Y/N inserts (male and female)

A flicker in the rain

Dabi

The rain poured in sheets, drenching the empty streets as Y/N tightened her grip on the grocery bag in her hand. Her umbrella was barely holding up against the downpour, the wind threatening to turn it inside out. She hurried her steps, her thoughts swirling just as wildly as the storm around her.

The memories never really left her. Touya—her childhood friend, her confidant—was gone. She hadn't seen him in years, not since that awful day when he vanished. Y/N had blamed herself for his disappearance. She'd replayed every moment in her head, wondering if she'd missed something, if there was anything she could've done to keep him from slipping through her fingers.

The world knew him now as Dabi, the villain with flames like blue hellfire. Y/N knew better, though. Beneath the scars and the hatred was the boy who used to light her way with his laughter, who once swore he'd protect her when she first came out.

The rain grew heavier, and Y/N ducked into an alley to escape the worst of it. The narrow space was dimly lit by a flickering streetlamp, casting eerie shadows against the walls. She leaned against the cold brick, catching her breath.

A faint sound reached her ears—footsteps. Slow, deliberate, and getting closer.

Her heart raced as she peered down the alley, her quirk instinctively sparking to life. A faint glow of soft, golden light emanated from her hands, enough to illuminate the dark corners.

"Who's there?" she called, her voice steady despite the fear bubbling in her chest.

A figure emerged from the shadows, his silhouette sharp and imposing. His dark coat clung to his tall frame, the rain dripping from his wild black hair. As he stepped closer, the faint glow of her light reflected off his face, revealing pale, scarred skin and electric-blue eyes that burned with a dangerous intensity.

"Still can't stay out of trouble, can you, Sunshine?"

Y/N froze, the nickname hitting her like a freight train. Only one person had ever called her that.

"Touya..." she whispered, her voice trembling.

He smirked, the expression as sharp and cutting as she remembered, but there was something else there too—something softer, buried beneath the years of bitterness and pain.

"It's Dabi now," he said, leaning casually against the wall. "Touya Todoroki doesn't exist anymore."

Y/N's hands fell to her sides, her light dimming. The world seemed to spin as emotions she'd buried long ago came rushing back. She stepped forward, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"I thought you were dead."

Dabi's smirk faltered, his eyes flickering with something unreadable. "I might as well be, don't you think?"

Her fists clenched, the rain soaking through her clothes as she glared at him. "Don't you dare say that. You disappeared, Touya. You left me—left everyone—without a word. Do you have any idea what that did to me? I thought it was my fault!"

He flinched at her words, his confident facade cracking for just a moment. He looked away, his hand raking through his damp hair. "It wasn't your fault, Y/N. None of it was."

"Then why?" she demanded, stepping closer. "Why did you leave? Why didn't you come back?"

Dabi stayed silent for a long moment, the rain filling the void between them. Finally, he sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Because I couldn't," he admitted. "I wasn't strong enough to stay. Not back then. I was angry, hurt, and... I didn't know how to be anything else. So I burned it all down—everything, including the parts of me you used to know."

Y/N's heart ached at his words, at the raw vulnerability in his voice. She reached out, her hand hovering just shy of his arm. "You didn't have to do it alone, Touya. You had me. You still have me."

He stiffened, his gaze snapping back to hers. The rain dripped down his face, mingling with the faint glow of her light as it sparked to life again, soft and warm. For a moment, he looked like the boy she used to know—the boy who laughed with her under the sun and shared dreams of a brighter future.

"You shouldn't say that," he said, his voice low and pained. "Not to someone like me."

"Someone like you?" Y/N stepped closer, her light brightening. "You're Touya Todoroki, and I don't care what name you go by now. You're still you, and I'm not giving up on you."

Dabi stared at her, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, a wry smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"You're just as stubborn as I remember," he muttered.

"And you're just as infuriating," Y/N shot back, a small smile breaking through her tears.

For the first time in years, something flickered in Dabi's chest—a warmth he thought he'd lost forever. He didn't know if he deserved it, but for now, he let himself bask in the light she brought, even if only for a moment.

The rain continued to fall, but neither of them seemed to notice as they stood together, the past and present colliding in the dim glow of her quirk.