#alternate universe - fantasy

[missrosegold]

and if my body should fade I’ll trust you with my soul

Synopsis: You’ve always been able to see the man with white hair and charred skin around your village, even though it seemed that nobody else could.

Or, you ended up making a deal with death, and now he’s come to collect.

Word count: 30k

Paring: Dabi x Reader (fem reader)

Warnings: Mentions of death, strong language, smut, so Minors or ageless blogs DNI. This is rated 18+ Additional tags listed below. This does take place in a somewhat medieval inspired AU so there are some misogynistic tones in some parts of the story.

Playlist: Sparky Deathcap – September (we got fire) instrumental version, slowed.

A massive thank you goes out to @candycandy00 for beta’ing this for me! Thank you for helping me get used to this writing style. Your advice was so incredibly helpful!

You can find me on A03 under the same username: MissRoseGold. This story is posted there too if the formatting on here is throwing you off!

Likes and relogs are always appreciated! I hope you enjoy <3

As far back as you can remember, you’ve always been able to see the man with white hair and charred skin.

You remember being just a small child when you saw him for the first time. You were at the market with your mother when you happened to look past her, and saw a tall, lanky man dressed in a black robe with the hood up, standing just a few feet away from you. He seemed to focus intently on something in the distance, but you couldn’t follow his line of sight.

You remember not being able to see much of his face from where you were standing, but then the stranger had shifted. The hood that had been concealing most of his face had fallen slightly, allowing you to catch a glimpse of unruly snowy white hair and the dark, mottled skin that made up the man’s lower jaw.

You remember feeling alarmed, having never seen anything like it before, and you had tugged on your mothers’ skirts, whispering that the hooded man next to you looked very strange. Your mother had stopped what she was doing and had looked in the direction you were pointing at, but the moment you turned your head to point the man out to her, he was gone.

Your mother had scolded you something fierce about lying to her, before taking you by the hand and half leading, half dragging you out of the market. You looked for the hooded man as she pulled you along, trying to see if you could spot him in the busy market crowd, so you could prove to your mother that you weren’t lying, but you didn’t see him again.

You don’t remember much else from that day, but you do recall that the next morning you were informed that your best friend’s aunt had passed away late in the night, and that you and your family were attending the funeral that afternoon.

You didn’t see the white-haired man for a while after that.

Over the years you swore up and down that you saw brief glimpses of the strange man around town from time to time. He always seemed to be just out of sight, lurking in the corners of your vison, disappearing completely if you turned your head too fast, or tried to look directly at him.

For a horrible while during your early teen years, you thought you had been going mad, but you were sure that the person you were seeing wasn’t a ghost, just a man with what looked like horrible leathery burns from his jaw down to his neck, and possibly down his arms too, from what you could remember seeing of the skin on his hands, where his cloak didn’t fully cover.

You had tried a number of times over the years to point out the brooding stranger whenever you had someone else with you, but every time without fail, he would be gone by the time they turned to look in the direction you were pointing in. You quickly learned to keep your mouth shut whenever you saw the stranger, as it became very apparent from the mixture of dirty and worried looks that your family and friends gave you whenever you brought the man up, that you were the only one who could see him.

So, you never spoke of him out loud again.

You had no idea why you seemed to be the only one who could see the mysterious man. You found yourself wondering if you were in fact losing your sanity, or if you were somehow under an illusion from one of the mischievous Fae that called the woods surrounding your small village home. You hoped you weren’t – you didn’t feel like you were, but there was only one way to find out, and that was finding the stranger yourself.

And so, you started actively looking for the man who’s name you didn’t know, whenever you were alone or had some time for yourself.

One evening, several years after you started your search for the stranger, you found him.

You had wandered into the forest that surrounded your town, just as the sun was setting behind the tree line. You knew that it was dangerous to head into the woods near dusk, as that was the time that the Fae who called the woods home were most likely to try and lure unsuspecting victims into the thick of the forest, never to be seen again. But you knew the woods too, as your family home backed directly onto it, and you knew which paths were safe to travel, even though your grandparents had warned you countless times as you got older not to enter the forest without an escort.

There was one trail in particular that led you straight through the underbrush and to a lovely, secluded pond near the middle of the woods that your father had taken you down once when you were small. You remember feeling a lot happier back then, giggling and dipping your toes in the cool water with your father before he took you back to the house; only for your mother to scream at you both, about how it wasn’t proper for a future lady to wander around in the dirt, and how your father should’ve known better then to take you to such a place.

That was the last time he had taken you out into the woods, but you had never forgotten the path he had taken you on all those years ago that led directly to your pond.

You can’t remember the last time you had smiled like your child self had done once.

Pushing back branches that obscured the pond from the covered path, you breathed a sigh of relief as you stepped out into the open. The glade was relatively unchanged from the last time you had been there: the sun was slowly sinking behind the tree-line, turning the sky a deep burnt orange, casting long shadows over the still water in the pond. Crickets chirped and you could hear the distant song of birds echo around the open space, like some sort of somber melody that signaled the coming of night.

It was peaceful, and you were alone. Until you weren’t.

A dark shape standing perfectly still under the massive willow tree by the pond’s edge caught your attention. The stranger looked glaringly out of place against the reflection of the sunset caught in the water’s surface. You froze in place, not daring to breathe as you took in the sight of the strange figure before you. The stranger had on a long dark cloak with the hood up that obscured any distinguishable features from view, but you could tell that it was a man based on the stranger’s height and build. He wasn’t massive, but he was tall, taller than you, and while he was wasn’t overly muscular, something told you that he wasn’t weak or frail either.

In all your years of coming to the glade, you had never once run into another person. You had started to think that you were the only other person in your village aside from your father who knew about the secluded clearing, and yet, there was someone here. Someone you didn’t recognize.

You stood at the entrance to the clearing quietly, contemplating what to do, when you heard the cloaked figure exhale loudly. You watched with bated breath as he reached up with his large hands and pulled the hood off his head to reveal-

White hair, bright and pale like you were gazing at moonlight.

A strangled note of surprise left your mouth before you fully registered that you had made it. It was him, it was really him: the man that you had been looking for all this time. You couldn’t see his face, but you knew it was him, it had to be.

You watched as the man suddenly perked up at the noise you’d unwillingly made, and slowly turned around to face you. Suddenly, you found yourself unable to look away as his eyes met yours.

Time seemed to slow down in that moment, and the second you locked eyes with him, the air suddenly shifted, and the sun sunk fully behind the tree-line, plunging the clearing into twilight dusk, shrouding you both as the creatures of the night who lived in the forest slowly came to life around you.

None of it mattered though because you couldn’t stop staring at his eyes. You’d only been able to see glimpses of him from afar but now that he was here in front of you, his eyes were as deep as the ocean and just as captivating. His skin was a patchwork of dark purple burns, just like you remember seeing from the few times you had managed to look at him for more than a few seconds, held together by what looked to be staples – some silver, some gold. The burns extended from under his eyes, to his ears (which now that you had an uninterrupted view of him, could see that he had multiple piercings in each ear), that extended down his jaw and neck, and though his cloak prevented you from seeing more, you were fairly certain that they probably went lower. A quick glance to his hands confirmed your theory, as you saw more burns creeping down past the loose sleeves of his robe, down to his hands.

“It’s you.” You breathed. You blinked and suddenly you found yourself much closer to the stranger then you remembered being initially. He hadn’t moved from his spot under the willow, but instead opted to give you an unreadable look.

“You see me.” The low gravel tones of his voice shook you from whatever trance you had fallen into. It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.

You couldn’t help but snort, damn your mother and her etiquette lessons that she tried to cram down your throat. “Obviously. I see you perfectly fine, but I seem to be the only one who can. Care to explain why that is?”

The scarred man gave you a flat look, and suddenly, you found yourself unable to look away from the deep blue of his eyes. “You’re not supposed to be able to see me. No one is. Have you always been able to?” Completely deflecting your question, as he began to reach into the pocket of his robe.

You hesitated before answering, all of your earlier bravado had faded upon noticing the guarded way the man was acting. Clearly the stranger didn’t seem thrilled with your revelation of being able to see him, and for whatever reason, it didn’t seem like you were supposed to be able to at all. It also didn’t escape you that you knew absolutely nothing about the strange man in front of you. He could be an assassin for all you knew, and you were painfully aware that if you didn’t answer him carefully, this conversation with him could very well be one of the last ones that you’d ever have.

“…What’s the correct answer?” you finally mustered up the courage to ask.

The stranger sighed, but didn’t relax his stance. “Just answer me truthfully.”

“I… have. Always been able to see you, that is.” You murmured, hating the way your voice faltered, as you tried to maintain eye contact with him.

The stranger hummed, but didn’t take his eyes off you for a second. “I see. Has anyone else been able to see me, or is it just you?”

“Just me, as far as I know. I’ve tried to tell people about you, but nobody believes me… I’ve stopped talking about you to anyone.” You paused upon realizing that you were rambling as an amused look entered the man’s eyes. Still feeling like you were frozen in place, you hesitantly added,

“I just… I just wanted to find you to prove to myself that I wasn’t seeing things. That you do exist. Now I know you do.”

“Interesting…” The white-haired man seemed to look through you once again, then he blinked, and the tension that had locked you in place seemed to disappear as quickly as it had come on, and you felt as if an invisible weight had been lifted off your chest.

You let out the breath that you didn’t realize you had been holding in as you watched the burnt stranger relax his posture and withdraw his hand out of his robe pocket. “Well. You found me, now what?”

It was almost embarrassing. You had spent the last couple of years so focused on finding him, and proving to yourself once and for all that you were in fact, not crazy, that you never stopped to think about what you would do once you actually found him. Worse, this stranger seemed to already know that.

“I- your name.” you choked out, silently cursing yourself as the man cocked an eyebrow at you.

“What?” he asked you, completely deadpan.

“Your name. Could you tell me your name? I don’t think I got it.” you repeated, forcing yourself to go slower this time.

“That’s because I didn’t give it.” The man’s piercing blue eyes washed over you again, this time with a hint of amusement. He ran a large, scared hand through his hair. “So, you want to know my name huh?”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s normally not the first thing people ask me, if they manage to see me.” the man countered as he tilted his head to the side and pulled down the hood of his robe, reveling more of the deep purple burns that covered the expanse of his neck and traveled down his collarbones. “Normally they want to know how I got these… It’s fucking annoying.”

“I don’t care about that.” you murmured quietly, causing the man to shoot you a look that, wasn’t quite shock but bordered on surprised.

“No?”

“No, I mean… they used to intimidate me when I first saw you, but after so many years of seeing you around my village, I’m used to them.” You shrugged your shoulders, trying to fight down the flush that you could feel trying to creep up your neck at your admission. “They don’t bother me, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

The stranger inhaled sharply at your words and fell deathly silent, averting his gaze away from you. He didn’t speak for several minutes, and you suddenly started to worry that you had somehow offended him. You had just opened your mouth to apologize to him, only for him to murmur something under his breath that you couldn’t catch.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” you asked him gently, causing him to look up at you and fix you with his soul piercing gaze once more.

“Touya. My name is Touya.”

“Touya.” You tested his name out with a giggle and you could have sworn that you saw the skin that wasn’t mutilated on his cheeks flush with a light dusting of pink. You quickly told him your name, and he only nodded with a hint of a smile on his face – like he knew something that you don’t. You asked him about a last name and he only shook his head.

“I go by a lot of names, but you can call me that. That name will be the easiest for you to remember.”

“You have multiple names?” You asked incredulously. Touya only nodded. “Depending on where I am, yes. Names are important. They hold a lot of value.”

That made you pause.

Taking a closer look at him, you noticed that despite the burns on his face looking slightly worse since the first time you saw him, he didn’t look like he’d changed much physically. Had he even aged from the first time you saw him?

“I have another question for you,” You admit.

Touya only leaned back onto the trunk of the willow and nodded at you, as if he already knew you were going to tell him that. “You can ask. Doesn’t mean I’m going to give you an answer though.”

“You… You’re not human, are you?”

If the question caught him off guard, he didn’t show it. The lanky man only laced his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, this time a full-blow smile pulled at the corners of his mottled lips. “No.”

You knew you should have be concerned at his admission, you knew that. You had no idea what he was or what he was capable of – what he could do to you if he wanted to.

The rational part of your mind screamed at you to leave this place and forget about Touya, forget that you ever came here and forget that this encounter ever happened. But even though you knew that you should’ve felt panicked, you didn’t. You felt drawn to him in a way that you had never experienced before. You didn’t feel threatened by him (though maybe you should’ve), and you got the impression that if he wanted to hurt you, he would have done so already.

“Are you… a Fae?” you guessed lightly, causing the tall man to snort as a look of annoyance passed over his face.

“Absolutely fucking not. Does it look like I have a pair of wings growing out of my back?” He rolled his oceanic eyes. “I don’t need to resort to cheap tricks like getting you to tell me your name to hold dominion over you. I have more then enough power as is.”

“So, you’re a sorcerer then.” You smiled triumphantly, placing your hands on your hips. The man let out a raspy chuckle and shook his head as he straightened back up.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m more than just a humble magician, sweetheart.”

“Then what exactly are you?”

The man’s piercing blue eyes seemed to look right through you, as he fixed you with an unreadable look. “Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

For some reason, you couldn’t stop the smile that spread across your face. “So, am I going to get to see you again? You won’t disappear?”

The staples holding the seams of his skin together seemed to pull slightly as he offered you a ghost of a smile. “You’re not annoying like I thought you’d be… I guess I’ll keep you around, for now.”

“Well, that’s- Hey!”

The stranger – no, Touya, you corrected yourself – threw his head back and laughed at your expression – the staples connecting the burnt skin of his jaw to the rest of his face were pulled taught as he cackles. You felt your heart flutter inside of your rib cage as he calmed down and shot you a boyish smile that made him seem much younger than he was.

Against your better judgement, you made your way towards him and sat down beside him under the willow tree, and a moment later, he followed you down.

You don’t remember how long you spent talking to him that night under the willow tree. You only remembered leaving because the first rays of the morning sun had started to peak over the tops of the trees. You remembered that it has cast deep red light across the pond’s surface, making the water light up until it resembled liquid fire.

You remembered leaving the clearing and Touya behind with your heart still pounding in your chest and a smile on your face – ears still ringing with his promise that he would see you again soon.

That had been the start of something beautiful.

                                                           ----

Over the years you grew closer to Toyua.

It was impossible not to. His presence, though commanding at times, was magnetic and kept drawing you back to him. If anyone else had been able to see him the way you could, there was no doubt in your mind that they would have called him intimidating or unnerving. But you find his presence comforting, like curling up next to a warm fireplace in the dead of winter.

His visits to your town are sporadic. He claims he only comes to your town due to his work (aside from stopping by to see you), and that his job takes him all over the continent, which was why he could never stay in one place for too long. He’s never told you what exactly he does for work, claiming that he isn’t allowed to discuss it when you asked him about it once.

When you tried to bring it up again, he had quickly shut down your questions, making it clear to you that he wasn’t going to entertain your curiosities, and you had never brought it up again.

You never know when he’ll be visiting your town next, but every time he comes to your village, he makes good on his promise that he would come to see you. Whenever he did, he would track you down, regardless of where you were, and take you back to the clearing where you had first met, so you could talk uninterrupted.

You’d once mentioned to him that you were rather envious of him, as he got to go to so many different places around the continent – even if it was because his job demanded it of him. Meanwhile you had never left your small town in your twenty something years of existence, even though you desperately wanted to go and explore the world and see what it had to offer.

From that moment on, he made it a point to tell you stories of his travels and what he had gotten up to since he had last seen you. There’s been a few times that he’s brought you back small trinkets from his travels, and you have a small jewelry box dedicated to the little things he’s brought you that only you know about.

Some of the things he’s brought you back include a necklace with a small pendant charm from the West, a set of small blue stone earrings from somewhere in the South that remind you of his eyes, a few coins from different kingdoms around you, and a book that’s written in a language that you can’t understand, but have combed through about three times now. You wear the earrings and the necklace every day, but are mindful to keep them out of your mother’s line of sight, least she asks questions that you can’t give her an answer to.

Strangely enough, there’s one thing that you’ve noticed about Touya’s visits to your town: they always seemed to land during a grieving period. Someone always seems to pass away either right around the time that he appears, or a few days after he’s left. You feel bad, as he’s never gotten to see how vibrant your town can be while not in grieving. He’s only ever seen your town and its people dressed in the customary dark colours used for when a member of the village has passed away. If it bothers him though, he never comments on it.

The one thing you hate the most about the unique friendship that you’ve built with Touya, is you never know when you’re going to see him again. You’ve learned very early on that his work is not consistent in the slightest, and pulls him all over the place. Mostly you see him at least once a month, once it was twice, but sometimes he’s gone for weeks – months even.

There was one period of time where you didn’t see him for five months. That had been a particularly lonely time in your life. When he did come back, he had appeared in front of you – seemingly out of thin air – while you were walking home from a friend’s house. You were so happy you almost cried, completely forgetting that you were in the middle of town, and that other villagers couldn’t see him like you could. From that point on you made it a point to treasure every single interaction with him, as you don’t know when you’ll be able to see him again.

It’s early spring, and once again, Touya is back at your side. His head is in your lap as you leisurely play with his hair (which you’ve come to discover, is much softer than it looks, despite its unruly spikes) You’re both resting by the edge of the pond, underneath the willow tree, simply enjoying each other’s company in a peaceful silence.

You know your mother would lose her mind if she knew that you were letting a man that you weren’t married to be so familiar with you, but you could care less. Touya had never once tried anything salacious with you, and aside from the occasional snarky remark, he was a perfect gentleman to you… which was more then you could say for some of the men your age in your village. The very ones that your mother was trying to set you up with-

You shook your head, quickly dispelling those thoughts. You didn’t want to think about that when you were with Touya. For some reason other men and him didn’t mix well in your mind. Of course, it’s not like the man lying beside you was courting you – but with the way that he treats you, the way he brings you things from his travels, and the way that you’ve seen how his hypnotizing blue gaze softens on occasion when he looks at you; a part of you wishes that he would. You’ve never really seen yourself marrying anyone from your village. None of the men from town have ever made you feel like Touya does--

You shake your head violently, dismissing that train of thought.

That’s dangerous territory as well. You didn’t want to make things complicated between you and him. You know that it’s foolish to develop a crush on the burnt man, especially since no one else can see him and it’s not like he was constantly around to begin with, but with how close you had become and how easy it was to be around him, it was hard not to develop some kind of feelings for him.

Regardless, your feelings meant nothing if he didn’t feel the same, and Touya has never been an easy book to read. For all you knew, he treated every woman the same way he treated you… provided that they could see him like you could, that is.

You feel your mouth dip into a scowl at the thought. It wasn’t like you to get jealous, but you’d be fooling yourself if you said that you didn’t enjoy what you had with the burnt man. Even if sometimes you weren’t sure what exactly it was.

In an effort to distract yourself from your increasingly difficult thoughts, you redirected your attention back down to Touya, who hadn’t moved from the moment he had brazenly dropped his head into your lap, claiming that he was going to rest for a few moments, before shutting his eyes and dozing off into a light sleep. You gently trace your fingers along his strong jaw-line, the skin feeling slightly leathery and dry underneath your fingertips, and you can’t help but feel your heart clench painfully as you take in the entirety his resting face.

His burns are getting worse.

You hate that it’s the first thought that crosses your mind the second you lay eyes on him nowadays, but you’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t acknowledge it. The worst ones that you’ve seen are the ones on his face. They now stretch past the staples connecting his jaw to the rest of his face and are creeping up to the ones that are underneath his eyes. They almost touch now, and you can’t even begin to imagine how uncomfortable they must be.

You’ve never bothered to ask about the plethora of burns that cover his body. He’s never shown you more than the aggressive one that starts at his ears and travels down his neck, past his collarbones and the ones that travel down his arms, but you know inwardly that there are probably others that you can’t see. They don’t bother you; they never have. But you’ve always wondered how he got them. Even if he’s not quite human, you imagine that those kinds of injuries probably take a toll on the quality of life that someone has, and subsequently, probably shortens their life quite a bit.

You hate thinking about that though, so you speak up, breaking the peaceful silence that had enveloped you both, causing the man in your lap to crack one cerulean eye open, so he can look at you.

“I wish you’d stay longer. It feels like whenever you come, you’re only here for a day or two and then you’re gone again.” You pout, causing him to open his oceanic eyes with a chuckle as he slowly sits back up.

“Sorry Princess, my work takes me all over the place, you know that.”

“I know, I just wish you had a more consistent schedule. I miss you when you’re not here,” you admit. You smile cheekily at him, certain that you see a light dusting of red flash across the parts of his cheeks that aren’t damaged. “Are you ever going to tell me what exactly it is you do for work, or am I going to have to keep on guessing until I get it right?”

“I think I’m going to keep you in the dark for a little bit longer. It’s entertaining seeing you guess all the wrong things.”

“I still think you’re a sorcerer, you just don’t want to admit it. That, or you’re some kind of assassin who ages very slowly.” You tease him lightly. “I know you must be able to do some kind of magic. I mean, you may not be human, but you still look almost the same as you did when I was small. If that’s not because of some magic spell, I don’t know what it is.” You laugh, missing the tense look that passes over Touya’s face. “There’s only a few races I know of that have longevity like you: you’re dead set that you’re not a Fae, and you don’t look like any Elf I’ve ever seen.”

“I promise you, I’m neither. As for my… longevity, it’s not a spell, but you’re right: I can do magic, but it’s not the kind you’re thinking of.” He interrupts you, fixing you with a cool expression.

“Really? Can you show me?” you ask excitedly. This is the first time since you’ve known him that he’s openly admitted that he has more powers than what you initially thought.

“I will, but not here. Do you know where the temples dedicated to your gods are?”

Ah, your village shrines. You haven’t been to them in years, but you know exactly where they are – everyone in your village does and many go to pray at the temples regularly. There is a pantheon of gods and goddesses that the kingdom you belong to worships, even more depending on where you travel to, but your village likes to focus on four in particular:

All Might, the All Mighty One, the most powerful god in all of the pantheon and the guardian of all those who walk your lands. Legends say that he was once a mortal who fought valiantly against an ancient evil and was granted godhood in return for driving the darkness back.

Endeavor, the King of the Underworld and its fearsome protector. He preferred to stay in the Underworld, dutifully watching over all the souls that inevitably pass through his realm, and giving them an eternal place to rest, as well as serving his own brand of justice to those who had committed heinous acts of violence while alive on the surface.

Hawks, the God of Winds – one of his many titles. He was an interesting deity. He was the only one out of the many gods you worshiped who had large, red wings on his back. No one is quite certain of his origins. Some say he was born a Fae before he achieved godhood, others say that he was a traveling warrior, but no one knows for certain. He is a popular god among those who are traveling either by land or sea, and travelers often pray to him for safe passage during their trips. You’ve heard rumors from the priests who work at his temple that he is closely linked with the Underworld, and sometimes helps shepherd lost souls down there – but you can’t say for certain if it’s fact, or if the priests just want to mess with you.

And then there was the final one, the one that you knew the least about:

Dabi, the God of Cremation, or Death itself – depending on who was telling the story. He was an interesting one. From what you could recall of him, he was the oldest of Endeavor’s many children whom he had with his queen, and resided with his father and the rest of his immediate family in the Underworld. He was responsible for ritualistic death practices, and was the overseer of proper cremation of the deceased. Afterwards, he would supposedly take the souls of the deceased back to the Underworld with him so they could be judged by his father before arriving at their final resting grounds.

Out of all of the gods, he was one of the most mysterious and the least was known about him, compared to the rest of his kin. Many people, even in your town, believed that his name was taboo, and to use it would invoke an early demise – not that you believed that yourself. As much as people feared him, you had yet to hear of someone dying early from the use of his name alone.

Touya touches his hand to your cheek, and you’re snapped out of your reprieve, not realizing that you had gotten lost in your thoughts, and that he was still waiting on your response.

“Yes of course I know where they are, but Touya, why can’t you show me here-“

“Meet me by the Death shrine tonight after the sun goes down and I’ll show you what I mean. You’ll understand why I can’t show you right now.” He cuts you off, reaching out to give your hand a squeeze, pride soaring in his chest when you don’t pull your small hand away from his damaged one. “I’ll see you soon. When sun goes down, come find me.”

And with that, he seemingly vanishes before your eyes.

Night has fallen by the time you’re able to sneak out of your house. It took a while, but you had to make certain that both your parents were asleep before you attempted to sneak out.

You’re wearing nothing but a loose petticoat and a small coverup as you make your way in the direction of the village temples. You shiver and pull your wrap closer to you, as you give the dark forest a sideways glace and quicken your pace, thanking the stars that the snow had melted early this year and that the well-worn trail bordering the forest was clear of ice.

You had debated going through town since it was the quickest way to reach the shrines, but it was late at night, you were unmarried and without an escort, wearing thin clothes, and you were certain that the pubs in town were still open. The last thing you needed was one or multiple bar patrons seeing you walking past and trying to make an advance on you, or worse: alerting your parents that you had snuck out.

You were very certain that your mother would never let you out of the house again if she caught on to what you were doing. A young woman wearing nothing but underclothes, sneaking out in the dead of night to meet a strange man that only she could see?

Yeah, that would go over well.

So, you opted to take the trail that bordered along the edge of the forest instead, which was all the same. It would take you a little longer to get to your destination, but Dabi’s temple – or as many villagers liked to call it: The Death Shrine – was situated further away from the other three temples and was located in a more secluded spot on the edge of the wood, away from praying eyes. Perhaps Touya already knew that from the multitude of times he had visited your town over the years, and why he wanted you to meet him there in the first place.

You just wished it wasn’t so cold. It was early spring, but the nights were still crisp, and tonight was no exception. You desperately hoped the temple was unlocked so you could huddle in it to escape the crisp wind that whipped through your hair and clothes. You hoped that Touya was already there waiting for you. When he had first allowed you to get closer to him, the first thing you noticed about him was that he was exceptionally warm, and always seemed to run hot no matter what season it was. Hopefully he would allow you to take advantage of that if the temple wasn’t an option.

Finally, you reached your destination. You glanced around warily, as you slowly made your way towards the large building that was harshly outlined on the horizon against the surrounding woods.

The Death Shrine didn’t look as derelict as you thought it would, but you could tell that no one had been there for a very long time. The small gardens outside the temple were overgrown and dead and a mixture of new and old ivy was covering every inch of available surface on the outer temple walls. Aside from the rampant weeds growing over it, the building itself looked alright, but the roof had seen better days.

You call out for Touya, once, twice, and are greeted with silence aside from the occasional hoot of an owl far off in the distance. You look around the area for boot prints, a tell-tale sign that he’s here, but you can’t find anything. Now you’re starting to worry.

Did he forget about you? No, he wouldn’t have, he’s always kept his word to you before. Maybe he got held up somewhere? If that was the case, you wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to find him. Aside from the first time the two of you officially met, he was always the one who found you. Never the other way around-

A powerful gale of wind rips through the clearing and seems to push you towards the ruined temple. You have to stifle a yelp as the icy wind blows right through you, and you curse yourself for not thinking to change into warmer clothes before you snuck out.

You bolt towards the temple without a second thought, and reach the massive pair of doors that serve as the only way in and out of the temple. You grab the large iron knocker on one of the doors, fully prepared to test the door to see if it’s locked, but to your surprise, it swings open easily with a deafening groan.

You find it odd that the temple is unlocked. Even if no one has been to it for years, you figured the other priests that serve under the Gods of your village would’ve made sure to lock the temple to keep out vagrants – unless, people were genially too scared of the Cremation God to trespass on his lands.

Another powerful torrent of wind blasts through the clearing, and you don’t think twice as you run into the dark temple. You don’t bother shutting the door behind you, if Touya is looking for you, at least he’ll know where you are.

You rub at your arms, trying to bring some warmth back to them, only to look around the stone building in confusion. You thought for sure that the inside of the temple would have been an icebox seeing how cold it was outside, but for some reason it seems oddly… warm. Not warm enough for you to remove what thin layers you have on, but the temperature in the temple is noticeably different compared to outside.

You take a few more hesitant steps into the temple and look around, fascinated by what you see. Back when it was first built, the temple must have been a sight to behold. Even now, after years of neglect, you can still see bits and pieces of its former grandeur. Though dusty, the inside of the temple is spacious and open, even though it’s in desperate need of a good cleaning. As you look around, something among the gloom catches your attention and you slowly make your way to the opposite end of the temple.

Situated on the wall furthest away from the front doors, on an elevated platform with several stone steps leading up to it, is a massive statue, carved out of marble of the deity himself:

Dabi, God of Cremation and Death.

Every rendition that you’ve seen of the Death God is the same: a seemingly young man, clothed in flowing white burial robes, with a long hood covering the majority of his face, obscuring it from view. You aren’t sure if the hood was intentional, or if it was because no one actually knows what he looks like, but it certainly made the Death God more mysterious, adding to his strange charm.

Stepping closer, you realize that there is a sizable hole in the ceiling directly above the statue, casting moonlight down onto it, making it glow brightly in comparison to the rest of the dim temple. You glance around timidly, not entirely sure if you should kneel, or if there was another way to pay your respects to the elusive god.

As you look around, you notice the sculpture is surrounded by dozens of melted down candles. Even in the dim of the temple, you recognize they were once special prayer candles that priests use to pray with. You didn’t bring any matches with you, but you silently made a promise to yourself that if you ever did come back to the deserted temple, you would bring a new candle – even if he wasn’t a deity that you actively worshiped, it seemed rude to sneak into his temple without giving him some kind of acknowledgment.

Allowing your gaze to travel up the hooded statue, you paused as you realized that instead of a dark space under the hood where the god’s face should have been, that there was, in fact, a face concealed by the long hood of his robes. The darkness surrounding the statue, and the shadows cast down by the moonlight pouring in from the hole in the roof, hid most of his distinguishable features from view. But you could make out the lower half off his jawbone from where you stood.

It might just be a trick of the moonlight casting shadows down onto the hooded statue, but you swear that from what you can make out of the god’s face, he almost looks like T-

“God, this place is depressing, isn’t it?”

You let out a started shriek and slap a hand to your mouth, whirling around only to see a shadowed figure standing at the entrance of the temple as the echoes of your voice bounce off the stone walls.

“Touya!” You breathe as you let your hand drop. “Don’t do that! Here I am thinking that you forgot about me! Where were you anyways?” Touya only lets out an amused chuckle as he strides towards you, the sound of his boots echoing off the barren walls as he glances around lazily.

“Fuck, what a dump. Doesn’t your town have any priests that serve this temple? Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for years.”

“I… don’t think so.” You mumble as you think about it, suddenly feeling embarrassed, even though you can’t figure out why you do. “I don’t think there’s been any priests or followers dedicated to him in a long time. At least, not in the time that I’ve been alive.”

“You can say his name, Doll. Contrary to what most people think, his name alone won’t cause you to die.”

“Alright…” you swallow, your mouth suddenly feeling dry. “I can’t remember there being any priests that follow Dabi’s teachings around here. I’ve always found it strange, considering he’s one of the four major deities that we worship here, but everyone seems to be so wary of him for some reason.”

A shudder seems to run through your companion at the mention of the God’s name, but you don’t think much of it before Touya is speaking again. “Figures. No one’s ever told you his legend then, right?”

“There’s an actual story behind him?” You ask, turning back towards the stone stature behind you. “I thought he was just this elusive figure who brought souls to the Underworld to be judged.”

“He does that, but there’s more to him than that. A lot more.”

Touya isn’t looking at you, a quick glance behind you confirms this, and you see him gazing almost wistfully up at the hooded figure, before he catches onto you staring at you and sends you a smirk that almost seems a little forced. “Want me to tell you what really happened to him?”

You nod your head enthusiastically. You love the stories that Touya tells you, and one about the most mysterious God in the pantheon seems like it’d be an interesting one. The scarred man rolls his eyes playfully and gestures to the stone steps in front of you. You dutifully take a seat on one as he follows you down. He’s silent for a moment, staring at his large, scarred hands, seemingly figuring out where to start. After a moment of deliberation, he speaks – voice suddenly very quiet.

“Long ago, there was an… uprising of sorts amongst the gods, that split the entire pantheon into two factions. Some of the lesser-known gods were tired of the way that things were run amongst the divine and the mortals alike, and wanted a change. There was an ancient dark force that aided them and they almost overthrew the old gods that had been ruling for centuries at that time.” He paused before continuing again.

“A small group of fledgling gods – young but powerful, went up against the oldest and strongest gods, forever changing history… Dabi was one of the gods who led the uprising.” Touya huffs, as he glanced upwards towards the hole in the ceiling.

“It was chaos, it was the time that is now known as “the Dark Age”, and the aftermath of the war was brutal for both the gods and mortals alike. Many died during those times, not just humans, but gods as well.”

“How can you kill a God? I thought they were immortal?” You found yourself asking, mystified. Touya only snorts, fidgeting absentmindedly with the piercings in his nose.

“Believe it or not, gods can die too. Sometimes they die on their own, sometimes they die in battle. They’re hard to kill, but it is possible. You have to be a God yourself in order to do it though, or at the very least, a descendant of one, so don’t go thinking you can go murdering divinity now, Princess.”

“Obviously not.” You snort, entertained by the idea. “What happened next?” Toyua grimaces openly, and his eyes wander back to the hole in the ceiling – following his gaze, you can see stars twinkling brightly in the inky heavens above you.

“The gods leading the rebellion lost, and the ancient darkness aiding them was destroyed permanently. I think you might know where this story is going.”

You nod, you had heard this story countless times during your childhood. “It’s the legend of The Chosen One – Allmight’s successor, Deku, isn’t it?” the burnt man nods without looking at you.

“The very one.” He reached up to touch the staples in his chin. “They weren’t evil… the gods who rebelled. They just had their own idea of how things should be. They saw flaws in how the old gods were handling things and they decided that enough was enough, so they took a stand.”

You redirect your attention back towards the scarred man, only to see him looking unblinkingly up into the inky abys – almost as if he was lost in a memory. You reach out to touch his hand – the one that isn’t playing with staples in his chin – and he almost flinches before tearing his attention away from the sky to look at your small soft hand, holding his large, calloused one. He squeezes it reassuringly, before continuing on.

“After the fighting, a lot of historical records were lost… many of the records that were destroyed, happened to be about the gods that had started the uprising. After the war, they were all punished severely, and made an example of. Their temples were razed and decimated, and their followers were either executed or exiled. Even years later, the original followers who believed in the teachings of the usurper gods still won’t return to the temples which they once served in fear of retribution, and there still is a lingering stigma around those gods to this very day.” He looks around the derelict temple with a frown pulling slightly on the staples in his cheeks.

“This place is a prime example. Not all the temples dedicated to Dabi were destroyed – many of them were simply abandoned and the followers were driven out. You can’t get rid of all of the temples anyways. Even though he may be feared, he still plays an important roll in death. Without him, there would be no cremation practices and the dead would simply pile up and spill out into the streets. That and you’d have an overflow of souls with nowhere to go if he wasn’t there to guide them to the Underworld. Hell and the mortal world would be pretty fucked up if he wasn’t there to keep the balance.”

“How do you know so much about him?” You ask, enraptured by the way Touya’s voice seems to reverberate off of the walls as he speaks, sounding almost hypnotic.

“Like I said, I travel for my work. You hear about the legends no matter where you go, and some places know more than others. Some re-telling’s are different, some are the same. Some even tell you the legend from a different perspective. None of them are wrong – you just have to piece them together yourself.” Touya hums as he taps a long finger against the step you both were sitting on. “That happens to be my rendition of Dabi’s history, but it’s the closest to the truth that you’re going to get.”

The white-haired man gives you a sideways look. “What do you think of him?”

You lock your gaze with him. “What do I think of who?”

“Dabi. Everyone I’ve ever encountered says different things about him, especially depending on where I’m visiting. I’m curious to see what you think.”

“Oh gods, I don’t think I should speak about him in his own temple, that seems mildly disrespectful.” You mutter, glancing around again, only for Touya chuckle with a shake of his head.

“I think people make him out to be more temperamental than he actually is. He’s not Endeavor – you wanna talk about a god with a notoriously shit temper, it’s him.”

He sounds so certain of himself that it pulls a giggle from your throat and Touya winks at you boyishly. You sigh and look back towards the solitary statue bathed in moonlight. You bite your lip and the word slips out before you can think about it.

“Lonely.”

Touya blinks, looking oddly surprised. “Come again?”

“I think… he’d be lonely.” You respond carefully. “He’s probably got one of the hardest jobs out there and I’m sure that comes with a lot of responsibility… but I feel it be a very solitary job.” You shrug your shoulders helplessly at your companion. “But who am I to say, I’m just a village girl who didn’t know anything about him until you told me. I just think he’d probably get lonely from time to time.”

Toyua doesn’t say anything. He glances between you to your intertwined hands, then looks back at you, and then to the statue behind you on the alter. “Huh.” He mutters, more to himself than anyone else. He runs a hand through his snowy roots and nods. “Yeah, I guess he would be. “

He falls quiet again, and you don’t have anything to say in response. There is something hidden just below the surface of his story – something that he’s not telling you. You feel the implications hanging heavy in the air, but something is telling you not to push him any further, so you don’t. Finally, unable to take the tension in the dusty atmosphere, you stand, dragging Touya up with you.

“Alright, enough of that.” You tell him. “You promised me you’d show me what kind of magic you can do, and I’m holding you to that. What didn’t you want to show me in the glade?”

At your insistence, Touya perks up and a slow, almost maniacal grin spreads across his face. “Oh, that?" he asks with a teasing look in his eyes. “Are you sure you wanna see what I can do? I don’t know if you’d be able to handle it.”

“Oh, please Touya, I’ve known you for how long now? I don’t think there’s anything you can do that would surprise me-“

The words die almost immediately on your lips as Touya extends one large hand towards you, and in the next second it’s engulfed in bright blue fire.

“Oh.. oh wow!” you gasp in delight as you watch him curl his fingers inward, shrinking the blaze down until a small blue fireball rested comfortably in the palm of his hand. “You’re a pyromancer! I’ve heard of people who can control fire, but I’ve never seen anyone wield blue fire before!”

“That’s because I’m the only one who can do it.” The pierced man responds smugly. “Watch.”

He turns back towards the stature and there is a sudden burst of heat that forces you to close your eyes. Once the worst of the heat has rolled through you, you open your eyes only to see that the candle wicks surrounding the Cremation God are all alight with small blue flames, basking the temple walls in an otherworldly glow. The flames are small, only about the size of your fingernail, but exude a surprising amount of heat, chasing the remaining chills you have away.

“Oh, Touya, this is amazing.” You breathe as you pull your attention away from the blue wisps, and back to your friend, “I can’t believe you never showed me that you could do-“

You freeze. There is a faint smell of something burning emanating off of Touya. You glance down at his left arm and you quickly piece two and two together. The seams in his skin, the ones held together by staples, connecting the healthy tissue to the dead, are smoking. A faint trail of foul-smelling steam is hissing from the seam in his forearm – the very one that he had set ablaze to light the candles not a moment ago.

Oh. So that’s how he got the scarring, you think to yourself numbly. You’re unable to pull your gaze away from the steam that’s still bubbling out of his arm, until it finally stops, and he turns his cerulean gaze to you once more.

He knows you see it, he must, because he turns to you with a knowing smirk on his mottled lips, the staples in his face pulling uncomfortably as he gestures at his arms – at his burns. “There’s always a price for power like mine. D’ya get it now, Princess?”

“The burns… they’re self-inflicted.”  It’s not a question. Now you know. You know his secret.

“Not intentionally, but yes. They are.” He confirms. He doesn’t sound upset or ashamed. Only reserved.

“Is it some sort of blowback?” you ask him gently as you inch your way closer to him. You’ve heard of people like him, people who wield incredible powers. Some of whom cannot use their powers without it affecting them in some sort of way, whether it be physically or worse.

You never bothered asking Touya about how he’d gotten his gory collection of scars, or why they seemed to be getting progressively worse as time passed. You had been honest with him when you met him for the first time, when you told him that they didn’t bother you, you had meant every word. But now that he’s shown you the truth behind his burns, you can’t help but feel a strange warmth bloom in your chest, along with a touch of sadness.

“You could say that.” He answers finally, toying with the piercings in his ears. “If I use my flames for an extended period of time, it sears my skin. The hotter they are the worse it is. But they’ve been running pretty hot lately and it takes me longer to cool down than it normally does.”

“Why?” You extend your hands outwards to touch his arm, and for a split second, it almost looks like he’s about to pull his arm away from you, but thinks better of it and relinquishes the burnt appendage to you, allowing you to gently caress the hot skin of his arm. Touya shrugs, but you don’t miss how he slowly moves towards your touch.

Inwardly, the white-haired man feels like he’s melting. Your hands feel fucking amazing on his skin, cool and soft, and even though he can’t feel much of anything on the dead parts of his skin, the pressure feels nice.

“Comes with the territory Sweetheart. It’s just the hand I was given, I don’t question it.” He shrugs nonchalantly.

“Does anyone else know?” you ask, genuinely curious. That causes another one of his grins that you enjoy so much, to slowly spread across his lips.

“Just you and these walls.”

You don’t say anything for a few minutes, thinking of a good way to respond to his admission. Touya frowns at your silence and just as he’s about to ask you if you were alright, you gently trace one of your hands down his arm and lace your fingers together, in a motion that’s become so familiar and comfortable, and just feels so right with him.

You smile up at him. “Thank you for trusting me with this. It means more to me then you know.”

Touya swears he feels his heart, the organ in his chest that he believed to be shrived up and dead, beat in his chest for the first time in a very long time.

How you came to have so much power over him, he’ll never know for sure. He wants to surge forward and capture your lips with his. You, the pretty girl from the village, one of the very few people alive who can seem him… is happy to see him. He wants to take you right here in this temple – show you just how much you mean to him-

But he won’t, he’s not some wild animal (But gods, do you make him wish he was sometimes.)

Instead, he swallows thickly and manages to mutter, “S’nothing, just thought it was time for you to know.”

You give him another one of your pretty smiles and squeeze his hand reassuringly. You both watch as the hot, blue flames eat away at what’s left of the old prayer candles in a comfortable silence. Once they’ve all burnt out, Touya walks you back to your house, making sure to stay close to you. He keeps you warm and protects you from the cold spring winds as you walk together, muttering something under his breath about an idiot with wings all the while.

He watches as you sneak back into your house, miraculously not waking up either of your parents. He only leaves once you open your window on the second floor to wave down at him, and wish him a quiet ‘goodnight’. He gives you a lazy wave in return and pivots on his heel; walking away from your house, away from you, and into the night.

He makes a silent promise to himself to come back to you soon.

                                                       -----

 It’s now summertime and you are currently at your best friend’s wedding.

You’re in a flowing dark blue dress, clapping along with the rest of the wedding guests as your friend spins gracefully around her new husband. The ceremony was beautiful. It had taken place outside, near Hawks’s shrine so his priests could bless the new couple, and then the newlyweds and the rest of the wedding guests had gone back to the center of town to continue the wedding festivities.

You stifle a laugh as your friend purposely dances past you, and swiftly hands you her bouquet of flowers before her husband pulls her back towards him to continue their dance. You smile down at the arrangement of white and pink wildflowers and absentmindedly pet some of the petals, before you feel eyes drilling into the back of your head.

You don’t need to look up to know that it’s your mother, sitting across from you at the small table you’re seated at, with your father beside her, staring at you pointedly with the bouquet in your hands. You have to fight the urge to roll your eyes and chuck the gift of flowers several feet away from you in response to her glaring, knowing that she would only reprimand you later when you go home tonight, though inwardly you know she has her reasons for why she’s so frustrated with you:

You’re approaching your mid-twenties, and you’re still not married. You don’t see this as an issue, but your mother does and now the ladies from town are starting to talk openly about it.

In your village, it wasn’t uncommon for girls to be married off as early as eighteen. Typically, that was normally done amongst poorer families and thankfully, you and most of your friends came from wealthier upbringings, so you had the luxury to be a little choosier with your potential suitors. But at the end of the day, you were still a young, desirable woman, who was still expected to marry, and give her husband strong, healthy children.

The thing was, among the men around your age who lived in the village, you didn’t see yourself settling down with any of them. You simply weren’t attracted to them and you had very few things in common with the majority of them.

Many of them were polite and you knew they weren’t bad people by any means, but you just weren’t interested in getting to know them any further then as an acquaintance. Besides, based on the few dates your mother had set up (more so forced you to go on) with several of the men from town over the years, you didn’t want to get to know them any more than what they had shown you.

The worst of the bunch had acted like a perfect gentleman in front of your parents, but the moment he had you alone, he had revealed that he simply wanted a perfect little housewife. One who didn’t have any opinions of her own and who never left the house. He wanted a wife who was submissive and had plenty of his children without question. Somehow, he thought you were the perfect candidate.

You had remembered leaving the date early and all but running home, feeling a mixture of panic and disgust, snapping at your mother as soon as you got home that you never wanted to see that particular man again and to not fix anymore dates for you. Thankfully, that had been one of the few times she had listened, and it had been the end of the courtship dates for a while.

Men still asked for you, you couldn’t stop them from doing that, but at least you weren’t currently being pressured into going on any more dates with them. Some of your would-be suitors were too persistent for their own good. The inn-keeper’s son and the blacksmith’s son were the worst culprits. At least the inn-keeper’s son was sweet, if not totally clueless, but the blacksmith’s son…

Ugh. You didn’t want to ruin your night thinking about him. Especially not after he ‘accidently’ groped you during some of the earlier dancing tonight. Twice.

Pulling your thoughts away from the other man, you glance around the nearby tables, looking at the single men sitting at them and shake your head.

You knew it wasn’t fair, but you couldn’t help but compare the men in town to Touya. While he could still be crass with his comments, he never had any malicious intent behind them. He had taken the time to get to know you and listened to your interests, meanwhile the men you had briefly been forced to court only seemed to want to get to know you on a surface level.

You knew that it was foolish, harboring feelings for the pyromancer, a man that as far as you knew, only you could see. But it was so hard, when he was the only one who seemed to enjoy you as you – all of your strange little quirks and all of your hopes and dreams.

He listened to them all and responded in his own way. Recently, whenever he had to leave, you had been finding it harder to bite your tongue to keep from asking him to take you with him-

Almost as if he could read your mind, you feel a new pair of eyes on you. They were chilling but oddly warm at the same time, causing your body to erupt into goosebumps, as you slowly turned in the direction where you felt them on you.

Sure enough, Touya is there, standing a few feet behind you, partially concealed behind a nearby building. The moment your eyes lock, he sends you a smirk, and crooks a finger at you in a ‘come hither’ motion.

You feel your heart race in your chest, and you have to fight down the smile you feel tugging at your lips. You stand slowly and tell your parents that you have to run home to use the bathroom and before they can get another word out, you’re all but running towards the burnt man.

The second you’re in arms reach, he takes you by the hand and pulls you along with him. You don’t ask where you’re going, you know that he’s taking you back to your spot together in the woods, the one place where you feel like you can truly be yourself.

“I’ve been wondering when you were going to come back!” you tell him with a giggle as you both reach the edge of the forest. “Here I was thinking you forgot about me!”

Touya snorts at your antics and rolls his eyes. “Please. Forget about you? I don’t think so.”

“So, let me guess: you’re back here for work again?”

A fond look passes over Touya’s face, but he blinks and it’s gone in the next second. “Not this time. Actually, I’m here to see you specifically.”

That’s a new one. Normally when Touya comes to see you, it’s because his work brings him to town and he comes to visit you afterwards. He’s never come just for you – at least, not that you know of. You know it shouldn’t, but his confession makes your heart speed up.

“Really now?” you tease him lightly as he leads you deeper into the underbrush. “What makes this time so special?”

“I wanted to see what your town normally looks like during a festivity. You’ve always told me I should visit outside of a grieving period, so here I am.” His cerulean eyes find yours and he nods at your dress. “I won’t lie, I wanted to see what you looked like outside of those dark funeral clothes the town forces you to wear… you look beautiful.”  

You don’t bother to hide the bright red flush you know is dancing across the tops of your cheeks. This is the first time he’s ever been so forward with you aside from the comfortable hand holding that you’ve become accustomed to over the years, and you find yourself rendered speechless.

You can’t hold his gaze anymore and choose to look down at your dress as the dark blue fabric swishes around your legs as you walk, as you force out a meek word of thanks, feeling his large hand squeeze your own in response.  

Your companion pulls back the branches that cover the opening to the clearing and lets you step through first, following behind you as he lets the leafy coverings drop behind him, and follows you to your usual spot by the pond. You let your dress flare out around you as Toyua drops to the grassy floor beside you with a shit-eating grin pulling at the staples in his face. “If I had known that all it takes for you to blush like that for me was to give you one little complement, I would have done it more ages ago, Sweetheart.”

“Stop it, don’t tease me.” You wave him off, only for him to bark out a laugh.

“Wasn’t teasing you at all, I’m serious, you look beautiful.” He tells you honestly, as he reaches over the toy with the end of your dress. “Blue is a good colour on you. It’s my favourite.”

“Yes, well, I… thank you.” You sputter out, completely at a loss for words. This interaction with him was different from the ones that came before. He had never been this forward with you. There was something different about the last couple times you’ve seen him. Something was changing between you both. At first, you thought that you were simply overthinking it, but now you don’t think that you are.

“So,” Toyua’s slow drawl snapped you out of your thoughts. “That was what a wedding in your village looks like, huh? It’s… nice.”

You nod, smiling as you think about your friend in her pretty white gown. “It was my friend’s.” you tell him, as you reach down to slide off your shoes, massaging your feet. “She passed me her bouquet.”

“I saw. Why was your mother glaring daggers into the back of your head?”

“Oh, you saw that did you?” You sigh as you wrap your arms around you knees, pulling them towards you. “See, out of all my childhood friends, I’m the last to get married. My mother seems to think I’ll end up as an old crone if I don’t get engaged and married soon, but… I don’t really want to get married. At least, not to any of the men my age from my village.”

Touya is quiet as you talk, his face oddly passive as he stares out into the reflection of the sunset sinking into the pond, but you know he’s listening from the way his torso is slightly turned towards you.

“What’s wrong with them?” he rumbles quietly. You shrug.

“Most of them are fine… but some of the ones that my mother has tried to set me up with have been awful. I could never be with them. I don’t want to be with them.” you find yourself rambling, but now that you’ve started, you can’t seem to stop.

“They want some subservient house wife, but I don’t want that. I don’t want to be reduced to nothing more than a womb that gives them children whenever they want. I want more out of life than that. I want to leave this village at some point and see the world like you do. I wish… I wish-“

You feel a tear threaten to roll down your face before you can stop it. “I wish I could go with you.” You tell him in a voice so small that you barely hear it yourself, so you’re surprised when you hear him sigh, and wrap a warm, strong arm around you; pulling you close to him so that you’re practically in-between his legs.

You fist your hands in his cloak and bury your head into his chest, as he rests his chin on the top of your head. He’s humming low in the back of his throat, and you faintly recall hearing the melody from somewhere long ago. The raspy tune does stop the tears from welling up in your eyes however, and you feel a deep sense of gratitude towards the scared man.

“Everyone walks with me at some point.” You hear him murmur into your hair, like he’s telling you a secret. “One day, you will too, but not for a while. I’m sorry.”

You don’t bother asking him what he means. You stay wrapped up in his arms for a long time as you try to calm down. Touya doesn’t loosen his grip on you and keeps you pressed to him. He’s always been warmer than the average person, and you find that heat soothing, as it soaks through his cloak and into your skin.

Finally, after a while, he speaks, keeping his voice low and controlled. “You know… if you need me… all you need to do is call for me, and I’ll come to you.”

“What?” you ask as you lift your head from its spot on his chest.

He repeats himself again. “If you ever need me. If you’re in trouble or you just want to see me, all you need to do is say my name and I’ll come for you. It doesn’t matter where I am. I promise, if you call, I’ll come.”

“Even if you’re halfway across the country?” you ask.

He nods. “Anywhere.”

“How?”

He smiles at you, the purple scaring beneath his eyes and the burns creeping up the unmarred parts of his cheeks, touching at the action. “Like you’ve always said: magic.”

“Don’t tease me.” You beg him and he shakes his head.

“No tricks Sweetheart. I can do more magic than just my fire, but I think you figured that out a long time ago.”

It’s true, you always assumed that he had more tricks up his sleeve then what he let on, but nothing quite like this.

Just what exactly was he… who was he really?

“Could you always do that? All this time, if I really wanted to… could I have just called for you, and you would’ve shown up?” you murmur, causing him to look away towards the pond.

“Yes.” He confirms.

“Then why did you never tell me until this moment?” you hum gently, reaching up to cup one side of his face. He lets you turn his face without any resistance so he’s looking down at you again.

He gently covers your hand with his own as he responds quietly, “Because I’m not supposed to tell you, and you’re not supposed to know.”

“Are you going to get into trouble with someone?” you ask, almost fearful. You still don’t know what he does for work or who employs him, and the last thing you want is for him to get into trouble with one of his superiors. If they’re anything like him, then they’re probably powerful people in their own right

“No.” Touya dispels your worries with a shake of his head. “We’ll just keep this between us. It’s not like they can do anything about it anyways. I’m… untouchable in my line of work. They need me more then I need them.”

You realize that you’re still holding one side of his face and his own hand is still covering your own, keeping it there. There is something unreadable in his eyes, and you have the sudden urge to be as close to him as you can be.

What you’re about to do is dangerous, you know that if you do what you want to do, things will never go back to the way that they are currently, but you can’t bring yourself to care.

You want him, you want him more than you have ever wanted anyone.

You tuck your knees under you and straighten your back, bringing your other hand to his marred cheek so you are gently cradling his face. He doesn’t say anything as you swallow thickly, running your thumbs across the staples in his flesh – feeling the difference between the heat raising off his skin and the chill of his staples. He keeps his piercing eyes trained on you at all times, watching the subtle changes in your face, as you struggle to voice what you want.

“Can I kiss you?” you murmur softly, afraid to raise your voice any more in fear of it giving out on you. Touya’s eyes darken and he nods, bringing his free hand up to slowly wrap around the back of your neck to pull your face closer to his own.

He stops just short of his lips and you feel him brush the back of your neck with his thumb. “Are you sure?” he asks you, and you can feel his breath ghosting over your lips. That’s all the motivation you need. You push yourself forward, and capture his lips with your own.

The contrast between both textures of his upper and lower lip is interesting but not unpleasant. His upper lip is soft while his lower lip is rough and chapped from the scarring, but it creates a unique sensation as it brushes against your own lips. You let a small moan escape you, and the reaction from Touya is instant. He releases your hand holding his cheek, and loops his free arm around your waist, drawing you even closer to him as your hand drops from his face and rests on his chest. He pulls you in further by the hand holding onto the back of your neck, and slots his lips against yours. You feel his tongue gently trace along your lower lip and you part your lips for him without a second thought, allowing the wet muscle in to trace your own, and you let out an involuntary whimper, feeling him smirk into the kiss.

He pulls back all too soon, leaving you breathless. Nether of you say anything. You don’t know what to say. What happens now? What are you to each other? You’re not sure anymore.

Touya must sense your inner turmoil, because he rubs your cheek with the back of his knuckles and draws you in close to him, holding you there for a while, as you feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

“…I can’t stay.” He admits quietly. “Honestly, I wasn’t supposed to come here at all, but I wanted to see you. I’m glad I did.”

“Me too.” You whisper. “Will you come back?”

He laughs and gives you a small squeeze. “For you, always. I’m not going to leave you, I promise.”

You release the breath you didn’t realize you had been holding in. Good, he wasn’t leaving permanently, not like some men who take off after getting what they want.

You immediately feel bad after thinking that. Touya has never once acted like that in the time you’ve known each other. He’s never given you a reason to think otherwise.

He pulls you back a little, only to press a kiss to the corner of your mouth, as he holds your chin between his thumb and index fingers. “I’m going to be gone for a little while. But if you need me, all you have to do is call for me, and I will be there.”

“You swear?” you breathe, as you watch the final rays from the sinking sunset catch the piercings in his ears, making them glow as if they were molten chips.

“I swear.” He promises you, and then he’s dipping back in to capture your lips once more.

When you do eventually part, this time is harder than the other times that came before. Night has fallen once you’ve made your way out of the clearing, and Toyua makes sure that you get back to your house safely, but he doesn’t come any further than the tree-line.

When you turn to him, he presses a chaste kiss to your knuckles and then another lingering one to your lips that has you closing your eyes. Before you can open them again to ask him when he’ll be back, he’s gone.

You do end up using his name not a month after your friend’s wedding.

You’re sprinting through the underbrush in the forest, your parents’ frantic calls of your name fading behind you.

The only thing on your mind is to get as far away from your house as possible.

She did it. Your mother did what she had been threatening to do if you didn’t find a partner by yourself: she would find one for you.

and gods help you, she picked the worst one she possibly could.

The Blacksmith’s son was a pig, to put it mildly. His family was well off, which you know is why your mother agreed to fix your engagement with him, as you certainly wouldn’t starve if you were wed to him, but there were several reasons why he was a few years older than you, and unwed:

He had a notorious reputation as a violent drunk, and unfortunately his temperament wasn’t much better when he was sober. You would know. The few times you’ve spoken to him while shopping in town has made you want to go home and forget that it even happened.

Worst of all, he unfortunately shared a lot of similar opinions to your last potential suitor: women were to stay at home and were not to be heard. Your thoughts, your hopes and dreams for the future; they all meant nothing to him.

You screamed bloody murder at your mother when she dropped the news on you after you had come home from visiting a friend. According to her, he had been asking about you for quite some time, and she and your father had finally agreed to give him your hand after months of him asking for it.

“Why him?” You screeched at her, nearly pulling out your hair as you desperately tried to keep your tears at bay. “You know what he’s like, you must! Why would you do this to me? Why would you set me up with him knowing what kind of a person he is?!”

“Because there is no one else!” your mother roared back at you. “You left it too long! Out of all your potential candidates, he was the only one that your father and I knew could provide a comfortable life for you – there was no one else good enough for you! You are our only daughter, our only child! I will not let you become a spinster! Who will look after you once we’re gone?”

‘Not him!” You screamed as the tears you’d desperately been holding in, came pouring out. Your father at least had the decency to look mildly ashamed as you broke down into sobs, but it still hurts, knowing that he had the final say in your betrothal.

You bolted from the house, making a beeline for the forest, ignoring your parents as they called for you to come back, but you couldn’t face them. Not after this.

You burst into the clearing and fall to your knees at the side of the pond. You don’t know what to do, you feel like you can barely breathe, and you know there is no one who can help you-

Suddenly you think of Touya, how sincere he had been when he held your face in his hands, and told you, that if you ever needed him, all you had to do was call for him.

You don’t even know if it will work, and if he’ll hear you, but at this point you don’t care.

“Touya!” you scream across the stillness of the pond. “Touya! Touya! Tou-“

There is a sudden blast of heat a few feet away from you, and you have to bring your arms up to protect your eyes from the searing air. Once the worse of the heat has faded, you lower your arms, only to gasp at what you’re seeing:

Touya is standing before you. The ground beneath him is scorched. The long grass completely burned down to nothing around him, and there are residual blue flames clinging to his cloak. You don’t know how, but he’s here. Just like he promised you he would be.

“I’m here Doll, I’m here, what’s wrong?” He stops short as he notices that your cheeks are wet and shining, and his eyes narrow dangerously. “What happened? Who did this to you?”

“I-I—” you choke, as more tears pour down your cheeks. Now that he’s here, how can you possibly tell him? What do you even say?

“Please help me Touya, I don’t know what to do.” You manage to get out after a moment, before a fresh wave of sobs roll over you. Touya immediately crouches down to your level, and holds your face in his large, rough ones.

“What happened?” he presses you. “Tell me everything. What’s gotten you so upset?”

“She- my mother- she-“ your chest heaves, and a fresh wave of sobs rips its way out of you. Touya doesn’t say anything, silently wiping away your tears with his abnormally warm thumbs. You find yourself leaning into the warmth, and he holds you there, as your breathing calms down. Once you feel like you’ll be able to speak without crying, you avert your eyes away from his, knowing that you can’t look at him when you tell him the reason why you’re so upset.

“I’m engaged.”

Touya’s breath hitches and his thumbs stop their soothing movements. He falls deathly silent, and you risk sneaking a glance at him, only for your heart to drop upon seeing his face.

His devastatingly handsome patchwork face has a range of different emotions strewn across it, ones that he’s not bothering to hide from you.

Rage, confusion, disappointment, and-

“To who?” he asks so softly you almost miss it.

“The blacksmith’s son…” you murmur back. “I don’t want to!" You feel another sob well up in your throat. “He’s vile! He’s condescending and drinks too much… All I am to him is a way to move up in our village. He doesn’t care about me at all. He’ll force me to have his children and I can’t-“

You feel yourself break again. You reach up to cover his hands with your own. “Please Touya.” You whisper. “Please, I’m begging you. Take me with you. I don’t care what you are, or what it is that you do. I can’t marry him. I won’t. I don’t care what my parents want. I don’t care if he can provide me with a comfortable lifestyle. I don’t care where we go. Anywhere would be better than being forced into marriage with him.”

Touya looks conflicted – pained even – and his fingers twitch where they’re resting on your skin. He leans in closer to you and you feel his breath ghost over you lips. For a second, you think he’s going to kiss you again, but he simply holds you at eye-level.

“…I can’t take you with me… not right now.” he tells you honestly. You open your mouth to protest, but he cuts you off. “One day I will, I promise you I will, but I can’t right now.” he pauses and a dark look enters his cerulean blue eyes. “Do you trust me?”

You blink back the tears that you feel forming in the corners of your eyes. “Yes… why?”

“I can do something about the… situation you’re in.” His thumbs brush your cheeks gently. “But only if you trust me.”

“I do.” Your voice is steady. “Of course, I do, but Touya… what do you mean? What are you planning to do?”

But Touya isn’t looking at you anymore, his focus is shifted to the still water in the pond. “It’ll be early, too early, but that’s fine, they can handle one early arrival.” He’s muttering to himself, before he shifts his attention back to you and kisses your forehead briefly, before abruptly standing up and backing away from you.

“Go to Dabi’s temple and wait for me there. I’ll meet you there later. The temple is considered sanctuary, no one will bother you there.” He tells you sternly, as he reaches the burnt circle where he reappeared earlier. “I’ll handle this, don’t worry Doll.”

Before you can ask him what he plans to do, a brilliant burst of blue flames erupt around him, engulfing him in unforgiving heat, before disappearing as quickly as they appeared. You blink, and Touya is gone.

Dusk has fallen by the time you’ve made your way to the ruined temple.

You took the long way to Dabi’s temple, opting to use one of the multiple forest trails to reach your destination instead of going through town. No doubt that your parents are searching for you, and probably have other members of the village looking for you as well, possibly even your soon to be husband-

No, you don’t even want to think about him. You’re not sure what Touya plans to do once he finds him, but you can’t bring yourself to care right now. You’re so tired, all you want to do is sit and rest.

It’s that thought that makes you pull on one of the doors – finding it unlocked again – and slip inside, closing it gently behind you. Much like last time, the temple is unseasonably warm, though that may have something to do with the hole that is still in the ceiling above the statue of the death god, allowing the warm, summer air to seep in.

You slowly make your way towards the massive white statue and bow your head. “Forgive me for intruding. I’m just here to rest, I’ll be on my way soon.”

You hope that your actions aren’t seen as disrespectful as you take a seat on the long stone steps in front of the alter. Hopefully Touya won’t be long with whatever he’s doing. A part of you still can’t believe that he had been completely serious, and that he come to you – just by you calling out his name. You knew he had powers, but even then, this was unexpected.

Just what exactly was he? Who was he?

Suddenly, you feel tired, more tired than you were before stepping into the temple. Your eyelids are drooping, and your body feels heavy. You have just enough time to shift yourself into a more comfortable position, lying down at the foot of Dabi’s statue, before the fatigue overcomes you.

The last thing you remember is staring up at the hidden face of the Cremation God, and closing your eyes, as you fall into a dreamless sleep.

You wake again to the sound of the temple doors being swung open.

You blink away sleep out of your eyes, and force yourself into a sitting position, as you squint at the figure illuminated by moonlight in the entrance.

For a moment, you’re scared that it’s one of the townspeople, but then the moonlight reflects off of the shadowed figure’s shockingly white hair, and you allow yourself to relax.

“Touya?” you call out gently, voice scratchy from a lack of use.

“Just me.” The low timber of his voice answers you as he closes the doors behind him, plunging the room into darkness again. You can’t see anything, but you hear the heavy clunking of his boots making their way towards where you’re seated in front of the statue.

That’s when the smell hits you.

The distinct smell of ash and smoke, with the faint undertone of something rancid burning, invades your nose. It takes you a second to figure out what the awful smell is, and when you’re finally able to place it, you wish that you hadn’t.

It’s the same smell from before, when you first came to the temple with Touya, and he revealed his affinity with fire to you – when he let you in on his secret. When he told you the reason behind his scars.

There is a sizzling sound, and a small blue flame lights up in front of your face. Touya is kneeling in front of you. A small wick of flame is concentrated in the palm of his hand, illuminating both of your faces, and oh gods, his face-

The burns are worse than they were when he left. The deep, purple burns underneath his eyes and the ones on his jaw, now run past his staples, and are touching, finally connecting them together. His face is more dead skin than healthy, and you feel your eyes water involuntarily.  

Touya notices too, as he brings the hand not holding the open flame, to your eyes to wipe at them. “What’s wrong?” he rumbles. “What’s with the tears?”

“What happened?” you croak as you reach up to hesitantly touch the fresh burns. ‘It wasn’t like this when you left.”

Confusion flitters across his face for a moment, before his eyes widen in realization, and he jerks his face away from your hands, extinguishing the small ball of fire as he does so – though really, all he wants to do is let your gentle hands caress his face, care for his wounds, but he doesn’t want to worry you anymore then you already are.

“It’s nothing.” He mutters. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s not nothing, and it’s not fine.” You say sternly as you pull him back towards you by his cloak. “What happened? Please tell me?”

“Remember I told you that there’s a price if I use my fire for too long?” you nod, and he taps the new patches of burns, before snapping his fingers, and a few wicks on the remaining prayer candles at the base of the statue light up around you. “Well, that’s it. Seriously, don’t worry about it. “

“You mean to tell me you used your fire for too long? What where you doing out-“

Your blood runs cold, and you peer back into his azure eyes. “What did you do?”

He only shakes his head, avoiding your question. “I need you to promise me right now, that you will never ask me about it. Trust me”

“Touya, you didn’t-“

“Sweetheart please. I’m serious. I can’t tell you what happened. All you need to know is that he’ll never bother you again. I promise.”

The implication hangs heavy in the stagnant air, and you fall silent, not breaking eye contact with him.

This man, this being has done something unspeakable in your name, for you, to protect you. You know that you should be pushing him away, trying desperately to get away yourself… but you don’t. This is Touya, your Touya, and you know that he would never hurt you. Certainly not intentionally.

“You… you did this for me? Why?” you whisper. Touya lets out a small chuckle as he slowly places his hands on your knees. You can feel how hot his palms are through your skirts.

“You know why.” He murmurs, as he slowly closes the gap between your faces, and you do.  

This man… loves you. When he looked at you earlier, the last emotion that you had seen in his eyes… had been adoration.

He loves you, Touya loves you so much that he can’t even vocalize it. You’ll never know how much you mean to him, you can’t, because you still have so much time here, and he… he is bound by his duty. He can’t stay here with you in the village, and he knows it’s not fair to you to ask you to wait for him, but gods help him; he can’t see you wed anyone else. He can’t. Especially not the low-life that your parents had engaged you to.

He feels the tell-tale signs of rage creeping up on him, so he quickly closes the remaining space between your faces, and presses his rough lips to yours once more – catching your gasp in is mouth.

You wrap your arms around his neck – being mindful of the heavy scarring – pulling him closer to deepen the kiss as your eyes slide shut. He tastes like how ash smells, and any other time, it would have made you cringe, but it suits Touya; and you can’t bring yourself to care as he swipes his tongue along your lower lip, asking for entrance, which you grant to him.

He kisses you deep and hard, trying to convey to you all the things that he wants to say to you, but can’t vocalize. You whimper involuntarily, as he bites down on your lip, and you feel him smirk into the kiss.

You only pull away when air becomes too much of a necessity. Touya doesn’t let you go far, keeping a hand on the back of your neck to keep your face close to his. You reach up to touch the fresh burns on his face, and this time he lets you. You smooth your thumbs over the newest patches of burnt skin on either side of his face, and lean in to kiss them. You hear his breathing hitch, and you swear you see something red trickle down the sides of his face, before he quickly brushes it away.

He pulls you back after a moment to study your face, and gives you a lopsided smile. “Let’s get you back home. Your foolish parents are probably losing their minds wondering where you’ve gone, and half the town is out looking for you.”

He makes a move to stand up, but you take his hands in yours and pull him back down, shaking your head. “No, please, not yet, I’m not ready to go home yet.”

Touya looks like he wants to say something more, but decides against it, and sits back down beside you, pulling your legs over his. He wraps an arm around you and tucks you in close to him. You both fall silent, and you watch as the tiny blue flames around you cast disjointed shadows up along the walls. You close your eyes, and rest your head against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart in his chest.

“I love you.” You tell him in a voice barely above a whisper.

He doesn’t say it back, but the arm around you squeezes you so tightly that it almost hurts.

You wish that you could stay with him forever.

                                                          -----

 You sigh to yourself as you check medical supplies in your village’s apothecary, making a mental note to tell the healer you’re training under that you’re running low on Feverfew and Echinacea.

Fall has arrived in full swing. The dense forest that surrounds your town has changed its leaves from vibrant green to beautiful shades of red and yellow. It’s beautiful, but you’ve never been much of a fall person. You know what comes next. The autumn months mean winter is close behind, and you’ve never liked the cold. For some reason, you can’t shake the feeling that this upcoming winter is going to be a particularly bad one.

You shake your head and return to your task at hand, but you can’t stop your mind from wandering as you continue to take stock of the medical inventory.

After the mysterious disappearance of your betrothed, your parents didn’t try to engage you to anyone else, and you can’t help but feel relieved. Marrying one of the men from your village was never in the cards for you, a fact that you made very clear to them after your formal betrothal’s disappearance. You weren’t interested in marriage or raising a family of your own. Not right now, possibly not ever.

In the end, you decided to train under your village’s healer – a kind old woman named Chiyo, who’s been the town healer for longer than you’ve been alive – as a means of getting out from under your parents.

Despite word of your betrothal’s mysterious disappearance quickly spreading throughout your village, there had been some other potential suitors that had come to you after you had started training at the apothecary. While none of them were rude or malicious, you always turned them down with a gentle smile before sending them on their way.

Besides, none of them held your heart the way a certain pyromancer did.

You haven’t seen Touya for a few months now, not since the disappearance of your betrothed. You’re not completely sure what happened after Touya found him – you’re not sure if you want to know, even though you have a pretty good idea of what happened if the fresh burns he had come back with had anything to say about it. You know better than to ask though, knowing full well that Touya will never tell you the full truth, even if you already know without him having to say it.

You sometimes wonder if there’s anything left of the blacksmith’s son.

You know that you should feel shocked, horrified even, that your pyromancer was capable of doing such an atrocious thing. But all you feel when you think about it, is a strange sense of relief.

You wonder if that makes you a bad person.

Inwardly, you know it probably should, especially when the blacksmith came looking for his son not long after his disappearance. When he had asked you if you knew anything about why his son had seemingly taken off without so much as a word to anyone, you had said no, of course, because what else could you have said to him? It’s not like anyone aside from you could see Touya to begin with, and there no way to explain to the blacksmith the fate that had most likely befallen his son.

Regardless, all you knew was that you’d never see him again. Touya had made sure of that.

There are still search parties that go out every once in a while, looking for him and a part of you wants to tell them that it’s a waste of time, that he’s nowhere to be found, but you won’t. It’s yours and Touya’s dirty secret to share now, and it will stay that way until you take your dying breath.

You suppress a sigh as you take a break from checking inventory, and your thoughts wander back to Touya of their own accord. He had warned you that he wouldn’t be back for some time after he had brought you home – he had serious business to take care of in the eastern part of the country, and he wasn’t sure when he’d be back. You hope he’s doing well, wherever he is.

Your heart clenches when you think of him. You’re not sure what you are anymore. You told him that you loved him, and even though he didn’t say it back to you, you’re certain that he loves you too.

“You know why.” Those words have echoed in your head since he said them to you. You’ve known that the two of you have been bordering on the cusp of something for a while now, and that solidifies it.

You promise yourself that the next time he comes to see you, you’ll ask him what you are to him. What this is.

Eventually, Chiyo dismisses you in the midafternoon, and you find yourself taking the lonely path up towards Dabi’s temple. You’ve started going there a lot more in Touya’s absence. Ever since you kissed the white-haired pyromancer in Dabi’s temple, you had started making a habit of coming back to the derelict temple, in an effort to clean it up a little.

For some reason, Touya seems to have a fondness for the place, and you’re starting to understand why. Despite its outward appearance and dust covered insides, you’ve never once felt unwelcome in the temple itself. It’s calm and quiet, and the more you visit the abandoned shrine, you realize it’s really a shame that it was abandoned by the priests, because it was probably quite beautiful back in the day.

With that thought, you had decided to take it upon yourself to try and restore the temple back to its original glory.

When you had brought up what you wanted to clean Dabi’s shrine to the priests at Hawks’s temple, you had been met with disbelieving looks, as the temple itself had sat vacant for well over a century. But once you had assured them that you weren’t there to cause trouble, and that you only wanted to clean it up a little, they had relented, and even gave you cleaning supplies, telling you that if you needed help, all you needed to do was come and get them.

You had laughed to yourself as you took the cleaning supplies back with you to the temple. The only reason why you had gone to them in the first place was to tell them what you planned to do, regardless of whether they liked it or not. Hawks’s temple was the closest to Dabi’s, and you’d end up walking past it to get to the secluded shrine more often than not. The last thing you needed was them assuming that you were doing something strange, when it was the exact opposite.

You soon found yourself in front of the large double doors once more, but unlike the first time you had entered the temple, you didn’t hesitate to let yourself in this time, shutting them softly behind you. You set your shawl down by the entrance and take off your shoes to avoid tracking any dirt in from the outside. You breathe in deeply as the faint smell of incense hits your nose, looking around the large room with a content smile on your face.

It’s not perfect, but its far better than what it was previously. You’ve washed and cleaned the floors and walls, sweeping out almost a century’s worth of dust and other debris. You’ve scraped the ancient remains of melted candle wax off the alter in front of Dabi’s statue, and replaced the melted down prayer candles with new ones. You brought in some pillows and plush rugs from home that your mother was about to throw out, not wanting them to go to waste, and also wanting to make the temple more homey, in case anyone aside from yourself wanted to visit. You keep incense burning constantly to get rid of the musty smell that has always lingered around the temple, and it finally seems to be working. Lastly, with the help of two priests from Hawks’s temple, you were finally able to fix that damn hole in the ceiling above the statue of the Cremation God.

Now you’re at the temple to do one last thing: clean the giant marble statue of the Death God himself. You didn’t see much of a point cleaning it before the hole got fixed, but thankfully, the sculpture doesn’t seem to be very dirty. Still, you want to go over it, and wash down what you can reach – it’s only polite after all.

Besides, after what you learned about him from Touya, you figure that it’s not a bad idea to stay in the illusive god’s good graces--

“Hello Princess.”

You jump at the sound of a familiar smoky rasp, and whirl around, only to see Touya standing a few feet behind you, a smirk plastered across his dis-coloured lips.

“Touya! When did you get here? I thought you said you didn’t know when you were going to be back! Did you finish with whatever you were doing in the East early?” you gasp delightedly, as the tall man strides towards you. He shakes his head.

“No, the situation there is a bit more… serious then I originally thought. I’m probably going to be there for a while yet, but I had some time, and I wanted to see you.” He stops directly in front of you, and his smirk becomes softer. “How have you been? I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve been… keeping busy.” You tell him, lacing your hands together in front of you. “I’ve started working at the village apothecary. Chiyo runs a tight ship, but I’m learning a lot from her and she’s good to me.”

“What did your parents think about that?”

“Well… they weren’t pleased, but that’s more to do with me telling them that I won’t be courting anyone anytime soon. I told them I wasn’t interested, nor will I ever be. My mother isn’t happy, but at least she hasn’t forced me into any other engagements… not after what happened before you left.” You tell him honestly, and Touya only nods, his expression not giving anything away.

“Glad they’ve finally taken the hint. What else have you gotten up to, pretty girl?”

“Take a look around, you tell me.” You tell him with a tiny smile. You watch his brows furrow together in confusion, and he looks around the room, only for his eyes to widen, like he’s seeing the temple for the first time.

You watch as he investigates the plush rugs and pillows you have scattered around the base of the alter, how he takes in the sight of fresh prayer candles lit at the bottom of the statue – how clean and bright and warm you’ve managed to make it, since you were both here last. He seems overwhelmed, like he’s at a loss for words.

“I did it for you.” You admit softly, feeling your face heat up with your admission.

“You did this… for me?” he asks slowly, not looking at you, as he takes in everything that you’ve done. You smile softly at him even though he can’t see it.

“You seem to be pretty fond of this place, and you know so much about its history, I thought that maybe I could fix it up a little so I could have something to show you when you came back.” That gets his attention, and he fixes his azure eyes on you, locking you in place.

“You did this for me.”

“I… yes… Do you not like it?” you sputter, suddenly worried that you’ve done something wrong.

“No, Gods no. You did this for me.” He says breathlessly. “This is more than I could have ever hoped for.” He closes the remaining space between you, and his obscenely warm hands find your waist, while yours automatically come rest on his chest. “God’s you did this for me.”

“Yes.” You whisper. “Touya? I don’t understand--?”

The words die on your lips as Touya surges forwards and presses his rough lips to yours. You feel the grip he has on your waist turn bruising, as he kisses you hard and deep, bordering on desperate.

“I love you.” He tells you, pulling away momentarily to bring one hand up from your waist to cup the back of your neck. “I love you. You were the first person to see me in so long – I knew you were different, I knew you were for me, and then you did this-“

He smashes his lips back onto yours, and you wrap your hands around his neck. Normally, you’d be mindful of his burns, but you’re so engrossed in his feverish kisses that you squeeze him tightly, and feel him moan into your mouth in response. He pulls back slightly for air, and pants heavily against you.

“Let me have you.” He growls against your lips. “Right here, right now. Gods help me I can’t wait any longer. I need to have you. I need you.”

“Okay, I—okay—yes.” You hear yourself gasping, and suddenly you’re swept off your feet. You feel your back hit something soft. Turning your head slightly to the side, you realize that Touya has placed you down onto a small pile of pillows. The realization of what you’re about to do hits you full force, but you don’t feel scared. You want this, you want him. You’ve wanted him for a long time.

Touya looms over you, caging you in, and runs the back of a heavily scared hand over your cheek. You shiver from the sensation of his feverishly hot skin and the cooler tones of the staples in his hand running over your skin. He gives you a wicked smile, as he sits back on his haunches, and starts to push your skirts up, revealing your bare legs.

You lurch up and grab his hands, forcing him to pause. He chuckles low in his throat at your actions, and pries your hands off of his own, placing a kiss on the back of one as his azure blue eyes meets your flushed face. “Relax my love. Let me take care of you.”

“It’s just- I mean, I’ve never done this before. I’m-“

“I know.” Touya damn near purrs, and you feel heat pool in your belly. “I’ll take care of you. I’ll be so gentle with you, I promise.”

You nod shakily and lower yourself back down onto the pillows, as Touya hikes your skirts up, revealing your legs and bottoms. He groans deeply as he kneads the plush of your thighs. “Fuck Princess, you’re perfect. Just like I knew you would be.”

“You’ve thought about me?” For some reason, his words of endearment strike a chord with you.

“Of course.” Touya murmurs, coming up to kiss you briefly, before taking your hand in one of his own. “Whenever I’m away, or I’m in the middle of a mission – alone and lonely – I think of you.”

He brings your hand down to his crotch, and sure enough, you feel a bulge underneath his pants. “See what you do to me?” he growls as he releases your hand so that he can work on shimmying your panties down your legs. You go to move your hand away, but he fixes you with a stern look. “Keep it there. Don’t move until I tell you to.”

You nod as he hooks his fingers into the band of your panties and leans back slightly to pull them down your legs, almost ripping them off in his haste. As soon as the offending material is gone, Touya gently wraps his hands around you knees and pulls them up so your feet are planted on the ground, before nestling his way back in between them, not taking his eyes off of the junction in between your legs.

“Gods.” He whispers. “Fuck.”

You feel him throb in the thick canvases of his pants as he runs a finger through your folds, causing you to shudder and clench around nothing. “God love, you’re fucking soaked.” Touya hisses, as he pushes your hand away from his hardness and rips his cloak over his head, revealing his bare chest to you.

In all the years that you’ve known him, you’ve never seen him this exposed. His chest is a patchwork of scars and staples just like his arms and face. Most of the skin is dead and badly burnt, but you do see some spots where there are still glimpses of healthy skin amongst the mess of purpled burns. Just like you suspected, his body is lean but ripped with corded muscles that bunch and flex with his every move. He looks like he was built by a god – a god with a twisted sense of humor – but you could care less. You think he’s perfect.

“You’re beautiful.” You tell him honestly – not wanting him to think you were focusing only on his burns – and he looks almost bashful at your words, letting a small chuckle escape him as he gently picks up one of your hands to press a quick kiss on the back of your knuckles.

“Look who’s talking.” He fires back at you, as he uses his thumbs to spread your lower lips apart. It should be embarrassing how wet you are from a little teasing, but Touya looks absolutely enthralled.  

“Is all this for me?” he muses to himself softly. Before you can ask him what he’s doing, he bends down and swipes his tongue through your folds, causing you to moan loudly and try to slam your legs closed on impulse, but Touya is faster – forcing them to stay open with a hand on each inner thigh as he continues to lap at your pussy.

You whimper involuntarily from the ministrations, and Toyua squeezes your thighs as he comes back up. “I know, I know love. I can’t wait any longer either. Goddamn-“ he almost snarls; his hands immediately going to his belt, as he unfastens it and tosses it to the side somewhere.

“I can’t believe someone as beautiful as you is letting someone like me do this to them.” he mutters as he pushes his pants down to just past mid-thigh, allowing his dick to spring free – and through you’ve never seen a man’s cock until now – you’re certain that it’s the prettiest one that you’ll ever see.

It’s long and thick and curves slightly upwards. It’s as pale as the undamaged parts of his skin and you think it looks quite lovely. You’re a little nervous about the size of it, but Touya doesn’t allow you to look at it for long, before he’s lining himself up to your entrance.

You swallow thickly as you feel how big and hot the head is pressed up against your tight entrance, and Touya must sense your hesitation, because he drapes himself over you, supporting himself on his hands, as he takes both your hands in one of his own, and gently pins them above your head, stooping down to kiss you once more.

“Breathe.” He murmurs, his breath ghosting over your lips hotly. “I’ll make you feel so good. Just lie back and breathe for me, my love.”

And with that, he slowly pushes himself in.

The stretch is delicious and you know that he’s ruined you for any other potential man. But there’s never been anyone else, has there? From the moment you officially met, it’s always been him. It will only ever be him.

Touya is cursing above you, but you can’t hear him – too lost in your own pleasure. It isn’t long before he’s picking up a steady rhythm, his hips hitting against yours with a wet smack. You’re so wet from his earlier teasing that he glides in and out with little resistance, and you feel your legs starting to shake from the waves of pleasure he’s inflicting upon you.

“Gods, how are you so tight?” Touya groans as he leans down to capture your lips with his. You kiss him back eagerly, wishing that your hands were free so you could wrap them around his neck, but he only tightens his grip on them when he feels you start to resist against his hold. He pulls back after a moment to take in your pretty face and glassy eyes, his hips not slowing down, as they continue to rut into yours.

“You’re mine.” He snarls hotly, swooping down to suck a mark onto the junction of your neck and shoulder, causing you to cry out and clench around him.

“You’re mine- fuck it, you’re mine, no one else’s.” He sucks another mark onto the other side of your neck, and you feel your eyes roll to the back of your head, as something in your lower stomach snaps – the wet sounds of your union becoming louder as you cum around his cock. Touya’s hips falter for a fraction of a second as he registers what happened, before he the last shred of restraint he had snaps, and starts pounding into you relentlessly, ignoring your sobs as he stimulates your already oversensitive insides.

“When you told me… that they had engaged you to that bastard-” He hisses lowly in your ear, as you continue to sob. “-I almost burnt your damn village to the ground. How dare they try to take what’s mine?”

A dark look enters his blue irises. “I wanted to fuck you right here in this temple afterwards – send a message to your parents and anyone else who thought they could have you, that you were spoken for.”

“Touya- I’m-“ you barely manage to choke out in between sobs. Your body feels like it’s on fire from his words. You feel the tell-tale signs of another orgasm quickly approaching, and you didn’t think it was possible for you to feel so good with the way he’s now mercilessly drilling into your insides. You had talked with your married friends about sex before, that was a given, but even they didn’t describe it as feeling this good.

“Tell me who you belong to.” He pulls away, his eyes never leaving yours. “Tell me who you belong to, and I’ll give you everything.”

“You!” You manage to scream out, voice cracking as he hits a particularly sensitive spot in you. “It’s you! I’ve always belonged to you—you alone! I’ve only ever loved—Oh GODS!” you wail as you cum around his length again. The glint in Touya’s eyes become frantic and his hips stutter as you spasm violently around him. He finally let’s go of your wrists, in favour of grabbing your hips with both hands to pull you down onto him and meet his powerful thrusts.

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He breathes. “Fuck love; I’m going to fill you full of me. Let the whole world – the gods – all of them, know you belong to me-“

You keen at his words, and he manages to grind out a breathy, “Shit-“ as he spills himself inside you, swooping down to capture your lips with his rough ones again, as he fucks his cum into you. You’re so blissed out, all you can do is wrap your arms tightly around his leathery neck, until his hips still; still buried deep inside of you.

Eventually you break the kiss, but Touya makes no move to get off of you. He moves his hands up from your hips, so he can take some of his weight off you, and rests his head on your collarbone, as he struggles to calm his palpating heart. You wriggle your hips and Touya grimaces, mouthing over one of the marks he sucked onto your neck.

“Wait.” He mumbles. “Give it a minute. It’s sensitive.” His comment pulls a laugh from you, and you feel him grin against your skin.

You stay joined like that until you feel his dick soften inside you, and Touya gently pulls out of you. You whimper at empty feeling, and close your legs as you feel a rush of fluid that you already know is a combination of both of your releases, leak out from in-between your legs. Touya smiles at your reaction, the staples in his face pulling slightly as he strokes the leg closest to him gently.

He rolls onto his back on the pillows beside you, and pulls you onto your side, so your head is on his chest. You listen to the rapid beating of his heart, and watch as his chest rises and falls with each breath he takes. It almost lulls you to sleep, but Touya suddenly speaks up after a moment, catching your attention.

“I am the only one allowed to see you like this.” He rumbles low in his throat, running a warm hand down your side, feeling the muscles jump underneath his touch. “No man, no one. You belong to me. I’ll take such good care of you.”

“But you’re going to leave me again.” You whisper, hating how you feel tears prick at the corners of your eyes. “You said so yourself: you have unfished business in the East still. Who knows when you’re coming back…Besides… No one can see you aside from me. How can I possibly explain this to anyone?”

“It’ll be different this time, I swear it.” Touya shushes you, smoothing a hand over your hair. “I’m going to be in the East for a while yet, but when I come back, I’m going to stay here with you, for a long time. No more disappearing acts for a while.”

You lift your head off his chest to stare at him in shock, to gage if he’s saying it to make you feel better, but you see nothing but honesty in his eyes. He touches your cheek. “I promise little one. I’ll make it work. I will stay with you. For as long as I can.”

You don’t mean to, but you can’t stop the tears that well up in your eyes and spill past your cheeks at his promise, as you place your head down on his scared chest and cry. You don’t know how long you stay like that, but Toyua makes no effort to get up – simply holding you close and murmuring sweet nothings into your hair as you weep.

It’s getting harder and harder to say goodbye to him every time he leaves. You feel like your heart is breaking inside of your ribcage, whenever he has to go. This time is no different, but it will certainly leave you feeling hollower than the other times that came before.

Eventually, once your tears have dried, you separate to get dressed and fix yourselves up. You’re straightening out your skirts as Touya tosses his dark traveling cloak back over his torso, obscuring his muscular chest from view. He must see you blushing, because he tosses you a grin over his shoulder at you, moving to grab your shoes and shawl for you from the front of the temple.

He kisses you as you wrap your shawl around yourself, and rests his forehead against yours. “Thank you.” He tells you, gesturing around the temple. “For doing this. It means more to me than you know.” You nod in response, and he intertwines your hands together as he leads you to the temple entrance and you exit together.  

He kisses you deeply once more outside the temple. He has a pained expression on his face when he pulls away, and he looks like he wants to tell you something important, but something is holding him back. He’s quiet for a moment before he squeezes your hand.

“I need you to promise me something while I’m gone.” He tells you seriously, and you nod, signaling for him to continue. He sucks in a sharp intake of breath.

“Promise me that you’ll take care of your health while I’m away. If someone comes to the apothecary with a strange sickness, or any signs of odd infections outside of a normal fever – I want you to go home and stay there.”

You furrow your brows, not understanding what he’s saying, but one look at his face tells you that he’s deadly serious and it’s not open for discussion.

You agree that you’ll be careful, and you’ll keep your eyes open for anything strange, and that seems to put him at ease. He kisses you once more before letting go of your hand, and slowly backs away from you. Once he’s a good distance away from you, he smiles sadly at you, before a raging torrent of blue flames engulf him once more, and he’s gone.

Life in the village goes on as normal for the next two months. The brightly coloured leaves that once decorated the trees surrounding your village have started to fall off the branches with large gusts of wind as winter draws closer.

You throw yourself into work at the apothecary, grateful for how busy it keeps you. You haven’t heard anything from Touya for a while now, and you can’t help but wonder what’s going on in the East that has him so tied up. You haven’t heard any news from the Eastern part of the county in a long time, so if something big is going on, your town will probably be one of the last places to know. You don’t see much sense in worrying about it though, so you divide your time between visiting Dabi’s temple, and Chiyo’s teachings.

You’ve almost forgotten about Touya’s cryptic warning – until the stranger shows up in town one day. (Or rather, stumbled in – since he didn’t even make it three feet from the town’s entrance before collapsing in the streets, leading to several concerned townspeople finding him and bringing him to the apothecary for treatment)

He’s malnourished and sicker than you’ve ever seen anyone in your life. You and Chiyo spend days caring for him, with no results.

He dies one week after arriving in town, and is buried just outside of the village borders. An unfortunate tragedy, but you can’t save everyone. A harsh lesson that your mentor has drilled into you. You never even figured out what was afflicting him, though Chiyo think’s it may have been an advanced case of pneumonia.

At first, it was just him.

Then, another man got sick with symptoms eerily similar to what the stranger had.

Then it was two.

Then three.

Then twelve people in one day.

The number of infected only skyrocket from there.

Before you know it: there is an entire epidemic in your small town. Chiyo eventually figures out what it is, but by that point, eight people are dead and the number of people sick is quickly spiraling out of control.

Plague. The black plague of decay. Death.

Your parents beg you to come home, as they don’t want you around such a deadly sickness, and truthfully, you don’t want to be anywhere near it either – but you can’t leave Chiyo by herself. She’s the town’s only healer and she’s old. You know if something happens to her, the whole town is screwed, so you grit your teeth, mask up, and stay by her side.

For a while, things are going about as well as they can be. People are still dying at an alarming rate, but you and Chiyo somehow manage to stay healthy, and you keep trying to treat those who aren’t as sick the best you can with what you’ve got.

Then one day, you feel light-headed and nauseous out of the blue and you look down, only to notice an alarmingly dark black spot on your arm that you know wasn’t there the day before.

Everything goes downhill from there.

                                                          -----

 Winter has arrived in your village full force, but you can’t see it. You haven’t seen anything outside of the four walls that make up your room for a while now.

You had caught the plague. The second you had shown Chiyo the black mark on your arm, she had immediately sent you away with some herbs crushed into a tablet for you to take to slow down the spread of the sickness.

Slow down being the key words. There was no cure for the decay plague. Once you had it, it was a death sentence. It was only a matter of time before it took your life.

Your parents had grabbed you and locked you in your room the moment they had seen you stumbling back from the apothecary. You hadn’t seen them face-to-face since. You only saw brief glimpses of them when they opened your door to slide food into your room on a tray, or when they came back to collect your dishes, though these days, you didn’t have much of an appetite.

They didn’t even have to let you back into the house once they saw the mark on your arm. But they still did without any hesitation. Despite knowing how ill you were going to become, they still insisted on taking care of you. You may not have agreed with their choices when it came to your personal life, but it was comforting to know that at the end of the day, your parents still loved you. Even if you went against everything they wanted for you.

A violent fit of coughing racks your frail body, and you automatically lift your arms to cover your mouth. When you pull your arm away, you cringe at the sight of red splattered across your forearm, before dropping it back down beside you on your bed with a muffled thud.

You can’t even look at your arms right now. Your skin, which used to be sun-kissed and clear, is now pale and speckled with ominous looking splotches of black, as the sickness makes its way through your body. You don’t even want to know what the rest of you looks like. You haven’t looked at yourself in a mirror since you were confined to your room. You’re not sure you’ll be able to handle what you see.

The room starts to spin around you and everything hurts. You close your eyes in a weak attempt to stop the jarring movement, but it does little to help you. Opening your eyes doesn’t make things better – your vison has become burry lately, and you can’t focus on anything anymore. Normally this would upset you, but you don’t have any strength left in you to care.

You know that you don’t have much time left. You don’t want to say it out loud, but you know your time is drawing closer. Based on the few times you’ve heard your mother – and on occasion, your normally stoic father – sob outside your door as they collect your untouched dishes, they know it too. You’ve held out longer than most people have, but you know that soon you’ll be making your way to the Underworld, it’s inevitable.

You only pray that all the visits you’ve made to Dabi’s temple over the last few months have paid off, and the Cremation God will be kind to you once he comes to collect you.

Dabi. His temple. Touya.

You feel tears prick at the corners of your eyes at the thought of your white-haired lover, as a single tear falls from your eye, and crashes onto your pillow, humble and silent.  

You’re never going to see him again. You don’t want to acknowledge it, but it’s true. As far as you know, he’s still in the East while you’re here, dying in your room. As tempted as you’ve been to use his name to call him to you one last time, you won’t.

Powers or not, you don’t want him to potentially end up with the plague too. Not to mention, you don’t want him to see you like this. You don’t want him to remember you sick and frail as you are now. You’d rather have him remember you fondly: full of life and happy. There’s no need to put him through that kind of anguish.

Still, it doesn’t stop you from wishing you could see him one last time-

Suddenly, your room feels unnaturally warm. It’s been very cold lately, and you don’t know if it’s because you’re dying that it makes your room feel colder than it should, but now your room is borderline sweltering.

You swear that you see a faint blue glow out of your blurry peripherals, followed by the tell-tale smell of something burning, before the glow dissipates into nothing. The intense heat remains and even though you can’t see very well, you know that someone is in the corner of your room.

“Who is it?” you manage to rasp out and you hear the stranger’s breath falter, as if they weren’t expecting you to be awake. The stranger takes three slow, purposeful strides until they are at your bedside, hovering over you. You blink hard, trying to see who the intruder is, but your vision must be getting worse, because all you can make out is a tall, white being above you.

You have no idea who, or what you’re looking at and are about to panic, until the figure bends slightly, and two familiar, warm, rough hands cradle your cheeks like you’re the most delicate thing in the world.

Choked sobs rack your body despite how much the movement hurts you, because you know who’s by your side, even if you can’t make out his finer features. Your suspicions are confirmed the second you hear his low, gravelly voice.

“Beloved… what has happened to you?”

“Touya… is that you?” you whisper, and you feel his fingers tense under you. His thumbs swipe at your cheeks, even though you can’t seem to make any more tears to shed.

“I’m here beloved. I’m here now.” he rumbles quietly. He falls silent for a moment, then you hear him ask “ Why didn’t you call me to you?”

He sounds… sad… heartbroken even.

“I didn’t want you to see me like this…” you trail off, not knowing what else to say. Touya doesn’t seem to know either, but from the way he sighs, you think he’s holding back tears as well.

“Did I not tell you to be careful?” There is no anger behind his words. Just defeat. You don’t think it���s directed at you though.

“I know.” You tell him, wishing desperately that you could lift your arms up enough to touch his face like he is doing yours. “It just happened so suddenly. There was a strange man who got sick, and then the next thing we knew, almost the whole town was plague-ridden. I couldn’t leave Chiyo by herself.”

“I know.” Touya sighs. “Are you… are you comfortable?”

“I can’t see very well anymore… I think I’m dying very soon.” You admit softly. You manage to reach up to cover one of his hands with your cold one. “You shouldn’t be here… as much as I love seeing you one last time, you might catch the plague as well – I don’t want that for you.”

“The plague doesn’t affect me. Don’t worry yourself about it.” Touya murmurs gently, and you swear you faintly see something red and thick, roll down his face. He leans down to press a light kiss to your forehead, and you’re not sure why, but suddenly your vision clears, and you’re able to see the best you have in weeks. You look up at him in wonder, only for your breath to catch in your throat.

Instead of his normal dark clothes that you’re used to seeing him in; Touya is dressed in a flowing, white burial shroud that exposes his chest. It makes him look eirthral, like a ghost that had come back from the grave. What really concerns you though, is the right side of his face – the side closest to you. The burnt flesh on his lower jaw by his mouth is gone, and you swear that you see the bone underneath starting to appear.

“Touya—Touya what happened to you? What have you done to yourself?”

“Don’t worry about me. It looks worse than it is.” Touya grumbles, dismissing your concerns. “The person that you should be worrying about, is you.”

“I think it’s a little late for that, love.” You tell him softly. “I’ve been sick for a while now… I’ve held out longer than a lot of other people have, but I think my luck is running out fast.”

This time you know you’re not seeing things. You watch in shock as a large droplet of blood oozes out from underneath the burnt skin under his eye and slowly rolls down his face, leaving a shiny red trail behind it as it makes its way down his ruined skin. You try to bring a hand up to wipe it away, but Touya beats you to it, releasing your cheeks long enough to turn away from you and compose himself.

“That crusty bastard. He promised me that he would keep it away from here… guess it got past him too-“ you hear Touya mutter under his breath. “It doesn’t matter now, gods… fuck.” He turns to face you again, and you see a red streak running along the side of his face, where he tried to wipe the blood tear away. His hands return to yours, and he wraps them up tightly.

“I tried… I tried so fucking hard to keep it contained. I thought, if I could contain it to the East, then it wouldn’t spread and it wouldn’t come here, to you. Even though I’ve seen it happen, so many times over the years. I thought I could change it.”

“Touya what are you talking about, you’re not making any sense.” You beg him, but he doesn’t seem to hear you, too wrapped up in his own head, as he squeezes your hands in his own.

“It’s not fair. You’re so full of life. I don’t want you to die like this.”

Something in his gaze shifts and the sadness from earlier is gone. Instead, a determined look has appeared in its place. He cradles the back of your head and neck with one of his hands as he gently lifts your head up to him, flinching at your pained whimpers.

“Do you trust me?” he asks you urgently.

“Of course.” You whisper, your vison is starting to darken again, but you try and keep your focus on Touya’s bright blue eyes.

“I can stop this.” He murmurs. “I can stop this and save you and what’s left of your town. But you need to make a deal with me. Do you accept?”

“A deal…? Stop this… I don’t…” you whisper, and Touya squeezes your hand, desperate to keep your attention on him.

“The full extent of my abilities come with a price. I can save you, but at a cost.”

“What’s the price?” you find yourself asking. You’re not sure how he intends to save anyone from something as severe as the plague with no cure; much less yourself, considering that you’re almost certainly on death’s doorstep, but you’re curious. Even if you’re beyond saving, maybe your town still has a chance.

“You.”

“Me.” You echo, still fighting to keep your gaze on him. “Why?”

“I told you already, you’re mine, you’ve always been mine. But this will bind us to each other indefinitely. Your life will become mine in exchange for me removing the sickness from you and your village. Do we have a deal?”

“Am I really worth that much?” you tease hoarsely, as you feel your eyes start to close against your will.

“You mean more to me than anything in this pathetic life.” You hear Touya grind out. “Let me do this for you. Please.”

He squeezes your hand, and his next words sound almost desperate. “I’ve never begged anyone for anything in my lifetime and I’ve lived a long time. Please let me do this for you.”

You know that under different circumstances, you wouldn’t agree to anything like this. Touya’s words are carrying an underlying weight to them, and you know there’s something that he’s not telling you. Normally, before agreeing to anything, you’d make sure everything was out in the open and that there weren’t any catches to your deal… but really, how much time did you have to ask about the finer details?

You were out of time. You knew it, and he knew it too.

Really, how bad would it be being his? Wasn’t that what you always wanted anyways?

“I accept.” You whisper, as your world fades to black, not even sure if Touya heard you or not.

He did.

The next few moments are a whirlwind. You feel Touya stand up above you and his hands go to your left forearm – to the spot where you first noticed the sickness. It’s arguably the worst spot on your body. The darkness has spread underneath your skin and takes up almost your full forearm now.

You feels his warm hands press into the skin of your forearm, and for a moment, nothing happens. Then his hands start to heat up, hotter and hotter, and you can smell something burning. You don’t know whether it’s your flesh or his, but you don’t have the energy to scream out, even though the pain is excruciating.

There’s a bright blue flash and you feel something being seared into your arm – in the same spot where your original plague mark was. Heat spreads through your body like a wildfire, and you feel like you’re being burned from the inside out. Suddenly, as quickly as the pain started it’s gone.

You’re shaking, gasping for air as you try to control your rapidly palpating heart, but you can’t open your eyes. Exhaustion hits you full force, and you feel what little strength you had left in you bleed out. Touya is still there, and you feel him slowly ease you back down onto your pillow, placing your arm down at your side once more.

“Rest now beloved. I’ll see you soon.”

No sooner than he says those words, you feel yourself slip off into slumber, and you allow the darkness to take you.

You wake to the sun streaming across your face

It’s the first time you’ve seen any hint of the sun in months, and at first, you think that you’ve died, but the tell-tale signs of stiffness in your muscles tell you that you’re still very much alive, if not very dehydrated.

The thought draws you up short.

You’re alive. You’re alive when you probably shouldn’t be. That means… Touya… he’d done it.

A burning feeling races through your left forearm and draws you up short. You slowly bring your arm up to look at what’s causing the pain, only for your eyes to widen impossibly.

The dark stain under your skin caused by the plague is gone, as are all of the other signs of sickness that had marked your body. What is on your arm, is nothing short of confusing.

A strange symbol is on your arm, in the spot you remember Touya gripping the hardest. A long, straight line runs horizontally done your forearm with three smaller lines running through it. Another long, straight line along the top of the first line completes the marking, and you stare at it in shock.

It covers the spot where you had your original plague mark, almost as if you’d never had it at all.

You reach out and gingerly touch the mark, only for your door to open suddenly – causing you to yank your nightgown sleeve down in a hurry. You glance over to see both of your parents standing in your doorway. It seems to take them a moment to process that you’re awake, and seemingly plague free, before they rushed to your bedside and have pull you into a tight hug.

“You’re awake! Thank gods you’re awake! We thought that we lost you for sure!” your mother sobs, as she clutches you to herself. You’re shocked, and you ask her what she means, only for her to hold you tighter.

“You’ve been asleep for three days. You wouldn’t wake up! Nothing we did worked.” Your mother cries, and you feel your heart drop.

Three days? What did that mean for everyone else?

“We’ve heard from Chiyo that all of the patients at the apothecary have also recovered. She’s not sure how, but the plague seems to have disappeared.” Your father states gruffly, as he strokes your hair. “It’s some sort of miracle.”

Yes, and his name is Touya. You think to yourself. Just what was he, to be able to have the power to dispel a sickness as deadly as the decay plague from an entire town?

“We do have a visitor downstairs, if you feel up to meeting with him.” Your mother informs you as she passes you a cup of water. “Some of the priests are visiting homes on Chiyo’s orders, to check in on families and see if anyone is still sick. The head priest from the Endeavor temple is here. I’m sure he’d love to check in on you now that you’re awake.”

You don’t particularly want anyone to see you right now, knowing that you must look awful and you would much rather go find Touya, provided that he was still in town somewhere – but you nod anyways. Your mother tells you to take your time getting ready, as she and your father leave your room, saying that she would tell the priest to wait downstairs.

The process to get ready is painfully slow. Your muscles are weak from a lack of use, but you’re able to wash yourself if you move carefully. You slip on a clean dress, making sure that the mark on your forearm is fully covered, and run a brush through your wet locks before deciding that was enough, and gingerly make your way downstairs.

You slowly make your way into the living room where you see the priest from Endeavor’s temple sitting in one of the armchairs, waiting for you. He’s a large man, dressed in Endeavor’s traditional colours: dark blues and fiery oranges and reds. Your parents leave when you enter to give you some privacy and the priest points to the chair across from him.

“Have a seat girl.” He tells you, and you sit without a word. You fidget uncomfortably as he looks you over carefully, before finally speaking. “Chiyo specifically asked me to come check on you and see how you’re doing. She wanted to thank you for all your help at the beginning of this mess. She wanted to come herself, but she has a few things to take care of at the apothecary. She sends her regards.”

“Oh, it was my honor. I couldn’t leave her there all alone.” You tell him, lifting your arm to wave off his praise without thinking about it. You realize your mistake too late, as the sleeve covering your forearm slowly rolls down to your elbow, revealing the mark etched into your skin.

The priest stops dead the second he glances at your forearm, ad his eyes widen impossibly. He points shakily to the mark etched into your arm. “Where did you get that from girl? Who did that to your arm?”

You hesitate. How can you possibly explain Touya to him? No one aside from you could see him. They’d call you mad if you tried to be honest, and would cast you out from your home. What would you do then?

‘I… I don’t know if you’d believe me if I told you.” You mutter, clutching your arm close to you. “Why, what’s so special about this mark?”

“That is Dabi’s seal.” The priest hisses as he snaps his fingers at you, and you feel your heart drop into your stomach. “I haven’t seen a mark like that for decades now, but he is closely connected to my lord Endeavor and I’d recognize it anywhere. It has been rumored that he puts that mark onto people who enter into deals with him. I’m wondering how you ended up with it on your arm.”

Your world crumbles around you at his words, and the illusion that you had unknowingly walked into, shattered.

Dabi, Touya, Dabi, Touya, Dabi, Touya, Dabi, Touya-

Touya is Dabi.

How could you not have seen it sooner? Looking back on it, the signs were obvious: how he knew so much about Dabi – or rather, himself. How he could seamlessly travel across large areas with very little effort. How he had powers that far surpassed any mage or race you’d heard of. How he never seemed to age… How his body had lasted so long despite the burns that were very clearly getting worse as time passed by-

The thought draws you up short. A hazy memory of Touya standing over your deathbed. A chunk of his flesh missing from the side of his mouth… looking more worn down than you could ever remember seeing him… Suddenly, you have to find him.

And you think you know exactly where he is.

“I-I have to go.” You mutter, shakily rising to your feet. The priest tries to get you to sit back down, but you shove him off. You barely have time to throw a light shawl around your shoulders and put your shoes on, before you’re running out the door in the direction of Dabi’s temple, ignoring the surprised shouts of your parents.

You are reminded how weak your body currently is, as you have to stop and catch your breath several times on the way to the temple, ignoring the looks that a few curious townspeople are giving you, as you eventually make your way to the temple.

This time, you don’t need to reach for the doors, since they seem to open on their own for you. You step through the entrance and they close behind you softly, shutting you away from the sunshine outside. You notice the temple is seemingly empty, but the prayer candles are lit at the base of Dabi’s statue, and the flames are blue.

He’s here, somewhere, you know it, you feel it, but for some reason, he hasn’t shown himself to you yet. It makes you worry and prompts you to call out his name softly.

“I’m here, beloved.”

The familiar rasp of his voice echoes from behind the larger-than-life sculpture. You smile in spite of yourself, and move closer to the sound of his voice, where you can just make out a shadowy figure partly concealed behind the base of the stature.

“Don’t come any closer.” The harsh growl makes you pause.

“Why?” you ask the shadow and you see two familiar blue eyes staring back at you from the gloom.

“You’re not going to like what you see.”

You hesitate for a fraction of a second before you shake your head. “I don’t care. You know I don’t care about what you look like.” You swallow before adding on. “I think you and I need to talk about some things… about you.”

“So, you figured it out?” the figure rumbles, and you nod.

“There are some things I need to know. Things that I need to understand. But please, I just want to see you. Come out.” You extend your hand towards the shadow, and hear him sigh deeply, before shuffling closer to you.

A burnt hand takes hold of yours, dwarfing it, and the man—no, the deity, pulls himself into the light provided by the candles. He watches as your face changes from confusion, to shock realization, then to—

He doesn’t think he can do it; he can’t watch as you reject him. He knows that he doesn’t look pretty. He looks like a walking corpse and he knows this. He looks more dead than alive and honestly, he is. He knew he shouldn’t hang around the temple, knowing that you’d eventually come looking for him once you had recovered enough, but he’d wanted to see you one last time before he made the inevitable trip back home to the underworld – even if it meant you seeing him like this—

“Oh, Touya. Did… did you do this to yourself to cure me?” you whisper so softly; he wasn’t sure if he heard you correctly. He risks glancing back at you, only to see that your face hasn’t twisted in disgust upon his reveal. You’re holding his hand so tightly, like you’re afraid that he’ll crumble to ash if you don’t, and maybe he would, he’s not sure anymore.

Your eyes meet his, and he sees unshed tears in them. There is no repulsion or fear in your eyes like he thought there might be, there is only concern and worry for him, and he feels his once dead heart thunder in his burnt chest.

He wishes he could feel the texture of your soft hands on him again, but the burns are deep and have spread everywhere now. All he can feel is pressure on his hand where you’re holding it in your own. Suddenly, he feels more vulnerable than he has in a long time.

You stare back at him, trying your best not to shed the tears you feel forming – knowing that they won’t help anything. What remained of Touya’s once beautiful, pale skin is gone. His entire body is covered in deep russet scaring. The mess of staples that he hadn’t bothered to remove or replace, were scattered across his body where they had once held the damaged and healthy skin together. Parts of his body – where you assume the skin had been thinnest on him – are burned almost completely down to the bone. The skin by one side of his mouth is almost gone, and the flesh near his wrist on his other hand – the one that he didn’t give you – has been burnt down to where you can see the tendons flexing when he moves.

He's still wearing the white robes from before. He looks like a wraith, a sight that would terrify even the bravest of people, but it stirs no such feelings in you.

“Does it hurt?” You whisper, not knowing what else to say. He shakes his head.

“I can’t feel anything anymore.”

“Oh.” You croak, not sure if his answer made you feel any better. It doesn’t, but you try not to let it show on your face.

The deity gently removes his hand from yours and moves several paces back from you, as if he’s trying not to upset you. You feel a lump rise in your throat, but push it down. “Did you do that to yourself to cure me from the plague?” you ask him again and he only nods once.

“You and what’s left of your town. I told you; I make good on my promises. It’s the blowback that gets me. Shigaraki won’t like what I’ve done, but he can’t do anything about it.”

You frown at the mention of the other name. You swear that you’ve heard it before somewhere, but you can’t place where from. Maybe if you remember, you’ll ask him about it later, but right now, you have other things you need him to clarify.

“Can I ask you something, my lord?” Dabi snorts at your formalities, and waves you off.

“Please. None of that from you, Princess.  If I wanted you to call me by my titles, I would’ve made you do it when we first met.”

You can’t help the small smile that pulls at your lips. You’d been slightly worried that knowing his identity would change the dynamic of your relationship with him. Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.  

“How come I could see you when no one else could?” you question him. Dabi pauses for a moment, seemingly trying to figure out how to explain himself.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” He responds after a moment. “We walk amongst mortals all the time; we’re just hidden in plain sight. Some humans are different than others, and are able to see us for what we really are, but most mortals can’t see through our disguises. I choose to be invisible, it’s much easier to do my job that way. Normally, the only time humans can see me is when I come to collect their soul, or when I let them see me purposefully. But you,” he fixes you with his intense stare that you’ve grown used to.

“you were an abnormity. I’ve only ever met one or two other mortals in my time alive that were able to see me, even when I was invisible to everyone else.”

“What did you do to them?” you don’t know what prompts you to ask. Dabi looks away from you.

“I killed them.”

“Why though?” You’re not sure if you want to know his reasoning, but this may be the only time you get to ask him.

“Because no one is supposed to see me – it’s taboo. The only time I’m supposed to be visible to mortals is when I come to take you to the Underworld with me. I can’t let people wander around telling others that Death himself is coming. Do you know how much chaos that would cause on the surface?” Dabi snickers to himself.

“But I could see you, and you didn’t kill me.” You press. Dabi lets a small smile pull at what remains of the muscles in his cheeks.

“No, I didn’t.” he agrees quietly.

“Were you going to?” you ask, remembering how tense he was the first time you met face to face.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you?” You’re not mad about the revelation. You’re just curious. What made you so different from the others that came before you?

“I was going to… But something told me not to.” Dabi trails off, seemingly not having the words to describe why he did what he did. “I couldn’t tell you why I hesitated back then… but I’m glad I did.” The hint of a smile ghosts across his face. “You’re so beautiful. I couldn’t predict everything else that came afterwards. But I’m certainly not complaining.”

Your face flushes a brilliant shade of crimson when you realize he’s talking about when you fucked in this temple… his temple.

You can’t bear to bring yourself to meet the smug look in his eyes, so you try to compose yourself best you can, but it’s hard when you feel his oceanic eyes boring into your being.

“I… I just have one final question to ask you.” You stammer out, trying to fight down the colour in your cheeks that you know he can see. The burnt deity nods, signaling for you to continue. You suck in a breath, suddenly nervous for some reason.

“What… what exactly does this mark that you’ve given me mean? To you, that is.” You ask, touching the mark on your arm with your other hand, and you swear that you hear Touya- no, Dabi, bite back a moan.

“It marks you as mine. To humans and other gods alike, it means you are mine and under my protection.” He growls, a possessive edge in his raspy voice.

“Is that all?” you probe softly. Dabi bites back a laugh, and fixes you with a warm expression, blue eyes glowing like a cat in the dimly lit temple.

“What do you think?”

He answers your question with another question, but it’s weighted. The mark definitely has another meaning to it, you’re sure of it, but you want to hear it from him.

“I think it means something more… but I want to be sure. I don’t remember the finer details of our conversation, since I was… well… dying.” You shrug, trying and failing to look nonchalant. You don’t particularly want to be reminded of that time.

Dabi must see it in your expression, because he immediately drops the teasing act and takes a hesitant step towards you, slowly, as if he’s trying not to scare you.

He points at your arm and you lift it up so he can see the symbol burned into your skin. “That is my personal mark. It means that you’re not only under my protection… but it also marks you as my consort.”

Your eyes flick up to meet his, and you can tell that he’s not joking. He’s deadly serious.

“Your consort? You mean, like… like a bride?” you breathe, hardly daring to believe it. Dabi cracks a smile.

“So that’s what you humans are calling it these days. Yes, you are. Unlike some of my kin, I don’t take multiple wives. It’s just you.”

It takes a moment for his words to sink in, but when they do, you have to fight yourself to stay upright.

“Oh gods. I’m the bride of a god.” You mutter, swaying slightly in place. “You’re a god. You’re an actual god.”

The burned deity only chuckles. “I can’t believe that you never figured it out. It’s not like I was trying to hide it from you at the end there.”

“I mean… It’s obvious you weren’t human, but I didn’t think you were a God.” You mutter. “You just… you acted so… casual. Not like what I’d expect a god to act-- not that I’m complaining of course!” you add on as you hear Dabi let out an amused snort.

You point up at the statue of Dabi- or rather, him. “Besides, it’s not like I knew what you looked like. You’re always depicted with a hood over your face.” You frowned. “Why is that exactly? You’re not wearing a hood. You’ve never worn one when you’re with me. The only time I ever saw you with one was when you were traveling. Not as you are now. You never let any of your disciples see you?”

“They depict me like that because it’s easier that way.” Dabi explains smoothly. “My face changes depending on what part of my… cycle I’m in. Sometimes I look like how I did when we first met – other times I look like… well, this.” He gestures to himself after a brief pause. It makes your heart ache.

“My kind are supposed to be divine beings. Perfect. I am not. I don’t need to be depicted looking like a walking corpse to the few people who still worship me and visit my temples.”

His gaze flicks back up to you. “You were never supposed to see me like this.”

You know that you shouldn’t psychoanalyze him, but you can’t help but find him endlessly fascinating. He may be a god – a divine, primordial being – but his emotions were so very human.

He may go by many different names, but Dabi was Touya. Your Touya, the man you fell in love with over the years you spent getting to know him. The man who would willingly burn down your village to keep you by his side, only to save it in its time of need, for you.

What he looked like was irrelevant.

“What you look like doesn’t bother me.” You tell him softly, taking a hesitant step closer to him. “It never has. You know that.” Touya’s muscles flinch, like he’s fighting against moving away from you, but he stays rooted to the spot as you slowly advance, until you’re close enough to place a hand on the exposed part of his chest – right above his heart.

“I will love you no matter what form you take, because no matter what: you’re still Touya. You’re still the man I love. God or not, you always will be.”

You lean forward and press your lips to what is left of the flesh around his mouth, and you feel him release a shuddering breath, as his arms come up to wrap themselves tightly around you. You pull away slightly to tuck your head against his chest, returning his embrace, ignoring the burnt smell that always clings to him; and you feel him rest his chin on your head.

You don’t know how long you stay like that for, but eventually Touya reluctantly removes his chin from his spot on your head, and lowers it so he can speak directly into your ear.

“I have to go.”

You try and pull away so you can look him in the eyes, but his arms keep you tightly pressed up against him, like he’s afraid that if he lets you go, you’ll turn to smoke and disappear.

“But… you said that we’re bound to each other now? You promised me that you wouldn’t leave again-“

“I know, but this will be the last time I leave without you, I promise.” He rasps in your ear. “This cycle is at the end. I’m dying.”

You feel your heart clench painfully at his words, and suddenly, you’re taken back to the spring, where he took you to his temple for the first time, and where he unknowingly to you, explained his history. Where he also revealed that gods themselves could die, however difficult it was.

“You’re… you’re dying? How, why? I thought you said it was almost impossible for you to die?”

You feel Touya shake his head and squeeze you again. “It’s different in my case. I die a lot. But the difference is: I come back. It just takes a while.”

“I don’t understand, please Touya, what do you mean?” you feel frantic, and cling to his robes like small child. “I-I can’t lose you!”

“You won’t.” Touya promises you firmly, pulling back to fix you with an unwavering look. “It’s difficult to explain, but I’m more like a force of nature then a ‘traditional’ god. My power is great, but it destroys my body and I ‘die’. However,” his eyes narrow dangerously as he thumbs over the mark on your arm, “I’m a god of the Underworld, and we play by different rules than those that reside upstairs.” He points a finger mockingly up to the roof of the temple.

“I have what you humans call a ‘cycle’. Whenever I ‘die’ I return home, so that I can rest and regenerate my body. Eventually I come back to how I was before I got all of my scaring, and start again. The cycle repeats itself over and over again on an endless loop.” He sends you a crooked grin.

“That’s the other half of my secret: Cremation and Reincarnation tend to go hand in hand. But nobody needs to know that except for you.”

“How many times have you done this?” you breathe, but Touya only shakes his head, shooting you a forced smile.

“More times than I can count. I’m not the oldest God in the pantheon Sweetheart, not by a long shot, but compared to you, I’m ancient.”

“Oh.” You murmur. trying to fight down the blush at the stark differences in your ages, and Touya’s smile becomes more relaxed. You fist your hands at the front of his robe and try your best to return his smile. “So, you’re going to come back… for me?”

“Yes. I’ll eventually return to my original form. But it’s going to take me a while to regenerate.”

“Oh gods, you mean I’m going to be an old woman by the time you come back to get me.” You joke, trying your best to lighten the somber mood, and Touya barks out a laugh.

“No, no. It won’t take that long, I promise… but, that being said, it won’t be anytime soon either. I’m sorry.”

You nod, and try to relax your grip on his robes. You smooth your hands over the soft fabric, and inwardly you hum in delight, as you feel Touya’s abnormally warm hands run down your waist. He brings one hand up to your chin and gently tilts your face up to meet his.

“I will be back for you. Make no mistake about that.”

You feel his other hand glide up to your left forearm, the one that now bares his mark, and press on it possessively. “This binds us together. I’ll make good on my promise, and when I come back for you: I’m going to take you around the world with me, just like I promised you I would. I’ll give you everything.”

You feel your eyes water with his declaration. The sincerity in his eyes tells you that he’s not bluffing. He will be back for you the next time he comes to your humble village, and he will show you the world if you so choose it.

“…How will I know?” You finally manage to ask him quietly.

“How will you know what?”

“How will I know that you’re coming back to get me?”

Touya lets a deep laugh rumble out of his throat, and pushes his face close to your ear so he can whisper directly into it:

“Oh, don’t worry… you’ll just know.”

                                                         -----

 Three years have passed since that day.

Spring has come again, symbolizing rebirth and renewal, and yet seemingly nothing has changed in your little village. You still work at the apothecary with Chiyo, but now you spend most of your time at Dabi’s temple, keeping it clean, and trying to educate those who visit it, more about the reclusive Cremation God.

More people have started to visit the temple in the three years since you last saw Touya, and you’d like to think that he’d be pleased if he could see it. You’re headed to the temple now to do your daily cleaning, and make sure that everything is orderly, before you head back home for the night.

You smile as you watch a group of small children run past you, as you think back to the day that Touya had left you one final time.

Word had spread like wildfire after you had returned from the temple that day – about how you had made a deal with the elusive Cremation God himself to cure the town of its plague, and how you now bore his mark on your own skin, binding you to him.

You thought that you’d be ostracized, a pariah in your town – but surprisingly, the majority of people seemed to accept it with very little backlash. You suppose that’s the closest to thanks that you’ll get for playing a part in saving your town from destruction, but you’ll take it.

More people do tend to keep their distance from you now, largely in part due to your lover’s fearsome reputation, but you don’t hold it against them.

They’ve started calling you Shaoha – Death Woman. Normally, it’s a derogatory name for a demon or witch, but you know they don’t mean it in that way, and you can’t help but find it fitting given the circumstances and your ties to the Death God himself.

You smile sadly in spite of yourself as you make your way through the forest trail towards Dabi’s temple, leaving the village behind you.

You dress mostly in black or deep blues these days, mourning the fact that you haven’t seen your god in years now. He promised you that he would eventually be back for you once he had healed, before you were old and gray, but you wished that he would have given you a rough estimation of how long that would take, because with each day that passes, you miss him more and more.

Your friends have started families of their own, and while you never had the urge to have children of your own, seeing them happy with their husbands makes you wish that Touya was here with you. Your friends give you sympathetic smiles, and try and comfort you best they can. While you’re grateful that they try, it’s not the same.

It’s strange: you’re surrounded by people who care for you, and yet; you feel more alone now then you ever did before.

You reach Dabi’s temple and push the doors open, finding a few people milling about, paying their respects inside, and the sight pleases you greatly. Ever since it was revealed that he had been behind the disappearance of the plague, the townspeople had started coming to the temple more frequently to pay homage to him. You’re glad that you had cleaned up the temple beforehand, even if it was just for you and him initially.

Several of the people take notice of you, and they quickly file out to allow you to do your daily inspection. After deeming everything to be orderly, you make your way back to your home, just as the sun is starting to disappear behind the tree-line.

You reach your house just as dusk has fallen, and you talk with your parents over dinner for a while before heading to bed. As grateful as you are for their company and their efforts to keep you occupied, the constant ache in your chest never fully dissipates, even when you aren’t alone.  

As you lay in bed, waiting for sleep to take you, you send out a silent goodnight to Touya, hoping that he can hear you, wherever he may be. Just as you have done every night for the last three years.

You hope that wherever he is, he knows how much you miss him.

You don’t remember falling asleep. You open your eyes again and your room is pitch black, letting you know that it’s the dead of night. For a moment, you lay there confused, wondering why you’ve woken up at a seemingly random time, only to realize that you feel different.

You don’t feel physically sick, and the sensation that is coursing through your body like liquid fire in your veins doesn’t feel ominous or wrong, but you suddenly have the intense urge to get up and leave. Like you have to go somewhere urgently.

Your forearm – the one that bears Touya’s mark – feels hot. You trace it absentmindedly, quietly musing that the last time it burned like that was when he gave it to you--

Something clicks in your sleep addled mind, and you slowly sit up and push the covers off of you as you stand. You get dressed in long, dark skirts, and throw a traveling cloak around your shoulders for good measure – knowing deep down that you won’t be coming back.

As you walk through the hallways of your dark home like a ghost, you crack open the door to your parents room to gaze fondly at their sleeping figures. You send them a silent I love you, before closing their door, thanking them for everything. You pad silently through your house until you reach the front door, and pull it open soundlessly, stepping out of it for the final time, before shutting it firmly behind you.

You don’t look back.

You feel like a wraith as you walk through the deserted streets of your town, taking in each and every shop as you pass. The bright, pale moonlight is your only source of light as you walk, and before you know it, you’re standing in front of Dabi’s temple.

The burning in your forearm has lessened considerably and you know this is exactly where you’re supposed to be. You step inside, and slowly make your way to the foot of the hooded god’s statue. You smile slightly and take a seat facing the entrance doors that you didn’t bother closing, allowing moonlight to spill into the dark temple. You sit and you wait. You vow that you’ll wait all night if you have to.

You don’t have to wait for long.

There’s a tell-tale flash of blue outside the temple and a blast of searing heat follows, before everything stills again. The sound of slow, deliberate footsteps approaching the temple makes your heartbeat quicken, and the tall silhouette of a man spills across the floor to where you’re sitting at the altar.

A familiar man dressed in white funeral shrouds enters the temple, and makes his way towards you. You can’t help but smile lovingly as you take him in. Even though he looks incredibly different from the last time you saw him, you’d recognize Touya anywhere.

Gone are the dark scars and staples that wreaked havoc on his skin. The man, the god, that stands before you, has skin as pale as snow, almost blending into the white of his shroud. He looks like he’s bathed in moonlight, with eyes as bright and blue and beautiful as the flames he wields. Upon closer inspection. you still see faint seams in his skin where his burns were previously. A remnant of his past life, and one that you find incredibly endearing.

He is not perfect, but neither are you. You selfishly think that maybe you were made for each other.

He stands before you, seemingly at a loss for words, but his deep turquoise eyes tell you everything you need to know. You, however, have quite a few things you want to say to him. So, you start with the obvious.

“I’ve missed you.” You tell him quietly, and he smiles, cerulean eyes looking sad.

“I know. But I’m here now, so that’s got to count for something right?”

“It means everything.” You confirm breathlessly as he cups your cheek, running his thumb across your soft skin. You shamelessly lean into his touch and watch as he smiles at you.

“Ready to go?”

You nod. “I’ve been ready for a long time. You kept me waiting long enough.”

He laughs, the sound deep and rich in your ears.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you. There are so many things I want to show you.” His free hand sneaks down and intertwines with yours. “I make good on my promises, you know.”

You give his hand a squeeze. “I do.”

His heart – the organ in his chest, that he was sure had stopped working after his fall from grace – thunders into irregularity in his chest. Now he’s sure that it beats for you, and you alone.

You, the first person in a long, long time, who’s made him feel something aside from hatred and scorn. The first person to see past the scars, the first one to see him at his worst and still show him unconditional love where others couldn’t, or wouldn’t.

He loves you, and he always will.

He lifts the hand that’s still laced with his, to his mouth and presses a kiss to the back of your knuckles, sending you a smile that makes you melt.

“Let’s go home.”

                                                         FIN

[sugarakis-p2]

Ten-chan is the worst! Ch1

Touya Todoroki is the most handsome and sweetest guy in the senior class of AU. Desperately searching for an elusive chance to meet the almighty Touya, you throw yourself in the deep end and join the gamers club. Little did you know that the greatest prize you'd find was an absolute devil in disguise. Tenko, a creature so fearsome, a cold and ruthless shadow of a being. A pure demon, who calls you dumb, he's always cranky, stiff, horny, and severe. You'd soon find he has his claws firmly in you, a simple mistake drops a secret right into Tenko's raunchy lap, a blackmail so deviant you would do anything for him to keep your secret. All you have to do is pretend to be Tenko's girlfriend. The more you play along the more you begin to wonder what is going on in Tenko's head? What forbidden secrets lurks in Tenko's heart of darkness?

Everyone depicted in sexual acts are 18+ If you are a Dabi simp you will not like him.

Warning: Dub/Con, Fluff and blackmail, Fingering, masturbation, cussing, alternate canon and universe

Tenko has his quirk, before his quirk awakening, so scar and short blue hair. Touya is still in contact with his family and not as physically damaged. Tenko, Touya, and Shuichi are in AU.

Even though this is a Y/N x reader....I do not use Y/N because it feels icky. Because of that your appearance and that of your family will be vague.

Chapter 1

"Oh, Touya," you panted under your blankets.

You daydreamed that you, the shy, overlooked wallflower, could somehow have the attention of the hottest, most incredible boy in school. His sweet charm and boy-next-door good looks had made him immensely popular, yet his kind and gentle nature made him loveable even to those less popular. Tenko, the Gamer's Club president, was one such outcast who was invited to join the innermost circle of Touya's friends even when no one else was paying attention.

Touya had joined the gaming club. To you, it felt like a fairy tale, a whispered hope in your heart that if only he knew of your admiration, he would sweep you off your feet and into his world of popularity. The chance of a lifetime felt just within your grasp and with bated breath when you heard the news. Shuichi was your home-room classmate, an introspective, quiet one, and a gaming club member. You had to take the plunge and speak with him. This could be your opportunity to finally make an impression on Touya.

You partnered with Shuichi during a lab project and chatted with him until you got invited to the club. Shuichi was very kind, and you hugged him before you realized it. Your heart raced as you and Shuichi embraced. The electric energy between you was palpable because you were thinking of Touya. You couldn't contain your shock when he leaned in close to tell you he'd introduce you at the club. Before you knew what was happening, you'd already said yes. His cheeks flushed red as he stepped back, and you had a feeling you'd just made a new friendship.

Shuichi's said that Tenko might look scary, but he was really a great guy when you got to know him. That didn't prepare you for the terror of seeing him in person. His severe facial features and gloves made you fearful of what monsters lurked beneath. But the eyes, that crimson red, truly struck at your heart. It was as if you were looking into the eyes of pure evil. They are surrounded by scratch's but it's the two deep gashes that draw your attention. One over his right eye and the on his lip. A mole on the other corner near his chin. A demon from the depths of a nightmare was staring right back at you. He tries to hide his gruesome face with his bluish hair, but you can feel his eyes. He looks familiar somehow, you don't know how or why. No one looks like this demon. Those awful rumors of his tantrums and his quirk did little to diminish the terror he created. Even so, Tenko remained surprisingly calm and went out of his way to ensure everyone was cared for in the gaming club.

"What games are you into?" Tenko graveled in almost a whisper, looking down instead of directly at you, like you're a bug he wants to avoid. You jumped in surprise at how deep his voice was and felt goosebumps.

"I haven't really played any," you replied nervously. Tenko's gaze darts up at you and pins you where you stand, his blood-red eyes narrowing in judgment. You feel the urgent need to flee until Touya's presence catches your attention. He's casually munching on chips and paging through his sports magazine. Your heart races all over again, the thrill of his nearness coursing through you like the taste of forbidden fruit. Tenko's eyes followed your gaze, and you panicked, immediately pulling them back to him.

"What do you know about games?" Tenko almost sneered.

"Almost nothing, But I want to learn. Shuichi made it sound like so much fun," you bashfully admit. Something in Tenko softened. The fiery light of irritation within Tenko's eyes flickered, lessening ever so slightly, a gentle ease spread from this subtle shift, relaxing the tension between you.

"Alright," Tenko sighed, obviously annoyed. Scratching his neck and looking away, "You're a girl. You might like something like Kitty boom bomb, Mario Kart, and then let's try a few RPGs later."

"What is an RPG?" You asked. Tenko's eyes widened, a wildfire of fury blazing in his irises. You cringed, feeling chills run through your body. Shuichi, however, found the situation hilarious and could barely contain his laughter as he gently pulled you away toward the safety of Mario's Kart. As the months flew by, you found yourself stealing more than glances at Touya. Every time you saw him, your heart would flutter, and you couldn't look away. Yearning for those moments, you'd snap a few photos to store away in your Touya collection, little treasures in your personal collection.

"You're a creep," Tenko stated flatly, out of nowhere. Your jaw dropped in shock at what a rude jerk he was being.

"I am not," you snarled at him.

"Then Why are you smiling like that at your phone? Are you looking at something nasty?" Tenko asked.

"No, you Hanzo-main!" You gritted at him and walked away, missing the proud smirk on Tenko's face. The gaming club teaches you all the jargon, and to your surprise, it's actually fun. Shuichi and Tenko take you under their pro-gamer wings. Even though Tenko still scares the crap out of you.

Touya is a model, everyone gets to see his face, but none got to see this side since you are one of two girls in the club. Never brave enough to talk to him, you enjoy just looking at him in these special moments. He must really like Tenko because he never played games. He just hung out and ate free snacks. He only noticed you when he complimented your cherry cupcakes, those few words spinning your world. You swooned. It sent your heart into a frenzy. A few days later, Tenko, Shuichi, and Touya are talking about their new apartment together.

"Hey you," Touya said. He had been looking in your direction, but you were none the wiser. Suddenly, he opened his mouth to speak, and his words were meant for you. You were startled, unable to comprehend the reality of the situation. He was actually talking to you. You mentally squeal in delight.

"Who me?" You asked nervously, pointing to yourself.

"Yeah, why don't you come and bring those cherry cupcakes?" Touya asked.

"Jeez, Dabi. I was going to invite her anyway," Shuichi said. Turning to your and whispering, "You don't need to bring anything if you don't want to."

"I am inviting the entire club," Tenko rasped, scratching his neck harder.

You were elated when Touya invited you to the party, directly. A smile spread across your face as you exclaimed, "It's not a big deal! I'm happy to do it! I'll make enough for everyone!" Tenko and Shuichi exchanged a knowing glance. But you are not paying attention. You'd have agreed to cut off your own hand to be at that party. After all, Touya wanted your cupcakes and invited you personally. You are going to make them with pure love.

Your mom helped you work tirelessly to craft six dozen cherry cupcakes, each one a feat of confectionary art. But you weren't content with perfection, your ambition was far more daring. After all, your mom told you the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. You set aside one cupcake, a special, unique work of heart-stopping craftsmanship. Baked with love, it was topped with a candy heart inscribed with your number and your name. A message just for Touya. With trembling fingers, you set this special cupcake aside in a box fit for a prince that said: for Touya.

You couldn't wait to see the delight on Touya's face when you presented the treat you had painstakingly prepared. As you pictured the surprise awaiting you, you tenderly set aside the cherry galette like an exquisite crown jewel. Fervently tapping out a message to Shuichi, you requested his help to carry these earthly delights. You were in a rush, racing against the clock to prepare everything for the guest's arrival. Your mom even helped make you an unbelievably cute new outfit, pink plaid, suited you. The place is huge and fancy, you twirled in delight, and Shuichi couldn't help but grin. Sparse furniture, though.

"I have something special for Touya," you said, setting three batches on the table.

"Why don't you put it in his room? He's not in right now, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind. It's at the top of the stairs to the right," Shuichi grunted, setting out the rest of the snacks. You know you shouldn't, but you could not resist seeing his room. Your heart is fluttering in your chest like a caged bird. Your hand trembles as you knock lightly before entering, and cautiously crack open the door to Touya's room.

"Touya?" You squeak. Immediately you are struck by how neat it is, except for the desk area, which has an amazing gaming setup. You didn't think Touya cared about games, but maybe he was more into online than the LAN or couch co-op that the club is into. Your curiosity piques, taking a timid step inside, and a thrill of surprise races through you as you dared a closer look.

You can't help but admire the setup, taking in every detail and feeling more than a little excited to explore all the possibilities. You wouldn't have guessed Touya was so into online gaming or into manga! He had so many romance novels your head swam. You know you shouldn't be here, but who could resist the opportunity to see Touya's secret gaming lair. Maybe he's not in the club just for free snacks?

You gingerly place the cupcake next to his bedside, the bows glitter glimmering under the nightstand lamp. His bed looks large and comfy. Like a magnet, his bed pulls you in closer. Its warmth envelops you, and you can't help but take a deep breath into its comfortable depths. You are hesitant until you realize your gesture may be rejected. What if he throws out your cupcake? What if he laughs and calls you a creep like Tenko? The thought makes you greedy for what little you can get. It wouldn't be so bad if you sniffed his scent. Just a little whiff and you'll leave you promise yourself. Hesitantly, you allow yourself to take in his scent. You succumb to the temptation, flopping on the bed instead of leaving. Embracing his pillow and imagine feeling his comforting embrace, you close your eyes, inhaling deeply.

You revel in its sweet aroma. So, this is what Touya smells like. Your heart quivered, and your senses tingled as you inhaled his scent. Your soul sings, he has a sweet, musty plum rain lingering on your tongue smell. Your mind raced, and your heart pounded harder as your middle was heated with lust. A thrill shot through you as your body stirred with unbidden desire. With a squeeze of his pillow, a thought crept through your mind, daring you to act on your impulses. Quickly, you reached for your phone to gazed upon Touya's face.

Your breath hitches as your fingers slowly slide down your body, the sensation stirring a heady anticipation. As they caress your thighs, your mind revels in the thought of what the man you love, Touya, how you imagine what he would do if he were here. With a tantalizing caress, you lift your skirt, feeling the forbidden pleasure of your exposed skin as your fingers lightly tickle along your panty line. All too soon, they slip past, exploring the hidden heat of your desire to play with your clit. Your breathing grew ragged and labored as you felt electricity surge through your body, your clit becoming more and more sensitive with every movement of your fingers.

Shocks of pleasure ran down your spine like wildfire, urging your mind and body to succumb to the desires you had desperately tried to suppress. What if he caught you? You imagine him ravishing you. The heat of your arousal intensifies as your being becomes overwhelmed by your lustful thoughts. Looking around the room, you could feel your desire intensify, fueled by your own vulnerability of being caught by Touya. Closing your eyes, you delighted in the bliss that washed over you as wave after wave of tingles consumed you. You never felt more alive. You are so caught up in your lust that you don't hear the shower shut off or the bathroom door opening.

"What the fuck?" Tenko graveled.

You bolted upright to see Tenko standing there, enraged, his slim frame rigid and looming, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. You are so shocked and surprised your scream caught in your throat. His eyes flashed wildly, trying to make sense of what confronted him, your glistening fingers, disheveled hair and clothes, flushed skin, dilated pupils, and the phone clasped in your fist.

His jaw drops at the same time as his towel. This time you shrieked in shock, barely registering as you dropped your phone and tried to cover your eyes. He clamps that terrifying hand over your mouth with no glove on, making you shriek louder around his hand. You could have killed me you jerk! You try to yell at him. 

"Be quiet, or Shuichi will hear," he hissed. In an act so naughty, you are plunged into deeper shock, he grabbed your hand and licked the fingers covered in your juices clean. His mouth was so warm and soft you melted at little, briefly overriding your shame and disgust. 

"Hey, Ten? Did you hear something?" Shuichi said on cue. Tenko pulled your finger from his mouth with a pop.

"Playing a with that new girl. I'm just showing her that new horror RPG. We'll be down after this level," Tenko shouted.

"Don't make me do all of this alone!" Shuichi yelled back. You felt a wave of relief. You don't want others to know about this. You expected Tenko to stop and admonish you. What he did instead was something that left you so flustered you could barely breathe.

He ran his fingers through your hair and tucked a stray strand behind your ear. He flashed a smile as he gently caressed your neck and face. His touch sent shockwaves down your spine. His smile almost made him look handsome. You felt the heat rushing to your cheeks, and all you could do was blush deeply. His gentle chuckle further surprised you.

"Sorry. He has a little crush on you, and I didn't want to hurt his feelings," Tenko said. He tenderly brushed his thumb across your trembling bottom lip. His gaze pinning you, your heart leapt into overdrive, knowing he was there to protect Shuichi. Men who value true friendship are meant to be leaders and that turned you on more, "Speaking of. I thought you had a thing for him?"

"What?" you gasped in surprise, "No. We're just friends." Before you can say anything else, Tenko is on you, pinning you down in your first kiss, your lips meet tenderly at first. You could feel the heat of his kiss grow as his lips moved against yours with surprising confidence. They are soft with a light scrap of cracked skin.

The sensations sent shivers through your veins were like nothing you had ever felt. He took his time exploring your mouth with his tongue, tasting your desire, and sending you soaring. This was your first kiss, and it was from someone you never expected. Tenko was leaving you breathless. He pulled away and grinned.

"Good. You are so fucking cute. I wanted you the moment I saw you. You taste sweet, by the way," Tenko breathed. He locked his lips back on yours before you could think or answer. You are whimpering in his mouth as you feel his hands start to move. He trailed a finger down your body, teasing your skin before opening your blouse, jerking up your bra, freeing your breasts, and stroking over your tender flesh.

"Mur mands," you yelped in fear into his mouth. Tenko didn't understand you, or he mistook your reactions for arousal instead of fear. Because he pulled away, kissing your neck and trailing down your chest, softly he cupped your breasts before taking a nipple in his mouth, licking and teasing it with the gentle pressure of his velvety tongue. Making you moan before you can stop him.

"H-hey," you squealed. Tenko pinched and tweaked your nipple between his thumb and finger, rolling and pulling them harshly with those deathly hands. Gasping in pleasure, he took it as a sign to explore further. His hand moved to your other breast as his mouth left a trail of kisses down your chest, sending shivers through your body. He looked up at you with his crimson eyes, mischief dancing there as he sucked your nipple into his mouth, playing with it with his tongue and using his teeth. Your sharp intake of breath was your only response, and when he released your nipple, you felt an even stronger wave of desire and need. You wanted him to keep going, and you felt dizzy.

Tenko's hand moved to your other breast, massaging it firmly as his thumb gently rolled around your nipple. You moaned, your desire intensifying by the second, and he pulled you close with one arm around your waist. He was pressing you to his nude, warm, hard body. A soft murmur of satisfaction as he swirled his tongue on your tender flesh that pebbled under his attention, and the appreciation only excited you further. He gave you a lustful grin before lowering his lips to your nipple once again. Soon your breasts were alive with pleasure as Tenko teased and tantalized your nipples with masterful skill. Popping them out of his mouth before he held your head next to his face. His hot breath is fanning over the cup of your ear.

"Your body is so sensitive. Let me help you finish what you started," Tenko whispered. He stroked a finger over your panties between your sensitive lips and hard clit. You squeal again, "So wet for me."

You felt your body tense up as Tenko's fingers moved closer and closer to your most intimate area. Your breath quickened as he fondled your breast, sending sparks of pleasure through your body. Tenko's fingers finally brushed against your core over your panties, and you gasped, your legs instinctively trying to close shut to protect yourself. But it was too late. Tenko had already trapped you in his grip, picking you up and spreading you across his lap, your legs opened wide across his knees while your back was pressed firmly against his muscled chest. You could feel his strength and power radiating through his body, and you were too weak to stop it. Something massive, hot, and hard pressed against your ass and spine.

Your mind was awhirl with a combination of fear and pleasure, and you could feel yourself slowly succumbing to him, despite yourself. You can feel him so vividly as his fingers work their way toward your pussy, while his other hand caresses your breast, pinching your nipple until it peaks. You wanted to push him away, but simultaneously, you wanted to stay and experience everything he gave you. You were paralyzed with a mixture of emotions, unable to move or speak. Your body feels weak and shaky. You're not sure if it was from almost cumming from a kiss and nipple play, or the intense spike of adrenaline that plummeted when you discovered Tenko would not kill you. You felt like a such a timid dumb virgin and you needed to stop this misunderstanding, right now.

"Sto-," you are crying when a knock comes on the door, and Touya's voice filters in. This time you welcome Tenko's hand over your mouth. The thought of him seeing you with Tenko is mortifying. Tenko stiffened, his reaction different than with Shuichi. He seemed angry again and that shut you up more than anything.

"What?" Tenko growled at the door. His fingers gently slip beneath your waistband of your panties, exploring a space you have never ventured into. You mumble for him not to around his hand, four fingers dug into your cheek you doubt he could understand anything but moans, it's too late. You gasp in a mixture of pain and pleasure as he penetrates your virgin hole. Nothing has ever been in there before and you almost cry out when his fingers go deeper, the sensations coursing through your body. Your voice muffled as your body shuddered.

"Why is your door locked?" Touya asked, still on the other side.

"Because I want privacy!" Tenko shouted. He was exploring you with a hunger that made your heart race. He kissed your neck and nipped at your ear, sending shivers of bliss and pain through you as his finger plunged in and out. You couldn't help but moan as all the sensations combined to make you tremble against him. "You are so tight, but sucking me in. Are you a virgin?" He teased you. Yes! You mentally scream

"Whatever, I was wondering if you-," Touya said conversationally, with Tenko responding like nothing was happening, the conversation fading as every part of you being is focused on what Tenko is doing. Ultimately, you found yourself surrendering to him, your body trembling with tension. All you could do was sit there and let him take control of your pleasure. You closed your eyes and allowed yourself to be taken away to a place of satisfaction and ecstasy.

"This is your sweet spot. You're clenching down on me, getting wetter and gushing. You're about to cum," Tenko chuckled, adding another digit, and you could feel the light scrape of his nails deep inside you. No, no, no, your mind screamed. You don't want this. Not with Tenko, but it felt so good. So good you couldn't help but moan. The rough pads of his slender fingers dug deep. You leaned back against Tenko, your body trembling in sensuality as the waves of bliss crashed over you. You could feel your heart racing as your breath caught in your throat, as you pussy sucked on his digits, greedy for more. Drooling against Tenko's hand as your hot pants meet his palm. 

"Go ahead and cum," Tenko whispered.

"Alright, I'll get your half of the yen later," Touya's retreating form said.

You gasped as your orgasm hit, its intensity sending your body quivering in an all-encompassing wave of ecstasy. Every muscle tensed as you clung to the sound of Touya's voice, feeling the intensity build until it finally burst, sending ripples of delight cascading through your body. You let out a deep moan of ecstasy. Your eyes squeezed shut as you reveled in the bliss that seemed to go on forever. When it finally subsided, you opened your eyes, feeling relaxed and content. That was more intense than when you touch yourself.

"Damn. You made a puddle. I bet I can get you to squirt," Tenko beamed. You jerk from him in a sudden wave of boiling rage and shame.

"You are unbelievable!" You raged. Touya was supposed you be your first, and this creep took that dream from you. Tenko's face twists into confusion until his eyes land on the box.

He picked it up while you struggled to get your bra back on. He looked at the: For Touya and decayed it with mounting rage. Then he bent down, picked up your phone, and saw who you were looking at while you touched yourself on his bed. It dawned on him when you gasped and flung yourself at him to snatch your phone back.

"Give me that. It's mine," you wailed. Trembling on the verge of tears, you tried to stay still as you watched Tenko's face twist into deranged laughter. He held your phone in one hand and a cupcake for Touya in the other, like he was taunting you. You felt more terrified than ever before.

You wanted to slide away from his menacingly cackling face, but you couldn't. Tenko could ruin you if he told Touya. Tenko was your only way back to the safety of Touya and your phone. He shoved the phone in your face as if proving to you just how much power he had. You felt the ever-increasing pressure build up within, threatening to bring you to the brink of emotional collapse. You were helpless, hopeless, and at Tenko's mercy.

"You're a creepy little stalker fangirl," he giggled and accused, "You've been secretly taking pictures of him. You came here to masturbate to Touya. That's extra creepy. He wouldn't like this at all."

"I did not. Shuichi said Touya's bedroom was on the right. I just wanted to give him a gift," you sniveled. Tenko laughed again, mocking you and making you feel so stupid.

"Was his back turned to you?" Tenko asked. It dawned on you too late. Tenko laughed again, continuing to mock you. Every word making you feel dumber. Tenko's obnoxious laughter echoed in the room as you fumed with rage. You shook with anger before finally losing your grip and tears streaming down your cheeks. Acting on instinct, you lashed out, slapping him across his smug face.

"I am a virgin!" You cried as you snatched up your phone and ran out of his room, leaving him stunned.

"Hey! Wait!" Tenko yelled after.

You stumble headlong into Touya,  bouncing off him and tumbling to the ground with a loud thump. Scrambling for an explanation, you're speechless as embarrassment floods your cheeks.

Shuichi was right behind him at the bottom of the stairs. You can't deny the truth—they both caught you coming out of Tenko's bedroom, disheveled and sweaty. As you wrestle for something to say, you can feel your heart sink, knocked off balance by shock and humiliation.

"Whoa! Are you ok?" Touya reached out, offering his hand to help you up from the ground. It felt like life raft and a sea of troubles. His firm grip easily lifts you, "Oh hey, it's cupcake girl. What's wrong, darling?"

You feel abruptly yanked away and firmly pulled back into Tenko's tight embrace. He stands behind you gloriously in the nude and unashamed, devouring the cupcake you made for Touya, like an asshole.

"She is my girlfriend, and we're having a bit of a lover's quarrel," he informs Touya possessively, with a piercingly cold glare. Then, as if to tease you further, he licks the candy heart to the tip of his tongue and, with a crooked smirk, swallows it down. The words 'be mine' glistening on it stab you in the heart. You feel a wave of humiliation and agony sweep over you so intensely that you wish the ground beneath you would open and swallow you down. But Touya stands there, his lips twisted in a knowing smirk.

"You idiots. We have guests waiting for us downstairs," Touya gestured at the mass of people gathering to see what the fuss is about, "Kiss and makeup already. It shouldn't be that hard with such a cutie."

You stumble past Touya and Shuichi, through the crowd, frantically trying to hide your face as tears stream down your cheeks. Touya had called you darling and cute. He helped you up and expressed tender concern, and your heart leapt to hear such sweetness on what could only be described as the darkest day of your life.

It only brought you fresh anguish and made you ache for what could have been.Tenko stole my first kiss with Touya, repeated in your head as you ran from everyone's stares. You stumble blindly, desperate to escape, aching at the thought of more humiliation in the face of those who had seen you at the party. Your broken sniffles and heaving chest are the only noise you hear until you finally reach the safety of home.

Back at the party, "What just happened? I hope she's not sick," was murmured through the crowd.

"What the fuck was that about?" Shuichi barked.

"Sorry. We were fooling around, and I jizzed all over her dress. I know you were into her, Shuichi, but she confessed, and it just happened," Tenko says, scratching his neck. Touya laughed out loud, and that kid everyone calls Hawks gave Tenko a thumbs up and yelled nice dick. Now all the girls were stealing glances until Touya blocked their view. Tenko did have a big one, and the rest of these girls didn't need to compare.

"What?" Shuichi asked, surprised. His face twisted in anger for another reason, "Never mind, I guessed as much. First, get on some pants. Second, apologize to her. Because before she was a dating interest, she was my friend, and I like gaming with her. She better not quit the gaming club because of your fuck up. Third, see that cute rabbit girl down there. I was about ready to close the deal with her, but she's friends with our girl. In fact, our girl isn't popular, but she's well known, and her main group of friends is all heteromorph girls. I promise it will trickle down to all the girls and land on top of us. If you ever want to date again, grovel, grovel like you never have before," Shuichi lectured.

"If you want, I can apologize for you," Touya leered.

"Stay the fuck away from her, Touya. I will handle it, Shuichi." With that, Tenko retreated into his room. Finishing the cupcake. He hated overly sweet things. He hated most things. But you cumming on his fingers was the best. He combined the frosting with your juices and licked his fingers clean.  

Tenko was a jerk. You had just experienced the most intense orgasm of your life, and all you could do was think about it and know it wasn't with Touya. You can feel the heat rising at your core as you remember Tenko's rough touch. You can still feel it, and your cunt throbs. You hadn't wanted to revel in the afterglow, but here you are, crushed with disappointment from where it came from.

You cleaned yourself up and went downstairs to the sound of your mom entertaining someone. Someone with a deep gravelly voice, you are instantly irritated when you recognize it.

"What is he doing here?" You growl. You are shocked at how cool he looks in his street clothes. Tenko stood and bowed deeply.

"I came to apologize. Please forgive my behavior. I humbly ask you not to quit the gamer's club," Tenko said.

"I'll think about it," you reply with a huff. He's so stiff and formal. This is nothing like he was an hour ago. 

"That is fair. If you come to the next meeting, I will have something special for you. I'll take my leave," Tenko said.

"Stay for dinner," Mom offered. If that wasn't bad enough, Tenko declared with a sly smile that he would be, "More than happy to." A statement that would only further fuel the despair that already hung in the air. Why was he doing this? He is missing his party. He acted like a charming guy with manners that had your mom wrapped around his deadly pinky. You roll your eyes through most of the meal because you know the truth. After dinner, your mom told you,...no, ordered you, to walk him to the bus stop.

"How could you say we were dating? You are such an asshole," you pouted. He smirked at you.

"You wanted me to tell the truth? Besides, you like him, right? If you pretend to be my girlfriend, you can come over whenever you want and save face at the gamers club," Tenko reasoned, walking away. You grabbed the corner of his hoodie, because it didn't take you long to decide. 

"Ok. I'll pretend to be your girlfriend," You say reluctantly. That took Tenko aback. He clearly didn't think you would take such a offer.

"You really like that guy that much," Tenko sneered.

You nod yes, "Well you're right. It's better to lie than let everyone know the truth and I get to still see Touya." 

Before you know it, he pulls you to him, lips on yours in a passionate kiss. He could feel your body mold against his, your curves giving him comfort and security. His heartbeat drummed out of control, and you could feel it pound against your chest as the warmth of your breath washed over him. The passion coursing through him was like an unstoppable river. It left him unwilling and unable to let you back away as you weakly struggled.

He gripped you tight as he parted his lips to gasp for air. His lips brushed against yours softly. The cracked skin magnified the sensations a thousand times. Suddenly the kiss deepened as his passionate desire took over. His arms encircled your waist, drawing you closer to him as his tongue sought out yours and explored.

The kiss was fiery and full of longing and love. When it finally ended, he gently brushed his lips across yours one last time before resting his forehead against yours with a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment and the intense emotion. You had to brace yourself against him because he left your knees weak and shaky. He sucked the air from your lungs with how good that was. When you manage to collect yourself, you weakly shove him away.

"What was that?" You shriek.

"You're my girlfriend. If we are going to do this, then we need to make it look real. It's my reputation on the line too. By the way, I don't mind that pretty expression," Tenko rasped. Ready to pull you back for more when you escaped his grasp and turned on your heels to march home. You pause to ask him one last question.

"What if I didn't agree to this insane plan?"

"I would have told Touya you are a stalker and have photos of him. I still might tell him if you don't make it convincing," Tenko smiled as he boarded the bus. He blew you a kiss, and you flipped him off. Tenko was really the worst. That kiss he gave you blew all the others out of the water. You touched your lips and felt your cheeks burn. On your walk back, you began to plot.

The next day of school Tenko was there waiting for you at the gate, firmly gripping your hand, carrying your bag, and parading you around. It was awkward, but there was no backing out now. You had made a deal with Tenko. If you failed to make this farce look believable, he would tell Touya.

That was enough of a motivator for you to keep going with this scheme. That's ok. It's all a part of your plan now. Tenko wants a girlfriend. You'll give him a girlfriend. This will highlight what a wonderful girlfriend you will be for Touya.You made Tenko lunch and bought his favorite drinks, like a damn maid cafe.

"This is good," Tenko said. His minor praise gave you hope. You also steeled yourself and asked for your quid of the quid pro quo of your bargain.

"Can I come over today?" You asked Tenko nervously. He stared at you for a long moment.

"Remember, you have to pretend to be there for me—your boyfriend. Me," he hissed.

"Not a problem Ten-chan," you grinned mischievously. He narrowed his eyes but agreed to it. You skipped off in glee. That's what your girlfriends saw, and they think you have lost your mind. Poor Yuki shook you by your shoulders and screamed in your face. The air became tense as Yuki's voice reverberated throughout the room.

"What secrets is this man holding over you? The way you suddenly left last night speaks volumes, so you'd better tell us what you know. You can tell us, and then we will kill him!" The other girls nodded in agreement, their expressions dark and murderous. They know you too well.

"It's not like that. Tenko can be very kind," you said, remembering his kiss and feeling your cheeks heat up. The girls exchange a look, "I'm serious. Come to the gamers club with me and meet him. Plus, there are plenty of cute guys. Touya Todoroki is there."

Tenko looked around the room, eyeing the girls with their crossed arms and murderous glares. He took a deep breath, ready to recite his spiel on gaming options in his typically hostile and stiff way, but then he felt a gentle nudge beside him. He looked to his side and saw Shuichi, a look of assurance in his eyes. Relief washed over Tenko when Shuichi saved him.

"Ten-chan," You beam. Knowing full well Chan is cute but meant for girls, and if you know English, his name sounds like 'tension.' It's clever, and you want to get a rise out of him, "I want to challenge you to some Mario Kart." The look he gave you was withering. But he took your hand and kissed it.

"I could never deny you anything," Tenko said with a smile, his presence radiating such charm that it elicited a chorus of 'awws' from the ladies watching, effortlessly leading the way to the console like prince charming. That made your blood boil. You scowled. Ok. You deserved that. Both of you seem to be laying it on thick today.

You were both overly affectionate, but this was getting uncomfortable, especially with your girlfriends in the room. You're worried your girlfriends might like Tenko too much and whine when you 'break up' with him. You're going to have to push him. Tenko was always so serious about his games and could get very ugly. You take a deep breath, preparing yourself for a confrontation, this will break him, you think. Since he is so concerned about his reputation, you are going to make him work to keep it.

The game starts, and everyone gathers to watch you play with the gaming champion. Tenko is the president of the gaming club for a reason. You chose princess peach, and Tenko was Mario. The crowd went wild as the countdown hit zero. After several rounds he was scratching at himself in annoyance.

Both of you are squaring off in the Mario Kart tournament's final race. Tenko took a deep breath as he prepared himself for battle. He knew that the slightest mistake could cost him the race or the tournament. 

"Looking nervous there," You mocked Tenko. You had already demonstrated you're driving prowess throughout the tournament. All those games with Shuichi was paying off. Tenko barely maintained his composure and kept his eyes on the track ahead. Suddenly, the announcer's words, "Ready? Go!" erupted. Mario and Peach both stepped on the accelerators of their karts, and they were off.

Both raced around the track, dodging obstacles and trading positions. Mario was in the lead as they made their way through Rainbow Road. But at the last corner, Peach shrieked ahead, pushing Mario wide and pressing your advantage. Tenko growled, close to losing his cool. He didn't give up, though.

"I hope you won't cry when I beat you," Tenko hissed. He pushed on, determined to beat you. What you did not expect was your competitive nature rearing its head. He managed to stay close until the last lap when Peach made a risky move around Mario and snuck ahead.

"Not on your life, neet!" You shouted. Biting your lip, grip sweating on the controller in total concentration. Tenko knew them that he had no chance of catching you. He simply had to keep his distance and hope you made a mistake somewhere. But you didn't make a single error and crossed the finish line victorious. The whole room cheered.

You jumped up and did a happy dance of triumph when you suddenly noticed Tenko was looming. Not only did you embarrass yourself with a dumb dance in front of all your friend and Touya, but you called him Neet. Your knees suddenly felt wobbly and you nearly peed yourself when he leaned down with his severe expression.

"Good game. You deserve a reward," Tenko gently leaned in and planted a kiss on your forehead, sending a spark of electricity down your spine. You blushed a deep crimson as he pulled away with a smirk, causing the room around you to erupt in admiration of 'awws's and 'how cute's. He promised he'd return with your favorite drink, leaving you with your cheeks still burning and an embarrassed smile of pride on your lips.

"I am happy you learned something and gave it your all," He said over his shoulder. That seemed sincere and your heart swelled a little in pride.

"I get this round," Touya announced, tossing his magazine aside and striding over. Everyone was departing to show the girls different games since you made it seem fun and to flirt, of course. You are so nervous and fidgety. You are playing so sloppy. Touya is worse. You're still determining if he lost on purpose or if he was terrible at gaming. He smiled at you when he lost, and your heart nearly stopped.

"I lost. I have to reward you, too," Touya said, leaning in.

"Whaaa," you are asking, dumbfounded, when Shuichi swoops in between you.

"I play winner," Shuichi said.

"What do you think you are doing?" Tenko hissed at Touya. Tenko was looming again as if he appeared out of thin air.

"I'm just giving her this," Touya said, handing you a heart lollipop. Your hand trembles when you reach for it. You don't know what to think when Tenko snatches it and shoves it in your pocket while he pulls you away.

"Thanks!" You shout behind you. In the hallway, you yank your arm back.

"What is your problem?" You hiss. He deliberates, biting his lip as his nails rake obsessively over his neck. Trying to decide how to respond, he takes deep breaths to keep from snapping. It's infuriating. He always takes the time to weigh up his options before he answers. He is always calculating, and it's one of the things that makes you nervous about him.

"You are supposed to make it look like you are there for me, not for him, remember? Do you want him to find out you're a stalker?" Tenko snarled. When you flinched from his voice, he softened his tone, "You made it sounds like you had something special in mind this afternoon. I want to catch the earlier bus, and I wanted to give this to you away from their eyes," he rasped. He pulled out a small square velvet box, "Here, I told you I would give you a gift if you came."

You open the luxurious crushed velvet box and find an exquisite comb delicately crafted from solid gold, delicately carved in the shape of your favorite flower and in the color of your dreams. It was too extravagant to keep, but it sent your heart into a flurry of emotion. It wasn't just its splendor that moved you. It was the thought and care behind it.

Tenko had found something that was truly unique to you and your interests, something he had taken the time to think about and select for you. You could feel the love he had put into it, and you couldn't bear to reject it immediately. Suddenly, you saw Tenko in a new light. He was blushing, hiding behind his hair, and not even looking at you. He's adorable, you thought for the first time.

"Thank you," you say. As you looked up into his crimson eyes, gratitude overflowing from your own, you couldn't help yourself and leaned in, pressing your lips to the soft skin of Tenko's neck. His cheeks were deep red, and he mumbled something about you being an idiot, but you just smiled, reaching for his hand.

"You are absolutely right. Let's get home," you said softly, your fingers intertwined in his as you were ushered away. Playing along, even if it is making your heart heavy, you have a plan, and you want him to be in a good mood when you tell him.

You can tell Tenko is finding it hard to relax as you gently file the edges of his nails. Every few seconds, he anxiously says to be careful. Trusting you with such a delicate task has allowed you to take a moment to connect, feeling a little bit closer to elusive creature that is Tenko. This will be the perfect time.

"I don't want to decay you. Careful!" He hissed as you rotated his pinky. It was the last nail while the other hand soaked.

"You needed this, though. Your nails are all jagged and cracked. They hurt me last time," you blush. Tenko leered. You held up two nail polishes.

"Clear or matte black?!" You demand, unable to contain your excitement. He grunts in response, trying desperately to scratch at his neck. He gives up, not able to tear his skin like usual. You take his hand eagerly and start painting his nails black, talking non-stop about your plans, attempting to casually slip in your goals with Touya. "This black will look cool. I was thinking we should break up in two months. Right when summer vacation starts."

"What?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"W-w-well, we are just pretending. We should set a time limit for how long you will blackmail me. Normally when a person pays the blackmailer, they stop blackmailing," you dared. You glanced up to catch his reaction, and it was dark and brooding. You are about to drop it when Tenko softens slightly.

"What do you like about him?" He rasped.

"What?"

"Is it just about looks?"

"He's super nice. He does a lot of charity work. We have the same likes and dislikes," you prattle.

"Oh? How do you know? How do you know you have the same likes and dislikes?" He asked. A part of you did not like wherever this questioning is going. 

"I've read all the material on him, and I see how he is at school," you are saying when Tenko bursts out laughing.

"You are shallow! The worst stalker. The dumbest stalker!" he laughed. You slam the brush into the nail polish and grit your teeth in suppressed rage.

"What is your quirk?" he asked.

"What?" You asked indignantly. It was so random it was infuriating. He does this in purpose to throw you off. 

"As I thought. You don't know shit," Tenko laughed.

"What is wrong with you? You don't need to know about my quirk. A person is more than their quirk. I am smart enough to play to my strengths and take the easy way. That's why I'm in the business course. Leave the heavy lifting to the heroes. Touya is handsome and kind and said the same thing about quirks in a teen magazine. He's a good person and not a pervert, like someone I know," you said with a pointed look. Tenko shook his head. 

"Alright, until summer. You have to be my girlfriend like how you have been. Sounds reasonable to me. I'll even help you. If you let me sit between your legs, we'll watch one of Touya's favorite movies. That way, you can get to know the real Touya," Tenko sneered.

You did not like that expression, sensing a trap somewhere in his words. But you have a burning need to hear any and all information about Touya. You agreed eagerly, sitting on the end of Tenko's bed, legs dangling as Tenko sat between your legs on the floor, arms on thighs to let his nails air dry.

"Help me out. I'll tell you the password, and then you select whatever's on top," Tenko instructed.

"Wait. His password. That's invading his privacy," you hesitated.

"Says the stalker who you masturbated on his bed."

"It was your bed," you said, flustered.

"You thought it was his. It's Endeavorsux, all one word and an x instead of a cks. I wouldn't have the passcode if Touya didn't want to share."

"When are you going to stop throwing at in my face," you whined, typing in the passcode.

You objected, and Tenko was right, if Touya didn't want to share he wouldn't have loaned out his passcode. The first thing on the files list was Milo and Otis. You have never heard of it, but my god, was it wholesome and cute. Ten minutes in, you are overwhelmed by an urge to run your fingers through Tenko's voluminous and oh-so-fluffy hair. A sight is so beautiful it warrants an encore and it's right between your legs. Tenko's hair is a sight that must be seen and touched to be truly appreciated!

Tenko's body tensed as your hands grazed his hair. His eyes shot open in surprise, you jerked your hands away, and before you had a chance to apologize, his grip encircled your wrist and urged you back to his locks. You felt a wave of heat pass between you as you reveled in the sensation of his hair beneath your fingertips.

Slowly, his eyes closed, and a low moan escaped his lips. Time seemed to stand still as you tenderly ran your fingers through his hair. Your fingertips tingle his scalp as you gently comb your fingers through. The feeling was electric, and you were certain you felt your heart skip a beat. He is beautiful, you thought as you marveled at the warmth of this tender connection.

You are enjoying this moment until you hear the wet smacks of flesh. A moan of lewd women who begged to be fucked harder.Your hands shot up to your face in pure shock. Tenko is laughing his ass off as if it is the most hilarious thing ever.

"Who fucks you better?" A familiar smokey voice asked the girl.

Your fingers tremble as you timidly peek through and are shocked again to be hit with the devastating sight of Touya pounding a gorgeous woman. Her beauty is so captivating that it sets a pit of sadness in your stomach that you could never compare. Touya shows signs of burns on his arms and legs, which you never noticed, and you wonder if that is the connection between them, a connection fueled by physical suffering. Your vision blurs as tears form in your eyes. Why couldn't she be you? Why is she so beautiful and passionate while you are still a virgin? Tenko stops laughing as he sees your face twist into utter horror.  

"Touya label's his porn with movies his brothers would never want to watch. Half an hour into all of these is porn. Baby, why are you so sad? Did you just realize your saint Touya is a whore?" He said with false sympathy.

"She's just so pretty and lustful," you whimper. Tenko's eyes narrow, and he turns, rising and pressing down on you with his overbearing presence.

"You really are so naïve," he softens when he sees you trembling pitifully under him. He grins and leans beside your ear, "I could feel your pussy getting hot between my shoulders. You are a lustful little slut. You have no idea how much you are his type. But you are mine until summer. Touya has to be home by now. Right on the other side of this wall." Tenko touched the wall with four fingers, and it felt forbidden. You are getting heated listening to Touya enjoy himself in the movie.

"That's a pretty sight," Tenko pants. Grabbing your wrists and guiding you to your wet panties, "I want to watch. Why don't you practice being a little slut. My nails are still drying. Let's give Touya something to burst in on. Let him hear that voice."

"W-w-with you watching?' you squeaked.

"Touya likes passion. Be passionate," he hissed. Tenko slowly pulled your panties off, and you let him. Tenko is watching every single movement. The air in the room buzzed with electricity as he watched. His eyes felt like they were searing into you, and he guided your fingers to spread yourself open for him.

"Like a beautiful flower. A blossoming flower, only I have seen" Tenko breathed. His hot breath is fanning over your sex, making you shiver. You closed your eyes and lips parted, breathing heavily as your fingers danced across your body. You took your time, exploring every inch of your skin as your arousal grew.

Tenko felt himself becoming more and more aroused as he watched you, captivated by your actions. Tenko couldn't help but inch closer and closer to get a better look. The urge to take things even further was too much to resist. He sat up, his tongue slowly finding your exposed neck, tracing gentle circles around it before trailing up to meet your lips.

You gasped in surprise as he kissed you hungrily, your body tensing under his touch, he had become an amazing kisser, and you kissed back. His hands roamed up and down your body, and you squealed in fear. Tenko pulls away for a second.

"The nail polish is dry. Do my hands frighten you?" Tenko asked gently. You nodded, and he reached in and pulled out quirk gloves.

"They look good on you," you smiled. Tenko suddenly kissed you ravenously, stoking the blaze already burning inside you. He encouraged you to touch yourself, his fingers over yours, helping you push them in, helping you find your sensitive spots as he continued to savor your taste. His tongue found your ear, teasing the lobe before exploring your body together. You never shoved your fingers into yourself. His fingers found where you wanted them to be, your breath shuddering in pleasure. Soon, his other hand joined in as he moved his digits in a gentle rhythm, never taking his lips from yours. His eyes connected with yours, and he let you take over, watching everything.

"Tenko, this is embarrassing," you whined as you stopped. He didn't answer. He tugged away your hands almost violently, the sensation of his slippery tongue tickling each digit searing in your mind. You looked up, only to see his lips curled into a sneer. "Pervert," you spat, a grin playing at your corners.

"You make it easy with this lewd body. Look at this pretty dripping pussy. I like the color and smell of this tiny bloom. I wonder what it tastes like," Tenko smirked.

He kneeled between your spread legs and took a moment to admire your beauty. Your hair was fanned out against the pillow, your head resting back in pleasure, and you anticipated what was coming. He slowly leaned forward and brought his face close to her pussy. He looked up to meet your gaze before softly kissing your inner thighs towards your center, sending shivers of pleasure shooting through your body.

You tried to cover it, heating in shame. Tenko ran his velvety tongue around each finger, teasing and tickling the sensitive skin between. Inching closer and closer, it eventually made its way to the source of your pleasure. His talented tongue wriggled past your searching fingers, lapping and licking at your aroused wetness and sending shockwaves of pleasure through your body. He was relentless, and used your hands to spread yourself more open for him.

He dipped his tongue into her slick folds, teasing and exploring as you gasped with pleasure. His velvety tongue moved in circles around the sensitive bud of your pleasure before flicking back and forth. He tasted every inch of you as you moaned and squirmed in delight. You felt your body start to tense as your arousal increased. The pleasure was becoming too much for you to bear with every passing moment. He parted your lips with his fingers and pushed his tongue deep inside you. He swirled it around your g-spot, and you quickly started to come apart at the seams.

Your breath puffs in sharp pants, your moans mixed with Tenko's lewd slurps.

"Tenko, stop. I'm going to cum," you whine.

"Good cum on my mouth. Here, grab my hair that you like too much," Tenko said, guiding your fingers to entangle in his fluffy locks while he plunged two of his fingers into the deepest parts of your bliss. Stroking over the sweet spots he had found, you mewl like a bitch in heat and pull his hair. Tenko increased his lapping, and with an intensity you've never felt before, you flung your head back and arched up into Tenko's greedy mouth.

Your heart races more from Tenko's eyes being the greediest part, and he never takes them off you as you let out a loud cry of ecstasy. Her clit throbbed with each stroke of his tongue, a hot tightening of your center had built so tight it was bliss when you came undone, shivers of pleasure jolted through your body like lighting, and you felt the sheets beneath you become damp as your orgasm spilled out. You screamed out Tenko until. Finally, the waves of your orgasm subsided, and you slumped on the bed in blissful exhaustion. Tenko sits up with a satisfied groan, wiping his face and licking his fingers. 

"I told you I could make you squirt. You're a sexy little slut. Fuck, I really want to put it in," Tenko panted as was took off his clothes.

In your happy daze, your mind was foggy before you realized what was happening. Initially, you wavered to express your shock at what Tenko was doing because you wanted to see what the bulge was about. You avoided looking at it when he caught you. He is turning you into a pervert, you think. Expert fingers peeled off the fabric restraining that bulge, and when he finally ripped off his pants and underwear, you squeaked like a frightened mouse. Astonished and cowering, you curled your legs up your quivering body to shield your pussy from that intimidating monster. Like a battering ram, it appeared as if it could tear you in two. It is enormous, and when you look over at Touya's porn, he was big, but it didn't look like it would rip you in half. Tenko is too big! He must be a part horse! You were convinced he meant to end you with that thing.

"Don't run," Tenko beamed, grabbing your ankles and pulling you towards him. His fat cock makes a heavy wet smacking sound as it lands on your wet crotch.

"Eeep, No Tenko. I'm a virgin, and I'm not ready!" You wail and flail.

"You mean for a certain boy toya," Tenko growled. You shake your head no. A lie, you thought, but Tenko didn't need to know that. With a trembling finger, your gaze seemed to linger on the tremendous cock staring ominously back at you. Its flesh rippled and jerked, spitting from the tip like a living angry foul beast under your gaze.

"It's not that big," Tenko smirked, pride glinting in his eyes. You yelped at the sight but became transfixed by its shocking hue. Pale, except for its pink head, it looked like it could be chapped on his foreskin, but the longer you stared, the more it seemed to swell, the angry red veins snaking across its surface. He started to press and rub himself on you.

"It's too big. It's huge, and just no! Tenko, I'm not ready," you hissed and started to push him away.

"But your body feels ready. Listen to those dirty wet noises she's making. Your pussy is begging to get fucked. Besides, women have babies all the time. I'm not as big as a baby," Tenko tried to convince you.

"Women also tear. Bones break. No Ten-chan," you say firmly. Tenko sighed and slumped on you, "Ugh…your heavy," you gasped.

His hard gaze met yours as he growled, "Fine. But you will be held accountable for this." Tenko said, wagging his cock at you. Wrapping his arms around your waist as he hoisted you up and carried you over his shoulder to the shower. You didn't think he was this strong. Now that you are noticing, Tenko has an incredible body. You always thought he was thin and soft, like many of the gamers in the club. You bite your lip at that sight in admiration.

"Ahh!" you Shriek when you are under the water with him fully clothed, "What the hell, Tenko!"

"Can't run away if your clothes need to dry. You shouldn't be the only one having fun," he smirked. Brushing his wet locks back and enjoying your reaction. He presses his damp forehead to yours, "Tell me to stop." You can't say anything.

The heat of his breath tickling the back of your neck was enough reminder of his presence as he slowly peeled your soaked clothes away from your skin. This is the first time you've been naked before a man. Tenko is definitely a man. You felt yourself shudder as the air brushed over the places now exposed to him, your cheeks burning at the intimate vulnerability. You wanted to cover yourself from his gaze, though you knew that he deserved and wanted your attention as well. He placed your hands against the tile wall when you didn't answer.

You felt his large hands grip your hips and pull you back into him, the hard length of his desire pressing between your thighs and causing your breath to catch. His hot cock is trapped between your legs. You pushed yourself towards him, unable to deny the reality of Tenko's presence or your intense reaction to his touch.

"I won't penetrate you. Press your thighs together," he encouraged with his hands. It felt extraordinary, but you did as he asked, and he lightly moaned. Pressing your back against his washboard stomach, you felt his lips move across your neck and up to your ear until he whispered your name and breathed, "Yes. Like that."

Without warning, a pair of hands moved around your waist and pulled you closer to Tenko's warm body. The hot spray of water made your skin flush as you let yourself melt against Tenko. Slowly, your eyes closed as his hands moved up over your body, feeling the rivulets of water and the warmth of the steam fill the shower. Tenko whimpered lightly in your ear. The liquid black latex of the gloved fingers made a beautiful contrast to his rough flesh. His fingertips moved over your skin, exploring every curve and inch of your body.

"You are so pretty and passionate enough for me," he whispered. You gave a soft moan of pleasure in response. His hands moved lower when they reached your inner thighs, you gasped as he reached the point between your legs, and he paused for a moment, savoring your suspense as he hovered there before opening your lips to wedge his dick against your clit.

"Ah, ah, ah," you panted in a slight panic. You felt Tenko pressing against you, his hardness undeniably aroused, his hands running up your thighs as he did until he gripped your hips.

Slowly, he began to circle his hips against your body, his long, hard cock pressing teasingly against your clitoris. His hand moved up towards your breast while his hips continued to gyrate, sending ripples of pleasure throughout your body. He pinched and teased your nipple. Tenko smiled as you squirmed and gasped beneath him, your arousal growing with each sweep of his hips.

His hand moved down, tracing circles around your belly and dipping lower between your legs until he reached the apex of them. His digits circled your clit, making slow, maddening flicks that were punctuated by the thrust of his hips. You writhed and moaned beneath him, begging for more as he increased his pressure. He eagerly complied, grinding harder and faster against your center and slickening you so that his thrusts were met with pleasure, not pain. You mewled.

You are enjoying it until someone walks in and lifts the toilet seat. At first, all you saw was blurry white hair through the steamed shower glass and squeaked. It was one thing that he might have heard you fooling around with Tenko. It's another thing to see you naked and bent over for him like a slut. He must have heard you because he looked over his shoulder. That wasn't Touya. That was a kid!

"Ten, is that you?" Shouto asked. Tenko seized your face, pressing his hand firmly to your lips as his hips bucked against you with greater force. His grip on your hip is unyielding, trapping you in place.

"Yeah, Shouto," Tenko rasped. You panted against his palm.

"Dinner is almost ready," Shouto stated, finishing and washing his hands.

"Tell Shuichi to make another plate for my girlfriend," Tenko said when he yanked your face towards him, your agonized whimpering dying beneath his demanding lips. He felt your body tense as you neared climax. You whined in delight in his mouth. It was too much for him. His tongue expertly moved with his hands.

"Girlfriend?" Shouto asked.

Tenko pulled away long enough to growl, "Read a room, Shouto." Shouto shrugged and left. Tenko's passion doubled. Your mewls grew to a crescendo vibrating on his tongue as he brought you to the edge and over, your orgasm washed over you, leaving you shaking with bliss beneath him.

"Your clit is sucking on me," he groaned. Tenko let out a guttural moan of pleasure as his climax hit him. His cock was throbbing, shooting streams of cum along your belly, between your breasts, and on the shower wall. His body sagged against you, breathing heavily, as he held you tight in a lover's embrace. He had never cum so hard and with so much pleasure before. He stared into your eyes, it was a mask of ecstasy, and he almost thought it was impossible that you were truly here, writhing in pleasure because of him. You are an angel that tugged at the lead ball of hate in his stomach. Your face twisted in rage equal to his own, and you weakly smacked at him.

"You said Touya's room was on the other side," you snide at him. His rage tugged back when you reminded him you were only here because of Touya. He doesn't understand why that pisses him off, but it does. He laughed in your face hoping you would cry.

"Not my fault you are a slutty airhead who can't figure out a simple layout," He grinned. You spin on your heels about to leave, surprising him, when he yanked you back, "Where are you going? To show him how you are covered in jizz."

Tenko's harsh words were like daggers, but as he carefully wiped the cum off you, a deep ache grew in your chest. You could feel your emotions stirring, unsure if it were a spark of sadness or something more. He quickly washed and dried your hair with a strange tenderness that left you limp in his arms. Tenko even helped dress you in his hoodie and sweats while your clothes were washing. You looked frumpy and didn't want the others to see how plain you are.

"Tenko," you said timidly, catching his attention, "These clothes are not cute. Can I eat here?"

"So? What do I care? You're going to eat with us in  my clothes because you are my girlfriend. Are you breaking our deal? Even when we are pretending you are still mine. Should I go tell him," he hissed. You are shocked by his sudden anger. You can feel the blood drain from you when he threatened you. You were even more surprised when he gripped your cheeks harshly and made you look in the mirror, "If he can't see how cute you are, then he doesn't deserve you."  

You felt caught off guard as Tenko's strong arms embraced you, squeezing you tightly. His cheek rested in the crook of your neck, sending a chill down your spine. You started to feel butterflies in your stomach as his warm breath tickled your skin. His hug drew out a few minutes too long for comfort, and you began to question his erratic behavior went drastic changes in mood within a matter of moments. Is he bipolar? The way he put you on a rollercoaster of ups and downs made you wonder.

"Ten," you breathed. You felt yourself melting in his embrace.

"I'll give you something cute to wear," he whispered before he mauled you. He wasn't gentle when he first sucked at your neck. He then moved his lips away and gently sucked on your skin, leaving a hickey that would last for days. Then he softly caressed your bare skin with his fingertips. His hands glided from your shoulders to the back of your neck. As they stopped for a moment, he kissed your neck passionately, where he left his mark.

A shiver ran through your body as you felt his warm breath on your skin. He lightly brushed his lips against your neck and then kissed you deeply. His tongue tormented you in the most wonderful way, sparking an intense desire within you. He continued to entice your neck with his lips, and his hands explored your body, sending you further into bliss, and she never wanted it to end. You gasped in pleasure, and he felt her body heat up with desire.

He laughed a deep, throaty chuckle as he pulled away from you, leaving you burning with desire. You glared at him in shock, your cheeks burning, and he responded by throwing his head back and laughing even harder. You spun away from him, unable to contain the rage and frustration, and picked up a nearby object to express your anger. You threw it at him with fury, and he scurried away.

"See you downstairs!" He shouted as he ran away like a child.

"Jerk!" you shout, picking up something hard and velvety. You see it's your comb and clutch it to your chest. You hesitantly open the box to find the hair comb Tenko had given you as a gift. No matter how mad you are that he left you marked and wet between your legs. You can't throw this. Instead, you pick up your phone and call your mom.

"I fell and messed up my skirt. Tenko invited me to stay for dinner while my clothes are in the wash. I'm going to be late," you tell her.

"Ok, sweety," she said. You add the comb to your hair. Yes, you will give it back. But right now, you want to wear it because Tenko gave it to you. You look in the mirror, wiping his cold saliva off and adjusting the comb in your hair before you go downstairs. It was awkward at first, Shouto staring at your neck while Touya seemed to leer at you in general.

"Thanks for the meal," you say to Shuichi. Shuichi blushed as he took away the dishes.

"Let me help you with those," you say, getting up.

"I better take my turn, too," Touya says, standing beside you. Your heart feels like it will stop. It's easier being near Touya now, but he still sends your heart racing, and you feel a warmth inside, more natural than ever. You can't help but be aware of Tenko's burning gaze on your back as you both tackle the chore of washing dishes. Touya bumps you with his elbow and grins. You panic, flailing, blushing, and sputtering apologies. He leans in close and whispers, "You're rather cute. That's a pretty comb."

Your mind was in a complete fog and jumbled, struggling to interpret what he said and meant. Was he flirting or casually remarking on the cuteness of your comb? Was your stupid behavior cute, and he is just being nice? You were so flustered it was embarrassing. Your mind raced when Shuichi stepped between you mercifully. Embarrassment flooded your face. Then, as if sent from the heavens, Shuichi stepped in.

"I'll take over. I was hoping I could beg you to make another one of your delicious deserts?" Shuichi said with the largest puppy eyes. You loved him so much in that moment. He made you giggle and got you out of your head.

"We have a lot of leftover rice. Hey, Shouto, want to help me?" you ask. The kid looks wide eyed in surprise that anyone remembers he's there. It makes you want to smack Tenko for yelling at him when you were in the shower. The memory suddenly made you flush. You turn to Touya and smile, "The comb is a gift from Tenko."  

Shuichi went out for energy drinks because he and Tenko were having a gaming night. Shouto was a great helper. You made rice pudding, and it was a big hit. He told you his whole life story, and you nearly cried.

"I think your dad sounds like a fuckhead," you gritted. Blushing and apologizing, Shouto smiled wryly, reminding you of Touya.

"Thank you. He is a fuckhead," Shouto beamed. You are chatting with him about school when his eyes dart around, and then he leans in and whispers, "You should forget about my brother."

"Shouto, Time to get you home. Come on." Touya interrupts before you can ask Shouta what he means.

"It was nice meeting you," Shouto says, joining Touya by the door. You nearly jump out of your skin then a pair of possessive arms wrap around you from behind.

"Once your clothes dry, we should be getting you home too," Tenko said as he slid closer and whispered with a sly glint in his eyes, "We can play in my room until then."

His words sent a spark of electricity through your veins, your mind spinning with the promise of unknown pleasure. You are starting to get attached to the 'play' Tenko likes. You nervously shoved him away, panic swelling within you, aching with temptation. How could you keep your head straight when the thought of entwining with Tenko sets your body on fire? You were starting to get too attached to these new sensations. The sudden fear of being too vulnerable to the temptation of his touch made you queasy. You had to be sure of what you felt before surrendering your heart entirely to Tenko.

"I only told my mom I would be here for dinner. I can give you your clothes back at school. Besides, I think I look cool," you tell him, striking a cool pose. He narrowed his eyes.

"I know an excuse when I hear one. You were begging not to be seen in it a moment ago. Should we invite Touy-(smack)" With a resounding crack, you slapped Tenko across his smug face. No longer would you tolerate his never-ending threats when you simply had stood your ground. You had wanted to like him so much that you had even considered making the relationship real. In the long run, this is best for both of your relationship, even if it ends up being only pretend.

"I'm sorry! I saw something stupid on your face," you barked. Tenko's hand froze against his cheek as he stared in shocked silence. Touya's smoky laughter filled the room from the doorway, causing Tenko to whirl around and face him.

"You guys fight like a married couple. I need your help, Ten," Touya said, pointing outside. You went to get your bag walking out into a full-blown tantrum.

"It's not my fault the tire is flat. I would catch the sub, but Shouto must be home by curfew. You know how my dad is and what he will do to us both," Touya says.

"Tough. Sounds like a you problem. I have to get my girlfriend home," Tenko said, walking away and grabbing your arm.

"Come on, man. I'll walk her home, and you take Shouto on Akira," Touya said. Touya stood in front of you, blocking your way, desperation written all over his face. Tightening your grip on Tenko's sleeve, you look at Shouto and see his tortured expression, looking absolutely miserable. You know, in their increasingly complicated situation, they would both inevitably face harsh repercussions for this. After what you heard about their father, you could only imagine the hell they would catch. Your gut wrenches at the thought of it. Tenko looks murderous, but when he sees your stern expression, he becomes his usual stony self.

"I don't like how you yelled at him earlier," you started.

"You know why I did," Tenko was making excuses, and you raised your hand to stop. You gritted your teeth, blazing at Tenko, your hands balled into fists at your sides.

"You're right. But I will not forgive you if you abandon that poor boy," you hissed through clenched teeth. Tenko met your gaze, pleased with the items on your body that had once been his. His clothing, hair comb, and love bite are a reminder of your shared bond. Yeah, him having blackmail. He reminds himself and caves into your silent will, retrieving his massive red ninja motorcycle, which you realize must be Akira. You stifled laughter because, of course, he would name his bike and name his bike that of all things.

You and Touya take the Subway in eerie silence. Touya was on his phone for most of the trip until you were in a spot where you didn't get service.

"You're cooking is the best," he said out of nowhere as you started down your street. You blush and stare at your feet, fidgeting nervously.

"I'm not as good as my mom. Her quirk is called domestic goddess. Anything she pours her love into comes out perfect. Specifically, if it's for someone she loves," you brag.

"Is that your quirk too?" Touya asked. His icy blue eyes are pinning you. You gave him a stupid grin and looked away before you fall into them.

"Maybe..." You said coyly, barely able to look Touya in the eye and stifling a giggle, your heart already fluttering in anticipation. Then, out of nowhere, a drunk driver swerved towards the sidewalk where you stood. Before you had a chance to understand what was going on, Touya flung himself in front of you, shielding your body with his own as a reflex. His chest was pressed right up against yours, and you could only make small, scared whimpers in response.

"Hey, Fucker!" He screamed after the car. Tsking and gritting his teeth, "Don't worry. I got his plates, and I'm reporting him right now. Are you ok?"

"Um. Um…uh, uh, uh…ummm, so close, eep," you squeaked. Touya's gaze lingered, an intense heat radiating from his body and into yours. His lips curled into a smirk, something dark and wicked and almost too much to bear, as his icy blue eyes filled with desire. You could feel your heart stop in your chest, his presence consuming you as you writhed under him, overcome by an immense wave of confusion. Why isn't he stepping away?

His eyes trail over you, and the mischievous smirk deepens. 

"Damn, you're cute as hell," he whispers, thick and husky. "Like a little mouse." He pauses and searches your face, his gaze stirring something deep within your core. "I wish I'd seen you first," he muses. "Tenko sure knows how to sniff out the good girls. He's got primo taste," he finishes, delivering a playful wink and carrying your heart away with it. Caressing your jawline with a gentle hand as you tilt your head back to be bathed in his gaze. His lips so close to yours, "We should exchange numbers."

"Num-number? W-w-what other girls?" You asked, trembling. Touya finally stepped back, with your phone in his hand, sending a text to himself before he answered, handing your phone back.

"I shouldn't say anything. But keep me in mind in case of the worst. You are his longest-known "girlfriend," Touya said, turning to head to the subway. In truth, it was do you couldn't see how much he was enjoying baiting you. You grabbed the corner of his jacket.

"What other girls," you seethe.

"Well, you didn't hear it from me. But if you stick around long enough, eventually, the truth will come out anyways. But there's a reason why there are so few girls in the gamers club, and that's all I'm going to say about my dear friend Tenko. You're clearly his girl. I mean, I knew he gave you that comb before you told me. I have to bounce. But text me when you are inside, safe. Later little mouse," Touya said as he walked away, the pounding of his racing heart the only noise that followed. Touya quickly left, leaving you alone with a flurry of unanswered questions.

You ran into your house, slamming the door with a force that seemed to shake the building itself. Your legs felt heavy beneath you, and you crashed to the floor in a heap of emotion. Tears streamed down your face, and your screams echoed through the halls. Rage and depression battled for control within you, and despair seemed to win as the tears and screams came harder and faster than ever before.

Tenko had played another game with you, treating you like a living doll - dressing you up and toying with heart and sex, manipulating you to do what he desired. You don't understand why you feel this way but you hate everything. You screamed and ripped the comb from your hair, tossing it across the room. Your mom gasped in shock as she raced to you, cradling you in her arms, showering you in love and security. You looked up at her, clutching your chest, tears and snot streaking your face.

"Mommy," you said wearily, "What does it feel to have your heart broken?" She sighed and helped you to bed, informing you that it's something everyone experiences. "It hurts so badly," you sniffled.

[shsenhaji]

📚 March Reading Round-Up 📚

I honestly did not have the time to read much, and only finished two books. I did start a few others that I hope to finish in April.

- Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik (worked great as an audiobook, very compelling and gripping, heart-wrenching and healing at the same time, loved Temeraire’s revolutionary spirit, and loved the worldbuilding of this universe’s China)

- False Value by Ben Aaronovitch (fun, clever plot twists, some more trans rep, great focus on ethics and morality as usual, very tech-oriented, great character interactions, and more cool worldbuilding)

[jibberjibbsart]

Supernatural “Power Hour” Part 10

Something strange this way comes…

First | Prev | Next

[rainy-nomad]

I love DnD!!!!! Here we got domain of light cleric Sun and arcane trickster rouge Moon.

[journen]

Done for Mer May! My first time participating... don't know if I will have any follow up pieces for this AU but I hope you guys like this! 😄

[brennan-lee-mother]

Imagine if KVX bank turning blue and Oisin being blue is a total coincidence and we're all just being super fantasy racist against dragonborns

[scealaiscoite]

fantasy setting prompts ˗ˏˋ ꒰ 🕊️ ꒱

¹⁾ a darkened apothecary illuminated only by the light somehow being emitted by the many bottles and jars lining the walls

²⁾ the banquet hall of a nobleman’s sprawling estate, in the throes of a lavish ball attended by everyone in the townland

³⁾ at a healer’s cabin in the dead of night, overwhelmed by adrenaline and the scent of countless tinctures and remedies as they’re applied

⁴⁾ the last imperial guardpost before crossing into enemy lands

⁵⁾ a run-down inn in the middle of nowhere, half reclaimed by the woodlands around it

⁶⁾ a lake set deep into the mountains with something sinister lurking beneath the surface

⁷⁾ the first port in a new land after weeks at sea trying to get there

⁸⁾ the highest turret in the royal family’s castle on a wintery morning

⁹⁾ the war council’s planning room, the morning after a bloody defeat

¹⁰⁾ an alchemist’s workshop

¹¹⁾ the stables just before daybreak

¹²⁾ the impromptu camp that the leader of the journey had to be begged into allowing after everyone else grew exhausted from being on the road all day

¹³⁾ the army barracks before a battle

¹⁴⁾ the last altar of a dying god’s religion

¹⁵⁾ the empress’s chambers, trussed up in nothing more than silken bedsheets and the morning sunshine

¹⁶⁾ the bedside of an old mentor, right before the end

¹⁷⁾ on the wrong end of a traitor’s sword

¹⁸⁾ a beast’s underground lair, alone and unarmed

¹⁹⁾ the thick of the enemy’s encampment, shackled and unrepentant

²⁰⁾ the mage’s quarters, having seen something there’s no worldly explanation for

²¹⁾ the armoury in the late hours of the night, stinking of polish and tears

²²⁾ in the throne room of the imperial citadel with an ulterior motive

²³⁾ by the scholar’s side in the library, eager for a little more than knowledge

²⁴⁾ an alehouse in the dead countryside, hoping not to be found

²⁵⁾ the executioner’s platform seeking for just one face in the crowd

[vampven]

[mell0wjello]

𝓜𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓾𝓼 𝓒𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓢𝓹𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓷 𝓨𝓸𝓾...

I was thinking...

Overprotective Malleus gets so attached to their S/O that he cannot stand the thought of anything happening to them. Alternatively, his lifespan as a fae outlives yours, so the thought of you leaving him at some point down the line is a dreadful thought. One night, as you are sleeping, he puts you under a spell to keep you in a state of eternal sleep. Though he will miss your conversations dearly, at least your presence will be enough to accompany him for centuries to come...

[whereserpentswalk]

Your body will transform to fit the world you go to, and you can choose for time to pass slower on your original world. There's a good chance you'll end up dating (and probably fucking) the creature you with if that's the thing you're into. You can still contact them after you go back home.

Reblog to get them to appear swiftly. Like to give them a little treat on their way there.

[ruxxifystars]

TW: BLOOD!!

maybe ill write a short fanfic about this..

[actualori]

saustember day 12: bubbles

(this takes place in an au i made!!! i don’t think i ever shared it here but i might if someone’s interested or if i make more stuff for it to show)

[noxshade]

A wonderful little piece that I commissioned from @setzeri, about my ongoing fanfic Gensokyo, Tokyo. Reimu, Marisa and Izumi are inspecting these odd red shogi tiles... where did Marisa get them? I wonder...

If you like urban fantasy and slice of life, with mysteries building in the background, you might want to give it a read!

[sephirthoughts]

little mermaid AU except Sephiroth is a deadly siren with like thousands of kills and one day this little blonde fisherboy Cloud shows up and Sephi's like ooh easy one

turns out Cloud is TOTALLY IMMUNE to Sephiroth's seduction attempts! WTF!

this is clearly impossible so he decides Cloud is faking, and keeps trying and failing till finally he has to make a deal with Hojo the sea witch to give him legs so he can start following Cloud around pestering him on land too and the rest writes itself

i know i'm a genius it's my cross to bear

[warmtoastieer]

I compared Tarn to the ender dragon and now I’m starting to make a fantasy au for funsies,,, 😋

Tarn as a dragon is such a silly idea,, kinda used Predaking as a reference since he’s kinda dragony(?)