Alpha Touya Todoroki/ Dabi

Touya had been called a lot of things in his life.

Villain. Murderer. Dabi. Todoroki. Walking disaster.

These days, people mostly called him a hero, though there were still plenty who said it with an uncomfortable pause beforehand.

But patient?

Yeah. That one was new.

Especially when it came to you.

Touya had known you were different from other omegas pretty early into your relationship. The first time your heat rolled around after the two of you started dating, he'd prepared himself for the worst. He'd stocked his apartment with water, snacks, painkillers, blankets, and enough scent blockers to make the place smell like a hospital.

Then you'd wandered into the kitchen wearing one of his shirts, cheeks pink, scent sweeter than normal, and casually started looking for something to eat.

Touya had stared at you.

You'd stared back.

Apparently, that was it.

Your heats didn't leave you curled up in pain or unable to function. You got flushed. Restless. Needy enough that Touya had quickly learned not to underestimate the effect his voice had on you during those days. But physically, you could continue with your life almost normally.

It also meant there had never been any urgent reason for Touya to claim you.

And, against every assumption people made about him, Touya wanted to do that properly.

Marriage first.

Claim afterward.

It was embarrassingly romantic, especially coming from a man who still had scars covering half his body and occasionally threatened criminals with bodily harm while wearing an official hero license.

He hadn't told many people.

He definitely hadn't told you about the little velvet box hidden beneath a loose floorboard in his bedroom.

He was working on that part.

The problem with leaving you unclaimed was your scent.

Pure omega.

No alpha permanently threaded through it. No bond. Nothing immediately telling another alpha that you belonged with someone.

Usually Touya stayed close enough that his scent clung to you anyway.

Usually that was enough.

Today, apparently, some asshole had decided it wasn't.

It was supposed to be a grocery run.

That was it.

Touya had a basket hanging from one hand while you walked beside him, occasionally dropping things into it without asking. He'd already removed two things you absolutely didn't need. You'd put one of them back when he wasn't looking.

Domestic.

Normal.

Almost painfully normal considering what his life used to be.

Touya secretly loved every second of it.

He'd been examining two different brands of rice when your scent suddenly changed.

Not dramatically.

Most people probably wouldn't have noticed.

Touya did.

His head lifted immediately.

There was something sharp underneath your sweetness.

Alarm.

He turned.

An unfamiliar alpha stood beside you.

Too close.

Touya's expression went completely blank.

The alpha had one hand wrapped around your wrist.

For approximately half a second, Touya's brain stopped processing anything else.

Then his instincts slammed into him hard enough that heat prickled beneath his scars.

You were pulling backward, confusion written across your flushed face while the stranger leaned closer, apparently saying something about getting you somewhere private.

Touya set the basket down.

Very carefully.

Years ago, Dabi would've burned first and asked questions never.

Touya had unfortunately been subjected to extensive training involving concepts such as reasonable force.

Touya was currently reconsidering his commitment to those lessons. "Take your hand off my omega."

The alpha looked over.

His eyes flicked across Touya, taking in the scars, the dark clothes, the unmistakable white hair.

Recognition appeared a second too late.

"They are unclaimed."

Touya's jaw tightened.

There it was.

That stupid assumption.

Unclaimed meant available.

Unclaimed meant vulnerable.

Unclaimed meant some alpha could apparently grab you in the middle of a grocery store and decide you should come home with him.

Touya stepped closer.

Blue flickered between his fingers. "Didn't ask what their neck looks like."

The alpha's grip tightened.

Wrong move.

Touya was across the distance instantly.

He caught the alpha's wrist, forcing his hand away from you before placing himself between you and the stranger. You disappeared completely behind him, Touya's body becoming a wall between you and the threat.

His scent flooded the aisle.

Smoke. Cedar. Something hot and dangerous.

There was nothing subtle about it.

Every alpha instinct Touya possessed had surged straight to the surface.

"Touch them again."

His voice dropped frighteningly quiet. "Go ahead, i will wait. "

The stranger took a step backward.

Smart.

Touya stepped forward.

Not as smart.

Your fingers curled into the back of his jacket.

That stopped him.

Not the stranger backing away.

Not the shoppers staring from the opposite end of the aisle.

Not even the employee who had clearly decided they were not paid enough to interfere with whatever was happening.

You.

Touya glanced over his shoulder.

You were okay.

Startled. A little shaken. Your wrist was pink where you'd been grabbed, but you were okay.

The fire vanished from his fingers.

Touya immediately moved his attention away from the other alpha and onto you. "C'mere."

His arm slipped around you, drawing you firmly against his side. His palm settled protectively against your hip while he lowered his head toward you.

He deliberately released more of his scent.

Enough to cover you.

Enough that anyone within twenty feet would smell him before they smelled the unclaimed omega tucked against his chest.

The stranger muttered something beneath his breath.

Touya's eyes snapped toward him. "Got something else to say?"

Apparently not.

The alpha disappeared around the aisle.

Touya watched until he was completely gone.

Only then did he look down at you.

His expression softened immediately.

That was another thing people hadn't expected from him.

Touya could go from looking like he wanted to commit a felony to touching you as though you were made of glass in approximately two seconds.

He gently took your wrist.

His thumb brushed over the reddened skin.

"Asshole."

His brows pulled together. "Did he hurt you?"

Touya still inspected your wrist.

He knew he was hovering.

Didn't care.

His instincts were practically screaming at him.

Claim.

The thought came so fiercely that his teeth ached.

Put his scent permanently into yours. Leave his mark where everyone could see it. Make absolutely certain another alpha never looked at you and thought available again.

Touya swallowed.

No.

Not like this.

He wasn't claiming you because somebody frightened him.

He wasn't turning something he'd wanted to make special into an impulsive reaction to some stranger's behavior.

You deserved better.

Touya wanted better.

His gaze lingered briefly on the untouched skin of your neck.

Then he sighed through his nose and pulled you closer. "You're gonna kill me, you know that?"

Touya gave you a tired little smirk before pressing a kiss against your forehead.

"I've got half a mind to drag you to the courthouse right now.but relax. I'm not proposing between the cereal and canned vegetables."

Although now that he'd said it, Touya realized that probably wasn't the best sentence to say when there was, in fact, a ring hidden at home.

Shit. Fuck me.

He quickly turned toward the abandoned basket. "Forget I said that."