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sasuhinasno1fan · 4 years

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A poké egg of confessions

@sarah-akhavan, I’m your confessioner for the @tododekuvalentine exchange. This is only my second BNHA fic so I hope this is good. I want to give a big thanks to nickyfics on AO3 for betaing this story and I hope you really enjoy this.

Shouto walked around the baby Pokémon scuttling along, getting underfoot. When he first visited the rehabilitation centre where his mother was placed, he was so worried he’d step on one of them, despite the breeders walking like normal. Now, he was just as good as the breeders at avoiding them, their bodies programmed to walk around them. He reached the egg room and, after quickly sanitizing, he knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a soft voice called.

He opened the door to see a woman near a window, the sun shining off her white hair. Her bright blue scrubs looked slightly big on her body, but the grace she moved with made you overlook how the clothes looked on her. She turned, showing her gentle smile and kind grey eyes. “Shouto, you came.”

“Hi, mother,” he replied with a smile of his own.

His mother came over and hugged him, taking his face in her hands when they pulled away, rubbing her thumb against his cheek.

“I didn’t know when you’d be here. I would have transferred the egg if you hadn’t insisted on coming yourself. What did you tell your friend?”

Shouto thought about his travel companion who was currently travelling with old friends to attend a Pokémon contest. He seemed upset at his insistence for him to stay put, but he hoped in the end it would be worth it. “He’s heading to a contest with a few friends. The plan is to meet up with them before we catch our plane to Alola.”

“I still can’t believe you’re going to Alola. You’re going to have so much fun.”

“There’s a lot of regulations we have to follow. It will be fun to see where Yuki and Salzzle came from.” Shouto said, thinking about his Alolan Ninetails who had gotten swarmed by baby Pokémon with her sister Pyre when they came in.

He followed his mother to a corner where eggs sat in incubators. She went to a marked one and picked it up, handing it to Shouto.

“You’ll have to fill out the paperwork at the front desk, but, as far as we can tell, this little egg will be an Eevee. I must say, this person must be quite special.”

Images of pouting lips Shouto had to control the urge not to kiss and the sad green eyes as he climbed on the borrowed Braviary floated into his mind. He remembered how those same green eyes shone with determination to help him realise that he didn’t need to push away Pyre to prove his father wrong. How those eyes gleamed with kindness and the urge to never give up.

“He is.”

Some might say it was pretty bold of him to adopt an egg for what they considered a travel companion, but, to Shouto, Izuku was more than that. At the beginning of his journey, his father was pushing him to become part of the Elite 4, something he wanted no part in. Growing up with his father had been hell, as he pushed his Pokémon to the edge and did the same to his family. When he found out just how powerful Pyre and Yuki, Shouto’s twin Vulpixs, were, both Shouto and his Pokémon had been subjected to harsh training. When his mother finally snapped and had been shipped off to a hospital, Shouto turned his back on all fire types, seeing them as an extension of his father. Unfortunately, that included Pyre. He knew she’d been confused. One day, her beloved trainer loved her back, and the next, he turned his back on her. He wasn’t proud of it, but he couldn’t shake the idea that all fire types were just like his father.

Then, he met Izuku. He’d only heard about him from his father, a protégé chosen by the longest standing champion, All Might. His team was a ragtag mess when Shouto first saw them, but he quickly learned that Izuku Midoriya didn’t give up easily, and neither did his team. He travelled with his friends, and it seemed like they’d always bump into each other. They tried inviting him to travel with them, but he was so sure he’d be fine on his own. After an attack by a group of extremists who wanted to take the entire League down, the two had an actual conversation as they waited in the Pokémon Centre for their Pokémon to heal. He didn’t know why, but he told Izuku his whole life story, every gruelling part.

When he was done, the dimly lit room was silent before Izuku spoke. “I know you say you won’t use fire types because of your dad, but I can tell Pyre is different.” Pyre had gotten hurt the worst during that fight. “You care about her. Just because she’s a fire type doesn’t mean she’s like your dad. She cares about you; I can tell.”

When their Pokémon recovered, Izuku asked for a battle, doubles just like Shouto was known for battling: Yuki and Pyre against his Rufflet and Dartrix. Shouto had been worried. Since Pyre evolved, she listened to him less and less in battle, making her own decisions and causing him to have to rearrange his whole strategy. That battle was no different; as he started getting frustrated, he felt like he was training with his father, getting pushed to the edge over and over again.

“She’s your Pokémon, Todoroki! Your father has no control over her. She wants to win just as much as you do, and, if she truly hated you, she would have left.”

Izuku’s words were true; she would have. Just hearing the facts spoken and seeing how Izuku wouldn’t give up until he understood that pushed Shouto more. He ended up losing the battle, but he left with a determination to regain Pyre’s trust. When his father heard about the match and his loss though, he demanded that Pyre be released; according to him, she was holding him back.

Shouto had never been one to give into his father, but he pushed harder than ever that day. He screamed at his father that Pyre was important, and he didn’t care if it meant he never became part of the Elite 4; Pyre wasn’t going anywhere. His father moved to hit him into submission like he usually would, but Pyre bit into his father’s arm. She wouldn’t let go as he tried shaking her off, and, even after he roughly threw her to the ground, she growled at Endeavour, like she was daring him to come closer. His father left in a huff, and Shouto carefully approached her. When she nudged her head under his hand, he knew what Izuku said was true. Pyre still loved him.

By the time he met Izuku again, his bond with Pyre had grown much stronger. For one, she actually started listening to him again, mostly. He realised that, as she grew older, she had developed a very stubborn personality, especially compared to her calmer sister. But he loved every moment of it, having his two favourites loving him again.

Izuku’s smile when he saw the difference in how they acted was astounding. There had been a small thought in Shouto’s head that thought he looked really cute, but he had shoved that aside. Izuku usually asked him to join his group, but Shouto was more used to keeping by himself, so when Izuku asked if the two of them could travel together, without his other friends, he’d been surprised.

“Are you sure?” He’d asked as they got something to drink at a nearby cafe.

Izuku nodded. “I want to be like All Might, but I’ve also realised to be just as great of a Champion, I have to go on my own path. Not that I don’t appreciate all he’s done for me. Other than my mom, he’s the only who had full faith in me to be a trainer before I started my journey. You wander a lot, so I thought, if it’s ok with you, that maybe I can see things in a different perspective. If that’s ok with you. It doesn’t have to be. I mean obviously it must be a problem but, um, well, I still hope-”

“Midoriya.” He said, stopping the words that were starting to merge into muttering. “I’d be ok with that.”

He could have said no. Had that battle never happened, he would have. But he didn’t; he agreed, and it was the two of them travelling around the region, battling trainers, catching Pokémon, and getting to know each other better. After Shouto told him about how his mother was a Contest Coordinator, it seemed like a coincidence that Izuku insisted they give a local contest a try.

“It’s an interesting way of battling and having to keep the audience in awe. It’s worth trying out.”

He didn’t know how Izuku managed to find the hospital his mother was at; while she recovered from the horrors of his father, she helped take care of baby Pokémon, but Izuku did and called so she could watch the televised proof that Shouto was just as good a coordinator as he was trainer.

After his mother had called the local Pokémon Centre and told him how proud she was and how she wished she could have been there in person to see him accept his ribbon, he asked Izuku why he called his mother.

“You seemed convinced that she hated you for something your father had done. I’m sure she wanted a chance to talk to you, and what better conversation starter than something she loved? I’m sorry; did I overstep?”

He pulled Izuku into a tight hug and that little voice in his head that kept whispering little things he noticed about Izuku came full force when it said, ‘You like him’.

“Thank you Izuku.” That was the first time he called him by his first name.

Now knowing that he had feelings for Izuku, part of him wanted to hide it. Then, Izuku was offered an opportunity by his mentor, Yagi Toshinori, also known as All Might.

“Alola? Isn’t that a tourist destination?”

“Yes. The professor there has decided that they should start a Pokémon League chapter there. With their different variation of Pokémon due to the region, I say it’s a very good thing to do. They’ve already got their gyms set up, but they call it trials. After the trials, the trainer will go against a kahuna. With all the different islands, the trials are spread out and central to their area. Like how the professor in the Kalos region discovered Megaevelution, they’ve discovered a crystal known as a Z-Crystal that’s able to activate with a feeling shown through dance, much like their traditional dances, to give their Pokémon a powerful move. So far, there hasn’t been anyone who’s finished all the trials and gotten to reach the level of Champion. I thought you might be interested in trying.”

Shouto could tell he was. Izuku wanted to be the best trainer, but his mind was constantly running with Pokémon, their stats, the livelihood. To be in a whole new area, with Pokémon with regional differences in their types and looks, he knew Izuku would say yes. He didn’t realise what else he’d say.

“Come with me!”

Shouto had blinked in confusion, trying to not self-combust as Izuku held him by his wrists. He’d told All Might to wait for a moment and dragged him into a corner, before shouting the question at him.

“Come with you?”

“To Alola! You could get far away from your father, and you could make a name for yourself as a double battle trainer in a whole new place. Plus,” Izuku looked embarrassed at that moment, “I like travelling with you. I’d miss you a lot if you stayed here. So, come with me?”

It took everything to not say it then, that he had feelings for Izuku. But he didn’t; he wanted it to be special. He agreed to go with him, and, while Izuku told the good news to All Might, he called his mother.

“I need a favour.”

“What’s the matter? You look, I don’t know, sick almost,” his mother asked, concerned.

“Not sick, just worried and nervous. I want to do something for someone, and I want it to be perfect. Can you help me?”

____________

He landed in front of the Pokémon Centre, being as careful as possible with the incubator. The egg had been moving a lot the whole flight back, so he was sure that it would hatch soon.

He put Braviary back in his Poké Ball, sure he’d be glad to see his owner again, and walked into the Pokémon Centre, looking for a familiar head of green hair.

“Shouto!” His name was his only warning as a small, annoyingly muscular body was thrown into him, hugging the breath out of him. “You’re back!”

“Izuku, I can’t breathe.”

“Oh! Sorry!” Izuku pulled back, letting Shouto take in his freckled face and bright green eyes. “I missed you.”

His heart clenched, in a good way. After travelling alone for so long, to hear someone he cared about tell him he missed them, even though he was gone for a mere day and a half, it warmed his chest. Even if Izuku didn’t return his feelings – which would hurt, he hoped they’d at least stay close friends. It was part of the reason he wanted to keep quiet, the fear of losing a great friend, but he also knew keeping it inside would hurt worse. He had his moments of when everything would go spilling out if he kept it bottled in for too long, and the last thing he wanted to do was blurt it out at the worst possible moment.

“Hey, let’s go to the roof,” Izuku said, pulling him to the elevator.

“The roof?” Shouto asked. A random request didn’t really suit Izuku, which was saying something, seeing how his mind went a mile a minute.

Izuku didn’t say anything until they were inside the elevator, and Izuku relaxed a little. “Your dad is here,” he stated.

Now he understood. “Why’s he here?”

“Apparently, All Might let him know that you’re coming with me to Alola. Thankfully, as soon as he stormed out, All Might called me to let me know, and, plus side, I got to battle your dad. Shame I’m not finishing the League here; it would have been so nice to see the look on your dad’s face in front of spectators.”

Shouto wished he’d been there to see it.

“Oh, also, I got you something.”

“Huh?”

“I was gonna give it to you when we got to Alola, but I feel like I have to give it too you now.”

“It’s ok.” Shouto said as Izuku dug through his bag. Honestly, it was giving him time to try and think of how he wanted to say his confession.

“Here.” Shouto accepted the present, wrapped in tissue paper, from Izuku, pulling the ribbon off and stilling at what was sitting inside. “Now, it’s not the actual limited edition one. The PokéDoll Company was really telling the truth about the 10 dolls per region.”

Collecting PokéDolls was something Shouto had picked up from his mother. His collection today was kept safe at his sister’s house or in his and Izuku’s Secret Base – which was packed away and on its way to Alola – with only a few smaller ones kept with him. The PokéDoll Company had released a new line dolls of Pokémon that mixed the different looks some Pokémon had in each region, like Ditto or Koffin. The dolls were chimeras, mixing the two features in a cute way and of course, Shouto had wanted to get the Vulpix. It was him and his girls in doll form. It was sold out by the time they reached a store though. He’d only mentioned it once; he didn’t realised Izuku remembered.

“I got a friend to make one for me and look, it’s wearing a collar like Pyre and Yuki. I’m glad we get to travel around too, Shouto, and I’m happy I get to have this adventure with you.”

Staring down at the half white, half red Vulpix in his hands, Shouto knew that he was ready to tell Izuku how he felt. He obviously didn’t want to assume Izuku’s feelings, but it was small things like this that would give him hope.

“So, where did you go so suddenly? I mean, it was great to see Iida and Uraraka again, but you didn’t give me a straight answer.”

“I went to go see my mother.”

Izuku’s eyes went wide. “What happened, is she ok?”

“She’s fine, don’t worry. I wanted to pick up something from her.”

“Don’t scare me like that,” Izuku said as the door opened and they walked out onto the roof. It was quiet, a few flying type Pokémon hopping around looking for stray food, though they all flew up once the two trainers approached a bench.

Shouto placed the incubator between them, watching Izuku’s eyes get drawn to it.

“Is that? Is that an egg? That’s what you went to go get?”

“Do you still miss BunBun?”

Anyone listening to their conversation would have been confused by the change in subject, but Izuku knew what Shouto was talking about, judging from the understanding and surprise in his eyes.

BunBun, an affectionately named Espeon, had been Izuku’s mother’s Pokémon. She had raised BunBun since a pup, keeping her more as a pet, who enjoyed attacking any garden stealing Pokémon, according to Izuku. Whenever Izuku would call home, the purple furred Pokémon would be on his mother’s lap, pawing at the screen, not understanding at her old age why she couldn’t get to her favourite person. She had passed a while back, before the offer to Alola had been given. Shouto paid for tickets on the ship that brought them to Izuku’s home where he had been able to say goodbye in person.

“I always wanted an Eevee, but BunBun never found anyone to mate with and the breeding places are so far from here.” Izuku had told him, staring at the flower covered mound now sitting in the backyard of his house. Shouto could hear Ms. Midoriya puttering inside, trying to keep busy. They didn’t know then that, weeks later, an orphaned Chimecho would find its new home with Inko Midoriya.

“What would you evolve them to?” Shouto asked, happy to keep Izuku talking so he wouldn’t burst into tears again.

“I would have been happy with any evolution. I know they would have been happy whichever one they chose.”

“Unless, of course, it was a shiny.” Shouto had said, knowing the rants Izuku could go on about the colours a shiny’s fur could be.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t imagine BunBun with neon green fur. Then again, when she was chasing away Pokémon, she’d get dirty from being in the garden. I’d cringe a little, but as long as they’re happy, I’m happy.”

“This is an Eevee egg.” Izuku stated.

“It is.”

“Your mom is recovering at basically a Pokémon nursery.”

Shouto shrugged. He couldn’t argue with that.

“Why? Not that I’m not honoured, but why?”

“Izuku, when we first met, my one desire was to beat you and beat All Might like my father wanted, even though I always told myself I didn’t want that. Isolating myself and living the way I did, I was setting myself up for disaster and potentially losing one of my best friends. I can’t thank you enough for helping me and Pyre. I’ve realised that travelling together with you is something I truly enjoy, and I couldn’t be gladder you asked me to travel with you. Izuku, I think I love you. No, actually, I’m certain I love you.”

The world was quiet after he said those words, the breeze blowing gently as he stared at Izuku, who stared back at him, before his attention was drawn down.

“Shouto!”

He looked down to see the egg starting to glow in its incubator. He took the top off and watched as the light got brighter and brighter until the egg broke and a shape took form. Just as quickly as it appeared, the light dimmed and in its place, with silver fur, as a Shiny Eevee. Shouto knew his confession would go on the back burner for now, with the surprise for both of them sitting there. He hoped that, when they had a moment to breath, he’d get an answer. One he secretly hoped would be the one he wanted.

#tddkvalentine #tddkvalentine2020 #Pokemon AU

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