BNHA | Oɴᴇsʜᴏᴛs

Afterlight (Mirio Togata x Reader)

How It Started

Threaded Silence

The training field was silent, except for the soft rustle of golden thread unfurling through the air like sunlit silk. It danced around [Y/N]'s fingers, weaving between them with the same precision as her mind, calculated and restrained, always just a little too quiet.

Mirio Togata watched her from across the field, arms crossed on his chest. Everyone else had cleared out for the day. But she stayed, as she always did, the girl who shone quietly.

He didn't know when it started, this pull toward her. It wasn't just her quirk, although Solar Threads was beautiful to watch. It was the way she held herself, like she was always trying not to take up too much space, even though she had every right to. It was the way she looked at the sky when she thought no one was watching, like it held secrets only she could understand.

He stepped closer, letting his usual grin tug at the corners of his mouth. "You always train alone?"

Her eyes flicked to him. "You always sneak up on people?"

He chuckled. "Only the interesting ones."

That earned a subtle twitch of her lip, the ghost of a smile. Barely there, but it hit him harder than a punch.

"You hide a lot," he said, softer this time. "But I see you."

Her hand paused mid-air, the golden thread suddenly snapping out of sync.

"And what do you think you see, Togata?"

The way she said his last name, like she didn't know if she wanted to push him away or pull him closer, made something stir in his chest.

"I see someone strong. Someone careful. Someone who's used to standing just outside the light... but maybe belongs right in the middle of it."

The silence stretched between them. Finally, she looked at him. "You should really stop saying things like that. People might get the wrong idea."

He stepped in, just close enough to brush his fingers against the edge of her thread. "Maybe, I want you to get the wrong idea."

She sighed. "Walk away, Togata."

Static Between Us

It started stupidly. A malfunction in the dorm building's power grid. One flicker, then the lights dropped, and a groan went up through the halls. Half the rooms locked up. The elevator stalled.

They were the last ones on the training floor. Everyone else had cleared out after night drills. They hadn't even been speaking, she was wrapping up, pulling the glowing threads of her quirk back into her gloves, and he'd just been passing through.

Now they were both stuck in the U.A. dorm elevator.

And it was small.

"Of course," [Y/N] muttered, barely above her breath, facing the steel doors.

Behind her, Mirio shifted slightly, rolling his neck. "Well, guess we're stuck together."

She could feel the heat of his chest without even looking. The space between them was barely a foot. Maybe less.

"Try not to suffocate me with your optimism," she murmured, dry.

He chuckled low, and the sound made her fingers twitch.

She hadn't really looked at him this close. His shirt clung to his chest, post-training sweat still clinging to his collarbone. His breathing was steady, but there was something behind it now. Something... quieter.