, loved him with your entire being, and cared for him all of your adult life. Your heart felt full.

Until it didn't.

This apology, this feeling of completeness after a fight was too familiar. How many times had this exact scenario played out? At least five times a year, easy. And when did it ever make a difference, when did he ever actually make any effort to change? Never, not once. You were tired of half baked apologies with no follow through. You pulled away from the hug.

"Why are you sorry?" You asked in a dull voice. He looked at you, perplexed.

"W-what?" He sputtered.

"You just apologized, but you didn't say what you apologized for. Why are you sorry?" You asked again.

"For last night? We got into a fight," he said, taking a step back and eyeing you warily.

"So, you are sorry that we got into a fight?" You questioned. He thought for a minute.

"I feel like this is a trick question," he said, narrowing his eyes at you.

"It isn't. I just want to know what you actually feel sorry for," he pursed his lips in thought.

"For upsetting you?" He answered like a question.

"Why was I upset?" You asked, cutting to the chase. He rolled his eyes, and the bit of guilt you felt for not just accepting his gesture vanished.

"Not this again," he said in a huff as he walked away and into the kitchen. Your eyes widened. You debated grabbing your bag and just walking back out the door, but you knew that wouldn't solve anything.

"Hito," you said calmly, deciding this was the time to just lay it all out. No more caving, no more just letting it go, you weren't going to be part of the problem anymore. He turned around, his face showing anger and worry. "I need you to listen to me, okay?" You said a little louder than usual but not quite yelling. He nodded to show he was doing as you said.

"I need more than an apology. I need you to start being aware of me as a person and your girlfriend again. Wait," you said, holding up a hand as he opened his mouth to argue. "Please, just listen to what I have to say before you interrupt me, " you said sternly, and he closed his mouth forcefully, the sound of his teeth clinking together felt like another weight in the pit of your stomach.