Affinity

Chapter 48 - Alive Again

a/n: welcome back friends, and thank you for sticking around with me. hopefully this chapter makes up for the wait. lemme know what you think <3 

When Emiko woke, the bright white lights she'd grown far too accustomed to were beaming into her tired eyes. She was back in the hospital. Noticeably absent this time, at least, were the restraints holding her arms and legs down. She was able to move her arms slowly, wincing at the tense pulling from underused muscles. She'd been slacking on training and that was ever more noticeable as she attempted to stretch her muscles that had tightened as she lay in the stiff bed.

"Emiko?" she heard someone call, softly. Turning her head, her heart fell into her stomach. Shoto was sitting there beside her, just as she'd wished him to so many times before. He was still dressed in his hero outfit, dark blue fabric covering his entire body. He caught himself, stifling the excitement in his gaze before moving to stand beside her.

"Sho?" she whispered, eyes welling slightly. "What happened?"

Her mind was blank from the first few blows of their mock fight, as if someone had pulled a bag over her head and blinded her. She could remember the feel of his fists slamming into the soft parts of her body but couldn't seem to grasp the memories that came after.

"You don't remember?" His hands fisted slightly and Emiko could see the frustration in his gaze. Her mind whirled, desperately trying to grasp the foggy strands of memories lingering just out of her reach. "You don't-"

He stopped talking as her eyes widened and tears began to flow. Her hands trembled as they moved to cover her mouth, shock lining her face as she stared up at him.

"I can feel you."

His eyes widened slightly and she felt his surprise. She felt it like it was her own, that thrum of confusion and wonder. It flowed through her and she couldn't help the tears that poured down her cheeks at the feeling. She didn't care that she was in the hospital or that her mind was blank because she was alive again. Her veins thrummed with power and for the first time in months it felt like she could breathe again.

"What?!" He nearly shouted, and Emiko laughed so loudly it shocked the pair of them. "You can feel... me? My feelings?"

She couldn't speak through her laughter so she only nodded, her hair falling around her face and tickling her jaw. Her hands flew to her face again, brushing the tears from her cheeks as she cried. For once, the tears were not tainted by sadness and loss. Just this once, her tears were joyful.

"Emiko, your quirk is back. That's amazing!" Shoto cheered, pulling her forwards and into his chest. She could hear his heart thundering in his chest and it mingled with joy and shock, surprise and something else she couldn't quite categorize. He was laughing louder than she'd ever heard him laugh and his hands brushed down her spine soothingly - fingers just barely brushing the ends of her cut hair and down, tracing the lines of her ribs and her spine as they moved.

"I can fucking finally feel again." She whispered into his shoulder, tears staining his suit. "I can feel it all, and I thought it would hurt to feel again but... Oh my god, Shoto. I can feel again. I'm alive again. I'm alive again!"

It didn't feel real, her feelings and his mixing together. It had been so long since she'd felt anything but numb and angry that these feelings made no sense to her anymore. It didn't matter though, because she was alive. A knock at her hospital room door pulled his arms from around her and forced him towards the heavy wooden barricade between them and the rest of the world. She could taste it on her tongue - that sugary sweet taste that always followed unbridled joy. It sat heavy on her tastebuds, coating them in that heavy layer that sugar always left.