Hello, hope you're having a good day!
Can I put in a request for either Mezo or Fumikage (writer's choice via the "holy shit two cakes" meme since I love 'em both) where Reader is a very well-spoken person who just FUMBLES around the other because they just immediately formed a crush the moment they met eyes? And Mezo/Fumikage think he's scaring Reader away or that he did something wrong while Reader is just thinking of how attractive his supposed "weirdness" is, aside from how much they like his personality of course. Cue some misunderstandings and Reader being so embarrassed as they have to clarify that "No I don't hate you, I'm just down bad- who said that!?"
Apologies if this is much, I'm just excited to see someone write about my boys and I'm trying to be brave on tumblr lmao
𐔌 . ˚ 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘿𝙊𝙉’𝙏 𝙃𝘼𝙏𝙀 𝙈𝙀 .ᐣ.ᐟ ֹ ₊ ꒱
˖°𓇼𓂃 [ They thought you hated them before you finally confessed .ᐟ ]
༄.° ┆ [ 𝗙𝗨𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗞𝗢𝗬𝗔𝗠𝗜 + 𝗠𝗘𝗭𝗢 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗝𝗜 × 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥 / 𝗢𝗡𝗘-𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧 ]
༄.° ┆ [ 𝗧𝗪: Light stalking (from reader's part); mentions of past bullying; ! ]
༄.° ┆ [ 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘: Asterism, my lad, I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting for a full month for this. For my formal apology, I made this both for Tokoyami and Shoji. Enjoy!!!!!!! 🥹🫶 ]
【 常闇踏陰 — 𝗙𝗨𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗞𝗢𝗬𝗔𝗠𝗜 】 ༉‧₊˚.
It all started when you, on one fateful lunch break, got your homework done with the help of none other than Fumikage Tokoyami. Otherwise known as the boy you'd been crushing on since the start of the first school year.
You were nervous when you first asked for help on a particular question on the page- Unbelievably nervous with each word you spoke to him, even more ecstatically antsy when he also needed help on certain things, and proposed the two of you solve the page together... Every single one of those words you'd reprimand yourself for sounding so... Tense! Your voice was always strained when you talked to him about which answers to write and what words to use- And it was unnerving to you more than simply talking to him was!
You'd think that Tokoyami would've found you beyond weird for acting like a total fool in front of him. Who even stammers trying to ask for a pencil?! And while it was true, Fumikage had other thoughts in his mind...
He always knew how you seemed to avoid him at first. During training, where the two of you wound up getting matched together, you always seemed a nervous kind of anticipated to leave his side as quickly as possible. During small talk he initiated? Distant, distracted. In the classroom when he wanted to ask you about something that was on the board? You threw him quick words like you wanted him to stop talking with you as soon as possible.
Those small acts would lead to Fumikage end up believing that maybe you hated being near him...
Or worse, you were scared of him.
"You're just overreacting. Don't stress over that!" Dark Shadow would tell him late at night in the darkness of his room, but Tokoyami never really did seem to let that thought go. Even if he learned how to tune out the people who would bully him and mock him while attending previous schools, it still stung to Fumikage to be seen as someone "bizarre".
But he supposed he couldn't do anything about it much, could he? You weren't hurting him (directly, at least) and you surely weren't making fun of him in any way, so he tried to let it go.
Until the two of you got paired up once more to do a project for English class.
Great, it was just exactly what he needed... alone time with you.
The moment the rest of the class started grouping up with their pairs to start the project, Fumikage deemed himself fated to always run into the bad things in life. Even when he actually did try to be more sociable with you (a rarity from his part), you always seemed so... Jumpy? Still too distant. And it irked him more than he cared to admit, though his beak remained close about the situation. At least to you.
"Another cryptic affair we have yet to uncover." Back into the safety coffins of his dorm, Tokoyami sighed out, throwing his ballpoint pen onto the middle of the desk as he leaned back in his chair. "I just... There's a lot to unveil here. I don't get why they would dislike me, out of all people." He stated out of nowhere to his shadow companion, who hovered nearby.
"You're still seriously on that?! It's like you're obsessed with them!" Dark Shadow groaned for what seemed the hundredth time.
"Perhaps it was something I said the first time we spoke?" Fumikage thought out loud, bluntly ignoring the annoyed wails of his quirk as he kept pondering. "Do you recall anything erroneous I could've said while me and my classmate were doing our homework, Dark Shadow?"
"No, I don't, Fumikage. Because it was over months and months and months ago! LET IT GO!"
"It could've been a slip of the tongue, maybe..."
"They probably don't like you just because!"
"Mayhaps they think I dislike them as well? People do tell me I have a glaring stare."
"Ugh!!!" He shot from his place hovering next to Tokoyami to shove himself underneath the black covered pillow of their bed, claws cupping the fluff around them to muffle any more of the boy's words. If Dark Shadow could quit being a quirk, he would. "Listen, if you're so worked up over it, then you should just ask them to hang out to make amends!"
Even if the quirk had yelled such thing to shut his counterpart up, Fumikage did actually light up a bit at the idea. The project — he had forgotten! He could ask you to hang out in a false pretense to make the project. You wouldn't have to accept his invitation if you didn't wish to; but, if you did, Tokoyami could actually learn about the reason of your cold distance towards him.
And in the very next day, he didn't bother sitting with anyone else as he made his way to you at the corner of the cafeteria.
"Ah... To m-make the project...? In your... Dorm room?" You began your stammering as soon as he talked to you: wide eyes looking at the bird headed boy trepidatiously as soon as Tokoyami finished his talking. Sat right next to you at least a chair away to give you room, focus boredly shifted on his food in a false act to look nonchalant about it.
"Correct. Of course, you do not have to take up on my offer — we could start this project whenever and wherever you'd like." His insouciant tone and the attractive type of apathetic look he sent your way made shivers run up your spine.
You'd get to be in Tokoyami's room with a free invite in?! The thought was enough to send you mentally spiralling. Why, yes you would take up on it!
"No! I mean, no, it's fine. We can do it at your dorm." You quickly waved your hands at him just as quickly as you shot down the idea of ever rejecting a chance like this.
Tokoyami simply gave you a satisfactory nod, holding a fork halfway to his beak. Internally, though? He was beyond gratified.
That's why, that very same day, the boy found himself sitting at his desk with you right by his side. He kept on sneaking glances at you as he lazily discussed the topics of the project he should be putting his entire attention on... But he really couldn't. Not when Fumikage promptly noticed that you still looked tense.
He worried that you'd forced yourself to attend this "hang out" just for the points that this project gives. Perhaps you'd rather be doing anything else than actually doing this with Fumikage — were you planning to make this without him?
He needed to find a way to lighten up the mood. Although, he really wasn't a master at doing that sort of thing. So maybe... Oh, music! Tokoyami always listens to music when he's studying. Maybe that would make you feel more comfortable!
"If you wish," Tokoyami's voice piping up out of the blue immediately got your attention, and your eyes shot up to meet his- But the crimson irises you loved so much were averted in a rather bashful fashion. "we could play some music while we work on this assignment. Simply to liven things up."
Truth to his word, your eyes did seem to gain a new light as you picked up on his offer.
"S-Sure!" Your hands were quick to pick your bag resting at the side of your chair, rummaging through the insides to find your phone. "Do you wanna listen to anything, uhm, specific?" You had an idea of what Tokoyami would like out of your entire playlist, but it wouldn't hurt if the boy did suggest something else. It'd be fine either way, even if your need to impress him in a way he seemed familiar with was huge.
Much to your relief, he said he was fine with anything you had in mind to play.
With newfound confidence and a bit of anticipation coiling at your stomach for his reaction, you pressed the "play" button and set your phone down a few inches away to rest.
Music played on.
Silence ensued.
None of you spoke.
Until, of course, Fumikage just had to say something.
"Are my ears deceiving me or is that Sisters of Mercy playing?"
Tokoyami sure as hell hit the jackpot when he asked you to play some music, and upon listening to your recommendation and pointing out a similar interest in the band, a cheery smile he'd never once seen before- so calm yet buoyant.
And from then on, the shared work at Tokoyami's desk was momentarily forgotten as you both took the opportunity to bond over similar tastes of music.
The two of you spent several minutes neglecting the feeling of awkwardness that once settled between the two of you- It felt good, to treat eachother as friends instead of acting on your timidity. Not that it had fully disappeared... Whenever his beak twitched into a smile just a little higher, your heart would hammer like you were in a neverending rollercoaster. A few stutters here and there, but you were gaining that confidence to fully forget you put up a barrier that blocked Tokoyami from actually knowing about your feelings.
Amidst the enthusiastic chatter, Fumikage couldn't help but comment on the sudden shift from long ago since the conversation had initially started:
"I'm glad we could share a moment like this. Better to have more friends than foes." The delighted smirk he had on his beak hadn't left his face since the very beginning of the conversation — he liked this type of atmosphere with you much more than the ones overflowing with hesitation and tension. A different kind of air where you laughed and smiled rather than shying away. But, in a rare moment of realisation, your chuckles seemed to transform into a small frown when you registered what Tokoyami had said.
"Foes? You thought of me as an enemy?" You asked him curiously. Even if the two of you can be considered friends now, your heart still hammered painfully at the thought of having been hated by the only guy you had liked for so long.
"Not at all, friend. I thought you were the one that hated me." Fumikage casually stated, closing up the thought with a dismissive wave of his hand.
But what he wanted to put in the past got you wanting to disclose it in your own way to ease your distress. You weren't just gonna start the beginning of your friendship (and potential romance) making Tokoyami think you had hated him from the very start! But before you could even register what words to pick, barely coherent rambling was already tumbling out from your mouth.
"Hate you?! No, you got it wrong! Well, I wasn't avoiding you because I hated you, I just get embarrassed easily, you know! I actually really like you-" You asserted in a panic to clear it out- Just as quickly, your own hand slapped over your mouth as if that prevented what already had been said from being said.
Your eyes shot up to his in an instant, back shot back down in shame when all you saw was silent shock in his eyes.
Gods, if you could, you'd dig up a hole and bury yourself inside.
But the floodgates had already opened, hadn't they? Would it be more healthy for you to just... Spit it all out? Fumikage had clearly been thinking negatively of your distancing from him, especially when he never thought of you as an enemy. So, with a deep breath to calm your nerves, you began:
"I, uhm... I never hated you, Tokoyami. I'm just really bad at managing my feelings. I thought that my crush for you was too obvious, and I didn't want you to find that out, obviously-"
You didn't dare glance up from where your eyes were set on the table, a bit anticipated because of the silence he was giving you.
"So I tried hiding, thought that would be a better option than making a fool of myself each time we interacted." You gave him a dry chuckle.
A painful silence seemed to pierce your body one thousand times harder than rejection would wound you. That is, until an unexpectedly gentle touch came to rest on your tense shoulder, gripping at it softly, yet firmly to grab your attention enough to finally make you look up at the bird-headed boy in front of you.
"If it eases your anxiety... the thought of you has been haunting my mind as well."
It would've been a strange thing to be told for literally anyone else, but you and a few more people knew that Tokoyami meant he had more to his mind about you than you actually thought he had.
And, Gods... Were you glad you had accepted that invitation instead of chickening out. Because the feeling of finally being able to relax once the truth was handed to both of you on the table, it didn't feel like you were at the edge of a raging storm anymore.
【 障子目蔵 — 𝗠𝗘𝗭𝗢 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗝𝗜 】 ༉‧₊˚.
You'd think love at first sight wasn't real if it wasn't for the boy you'd seen riding the train in the same carriage as you. Sitting so rigid and still as if he'd rather die than take up any more space than he has to as he looked down at the floor of the train. Blue mask wrapped around his face, silver hair falling over one of his eyes... It's like he was a mystery ready to be unwrapped.
And the best part? His uniform. A UA uniform. The same school you were going to!
And you sat a few feet opposite him, staring like a deer caught in headlights because holy, he had to be one of the most majestic people you've ever seen in your life...
You weren't sure if he had already looked at you and just didn't want to make conversation, granted he kept his eyes all the way down not daring looking up.
Unbeknownst to you, the boy had indeed taken a notice of you.
Shoji was used to people staring at him shamelessly by now — it became part of his routine. Whatever could he ask for when he was born the way he was? But something weighed a little bit heavier underneath your gaze with the fact that the two of you were from the same school.
He respectfully kept his unmoving attention down on the ground, but he knew your eyes bore holes into his entire form from your place before him.
Were you scared? Afraid of him? Musutafu was supposed to be a big, diverse city... Where UA Highschool, the most prestigious Heroics school of Japan, was in. But he assumed that some of the students from all over Japan might not be so open to see heteromorphs just wondering around... You must've been from afar as well, assuming you had been riding the train almost as long as him.
But even after the train trip had come to an end and the both of you made your own ways to UA, he'd still catch you staring sometimes.
Even in the middle of a school with so many better things to look at — Shoji could still feel the overbearing weight of your eyes on him, though from a long distance. What was so interesting about him? Didn't you have other people to stare at? Why was he being your target? Did you find his quirk particularly amusing? He didn't know. But he was getting annoyed, yet too patient to come to you ask what the hell was up.
Maybe you just hated him. Whatever he had done showed you a reason to hate him, and that's why you were watching him like a hawk.
Why did you hate him?...
It wasn't until Valentine's day arrived that'd thought of vexation would halt.
Mezo felt pretty indifferent towards the loving holiday- He'd never really celebrated with anyone, and at his old school he would never receive a single letter. He was so stranger to knowing he was hideous, so he accepted it like duty and moved on...
He was on his way home when it happened. Bidding goodbye to his close friends who separated from him to go home. Shoji was, again, left alone to walk to the train station by himself; already taking the steps further ahead of the sidewalk as he fetched for his headphones inside his backpack.
But much to the boy's surprise, something standing in front of him stopped his movement.
You.
Standing quite bashfully, not really looking at Shoji in the eye... Two hands behind your back as if you were holding something. Were you? A weapon? You were a UA student, there's no way you wanted to harm him, right?
Still, he didn't quite show himself vulnerable to you. Mezo stood back upright to full height, tilting his head slightly to look at you. Pleasantries with someone he disliked weren't for him, though Shoji would remain polite; he made a dupli-mouth to speak for him instead. Out of spite or really because he didn't feel like speaking with his real voice- Maybe both.
"Is there something you-"
"I want to give you something!" You squeaked out before he even got to finish his own sentence. Shoji almost stumbled back a bit at your eagerness, eyes widening at the small admission.
Whatever you had hidden at your back, he tilted his head just a little more to see if he could something peeking out, but you were pressing it tight against your back. Mezo fell back on his heels, trying to stare hard enough at you expecting to feel something he can't see about you.
Shoji didn't know what to do. Or feel. But he really wanted to know exactly what you had up your sleeve; so, reluctantly, he gave you a small nod of his head for you to go on.
You took the opportunity.
Fidgeting with the item hidden behind you, you took a deep breath to calm down your bubbling nerves.
"Ever since I saw you on the train on the first day of school... I kinda wondered... What sort of person you'd be like." You had an entire script written inside your head that you'd embarrassingly practiced in your bathroom for a few weeks now. So you wouldn't fumble horribly, of course. But you could feel a few more words you hadn't practiced saying slipping out, shyly looking down at the ground instead of the boy in front of you. "But I kind of realised... If I want to know you, I had to get the courage to ask you out." Your voice spoke softly, feeling emboldened now that you had started wearing your heart on your sleeve.
Shoji was... Extremely taken back. Standing there, too dumbfounded to even reply.
Was this some sick joke? Were you making fun of him? Had you been watching him for days on end just to pull this crude prank?
Mezo had never gotten this kind of attention before; and even though he knew it was most unlikely someone like you could like... Well, him, an entirely selfish part of Shoji just wanted it to actually be true. That he was worthy of someone loving him in this kind of way even if he hadn't deserved it.
But before he could have said something in return- At a lightning bolt's speed, you took out the item behind you: a box. A small one wrapped in a blue bow, and he could see through the thin transparent plastic above that it held many neatly decorated chocolates in various colours. It didn't look store-bought at all — had you made all that for him specifically?
Mezo was beyond confused. He thought you hated him? Was all that stalking just admiration from far away?...
"So... Will you go on a date with me?" You hadn't even looked up. You were afraid to look up; too afraid that he'd be sending you a look of judgement rather than surprise. You'd rather hear Shoji say no than get faced with yet another blunt look of odium.
But, instead of being met with a "no" or a "yes", your eyes immediately shot up big and wide when you heard a peculiar sentence said like a question:
"I thought you hated me?..."
The voice speaking to you sounded uncertain; confused. You only picked up that it was his real voice when he moved his mouth around the slightest bit behind his mask. Shoji talked to you with his real voice.
You gulped down a sudden lump that had formed in your throat- Hate Shoji? You'd been watching him with nothing but admiration in your eyes ever since you first saw him! How could he think you hated him?!
A sudden inner panic rose to answer him, swift to form words you didn't think of beforehand, but that would ease his thoughts.
"Hate you?! I could never hate you! Nor does anyone have a reason to! Why would you think that?" And surely, your voice dropped it's overreactive stance and dropped to a more quiet and confused tone upon fully realising the nature of his question. Why would Mezo think you hated him?
"It's just that," Mezo began, unsure of how to phrase it without seeming like he was putting you down; though, he didn't find any other way to phrase it. "ever since I first saw you on the train to Musutafu, I've been feeling your eyes on me a lot. And I just thought that... You were watching me... because you were trying to be wary of me."
The realisation hit you like a thousand bricks being dropped on your head. You felt like an idiot for thinking that watching Shoji like a hawk out of every corner of the school would get your confidence up enough that you could go talk to him; and while that actually did help, you were never considerate enough to think how someone like him would feel when you got caught doing something like that.
"I'm really sorry..." Sorry wasn't nearly enough to describe the dread and sheer guilt you felt at the pit of your stomach, coming back up in stammering words as you bowed your head for Mezo "I'm truly sorry! If I had known you felt that way, I would've stopped immediately-"
"Hey, it's fine now, it's all already been sorted out." The chuckle that rippled through his voice, his real voice, made you weak. A sheepish smile made it's way back onto your face as you looked back up at him with all the adoration you could muster. Confessing to Shoji really had been a good idea. His eyes fell back down on you again, this time a little softer- Crinkling around the edges to notice a smile that you couldn't see behind a mask; yet you knew was definitely there. "But, if the offer still stands, I could take that date as your apology?"
"Yes!!! I mean- Yes, of course!..."
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