𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑽𝑬𝑫 𝑨𝑭𝑭𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 ➣ Dabi

this is love

"Touya! Stop it!" you cried, reaching for the teddy bear he held away from you.

"Say please, Y/n!" Touya said, hopping in circles to keep you from grabbing your teddy bear your father had bought for you. You frowned and tried your best to get the bear from him.

Though Touya was teasing you at the moment, and he was three years older than you, making him eight at the time, he was your very best friend. You two did everything together. You played together, you took naps together, you ate lunch together. Everything you did was with him. With Touya Todoroki.

The one you forgot about in the trauma of losing your parents. The one who's father told you to stay away from him. "You're distracting him," he had yelled one day. Touya quickly jumped between the two and though he wouldn't look his father in the eyes, he stood him up and told him to be nice to you. He was just dragged away after his father tched and glowered at you.

You loved Touya. He loved you. Everything was great. Until he was forbidden to see you. Until your parents were murdered. Then the world fell apart and in the midst of it all, you forgot the promise you made to him.

"Promise you'll never forget me, okay?" he had asked one night. "You're stuck with me, Y/n. So promise we won't forget about each other."

You took his pinky and promised him. "I promise, Touya. I promise I'll never forget you." And you truly believed you wouldn't forget him. You truly believed he would be in your life forever. You were just kids. Who knew the world could be so against you at such a young age? So of course you expected to be with him forever.

What you didn't expect was to lose your family. To lose him. You needed him when your parents died. But his father was busy tormenting him, abusing him, using him. You both needed each other. A few weeks after the death of your parents, you remember a report of a child gone missing. But you never understood who it was. At least, not until you saw the name written on your wrist.

"Touya," you whispered. "Please."

"There you go," he replied, handing you your teddy bear and patting your small head. "See! That wasn't so hard!"

"That was mean of you!" You stuck your tongue out at him, squeezing the bear in your arms.

He put a hand to his heart and frowned. "My heart!" he hollered. "It's breaking! Y/n, take it back!"

You couldn't help but giggle at him. "I take it back. You're not mean. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me!"

Touya smiled. "Yeah. You too, Y/n. You make life worth it sometimes."

"Sometimes?" you laughed.

"Fine! All the time!" He then took you in his arms and led you to the playground where he pushed you on the swings.

Touya.

Touya.

It's Touya. He's really here.

"Tou--Touya?" you hiccup, your vision already blurring with tears. The crash of memories nearly causing you to faint. You had forgotten him and the promise and Shoto and his family and the memories you two made and. . . and everything. How could you forget? How could you forget his head pats? His nicknames? His turquoise eyes? His white hair? How could you forget?

"I missed you, Y/n," he whispers, his voice cracking.

A strangled cry gets lodged in your throat and the only thing you can do is throw your arms around him. You had turned around to sit on your knees before removing the cloth and revealing your tattoo. Touya quickly wraps his arms around your waist, hugging you so damn tightly, burying his face in the crook of your neck.

"I found you," he mumbles. "I finally found you."

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" you cry, tears stroking your cheeks, leaving you breathless. But these tears aren't painful tears. More like, happy tears. You found him. You found Touya. He's here and he's holding you.

You pull away, cupping his face too look at him, to really look at him. Why didn't you see it? The white hair. The turquoise eyes. The snarky and smart-ass remarks. It was all in front of you. He was always right in front of you. But you must've shut that part of your life out, thinking you'd never see him again so why waste time thinking about him? Right?

He wipes your tears with his thumbs, blood seeping out from the scars under his eyes. "I've been searching for you everywhere. I never thought you'd come right to me," he laughs, almost shocked that you're really here in front of him.

"How," you gasp through your tears, "How did you know it was me?"

He shakes his head, stroking your soft cheeks. "I had my suspicions from the beginning. But I knew it was you when you kissed the pulse on my wrist. You did that even as kids," he murmurs, and you wipe at the blood that slowly dribbles down his face.

"I broke our promise," you whisper through trembling lips. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. Life was unfair to you."

"To us both," you correct. "But this time, I swear it Touya. I won't forget you. I promise."

He takes your pinky, interlocking it with his and sealing the promise with a kiss. "I'm holding you to that, Mouse."

You laugh, shocked that he's here, that you're holding him, and you smile as you run your fingers through his white hair. His eyes shine at yours, his hands tracing your body, never leaving you, and his lips complete with a smile of hope. Hope for once.

It makes sense. You grew a liking to him quickly. He was there for you during it all. He fed you. Protected you. Helped you. Of course he did. You were the one person in his life who never expected him to be better than he was. You loved him for him.

This. This right here is love. The way he smiles at you. The way he keeps tugging you closer, closing any space between you. The way you gladly move closer to him, accepting the lack of space. The way you wipe the blood from his cheeks with your sleeves to comfort him. The way he wipes your tears with his thumbs to comfort you. The way you look at each other. Desperate eyes. Trembling lips. Heavy breaths. You clutch his tee shirt, afraid that if you let go, you'll forget him and never see him again.

"How long will you be gone?"

Touya shrugged, avoiding eye contact with you. "Till I get my quirk under control."

"Oh." You had known Touya was struggling with his quirk. You also knew how hard his father worked him and the forming scars on his body. His quirk was too strong for his fragile body. You desperately wished you knew how to heal then. But like him, you didn't know how to control your quirk. And because of it, his father was forcing you two to stay away. He said you waste time with him. He could be doing more valuable things. Like working to become the number one hero.

"Don't worry, Y/n! It won't be for long. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it!" He laughed, cupping your face and finally looking at you. "Just promise you won't hang out with anyone else, okay?"

"Okay!" you giggled. "I promise."

He kissed you after that. A peck, almost. You were kids so it didn't mean much. But Touya did it anyway. And you went home smiling from ear to ear. He had stolen your first kiss. But you weren't mad. You wanted him to have it.

A week later, your parents were murdered in front of you. A week after that, a child went missing, presumed dead.

Who knew life could fall apart so fast?

"Touya?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."  

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