Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 118

Despite his positive energy before, Shoto sat in solemn silence as we rode the bus to the Hero Public Safety Commission's headquarters. No matter how many times I tried engage him in a I Spy game or how many jokes I made, I didn't get reaction from him. Not even Bakugou's incessant grumbling in front of his were able to tear Shoto's heterochromatic eyes away from his lap.

Shoto never really got nervous - he never showed anything about what he was feeling, to begin with. The only times I'd really seen his emotions at hand were during our battle in the Sports Festival, the fight with Stain, at the Training Camp, after the Kamino incident, and just yesterday when I returned from the hospital. Those times, he'd given off such heavy waves of anxiety and fear that I thought he would drown in it all. And just like those times, I felt the same drowning sensation flowing over him as he sat beside me, now.

"I know your relationship with your father won't be easy to mend; but just know that I'll be here every step of the way..."

The smile he'd worn in that moment was nowhere to be seen as his lips were now pressed in a thin, hard line. His costume bag sat snug between his leg and the side of the bus, while his hands remained clasped together in his lap. Tense. Trembling.

Slowly, I reached a hand out to him, letting my fingers glide over his shaking hands. To my surprise, they were both cold.

"Hey," I cooed, gaining his attention. "There's no need to be nervous, Sho. I'm sure you'll kill it in training, today. The both of you."

Shoto didn't respond straight away, only looking back down at my hand covering his. They were still trembling.

"It's not the training I'm worried about, today," he muttered.

My heart lurched at how sad and genuinely scared he sounded. Training never scared him, I knew that much. Even if he messed up, Shoto was getting better at learning from his mistakes, getting up and going again.

No. The training wasn't what had him trembling in his seat beside me, now. It was the thought of encountering the last person on this earth he wanted to face.

"It's my old man. He says he's got some free time tomorrow and wants to come see me train."

Nothing I would say would change how he felt about his father and how  he was feeling right now; so I instead simply gave his clasped, clenched hands a gentle squeeze. His grip loosened, giving me space to slip my fingers and entwine them with his. Shoto finally looked back up at me, his blue and grey eyes wide and unblinking as if asking silently: what are you doing?

Making eye contact with him, I simply nodded and gave his hand another squeeze. No words would change his mind or quell his anxiety; but maybe my actions would tell him all he needed to know.

I am with you. Always.

"All right, ya bunch of trouble makers, "Present Mic announced as the bus pulled to a sudden stop. "We're here! Now, hurry your late butts into the centre! Let's move it, yo!"

"We know where to go, damnit!" Bakugou growled back, but grabbed his costume case and climbed off the bus all the same.

"We better get you in there," I said, standing up . "Don't want you guys being late, now."

"Right," Shoto replied, heaving himself to his feet. But without another word, he picked up his costume case and followed me off the bus and into the main building.

Both the interior and the exterior of the Public Safety Commission's headquarters reminded me kind of Gym Gamma, with office buildings attached to the outside of the facility. And just like Field Gamma, it was like a maze of white walls and fluorescent lights. I definitely would've gotten lost in the place had Shoto not grabbed the back of my shirt and dragged me back into line.