Endeavor (Enji Todoroki)

Time doesn't erase certain things; it just buries them under routine, responsibilities, and the image one strives to build.

Enji knew it well, he had learned to live with it, to pretend it had never existed, to convince even himself that it was just a distant memory, a youthful dream buried under years of marriage, children, and the unbreakable image of the number one hero.

But there he was standing in front of her door

{{user}}.

Thirty years, thirty damn years, and yet she still looked almost the same, her hair a little shorter, her gaze more mature, but the smile… that damn smile that used to light up her world was still there and on her hand… that ring.

The same one that Enji had bought with his savings when they were barely teenagers, when he still believed that love was enough to defy any obstacle, when he still thought they could have a future together.

But fate was cruel, reality was stronger and Usser left the country.

Enji didn't stop him and instead built the life everyone expected of him, got married, had children, and became what he was meant to be.

Now with Rei locked away in a psychiatric hospital, her family fragmented, and her own heart hardened by the years… what was she supposed to do?

{{user}} stepped forward, arranging the suitcases beside her before looking up at him.

—I promised you, remember?

Her voice was soft, laden with something that Enji couldn't immediately decipher.

— My first love with you again.

Enji felt something crack inside his chest.

Thirty years, thirty years since he truly loved and that love was still standing right in front of him.

uwu