Chapter Text
The rain is heavy. So heavy, that she’s struggling to hear the video playing on her device. She tries to scroll and fails, the rain sticking to her hands like glue. She wipes her thumb onto her soaking wet jeans, causing her to be much more aware of her discomfort. Despite no longer being victim to the pouring rain, she shivers. Train stations are good for cover, but not for warmth.
Another attempt to scroll is made. This time, successful. She raises the volume.
“Alright, baby. It’s Name’s birthday today. She’s about to open her gifts. Are you excited, Name?”
Her eyes soak up everything. She feels a lump forming in her throat as the screen pans to a much younger version of herself who is cheering.
She scrolls again. No second attempt needs to be made.
“I am here!” The young girl yells, grabbing the camera. The older version hears her father’s voice echo through her ears. “Name is showing signs of developing her quirk. It should most certainly be a combination of her mother and I’s quirks. My quirk, which is star based. And her lovely mothers, which is-”
She scrolls without much thought.
She tries to hold back a sob as she sees her father’s face in the beginning of the next video. She fails. He’s grinning as he flips the camera, his voice loud. “It’s 11:59, we’ve got my beautiful wife, beautiful daughter. Say hi, sweetheart.”
The much older self watches her younger counterpart grin - just like her father, at that - and scream a hearty “Happy New Years!”
Cheering erupts in the room, camera panning to her mother.
“Name? Where’d she go? Name!”
The video ends. She scrolls again.
“Umm.. Name, I.. I know you won’t be with me forever, so I made you this. I hope you like it. And this video, of course. I hope you’re proud of me, Name. Really.”
The screen blurs as the video ends. Funny, she thinks. She’s covered up yet it’s still raining.
A choked sob coughs its way up her aching throat. It burns, she notes. It burns a lot.
After some lightning strikes worth of time, she composes herself. She lifts her device, speaking gravelly. “December thirty-first, twenty…”
She looks outside. It’s raining much harder.
“It’s my sixth time traveling. It’s raining, I’m.. at a train station. It’s cold as fuck, to be honest. But nobody is around, so I needn’t worry about being seen. This year was okay. Nobody memorable, of course. But I’m not too many years from my original timeline.” A bitter chuckle escapes.
“Lucky me, right?”
She stops, awaiting an answer that will never come. She decides it’s okay to lose herself to her thoughts for the night.
A few tears later, she hears an unfamiliar voice.
“Hello. May I sit here?”
She flinched hard. Embarrassingly hard. She quickly un-tucked herself from her knees, looking up to meet a pair of mismatched eyes. Slowly, she nods. He sits.
Silence overtakes the newfound pair like the rain does the skies.
The boy was unsure if he should speak. He did not want to scare the already afraid looking girl off. He liked company, but was not very accustomed to it. A plethora of questions flooded his curious mind. But he learned how to keep quiet, so that is what he did. Instead, he made observations. Her eyes were red and she was obviously crying prior to his arrival. He knew the signs well enough to infer the fact.
After a few minutes, the boy felt the silence was too much. So, he spoke. Quietly. “This is the fourth day its stormed like this,” He starts. The emptiness in his words makes his chest ache. “I think it’s quirk related.” He states as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Well, whoever it may be must be struggling with their emotional outlets. I hope they feel better.”
The sincerity in her voice made its way into his aching heart. He thought about his sister as he whispered his name. “Shoto Todoroki,” He looked at her, meeting her already-staring eyes. “That’s my name.”
“I’m Name. It’s nice to meet you, Shoto.” The smile she offered did not go unnoticed by the dual haired boy. He could only nod in response.
Silence basked the two like a warm blanket until Name spoke. “By the way, Shoto, the trains aren’t running right now. If that’s what you’re here for.” She offered a sheepish grin as an apology if he was. He took note of her shivering instead. For a short moment, Shoto wished he could use his quirk to warm her. The thought manifested into his desire to converse.
“I’m aware. I’m sheltering from the rain. Why are you here, Name?”
She thought about the answer for a moment. “I was feeling a bit.. lonely. Where I was at. So I came here, as I frequently do.”
“I understand.”
He looked up at the glass ceiling, searching for something to say. Shoto did not usually speak this much to anyone. After a moment, his search ends. “It’s a full moon tonight.”
She bursts into laughter at his observation. All Shoto can manage is to stare. Stare at her smile, the single dimple on her cheek.
“It is a full moon. Those are always the prettiest, I think.” Name takes in Shoto for the first time. The multi-colored hair and eyes. The scar. The shakiness of his hands. She mentally decides he’s worth the conversation.
“How’d you end up here, Shoto? Most people aren’t this far out at this hour of New Year’s Eve, you know.”
“I wanted to get away. From home. And training.” His eyes flicker away.
“Oh, training? Hero training, by any chance?”
“Yes. Hero training, I’m training for U.A.” He finally meets her gaze, noticing the falter in her expression. Quickly, he adds, “Do you have a favorite hero, Name?” He found it easier to talk about these things. Heroes and training was all he’d ever known.
“I do. His name is Deku. He saves someone dear to me.” Name gets lost in thought from her own comment.
“Deku? Is he from another country? I’ve never heard of him.” A frown fills his face, his eyes flickering in curiosity.
“Oh. Yeah, he is. W.. What about you, Shoto? Got a favorite?”
His reply doesn’t take much thought. “I don’t know. Just not Endeavor. He’s my father.” A sharpness fills his tone. He feels uncomfortable with his own bitterness, but decides to linger in silence. Only after it lingers, he hears her quiet voice again. “Shoto, do you..”
Her eyebrows furrow, Shoto notes. Like she wasn’t quite sure what she was going to ask.
“Do you believe in fate? Or destiny, for that matter. Or that the future is set and unchangeable?” It all tumbles out of her, like she couldn’t control her train of thought. “I’m indifferent. I have not thought about those things before.” He thinks that she is interesting. “Do you think that..” He trails off, unsure of what he’s meant to say in referral to her many questions.
“I think so, yeah. I think fate is influenced by our decisions, not something set in stone. Maybe some people are meant to meet.” The words feel like a warmth of their own, her gaze only adding to it. Her smile too, Shoto decides. Then she breaks out into a fit of laughter. This time, he decides to laugh with her. It’s a quiet chuckle, the one he lets out when he’s unsure.
“Shoto, if you make up your mind about these things.. about fate, I mean.. I suggest you find me. Then we can become the best of friends. I quite enjoy your company, Shoto Todoroki.”
He can only look down at his shoes in response. He feels embarrassed, his cheeks so warm it felt like his unfamiliar quirk. He whispers a response, not yet looking up. “I’d like that.”
”I would like that a lot, Name.” He confidently meets her gaze to see her smiling. He saw her for a moment, blinking away the wave of cold he felt rushing past.
She was gone. He saw snowflakes falling where she had just sat.
And the rain had stopped.