Watch Closely (Dabi x Male OC)

17: Her

The door opened smoothly revealing a woman seated in bed, staring out the window. She didn't turn to greet her visitor, so he went about his business in silence. He ripped the flowers out the vase, tossing the blue blossoms in the trash. He replaced them with a beautiful arrangement of small white and blue flowers with pink roses. Far less austere than the violently blue rindou flowers. 

"Its been a while." The woman said, turning to look at her guest. Stone grey eyes met bright red and the woman smiled. "I was beginning to get worried. Its never a good thing when you go silent for large periods of time.". 

"I've been busy." Tomoya replied. "I'm sure you've seen the news. And my life can't be separated from it.". 

"Really?" Rei asked, tilting her head. "Tell me all about it.". 

Tomoya paused for a moment, feeling a rose petal between his fingers. "I met Natsuo. We have several classes in the same building. We're friends." He revealed. 

Rei smiled. "I always wanted to introduce you two back when you were caring for me. That seems so long ago now. Natsu was still in high school, you were in your undergrad program.". 

Tomoya recalled those times clearly. Endeavor's hero agency was his current internship, his first had been during his pre med course when he worked in the long term psychiatric ward of The Shimo Hospital. 

He had been 18 when he met Todoroki Rei and had been assigned to her specifically. The whole point of the internship was to weed out the people that wouldn't be able to take life as a doctor. 

But he had drawn the lucky end of the stick, caring for and talking with the kindest woman in the world. The woman who deserved a real life with her children in the real world. 

The woman who didn't deserve what happened to her. 

Originally he figured Rei liked him because he was the same age as her deceased son, or at least that's what the other staff members told him was probably the case. He soon learned that she just had a genuine interest in him, the one person who didn't treat her like she was too fragile to hear about the outside world. 

"I'm working at his hero agency. I have to, for another internship." Tomoya revealed, clenching his fist around the petal. 

Rei just nodded, taking the information in. 

"Do you plan on taking revenge on my behalf?" She asked quietly. She wasn't an idiot, she knew putting Tomoya that close to Endeavor with all he knew about him wasn't an accident. 

"Do you want me to?". 

Rei smiled. "I'd rather you just help Natsuo. Fuyumi and Shoto too, when you meet them. I only want my children to be safe and happy. Away from him." She replied simply. 

"Is that what you really want?" Tomoya asked, seemingly absentmindedly, but the question was important. "Or is it just what you think you should say? The calm way around all of this?". 

"Just because someone manipulated you into killing once before doesn't mean you should ever have to do it again.". Rei looked pained, she didn't like thinking about Tomoya's past. It hurt her. He had a hard life, harder than anyone should have to suffer through.  

When they had first met Tomoya was nervous. Skittish. Everyone else had described him as shy, Rei would have described him as scared, if anyone had asked her to. 

His bright red eyes used to dart around the room, observing every detail. Now she looked at those same eyes as they observed passively. Like he was looking right through everything. 

"Do you resent me for killing?" Tomoya asked, tilting his head to the side. "Or maybe you resent me for being willing to do so again.". 

Maybe it should have been mentioned earlier that out of everyone on earth the person who knew Hajime Tomoya the best, besides himself, was Todoroki Rei.