I just found your fics through “shake and break” and you’re works are amazing. Do you write on ao3?
Hello hun, thanks for the kind words! I do write on Ao3 (though I’ve admittedly been taking a very wild and sporadic hiatus), and have two main series for BNHA/MHA I have going on! ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿
One is a Nomu Aizawa fic (about 17ish chapters in) and the other is a Ghost Rider crossover (7 chapters? I admit, I’m very snail brain rn). Both are getting edited as I have been adjusting my writing style and trying to make the reader as non bodily descriptive as possible to keep up the core of seamless self insert-ness!
(I do have a little section for Gold Dust with Shigaraki but as it only has two chapters right now I’m avoiding eye contact with it and saying I only have two series up _(:3 」∠)_ )
Along with that, I’m planning on making a collection for random one-shots or mini series that I feel like adding to! Shake and Break is one of my darlings as I enjoy the idea of Overhaul getting bullied into submission (/lh) so he might be getting a little collection along the way as well!
My Ao3 account for BNHA/MHA is: @Imagine_a_brighter_world
Summary : Known in the Underworld as Adamant, you are quite the popular figure among the mafia despite your rocky beginning from when you first dove into the Black Light District.
It wasn’t enough to drive away your new boss though. He still saw you as a valuable asset, and you believed you were one as well.
You always thought you were unbreakable, untouchable, unreachable.
Now as you grow closer to your new team, you begin to have your doubts.
How much longer can you hold on until you break?
---
Chapter 1 // Rocky Ride
“Take a left- I SAID LEFT!”
“WE’RE ROLLING WITH IT!”
“You're headed tO KAWASAKI!”
“OH HEY, MY AUNT LIVES THERE!”
You scream, your voice nearing laughter due to hysteria. Your left eye was closed due to the blood that was dripping down from a gash somewhere on your head. It wasn’t too clear on where it was from as you had yet to make an inventory on where you had been hit yet.
Gunshots could be heard behind you as the villains you failed in recruiting followed behind in their cars.
Technically they were heroes in disguise, but either way, it was a failed recruitment if your persuasive skills couldn't tempt them.
“Can we turn the A/C on! It’s hot back here!” Toga questions from the back of the van as the rest of the League are sent tumbling around the hull of the car. She was clinging to the oh shit bars while the others assumed the seatbelts would be enough to save them. You could hear Mr. Compress mention something about stealing a fan from the meeting room, though there was the snapping sound of wood immediately after. He soon curses the state of the car, specifically the belts.
Those seatbelts were already half nibbled on by the mice you were sure lived in this car, that shit tore apart immediately.
“Sorry girlie! This car’s only settings are hot and hotter!”
Shigaraki- who was currently backseat driving in the passenger seat- was looking ready to dive out the side door as an energy projectile shot off the side view mirror. His eyes hardened as he flexed his fingers, a promise of violence in that small movement.
You look in the rearview mirror, your gaze sharpening as you see the hero begin to build up a stronger bullet, the plasma swirling around their wrist already.
“Spinner!” You yell behind you. “Take the wheel!”
Spinner- the poor bastard getting crushed under the people pile- was quick to squirm away towards the front. His scarf was left behind somewhere in the pile, but he hadn’t seemed to notice yet. “No need to tell me twice!”
Twice pokes his head out like a meerkat from within his spot in the writhing mass of bodies. “You called?”
Spinner ignores the man, which didn't matter as Twice was quickly squished back down by Dabi who was trying to push his way out of the pile.
“I’ll handle the driving, you handle the heroes!” Spinner assures you, his expression is that of a man with nothing to lose. Good, because at this point you were certain the car was going to tumble. If not from the heroes' attack then because of the uneven weight distribution going on in the back.
You nod and unbuckle yourself, slowing down just enough to leave him a smooth transition as you lower your window. A hand grabs your wrist, catching your attention before you can jump out the window.
You look down as you prepare to crawl out, Spinner was already half in your seat with a foot on the pedals.
Shigaraki was at the end, his pinkie held away from your skin to avoid disintegrating you. He looks at you with a stern expression. “Make it hurt.”
Make it hurt.
You grin.
“Obviously.” You reply before hooking yourself around the open window and boosting yourself onto the roof of the car. Hair whipped its way in front of your face but it was easily ignored as you stood in the middle.
The heroes that were in the cars behind you were busy preparing their final blow when they noticed you. It was obvious they were still confused about who you were as you were only a recent addition to the League.
As the projectile hero pointed their newly formed energy bullet at you, you brace yourself against the railings of the roof, knowing what was to come.
Without a second of hesitation, the hero fires off their bullet.
Had you been a regular villain, the attack would have led to you having a hole in your shoulder, or worse, your chest if he was a less honorable hero. You would have tumbled off of the car, rolling down and effectively blocking Spinner’s view as your blood sprayed on the windows. Shigaraki might have even ordered him to use the windshield wipers to try knocking you off of the hood, not sparing you another thought as his main goal was to escape and cause chaos another day.
But you weren't a villain picked out of the slums.
Your vision fills with gold as you put up a barrier of pure energy, the kinetic energy of the bullet was easily consumed and absorbed into the matter of your shield.
“They've got a new defense!” The hero curses at their driver. “Move us closer!”
You smirk and crouch on the roof, holding the side railings as the hero fires off multiple rounds of projectiles, each showing as a sunburst on your shield. He must’ve thought he was doing something important , something useful as he skewered your shield. But really, he was only making this a lot harder on himself.
From below, you hear Shigaraki growl.
“Finish this already! Dabi is two minutes from spilling his guts!”
You roll your head slowly, relishing in the light cracking of your neck before taking a stand. After this, you would demand a massage from someone other than Hand-man. But for now, you supposed it was time to end the game.
Lifting a hand, you clench your fist to compact the shield before opening your hand wide.
Like a bomb set off, the shield breaks and sends out a cacophony of energy waves, releasing all of the power accumulated by the bullets right back at the heroes. The sky was lit up like New Year’s as gold sparks ricochet in the direction of the heroes, sending them flying as their cars were effectively destroyed in a single hit. You watch in contentment as fire rains down, the debris igniting smaller fires off of the roads you were taking.
Yes. This is why you were brought in.
You were Adamant, the Gods Shield of Japan.
No weapon could bring you down.
“Get back inside you idiot!”
You sigh and flick off a piece of debris that landed on your shoulder. “Why do you always have to interrupt my god complex moment, aye?” You slip back into the car through Shigaraki’s window, grinning widely at his look of discomfort in being crushed. He had his hands up, glaring at you from under light blue bangs, his lips pulled into a small scowl. However, you knew it was simply because he had a thing about touching. You didn't take it personally, not at all. You scooch a little closer to make yourself comfortable as Spinner’s driving was gradual to smooth out.
“No, thank you ?”
“..you did well.”
“Thanks, Oyabun .”
You rest your head against the door, closing your eyes and resting to the sound of chaos behind you.
Yeah, these were your people, you would fight with them till the end.
Little did you know how far you would be willing to go.
...
“Guys I think Dabi looks a little green.”
“He looks pretty dead to me.”
You open an eye. “I’m not cleaning him up.”
Shigaraki groans. “Just dump him out the back, he can walk.”
A/N: It’s been a long time ;-; but I’m back 💪qwq💪 gonna start posting more often on here, I’m mostly lurking on my Ao3! But I’ll be splitting my presence here and there!
Hope you enjoy!
———
“Do it again do it again!”
You laugh and shake out your limbs. After several rounds of gymnastic stunts, your body was beginning to give into exhaustion. It had been some time since you had actually practiced any of this, especially for other people, but the adrenaline coursing through you was hard to ignore. You missed this kind of excitement.
Stretching your arms above your head, you move back to the starting line of the mats created by you and Yaoyorozu- Yaomomo, as the girls insisted- before taking a running leap and executing a double salto layout with a half-twist at the end. While midair, you create several colorful silks and send them flying around you as you land. Holding two of them in hand, you spin before taking a bow.
Mina cheers before tackling you onto the mat.
“That was so cool! You flipped twice in the air! You need a ton of momentum for that!” Her horns nearly stab your eyes, but you appreciated the hug. Not so much the tackle, but this was kinda normal for her at this point. Your poor hip had long since gotten used to getting slammed into the pavement.
The mat was honestly an upgrade.
“My legs might not look it but I still have a lot of strength in them!” You slap your thigh only to wince at your own hit, quickly muttering a strand of ows at the burn, rubbing the tender flesh. “I forgot about the burn though..”
Uraraka runs over with Tsu and Hagakure, Momo and Jirou already with you and Mina at the end of the mat.
“You have to teach us how to do a flip!” Uraraka chants beside Hagakure who was waving her arms around. “We could learn, can’t we girls?”
“Totally! It would be so cool to have a skill like that! It might even help with combat!” Hagakure puts an arm around Tsu who was nodding along.
You feel your cheeks begin to hurt as your smile only grows wider. Your cheeks began to flush with color as the girls only continued to plead with you to teach them.
Gymnastics was something you were really into before. You had stopped due to.. well, due to a fear that maybe it was a pointless skill for you. Sure, your own teacher told you learning to be flexible in body could teach you to be flexible in the mind, but you never found practical applications for it other than impressing or entertaining others.
And now these girls who didn’t owe you anything were telling you it could aid them in battle.
That they wanted you to teach them.
You.
“I’ll do it!” You try to get to your feet only to fall backwards and land on the cushion.
The girls stop their cheering to help you up, Yaomomo being your main support as she was the tallest of the group.
“Maybe you should rest first.” She chuckles as she leads you to the 1A dorms. “I’ll make you some tea while we’re at it.”
“Lemon tea sounds good.”
“I only have Silver tips Imperial right now, I hope that’s alright. I still have to stock up.”
“Ah- yeah that’s fine.”
You forgot how rich she really was sometimes.
-
Half laying down on one of the couches, you sip at your tea as you listen to the girls talk about utilizing gymnastics in their combat. While Hagakure, Jirou, and Momo were more of support combatants or reconnaissance heroes, all of the girls thought they could use it in some way.
And then, the talking moved on to a different subject after Tokoyami passed by.
He had been with Shoji and Koda, the trio going out to buy snacks for the class as Denki and Mineta finished them in a dare. The two’s groans could be heard all the way from upstairs where they lamented over eating so much.
Tokoyami paused in his walking to the front doors to go to you, a subtle smile on his face. You knew he still was a bit shy with PDA, so you weren’t bothered.
Though you definitely could’ve used a hug. That would be wonderful.
You’d have to tackle him for one before you left to your own dorm later.
“So you’ve been here the whole time? I was wondering when you’d pop up.” He ruffles your hair softly. “Would you like something from the store?”
You grin brightly. “Dark chocolate!”
He lets out a sigh, shaking his head gently. “Alright, but I’ll bring you something else too. In case it’s too bitter for your tastes.” He waves to the girls before joining the other two, leaving with a soft click of the doors.
You remain smiling in the direction of the doors. It was sweet seeing him interacting with his classmates. He was getting out of his shell and you were proud of him. He could be aloof sometimes, even with you, but there he was.
“Sooooo, haveyouguysgoneonadateyet?”
You look at Hagakure with a raised brow, taking a sip of tea. “Hm?”
Mina steps in. “You know, a date. You guys hang out at lunch and here, or there, or text- but that’s not a date! A date is romantic! But all you guys do here is sit in different spots! Where’s the canoodling?!”
“Yeah!”
“Where’s the romance!”
“Yeah!” The girls minus Yaomomo cheer.
You look to her as the speech continues and smile goofily as she shrugs in resignation, smiling and mouthing to you that this was how they always were. And you knew, because Jirou told you this was how they were with her and Momo.
Looking back at Mina and Hagakure who were lifting their tea like champagne flutes at a toast, you put down your own tea. “I’ve thought of dates before, but he’s been busy. So I take my chances here. Right now, you all are working to become heroes. That means I can’t be selfish and drag him outside all the time. He needs to rest, so I don’t mind just relaxing here.
Plus, he hasn’t mentioned anything. And he’s not the type to bottle those kinds of emotions, he’s pretty open.”
Tsu nods in agreement. “That’s true. He doesn’t dice his words, ribbit.”
Uraraka frowns, staring at her tea cup. “So.. no going outside for dates just yet…”
The girls are quiet.
Until Jirou lifts her hand.
“What about a date here?” She asks as though it's the most obvious thing.
And it kinda is.
You jump to your feet, startling Jirou who nearly knocked over her tea if Yaomomo didn’t steady the cup.
“You’re right! The dorms have plenty of space! And if I play my cards right, I can have the space cleared so Yami doesn’t feel overwhelmed with people around!”
Tsu pokes her cheek as she looks at you in confusion. “How would you do that?”
“Just leave it to me~” Your chest puffs with pride as you go to the elevator and press for the fourth floor.
Mina catches on and shouts from her spot at the couch.
“Bet you 1000 yen he says screw off!”
“Bet you one hundred yen he says yes!” You retort right before the doors close.
“What would you do with a hundred-?!” She says right before the doors close and the elevator sends you up.
You exit the doors and wave excitedly to Kirishima who was walking out of Bakugou’s room and into his own.
He waves back with a happy expression before it becomes worry stricken as he sees your destination.
“Uhh, what do you think.. you’re doing?” He follows behind you. “That’s Bakugou’s room you know.”
“I know.” You knock on the blonde boy’s room and whisper behind your hand to Kirishima. “Watch this.”
He hides behind the plant between their rooms right as Bakugou cracks open the door to this room.
He glares from within.
“What?”
While Bakugou was gruff, and had a thing against sappy romance, you knew you could rely on him. Catch him alone and you had a better chance of meeting him in a decent mood.
Kirishima was behind a plant so it kinda counted still.
“Do you think you could convince the others to not go near the courtyard today?”
“Why would I do that?” He leans on the doorway. “Just more shit for me to do.”
You clasp your hands together. “Please? I want to do something for Tokoyami and I know you’re the best one to do this.”
His glare narrows, but he doesn’t automatically say no, so you push on.
“And… I know someone you can spar with.”
“I already train with Kirishima.”
“Then you both can benefit! Trust me, they’re right up your alley!”
He groans and holds his hand to his face.
“Please Bakugou!”
“Shut it!”
You beam.
“Fine! But you owe me! And this person better not be some punk-ass you grab from the street!” He slams the door behind him as you cheer, dragging him to the elevator with you.
“Come on! I’d never do that twice!”
-
With Bakugou stationed in the elevator with Kirishima to keep him company, you work with the girls to set up the courtyard.
Luckily, the trio of boys had already went upstairs after stocking the pantry, so you had free range of the ground floor.
After creating several items with Momo, the girls helped you set them up, making the courtyard as comfortable as possible.
With thick blankets lining the floor and twinkling lights around the top, the area was made inviting. And with the kotatsu for added warmth, and snacks on top of it, the area was ready.
You thank the girls as you send Tokoyami a text message to come downstairs.
Momo was trying to usher them all upstairs while Mina was trying to hold onto the doorway.
“I won’t get in the way! I just want to see his expression! Come on girls, you would want to see too, right?”
Jirou plucks off Mina’s fingers one by one while Tsu had her tongue wrapped around Mina’s torso to lift her away.
“It’s not cool to barge on their first date. Let's give them some space.”
“So we’re gonna watch their second date?”
“Totally.”
You laugh and watch the girls file into the elevator, spotting Kirishima playing go fish with Bakugou.
After the doors close, you wait on one of the blankets, tapping your fingers against the fabric.
The theme was dark, with black coverings and violet lights. You did manage to make a bold red kotatsu, but that was also within his color scheme so maybe it was still considerably dark?
The elevator doors open and you watch as Tokoyami approaches the courtyard.
His eyes widen a fraction as he takes in the sight.
“What is this?”
You take him by the arm and walk over to the kotatsu, sitting underneath it with him as you pass him a bowl of sliced apples.
“We never got to have a date before, and I know you don’t like many outside places or have the time for them, so-” You gesture to the area. “The girls helped me set this up.”
He sits beside you, his hand finding yours and interlacing your fingers. His thumb runs across yours. “I always have time for you.” He says softly.
You look down at your entertained hands.
“I guess, I didn’t want to seem like a burden-”
“You are a gift.” He smiles. “The candlelight in a dark room. My true weakness. You could never be a burden. Your presence is a soothing balm.”
You lean on his shoulder, head resting at the crook of his neck. “I guess I still have to accept that. But thanks Romeo.”
He nuzzles the top of your head. “Anytime, Juliet.”
-
You spend the time talking about your families and stories you gathered from school life. It was a given not to talk about careers, that could be left at school.
Though it was always fun to listen about his internship with Hawks, that was still going on.
You both had finished the snacks and you were currently in an apple slicing contest, with you making apple sliced bunnies while he..
You didn’t know what he was doing.
You pause your own slicing to watch as he..
He makes a swan.
With the apple seeds as eyes.
…
He made a swan.
You laugh as you put your own slice down. “I yield.”
He smiles victoriously. “Looks like you owe me a dance.”
You cock your head. “I mean, I don’t know any dance floors but maybe we can sneak into a hall for someone’s sweet sixteen-”
You’re interrupted by a hand.
Following it upward, you see Tokoyami smiling down at you.
Oh.
You grin and take his hand. Standing up from under the kotatsu and placing your other hand onto his shoulder, you allow him to pull you into a dance.
He was mostly guiding you through a waltz, while you were trying to pull him into a tango. Which resulted in a hybrid. A faster paced waltz with a lot of flourishes.
You’re in the middle of a well placed dip when he questions your decisions.
“Why am I the one being dipped?” He asks as you hold him up.
“Because I’m taller.” You chirp. “And I really wanted to dip you. We can take turns.” You assure him as you press a kiss to the top of his beak.
Which was either the greatest thing you’ve done, or the stupidest because he quickly became a limp noodle, dropping his dead weight and sending himself crashing onto the blanketed floor.
On one hand, you should be checking to see if he hurt himself from his fall.
But on the other hand, it was adorable to just watch as he laid there frozen with feathers ruffled.
You decide on a mix of the two and sit down, pulling his head onto your lap and smoothing out his feathers.
“You okay?”
He gives you a thumbs up.
“Next time I’ll warn you.” You take on a serious expression as you hold his face in your hands. “I’m going to kiss you.”
“That might be worse.”
“Really?”
“Most definitely.”
You laugh and lean back on your hands. “Yeah that might be worse. I wouldn’t want you falling over all the time before I even do anything.” It would be hilarious, but you wouldn’t want to give him a concussion. “I’ll figure something out.”
You both remain silent for the rest of your time, eventually moving to lay down next to each other, looking up at the sky through the skylight of the courtyard.
Maybe you would pull him aside for dates more often.
Extra:
It’s late when the horde of students come flocking out of the elevator, not even sparing you two a glance as they storm the refrigerator to start on dinner.
You both listen as Bakugou yells, carried above the horde like a band member in a sea of fans. They were shouting something about his chopping skills and something about a curry competition.
Tokoyami looks at you.
“Did you bribe Bakugou to keep everyone upstairs?”
You grin and shrug your shoulders.
“It worked didn’t it?”
---
Tag List: @evierena , @aradias-crypt , @kisshuggay
A/N: I fought tooth and nail for this prompt so I hope you like it anon 👀
—
Dabi had left the Nightscape for several reasons.
For better scenery, for less screaming, for.. for a third reason, and to escape his crazy as fuck ex girlfriend who never seemed to get the point that they were done. She was a phase, she wasn’t the endgame.
Did she get that as he tossed her ass out of his apartment? No, she just came back with a lighter to set his home ablaze. But the woman didn't realize he controlled flames as easily as he did breathing.
So he left. He packed a few things, clothes and whatever currency the humans were using nowadays and went up to the world beyond. His father was one of the lords of the Nightscape, but he didn't need to worry about slipping past him, Dabi was thought to be dead for ages.
More like “Touya” had been dead for ages, but that was a clusterfuck of different issues he didn't care to unfold.
Living above ground had added perks beyond escaping a crazy ex and not being surrounded by shades and wraiths on the daily. He could take on the form of a true human, not the horned and fanged form he usually wore. His tail was gone, and his scars and staples were replaced with tattoos and piercings, but he grew used to his new form very quickly.
In the human world, humans had long since developed quirks, so his flames were not an oddity. He was thankful for them when he was questioned about how he got his scars, scars that would occasionally show through his glamour. It was an easy answer, his body couldn't handle his “quirk”. People gave him sad eyes and let him go.
Easy.
What he did struggle with was the occasional demon hunter nearly tracking him down, but he always managed to turn their eye the other way. Was it testing the line choosing to live so close to a school that trained demon hunters? Yes, but he was always good at magic, a simple glamour always did the trick.
When he scored a job at a coffee shop, he was pleased to see it was a simple transaction kind of job. No one would be able to ask him why his eyes were constantly rivaling the blue of his flames or why a phantom tail would lash out and occasionally spill the row of cups behind him.
He pegged it as a ghost haunting the shop, and so it became a little inside joke within the workers ranks and some of the shop's patrons.
Opening on a rainy Wednesday, he looks around the room before lighting the candles at the tables with a flame on his pinkie finger. Setting up the tables and scooting in the chairs, he walks back to the counter and sets up the machines when the door rings, signalling someone had entered.
“Welcome.” He rolls out in a soft purr, a habit from years of toying with his playthings as an incubus. Eventually he would get rid of the habit. “What can I get for you today?” He turns around.
You were soaking wet with a satchel above your head, you were shivering and looking at the coffee machines as if they were god sent.
You looked adorable.
He leans on the counter with a growing smile. “Wet out there isn't it?”
Your gaze snaps to him. Your eyes were a soft mahogany color, reminding him of a tree. It wasn't the most romantic thing he could come up with, but trees were also very rare to find in the Nightscape, so he supposed it was based on your point of view. “C-Coffee. Please.”
“Sure thing babe, what kind?”
“A mocha cappuccino with three shots of espresso.”
He quirks a brow as he types in your order. “Three?”
“I usually get five but my doctor told me I need to cut down.”
“How about you aim for two?”
“I don't think I’d survive that loss sir.”
He chuckles. “Sir?” He asks as he tells you the price of your drink, accepting your soggy wad of cash and giving you your change once the transaction was complete. “Well madam, your drink will be out shortly, take some napkins to dry up, they’re by the sugar.”
He spots a small blush on your face as you go to the condiments counter. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He prepares your drink as he hears you pluck a plethora of napkins out of their container. Small curses are all he hears as you open your bag, he hears the clicking of latches and the zipping of zippers. You scuttle past the counter and stop in front of the register again.
“Do you have a bathroom? My bag is drenched..”
He brings you your drink and tilts his head as he debates your question. A bathroom wouldn't solve the water issue, you just thought it would.
Dabi places your drink on the counter and holds his hand out. “I can dry your bag.”
You smile, adjusting your glasses in the mean time. “You have a wind quirk?”
“I'm not a blowdryer.” He grins. “But I can still dry it for you.”
You debate his words, looking down at your soggy satchel that was only getting worse as time passed. You hand him the bag with an accepting sigh. “Please.”
He takes your bag and lights his hands on fire. You nearly scream before he speaks up. “I can control my fire, this one won’t burn anything, it's just warm.”
“Oh.” You shut your mouth with a sheepish bow of your head. “Sorry.”
“It's alright.” He turns the bag in his hold, looking at the patches and bad attempts at embroidery on its edges. It was cute. The sad little attempts seemed to get better as they reached the top, which led him to believe this was your first attempt at embroidery.
What would you do if he had burnt it to ash?
His flames were highly destructive, and sometimes even he couldn't handle them.
Maybe he was being risky to test his powers like this. It had been ages since he last used his flames for something more than lighting a silly candle or a cigarette.
“So..”
Oh right, you were still there.
He looks at you and rotates the bag in his hold. “Yes?”
“Is it always this empty?”
“Only when you're here.” He winks.
“Rude.”
“Rude, sir.”
You laugh, and from that point on he's hooked to the sound.
-
Dabi used to like his job, now it was turning into something akin to gratitude. It allowed him to see you on most days.
He had learned quite a few things about you ever since that rainy day.
You were a teacher in training, specifically the nearby high school. You were aiming for Shiketsu and had a foot in the door with the vice principal taking notice of you during their mock trials. He didn't peg you for a demon hunter, but everyone had a hidden side to them. Hah. You had two pet birds named Sweet Pea and Darlington, you had a snake named Petra and were looking into getting a newt.
You loved coffee but hated it black, it needed sugar or chocolate of some kind because you couldn't stand bitter food. You loved spicy food even if you couldn't tolerate it, and you adored sour candies.
While you looked book smart, you were also street smart, and he was beginning to believe you might be vying for a spot as a demon slayer teacher. He just didn't know what your quirk was yet.
“Hey Dabi.” You chime in unison with the doorbell as you walk inside, this time with an umbrella to keep yourself out of the rain.
He leans on the counter with a grin. “Hey babe. What is it today? The usual?”
“Just a shot of espresso this time.”
He narrows his eyes. “Are you sick?”
“Nope.” You fold your arms behind your back, rocking back and forth on your heels with a huge smile on your face. “I got news.”
“Do tell.” He says as he starts preparing your shot.
“I got the job!” You squeal in excitement, arms coming out of hiding so you can clasp them in front of you. “Starting in the spring I’m going to be the new first year homeroom teacher!”
He genuinely smiles. So you wanted to ruin your happiness with a shot of liquid bitter? He didn't understand you sometimes. “I thought your celebration drink would be a sakura latte, not a shot of espresso.”
You wave your hand dismissively, already removing your wallet from your pocket. “I'll come back for one.”
“Two visits in one day? Is that a gift for you or for me?” He chuckles and hands you your espresso, taking your yen and entering it into the register.
You adjust the glasses on your face. "I figured I would grace your presence because you've been so humble as to fuel my caffeine addiction."
"It's my duty to make sure you don't kill some other sorry bastard with a coffee maker."
Your eyes flash green for a split second, and in that moment he has to keep from reeling back. Did he really see that?
The cups behind him tumble to the ground.
His tail had appeared in his brief moment of shock.
You cock your head to the side. "What happened?"
He kneels and collects the cups. "The shop's ghost. Don't mind it."
"I thought I saw a-"
"How about I give you the latte now? On me." He interrupts you mid sentence, standing up with the cups in his arms.
The blush on your face was one of his favorite sights in the human world.
"You don't have to Dabi."
"It's just a drink." He waves you along to one of the booths. "Sit, it'll be ready soon."
You take your shot of espresso and go to the booth he had motioned you to.
The way you scrunched your nose in disgust as you drank your shot was also one of his new favorite sights.
Maybe it was just you.
--
After you had gotten your job at Shiketsu, you were around every morning to prepare for the day. Sometimes you would come by for lunch, unfortunately he clocked out on those days, but sometimes he would make sure he was in the area just to catch you off-guard. Those days he spent his lunch with you, and you got to tell him stories about your students.
It was one of your lunch breaks when hell came to toll.
His eyes were trained on you as you spoke, you were talking about a girl who wielded fire similar to him when the bell of the cafe rang.
The sound resonated through him, and in that moment he knew who was at the door.
What was at the door.
His glamour of his new human form nearly drops as he hears a woman's voice ask from the counter of the cafe.
“Is Dabi here?” She croons in a sickly sweet voice he hadn't heard in nearly a year. He doesn't hear his coworkers' response but he feels the air fill with the flowery scent of her. He grits his teeth to keep his fangs from showing through as he hears her heels click against the ground.
You had stopped your explanation and looked behind him, adjusting your glasses as you did so. “You're looking for Dabi?”
“I am, what a sweet peach you've got here Dabi~ I didn't know you still had it in you to snag such a cutie, your charms must still be working even in this sad form.” He feels her hand on his shoulder, her fingernails drumming along the stitching of his jacket. “Did you catch her, or did she come crawling to you?”
He knows he has to speak up, before she says another word, but his fangs were already piercing the inside of his lip as his glamour slipped.
He looks at you with the most apologetic gaze he can muster. Grabbing his coffee, he lifts it to his mouth to hide his fangs and he speaks. “Excuse me.” He stands up and slams the cup on the table, grabbing the wrist of the woman behind him and dragging her out of the shop and into the closest alleyway.
He slams her against the wall with her arm pinned above her head. His glamour drops completely, his scars and horns bared for the world to see as he growls with rage. “You!”
The succubus in front of him smiles coyly, dragging a finger across his scars and the staples holding his mouth together. “Aren't you happy to see me? To see one of your own again?”
“No. What do you want?”
She plays at pulling on one of the staples but is stopped as he pins her other hand up as well. The succubus sighs and turns her head, “I come see you and all I get is this. And seeing you with a little human.” She peers at him with violet eyes. “Don't tell me you've gone soft Dabi. She’s human, she’ll die just like a human too.”
He hadn't let that thought slip into his mind and wasn't planning on starting to. He tightens his grip on her wrists. “We broke up, I made that clear.” A feral grin forms on his face, pulling at the staples on his face. “I told you, if you try me again, I’ll kill you.”
“I heard you had a human now. We all heard.” She whispers, her eyes glowing in the dark of the alley. “They know Dabi.”
His grip falters.
Shit.
Shit. Shit Shit-
He lets go of her wrists and he paces in the alleyway, flames licking at his face as his emotions spiralled.
“They need your power, but you’re squandering it here with a girl who will die before you know it. While you're full of youth, she will be an old crone with nothing but a coffin awaiting her.” She didn't sound bothered at all as she rubs her wrists. “Honestly Dabi, you were the one that taught me never to fall for a human. They’re too brittle, their life essence too weak.”
He did teach her. He taught her to keep her heart shut and to leave it open only for him. He taught her a little too well, as she now believed she had rights to him.
But he never taught himself as well as he did her.
He fell for you bad, and you were mortal.
“Anyway, I was told one of two things. Either bring you back with me, or expose you so you have no other choice but to return.”
He looks back at her, his rage quelled only by the dread that was now spiralling in him. “You will do no such thing!” He roars, his flames igniting and setting him ablaze. “If you dare go near her-”
The succubus’s body transforms into mist starting from her feet then rising to her waist. She puts a finger to her lips. “I’ll be back in three days. If you don't do it, I will.”
She was gone. Leaving him alone in the alley with nothing but flames that wouldn't stop burning.
-
Dabi spent the next two days trying to find ways to tell you, but with each scenario came the same question.
What would you do if you knew he was a demon? You worked at a school that trained demon slayers- what other option for you would there be if not to turn him in? It was your duty to turn in any demon that showed up at your door, and here you were having coffee with him.
He couldn't do it.
On the third day, it was raining, just like the day he met you.
He hated the mist that had surrounded the shop, reminding him of the succubus and her promise.
Three days.
He had to tell you.
But why was it so damn hard to do? He used to be cold and calculated, having his fun toying with human emotions and killing without regret. He had no empathy, no sympathy for the lives he ruined.
But you were kind. So incredibly kind.
He rests his head on the counter as the door opens. He scents you in the air before you even step through, the smell of milk and honey wafting in the air as you approach the counter.
He had to tell you.
“Morning Dabi!” You cheer as you fold up your umbrella. “A mocha cappuccino with two shots of espresso please!”
He looks up and smiles crookedly. “Finally down to two?”
“I figured I would finally listen to you.”
“That's my girl.” He chuckles as he grabs a cup and prepares your drink. His hands were shaking, but he knew what he had to do.
When your drink was ready and paid for, Dabi keeps his hand on the cup as you take it from him, your hand overlapping his. You look at him with curious eyes behind your wide rimmed glasses. “Dabi? What’s wrong?”
“If I told you I was a bad man, what would you do?”
You narrow your eyes, but keep your hand over his. “Stealing a croissant from the place you work at isn't evil Dabi-”
“Not that.” He laughs but it's noticeably strained. “Not that.” He looks you in the eyes, greedily taking in the sight of you, for perhaps the last time. “What if I told you I was a bad man, who did horrible things. Whose caused terrible things.”
Your hand tightens around his, he feels the tremors in your body before you still.
“I would tell you I know better than to judge you for what you've done, and tell you that I judge you for who you are now. Does that forgive you of what you've done or what you've caused? No. But I judge what I see. And I see a good man.”
He lets out a shaky breath as his glamor drops, revealing his true form of scars and fangs and horns. His flames curl around him as he whispers. “What if I'm not a man?”
You jump back, hands flying to your glasses before they could tumble off of your face. You stare at him with your jaw hanging.
He looks at the coffee still in his grasp. At the scars covering his body.
He knew it.
He puts down the cup.
He knew it.
Clapping comes from the corner of the room where the succubus has taken form, her body still halfway between corporal and mist. She smiles, showing off her sharpened canines. “Bravo Dabi, I almost thought I’d have to do it myself.”
You shut your mouth and look at the succubus. “You're from before-”
“I am.” She purrs. “And I’m here to take Dabi home. Shigaraki will be happy to see his lieutenant again.”
Dabi burns away his apron, leaving him in his normal attire, the stitches of his black coat catching his eye. Memories of your embroidered bag slip through his mind, though are soon flushed out entirely when he hears the shattering of tables as a high pitched shriek comes from the mist succubus.
He phases through the counter in a wall of heatless flame as he sees you covering your ears.
The shriek had destroyed the tables and windows turning them into scrap, and had shattered your glasses. Blood was running down your ears from between your hands.
He stands between you and the succubus, his arms lit with powerful blue flames. “This wasn't part of the deal!”
“Not our deal. Shigaraki doesn't want you to have any temptations for returning to the human world. We need your girl gone for good.” She grins fiendishly. “She will never grow old, isn't that the best gift you could receive?”
“Dabi-” You call out from behind him.
“Stay back!” He yells at you. “Get out of here!” But he knew if you went into the rain outside, you would be done for. The succubus would be able to drown you where you stood.
Her body turns to pure water as she rushes at him. With her power boosted by the rain that washed in through the broken windows, all he could do was send wave after wave of fire to evaporate the water.
But what was evaporation if not mist?
He was fighting a losing battle as he backed up until he finally reached you. He covers you with his body as he puts up a wall of flame.
“I’m sorry.” He whispers to you as his flames are soon put out. “I’m sorry.”
You lift your hands to his face, eyes still closed, and pull him in, pressing your forehead against his.
“Don't be sorry for the things you can't control.” You whisper in return.
The succubus’s body turns corporal from the waist up. She coos. “How sweet, one last goodbye.”
You press a kiss to his lips.
“Don't open your eyes.” You murmur against his lips before letting go of his face and turning around to look at the succubus.
He closes his eyes, prepared to hear you scream in pain, prepared to hear your body drop to the ground.
But all he hears is the loud boom of thunder from outside and the crackle of rock breaking.
Rock?
He opens his eyes and sees you on your knees in front of a marble statue of the succubus.
His eyes widen as he sees you stand up. From the reflection of the marble, he can see your eyes flashing green.
“Did I ever tell you my mother was a demon?” You ask as you kneel and pick up your eyeglass frames from the floor. “She called herself Medusa. Silly, huh? My dad was human though, and well, as you know, they had me..” You turn around, your eyes now closed. “I guess you can say my quirk is having a very strange lineage.”
Dabi gets to his feet and runs at you, barreling into you with his arms swiftly wrapping around you.
You return the hug, your face nuzzled into his chest.
“So.. you're not mortal?” He says quietly, as if the good luck that had been shone upon the both of you would wither out.
“I'm not. It's my hundred and twenty-fourth this year.” You look up from his hold, he could see the faint glow of green from under your eyelashes. “Will you be there?”
He tightens his hold and presses his lips against yours.
{Four Hundred Thousand Yen} Tamaki Amajiki x Reader
Tamaki had a lot of questions in life, but the list was reordered the moment he was chosen for the date auction of 3-A.
Why me?
Why was my name in the bid?
Why did no one look surprised?
Was this rigged?
His last question was answered fairly quickly, the class did in fact rig the polls. It was a tie between him and Mirio, but after some convincing from Mirio and Nejire, the class had filled the ballot box almost entirely with Tamaki’s name.
“Why would you do this to me?” He mumbles into his desk as he bowed his head to keep from seeing his traitorous best friend. Mirio was standing next to his desk with a huge smile on his face. Tamaki couldn't see it, but he could hear it in his friend’s voice.
“It’ll be fun! Don't sweat it, you're gonna be great!”
“I-I can't even- go on stage..” Tamaki lifts his head to show his lips were trembling as he was on the verge of a breakdown. The thought of being on stage for people to bid on- what if no one wanted him? What if it was just silence and he wasn't picked at all? How embarrassing would it be when he left the stage without a single bid? “What if no one picks me? I-I would be humiliated.”
Mirio pats him on the back. “Trust me, there are plenty of girls and guys waiting to bid on you, I did a poll!”
Tamaki’s face burns red. “You what?” He squeaks out.
“Well not an official poll, but I asked around the school and everyone was pretty excited to hear you might be in the auction.” Mirio rubs his chin. “I’d say you had a good seventy percent of the students I asked.”
The wheels in Tamaki’s mind stutter as he focuses on the thirty percent that must have said no. He groans and stands up from his seat. “I'm going to the workshop..”
“3-H?” Mirio asks.
“Yeah..” Tamaki slides out of the classroom with his head ducked low. His face was still a bright pink when he entered the third year’s workshop. It was enormous compared to the first year’s space. It had gear and tech that the first years were not yet trusted with.
He walks around the empty room, looking at the half built suits and the observation window that separated the testing room from the rest of the space. It was a special glass that was essentially bomb-proof, nothing could break the glass, which made it essential for testing costumes that needed to undergo massive damage.
“Tamaki!”
He turns around to find you dragging a massive robot by a thick metal chain. You were covered in scuff marks and grease, but you had a light in your eyes that made him smile. His thoughts were briefly distracted by the date auction and instead directed towards you. You were one of his friends since his second year when he needed an update in his costume. He still got shy around you, but talking with you became easier the more he visited you.
It was a small miracle that you didn't mind his silent days. You both would listen to your radio while you worked. You didn't push him, and it was greatly appreciated. Sometimes he needed a break and you were there to take it with him.
“Whatcha doing here Tama-chan?” You release your grip of the chain, unbothered by the loud boom as the heavy chain falls to the ground. It was startling sometimes to remember that your quirk was strength based. You lifted gear so easily, it looked weightless to him. “Got a problem on your mind? You look like a shrimp.” You brush your gloved hand over his flushed cheek.
Tamaki rubs his face while looking to the ground. “Iwasvotedinforthedatingauction..” He whispers quickly.
“What was that?” You tilt your head. “You lost me at I.”
He takes a deep breath and speaks a tad bit louder. “I.. Was voted in for the dating auction..”
“Oh. … Oh.”
You both stand in silence, listening to the ticking of the clock in the room.
You're the first to break the quiet. “Mirio was behind it wasn't he?”
“And Nejire.” He adds softly. His best friends other than you, both ratted him out. They knew he had trouble with the spotlight, with his.. His self image.. He couldn't do it. “I think I'm going to call in sick. Mirio is more popular than me anyway, he’ll definitely get bids.”
“I think you should do it.”
He startles. “What?”
You smile down at him. With your work boots you were a good few inches taller than him. “You're really sweet Tama-chan, you're underestimating yourself again.” You tap him on the forehead. “Think of this as a mission. The goal is to get to the finish line. Don't think about how much you earn, think of getting to the end of the auction.”
“But I can't handle crowds-”
You put a hand on his shoulder. “Tamaki.”
He looks you in the eyes, his heartbeat racing as he sees your normally nonchalant expression turn serious.
“You're Suneater, an amazing hero that always gets the job done. This is just another job. And you're going to rock it.”
He gulps.
Just a job. Not a game, not an auction, just a job. Another mission that needed finishing.
He nods his head reluctantly. “Okay.”
“Good.” You pull him in for a side hug, completely forgetting you were covered in grease. “Now help me figure out what the hell I'm doing.”
-
The day of the auction was hectic. It was a festival, which meant that the class was divided into doing different jobs, a sixth went to preparing the auction with the other classes while the rest went on to handle food stands and games.
Mirio was in charge of the money earned during the bids while Nejire was the announcer.
Which left Tamaki alone behind the stage with the other “volunteers”. Some of the students actually did want to participate, but he could see from some of the faces that some where plucked forcefully by their classmates.
At least I’m not the only one. He thinks to himself.
He mourns quietly as the students file in line. The first to go were the first years, then the second, then the third years. Which meant he was the first of his year to go onstage.
So far the highest bid was for Todoroki of 1-A who got fifty-one thousand yen.
I'll be lucky if I get one hundred yen.
Tamaki fiddles with the cuffs of his suit. It was black with gold sun cufflinks. If it were a different occasion, he would have liked the suit. It was comfortable and completely black, allowing him to blend in rather than stand out. But in this situation he would have no choice but to stand out.
He squeezes his eyes shut as he hears his name called out.
“Next up, Tamaki Amajiki from Class 3-A!” Nejire cheers from beyond the stage.
With a small pat on his shoulder from the boy behind him, Tamaki steps through the curtain and walks on stage.
Faces. So many faces.
The crowd was bigger than he thought, it was full of people-
“Remember, keep your head up, eyes to the sky, it'll be over before you know it. Trust me.”
Your words ring in his head as he walks down the catwalk, his eyes on a distant tree as he tries to keep from folding over in shame as numbers are called out.
He stops at the end of the stage and keeps his hands clenched at his sides. He felt like he was going to collapse-
“Two-hundred thousand yen!” A familiar voice chimes from the crowd of people.
Tamaki’s gaze snaps to Nejire who had floated off the stage and was staring at Mirio with a look of wonder. Who- What? What! Who would bid that much!
No it had to be a mistake!
“Four-hundred thousand yen!” It was the same person. “You're twisting my arm here Nejire!”
Tamaki scans the crowd for the voice.
No, it has to be a joke-!
You stand in the center of the crowd with one of the bidding panels in your hand. You were grinning widely. “Neji, I could go on forever, just give him to me.”
The crowd parts around you as they whisper the number incredulously.
Four-hundred thousand yen.
Tamaki didn't even expect to get a percent of that!
Nejire lands on the stage with a small thump. Her smile was nearly identical to yours. “Any other bidders? Going once. Going twice?” The crowd was talking but no new bid came up. “Tamaki Amajiki, sold for four-hundred thousand yen!”
-
After the auction, Tamaki finds you with Mirio, a thick stack of yen in hand.
He runs to you. “Wait!”
You look back at him just as Mirio tucks the cash into the metal box full of bids. “Yeah?”
He stands across from you, frazzled and in desperate need of a good cry. He almost ran off stage just to keep from collapsing in fear.
“How could you- why did you-” He stumbles over his words. “Why did you bid on me? Why so much?”
You smile as you zip your wallet shut. “That’s easy Tama-chan. I knew you wouldn't feel comfortable going on a date with a stranger, so I paid an amount I knew no one would be able to beat.”
“But, it's your money..” He squeezes his hands into fists. “You can't just waste it on me, I’m not worth that much..”
You step away from Mirio and stand in front of Tamaki, fixing his crooked tie from running. “I'm an engineer. I know how much each part costs and the cost of the overall product. You're worth more than I could ever buy Tama-chan.” You press a small kiss on the tip of his nose. “And I couldn’t pass up the chance of getting dinner with you in that suit.”
Summary// Ground Zero has been your crush since you were rescued by him, and ever since then, you've been writing love songs that your manager is sick and tired of hearing. One day on a live broadcast, you admit that the songs were inspired by your admiration for said hero. Little did you know, he was just in the other wing of the building getting his own interview done and decides to see you after the cameras are off.
A/N: I know his hero name is Dynamite but I wrote this before it was decided so I'm sticking with Ground Zero, sorry ^^;
————
You were never camera shy, you loved the stage and all that came with it. The lights, the flurry of makeup artists and the adrenaline rush of seeing the On-Air light turn red.
But the moment you saw him walk into the room, you swear your heart fell into your stomach and all the words you've ever sang were sucked right back into your throat.
- -
Ever since the accident that nearly took your life, you have been an active fan of Ground Zero. He was constantly in the news, either due to his heroics or due to being spotted with other top heroes such as Deku or Shoto. Considering he was their classmate in high school, the media gobbled up any coverage they could with the trio.
You on the other hand, were mostly into the tabloids for information on Ground Zero.
The accident was after one of your concerts. You had been on your way to your tour bus when a villain had attacked. Luckily none of your crew were hurt, but you were trapped under the rubble of the concert hall that had fallen when the villain rammed into the wall. It was cramped and had little oxygen, the air was full of dust and your lungs were heavy with the ash. You had broken your arm and had to use it to support yourself to keep from getting crushed under the rubble that was slowly but surely pressing down on you.
You had little hope for yourself as the rubble grew heavier, your arm giving out under the weight of your body, but before it could fully crush you, you heard the sounds of explosions.
Not long after, you felt the weight of the rubble lift.
Ground Zero had sent smaller blasts to break up the larger pieces of rubble before finally moving the giant piece that was pinning you to the ground. He scooped you up into his arms and murmured the same line under his breath as he brought you to the paramedics.
"You're safe now."
He lowered you onto the gurney and waited by you as the paramedics asked you questions, soon finding your rib was cracked as well. Ground Zero gave you a once over before parting with a quiet goodbye and a thank you to the medics that were helping you.
You didn't get the chance to thank him as the medics placed an oxygen mask on your face.
So you wrote him songs. You never used his name, but a hero was always implied when it came to songs about him. You tried to be subtle with the crush you had developed, but apparently you weren't subtle enough.
Your manager was sent an invitation for an interview to talk about your new album full of love songs. The album was crammed with songs about a one-sided pinning for someone who could never love back, but the last song was a ray of hope that they might find a way to each other.
Was it based on reality? No. Ground Zero couldn't have liked you like you liked him, he didn't know who he had saved and likely didn't look back on that event. He was a busy hero who saved people daily. He wouldn't know your name, but you could always dream maybe he would hold you like he did when you were hurt.
So there you were, in a chair with the lights on you and your interviewer.
"Your album is named Loved One, are you trying to send a message to a certain someone?" The man asks as he cleans his glasses with a wipe.
You fiddle with your hands on your lap, a half smile on your face. "It's a love song for someone, yes. But if he's ever heard it I'm not sure."
"Your songs have been in the top ten, with Sweet Delights being number one for seven weeks straight. Surely he's heard one of them."
True. Your music was popular. But did he ever hear them? Would he know it was him you were talking about when you sang?
Of course not. That's why you wrote your feelings with no fear of being found out.
"He's a very special man, I can't say he has the time for music." You turn your face as a small blush fans your cheeks. "He's a hero, I'm sure he's too busy to listen to the radio."
The interviewer leans forward in his seat, a grin tugging at his lips. "A hero?"
The live audience begins to whisper and you can hear the names of heroes being tossed around.
Deku. Shoto. Chargebolt. Cellophane.
Ground Zero.
"Yeah." You chuckle. "He saved me during an accident. I'll be forever grateful to him for saving my life."
"Love at first attack."
"Something like that."
"What would you say to him if he were here right now?" The interviewer leans back in his seat.
You look down at your lap, twiddling with your thumbs as you try to come up with the words. You've written dozens of songs, but what words would you give him?
"Thank you. For being my hero. I've written you love songs I never thought you'd hear. Maybe I thought it would make you feel the same way I feel for you." You look up from your lap and chuckle, this time a tad bit weaker. "Silly isn't it? I get to know so much about him but I'm just a dime a dozen that he saves. He doesn't even know my name."
The interviewer scoots forward and hands you one of the tissue boxes on his desk. You aren't about to start crying but you appreciate the gesture and take it from him anyway.
"Love can be tough. But you've written plenty about it haven't you?"
A light chuckle comes from the crowd.
You smile. "I know enough about pinning for someone who will never know me."
"What is his name? Maybe we could get him on here, get you a coffee date." He says in a playful tone.
What's the worst that could happen?
"Well, this is a little embarrassing, but it's Ground Zero." You rub your neck as the crowd collectively gasps. "He saved me after a concert I held, and ever since then he's been on my mind. I thought it was creepy, so I figured I would use my music as an outlet. My album is dedicated to unrequited love and accepting it. Hopefully I'll accept it one day too."
For a moment the interviewer is quiet, but when you look closer you see a smile is building on his face.
He clears his throat and lifts his remote control to the screen behind the both of you. "Ironically, in the west wing of the building, we're holding an interview with Ground Zero himself."
The screen turns on to show Ground Zero seated with his own interviewer.
They were watching your interview live.
And he just heard your admission to liking him.
Your grip on the tissue box tightens as you see his eyes scanning you.
Oh god you were going to be sick.
He stands up and walks out of the room. All you feel is lead in your gut as you watch the television move onto commercial.
Your interviewer presses on the Bluetooth in his ear and nods along to whatever the people were saying. But you didn't want to hear any of it. All you felt was dread.
He heard.
He heard.
He must think you were crazy. It was his job to save people! He didn't do it out of chivalry or kindness like some knight in a fairytale!
You let go of the box and cover your face with your hands. The crowd was talking now, you couldn't catch what they were saying but they were going wild.
Deciding to see what was getting the crowd so riled up, you look to the doors.
And there he is.
Standing across the room with his eyes glued to yours.
- -
So there you are. No words were forming and you felt like you were being sucked into the Twilight Zone.
The crowd cheers as he walks down the aisle in his full gear and makes his way straight to you.
You cover your face again as the interviewer speaks to him.
"The man of the hour, Ground Zero ladies and gentlemen!" He announces, but the crowd was already roaring with energy.
You feel the hero stand in front of you, mostly because he blocked your light, and soon you were wondering if you could sink into the cushions and disappear forever. Let Loved One be your momento mori, your swan song before you disappeared off the face of the earth.
"Hey."
No no no no- no!
You hear his gear shift and from the cracks between your fingers you see him crouch in front of you.
"Stop filming." He says to the interviewer.
"We still have five minutes to break-" The interviewer starts up but stumbles on his words. You hear the pop of small explosions and the murmur of the crowd.
"Break for two!" The producer calls from backstage.
"Hey."
This time, you lower your hands to cover your mouth, looking at Ground Zero with half of your face covered.
He looked just as he had when he rescued you, minus him being in his winter gear. But it was all the same. Even the tone he was using with you. Like you were fragile.
"Did you mean it?" He asks, his head nodding towards the screen above. "What you said about me."
"I.. I did." You uncover your face, using your nervous energy to hold onto the box of tissues instead, squeezing the life out of the poor box. "Every word. You saved me and I'm grateful." You look down in shame, unable to utter the next words while looking him in the face. "I- I know it's weird, to like someone you know so little about-”
"Bakugou Katsuki."
"Huh?"
"My name, is Bakugou Katsuki." He grips your chin gently and tugs you to look at him. He had a small grin on his face. "Go to dinner with me and I'll debate letting you call me Katsuki."
Overhaul hated leaving Hassaikai base without reason. The last time he left was to snatch Eri after she had attempted to escape via the drains, but this was different. This time it was a work endeavor.
The yakuza had been one of the first crime syndicates that had been attacked when heroes came into the picture, but the Hassaikai had survived. Along with another group.
The Akari-Kai. A mafia consisting of only women with 20,000 members. Their base was supposedly in Tokyo but after some research, Chrono had determined their leader’s location.
With the heroes on his tail, Overhaul decided it was in his best interest to merge their groups together to gain more power. Then he wouldn't have to worry about a lack of manpower. The Akari-Kai was full of strong fighters, whether quirkless or not. He hated to admit it, but their quirks would be useful to have in his arsenal.
This led to him standing in front of a club. The Red Lady.
“So many people.” Overhaul grumbles under his mask, his hands pulling at his sleeves and pulling his gloves further up his wrists.
Chronostasis nods in agreement from his side. They were both dressed up, a bit too much considering that half the people in line could be considered half naked. In Overhaul’s eyes, all he could see was germs and disease.
Skin. So. Much. Skin.
He hated it.
Ripping off the bandage, Overhaul walks through the doors of the club, noting the red lotus tattooed on the inner wrist of the bouncer that let them in. He tenses as he passes through the dance floor, the body heat and sweat shining on the dancers made him want to tear the floor apart and summon the yakuza boss right there and then. But that would make for a poor introduction. If he wanted the Akari-Kai’s numbers, he would need the boss in a good mood.
If not, he could always get rid of her and forcibly take her numbers.
“No one here seems to be a part of the yakuza, perhaps they are underground sir.” Chrono murmurs, eyeing the employees for signs of the yakuza’s crest.
“Good. I'm tired of this place.” Overhaul moves around the crowd and heads to the other end of the club. A woman with a red lotus on her neck holds her hand out. Her pupils were cat-like slits, they dilated as the two neared.
“State your business.”
“We’re here to see your boss.” Chronostasis speaks from behind Overhaul. “She's through there, is she not?”
The lion-like woman flicks her gaze to Overhaul. She looks them over before lowering her hand. “Why should she give you time out of her day?”
Overhaul narrows his eyes. He pulls at his gloves. “She'll want to see me. And you will let me through.”
The woman catches his motion and grins fiendishly. “Overhaul.” She barks out a laugh. “Oh, this will be fun. We've heard of you before. The boss lady will be pleased to meet you.” Hitting the wall behind her in a series of knocks, the door slides open to reveal stairs winding down. Music and cheers blare from below but are covered by the music from above ground. “If only I could watch.”
Overhaul walks past her without another word, not bothering to check if Chronostasis was behind him. He could feel his second’s presence, he didn't need to double check. It only showed weakness if you needed another to back you up.
Below the club was a fighting den, similar to the place he found Kendo Rappa. Perhaps he would take on the yakuza boss like he had taken Rappa. In a decisive match.
The only worry he had was what her quirk was. It must be powerful if it could control the loyalties of thousands of people.
To his delight, the floor wasn't crowded with sweating people like the dance floor. There were booths and seating around the large cages that contained fighters. The cages were marked, both for quirkless fights and quirk battling. The amount of people watching and betting on the quirkless fights were surprisingly equal to those of the quirk battles. He supposed it was because they were bloodier, more brutal in their execution. They didn't have the crutch of an extra power, all they had were their fists and reflexes.
“Do you see her?” Overhaul asks his second as he walks through the path between the cages, looking at the faces of the spectators. He assumed she would be in the crowd, betting on one of her own members.
“She’s- She’s in the cage sir.” Chrono stumbles on his words. “She’s fighting. Cage 13.”
Now this was interesting.
Overhaul looks to the cage and sees it marked as a quirkless fight. Inside was a man twice the size of the woman, he was muscular and covered in blood, much like the shorter woman across from him. She was dressed in a sports bra and shorts, her hands protected only by her open fingered gloves. She was covered in blood and sweat, but it could not hide the giant red lotus tattoo that scaled her back and up to her neck.
“She's quirkless?”
“All the better for us.” Overhaul replies to his second. He stands outside of the ring but keeps enough distance to keep any grime from flying onto him.
He watches as you parry each blow your opponent throws at you, dodging and weaving his attacks before landing powerful blows to his pressure points. By the end of the match, you were pinning the man down with your knee jamming into the man’s spine, a feral gleam shone in your eyes as the referee declared you the winner.
Overhaul couldn't help but feel a strange sense of satisfaction.
You were quirkless.
You were pure of the disease.
You were perfect.
He doesn't notice as you walk to him and lean against the cage, your chest heaving with heavy breathes but your eyes still shown with power.
You grin. “So you're Overhaul.”
He greedily takes in the sight of you.
Pure. Pure. Pure.
“I am.” He says lightly. While you may have been something else, he still had business to attend to. “You are the boss of the Akari-Kai.”
“That I am. My girls warned me you were going to be coming here tonight.” He didn't know how they got hold of that information, but he found he didn't care. Not yet anyway. “What business?”
“I have a proposal for you.”
“Sorry, I'm not interested in a ball-and-chain sort of deal.”
“A business proposal.”
“You haven't piqued my interest, so you might want to hurry up and get to your point.”
Chronostasis steps up to Overhaul's side, ready to demand you apologize for your brash behavior, but Overhaul stops him with a hand.
You were spunky, he'd give you that. The light he had seen you under was now fading. Now all he could see was a bloodied woman with her own to protect.
Pure, but annoying.
“Let us join our group under one name, under one cause. You have the numbers I need, and I have a product that will make the yakuza a force to be reckoned with.” He tilts his head. “Split profits sixty-forty.”
“With your half taking the sixty.”
“You're correct.”
For a moment you remain quiet. He assumes you're running over the numbers, thinking over his proposal. When in reality, all you're doing is wasting his time.
He holds out his gloved hand. “Is it a deal?”
You look at his hand and sigh. “I'll have to pass Mr. Hotshot, I run my girls my way. Men always get in the way.”
His eyebrow twitches in annoyance.
Fine. The hard way it is.
“How about this.” He takes a step onto the incline leading into the cage. “If I beat you in a timed match, you join my cause. We split it thirty-seventy, and I let you play boss.”
Your grin widens. “And if you lose, pretty boy?”
“Then we can make arrangements another night.” He doesn't plan on that happening. In one move, you would be dead, and all he would have to do is reassemble you as he sees fit. As far as he cares, you've already lost.
“Deal. On one condition. If I win, I also get a kiss.”
Now, he tenses up.
There was no way you could win, but the idea of such a thing happening- feeling your dirtied skin on his-
“Agreed.” He bites out. His mood significantly darkens. Shrugging off his bomber jacket, he rolls up his black sleeves and tugs on his gloves.
How dare you.
You roll your shoulders and back up as the cage door opens to let him in. “Set the timer love.” You tell one of your girls as he steps through the door. He ignores the blood splatter on the floor, he wouldn't be in the cage long. Removing his right glove, he prepares for your attack, knowing that with just a touch, it would be over-
Crack!
Overhaul looked down at his arm, the limb was twisted behind his back. He moves his left arm but soon it is in the same position as the other, this time painfully so.
He looks at you and finds you with your limbs positioned in the same way as his.
“You!” He grits out. “You're not quirkless.”
“Whoever said I was?” You purr as you twist and contort your body with ease. His body follows suit, but he was much less flexible than you. His joints scream as he is forced down on his knees, his body twisted and folded in on itself. He touches the ground, creating spikes in the floor aimed right at you, but you uncoil and jump out of the way before the spikes can reach you. You grip the spike and hold yourself in a handstand.
Sending wave after wave of spike walls your way, Overhaul spews profanities as you leap gracefully from each spike. Your hands were bloodied after the spikes cut through your gloves, but you paid it no mind.
“That's time.” Your underling says in a bored tone. And with that, he feels the muscles in his body relax. He sits normally now, his hand massaging his wrist as he glares at you.
He would kill you.
He would kill you!
You jump down from the spike you were on and land in front of him on the untouched ground where he sat.
You were just begging for death weren't you?
“I guess we'll be seeing each other again soon, won't we?” You kiss him on the cheek, your hold on his body returning just before he can touch you to use his quirk. His arm strains under your control, his hand just a hair’s length away.
Tenya Iida : Reacting to Hitting his Crush in the Face
A/N: As requested by @coleluuviida ^^
Beta Note // Reader’s quirk is Pigeon, but my fellow beta and her sister thought Pigeon Vision sounded cute so 👀 its in there 👀
Iida was with Izuku and Uraraka when the worst had happened
One moment he was conversing about the intricacies of hero and sidekick relationships, and the next he was frozen in horror staring at his hand
Why?
Iida slapped you right in the face as his gesturing grew rapid
He didn't notice until it was too late that his arm arched far too wide and slammed directly onto your nose
What's worse?
Iida didn't even realize it was you that he hit until he turned to apologize
Even worse than that?
He didn't utter a single word
He was frozen as he looked at you though his peripheral vision, his hand still in the air as he saw you knocked onto the ground
Granted, he didn't hit you that hard, but with your quirk altering the density and weight of your bones, you were practically weightless and easy to toss around
Which meant he slapped you to the cold, cruel floor
Unluckily, his class along with the support course were headed to Ground Omega to do tests on new inventions your class had made
You just so happened to be the one who was in charge of altering his suit to better aid him in battles
But fortunately for him, you were the forgiving type
Despite his heart feeling full of guilt over hitting you, you let him off the hook after he agreed to buy you food
Iida stares at his hand with an almost hateful expression, a look of utter betrayal. He couldn't turn around to face you, how could he?! He just hit you! You! Of all people!
Uraraka was doubled over in laughter, her hand clamped over her mouth as she gasped for air. “I’m sorry for laughing!” She walks around her friend and helps you up right as Hatsume walks by.
The pink haired girl looks at you with a faint trace of worry in her tone. “Are you good?” She questions, her hands busy pushing a cart full of equipment Iida didn't know half of what they were. What student was she paired with to need that many gadgets?
He hears you make a light noise of discomfort before laughing. “Yeah I’m good. Let's get going.”
Iida keeps his head ducked, refusing to look to the side to see if you were glaring at him. His face was flushed pink, his body shaking as his classmates caught up to the doors leading to the Grounds. Midoriya, bless his soul, hadn't said anything. But he was starting to feel like it was because he was just as frozen as Iida himself.
Ignoring the questions of his classmates that had finally followed behind, Iida directs them all into Ground Omega before going to his own section of the forest area. He pulls on his helmet and stretches his legs, preparing himself for his training with his new gear, but his head was still in the clouds.
You were on his mind. It was terribly rude of him to have a girl constantly on his mind, but you were so.. So sweet and kind hearted. He had met you when he had broken his helmet and had been able to speak with you as you fixed it.
You humored him when he talked about his costume, questions he knew you likely were asked constantly, but you treated him with patience. And when he asked about your goals for the future, your face lit up with such a warm expression. It didn't help that with your quirk, you were given bird-like qualities, such as soft feathers that fluffed up when you grew excited. When talking about creating new support items for heroes, you were something else. He found your passion infectious, and it only made him train himself harder. Which in turn led him visiting the support class more often for repairs.
In the time that he had visited you, he found himself growing fond of you. Dare he say it, he had a crush. And it was bad.
“There you are!” He freezes as he hears your voice approaching.
Iida looks right at you, his eyes wide under his helmet. You had a small bruise forming on your face, something he knew would heal itself soon, but he couldn't help but feel awful knowing it was him who caused it.
“I’m here.” He says in a quiet voice. “Forgive me for hitting you. I’m ashamed of my actions. I bring dishonor to the Iida family” He bows at the waist, but soon he turns his head away to keep from making direct eye contact. It was the least you deserved, but he couldn't bring himself to look at you.
“I wouldn't go that far.” You whisper under your breath. “Don't worry about it.” You leap into the air and land on a low tree branch, settling comfortably among the leaves. “I know you didn't do it on purpose. You'd think with my pigeon vision I would have been able to dodge you in the first place.”
Pigeon vision?
He holds in a small noise of distress. Peering at you from his spot below, he doesn't realize as he moves his hand over his heart at the sight of your smile.
“Get it? Because my quirk is Pigeon?” You wave a hand over your face. The feathers of your hair fluff up, lifting as a small breeze moves through the trees. “You just happened to be in my blind spot, no biggie.”
“Ah, I see. Well. I’m sorry.” He straightens and draws a starting line using marking chalk. He glances at you once more before starting his training. It doesn't take long for you to get into the rhythm of note taking and making small adjustments to his suit between runs.
“You know, if you really want to apologize to me, you could buy me a muffin from Lunchrush.”
“What?” He asks as he skids to a stop, the ground beneath him now upturned as the grass was worn away. Did he miss part of a conversation when he went running to the other side?
You flash him a grin and poke him on the chest with your pen. “Buy me a muffin and I’ll forgive you.” You must have known he was still feeling terrible about hitting you.. Were you worried for him? “How about it?”
Iida was grateful for his helmet as he agreed to your terms.
A/N: This is around the time of when Mr. Compress acted as a master thief. He is in a different group than the LOV, but they won't be mentioned much ^^; this is part one of a mini series
For @thesemimythril , hope you like it and sorry it took so long! The next part will be much more fluff oriented!
- - -
Bandages covered your fingers, a multitude of colors to hide the nicks and scrapes you had on your skin. You were a carpenter, one who often got a little too close to your tools of choice.
When you had the time, you carved totems and masks, little things to sell in your shop for the people who weren't interested in buying your bigger pieces of work. It was a side hobby you indulged in. You liked the intricacies and patterns you could carve into the wood. People came by your workshop just to see your process.
You were proud to say you were a part of the artisan community in your area. A spot to visit when in the city.
This time around, you were working on a mask. But you had little inspiration for its design. It was a slow day, and not many people were passing by. It was quiet for a Saturday.
"Maybe this one will have to wait." You lower the mask onto your crafting table. You had orders to work on either way. Tables and chairs, dressers and frames, it was listless. But the mask would stay on your mind throughout the day while you worked.
Sooner than later as you were sanding down the leg of a chair, the bell at the front door chimes, signalling someone had entered the shop.
You peek your head over the seat of the chair, curious on who it was. Maybe it was one of the elderly couples that came every now and then with requests for animal carvings. Or one of your fellow shopkeepers. Or maybe it was simply a student who had nothing better to do.
It was neither of those. Standing in the doorway was a man with unruly black hair and brown eyes. He studied the room, staying in the doorway for a moment before finally taking a step forward. Immediately he takes the path to the masks in your glass display. He crouches to examine the lower festival themed masks before rising to see the more demure designs.
Your heart beats madly in your chest as he looks at you from the reflection on the glass. His smile is cat-like.
“Are you the creator of these?” He says smoothly as he turns around to face you. “They're finely crafted. I wasn't expecting such marvels when I was first told of your work.”
You let the low-blow slide as you swallow thickly. Why was the room suddenly so hot? Why was everything so heavy? Your mouth was dry as you rub your neck, forgetting the small pieces of wood that covered your gloves, wincing when a splinter of wood brushed against your skin.
“I- I make them as a side project.” You remove your gloves and dry your suddenly sweaty palms on your apron. “Were you interested in buying one?”
“Yes.” He draws near, giving a good amount of space between the both of you. “Though I was looking for something more simple.” His eyes fall on the blank mask on your table, eyes lighting up. “Something like this.” He picks up the polished piece of wood before looking at you with a wince. “My apologies, I should have asked permission to touch it first.”
“It's not a problem.” You assure him with a wave of your hand. Children had run inside your shop before, touching every display they could reach and nearly toppled them over in the process. You didn't mind him at all.
With your consent, he lifts the mask up to the light and inspects it. While it had no designs on the front, there was intricate curls and hollow spaces on the inside. It was made to be comfortable, even if it wasn't elastic like other masks.
The man grins. “Yes, this will do perfectly.” He reaches into his pocket. “How much do you want it for?”
Your brows furrow. “But it's not finished yet. It still needs its stain.” The mask was a light beige, but you wanted it to be a deeper mahogany color. “Are you sure you want it like that?”
He removes his wallet and hands you his card. “It’s perfect the way it is-” He brings his hand back as he taps the credit card against his lower lip. “Unless, you wouldn't mind customizing it a little?”
Peering at the nearly completed rocking chair behind you, you look upward as you count your fingers. You still had plenty of time to finish your orders. The mask wouldn't take even an hour of your time.
Depending on what he wanted done.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Something with a smile. Not your run of the mill clown faces. Something more.. interpretive.” He ends with a flourish of his hands. “Whatever strikes your fancy.”
You consider the item in his hands. The cat-like smile on his face. The way he held himself.
Smug. Confident. Not a shy bone in his body.
“I think I can do that for you.” You chew on your lip. “Would you like to return for it later or?”
He shakes his head. “I have nothing but time, my dear.”
You pull up a chair for the smiling stranger and sit on your stool, accepting the blank mask from his hold. Opening a drawer on your left, you remove a small tin of white paint and begin to coat the wood in even layers until it was completely opaque. Surprisingly, he stayed quiet the entire time.
Watching paint dry wasn't fun, even for you.
“I’m not boring you, am I?” You remove an even smaller tin of black paint and a thin round brush, dunking the tip in the paint and starting on the smiling design.
“Never. Watching a fellow artist doing their craft could never be anything less than magical.”
You laugh quietly, “I wouldn't say magical.”
“You create beautiful works of art out of blocks of wood. Your fingers never stutter, your lines are flawless,” Your hand hesitates, your focus suddenly focused on your hands now knowing he was watching them. A blush rises to your cheeks. “It is magic.”
“Thank you sir.”
“Atsuhiro.”
“Thank you Atsuhiro.” You finish your lines and set the brush aside before showing Atsuhiro your work. “It still has to dry, but will this do?”
“As I said before, it was already perfect.” His smug smile softens. “Perhaps I will come to you for another mask. I use them for my performances, you see.” He gives you his credit card and watches the mask as the new paint dries. All that was left keeping him in your shop was now the black paint.
Could paint dry slower if you willed it?
Alas, the paint dried and soon his mask was packaged in blue tissue paper and tucked away in a paper bag. You stand at the doorway with Atsuhiro standing across from you. The chill of the evening air did nothing to cool you off as the man winks at you.
A/N: A poly relationship between Hawks, Dabi, and the reader! Based on the song The Way You Say Hello by tiffi and City Girl ^^
“He said he loved her more than words, so instead of words he gave her flowers to observe”
Hawks was your first boyfriend to ever have a current boyfriend. It was an odd adjustment to get used to sharing your boyfriend with someone else, especially when you first met Dabi. But with some help, you got used to it quickly.
“Flowers?” You eye the bouquet of roses in Keigo’s hands. He had given you flowers before, but these felt like a bribe. You peer at him with suspicious eyes, snapping your book shut. “What did you do?”
“Can’t I buy my best girl some flowers?” The Winged Hero replaces your book with the flowers, flipping through the pages before tossing it to the side. As he sits down next to you, his wing instinctively wraps around you to pull you in.
You press yourself into his side and bury your nose in the flowers, breathing in their sweet scent. A small smile forms on your face. “Hmm.. You're either planning something stupid, or it's Dabi that is doing something stupid.”
“Kid-”
“It's Dabi isn't it.”
From the flash of blue light coming from outside and the nearing of police sirens, you know the answer.
“They were also on sale.” Keigo murmurs under his breath, turning his head to hide his blush of shame as you laugh.
It had been a full four months since you started dating the two of them and Keigo still thought you were woefully ignorant. But you were much more observant than he thought. You knew your other boyfriend was a villain, one that still had a long way to go if he was to be pardoned of his crimes- that is, if he wanted to be pardoned. It was that bit of information that you did stay ignorant on, you didn't want to lose sleep on something like that.
You sigh happily and give your boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, “Thank you.”
Later on, Dabi would return home with another bouquet of flowers. A bit crumpled from him jumping over fences, but still intact.
Your boyfriends were weird, but you loved them.
“She drew him pictures in a card, he said it was tacky and almost broke her heart”
Dabi was not a spoonful of sugar and sometimes he could be a bit blunt. Painfully blunt. How you got used to his silver tipped tongue? You didn't know. Maybe it was a skill you should add onto your resume.
Removing your heels at the front door, you slip on a pair of slippers and sneak your way into the house. Dabi was the only one at home, the main indicator being the lack of Keigo’s jacket on the wall hook while Dabi’s boots were tucked away in the corner.
You duck low as you hear a quiet snoring from the couch in the living room. With soft steps, you creep in on a sleeping Dabi and lean over the cushions to reach him.
His arm was slung over his eyes, his mouth parted slightly as he sighs. Sleeping Dabi was the softest you've seen him. He was always smirks and sharp lines, but when he was asleep he was so.. Soft.
“What do you want?” A low grumble rises from Dabi’s throat. He moves his arm to uncover an eye. The piercing blue cuts through you and leaves you halting in your movements. That's to say, you stopped your hand from removing a card from your purse.
“I wanted to give you something.” You pull out the card and offer it to him.
He shuts his eye and- goes back to sleep?
“Dabi?” You whisper.
He opens his eye again and swipes the paper from your hand with a huff. Dabi sits up before paying your card any mind. Flipping it open, he runs his eyes over the drawings inside.
“Is that supposed to be a cat?”
“It's a human.”
“ It's a human, she says.” Dabi chuckles, laying back down and covering his face with the card, resting his arms on his chest in a mummy like fashion.
"Do you like it?"
"It's garbage, babe."
It stung until you found it tucked away in his chest pocket while doing laundry a week later.
“I know he hates the way she does her hair”
You constantly changed your hairstyle. One day it was braided and the next it was in a high ponytail, or cropped to your chin. Every style looked good on you, but the day you started dying your hair was the day Dabi grew truly frustrated. Though.. Not for long.
“Dabi!” You yell from inside the bathroom, your white towel now shades of purple. “I think I messed up!”
“You think or you know , babe?” He hisses as he nears the bathroom. The lights were far too bright after he had been napping for two hours. It was nighttime, nearly one in the morning according to the clock on the wall. And you were doing your hair? When you had work the very next morning?
As soon as he witnesses your hair, he knows that you know just how badly it went. He holds onto the doorframe and laughs heartily, bending over slightly as his lungs begin to burn.
“Come on it's not that funny!”
“Your towel has more hair dye than your hair does!”
It was true. Your hair was supposed to be a deep indigo, but all that was left after rinsing off the excess dye was a few lavender streaks in your now stained platinum hair. You had went to get it bleached a few days ago and today was the day you were going to color it. How did it go so wrong? The hair dye was rated so highly!
Your face burns with embarrassment. You move to shut the door on him. “If you wont help me I’ll just-”
He moves his hand in time to stop you from closing the door and pushes it open further to let himself through. “I never said that, did I babe?” He breathes in slowly to ease his now stinging lungs. “Sit down, I'll do it for you. I have more practice.”
“I know she hates the way that he pretends to care”
Keigo wasn't without his own flaws. Dabi was the villain, but Keigo came with his own problems. They weren't too big, luckily, but it wasn't always easy being on the receiving end of his disinterest when he was tired.
You lay in defeat on the floor, your arms spread out with empty clothes hangers on your arms. Tonight was your high school reunion, a day you had been planning for since the email was first sent. The only thing you didn't have planned was your outfit. Which was why you wanted some input from your significant others, but unfortunately only Keigo was home.
Why was it unfortunate? He was tired. And when he was tired he never had much to say, or any energy to do anything other than breathe.
You look up at him from the floor and poke at his wing. “Keigoooo!”
Keigo was laying on his stomach, his right wing drooping downward as he attempted to sleep. “Mmnn..?”
“What do you think about this one?”
“It's beautiful.”
“You're not even looking.”
“Mm..”
“Birdbrain.”
“I know she'll slightly disagree on what he wears”
You loved Dabi’s odd sense of fashion and went shopping with him for matching outfits (something he said he hated, but would never stop you on doing), but Keigo.. had a special sense of fashion that always managed to confuse you. Maybe it was best you stopped going to him for his input.
"You'd think that being in magazine shoots would help you gain a fashion sense." You say from behind a fist, your hand curled to hide your grimace.
"They dress him. What do you think he'll learn?" Dabi chimes in from behind you. He laid on the bed with pillows propping him up in order to watch the show that was Keigo dressing for date night. It was a little game Dabi always liked to observe.
It wasn't that the clothes Keigo had were terrible. If they were in the right color they would look great. But.. they weren't in the right color.
They were every goddamn color in the rainbow.
Keigo looks at the vibrant pink and yellow jacket he was sporting and at the baby blue tank top he had on underneath. Vivid orange and purple peaked out from the windbreaker he wore underneath the jacket and you didn't want to know what other layer of clothing he had on under that .
"I think I look great."
"For a bird, babe." Dabi chuckles. "For a bird, you're a hot ticket."
"But not for a human Kei." You walk behind him and tug at the jacket. “Let’s just go with the other outfit.”
As it turned out, Keigo did have more in common with birds than just his wings. Bright colors were just as alluring to him as a bowl of seeds was for a sparrow. You kept this in mind for the next time you went shopping.
“I know he chokes when she sprays too much perfume in the air”
Your boyfriends knew they were difficult and could be major pains in the ass, but for once they would appreciate it if you didn't try killing them with your perfume. They knew it wasn't intentional, but how could you not notice the whole house smelled like you?
“Question.” Dabi rests his chin on top of your head while looking at you in the mirror. “You know what my quirk is, right?”
“I do.”
“And you know what fire does when in contact with alcohol, right?”
Now you look up at him, squinting your eyes at him as you lower your brush onto the sink counter. “Yes.. it's basic safety measures. Alcohol is extremely flammable.”
“Do you know what perfume has?” Your boyfriend smirks. He curls a lock of your hair around his finger and gives it a small tug.
You slap his hand away and turn around to look at him directly. You cross your arms and lean against the counter. He was being coy, but it was too early in the morning for this. He never stalled you from getting ready to go to work. “It has alcohol. What about it?”
He cages you in his arms, leaning in and letting a flicker of blue flame light the side of his face. But unlike usual, blue flames burst in the air for a split second, the sudden flash of heat startling you enough to bump into him as you jump away from the counter. Dabi turns off his flames and pecks you on the cheek.
“Unless you want the house to burn down, I'd stop spraying so much perfume, babe.”
After work you end up buying an alcohol-free perfume.
“But she likes the way it feels when he's right there”
After the third attempt at sleeping in the same queen sized bed at the same time, Keigo and Dabi decided to buy a new bed without you knowing. It went well until you came home early to them attempting to assemble the frame without instructions. But once it was put together and finished, you had to admit you liked the result.
“No more facefuls of feathers!” You squeal with joy as you leap onto the bed and spread your arms out, enjoying the spaciousness of it all.
Dabi sits down on your left while Keigo takes your right. He flicks your forehead to catch your attention and motions for you to tuck in your arm so he could lay down next to you. “Now you get why he doesn’t get to sleep in the middle?” He pulls you into a hug while flipping Keigo off from over your shoulder.
Keigo flops onto the bed, his wings spread out and covering the two of you like a tarp. “You're just jealous baby.”
You wriggle around and lay with your back against Dabi’s chest. Pushing his wing away, you stick your tongue out at Keigo. “Jealous of being attracted to stop signs?”
“It's a sexy red.”
“What about mirrors?”
“I’m a sexy man.”
“Birdbrain.”
Keigo huffs and moves closer to the both of you, wrapping his wing to engulf the both of you. “The bed was my idea you know.”
“I know.” You admit. “Dabi doesn't care if he smooshes us to death.”
“Ouch.” Dabi murmurs from your hair.
It's not long after that you fall asleep in their arms, completely content to spend the rest of your night between the two of them. But when the winter came, you and Keigo agreed to keep Dabi in the middle to act as a heater.
“She loves him so much it's absurd”
It was winter when your boys began to grow more busy. Sometimes you would go to sleep alone, but you didn't let it get to you. You knew they visited the house when they could. What else would explain the endless supply of your favorite flowers in vases by the window or boxes of your favorite chocolates on the table when they weren't there when you left? The nights you did get to see them, you enjoyed their presence to the fullest.
Keigo squeezes his eyes shut in annoyance as he hears his phone ringing once more. It was the third time in a row, and he knew he couldn't go on ignoring it anymore. Being a hero meant sacrificing down time. It meant sacrificing time with you.
“Kei.”
“Yeah?”
“It's okay.” You keep your eyes shut as you trace swirls along his back in the area between his wings. “I understand you need to leave.” You knew you couldn’t keep him forever. It wasn't right. People needed him. He saved people. It was like keeping a firefighter from putting out a fire right in front of him. If they were calling Keigo so adamantly then it must be important.
Keigo presses a kiss to your temple and releases his hold on you, letting you lay on your back as he tugs on his jacket and prepares to exit the room.
“I love you.” You say from under the still warm blankets.
“I love you too.” He smiles from over his shoulder, eyes pained.
What did he do to deserve you?
“He thinks it's cute that her singing is the worst he's ever heard”
After a whole month away from the two of you, Dabi had to admit that he missed Keigo’s stupid face and your singing. Was it good singing? No. But did he miss seeing you enjoy yourself? Yeah. Yeah he did.
Dabi sat outside the house, listening to your singing from his spot under the tree. He had yet to enter the house and opted instead to stay under the shade. He would have to leave again soon, so he saw no point in raising your hopes only to let you down.
A feather jabs at him from behind.
“You should go in and see her. She misses you.” Keigo lands beside him, lifting his goggles from his face. He crouches in front of him, running his gloved fingers through Dabi’s hair. “We both miss you.”
Dabi leans into his touch. How many times did he find himself missing it? Keigo was his first love after such a long time, but now there was you too. You both made him weak.
“I’ll be home soon.”
“And the way she’ll close her eyes, when she's nervous and just about to cry”
Keigo and Dabi didn't always agree on everything. That was a given when one was a hero dating a villain. But what they constantly agreed on was making sure you were kept out of the fray.
The shopping district was utterly decimated and all you felt was heat. A sweltering heat that couldn't be put out. Blue flames surrounded you on all sides, flames you knew instinctively were Dabi's.
"What's going on?!" You yell as debris falls around you, Dabi was just there- you could've sworn you saw him! It had to be him! Where else did the flames come from?
A hand wraps around your bicep and pulls you upward, the familiar sight of red wings takes up your vision as you look at Keigo. He was covered in ash and his goggles were cracked in half atop his head. He squinted through the smoke that was building in the air.
"The League is here. I'm getting you home."
"What about Dabi?! He's here, we need to bring him home too!" You look behind you at the structure that began to cave in on itself, all you could see was blue. "He's in there!"
"And so is Shigaraki! You can't be here kid!"
"We cant leave him! Please Keigo!" Tears blur your vision as all you can think about was how burnt Dabi's skin already was. What would being in the center of that fire do to him then? What kind of state would he return to you in?
"I'm sorry kid.. He's the one who warned me you were there.."
“He likes the way she plays songs on repeat”
Keigo watched as you grew more and more despondent, shutting down as more time passed that Dabi was gone. Japan was in an uproar, and it kept calling him back to patch it up each time villains showed. Japan was like an open wound that wouldn't stop bleeding. However, this changes one day as he comes home to hearing the sound of music blasting on your speakers.
Lights were strung up from the front door to the living room to the bedrooms, fairy lights dotted every inch of the house. Keigo tucked his wings in taunt to his body to keep them from getting tangled in the haphazardly placed lights. While he loved bright colors, it was almost too much for his eyes. Where were you?
"Kid?" He calls out, ducking underneath bluebell lights. "Please tell me you're still alive in here?"
The song on the speaker repeated on itself, which was odd with how clunky it sounded, but he learned to like it once he found you.
If choppy music was what it took to bring a smile back on your face, it was worth it.
He found you taping up lights in the bathroom while singing under your breath, mascara smudged but a smile still on your face. You look at him with your hundred gigawatt smile. It threw him for a loop, the sudden hope in your eyes when only yesterday you were crying yourself to sleep.
"Its for when he comes back. Want to help me?"
Keigo takes the loop of lights from your hands and nods.
"Make some room kid."
“He likes the way they flow together like electricity”
Covering the house in Christmas lights was actually a fun distraction for the both of you while Dabi was gone. Keigo was in charge of the higher lights that covered the rooftop, but you had plenty of fun stringing them around the plants surrounding the house. After finishing your impromptu decorating, you both decide to spend the rest of the night in the living room.
"Just follow my steps, baby."
"If I followed you I'd end up on my face." You laugh while holding onto his shoulders as you both hovered in the air, his wings flared open to keep you both afloat. What steps was he even talking about? For the past ten minutes he just held you both up and spun in a lazy circle. His wings were doing all the work while his feet did nothing.
"I’ll make you soar kid." He winks at you. "One day you'll see. I’ll take you to dance sessions and everything."
"I'll hold you to it."
“He likes her ringtone and the way she'll say hello”
When it came to being part of the League, Dabi had to be careful on what information he let loose. They couldn't know about his relationships. If Shigaraki knew then he would most definitely use it to his advantage. Dabi had two weak points and that was you and Keigo. But when he was out with the LoV, he had his ways of being with you.
“Hello! This is my voicemail, which means I'm probably busy right now. Leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP! Have a good day!”
Dabi holds his phone limply in his hand, looking up at the cracking ceiling of the League's current hideout. He had to make face for now, which meant staying away from you and Keigo for a while. Still, he had his phone, one thing he was glad Giran gave him after he burnt his old one accidentally. He knew you were busy, and he had no intention of talking to you while on the job, but to hear your voice was enough for him.
Weeks later, he welcomes the sound of your voice as you greet him, receiving him back into the house with open arms.
"Whats with all lights?" He laughs in response to your face nuzzling into his chest and feathers lifting the both of you to Keigo who stood in the doorway.
"Its to a bright future."
“He likes the way her hands feel even if they're cold”
Dabi couldn't blame you for having cold hands, but he found it cute how you were so insecure about being cold all the time. He loved how you latched onto him rather than Keigo when the temperature began to drop. Maybe it was the fact that he was gone for so long that he didn't mind being clung to. But somehow he found himself in situations he wasn't sure how to handle.
“How long am I going to be in the middle for?” He mumbles under his breath as the two of you cling to him from underneath piles of blankets.
“Until winter is gone.” You state simply.
“It isn't winter yet.”
“Did she stutter?” Keigo grumbles from under the sheets.
Eventually he would grow tired of it, but for now he let the two of you do what you wanted. He was home after all.
“And when she’s away from him, she’s away from home”
After two years of dating you knew you could never return to being without your boys. They were yours.
You reach upward, feeling the familiar rough texture of Dabi's scars along his neck and under his eyes. You drag your your thumb softly under his eye, breathing in his scent. From behind you, you could feel Keigo's breath fanning across your neck.
It was a lazy day today. No one needed them, no one needed you, it was just you and them. How long would the peace last? How long until one of your boys were called away? How long until one of them lost a battle?
No, you wouldn't think of that. For now, it was just you and them.
It wasn't often that Tokoyami encountered villains while out on a walk, especially on the rare breaks from school. It was almost ironic that he met more villains because of school than out of it. But it was Sunday night when he was thrown into a fight with several villains fresh from escaping a bank.
"Stay where you are and I will not have to resort to violence!" The Jet-Black hero in training shouts at the trio, Dark Shadow already covering him like an impenetrable armor.
The leader laughs, arms full of bags of cash. “You're scarin’ no one kid! Get outta the way if you don't want to get hurt!” From his skin, small missiles are launched in random directions, aimlessly exploding and causing havoc for the civilians around them.
Dark Shadows arms lengthen and catch the missiles headed toward the people still left in the area, crushing them into itself, not minding the explosion as it detonates in itself. It was nighttime, meaning Dark Shadow had plenty of strength to tank a few small explosions. Maybe it had Bakugou to thank for that.
Tokoyami runs at the leader, evading his missiles and weak kicks with his fluid agility. The criminal grunts and drops the money to free his arms, but he only leaves himself open as the young hero plants a well placed hit to his solar plexus, causing the villain to double over in pain.
With another hit, Tokoyami sends the leader into unconsciousness. Taking no chances, he uses his body weight to hold down the villain, his knee planted on the villains back while binding his arms in a tight hold.
“Shit!”
Tokoyami turns his attention to one of the three villains, his eyes narrowing with anger. The lackey’s fists were covered in blood, and there was no questioning where it came from.
Seeing the look on Tokoyami’s face the two lackeys merge into one, setting their sights on fleeing before any more heroes arrive. “Lets get out of here!” But as they merge and grow to a towering height, their body collides with the electrical post next to them, the wires tangling in their hair and around their neck. With a pained shriek, they flail their body and break the transmission lines, effectively sending the city into darkness.
.
He was calm.
Was.
A familiar thrum of power floods Tokoyami as Dark Shadow roars to life, gathering power from the darkness around them. It lifts the villain underneath their grasp and squeezes him in it's claws. The sound of bones grinding against each other would haunt Tokoyami forever.
“Dark Shadow- Stop this!” Tokoyami struggles to pull himself together as Dark Shadow engulfs him. He felt like he was drowning, and all he could hear were the terrified screams of the civilians he had been protecting.
Now they needed protection from him.
What kind of cruel irony was that?
He didn't know what was going on on the outside. He had no sense of time as he vaguely feels Dark Shadow lumber forward, doing who knows what. Muffled screams of fear were all that he could take count of.
It was his own personal hell being stuck inside Dark Shadow.
He felt monstrous.
Like a villain.
It was only when a flare was shot at Dark Shadow that he understood where the dark being was headed.
The familiar face of Hound Dog pierced through the dark, he could make out a flare gun in the counselors hand.
All he remembered next was how loud Dark Shadow screamed when the lights of U.A. shown upon them both, effectively sending the being reeling back into him.
- - -
It was silent the next day, and no one knew how to comfort their classmate. No hello’s got through to him, no invitations to lunch, no jokes or jabs even incited a chuckle. Nothing.
He looked haunted, and they knew if they didn't get through to him soon, he would be in an even worse state.
With hushed whispers, the students leave the classroom to go to lunch, leaving him alone as he stays still in his seat, his fists clenched and shaking.
But they didn't leave to escape him. No, they left to bring in a gentle reinforcement. You.
“Hey.”
Tokoyami opens his bloodshot eyes. Forcing himself to look at you, he couldn’t hide the tiredness he felt. He couldn't force himself to lie to you. But couldn't force himself to speak either.
You take a seat in front of him, sitting backwards in order to face him. The others had informed you of what happened. It was hard to imagine the normally chipper Dark Shadow to be so violent, to both Tokoyami and to a villain, but it only took a look at him to know they were not exaggerating.
“I want you to know, it's okay to be angry.”
Nothing.
“It's okay to feel angry and upset. To feel used- because I know that look. You told me about your training camp. When Dark Shadow got out of control. How you felt used, like your body wasn't your own. I understand.”
A twitch of a hand.
“But what happened wasn't your fault. You didn't cause damage to do damage. You stepped up to be a hero, and something out of your control happened. That doesn't make you a monster Yami.”
“I could have killed him.” His voice is strangled as it comes out, forced and choppy. He hisses. “I could have killed everyone there, and it would be my fault.”
You stay quiet, waiting for him to continue. But when he doesn't, you inhale and keep going, trying to find the center of what he was feeling.
“Do you see yourself as a monster?”
“Am I not one?” He looks at you intensely, eyes crazed with anguish. “Am I the cage, or am I the lion?”
There it was, the issue he had been burying since the night of the incident. You found it. His breaking point.
You reach out for his hands, using no force at all in order to open them to hold them in your own. Bloody crescents marred his palms where he had dug his nails into his flesh, but for now you ignored it.
Looking him in the eyes, you affirm to him. “You are no monster. You are a hero. You can choose what you want to be Yami, this doesn't control you.” You squeeze his hands and bring them close, hoping your warmth would warm his cold hands. It was as if his body was refusing him comfort. So you would do it for him.
“Forget about what could have been, and think of what can be. That's what is important. What you can do now.” Again you squeeze his hands. Vaguely, you feel him squeeze back. “You can train harder. You can prepare for blackouts and dark nights. You can do so much, Yami. But don't look at the things out of your control.”
A quivering exhale brings your attention to his face. He looked tired, but more at ease, if that made any sense. He squeezes your hands and brings them to his beak. He couldn't kiss, but the sentiment was there as he closes his eyes and breathes in slowly to steady himself.
“Thank you. For your words. And for being here.”
You smile and close your eyes, shuffling in closer and resting your head against his. “I told you, if I was going to be with you, I would be your anchor. You're a ship Romeo, and I’ll be here when you need to slow down and take it easy.”
He opens his eyes and smiles at you. “I will remember that.”
You kiss his knuckles. “Good.”
Extra:
“Im sorry! Im sorry!” Dark Shadow scrambles about, waving its arms as it wails, “Never meant to hurt!”
You pat the shadow’s head, an awkward smile on your lips. It had been apologizing profusely ever since you came to walk with Tokoyami after classes were over. “It’s okay, it’s something we have to practice but we know you didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Right Romeo?” You look at Tokoyami who was- meters away from you.
“Romeo?” You asks again, unsure of why he was so transfixed on the tree next to him.
He snaps his gaze to you, eyes full of wonder as he utters a simple phrase.
“This is an apple tree.”
You don’t know how to respond.
“How long have we been walking past this tree without me knowing?” He sounds affronted as he once again looks at the tree with admiring eyes. Even moreso than he looks at you.
Was it weird to be envious of a fruit tree?
You sigh and continue on your walk. So much for him being yours.
- - -
Tag List: @evierena , @aradias-crypt , @kisshuggay
Two days of bedrest later, Hitoshi was at his prime and ready to leave. But instead of moving on and prowling the streets in search of a hero to corrupt, Hitoshi found himself standing in front of you with a look of utter delight as you tried to find an apron that could wrap around him. He didn't have the heart to tell you the straps were adjustable as you wrapped your arms around him to check the string’s length.
“Even this one? That's weird..” You mumble under your breath, face warm as you've essentially been hugging him for the entire time. Deciding enough was enough, you step back and remove the apron on yourself and put it on him instead. This one you knew would be enough as it was rather big on you.
“What do you think?” You ask with a big grin, hands on your hips as you eye him in the printed fabric.
He quirks a brow and turns his attention to the linen apron. It was beige with bright blue checkers and yellow embroidered flowers. On one hand it could have been much worse, but again, it wasn't really something he would ever find himself buying. Much less wearing.
He turns his attention to you, ready to say as much, he just couldn't wear it. But the smile on your face stopped him before he could get the words out.
He sighs in defeat, smiling crookedly at you. “It's good.” He runs his calloused fingers over the embroidered flowers. “Did you do this?”
“Yup, it took some poking myself but I managed.” You announce with a look of pride. Moving onward, you step past him and pass through a curtain separating the hall connecting your house with your shop. “This is where I work. Most of the flowers are downstairs in a mini greenhouse but some are up here to show what’s in stock.”
Hitoshi follows at your heels, instinctively checking the windows and doors. He glares at a bird perched on a branch by the window. Its eyes were too inquisitive for his liking. It reminded him of the helpers of an old classmate. Koda would use his quirk to communicate with animals, it was a small feat for him to have them spy and be a look out. If that bird was one of Koda’s-
“Hitoshi?” Your voice drags him back to reality.
He shakes his head at his foolishness. What was he thinking? That Koda had every bird on his side as his eyes in the skies? What next? He would be giving squirrels the side eye?
“Sorry, what were you saying?” He stuffs his hands in his pockets and follows your lead as you bring him to the potted plant section of your shop.
“Can you help me water these?” You point to what he assumes are hydrangeas but really it was a guessing game as he knew next to nothing about plants.
He gives you an uncertain nod, heart fluttering at your smile. Taking hold of a spray bottle and a small watering can, he listens to your instructions as you go through how to properly care for the small plants.
Apparently they were succulents.
Enjoyable until he began to notice the amount of birds resting on the branch from earlier.
After going through a mini crash course on horticulture, he is left alone to water the plants while you tend to a customer that came for their bouquet order. It wasn't half bad if he was being honest. The work was quiet and needed little thought. Check the moisture of the dirt, check for weeds or dryness, water the dry plants and trim leaves that outgrew their space. He kind of liked it. It was enjoyable.
Not in a million years did he believe he would be in the position he was in, measuring if the mint was bigger than it should be, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
He squints at them.
Ten birds on the same thin branch stretching out in front of your window.
All looking directly at him.
No. Not all on him.
One was looking right at you with its glassy eyes,
That just wouldn't do.
Turning on his heel after the customer leaves, Hitoshi walks to the counter and whispers to you. “I have to meet with someone outside. It’s an old schoolmate. Can I come back later?” He had no need to return, but he wanted to. You and your little shop intrigued him, and he wanted to keep this thing going. Whatever it was, he liked it.
You lean on the counter, cheeks as flushed as the begonias next to you. “Sure, you can stop by any time.”
Hitoshi takes a bow, winking at you as he slips off the apron uou gifted to him. “See you soon.”
Watching the television and seeing the navy blue Nomu being led away brought a strange sadness to you.
It showed no realization of what was going on, or concern on what they might do with it when it was taken into custody.
The other scientists were just as upset as you, but it was more because they lost their top tier nomu. Without it, there was more pressure than ever on perfecting the lower ranked Nomu that waited in their cells, submerged in liquid until their time to shine came.
Without the blue nomu to keep you company as you worked, you felt lonelier than you started when you were brought to the labs. You felt colder. Less than enthused. It didn't help that the other scientists were not very sociable either. But all that any of you were expected to do was work. Relationships, platonic or romantic, were forbidden. It stalled the production of nomu.
However, despite not having a human companion, you eventually got through to the nomu as you worked on perfecting them. They weren't like the blue nomu that had wormed its way into your heart, but they were close.
“7002, come here.” You call to a sleek grey nomu that was laying on it's back on a steel examination bed. It sits up sluggishly, two pairs of arms working to push it up to a sitting position. It's set of three eyes look at you owlishly, waiting for your commands. Instead you scoot your chair to the next bed to wake the next nomu. In total there were four under your care. These, unlike the navy nomu were meant more for delicate operations. They were speedsters, able to dish out damage and run before they could get caught. That was one trait you had to settle after the navy nomu had been captured. The nomu were ‘useless’ if they could only be used once before being seized. At least that's how Shigaraki saw it.
“54222, it's time to wake up.” You tap the leg of the nomu laying in front of you. It was similar to the ‘perfect’ nomu. The body structure mostly the same minus a few alterations. It's face was without eyes, and a glass like dome covered it's brain. The glass acted as protection though the nomu were more or less indestructible even without it.
This nomu was your favorite of the four that had been left in your care. It was similar to that of the perfect nomu, curious and always eager to follow you. You weren't sure who it's base was, but it seemed that the base was someone with a size quirk. Like the hero Mt. Lady, it could change its size exponentially, or shrink and become thin like a disk. Regardless of it's quirkiness, you enjoyed its presence all the same. It was good company.
“Come on, we need to check your vitals for the day.” Standing up from your chair, you acknowledge the three other nomu behind you. “All of you. Come with me.”
They release a mixture of roars and groans, normal behavior that you didn't bat an eye at.
You look at 54222, neck straining to look at it's face. It had something similar to an underbite, it's lower teeth on full display, canines sharp and ready to tear through flesh and metal. Again, that odd feeling runs through you. You imagine the perfect nomu, it's dark navy skin and bird like face.
With a sigh, you pull on it's hand to get it moving. “Come.” As you walk down the halls to the proper room, you glance behind you at your array of ducklings. The nomu stumbled and dragged themselves behind you. Towering masses of muscle but so easy to control. It made you feel powerful. But it also made you feel as if you were a daycare worker. They were so capable but so-
A winged nomu falls forward after tripping on their own wings, screeching on the way down.
So silly.
“7674, help them up please.” You wait for said nomu to pick up the other, amused at how jerky their movements were. But what was science if everything was made perfect? There would be no room to grow.
54222 nudges you on your side, letting out a groan, signalling it wanted to enter the room. Or that you were off schedule.
You grin and rub its arm. “We’re on time, it's okay.” Without further ado, you enter the room with all four nomu, greeting the other scientists and waiting by the door in order to bring the nomu back to their capsules.
- - -
The last nomu to enter their tank was 54222. You couldn't lie, you had a soft spot for it. It reminded you greatly of the perfect nomu.
Sitting down on the edge of an examination table, you beckon 54222 in front of you, legs spreading as you lean back onto your palms. “Come here.” You croon in a quiet voice.
54222 moves in closer, head tilting as it kneels in front of you, used to this little routine of yours. It sniffs the air, relying on the rest of its senses to guide it on where to go.
With a hand, you pat the glass dome on it's head, caressing it's jaw as you bring it in closer. “Good. Very good.” With it's mouth right by your core, you ease your fingers into its mouth, pulling it's tongue out slowly, careful not to cut it on its own sharp teeth. With its tongue in hand, you coo gently at the now purring nomu. “Such a good boy.”
It's tongue instinctively stretches out, placing a long lick against you. You were already dripping with want, warmth blooming in every part of your body. When its tongue made purchase, you instantly clenched your hands into fists, holding back a moan as its tongue explored your nether regions. You let go of its tongue and placed your fist in your mouth, biting it to muffle your sounds of pleasure.
Its tongue was thick and warm, slimy but not so that it was uncomfortable. It was just the right temperature and feeling. And gods did it feel good on you. In you.
This wasn't the first time you met nomu late into the night, body limp in its arms as it pleasured you over and over. But it was the first time it was 54222 that pleasured you. The nomu that had been taken away after the U.S.J. incident was your main partner.
The ache of losing it stung, distracting you from the pleasure of 54222’s tongue wrapped around you.
A few tears slip from your eyes as you remember the lost look in the perfect nomu’s eyes the hours before it was sent with Shigaraki on the mission. It didn't know what was happening, all it knew was its mission. And now what was happening to it? Were they dissecting it and taking it apart to understand how it was put together? Or did they simply kill it after finding out it was no longer its human base, it no longer could return to human society.
“Ah!” You moan, thoughts brought back to the matter at hand as the nomu stands between your legs, its thick cock rubbing against you.
The creature leans over you, pulling open your legs and holding you by your thighs as it sniffs your face, using its tongue to lap up your tears. With little warning, it bucks its hips, eager to enter you.
You chuckle at its enthusiasm, sadness smoothed over as you focus on your partner. “Here.” You guide its massive cock to your hole, using the saliva it left behind as a lubricant. Whether using its saliva or not, you knew it was going to hurt. But the pain was pleasurable as it slowly pushes each inch into you, sinking deeper in until it bottoms out.
“What-” You pant, rubbing yourself as you squeeze around its cock with your tight walls. “Wh-What a good boy.” You reach upward, clawing its back for purchase as it thrusts into you. Your body rocks back and forth with its violent thrusts. It wasn't lovemaking, it was pure fucking. And you needed it. You needed the pain to dull the loss of the navy nomu you had lost. “Faster- Faster baby, I c-can take it!”
The nomu’s purrs grow louder as it ruts into you. It's grip was bruising and blood leaked from how much it stretched you out, but with your healing quirk you easily healed the damage as it was made.
“Make me cum!” You cry out, nails digging into its back, doing no damage to it at all. “Be a good boy and make me cum!”
54222′s grip switches to hold you by your hips, dark marks left behind on your thighs. It flips you around onto your stomach and pulls you onto its cock, its size expanding as the nomu grows more and more excited. Its growth quirk still hadn't been fully controlled, but you relished in the fact when it came down to sex.
With a muffled cry, you climax around its cock, walls already stretched to the max and unable to stretch any further, and yet its cock continued to pulse inside of you. You were fully satisfied but it was still chasing after its own climax.
After several more brutal minutes of 54222 driving its cock into your bloody hole, strings of hot cum pour into you, plugged in as the nomu pushes its cock in as far as it could go to keep the cum from seeping out of you.
You moan softly, reaching a hand down to stroke its arm. “Good boy, very good boy.”
It roars happily at the sound of your praise, pulling out with a loud pop. Ropes of cum pour out of your abused hole, but the pain was fleeting as you heal near instantaneously. You turn around onto your back and look at the eyeless nomu, stretching your arm to stroke its cheek.
You missed your old nomu, but you could get used to 54222.
It was futile to push through the crowds of students, but you still tried to weasel your way into the heart. There were reporters and students all swarming the front gate, all trying to get into the school for some reason or another.
You just wanted to get through and find your friend.
Somehow you managed to slip between the heated bodies and ran past your fellow students, ignoring their confused faces as you raced up the stairs to the 1-A classroom. You are out of breath, heart thudding against your ribs as you see the students mingling outside the doors. Some were already inside while others lingered outside, talking amongst themselves. Few had signs of injuries, most looked completely fine. The only sign of something having gone on is the vaguely haunted look in the students eyes, the way their eyes shifted about.
You hold a hand to your chest, panting and gulping in breaths. “Toko- Tokoyami!”
A student looks your way, her golden eyes bright compared to her black sclera. “Tokoyami?”
You try again, tears in your eyes, the panic rushing up your throat and curling around your vocal cords like a fist. “Tokoyami! Is he okay?”
The pink skinned girl jogs to you, placing a comforting hand on your back. “Woah there! It's okay. He’s not here yet but he's okay.” She frowns, “This is about the attack two days ago right?” They had closed the school the other day, wanting to go over security protocol before letting the students back on campus.
You nod. Any embarrassment you might have felt about acting so strongly- or strangely to some- was overrun by your worry for your friend. You had been hanging out with him more often, his presence always soothing. He acted dark and mysterious, but he was sweet and courteous. He never judged you when you spoke passionately about your interests, or had too many questions, or even the rare times you had nothing to say at all. He was a good friend.
Hearing about the attack on the U.S.J. with the students of 1-A being at the center of it all shook you to your core. You hadn't thought to exchange numbers with your friend so you had no way of knowing if he made it out safely.
"Look- my name is Mina Ashido by the way- you can stay here with me until he gets here okay?" She strokes your back soothingly, something you greatly appreciated. You were a stranger to her yet she treated you so kindly. Later on you would be thankful Tokoyami had such a nice girl in his class.
"Thank you." You tell her your name, your breath now evening out as you wait for the familiar face of your friend.
Mina moves the two of you closer to the wall to keep from blocking the door for the other students. She twiddles her thumbs before speaking up. "So, are you and Tokoyami a thing?" She questions in a playful tone.
"Us?" Your mind blurs. "No- we- we're friends. We only met this semester. I hope we're close but I don't think we know each other well enough for that." You didn't mind her question. In elementary when you were but a shy wallflower, it would have sent you into a blushing fit. But you've grown from that! Still, you felt your heart race just a bit at the thought of your chivalrous friend having some affection towards you.
“Do you want to know him more? So you can be like that?” She hints with a small smile. It was a small nudge. A sly suggestion.
Did you? Well, you could imagine it. He was a good person, a very good person if what you had learned so far had anything to say.
But there was something that held you back from exploring the idea any further.
“Maybe.” You respond quietly, eyes on the floor, hands now gripping the strap of your satchel. “I- I'm just afraid I'm not enough.”
“What do you mean by that?” She asks. But before you can answer her, she nudges you gently on the ribs, pointing to the end of the hall. “There he is!” She cups her hands over her mouth. “Tokoyami!”
The boy startles, his gaze first going to Mina before snapping to you. His sharp eyes immediately soften. He quickened his pace, reaching you in a matter of minutes.
“Is there something wrong?”
Rather than answer him you take hold of his hand and twirl around him, lifting each of his arms, searching for injuries. There was nothing, luckily, as you heard a few students had been in the heart of the battle as well as the homeroom teacher being badly injured.
You exhale a sigh of relief and lower his arm. “You're alright.”
“You were concerned over my safety?” He inquires. “I was away from the heat of the battle, safe for the majority of the fight.”
Calm washes over you, your shoulders losing their tension. “Thats good..”
The bell rings, signaling class was to begin soon. You look to the stairs behind you, knowing your class was rather far from his. “I have to go, but I’m glad you were- are safe.” Remembering the pink skinned girl next to you, you quickly add, “And you too Mina.”
The girl laughs, knowing you had forgotten she was there, but she wasn't offended. Watching your interaction with the boy in front of you both was amusing for her. He acted so aloof in class, it was sweet seeing him invested in another person.
Tokoyami reaches out to you, his hand lowering from reaching for your shoulder, to your hand, then to his side. He clenches it into a fist. “I will see you at lunch, yes?”
You nod, “Yeah.”
“Until then.”
You nod to then both before turning and heading to class.
- - -
At lunch, you wait for Tokoyami underneath a tree in the grassy area behind the main school building. You hadn't touched your food, even your favorite meal wasn't enticing enough to urge you to eat.
You thought of what Mina had asked you earlier.
What was stopping you from wanting Tokoyami’s affection? You knew the answer. It wasn't him. In fact, you felt warm when he was around. You felt every metaphor for love you've ever read. Every single one.
But your indecisiveness was what stopped you.
He had a goal on what he wanted to be. You didn't.
You were afraid you would drag him down, be a weight instead of someone who could grow with him.
“There is something bothering you.” Tokoyami starts off as soon as he sits down next to you, setting his tray aside. “Tell me.”
“I’m starting to become a poet.” You lay back on the soft grass, tilting your head to look at him. “You've rubbed off on me and now I can’t stop thinking.”
“That’s good.”
“Not really. It’s like I have to run a marathon to grab a cup that's right next to me.” You poke his arm. “And you're the cup.”
Tokoyami lays down next to you, Dark Shadow pooling next to him, lazily dozing in the shade. “Tell me.” He repeats in earnest.
“I think I like you.”
From beside you, you could feel him tense up. Out of awkwardness or shyness you can't tell. But it was out in the open now. You couldn't swallow your words back up.
“It would be really easy to love you.” You look up at the branches of the tree above you, arms forlding over your chest like a mummy. “You're the kind of boy I read about in novels. Sweet and mysterious. Like dark chocolate with a creamy milk chocolate center. But I’m just a bitter truffle. I’m not at the point where I can be in the same box as you.” You look back at him. “Does that make sense?”
“It does.” He says in an odd tone, as if he was surprised that it did in fact make sense.
You trudge onward. “I don't want my bitter to unbalance you. If I were to be something to you- or to anyone, I would want to be an anchor. A helper, not a weed that stunts their growth.” Your eyes flicker away from his. “You're my friend. I like it this way. If I can’t like you that way, I’d be satisfied with this.”
Now it was up to him. You felt you said your piece, the thoughts that had been swimming in your mind since you first heard his laugh. It was a small infatuation, but you weren't lying when you said it would be easy to love him.
You could imagine days of sunshine and rain, and they would all be full of life with him by your side. It wasn't obsession. It was comfort and sweetness. It was calm in the eye of an unknown storm.
You hear the sound of ruffling as he moves onto his side, laying on his side to look at you properly.
“You are bittersweet. You are incomplete. But we can balance each other, piece by piece.” He offers to you, his words a soothing balm to the aching in your chest at the thought of him potentially pushing you away.
“I’m not too much for you?” You whisper. “I know I can be nosy and straight forward. It doesn't bother you?”
He chuckles. “No. I think you're just what I need.”
- - -
Extra:
“So, does this mean I can technically call you my boyfriend?”
“Whatever you are comfortable with.”
You give it some thought, turning over phrases of affection in your mind. What fit him? Boyfriend felt odd. You liked it but it didn't feel like the right word..
“My better half?”
He chokes on his apple, covering his beak with his elbow.
“Are you acting shy now?” You giggle, feeling lighter now that your feelings were out in the open.
“I- I am not against it in private.”
“Okay.. how about.. Romeo.” You shoot him a wink.
A smile tugs at his mouth. He nods in acceptance. “I will take it.”
You pick up your bottle of water, pausing to add a small note before taking a gulp. “As long as we don't go through with the whole poisoning bit.”
Do you plan on writing anything for Sero? (He deserves more love 😔)
I actually do have plans to do some stuff for Sero, he's one of my favorite characters so expect for him to get plenty of love! I’m just on the fence of whether to incorporate the headcannon of him being latino because while I really like it I know some people might be offended. So expect a mixture of both! (plus I need my beta to help with the Spanish because I personally know zip _(:3 」∠)_ )
A/N: Request from @coledrawsstuff , hope you like it! ^^
You meet him at the entrance exam
It was the day of the entrance exam, and you couldn't be more excited and terrified. You ran to the gates, opting out of using public transportation should you be late to the test, which meant you were already sweating despite the crisp breeze. Amid the students waiting to enter the testing room, you can't help but notice a boy stretching in blue gear. It was a little confusing, as it was yet to be the battle simulation test. Why was he stretching for.. Writing?
Suddenly you were grateful to have the excuse of over exertion on your side as you feel your face begin to warm.
He was.. Impressive looking. Though he was intimidating with how serious he was, he had the body of an Adonis.
Though you should have been studying your notes to prepare for the test, your eyes were glued to him. But your rational brain managed to snap you out of your gawking just enough to go back to the matter at hand.
Closing your eyes, you focus on the vibrations of metal around you. From a vending machine three miles away, the water fountain one block away, and to the steel charm in your palm, you relaxed and let your magnetism do it's work. You had to be in harmony with the metals you attracted, and this was the easiest way, just letting the metals come to you. Not that you were going to summon a vending machine to pummel something. That would make way to much of a scene. So you continued your little practice.
Meanwhile, you let your mind drift to the muscular boy in glasses.
Unfortunately your magnetism attracted something else too, or someone else
In your defense, the boy was built like a brick wall, which was hard not to look at. You couldn't help but wonder how much training and what kind of strict regimen it took to maintain a body like that. You surely didn't have the energy to maintain a system like his.
“What are you doing?!”
A voice snaps you out of your thoughts, causing you to stumble forward and smack into something sturdy. “Huh?” You look up, throat turning dry as you stare directly into the eyes of the Adonis himself.
He glares at you, his glasses catching the light and obscuring his dark blue eyes.
You hold back a squeak and back away, giving him an extra two feet of space. “Sorry about that, I didn't mean to-” Your body pulls itself back to him, causing you to bump knees with him.
You look downward and find the cause of the scene. He had engines in his calves.
Oh goddess..
You release your magnetism, tripping over your own two feet to create more space between you two. “I swear it wasn't intentional!” He holds your gaze for a moment, his mouth open as if ready to chew you out, but before he can the Pro Hero Present Mic yells over the cacophony of students, telling them it was time to start.
The boy mutters something under his breath and walks away, dropping to the ground and launching himself through the doors, bypassing a green haired boy that looked as nervous as you.
You give the frozen boy a sympathetic nod before running after the other students that had already begun their conquest of Battle Block B.
“Please don't let me find him.” You mumble to yourself.
You had laid out a trap and magnetized the robots to crash into each other, crunching them up into a ball of scrap metal
It was some miracle that the test was within the normal use of your quirk, so you were able to make a quick strategy on how to gather up points. You were uneasy of course, because they must know that there is bound to be a kid with magnetism or ferrokinesis on their side. Keeping that in mind, you build up on your plan for aiming for the top spot.
So far the test had been a breeze for you. With your magnetism you managed to pull the robots into themselves, crushing them like wads of scrap paper. Occasionally you would spot the green haired boy, feeling pity for him when he would arrive just a little too late to gather points. You were tempted to help him, but with the clock counting down, you did whatever you could to get more points for yourself. You were at thirty seven and were working on getting an extra six points by creating a giant trap. It wasn't something you had practiced before, magnetizing more than two large objects at a time, but you had little choice if you wanted to enter the hero course.
Gathering your strength you pull your hands together and magnetize three of the giant robots to clash together, but by doing this you miss seeing a fourth robot readying to bash you into a demolished building.
He saves you from a robot about to blast you, running and catching you in his arms
Tenya Iida was many things, he liked to believe that chivalrous was one of those qualities. As a member of the prominent Iida family of heroes, he strived to make his family proud. He put all his might into the test, knowing that the faculty were watching everyone with keen eyes, seeing how they assessed each situation and complication. But what he did not take into account was you. You threw him off his groove, off his calm mentality. Even now he wondered how you were fairing against the robots. But he didn't have to ponder for very long as he saw a level 2 villain bot prepare to smack you aside.
He had no time to warn you as his instincts kicked in. Engines blazing, he jets towards you, scooping you into his arms and carting you both to a safer direction.
“You must watch out for yourself! A hero is vigilant and always aware of their surroundings! You could have been badly injured!” He yells at you, unsure why he felt so peeved. You wouldn't have died, the heroes knew to hold back enough for a simulation like this. And yet here he was, angry with you, someone he barely met.
You release your magnetism on the bots from earlier, knowing they were turned to scrape when you heard the resounding clang of empty metal. “I-I was fine!”
But of course he did not believe you. He just- it was frustrating to see you defend yourself when you didn't know the situation you were in!
He sets you down and runs off, barking from over his shoulder as he moves on to gather more points. “Keep an eye on your surroundings!”
Towards the end of the exam he realizes what your plan was and swoons on the inside
With the exams over, Tenya returns home and waits for his brother to drive before retelling the story of how his experience was. He made sure to include the people he got to meet, which included you.
“Maybe that was their plan.” His older brother Tensei says while using his chopsticks to dunk a dumpling in a dish of sauce. “Gather the battle bots to use them as a wrecking ball. If you don't have a weapon, you make one.”
Tenya pauses in his eating, covering his mouth to hide his mid bite into a cabbage roll.
Was that your plan? Were you just making yourself an opportunity? Did he squander your work?
His mother laughs while his father smiles at him as he shakes his head.
“Next time you see them, apologize.” Tensei winks. “And don't just go picking up people without reason.”
You are in 1-A, taking the place of Hagakure, meaning you were far in front of Iida
When you received word of entering U.A.’s hero course, you were absolutely ecstatic, nothing could ruin your mood! Except maybe the dreaded fear that engine boy would be joining you in 1-A..
Taking your seat in the front corner of the room, you fiddle with the steel charm on your necklace, latting it bounce above your fingertips and circle your fingers. There wasn't much to do other than to wait for the teacher to arrive. You were early, and gratefully so, as it took you awhile to find the classroom. Your nerves had begun to settle but as soon as the bell had run and the class filled with nearly all 19 students (excluding yourself of course), you knew what was going to happen.
“You there!”
Oh goddess.
The boy from the entrance exam walks up to you, towering over you as he stands erect in front of your desk. The steel charm you were playing with plops onto the desk with a light thud. “Yes?”
From the angle you were looking at him, it looked as though he were glaring into your soul, sending an uncomfortable chill down your spine.
He chops a hand in the air. “My name is Tenya Iida, of the Iida family! I apologize for what I did to you at the entrance exam, but you must show more care about your own well being! No one will be there to save you next time! We are supposed to be the saviors, not the saved!”
It takes you a moment to process his words, but by the time he moves to his seat, you have no chance to say anything.
What a weird boy..
You occasionally give him looks but are much too afraid to act
As class carried on and situations arised, you began to see past Tenya’s abrasive personality. He meant well, but he performed with such energy that it was difficult for you to relax near him. You wanted to be his friend, he was a good guy. You had heard his laughter and seen his smile with his small group of friends, and you thought it might be nice if he smiled at you like that.. But how were you to get through to him??
He too wants to get closer, but his personality makes it very difficult to discern anger from excitement
Tenya knows he's a bit on the.. Extreme side when he gets excitable, so he enlists the help of his friend Midoriya to talk to you.
“Hey um- over here?" Midoriya waves to you from his spot at one of the lunch tables. He was alone with just his tray, innocent enough, so you go to him. Despite being classmates you didn't get the chance to really talk with Midoriya before, so you figured now would be a good time.
"Hi, did you want to talk about something?" You question while sitting across from him, already picking up an orange to begin peeling it.
Midoriya looks down at his tray, hands fidgety. "Um, yeah. It's about Iida."
Your mood dips slightly, thumb accidentally jamming into the soft flesh of the citrus fruit. "What about him?"
"Do you.. hate Iida?"
This threw you off-course. You had been expecting him to talk up his friend and how great of a person he was, not question if you hated him. Because if you were being honest, you didn't hate him. Sure he intimidated you, but the way he acted around the others made you think he was just hard to get through. Sort of like Todoroki, though Todoroki still was in his own shell.
"I don't hate him." You pile the peels onto your tray, glancing around the room for Iida before biting your lip. "He's a little much.. but I think he's kinda sweet. He's just a little scary sometimes."
The boy in front of you sighs in relief, slumping slightly in his seat. "Yeah, he can be really excitable huh?"
You smile, "A little?" You mimic Iida's signature move of arm chopping the air.
Midoriya laughs. "Like that! But if you look past that he's a really good person. He scared me at first too. But, try getting to know him. We're classmates, and I think he wants to get to know you, he's just bad at it."
Considering his words, you pull the orange in half and offer him a piece. "I'll give it a try."
You two are paired for a project which leads you to slowly getting to know him better
For a class project, you had drawn lots to assign partners as there were obvious cliques already formed. Your teacher didn't like the idea of such bias and so the polling system was chosen instead. The girls urged you forward, trying to get your mind off of the odds of you picking the boy glaring at you from behind the class. Reaching into the box, your heart nearly burst out of your chest when you read the words Tenya Iida in perfect script. Trudging back to your seat after announcing your partner, you take a peek at him in the most subtle way you could, but to your dismay, he was already looking at you with his normal stoic face.
“Is this okay?”
“Of course it is! It is perfect!”
You jump in your seat, laughing nervously when Tenya yells, drawing attention to the two of you. You had scooted your seat closer to his in order to talk about the details of the project. It was a week-long examination of Pro Heroes and their strategies. In a way you were grateful for having him as a partner, he was well organized and fair, and wasn't too bad to look at either…
You pinch yourself on the cheek.
He was overall a good person, he was just so intimidating.
“Which hero do you believe is our best candidate?” He asks, nudging the list of names closer to you.
“I haven't thought of that yet.” You admit while taking hold of the paper. Your eyes widen curiously. “Hey your brother is on here!”
“He is?” Tenya leans in closer to look over your shoulder at the names, causing a pink blush on your cheeks. “You're right!” He announces proudly.
Looking at his jovial expression, something so different from his usual scowling (at least when you're looking) was refreshing, and caused a smile to form on your face.
“We could do the assignment on your brother, that way we'll get the best information!”
For the first time since you've met him, he smiles at you. A genuine smile.
“You're right, getting our information from the source will give us an advantage over the others. Our project will be flawless!”
Again, the damned color red rushes to your face, but this time he notices. Seeing your face turn pink caused an odd feeling to stir in his chest. Sure he had told himself he was wrong about you, like how he was wrong about Midoriya during the exams. But he never had the opportunity to say it to you.
Now that he had the chance, he.. He couldn't do it.
“S-Shall we set up a time to meet for the project?” He stumbles over his words. “For the project. That is due in a week. This project.”
You spare him the humiliation of telling him he repeated himself way to much and instead nod. “How about tomorrow afternoon. Do you think your brother will be free then?”
“My brother?”
“You know, to ask him questions?”
He blanks.
You giggle behind your palm, taking a pen and scribbling down your number before tucking it into his hand. “Just call me when you figure it out, ‘kay?”
He was an absolute mess, but luckily he had Tensei
On the day of your meeting, you get to the Iida household fifteen minutes earlier than you were supposed to. Unsure of whether to enter yet or not, you stay outside, sitting on the stone porch, admiring the koi pond in the corner. It was peaceful listening tenth bubbling water and the occasional chirping of birds. But not long into your wait, a boy looking similar to Tenya walks in through then front gates and to the porch where you sat.
The young man looks you over knowingly, a warm smile on his face as he offers his hand. “You're my little brother’s friend right?”
You take his hand and shake it firmly. “I am- I think.” You weren't sure exactly what you were to the young Iida really. He still acted rough and a little cold sometimes.
His brother exhales, his smile only warming. “Don't mind him, he's got some getting used to when it comes to socializing.” Unlocking the door, he beckons you inside. “Don't be shy, it’s safe to come in. I’ll grab him for you.”
You follow him inside, looking around at the pictures on the walls. “Actually we need you too.”
“Ah- right, right. Well, I’m here till five.” He speaks over his shoulder, loosening his tie as he walks upstairs to what you assume is the living space. “Tenya! Your friend is here!”
Straight away a loud thump sounds off from upstairs, followed by the sound of an engine and another thunk. You wince at the sound, smiling when you see Tenya walk downstairs with a red face and glasses askew.
Thats where the thumps came from.
“I apologize for my late arrival, I should have been the one to answer the door. My sincerest apologies!” He bends at the waist but you wave it off.
“Don't worry about it.” You hold up your bag where your laptop lay snuggly inside. “Lets begin.”
You finish the project in record time, leaving you with time for other things
It was no surprise to the class that you both received high marks for your work; you both were dedicated and reaching for the top spots in your class when it came to academics. But what did surprise them was how slow you both were when it came to your relationship. Be it romantic or platonic. So the girls set up a little something to finally speed things up. Hopefully you wouldn't kill them later for it.
Clutching a letter close to your chest, you stand in the middle of the training field, heart beating in your ribs like a wild horse.
The letter was not something you expected to receive. And it definitely wasn't from the person you thought you might receive one from. It was heartfelt and near-poetic, it was sweet and- the complete opposite of what you expected from Tenya Iida, the straight forward stoic.
Hell, you didn't even expect anything at all from him. Least of all a love letter.
During and after the project, you had to admit that deep inside his extreme exterior, he was a sweetheart. He meant the best and wanted only good things for others, but his excitement could make him.. terrifying. Still, you were willing to look past that and gibe him a chance.
If he would give you a chance..
When his figure finally appears, you squeeze the letter tighter in your hand, not even thinking of how crippled the delicately written note would be once you opened it up again.
He was dressed in his uniform, sweat gleaming on his skin. He must've ran all the way here after he was done with whatever business he had to deal with after school.
“You-” He pants, “You're really here.”
You furrow your brows. “I am. You wrote for me to meet you here.”
Tenya takes in a deep breath and exhales slowly, reaching into his breast pocket and drawing out a similar colored letter. “I was told to come here as well. By you.” He opens the letter, scanning through the words before stopping on a line. “Meet me at the training field by five o’clock. Please, don't be late.”
He tucks the letter away. “Those were your words, weren't they?” A strange look is in his eyes, and now you can't discern whether the color blooming on his face is from his run or from something else.
“It wasn't me.. I got the same letter, and I thought.. well.. I thought it was from you.” You open up the crumpled paper, looking over the confession that was written in delicate writing. It certainly didn't sound like his normal approach at talking, but maybe a part of you hoped that he.. liked you.
The two of you stay silent, listening to the whistling of wind passing through the trees.
“Did you think it was true?”
Your gaze snaps to him.
“..What?”
He looks down, a hand on his neck while the other still clutches the love letter in his hand. “Did you believe it? That I.. like you?”
You think back: your first day meeting him, asking him for notes, watching him take on challenges with pure passion, encouraging his friends and never giving up on them, the softness of his hand when he helped you down the stairs of his home when you twisted your ankle. There was moments where you believed you might love him.
“I hoped it was true.” You say quietly. “I hoped you liked me.”
Again, silence.
He looks at the letter in his hand, face ablaze with pink and red.
“The letter, wasn't far off from reality.”
You don't have to look at him to know he's moving closer to you. Your magnetism allows you to feel when he's inches away.
