𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐢
The piece “Number One” includes the following; an alternate universe, wherein Touya Todoroki is on the path to becoming a pro-hero and also has dyscalculia. There is also strong profanity. It is set during his time in high school, where he is a third year. The reader is a tutor.
“you know my dads paying you to tutor me, right? not just sit there and look pretty.”
with an exasperated sigh, you shut your phone off and set it to the side, meeting touya’s eyes. you tilt your head and give him a smug smile. “aww, touya. you think i’m pretty?” you jut your lip out, almost mocking him. “you can be such a sweetie sometimes.”
he just rolls his eyes, sending you the middle finger as he looks back down at his paper. “you’re annoying.”
“yeah.” you shrug and push off the counter, taking steps towards him. “but you love it. and you think i’m pretty.” you peer down at the paper over his shoulder. “number four is wrong. you added twelve instead of subtracting it.”
his hand pauses, presumably looking over his answer, before he groans and furiously erases his answer. “this is so fucking stupid. i don’t understand why i need to learn this—i’m never gonna use it as a pro-hero.”
you hesitate, drowning slightly, then click your tongue and sit down beside him, crossing your legs and staring at the side of his face.
he’s very pretty, you think, not for the first time tonight. he has faint freckles covering his cheeks, thanks to the sun starting to come out once again. his hair is falling against his forehead messily, thanks to frustrated hands running through it over and over again. you bite the inside of your cheek and swallow quietly—swallow the words you want to say, but will never do so.
“it’s stupid, yeah,” you say. “but you can’t become a pro-hero if you fail algebra, now can you?” he doesn’t look at you, and you roll your eyes. “come on, touya. it’s not that hard.”
“yes, it is,” he argues. “the stupid ass numbers keep, like, melting together and swapping places. i can’t fucking focus.” he runs a hand through his hair again and slams his pencil down on the table, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes.
when touya was seven, he was diagnosed with dyscalculia. he was proficient in all other subjects, but lacked in the mathematical area. his mother requested he be tested for learning disabilities, and then he was diagnosed.
“have you tried highlighting the numbers?”
with his eyes still closed, he gestures to the paper. you sigh upon seeing the green marker on almost all of the numbers. “of fucking course i did. you think this is my first rodeo?”
you lean back against the couch with him and sigh once more. “you’re making my job really hard,” you joke, nudging his arm.
he opens one eye and peaks down at you, making you laugh. you don’t know why, but he laughs too. “this stupid learning disability is making my job hard too,” he mumbles. “when i own an agency, i’m hiring as many assistants as it takes to not deal with numbers.”
“what about when you need to make a phone call?”
“and when you need to pay bills?”
“definitely an assistant for that.”
“and when you’re looking at hero rankings?”
he lifts his head and looks at you, eyes narrowed playfully. “you’ve got every situation in that big brain of yours, huh?” he pokes your forehead and you swat his hand, laughing. “whatever. i’ll just make you tell me what my ranking is. probably won’t need that though. seeing as i’ll always be number one.”
you smile softly and nod. “yeah,” you whisper. “you’ll be number one, touya. i know it.”
