requested by wispriquin
prompt: mirio x reader who got neglected by her parents bcs of her quirk and mirio cheers da reader up? i dunno- unu
Sometimes it was strange how quick Mirio Togata could catch onto abnormalities in someone's personality. He might act lucky-go-happy all the time, but he was always watching.
Always watching for signs.
Mirio knew that something was wrong when he first met you. He knew it when you hesitantly stood up, arm blazing with the beginnings of some sort of intense white flame; a flame that made even the teacher flinch away.
Quirk: Ghost Flame. The flames of your quirk could summon any sort of spirit that had passed on in an area, appearing for everyone to see. To say the least, it was a great surprise when the ghost of a student had risen out of the ground upon activation of your quirk, scaring the living heck out of the teacher.
Mirio also knew there was something off when you immediately smothered out your quirk, body shaking and trembling as you sat back down, eyes haunted. Haunted with some sort of memory, a memory that most likely involved your quirk.
He could be imagining it. But Mirio had never been one to just stand around and watch someone drown in their own sorrow, alone, even if it was just a hunch.
The blonde had now set his mind to getting to know you. With a simple stride forward after class, he approached you with a wide smile on his face. Hand outstretched, Mirio spoke to you in a loud, clear voice, a wide grin on his face.
"Hello. I'm Mirio Togata, and I would like to introduce myself to you. You've got a crazy cool quirk; I've got to admit, I'm kind of jealous! All I can really do is warp through walls and get naked, haha!"
Upon hearing his words, your eyes seemed to darken, and you looked down at your hands. Voice shaky, you spoke quietly. Words seemed to come out extremely careful for you, and Mirio couldn't help but let his grin slip off his face slightly.
"...I'm Y/N L/N. I'm not exactly sure if my quirk would be considered something cool though, as it's... caused more problems than do good for me.
Your words stung to Mirio. How... How could this be? Your quirk was so cool, yet...
"I won't push you on it, but," a fierce expression had settled on the hero-in-training's face, causing his features to grow more prominent; more fierce and deep.
"I'm going to help you feel better! Trust me on it!"
Your eyes flickered up to him, and he felt a shiver run down his spine at the emptiness in your gaze. Desolate. No signs of fire and fight left. A weak smile twitched onto your lips, fake and cold.
"I'm not sure if that'd ever happen, Togata. But I appreciate it."
Mirio frowned.
"Nothing is impossible."
You turned away, head bowed. Voice broken and flat, you uttered,
"Maybe it's impossible for me."
-time skip-
The cafeteria had always been a source of comfort for Mirio. The smell of freshly cooked food floating through the air, cooking by the one and only Lunch Rush... The male would have it no other way.
After Mirio got his lunch along with Tamaki and Nejire, he searched the lunchroom tables, looking for a certain someone. When his eyes finally settled on them, Mirio grinned widely.
"I'm going to be sitting somewhere else today. Go on without me," he said to his friends, approaching you.
Tamaki let out a squeak of surprise in response, while Nejire merely giggled, pushing the dark-haired boy to their normal table.
"C'mon now, Amajiki! You heard Togata, let's go!"
Huh. It was strange, the feeling that was coursing through Mirio's veins right now. Cold, icy, heavy. Was it... perhaps nervousness?
God, what was this? Ah, but Mirio shouldn't let it show. He should just hold it down and pretend that nothing out of the ordinary was being felt on his side.
"Hey, L/N! How's it going?" He questioned as he settled down next to you, trying to ignore the sense of dread in him as he eyed the empty seats around you.
It couldn't be helped, he guessed. It was because you were new here. That's all.
"...why are you doing this?" Your voice was flat as you asked, eyes moving up to glance up at him.
"I just want to get to know you better! You just seem cool, that's all," Mirio replied easily, smiling at you out of the corner of his eye, starting to dig into the food in front of him.
"...cool?" Incredulous, you repeated, watching him with dull eyes, and he smiled even wider, cheeks stuffed full with food.
"Mhm! No lies there, L/N!"
You looked down, shocked into silence. Meanwhile, Mirio stuffed his face with food, being utterly shameless.
After a few moments of silence, the male decided to break the ice. After a mighty swallow, Mirio looked to you, a questioning look in his eyes.
"Could I possibly know more about your quirk? I'm pretty curious on how it exactly works, since I didn't really get to see much of it before you had to snuff it out."
You flinched, and he immediately put up his hands in surprise. Gaze full of worry, Mirio shook his head.
"You don't have to though—! Just a suggestion."
He watched you breathe in deeply. Mirio's mouth was dry, and he looked away, wondering if this was a bad idea. Meanwhile, on your side, you were struggling to come up with enough courage to explain the whole situation.
"...oh god. I - I, um..." your voice was shaky as you looked down at your hands, the sliver of a bright, white flame curling around the length of your index finger.
You had always tended to activate your quirk when nervous. Maybe that's why the incident had occurred, all those years ago.
"I just... My parents actually hate my quirk, so that's why I... don't really like talking about it. I ended up summoning the spirit of my grandfather as a child, and it just..."
The words suddenly slipped out in an instant, and Mirio watched as you let out a whimper, head bowed. Tears threatened to spill as you trembled, unable to say anymore. You were then surprised to feel arms suddenly wrap around your body.
"I think your quirk is amazing, L/N. You seem like a pretty cool person. I wouldn't put something like your quirk against you. After all, you can't control what you're born with, can you?"
The walls seemed to collapse with those words. Teary, you sobbed freely, clutching onto his shirt.
It felt good not to be alone anymore. It felt good to have someone comforting you.
Mirio Togata certainly was a unique boy.
