Hero and Sidekick
The cold january wind hugged you tightly as you hurried down the snow-covered street. You just finished your work for the day but not without working a few extra hours thanks to your boss. He was complaining non stop, you are too slow, you are not communicating, the usual excuses to make you stay longer and to do his job.
A quiet sigh left your mouth. Maybe your life would’ve looked different if some people chose a different path to follow. Those childish dreams of yours could’ve become reality, you could’ve been running around the city in your uniform all night long, with that one person you grew up together with. The both of you would be keeping civilians safe whatever may happen while teaching those who caused trouble that nothing is going to come in your way of protecting everyone around you.
´Those were the days, huh?´, a sad smile made its way on your lips as you gazed at the starry nightsky above you. All those innocent childhood memories you carried around wherever you went, the memories you cherished the most wouldn’t leave your head all day long.
Too big was the longing of being a child again. You yearned for the peaceful days of two best friends that were laughing in a big garden under the watchful eyes of the sun. It felt like yesterday that you played hero and villain. Of course none of you wanted to be the villain, but there couldn’t be only one hero and no villain to defeat! The echos of his laugther were still clear to hear in your head, those crystal blue eyes that reminded you of the ocean were sparkling bright as they looked at you in a fierce gaze, he was going to defeat you is what he said as he tackled you with loud laughter. The childish innocence was nothing more than a memory. Oh how you missed him:
Touya Todoroki.
He was your best friend, someone you looked up to, your first crush and your first kiss. The day he declared he would marry you was still clear in your memories, you kept it safe close to your heart. His small hands cupped your chubby cheeks after you tripped and scrapped your knees, he pecked you loudly and grinned at you after. “Mommy always gives me a kiss when I’m hurt!”, he was grinning at you so brightly you could’ve easily mistaken him for the sun. “You are su-supposed to kiss my knees!”, your laugh was carefree, the pain long forgotten. He blushed and puckered his lips as he refused to meet your eyes. “I know that..”, is what he had grumbled. “But I saw a boy kiss a girl when she cried the other day..” You laughed at that and got up with his help. Your knees were burning a little, but just looking at him made you feel better. After all, he would protect you from every kind of pain! “When I marry you, I can just kiss you all I want anyways!”, he stuck out his tongue and ran away laughing, making you chase after him with red cheeks.
Thinking about those days always ended with the same kind of thoughts. Were was Touya? Was he safe? Was he happy? Did he-
You yelped loudly as you stumbled over your own feet. Someone grasped your wrist hard and yanked you into an alley. They pushed you hard, making you stumble back even further before you were shoved hard against the wall, trapped between trash that was stacked up into two piles.
“Oh, you got a clear beauty this time”, a raspy voice laughed in amusement. Three shadows were standing before you, their faces hidden in the dark. They were taller than you for sure and one of them was.. hissing? “Damn, Akira! Look at her face! Hah, I can smell her fear..”, growled another voice.
“Pl-please..”, a stutter left your mouth as you tried to press yourself even further into the wall, hoping you could just vanish in it. It wasn’t often that you thought about your quirk, you accepted it as what it was, it belonged to you and was unique in its own way, it never mattered how strong or weak it was to you. But now, right in this moment, you cursed yourself for not having a strong quirk like controlling fire or ice, gaining more strength by screaming or whatever unique quirks you already heard of. Your quirk was only good for changing ones appearance for a few hours, not your own, but apparently everyone elses, as long as you imagined it clearly in your head. Blue hair? No problem! A crooked back and big feet? Sure!
“I don’t have any money with me, please let me go, I won’t tell anyone, I swear!”, your voice shivering slightly but you tried to be strong. When did you lose the bravery you had as a child? Did your heart always beat so fast when you faced danger? “Let you go after you just got here?”, one of them snickered. “Hell no, sweetheart. Why don’t we have a little bit of fun first, hm?”
Goose bumps erupted on your skin as various thoughts of their ideas of fun ran through your head. You shook your head weakly and held your hands in front of your face to shield yourself from their gazes. “Let me go! A hero will be here soon for sure!”, your voice sounded squeaky but you hoped they somehow couldn’t hear it. One of them stepped closer into the tiny ray of light that was being cast into the alley by a street lamp. Tiny snakes replaced the hair on his head, they were hissing at you angrily as they stared down on you. His grin was dirty, his eyes eager as they examined your face but before he could step even closer to touch you, a deep voice echoed through the dark alley.
“Hey, what do you think you are doing there?”, it sounded lazy but also slightly annoyed, like the three guys interrupted his cherished moments of peace. One of the men in front of you sneered angrily as he turned to look at the shadow at the end of the alley. That was odd, you could swear the alley was a dead end. Had he been there all this time? There was no way he could just magically appear, right?
“What do you want huh? Get lost and keep your nose out of somebody elses buisness!”
A quiet chuckled could be heard from the shadow as he stepped closer into the light. His clothes were dark as well as his hair. The tiny bit of healthy skin on his face was pale but the area around his eyes as well as the skin on his lower jaw was scared, it was even reaching to his ears and down his neck. The staples he used to keep his skin pinned to his face would’ve surely distracted you, if it wasn’t for the dull crystal blue eyes that stared at the man lazily. Even in the dimly lit alley, you were sure you knew those eyes too well.
“Touya… Touya?”, your whispers fell on deaf ears. The snake-haired guy in front of you stepped back in front of his friends and stared at the man in front of them angrily. “Didn’t you hear what I just said? I said get lost!”, his friends laughed and one of them rolled up his sleeves. Wasn’t he freezing without a jacket? “You surely are an idiot!”, he barked. Suddenly, you could hear rustling underneath you and one quick glance at the ground told you, that the wet pavement you were standing on started to freeze. “My quirk is called blizzard, when I’m surrounded by cold air and shivering, I get even stronger than I normally am!” In just a second, your feet were stuck underneath a layer of ice, the man at the end of the alley had it even worse, his legs were covered in thick ice that reached his thighs.
The man sighed. “I am the idiot, huh?”, he chuckled. “You should’ve left when you had the chance!”, one of the three man in front of you yelled and in unison, they charged forward. A loud laugh echoed through the alley as a raging heat kissed your cheeks. Blue flames enlightened the night that was followed by screams of terror and the smell of burned flesh. What happened? What was going on?
A scream made its way past your lips as you watched the blue flames vanish in terror. The men that assaulted you were nothing more than a tiny pile of burned flesh and ashes, the ice that glued your feet to the ground just a moment before melted away to nothing and just as you looked at the stranger, he lowered his hand, his eyes wandering to look at you. “Too bad fire melts ice, hm?”, he chuckled lazily and stepped over the ashes. He was walking slowly and you could only watch in fear and confusion as he stopped right in front of you.
Curious eyes scanned his face again, taking in his scared skin and dull eyes, his black hair and staples. You couldn’t control it, you couldn’t even try to stop the tiny whisper of his supposed name, “Touya”.
You shivered once again as if you weren’t kissed by the heat of his flames just a moment ago, your fingers felt colder than before all of a sudden, the excitement settled in your veins and your heart beat even faster now. Did you only imagine the tiny flash of shock that crossed his features? The hand that was stuffed in the pocket of his coat was suddenly outstrechted, his fingers gripped the zipper of your jacket. You stared at him with wide eyes, but all he did was pull up the zipper, shielding your neck from the cold. “My name is Dabi”, you could barely hear what he had mumbled but before you could say any more, he stuffed his hand back into his pocket and left you standing in the alley, pressed against the cold stone wall, trapped between two trash piles.
The shock was sitting deep in your veins, your heart pounded against your ribcage as if it wanted to break free and a million thoughts were running around in your head. Those eyes, you would recognize them anywhere! He had the same quirk as well! He was shocked the moment he saw you clearly, right? Did he remember you? Your breath halted for a second as you stepped forward. Your mind was set, you were going to follow him, you were-!
“Oh…”, you gasped as a piece of paper caught your attention. It lay were he was standing just now, did he lose it as he pulled his hand out of his pocket? Crouching down to pick it up, you unfolded it carefully. It must’ve been folded and unfolded at least a hundred times, it looked like it would fall apart any second if you weren’t careful enough.
Your heart skipped a beat, a shivering puff of air flew into the night and your eyes watered immediately as you recognized the photo you were holding in your hands carefully.
Dragging yourself home was easier said than done. The shock was still making your heart beat like crazy and not even the cold wind could cool down your body after the radiating heat extinguished three lives right in front of your eyes. It felt like you were on fire yourself, you couldn’t think straight, you were upset and didn’t know what to do. The man that just saved your life, it was Touya!
Before you even noticed it, you were already making your way up the stairs to your small apartment. The lamps above you flickered like usually and as you heard the familiar rock music coming from one of your neighbours, you immediately felt like home. ´Just a few more steps, I’m nearly home´, you sighed innerly but as you rounded the corner, you stopped in your tracks.
Someone was standing right in front of your door.
“Oh, (Y/N), there you are. I just knocked on your door”, you didn’t even realize that you laughed in relief as your neighbour grinned at you. Stepping closer, you fished your keys out of your pocket and unlocked your door. “I’m sorry I didn’t pick up my package earlier, I always get back home so late”, your neighbour sighed in annoyance but as soon as you gave him the small package the postman dumbed into your arms after he realized your neighbour wasn’t home, he smiled at you warmly. “It happens, Daisuke, don’t worry about it”
The both of you said your goodbyes before you closed the front door and leaned against it, sighing to yourself. You switched on the lights as you took the folded piece of paper out of your pocket, unfolded it with a sad smile. In all those years in which numerous thoughts of Touya’s whereabouts crossed your mind every passing night and day, you never thought that seeing the family picture of the Todoroki’s, that you’ve seen on Fuyumi’s desk at least a hundred times before, would make you as happy as it did now. Natsuo and Fuyumi were grinning at the camera while sitting next to their mother on a blue sofa, Rei, who had little Shoto sitting on her lap. Rei Todoroki smiled uneasily while Shoto was staring at the camera in confusion. Touya was standing right next to her, a small smile adorning his lips, his hand was resting on Rei’s shoulder. Another tall figure was standing right behind the sofa, its arms were crossed. Judged by the height and muscles, you guessed it was Enji Todoroki, but his face was burned off. Even though Touya left, his mother and siblings were still dear to him, you couldn’t imagine how hard it must’ve been for him to leave them behind.
For one short moment, you contemplated to call Fuyumi to tell her about what you saw but just as fast as the thought crossed your mind, you erased it out of your head. Touya was hiding for a reason after all and knowing Fuyumi, she would immediately try to search for him if she knew he was indeed alive.
After eating something and taking a shower, you changed into your pyjama and lay down in your bed. Every now and then, you could hear a dog barking from across the street, like it was trying to sing along to the rock music you could faintly hear through the thin walls of your apartment.
You pressed your hand against your chest, right above your rapidly beating heart. It still wouldn’t calm down and your fingers were ice cold, even after the hot shower you just took. The image of his shocked expression as he saw you kept playing on repeat in your head, like a broken record that could only repeat a tiny part of your favorite song.
His hair was black, probably burned as well as the scarred skin that was now decorating his face and parts of his hands, at least that’s all you saw. The only thing that didn’t change about him were those crystal blue eyes that almost matched the colour of his flames.
You let out a heavy sigh as you turned to lay down on your side. It was already late, you should try to sleep, is what you told yourself but not without letting one last thought cross your mind.
´I hope we will meet again´
A week had passed without any signs of him. Nothing changed at all. You still worked extra hours, you still took the same route to your apartment and it still snowed daily. It was friday once again and you were making your way home from work as it began to snow heavily. You couldn’t help but wonder if Touya was wearing warm clothes or if he was staying at home at least, did he have a new place to call ´home´? It pained you that all you could do was wonder and hope for the best, nothing and no one could ease your worries, no matter how much you thought about him.
Dragging yourself up the stairs to your apartment, you fished out your key from your pocket while rounding the corner. Without having to look up you already knew someone was standing in front of your apartment door. “Hey Daisuke, I was already wondering when you would-”, the moment you looked up you stopped dead in your tracks. Your eyes met crystal blue orbs that were gazing at you without a hint of what kind of emotion he was feeling at that moment. “..Touya”
He was leaning against your front door, but stood up straight as the whisper of his name reached his ears. “I told you my name is Dabi”
You gulped quietly as you studied him closely. His black hair was wet from the melting snow flakes that decorated it before and you noticed in relief, that he was wearing a thick coat to protect himself from the freezing cold outside.
“I’m here to pick up the photograph you so kindly took with you”, he looked at you with lazy eyes, studying you just like you did him a moment ago. “I-”, you couldn’t even try to end your sentence as no words would leave your lips. For a whole week you were wishing for this exact moment to happen and now that it was finally there, you were standing there like an idiot, speechless and nervous. “Won’t you unlock the door?”, he asked after a few seconds of silence. You nodded dumbfounded and stepped closer. His eyes never left your face, not even as you stopped in front of him, unlocked the door and stepped inside. He was relieved that you weren’t able to read his emotions so easily anymore, he was nervous and excited but he couldn’t let you see that. After all, he never thought you would see each other again. You had grown up to be a beautiful woman, controlling the rising heat in his cheeks wasn’t easy, though he would never admit it. Suddenly, he regretted that he left you like that, he couldn’t help but wonder what he had missed. Every single promise you gave each other when you were younger was echoing in his head. You would open your own agency, he would be the pro hero and you would be his sidekick. Together, you would never fail to defeat the villains that dared to cause any trouble!
You took off your shoes and gestured for him to follow you into the kitchen. The moment he entered the small room, his eyes fell onto the table under the window. His cherished photograph was lying on it, but right next to it was a photo he wasn’t familiar with. Though the moment he saw it, he immediately knew it were his siblings that were sitting on the dining table. Fuyumi was smiling at the camera, while Natsuo and Shoto looked rather unamused.
“I thought you would like to have a… a photograph that is more up-to-date”, he immediately noticed the nervousness in your voice as you spoke up behind him, you must’ve noticed his tense shoulders after all. “I know your mother isn’t on it, but I-”
“Thank you”, he surprised even himself with this simple sentence. Before he even arrived at your apartment, his heart and brain agreed on getting the photograph without saying anything and then leaving immediately, the risk of putting you in danger was too high for him to take, no matter how much he actually missed you. But here he was, right next to you in your kitchen, unsure of what to do now that you were actually getting a reaction out of him.
He looked at you as you stepped next to him, your eyes trailed to look into his eyes nervously. All of those unanswered questions were written on your face and it pained him to have put you into this situation.
“Touya…”, you whispered his name once again. It felt so strange and yet so good to him to hear you say it. “I knew you would search for me…”, he couldn’t help but snort at that. The way you looked at him in confusion reminded him of your innocent days together. “You knew I would search for you, huh?”, a chuckle left his lips as he took a step forward, forcing you to take one backwards. He repeated it again and again, until you were leaning against the kitchen counter. Those blue eyes of his bored into your own and no matter how easily you could read them as a child, you couldn’t even try to guess of what he was thinking in that moment. “You expected me to search for you sooner or later?”
He was standing so close to you, you could feel his warm breath ghost over your lips. Your heart was beating so fast, as if you were running a marathon, and it only got worse as he caged you in his arms, hands propped up against the counter so that he could lean over you slightly. This wasn’t the Touya you once knew you thought as he leaned his face down to yours. Like it was a reflex, your eyes screwed shut and without even realising it, you held your breath.
A moment of silence passed. Touya studied you silently. His heart clenched painfully as he thought about what could’ve been if he didn’t leave his old life behind. Shaking his head slightly, he leaned down carefully, it was for the better, he knew what would’ve happened to him if he didn’t leave. The only things he regretted were having to leave his siblings behind as well as never trying to contact you. Just as you were about to open your eyes, you felt an unfamiliar and yet so familiar sensation against the corner of your lips. It fel soft but also rough.
He had pressed a tiny peck against the corner of your lips!
Opening your eyes quickly, you caught a trace of the grin on his lips as he stared down at you once again. That grin immediately told you, you were right.
“W-what-?!”
“I bet you weren’t expecting that”, he chuckled quietly as he grinned at you one last time. Stepping back, he left the kitchen in a hurry, hoping and praying that you didn’t see the slight blush dusting his cheeks. Why was he being such an idiot, why didn’t he just leave right away?
He didn’t have to look back to knew that you were following him close behind. “Touya, wait!”, you took ahold of his wrist, making him stop. “I told you my name-”, before he could finish his sentence, you interrupted him quickly. “Touya, please stay, don’t go just yet!”, your voice shivered badly and your ice-cold fingers held his scarred wrist even tighter, not enough to hurt him though. You really didn’t want him to leave. Not now, not after knowing he was alive, not after he turned upon your door step. “Or if you have to leave, at least come back tomorrow…”, you spoke quickly and quietly, but you knew he had heard you. He sighed and balled his fist, didn’t say anything as he took another step, making you let go of his wrist.
He cursed himself in his head, if it was hard to leave you before, it was impossible now. How come he never realised just how much he had missed you until now? But he couldn’t take the risk, he couldn’t let you get involved with who he was now.
For a moment he contemplated to say something, but without muttering only one word, he made his way to the front door and left in a hurry.
Tears formed in your eyes as you watched him leave you once again, without explaining anything or giving you the chance to ask one of the thousand unanswered questions that were stuck in your head. With a quiet sob you shuffled back into the kitchen. You hadn’t planned it, but you couldn’t force yourself not to look at the table the photographs were lying on just a few minutes ago.
A sad smile formed on your lips, the tears you tried to fight were now running down your cheeks.
The photographs were gone.
You still couldn’t believe your eyes as you studied the black-haired man sitting opposite of you on the kitchen table. It was way too early to be wide awake on a saturday morning, the sun didn’t make any attempts to rise yet and the whole apartment complex was deadly silent.
Squirming under his unwavering gaze, you avoided to meet his eyes and stared at your fidgeting hands instead. “I’m really glad that you came back“, you smiled shyly and hoped he wouldn’t notice that your voice trembled.
Touya couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his lips as he watched you in silence. You didn’t change much after all. “I have so many questions, but I know you won’t answer them all“, you bit down on your bottom lip and smiled at him sadly. He furrowed his eyebrows, sighing as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You are still such a smart girl”, you rolled your eyes playfully, “I really can’t answer all of your questions, but I will try”, he mumbled quietly. ‘After all, you are still my best friend’, he thought about saying it out loud, but as he decided against it. Your gaze turned serious and almost immediately, he noticed the tiny spark in your eyes. Just like all of those years ago. Whenever you were not ready to back down and give up, that tiny sparkle in your eyes made him realise how serious you really were about it. Just like when he told you his name was 'Dabi’ now. You said you were still going to call him by his real name with the same sparkle in your eyes. He decided it was alright as he saw it.
“Tell me about your scars, why is your skin so…-”
“This is a question I can’t answer”
You huffed and crossed your arms. “Why didn’t you tell me you were planning to leave?”, his eyes widened slightly, but he tried to stay calm. Grinning slightly to mask the uneasiness he was feeling, he tried to not look away. “It was never a plan of mine to leave, it just… happened”, he shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head. You exhaled quietly and looked at him sadly. “…you missed me, right?”, Touya tensed visibly.
What kind of question was that? Of course he had missed you, more and more with each passing day. The bond he had to his siblings was strong, but the bond he had to you was impossible to describe. You were his best friend after all, someone he knew he could trust no matter what happened, someone he wanted to stay by his side through all his life. He was still so young when he left his parents’ house in a hurry, he was frightened and for the first time in his life, he learned what it meant to be all alone. How he wished to have you by his side during those cold and empty days. Even though he was just a boy, he knew it would be selfish of him to come and convince you to leave your family behind. You had a happy life and he knew you would get over him leaving you, or at least that’s what he had hoped for.
“Idiot, of course I missed you”, he huffed quietly. For just a moment he thought you didn’t hear him, but then you relaxed and exhaled in relief. “If I had a picture of you, it would’ve looked worse than the one you found of my family…”, tensing at the realization that those words already left his mouth, he immediately tried to cover it up: “How have you been?”
A shy smile adorned your lips but you chose to ignore his statement to save him from any further embarassment, he clearly didn’t intent to let those words slip. “It’s been alright, now that I know you’re alive though… I think I’m feeling better than ever”, you chuckled as you felt the heat rise to your cheeks. Touya smirked at you and sighed. Normally he would have a snarky remark right at the tip of his tongue, but he was speechless. Was he really that nervous?
“I’m not sure if you already know but Fuyumi is a teacher now and Natsuo is studying in college, our little Shoto is training at UA to be a pro hero in the future. Fuyumi said he even had a recommendation!”, without realising it, your face lit up immediately, you smiled brightly and that was something Touya had always loved about you. You treated his siblings as if they were your own.
Touya nodded slightly. Of course he knew that Shoto was training at UA, though he was sure his little brother didn’t even realise who he was as they saw each other. “I don’t know you if you heard about it, but your mother is currently being treated at a psychiatric ward”, the comforting smile you gave him warmed his heart. He wasn’t surprised about that if he was being honest. “…do you know if she’s doing well?”, you nodded with a grin, “Shoto said she is getting better, it’s a shame I could barely visit her in those past months, I’m always working”, you sighed quietly and scratched the back of your head. “After I didn’t get accepted at UA, I just attended a normal high school and I’m working in an office now… to be honest…”, biting down on your bottom lip you looked at your fidgeting hands once again. “To be honest, I wouldn’t want to support a pro hero anyway if it wasn’t you”, you immediately blushed as Touya laughed quietly, the lazy look in his eyes was unfamiliar, yet comforting. He was treating you like you haven’t been apart from each other for several years.
The next few weeks flew past you like it was nothing, Touya had been picking you up from work nearly everyday and brought you home. Even during the weekends he tried to visit you at least once. The both of you could talk to each other for hours without getting tired of it, though it was mostly you that talked, Touya would always lazily listen and sometimes comment on it. You weren’t used to him being such a quiet person, he was always laughing so loudly as a child and talking non stop about the things he loved and adored. But to be honest, it was fine to you. He may have changed, but he was still the Touya you grew up with in so many ways.
You looked up from the book you were reading as it suddenly knocked on your front door. Your heart skipped a beat as you got up and nearly tripped over your own feet as you run to the door. As you opened it, Touya gave you a lazy smile. He was wearing a rain coat with its hood covering his black hair. Thankfully it was raining almost every day during this time of the year, he was trying to stay hidden in the masses after all. Even though he still didn’t tell you much about his new life, you were grateful that you were now part of it once more.
You stepped aside to let him enter, which he did immediately. “What do you want to eat today?”, you asked over your shoulder as you put on your shoes and grabbed your rain coat from the small wardrobe stand near the front door. “Curry would be nice”, he muttered quietly as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat. Finally dressed, you turned to look at your best friend and grinned at him. “Are you ready to be a handsome young man?”, you winked at him teasingly and he couldn’t help the smile that was fighting its way onto his lips. You were still cheeky, he should’ve known.
He nodded and pulled of the hood that was covering his hair. Only a few seconds later, he could feel your hands softly caressing his hair. Without having to look at it, he knew you would change it to the flaming red it once was.
His eyes fell on your lips as you bit down on your bottom lip in concentration, just for a short moment he asked himself, what would it feel like to kiss you? Would you push him away or kiss him back? Your hands now slowly carressed his temples, slowly slid down to cup his cheeks afterwards. Slowly, unsure if your touch felt uncomfortable even though you have done it at least a hundred times by now, your thumbs stroked over the scarred skin under his eyes. It slowly started to change, the scars faded as well as the staples that decorated it, and returned to the pale color it once was. A shiver run down his spine as your hands stroked along his jawline and lastly his neck, it tickled slightly, but he would be lying if he said that he didn’t enjoy it. Your hands were soft and gentle.
You grinned at him proudly before grabbing your keys from a small dresser near the wardrobe stand. “Ready to go, handsome?”
The walk towards the grocery store was drowned in silence, it was raining lightly but it didn’t matter, it was the perfect weather to stay at home and eat comfort food while watching movies together. After you bought everything you needed to cook the perfect curry, you walked back to your apartment as fast as you could. You spent too much time looking at foreign groceries and tasting delicious food samples which meant the changes you had done to Touya’s face because of your quirk would fade away soon.
Sighing in relief, you relaxed your tense shoulders as the both of you entered the apartment building you lived in. “Thank god we made it in time!”, you nodded to yourself and started to walk up the first flight of stairs, Touya close behind you. He was just about to reply as his phone rang all of a sudden. You stopped walking and turned around to look at him curiously. He wasted no time and fished the phone out of his pocket. After casting one quick glance at the screen, he sighed in annoyance. “There is an emergency, I need to go”, your face fell immediately. The still red-haired man look at you apologetically. “Don’t pull that kind of face, it’s not like it’s the first time that happened”
Once again, you sighed quietly as you looked at him sadly. “I know…”, you mumbled as you turned back around. “It’s just… I feel so left out sometimes…”, Touya scratched the back of his neck as he stared at the back of your head. “I learned so many new things about you, I just don’t understand why you won’t tell me where you go to at the end of the day. I don’t know if you have an apartment you now call your home or if you… well, if you just… wander around”, you gulped quietly and were about to climb up the rest of the stairs, as Touya suddenly grapped your wrist, forcing you to stop. “(Y/N), please look at me”, he said quietly. You bit down on your bottom lip and stared at your shoes. “(Y/N)”, his voice was nothing more than a whisper, but you still heard him loud and clear, “please turn around and look at me”
You slowly turned around to face him, and immediately noticed that his flaming red hair was starting to get darker. Nervously, your eyes stared back into his crystal blue orbs. To your surprise, they were looking at you softly. His hand was still wrapped around your wrist. “I know you hate the fact that I don’t tell you anything about my living conditions”, his voice was serious but he didn’t speak louder than quiet whisper. “But you have to believe me when I tell you that it is to keep you safe”
Your eyes widened as you stared down at him. To keep you safe? He smiled at you slightly but sighed afterwards. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s not as bad as you think it is”, at least that’s what he hoped. He knew what he was doing was probably the worst you could imagine, but maybe, just maybe you would understand him some day. “Touya, what do you mean?”, your voice wavered a little but just one look into your eyes told him that you weren’t afraid.
He took another step, so that he was standing one step under you, but you were still slightly taller. His hair had now turned back to its 'natural’ black color.
“Close your eyes”, it felt like he was controlling you with a remote control since you shut your eyes almost immediately, like you were just waiting for him to say it.
You could hear a quiet rustling and suddenly, a pair of warm hands cupped your cheeks. They tilted your head down a little, making your heart beat faster than it already was. Touya studied your calm expression for just a moment, wanting to keep the image in his head forever, before he leaned up to press his lips against yours in a soft peck. Your eyes opened slowly and you stared at him with red cheeks. He looked just like he did before, the changes you had done had faded away completely. His lips felt so soft but also a little rough due to the scared skin that decorated his jaw and lower lip.
“I can’t tell you yet, but I promise you, I will tell you one day when I know it is safe…”, his warm breath ghosted over your lips and without thinking, you leaned down to press your lips against his once again. He reacted immediately and kissed you back with a little more force than before. After you parted, you gave him a small smile and whispered: “Alright, but this kiss sealed the promise…”
Touya grinned at you as he let go of your cheeks. He turned around to hurry down the stairs, he was already late but that was a risk he gladly took. He couldn’t believe that he actually did it, he kissed you. God, he felt like a giddy school girl! You definitely weren’t allowed to see that.
“I’ll be back for dinner”
You watched him leave the apartment building quickly before you made your way up the rest of the stairs that led to your apartment. Your heart was still beating like crazy, your hands were cold due to the excitement that was flowing through your veins, just like when you met him a few months ago. A bright smile formed on your lips as you opened the front door to your apartment in a hurry, your shoes were thrown into the corner as you nearly stumpled into the kitchen with the grocery bag in your hand.
Only a few hours until it was time for dinner!
