Resurrected & Reignited (Dabi/Touya Todoroki x Reader) [REUPLOAD]

Bonus Flashback: Happy Birthday

This is just a very short bonus chapter, but I've decided it's canon to the story now. cx Happy birthday to our favorite little bacon bit!

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"...happy birthday dear Touya!" You and Keigo sang in unison. The red-orange glow of the fire on the makeshift crayon-candle was gradually becoming brighter as the flame caught on the paper. The two of you rushed to finish the song as the flame grew. "Happybirthdaytoyou- okay okay, blow it out bro!" Keigo urged, slightly backing away from the muffin. Touya frantically blew on the candle a few times and you watched the fire slowly die. Once it was out, you and Touya locked eyes and the three of you burst into laughter.

"Maybe we should take the wrapper off of the crayon next time." You giggled.

"Seriously, we almost set the place on fire." Keigo chimed in. Touya rolled his eyes at his friend's hyperbolic statement and looked down at the waxy muffin you held in mid-air.

"Thank you, guys..." The white-haired boy murmured shyly. "You really didn't have to do this, y'know."

"Why wouldn't we celebrate our best buddy's birthday? Now come on and eat your muffin!" With one of his feathers, Keigo brought himself a snack from the small stash you kept. You followed suit, using your own quirk to pull a bag from the pile. Touya happily took hold of the muffin, and you released it for him. Though he struggled to peel some of the wax off, his smile never faded.

___

The night went on and eventually, the three of you headed down into the dark hallway to say your goodbyes. Keigo struggled with his flashlight, smacking and shaking it roughly before it flickered on.

"There we go! Alrighty, c'mon (Y/N), it's my turn to walk you back, right?" He said with a smile. You nodded and began to step toward him; however, a sudden, yet gentle, grip on your arm stopped you.

"Actually, Kei, I can take them tonight." Touya offered.

Keigo tilted his head. "Huh? No, no, it's my-" Touya sharply raised a brow and nodded in your direction while pursing his lips together.

"Oh..." Keigo's face took on a confused look at first. Then, as if a flip had been switched in his brain, he smiled. "Oooooooh. Alright, stay safe, you two." He said with a wink. You smiled back at him, but were clearly puzzled as he flew off down the hall. You turned to Touya.

"What was that about?" You wondered aloud.

"Eh, it's Keigo..." He replied, seemingly brushing off the odd behavior. His small flame lit the way faintly, and the sound of your footsteps began to echo throughout the hall. Touya kept his head down as the two of you walked, and you couldn't help but wonder why he'd offered to go with you if he wasn't even going to look at you. You cleared your throat to ask.

"So... any particular reason you wanted to walk me back?"

"No, not really." He answered a little too quickly. Even he seemed to silently acknowledge the awkward timing with a small blush.

You chuckled at his slight timidity. "No reason at all?" You tried again with a little more confidence.

He sighed. "I guess I just wanted to spend the rest of my birthday with you." The red hue that tinted his cheeks grew more noticeable, and though he didn't look away, he still wasn't looking directly at you. You felt your own face heat up, as a bashful smile graced your features. You were happy to hear his admission, but a little disappointed by his reluctance to actually engage with you. Your knuckles had been tapping occasionally the entire time you'd been walking, but until now, neither of you seemed to have the courage to acknowledge it. Hoping it was just his shyness getting the better of him, you decided to take matters into your own hands. Or rather, his hand into your own.

You moved your fingers tenderly past his own before gently interlocking. There was no resistance. He willingly tightened his grip, and gave your hand a light squeeze. The two of you continued silently down the hall. Though neither one of you knew it, your faces more closely resembled tomatoes than cheeks.

"So..." You began, doing your best to keep a calm tone. "How come you never told us when your birthday was before? We've known you for 3 years, we could've celebrated sooner."

Touya's smiling gaze was fixed on the ground. "I dunno. We don't do much for birthdays at home, so I guess I just never really thought it was all that important."

You tugged closer by his hand and wrapped your arm around his fondly. "Touya, your life is definitely something worth celebrating."

You felt your heart sink a little when you reached the collapsed exit. Knowing you'd have to release him now, you let go of his arm, but Touya kept hold of your hand.

"After you..."

___

After a few more minutes of walking and talking, the two of you reached your building. Not wanting to separate from Touya just yet, you used your quirk to slowly open the heavy front door. You stepped into the hall arm-in-arm with your friend and very slowly shut the door behind you. Only a faint click sounded as it latched shut again. Neither one of you seemed to be in a hurry to get to your room, but, even after taking nearly five whole minutes to get to it, the door was in front of you all too soon. You and Touya stood outside the room silently, grips still as tight as when you'd entered the building.

'I should say something, right? He's not moving... is he waiting for me to let go? Right. I should let go. That's what normal people would do in this situation, right?'

Touya cleared his throat. "Well, uh... h-here you are." He whispered.

"Yeah." You said, a little more disappointedly than you intended.

"Oh, uh- here let me uh..." He stammered as he reached for your door handle.

"Oh, no, that's alright- uhm, I uh..." Why was this suddenly so difficult? The two of you usually interacted so seamlessly, but in this moment, you felt any social standing you had fly out the window. You finally released him and quickly stepped into the room, but turned around to face Touya while still in the doorway.

"Eheh... Thanks for the party." He said, scratching the back of his neck. You giggled.

"Well, it wasn't much of a party. I didn't even get you a present." Though you hadn't known about Touya's birthday until the day prior, you couldn't help but feel guilty for showing up empty handed... for the last 3 years.

"Nah, you don't have to get me anything. The thought goes a long way, and the fact that you thought about me enough to sneak that crappy muffin out of the kitchen is... kinda cute."

You raised an eyebrow playfully. "How do you know that wasn't Kei?"

Touya stepped closer to you. His sudden proximity made your heart race. "I doubt it." He said, eyes flickering across your face. You blushed and turned away from him.

"Yeah, that was me." You admitted and you heard Touya release a quick puff of air through his nose. "But you know..." You continued. "I still feel obligated to give you something." Without giving it a second thought, and with almost no hesitation, you shut your eyes tight and jumped forward to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.

You pulled away quickly, returning to your spot just inside your doorway. You barely had time to register Touya's blushing, wide-eyed and dumbfounded face as you practically yelled at him: "Okay, well goodnight, see you at training, happy birthday, bye!", and slammed the door in his face, completely forgetting about the other program kids and overseers sleeping in the building. You locked the door behind you in a panic. You pressed your back to the wood and slowly slid down to the carpet while burying your face in your hands.

"Whyyyyy did I do thaaaaat?" Your muffled cry carried through the door, but the boy on the other side seemed too dazed to notice. After a moment, he lifted his hand to his face and ghosted the spot your lips had touched with his fingertips. The click of another door unlocking down the hall pulled him back to reality and sent him running for the front door.

He entered his own building casually, allowing the door to shut loudly behind him. As he approached his door, another, just two away from his own, creaked open.

"Hey, dude! Did you tell 'em?" Keigo whispered excitedly. Touya smiled faintly and shook his head.

Keigo huffed. "Aww, dang. Well, don't worry- there'll be plenty more chances. Anyway, happy birthday, man!"