Her Touch ~Tomura Shigaraki x OC AU~

Chapter 31: New

Illika

So warm.

So very, very warm. So comfortable and cozy. Just like a hug. Just like safety. Just like home. Or what I imagine home to feel like.

My eyes flutter open. The morning haze of gold flickers in through the still-open blinds, filling the room with the light of a new day. And wrapped around me are the strong arms of Tomura Shigaraki.

He is sleeping soundly, the soft snores rolling through his parted lips as loose strands of his shaggy hair fall into his face. Still, despite the disheveled mess, he is just as beautiful as all the times before.

Carefully, I try to sweep some hair from his face, but he stirs, his eyes slowly flickering open. In this morning light, his crimson stare reminds me of a sunrise. So calm and fiery all at once.

"Oops, sorry," I say softly, tracing my thumb along his lips. The divots are there, just like the norm. "I didn't mean to wake you up. That's my bad. You can go back to sleep. It's okay."

He shakes his head, yawning. "No, it's fine. We should probably get up, anyway."

"Are there plans for today?"

Ever since everything with the twins happened, the mayhem of the city has fallen to the back burners. At least, for me they did. I'm certain Tomura and the others still wreaked some sense of havoc during my absence, but to be honest, I feel the pull to join in again. To serve and do what I must to aid the cause.

He pulls back the duvet, sending cool air rushing over me. I shiver.

"There's going to be a meeting with the League this afternoon about plans to further tip the balance," he answers, covering me up again. "You don't have to go, though."

"I want to, though," I say, sitting up. Then I think back to all my absences over the last few weeks. "That is if I'm allowed."

He blinks. "You're allowed. I just thought that maybe you wouldn't want to. I mean, do you really?"

"Yes," I nod quickly. Then I sink, fidgeting with the hem of the duvet. "Honestly, I've felt pretty useless lately, and to be completely vulnerable here, I haven't used my quirk since..."

I think back to the day my quirk randomly reached out and dug through Tomura's memory without my say-so. It had been so strange, and even now, I don't understand why it lashed out. It had never done that before. Not since its manifestation when I was four, anyway.

I tighten my grip on the duvet. "I need to know I can still do this. That I can still use my quirk. Between its...whatever that was and the twins traumatizing me, I've been too scared to use it, and I need to reclaim that part of me. I have to know I'm still useful."

He observes me quietly, then readjusts himself on the bed, leaning closer. "Then use it on me."

I furrow my brows and frown. "What? Are you crazy? No, I'm not about to do that."

"Are you wanting to see if you can still do it?"

"Well, yes."

"Then, try it on me."

At first, I almost think it's a joke. I want to believe it is, but as I look into his eyes, I see it is anything but that. It is a serious truth and one that wraps around my throat.

"Tomura, are you crazy?" I laugh bitterly. "What if my quirk freaks out again and actually deletes something it shouldn't?"

"You can't delete solidified memories." He says this casually.