Dinner with the Todorokis

(Not My Pic)

I currently have 222 comments on this story, but that'll change lol

~Momo~

"What the hell am I supposed to wear?!" 

"OW!"

I turn to see that Jiro's face has been replaced with a dress of mine.

"Sorry, Jiro-chan, I need to find something perfect!!!" I've completely ransacked my room, leaving clothes everywhere.

Mom will have my head, but that's okay, because this is really important.

Todoroki has invited me to dinner with his family! I'm so excited about it because I finally get to meet his brother.

And... maybe his father.

Part of me hopes his father doesn't show tonight, but another part of me does want to meet him, even with the terrible things Todoroki told me about him.

I am curious.

But I don't want anything to happen tonight that'll upset Shoto-- Todoroki, I mean. 

"I like this one, Yao-Momo," Jiro hands me a pink blouse and white jean skirt. I smile at her choice.

"Hmm, this skirt is a little short," I murmur skeptically. 

"He probably won't mind," Jiro elbows me playfully and smirks. Then we both burst out laughing, even though my face has gone red.

Just then, my ringtone, Kimi No Toriko starts playing and the caller ID Todoroki-kun 💖🔥❄️😏 flashes up onto my screen.

Jiro looks over, reads the caller ID and her mouth forms an "o" as I pick up the phone.

"Morning, Yao-Momo," I hear Todoroki say.

He's never called me Yao-Momo before, so I respond with "Good morning to you too, To-Shoto." I smile on instinct and see Jiro's eyes widen through my peripheral.

"How are you?"

"I'm excited about dinner tonight. How about you?"

"I'm wondering whether my father will decide to join or not. I hope he doesn't."

"Don't worry about him, hon. It'll be fine, whatever happens," I say to him.

I ignore Jiro's rolling eyes as Todoroki says, "Alright then. I'll see you at the grocery store today, Yao-Momo."

"Bye, bye, To-Shoto."

"Make sure you continue to call me that," he says, and I hear a bit of laughter in his sentence before he hangs up.

Jiro looks at me with a face that says What the motherf--king hell?!

"Hey, so what was that about? To-Shoto? And why were you grinning into the phone like that, a few more seconds and I'd bet all my money you'd start kissing the damn phone! Also, why does his caller ID have a smirk emoji in it? Have you guys been--"

"Jiro, shutup!" I scream. Then we both laugh.

"He calls me Yao-Momo, I call him To-Shoto. And his caller ID has a smirk in it just cause. We haven't been doing it, Jiro, honest! We just started dating, what do you take me for?"

"A lunatic," Jiro chuckles.

"You're just jealous when you don't have to be. Kaminari likes you," I point out.

"Whatever," she rolls her eyes.

~Shoto~

I'm worried about Yao-Momo coming to dinner today. It's my father, I hope he doesn't show up. I hope he has a hero thing to do or just decides to not come.

Natsuo and Fuyumi are arguably much better company.

I just got off the phone with Yao-Momo and now I'm just lying in my bed with nothing but a pair of boxers, halfway wrapped in my blanket. 

Weekends make me lazy as hell.

Deciding that I need to get out of bed, I rise, pulling the covers off of me and walking to the bathroom to shower. The hot water feels good against my aching shoulders-- Father made me train again last night.

After my shower, I brush my teeth and get dressed. I say good morning to Fuyumi and kiss her cheek.

"Where is Natsuo?"

"He went out today," Fuyumi answers.

"Alright, I'm gone for the morning, I'm going to the grocery store with Yaoyorozu-- we decided we want to make dinner for everyone tonight," I explain to her.

"For our sake, let's hope Yaoyorozu can cook."

"Do you think I cannot cook, sister?"

"You've never been in the kitchen! Besides..."

Fuyumi doesn't finish her sentence but I know the rest. Besides the time when Mom spilled hot water onto your eye.

"I'm sorry, Shoto. I'm really sorry. Damn me and my big mouth," Fuyumi covers her mouth and looks at me with a guilty look in her eyes.

"It's alright, Fuyumi." I pull her into a hug. 

"Um... speaking of Mom, are you still gonna go see her today?" Fuyumi asks.

"Damnit, I forgot." I curse.

"Take Yaoyorozu with you," Fuyumi says as easy as "1 2 3".

"But... I don't want her to see my Mom in the hospital... she feels bad enough for me as it is."

"I don't think she'll mind, Shoto. Besides, I'm sure Mom would want to meet your girlfriend, so you should take her!"

"Alright, fine." I concede, knowing that there is no arguing with Fuyumi.

--

I walk to the grocery store and wait at the entrance for Yaoyorozu. I sit at a bench and scroll through my phone.

"Hey, To-Shoto, babe," I hear a voice teasing me.

I smile upon the sight because this girl is a significant part of my world.

~Momo~

I don't hesitate; I place my hand on his shoulders and lean forward until my lips greet his. He licks my lips and then pulls me into a hug.

"Good morning, Yao-Momo."

"Good morning, To-Shoto," I respond.

"What do you want to make? And don't say Soba," I ask as we walk through the aisles. I link his arm in mine.

He lets out an audible whimper and I turn to him with my eyes wide and my free hand covering my mouth. "You can't be serious! Eat something else for once in your life!"

He rolls his eyes at me and then thinks for a moment before saying, "Tendon, maybe."

I smile at him because I love tendon and I don't think he knew that. "That's perfect, To-Shoto. I love the idea."

We walk over to the seafood aisle to buy shrimp for the deep-frying part and start arguing instantly.

"This kind has bigger shrimp."

"Well, this kind has more!"

"I like the package on this one," Todoroki admits. "A-and the shrimp is bigger."

I can't help it, I burst out laughing. And after a while, so does he! Todoroki's laugh is delicious to hear and a joy because he doesn't laugh often.

We end up tossing a completely different package into the cart. Then we move on to get vegetables and rice. And after that we have to get azuki bean jam because Todoroki had the idea to make monaka for dessert, as well.

Since neither of us are 18, we have to ride the bus, but that's fine. We grab our food-filled bags and take a seat on the bus.

Todoroki lets me sit at the window. I slide in and he follows me. His hand clasps mine as the bus starts moving.

We talk about school and hero stuff and our friends and the dinner and favorite colors and stuff  until Todoroki falls into drowsiness. I'm looking out the window when I feel his head fall onto my shoulder with a light rustle.

I look over and my face heats up instantly, but I don't move him. Just let him lie and stare at him anxiously.

Finally, I collect myself and let go of his hand to touch his hair. His fingers clench air when my hand leaves his, but then his hand falls limp. I run my fingers into his hair, playing with the short strands. I overlap some red strands with white and massage his scalp.

And then I swear I hear a moan.

"Mmm." Todoroki's half-asleep.

I chuckle at him and remove my hand from his hair.

"Whhydjjyuussstop," his words slur together.

I bring my hand back to his hair and eventually to his ear. At this, he inches closer to me, closing the space between his head and my neck.

~Shoto~

When I wake up, it seems Yaoyorozu has fallen asleep as well.

I lightly shake her and she awakens with a jolt "Shoto!"

My first name...

"We're here. We just have to put the food in the fridge and then... you wouldn't mind coming with me to the hospital to visit my mother would you?"

"Of course not! I'd love to meet her," Yaoyorozu beams. 

I sigh with relief and open the door to my house. No one is here thank goodness. We're only here to put the food back into the fridge.

"Well, we go to see my mom at 1:00 pm."

"Are you asking me to leave, To-Shoto?" Yaoyorozu has a teasing glint in her eye that I love.

"N-no..." I kind of am, just because I don't know what to do when we're alone...

Well, that's not true. I know what I want to do, fall asleep on the couch kissing her, with my hands in her hair.

She sits on the couch and pats the spot next to her for me to sit. So I do. She pulls a small package of Pocky out of her purse and says, "Want one?"

I nod, not knowing where this is going.

She pulls the stick from the package and puts one end of it into her mouth. Then she says, "bite this end."

Question marks roll through my brain but I do what she says.

She takes a bite of her end and I take a bite of mine, the more bites we each take, the closer our lips are.

Oh. I get it now.

I continue to bite the Pocky stick until I taste Yaoyorozu instead.

I take the back of her head into my palms and kiss her over and over and over again. She encloses her fingers around my neck. Then I lean back into the couch and she doesn't hesitate; she places her weight on me.

"I love you, Yaoyorozu."

"I love you, too, Todoroki."

"I love you... Momo."

Two tears fall from her eyes as she says, "I love you, too... Shoto."

She places her small palms on my chest and kisses me again.

"My mom is gonna like you a lot, Momo," I tell her.

"How come you know?"

"Because you're smart... and friendly... and kind. You're really strong and respectful. And she'll tell that you're great because I love you so much.

"You love me? Show me," she teases.

And so I bring my lips back to hers.

~Momo~

We ride the bus to the hospital where Mrs. Todoroki stays at 1:00.

I walk with my hand in his, excited about meeting his mother. She's going to love you echoes in my mind and I'm sure I'll love her too.

--

"Hello. It's Todoroki Shoto. I'm here to see Todoroki Rei. I brought a visitor, my girlfriend. Yaoyorozu Momo."

I offer a timid wave with the hand not clasped around Shoto's.

"Alright, she's in room..."

Shoto knocks on his mom's door and I hear a voice saying "come in," in a bright and cheerful tone.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Yaoyorozu Momo, Momo... this is my mother."

"First name basis I see," Mrs. Todoroki chuckles.

"How are you today, Todoroki-sama?"

"I am just fine. You are so beautiful, dear. My Shoto has told me a lot about you."

Shoto's ears and face redden.

"He told me that you're the smartest, prettiest and kindest girl he's ever met." She beams with pride.

~Shoto~

Momo talks Mom's ear off, but that's fine, because Mom returns her the favor. I love hearing them talk to each other, it warms my heart.

When we leave, I say, "We're going to make dinner for Natsuo, Fuyumi and, hopefully not Father."

"Don't speak that way about your father, Shoto, he may be on his best behavior today; you never know," Mom warns me.

I never understand how she can be so forgiving and understanding. Father's "best behavior" is managing not to sock me in the face when I bring Momo home.

Let's see if he can pull that today.

--

"Shoto! Stop it!"

"You don't like me anymore?"

"No, I have to cook, you silly goose!" She drops more shrimp into the frying oil as I chop up celery. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to make the monaka. So keep your lips away from my neck."

"Alright, I surrender," I say with a chuckle.

"I like cooking, it's really relaxing," Momo says to me as I scrape the celery bits into a bowl.

"Yeah, I don't cook much. But I like to cook with you. Hell, I'd probably be okay with anything that happened to me as long as you were there."

I look over just in time to see her blush but then she says, "What if you were being kidnapped."

"As long as you're in that dark, stuffy room with me, I'll be fine not being able to see," I laugh. She laughs as well and we fall into a delicious moment of laughter. It's almost long a song we sing together.

"'Kay, almost done with this shrimp," Momo says.

"Does that mean I can kiss you now?"

"Hmm," she pretends to think. "Sure."

I wrap my arms around her small waist and kiss her. We stay like that for a little bit before--

"Hey, Shoto! Oh!"

We break apart to see Fuyumi grinning from ear to ear and Natsuo looking as if he is going to throw up right there.

"Get a room, you two disgust me." Natsuo rolls his eyes.

"Wow, what a warm welcome," Momo's eyes have that teasing spark again. Her sense of humor is one of the best things about her.

"Well excuuuuse me. I'm Todoroki Natsuo, Shoto's brother."

She shakes his hand and says, "I'm Yaoyorozu Momo, Shoto's girlfriend. I'm so excited to finally meet you, I believe I've already met your sister, Todoroki-chan."

Fuyumi scoops Momo up into a hug and then grins wide. "I never thought I'd see the day when my little Shoto would be getting a girlfriend! Thought I'd have only Natsuo's future kids to be an auntie to!"

I blush and I see Momo's ears redden.

"Of course, I can wait, though. If you know what I mean," she looks at the both of us skeptically.

"Sadly..." I trail off.

"Fuyumi, ew! I'm never gonna get to taste Shoto and Yaoyorozu's cooking if you get rid of my appetite now." Natsuo makes a disgusted face.

"Well, we'll be going now!" Fuyumi takes Natsuo's hand and they leave for the living room.

--

After everything's done, Momo sets the table and I, noticing what she's doing, move to help her.

"Your siblings are professional comedians."

"Turn comedians to "pains-in-the-behind" and you'll be spot on," I roll my eyes.

She laughs; I smile.

"Come on, dinner's ready," she calls to Natsuo and Fuyumi, who come almost running to the table. But then I notice the heavy steps following theirs.

Father.

Please don't ruin it, I send a silent prayer.

"Who is this?" Father asks, folding his arms and looking Momo up and down with suspicion.

"This is Yaoyorozu Momo... this is my girlfriend."

I cheer on the inside about the number of times I've gotten to say that today.

"So this is the one who made you late to all your training sessions. Pleased to meet you, Yaoyorozu," he shakes her hand and she offers a slightly nervous smile.

I inhale sharply and sit at the table beside Momo. Fuyumi sits beside her, at the end of the table, and Natsuo sits beside Fuyumi, opposite Momo. Unfortunately, that leaves me...

Riiiiight next to Father.

After the prayer is said, Momo starts serving the food.

Fuyumi takes a bite into the deep-fried shrimp and halfway stifles a squeal. "This is delicious, Yaoyorozu! You are talented!"

"Taste the celery, that's what I did," I joke.

Everyone laughs. Everyone but Father.

"So... I saw you on TV, Yaoyorozu Momo."

I instinctively turn my gaze on Father.

"You were the one in the race with your hero top unbuttoned..." he shakes his head in disapproval and I clench my jaw. "You lost to the bird headed man."

He's reminding me far too much of Bakugo with that bird head thing.

"I lost because I went out there without a game plan and without confidence in myself. Shoto's one of the people who helped me find confidence in myself." She speaks without a single change in emotion, clear and steady, her head lifted.

Fuyumi grins with pride and Natsuo allows himself a soft snicker.

"Hmm," is all Father has to say in response.

--

Father doesn't stick around for dessert, which everyone is relieved about, including Momo.

"I'm sorry about him," Fuyumi aplogizes.

"It's not your fault," Momo assures Fuyumi. "It's your father that's rude. But I've got to say, he said some of the same stuff that I used to say about myself."

"At least you know now that that stuff isn't true," Natsuo says with his mouth full of food. "You've got guts, that's for sure. Few people would speak up to him like that."

"I don't very much like being disrespected," Momo says to us, but also to herself, I can tell.

I walk to my room to get the box that I never gave her from the arcade, but I run into Father on the way.

"I don't like this Yaoyorozu. She's changing you, distracting you. And she speaks too much for her own good, she should know when to shut her tiny mouth." His fists clench.

It takes everything within me to stop myself from hauling back and socking him in the jaw.

I clench my fists, fingernails digging into the bottom of my palms and say, "Yaoyorozu makes me better."

I then walk to my room, ignoring the glare he's probably throwing my way.

I retrieve the box and walk back to the kitchen. Natsuo and Fuyumi are nowhere to be found. Just Momo.

I set the box down on a counter, grab Momo's shoulders and kiss her, pushing her into the refrigerator. 

"What was that for?" She chuckles.

"Just reminding myself that my father is wrong. He thinks you're bad for me, but he's wrong to think it. You're amazing, Yaoyorozu."

Love is in her eyes as she smiles at me.

I take the box from the counter and open it. There's a necklace with a purple heart charm on it and she bends slightly as I put the necklace on her neck.

I put mine on.

She hugs me and our heart charms clink against each other as we do. "I love you, Shoto."

Every time she tells me this, I believe it even more.