Chapter Fourteen

The next day at the agency, I'm immediately called into Endeavor's office and once I'm inside, I pace nervously. It's not like I didn't know this was going to happen after I directly disobeyed him, but that doesn't mean I'm not anxious about it.

"Kaida" Endeavor says when he enters and I stop pacing instantly. Endeavor's face looks like it's carved out of stone so I keep completely quiet, trying not to piss him off any more than usual.

"You can relax. I'm not dismissing you" he says after a moment, walking over to his desk and taking a seat. I visibly deflate.

"Oh thank god" I breathe, feeling like a weight's just been lifted off my shoulders.

"Don't get too excited. You're still in hot water" he snaps, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"I did my best with the heroes association and the school. So far as I know, no punishment is getting ready to befall you, however, you will be expected to behave perfectly from here on out" he finishes, levelling a serious gaze at me. I swallow.

"Like probation?" I wonder and he scoffs, an annoyed look on his face.

"Something like that" he confirms and I shake my head. Damn it. I can't afford something like this.

"I won't thank you outright" Endeavor says suddenly and I blink at him, both confused and irritated by the comment.

"What you did was thoughtless, reckless, and almost cost me more than you realize. But... it's also that exact drive that makes a hero. Regardless of the forces around you, you fought for what you believed to be the right thing without fail" he adds. Pride surges through me like flames and I have to fight to keep a smile off my face. Endeavor never dishes out compliments.

"Thank you" I try to say seriously, but he's not having it.

"Get out" he replies shortly. I still smile on the way out though, feeling like he's really on my side for once. It's an oddly warm feeling. I walk out of Endeavor's office with a newfound confidence and motivation to do better. Even with probation hanging over my head, having the support of the number one hero is an irreplaceable high and I burn with it all the way through the office until I see Todoroki heading this way.

"Hey" he says, noticing me even as I turn around to avoid him. I smile a little too widely and turn around, holding up a hand to wave.

"Oh, hey... didn't see you there" I say, trying to recover, but Todoroki's already giving me an odd look. Yikes. Things haven't been this awkward between us since before we started training together.

"Are you okay?" he asks and I feel like fainting. Did he hit his head? Or did he just forget that I laid one on him yesterday? Or worse, maybe it wasn't even that memorable. Ugh. The thought of it makes me want to sink into a hole.

"I'm definitely fine" I assure him.

"Good, because I was thinking..." he begins, reaching forward and grabbing one of my hands. The action is so casual it almost seems effortless, but my heart slams against my ribcage and all I can do is just stare at him as he talks. A small smile plays on his lips and his eyes hold mine without faltering.

"After our work study today... would you want to go do something with me?" he asks. I freeze, unprepared for the question I definitely have to ask him.

"Like... a date?" I wonder nervously and he laughs, a bit of color coming to his cheeks.

"Yeah... like a date" he nods, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. I bite my lip. He looks so nervous all of a sudden and the sight of it makes me want to kiss him again.

"Definitely" I agree. Todoroki gives me a look of surprise, like he really didn't expect it, but how could he not? I've been pining after him almost since I showed up here, now, with an actual date on the horizon, my entire body feels weightless.

"Come on, you two! You're with me today!" Burnin' interrupts, throwing her arms over our shoulders and guiding us out of the building. On any normal day, I'd be irritated, but today I smile as she leads us out and I wonder what Todoroki has planned. In fact, the thought has me so consumed, I almost miss seeing Bakugo disappearing inside the elevator at the last second.

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"Not to be skeptical, but what exactly is the plan here?" I ask dubiously as Todoroki leads me into a clearing not far from the school and sets down his prepacked book bag. After our work study he asked for about an hour to get ready and I gladly complied, happy for the extra time to change and look decent, but now I'm a little worried about his mysterious plans.

"Don't worry, you'll see" he grins, taking a few steps away from me and crouching down to the ground. I tilt my head, watching curiously as ice starts to spread out and away from his fingertips, climbing over the blades of grass in layers. Ice thicker than I've ever seen spreads out across the field in a matter of minutes and the glow of it in the setting sun is dazzling. I gasp, watching as frozen pillars twist up out of the ground at all sides, closing in the hand-crafted rink perfectly. After it's finished, Todoroki stands up, a breathless smile on his face.

"What do you think?" he asks and I'm speechless. I shake my head.

"It's... beautiful" I breathe. Todoroki grins and takes two pairs of skates out of his bag.

"Can you skate?" he asks. I shake my head.

"I can learn" I almost weep and he laughs, the look on his face making my heart swell.

"Come here" he says. I do as I'm told and sit beside Todoroki in the grass, watching him as he helps me put on the ice skates.

"I hope they fit" he notes, a nervous look on his face again. I push my feet into the boots and nod. They're a little big, but not noticeably.

"They're great" I reply, earning a smile. Once he helps me lace them up, he helps me to stand and tries not to laugh when I almost immediately lose my balance.

"You okay?" he chuckles and I make a face.

"Don't laugh! I'm trying" I complain, but this only makes him laugh harder.

"Come on" he grins, taking my hand again and guiding me onto the ice. I follow him nervously, carefully watching his movements and trying to copy them.

"That's it" he encourages, eyes bright. At first, I struggle, fearing I might lose my balance or slip up, but as we get closer and closer to the center of the rink and Todoroki doesn't let go, my confidence starts to increase.

"I'm doing it" I beam, relaxing my grip on his hand. Todoroki nods, smiling sweetly.

"Let's go faster" he suggests and my eyes widen.

"Wait" I try, but he's already taking off, pushing off with one leg and leaning into the speed. Warm night air mixed with the cold emanating off the ice rushes over my face and pushes my hair back. I take a deep breath, exhilarated by the feeling. I start laughing.

"This is amazing!" I shout, voice echoing a bit off the trees. Todoroki laughs too, looking back at me like he's seeing me for the first time. It makes my stomach tie itself in knots.

"Want to try something else?" he asks. Despite my nerves, I nod, heart hammering. He grins, turning around and grabbing my hands as he begins to skate backwards. I gasp, trying not to fall. Todoroki doesn't let me though, just tightens his grip on my hands and pulls me after him, closer and closer as we skate. Eventually, he pulls me so close that I can't focus on how close our skates are to colliding together, instead, I'm focused on the scent of mint and campfire and the look in his eyes now. Who knew he could be so... romantic? He slows me to a stop, skating around me and releasing my hand to pick up some speed. My heart thunders in my chest as I watch him and when he comes close again, I catch my breath.

"You're really good" I say in a low voice. He skates around back of me, coming to a stop in front and brushing some of my hair out of my face.

"You really like it?" he asks, motioning to the masterpiece of his own creation. I look around, unable to hide the wonder on my face.

"I love it" I reply. When I look back at him, his face is swimming with affection and pride. It's an amazing sight to see.

"I'm glad" he murmurs and before I know it, he's gently tilting my face towards his, his fingers beneath my chin. My lips part in anticipation just seconds before he kisses me. This kiss is much more intimate than the last and I shiver when he pulls me closer, a low noise coming from the back of his throat when my hands find his sides, gripping his shirt. I feel like the whole world is spinning around us and nothing else seems to matter, nothing at all.

"Was that... okay?" Todoroki murmurs after pulling away a bit. Noses still touching and breath still mingling, I'm one hundred percent sure that it was better than okay.

"Very good, so good, actually the best" I breathe, grabbing the side of his face with my hand and pulling him back into another kiss. He laughs a little against my mouth, but he complies instantly, kissing me back like it's the most natural thing in the world. I grin, feeling like I could stay this way with him forever and never get tired of it.

"Come on" he says finally, backing away and grabbing my hand again to skate. Sure, I could make out with him for the rest of the night, but skating with him is good too, and for a while, that's all we do. Todoroki proves to be an impressive skater the entire time, saving me from falling almost every time, but despite my athletic prowess on the battlefield, ice skating isn't my strong suit. A couple of times, I land directly on my ass and my only saving grace is the fact that Todoroki is so cute when he's worried that it eliminates any embarrassment on my part. For a long time, we stay this way, well after the moon rises and the clearing falls dark. Todoroki's ice looks even more enchanting at night, almost as if the moon is glowing within it, and we end the night with another slow skate. It's almost like dancing, the way Todoroki moves with me, and I can hear the music playing in the back of my mind as clear as day. I sigh happily, heart singing.

"You ready to go?" Todoroki asks, right at my ear. I shiver, amazed at the effect he has on me.

"No" I reply and he laughs, pulling me close again.

"Me neither" he admits, eliciting a smile from me.

"I always knew you had a crush on me" I tease, but Todoroki's face grows a bit more serious as he gazes at me. I look at his mouth instinctively, wondering if there's gonna be another kiss in it for me.

"Was it so obvious?" he murmurs and my eyes widen. Does that mean...? He holds me close, almost like we're really dancing and it's getting so dark that I can just barely see his eyes.

"I uh..." I stammer, unsure of what to say. Todoroki smiles, eyes warm.

"Since the first day, when you sat next to me..." he begins, pulling away for just a beat before tugging me into another lap around the rink.

"Wait, what were you going to say?" I ask. He smiles back at me, but he doesn't reply. I halt, trying to pull him to a stop too, but I underestimate my momentum and slip backwards, ready to fall on my ass again. This time though, Todoroki spins around, cradling the back of my head with his hand and falling with me to absorb the impact. I gasp when we hit the ice, immediately feeling guilty, but he just laughs, shaking his head at me.

"So impatient" he teases and I frown, but my heart's not in it.

"Tell me" I plead, needing to hear what he was going to say.

"You were so flustered the whole time... constantly trying to fix your appearance and getting so lost in thought... I thought you were beautiful" he tells me and it feels like the breath leaves my lungs all at once. All this time? My face grows hot instantly as I remember my first day here and one of the first things Todoroki ever said to me.

"Even after you saw my ass?" I demand, disbelief coloring my tone. Todoroki laughs loudly, rolling over on the ice and covering his face with his hands.

"Hey! Shut up! It's not funny!" I whine, but he laughs harder, looking at me through his hands.

"It was pretty funny" he disagrees and I roll my eyes.

"You're lucky you're cute" I say. Todoroki sits up and looks at me then, a warm smile on his face.

"You think I'm cute, huh?" he wonders. I want to scream.

"Don't get cocky" I mutter, but I can't keep the smile off my face and Todoroki can't either. We get up after a moment, both of us trying to avoid wet clothes for the walk home, and at Todoroki's recommendation, we get off the ice and change our shoes to head home. At first, walking feels a little funny and even a little sore, but as we continue on our way, I think less and less about my soreness and more and more about his fingers interlaced with mine. How is it possible that we got here already? Or that Todoroki feels even half of what I've been feeling for him? I marvel at the last few hours as I remember the first time we walked home hand in hand. That time, Todoroki called me his friend, but tonight... I smile warmly to myself, realizing how wrong I was.

"What are you thinking about?" Todoroki asks as we near the dorms and I sigh, not sure how to pinpoint the exact thought to him.

"There was a time I thought we'd only ever be friends" I admit. He smiles faintly, a nostalgic look in his eye.

"I thought so too" he replies. I raise an eyebrow, curious.

"What made you change your mind?" I wonder and this time it's his turn to sigh.

"Honestly? I probably would've held off forever if you hadn't made the first move" he says sheepishly, an embarrassed smile on his face. I raise my eyebrows, surprised.

"You mean the kiss?" I ask and he nods.

"I didn't know what to make of... this" he replies honestly, sounding more unsure than I've ever heard him before.

"You're the first person I've ever been interested in enough to pursue this way" he adds and I feel both excitement and guilt. I had lots of boyfriends growing up, so this isn't exactly my first round at dating, but I can say for sure that Todoroki's the first guy I've ever had feelings quite like this for.

"I'm glad you did" I tell him softly and he smiles at me, coming to a stop in front of the dorms.

"I'd offer to walk you home but..."

"We kind of already live together" I interrupt, rolling my eyes.

"What an inconvenience" I sigh, making him laugh again.

"Goodnight, Kaida" Todoroki says, leaning forward to kiss me on the nose. I blush, covering my nose immediately after.

"Goodnight... Shoto" I say. His eyes widen a bit, a nice pink color flushing his cheeks. The look is so cute, I can't help myself. I lean forward and kiss him gently on the lips, this one much more similar to the first.

"See you tomorrow" I say and without another word, I disappear into the dorm building, rushing up the stairs and making a beeline for my room. Once I get there, I slam the door shut behind me and squeal as loud as I can, heart beating so fast I feel like I might pass out. Oh my god. I slide to the floor by my door, covering my face with my hands and trying not to smile so hard. He kissed me. I kissed him. We went skating. He's even more romantic that I thought. Holy crap, holy crap, HOLY CRAP. It takes all of my willpower not to scream and as soon as my pulse slows, I stand up, eager to tell Shiori about tonight. She's gonna flip out when... I pause, hand on the door knob. Shiori isn't here anymore... I pull my hand away from the door, clenching my fist and walking back over to my bed. Leave it to my sister to ruin a night that she wasn't even a part of, but that's the whole problem isn't it? She isn't a part of it.

"Kill joy" I mutter. It seems like it's been forever since I've thought about her so intensely, but now as I lay down on my bed, griping about how I'm supposed to be fantasizing about Shoto, the absence of her only seems to grow. She was supposed to be here for this stuff, but she feels like she's a whole world away from me. Ugh, what a way to end the perfect date. I'll just come home, swoon for ten seconds, then wallow in self-pity because my stupid sister doesn't love me. I sit up and throw my pillow across the room, angry at my stupid brain for bringing up stupid things. Still... the thought of Shoto's hand at my cheek warms me, putting a small smile on my face. Yeah, even in the midst of all of the bad, that... that's still good. Really good.