Tumgik
#I barely got anything done completely. did little to no homework
milf-louis · 11 months
Text
.
0 notes
slxshrfvcker · 1 year
Text
Jealousy, Jealousy
A complete rewrite of a requested post on my main tumblr @whisqeringwqlker (i barely use that anymore)
(This is the request by @walking-anxious-disaster made like a year or two ago 😭)
Tumblr media
⚠️‼️MINORS DO NOT INTERACT‼️⚠️
Content warnings; Billy ‘cheating’, jealousy, fem!reader, confessions, angst, SMUT (oral w/ fem receiving, orgasm denial teasing, p in v sex) pregnancy worries(?)
Tumblr media
Billy was getting pretty distant now days, and you were sure it was because of that Sidney girl from the third period that he recently met along side Stu and his girl…
See, you and Billy were the best of friends, tightest pair in the school, basically glued at the hip (well, besides him and Stu) and had been since you two were toddlers, maybe a bit older, as you two had met in preschool, and unknowingly formed a tight packed bond that would pretty much make sure you two were inseparable.
It seemed like every single night before Sidney he was at your house, watching those cheesy horror movies, or staying the night when he and his dad got into it over the smallest of things. Your mother always welcomed him at the house, happily letting him eat at the dinner table when he stayed and even stay in your room with the door shut, because she believed the two of you weren’t those kinds of friends and mature enough to not do anything stupid.
And now? He barely even called you, or visited your house. He wasn’t hanging out much with you anymore, only taking Stu with him to hang out with their other friends that just so happened to include Sidney Prescott. You felt alone, betrayed and upset about it, so you too started to pretty much completely avoid him, the others, and Stu. You would find yourself focusing your bitter, jealous gaze at Sidney, and would gave an excuse that you had to go to class or something to escape Billy's company if he tried to approach you. In all honesty Billy was sort of concerned about the fact you were constantly running away from him or busy with something if he did try to engage with you. It never clicked in his brain that you were just jealous, he thought he had done something wrong himself.
It was now Monday, and the sixth period had just ended, school was finally over and was letting their students out and you couldn’t be more glad about this, shoving your things into your school bag and rushing out of the classroom, you blew past Billy who was walking his way over to you after he saw you leave your classroom in such a hurry. Billy was simply coming up to invite you over to Stu’s place for a movie night, a small smile on his lips and his hand raised up as he was about to speak, but as soon as you noticed him you ducked your head down and sped-walked passed him, shoulder brushing his on the way out the school doors and you disappeared within the crowd of students. He stood there with shock on his face and his hand falling down to his side, absolutely confused to hell about why that had just occurred. He looked around in embarrassment before going to find Stu to walk to his car and go home with him.
Once you got home, your mother emerged from the kitchen with a bright smile as she dried off a dish, asking you how your day went, but with a fake smile and a hand raised to dismiss her, you gave her an excuse, saying you had homework to do and you wanted to work on it before it got too late. You went up to your bedroom and locked the door behind you as per usual since you enjoyed the privacy and your mother never thinks to knock. You sat cross-legged on your bed, grabbing your books from your bag and opening them up, taking a pencil and starting to scribbled down some lines under some pointers on what the teacher talked about that day before starting the actual assignment.
A thud at your window startled you, your head snapping up and looking at it in horror as it started sliding up, a cool breeze blowing into your room and rustling your papers. Albeit a little startled, you stood up off your bed, glancing around with a split second decision to grab anything to protect yourself before your eyes focused on an empty glass vase on the nightstand. Grabbing it quickly, you raised it up and snuck closer to the window, ready to bring it down upon the head of your intruder. The amount of relief that flooded you to see that it was only Billy caused you to exhale loudly, hand going to rest on your chest as you moved to your nightstand, placing the vase back down. “Billy, you shouldn’t be here.” You said coldly, a little too harsh than meant to be. Billy’s brows puzzled as he got in through the window, standing there while fiddling with some things on your dresser that sat by the window. “Well you were kind of avoiding me and I was worried, so I came over to check on you… are you alright?” He asked finally as his eyes met yours, taking a few strides closer to your bed as you moved to sit on it.
With a soft huff, you closed your books and stacked them on the side of your nightstand, taking a look at Billy who moved to sit carefully on your bed since he knew the frame was pretty old and the wood was starting to split. You rolled your eyes at the concern and waved your hand as a dismissal. “Sorry I’ve been so busy Billy, but it’s kind of more important than friends right now," You half assed explained.
Honestly he didn't buy any of those words you just said, but only nodded in somewhat of an understanding. "I'm a bit worried about you, Y/N/N. You’re avoiding me and acting all weird whenever I hang out with Stu and the others." He said, moving a bit to lean his upper back against the fragile wooden frame, wincing a bit as it creaked under his weight.
"I uh,” you didn’t know what to say to that, it was odd coming from him of all people. You frowned before avoiding all eye contact as you gathered the courage to admit to him why you’ve been this way to him and the others. “I’m just, I’m just jealous I guess? Because when you and Sidney started seeing each other I started noticing how much my heart would break each time you two would be so close and I realized that my feelings for you are more than platonic, so I just started avoiding you to save myself the heartbreak and embarrassment.” You seemed to murmur the whole thing, feeling odd emotions bubble in your chest.
"Woah woah woah, you think me and Sidney are dating?" He could almost laugh at that thought. When he noticed your expression his own softened and his hand moved to rest on your knee. “There's nothing going on between us, Y/N. And you could have just told me how you felt in the first place as soon as you figured them out, and this whole encounter wouldn’t have happened." Billy chuckled softly, making your cheeks heat up in embarrassment and your eyes sting with tears. "Besides, I feel that way for you too," Billy said all nonchalantly, smirking at the sight of your eyes widening and cheeks blistering with a soft rosy red. “What? Really?” You blinked in surprise at him, tears long forgotten and embarrassment faded.
Billy nodded, moving closer to you. “Yeah, of course… you haven’t noticed?” He laughed, thumb brushing the side of your knee as he gazed at you. A small smile filled your lips as you blushed a deeper shade of red, averting your gaze to meet with his. “I… I guess I haven’t,” you pointed out, swallowing as his gaze seemed to flick from your eyes to your lips, gears in his head turning as he contemplated on just kissing you then and there. “Now that we have that all out of the way,” Billy piped up after a few beads of silence. “Can we experiment a bit? Just the two of us?” He offered.
Confused by what he meant, you looked at him. “And that experiment is…?” You questioned meekly before he just smiled, shuffling closer to you and pressing his forefinger and thumb on your cheek, pulling your face closer to his as he breathed out a simple word. “This,” and with that his lips were upon yours, warm and soft like you imagined. The kiss was smooth and passionate, his lips slotting with yours perfectly as you two dipped into more heated territory. He pulled back at the first sign you both were losing air, and he grinned at you as you panted to catch your breath.
There was a comforting silence between the two of you as you gazed at each other, his thumb brushed your skin and that is what caused you to throw all reason out of the window. With your hands bunching the collar of his baby blue shirt you tugged him closer, pressing your lips to his again in a more heated, passionate, and dirty kiss. His body moved to press closer to yours as his lips moved in sync with yours, your thighs parting to allow him to slot himself between them, his upper body pushing you backwards towards the bed, his weight on top of yours now as his hips slowly ground down against yours, his clothed semi-hard on brushing against your clothes clit, causing you to let out a delicate breathless whimper. A soft groan left his lips at the sound as his lips started to trial down to your exposed collarbone.
“Billy,” you allowed yourself to moan, making him grunt, blood shooting to his cock as he enjoyed hearing you moan his name like that. “Yeah?” He lifted his head to meet your eyes as he kissed along your collarbones and even daring to pull the collar of your shirt down enough to kiss the top of your chest. “Please,” was all you could manage, needing more than just kissing and grinding. “Please what?” He dared, as he pulled back to lift your shirt off you. “Tell me princess,” he kissed and sucked marks along your chest and above your bra line.
“Please don’t make me beg,” you whined, thighs enclosing around his hips as you arched up against him, begging to be touched more. “Then what’s the fun?” Billy smirked against your skin as he pulled back to unhook your bra and toss it across the room, before taking off his own shirt. You swallowed, eyes raking up and down his chest as your hands went up to graze the light brown chest hair across his pecks and the dark pink scar that ran along his sternum. “What’s this from?” You dared, as he kissed along your jaw and neck, humming at your question. “Surgery,” he simply said as he moved his lips down your body, paying extra attention to the spot below your belly button before he got to the button on your denim jeans.
His hands expertly popped the button open and dragged the zipper down, sliding your jeans and underwear off with one fluid motion. He tossed them in the same direction of your bra before his lips kissed and sucked lightly on your folds, before he parted them and licked a broad strip from your dripping hole to your clit, making sure to flick it at the end to feel you jolt against him. He smirked and his arms caged around your knees as he kept your thighs parted, tongue licking circles around your clit and pressing flatly against your seeping hole. Hearing your soft moans caused him to get impossibly harder, aching in his jeans. He ate your pussy like a starved man, tongue delving into your heat before be glided it along your clit again, before starting the same cycle again. Your breaths were picking up and you were mewling under his touch, pussy fluttering from his skilled mouth.
“S-stop teasing!” You whined as you wanted more than this. You felt him smirk before his arm left one of your knees, only to squeak out when you felt his fingertips grazing your hole, his tongue flicking against your clit as they did so. You moaned for him, bucking your hips up. He finally slipped one finger into your needy cunt, curling it once to find your spot, and once he did he added another finger, and then another once you were stretched enough. His skilled tongue and fingers worked you up to the point of teetering of the edge of bliss, but as of off cue he pulled his fingers from you and stopped licking all together. He smirked up at you, his lips and chin glistening with your juices as he gave you a cheeky look.
“Asshole,” you cried out, feeling your orgasm fading. “Please stop teasing Bill,” you let the whimper escape your throat. He chuckled and tutted before letting go of you and undoing his jeans, pulling them off and tossing them across the room with his boxers too. He crawled up your body and kissed you, allowing you to taste yourself on his tongue. Moaning out, you felt him reach down and glide his hard on through your wet folds, gathering enough lubricant on his dick before he positioned it at your fluttering hole, gently pushing in enough to get the tip in. He let out a breathless groan as he continued pushing into you at an agonizingly slow pace, letting you adjust to his massive size. He listened to your little mewls and whimpers as he filled you to the brim, bottoming out completely. His forehead pressed against yours as he slowly pulled back from you and the slammed his hips into you again, making your body jolt upwards with the force.
You cried out, hands grasping at his back and shoulder blades, nails raking down his skin as he started to set a somewhat slow but hard pace, his lips kissing yours with fever as he started to pick up speed eventually. Your breaths mingled as his eyes stared deep into yours, brown meet E/C orbs as he thrusted sharply into your cunt. “Billy,” you moaned, pussy fluttering as you needed some more stimulation to get you to your much needed orgasm. He took the sign and reached his hand down between your bodies, finding your clit and brushing his thumb in tight circles against it, which caused your eyes to roll and mouth fall open, tongue lolling out the side. You moaned, getting louder with each passing second until he had to kiss you to silence you, his thumb brushing faster with his movements as he grew closer to his own high.
Within seconds your pussy contracted on his dick and you tumbled into the blissful orgasm you had needed since the start, thighs trembling as you struggled to keep them parted, pussy fluttering and contracting on his cock as he struggled to hold his own orgasm back, thumb and dick working your through yours before he allowed himself to cum, his hips stuttering and stilling, dick buried into yours still-fluttering cunt as he spilled his seed into you, his breathing labored with yours as you both started coming down from your respective highs. He stayed in you for a moment, head pressed to your chest as he tried catching his breath along side you. His eyes were closed and he settled in the bliss of post-orgasm with you until it was rudely interrupted by your mother calling your name from outside your door, jiggling the door handle. “Y/N? Dinner is ready! Cmon!” She called as she went back downstairs. You both looked at eachother and let out soft laughs as he parted from you, pulling his softened cock out of you as he sat back and watched his cum flow out of you, his fingers going over pushing it back in.
You smiled sleepily at him, before realizing the two of you forgot protection. “Oh fuck, Billy we forgot—“ he silenced you with a quick kiss. “Shhh shhh, it’s fine, I doubt it’s gonna make a difference or do anything, and if it does we will handle it, okay?” He said as he got up off the bed and started to dress himself. You frowned before nodding, getting out of bed and getting dressed as well. It wasn’t until you got by your door you noticed the bed tilting to the side, the leg had snapped in the process of your guys’ fucking. You giggled as he noticed it too. “Oh shit,” he laughed with you before you sighed in remembrance of dinner downstairs.
“Do you wanna stay? you can leave through the window and go to the front door to make it seem we didn’t just fuck.” You giggled a bit, and he hummed. “I would love to, Y/N/N, but like you I also have homework to do so I should be getting home… I’ll make it up to you I promise. Okay? I’ll see you at school tomorrow?” He moved to embrace you, and you sighed, smiling and leaning into his touch. “Okay, I’m holding you to that…” you said as he pulled away. “Okay. I love you,” he murmured as he pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. You kissed him back and smiled, waving as he climbed out of the window and disappeared into the night. Sighing you went downstairs, then a thought occurred. How would you explain the bed to your mom?
2K notes · View notes
cryslut · 3 months
Text
Fyodor x Dazai x Reader NSFW 18+
Tumblr media
「 Fyodor ~ Dazai ~  Reader 」
- 18+ content ahead, pure smut, very NSFW, MDNI get outta here plz n go do ur homework
- Fem Reader
- First and Second Person POV
- CW: degradation, praise, orgasm denial, Bondage,  Voyeurism, Humiliation, Impact play, edging
I don't normally often publish nsfw works so i really hope u enjoy this, publishing this is a bit out of my comfort zone. i also don't write nsfw works a lot so plz be nicer on this one lol
Tumblr media
↳ Fyodor + Dazai + Reader
You don't know you ended up in this situation, Dazai and Fyodor got along so well but despised each other, and their feelings for you and their jealousy got the better of them and now you're in one messy predicament. Tears and mascara running down your face, all while the two of them both put you in your place.
You made a joke you found quite humorous making fun of the two for being enemies all while mocking them and they somehow did not like this and took their opportunity to strike, which was very unlike them and out of character for them both. One thing lead to another and now you're here.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
"Oh my, Dazai, it seems that this little whore wants some more," Fyodor says with a mocking tone. Your eyes were filled with your own tears, your hands and legs were tied together while your back was arching and your ass was in the air, your bare cunt exposed to Fyodor who was behind you. Dazai had his throbbing dick in your mouth.
The cycle of Dazai making you gag repeatedly and Fyodor rubbing your clit in a teasing manner was torture. You couldn't let out a single word as he wouldn't let you, all you could do was moan and whine at Fyodors touch, "Be a good girl for me Малышка, and keep your pretty ass still, you keep squirming everytime I touch you" Fyodor's accent rolls off his tongue.
(Малышка - maLYSHka - babygirl)
Fyodor's hand reaches to your clit rubbing it, you struggling to hold still, trying your best to obey his command, "Good girl, you're doing so good so far," His two fingers, his index and middle, insert themselves into your tight cunt, moving them around in a playful circle like motion teasing you, causing muffled whines to leave your still-filled mouth.
Dazai moves his hips and thrusts his dick into your throat deeper causing you to choke. Fyodor moves his fingers in and out of you ever so slowly. The slow pace from Fyodor and the fast pace from Dazai completely drives you insane to the edge.
Dazai, fully satisfied with what he's done, he pulls his dick out of your mouth causing your moans and whines to be more audible. Music to Fyodor's ears as he's satisfied with teasing you.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
"Please, Fyodor.. Faster, faster, please please," I lose my sense of self begging the man behind me but his pace only slows down and then speeds up. As he works me to the edge, I feel myself getting closer and closer, "...I'm.. gonna.. fuck.." I breathe out.
Fyodor then stops what he's doing and pulls his fingers out of me, "No no, Малышка, you're gonna be a good little toy for us both and not cum, not yet," I whine at his words and I can hear him moving behind me positioning himself, I feel his dick filling me up, as I let out breathy little moans. I look up to see Dazai just standing there smirking at the scene before him, enjoying what's going on.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Fyodor's pace on you starts off slow, barely going all the way in just barely teasing you causing several little whines out of you, Fyodor smirks at what his actions are causing. You're completely bound and helpless unable to move or do anything but squirm and wiggle around.
"You're doing so good, keep being good just for me, Малышка, the sweet sounds from you are a sweet haven to my ears," His praise gets a rise out of you and this causes you to start shifting your body back and forth, getting more desperate for his cock. Your breathing gets heavier and you pant like a dog on a leash.
He lands his hand on your bare ass forcefully causing you to yelp out while he grabs a hold of your hips and holds your body completely still. His movement begins to speed up and his breathing becomes heavier as he groans out. Moving his whole body to be on top of yours as he keeps pumping in and out of you in a fast but teasing motion.
"Fuck.. please.. more more more, Fedya, please.." Is all you can manage out, all you feel is him deep inside of you while you hear his sharp breaths and the groans he lets out, "You feel so fucking good, doll, you're so perfect for me, you're my little toy."
His pace quickens gradually, making your moans louder. You feel yourself growing closer and closer to the edge of your orgasm. His pace gets sloppy and slow as he pulls out of you before you can cum.
"You want more, doll?" His teases make you whine out your words in a breathy manner as little tears stream down your face, "Yes.. please," You beg, Fyodor reaches his hand over to you and wipes your tears away ever so slightly, he complies with your wishes and shoves his throbbing cock back into you thrusting in and out in a fast motion. Your whines and moans are audible and you can't contain them, "Right there.. right.. there."
Fyodor smirks at your words and noises, "Right here, Малышка?" He hits one spot in particular over and over again, causing you to squirm underneath him and moan louder, "Mmmhhhmm," You let out.
"I want you to get really close for me, okay, doll?" You nod your head at his words. The feeling of butterflies in your stomach grows stronger the faster he moves, the closer you get. You feel your release getting closer and closer. His pace quickens, your audible whimpers escaping your mouth fill the room, Fyodor's groans are like music to your ears.
"I'm getting close, Малышка," His tone is very breathy and somewhat shaky. Both of your moans spill out of your mouths, he finally comes to his release as you do too. Coming all over his cock as he quickly pulls out of you and letting it all out onto your back.
Dazai walks over to where Fyodor is behind you. Fyodor moves out of the way and goes to where Dazai was before, Dazai wastes no time sliding his cock into your already-used cunt. Thrusting in a slow motion, as he continuously teases you.
"Such a little pretty slut, you love being used like the little toy you are, don't you?" Fyodor lifts your head up by grabbing you by the chin forcing eye contact with him. Looking like a pretty toy with tears running down her face to him. He chuckles at the sight before him, satisfied with his and Dazai's work on you.
"You did a pretty good job for us both, darling, keep being a good whore for me," Dazai whispers into your ear, making a chill go down your spine. You squirm around in the ropes that are binding you, he grabs your tied hands getting a grip on you, "You're not going anywhere."
His actions cause you to whine at him and you move a little to get him to move faster. He takes note of your frustration and smirks, "Getting needy now, are we?"
"Stop your teasing, Dazai, and please go faster," He pulls his cock slightly out of your cunt and then slams it back into you. A loud yelp like moan leaves your mouth, "Fuck.." You let out. He continues this same thrusting pattern, causing you to get more frustrated moving around on him more and more. He grabs a hold of your hips with one hand uses his other hand to grab you by the throat and pulls you closer to him.
His hand tightening around your neck, making you slightly lose some oxygen, your eyes roll into the back of your head as he continuously rams into you again and again. Your whimpers and moans become more frequent and louder and he becomes more aggressive with his thrusts.
"Such a good little slut, aren't you, letting us use you like this. You get off to this don't you, fucking whore. God.. you feel so fucking good, darling," Dazai's voice is breathy and his groans and moans in between words are music to your ears.
"Don't break her, Dazai, cause it looks like our doll, is slowly going brain dead," Fyodor speaks up and Dazai looks at him, "That just makes it more fun, she's already a brain dead little whore anyways. Look at her.." He chuckles to himself, feeling confident and satisfied.
"You wanna cum, darling? Hmm?" Dazai teases as you nod your head, "Use your words, darling."
"Yes, please. Let me cum, Dazai," He smirks at your words, "That's a good girl," He picks up his pace, still thrusting roughly again and again. His movement goes faster and faster until you both can feel your release coming closer, "I'm getting close, darling," He grunts and moans between words make you feel closer.
"Fuck.. faster, Dazai, please," You beg, his pace quickens more and a knot forms in your stomachs, you come to your climax, Dazai panting in your ear, your whines becoming calmer as you catch your breath. Dazai pulls out and comes exactly where Fyodor did, all over your back.
Loud breathing fills the room, Fyodor smirking at the both of you. Dazai starts to untie you as Fyodor kisses your forehead, "You did so well, Малышка."
Tumblr media
239 notes · View notes
clinemezes · 11 months
Text
coffee shops & study sessions
Tumblr media
paring: ethan landry x implied!fem!reader
*no gf au
blackmore university.
the university you just transferred to, a little over a month ago.
it was hard being the new student at first. you didn't have many friends. but if you were being honest, you didn't really want to be friends with half of the people at blackmore because all they did was drink and go to parties, you didn't care about any of that.
you were majored in economics. to your surprise, not many students take econ compared to your old college. which was completely fine by you because you didn't want to be stuck in a 90 minute class period with a bunch of other students anyway.
but there was one person. one person who you really liked. someone who you'd been crushing on since you first laid eyes on him.
ethan
the shy, dorky guy who never talks. the only reason you know his name is because the professor does roll call at the beginning of class. hearing him say "present" everyday was the only time you heard him speak.
you desperately wanted to talk to him, for a while now actually. you've had plenty of opportunities to talk to him outside of class. you see him everywhere, the library, the hallway, sometimes you even see him sitting at a bench on campus. but despite how many times a day you see him, you never have the guts to talk to him.
what were you even supposed to say to him?
"hey i'm y/n, i think you're really cute. want to be friends?"
you just finished your last class of the day and your professors gave you a lot of work to do. because you're off work today, you decided to go to a nearby coffee shop and do some homework.
unfortunately for you, the coffee shop was packed. you thought about getting a drink to go and do your homework at the library but food/drinks weren't allowed in there. so you went ahead and ordered a drink and stood patiently to the side waiting for the barista to call your name, since there were no empty seats.
after you got your drink, your first plan of action was to wait until someone left so you could sit down. you could've just went back to your dorm and do your work there but you knew the second you got there, you would've been tempted to just lay down and go to sleep. but you couldn't do that, you had to get this work done.
minutes go by, accepting your fate, you begin to walk out. that was until you saw him.
ethan
he was sitting at a booth near the window, a two person booth - all by himself.
he had headphones in his ears, one hand was holding the pages of his textbook, and he was writing with the other hand. he was so focused, he didn't even look up.
god he was so cute
something must have took over you, because you found yourself walking over to him.
is this it?
am i actually going to talk to him?
you lightly tap his shoulder
no turning back now
he jumps slightly and takes his headphones out of his ears. he looks up at you, a little taken back. like he wasn't expecting you to be standing in front of him.
"um..h-hey" he said, although it sounded more like a question.
you immediately felt stupid, silently cursing yourself.
you must've taken too long to respond as ethan spoke again, "did you need something?" he says softly, it was barely above a whisper,
"no i just um, i just wanted to know if i could sit here?" you pointed at the empty space in front of him.
ethan looked around, he probably thought you were joking or something until he realized that they were in fact, no empty seats available.
"yeah sure"
and with his confirmation, you sit your drink down and watch as he moves some of his things closer to his side of the table. "thanks"
a couple minutes had passed and ethan couldn't help but notice the paper you were working on- it was the same one as him.
then it clicked, you're in the same econ class as him. he knew he recognized you from somewhere.
he also had noticed that you were just staring at the paper, not actually writing anything. he figured you were confused about the assignment.
so ethan, being the kind person he is, offered to help you.
"i can help you if you want"
you look up, you weren't expecting him to talk to you.
"n-no i don't want to bother you or anything"
"it's okay, i don't mind"
"okay"
"oh i'm ethan by the way"
"i know" you replied, a little too quickly.
"i mean um, i'm y/n"
your cheeks we're probably red hot by now, you just hoped ethan didn't see it.
he lets out a breathy laugh, "nice to meet you, y/n"
it was a little while into your study session with ethan, when all of a sudden he stood up and motioned for you to scoot over- which you gladly did.
he went from sitting across from you to sitting next to you, you gave him a questioning look.
"sorry, it was getting hard to read upside down"
"oh, that makes sense" you laugh quietly.
about 2 hours later, the studying and homework was long gone. completely forgotten.
you and ethan were laughing, goofing off and just getting to know each other. you guys were there for so long that you ended up ordering another drink.
you even forced him to try one of your favorite pastries. "oh wow, this is really good!" "i told you!"
you guys were having so much fun together, talking and laughing. ever so often getting a glare from someone around you because you were being so loud.
you guys actually had a little too much fun and ended up loosing track of time.
you'd been there for hours.
a barista had come over to you two, "hey, i just wanted to let you guys know that we close in twenty minutes"
you were a little disappointed that you had to leave, you could tell ethan was too.
"dang it's past 9 already?"
"i had a really good time with you today" ethan says as you and him are walking out of the coffee shop.
"yeah me too, thanks for helping me with my homework by the way"
"no problem"
"well goodnight, ethan"
"goodnight"
you began to walk away when you heard ethan call your name.
you turn around confused, "yeah?"
"could i maybe get your number?" "you know, so i can call you later, make sure you get home safe." he said awkwardly, while rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
you were a little shocked that he asked you for your number, but of course you gave it to him anyway.
"sure" you say, as you grab his phone to put your contact in.
you give him his phone back when you're finish. boldness took over you and you found yourself putting your hands on his shoulders and giving him a light kiss on the cheek.
ethan was shocked, he didn't even know what to say or do. you pull away and laugh a little as his cheeks started to flush.
"goodnight, ethan. for real this time"
"y-yeah. i'll text you later"
"i'll be waiting"
you get back to your dorm, you sigh in relief as you take off your heavy bookbag.
you decided to take a shower, making sure to be quick in case ethan texted you.
what a day
you actually talked to ethan, AND kissed him on the cheek?
he helped you study at a coffee shop, and sat next to you? you practically went on a date with him.
this could be the start of a beautiful friendship, maybe even more than that.
after your shower, you lay in your bed, scrolling on your phone when you finally get the notification you'd been waiting patiently for.
+1 (***) *** ****
hey this is ethan
you up for a call?
and you smile as you click the call icon.
♡‧₊˚ thanks for reading!!
this took so long to write and edit
407 notes · View notes
diqnbaus · 11 months
Text
Let You Break My Heart Again (Part 3)
Pairing: Miles Morales x fem!reader
Summary: You, Gwen, and Miles go out and have some fun!!!
Category: I forgot the opposite of angst
A/N: I barely remember the ATSV movie. I was so focused on not having a stroke that I forgot to pay complete attention, so lmk if anything is wrong please :-).
Tumblr media
Looking between the two, nothing seems to be terribly wrong. Sure, Gwen is looking at you like she’s just seen a ghost, and Miles is looking at you like he’s just been caught doing something he shouldn’t. But they quickly recover before starting to speak.
“Hey, y/n. Long time no see-“
“What’s up, y/n?” Gwen and Miles both speak at the same time, before being cut off by you slowly closing the door on them. You are not dealing with this right now.
For a second you stand in front of the closed door, before you turn around and begin walking out of the apartment.
The door opens and Gwen and Miles come rushing out.
“You’re leaving? But I just got here,” Gwen says walking over to you.
You turn around. “Yeah, I have uh.. homework.”
“Oh c’mon. You know what they say, ‘homework is temporary, friendships are forever’,” she responds.
“No one has ever said that.”
“I just did,” she smiles. “So are you in or not?”
You pause before looking over at Miles. He looks almost pleading. What for? You don’t know. But you’re not going to let him get in between you and seeing your very long distance friend.
“Yeah. I’ll go,” you respond while Gwen cheers and high-fives a smiling Miles. “I need to change though.”
“Miles does too,” Gwen responds while Miles nods. “I’ll be on top of a building when you guys are done. You’ll have to figure out which one.”
Gwen climbs out the living-room window, leaving you and Miles in silence.
“Y/n-“ Mike’s starts before you cut him off.
“Don’t. Not right now. I just want to spend time with Gwen like how it used to be. We can talk after.”
As you start walking over to the bathroom, Miles responds, “tomorrow?”
“Sure,” you say before closing the bathroom door and changing into your spider-suit.
Swinging around the city with your friends made you feel at home. For the past few months you had felt like something was missing, this was it.
The adrenaline from jumping from tall buildings and catching yourself just before you hit the ground had you giddy. This was the happiest you had been in months.
Taking a break, the three of you sat on top of a building trying to catch your breath.
“Jesus, y/n. Do you need a minute? Or maybe ten?” Miles teases you. You send him a playful glare before going and sitting on the edge of the roof.
The sun was still up, but you could tell night was coming soon. You had always loved night time, looking up at the stars and the moon while thinking about all of the other things that have done the same as you. Of course, you couldn’t see the stars very well in New York because of light pollution, but you liked to pretend the lights on the buildings were stars. In your head, the city was its own little galaxy that you needed to protect.
“What do you think, y/n?” Gwen asks from beside you.
“I uh, I’m sorry what were you talking about?”
“The multiverse,” Miles replies.
“Oh. Well um, it’s pretty big I guess,” you respond while nervously picking at the gloves on your suit.
Gwen snorts. “You’re not wrong. But we’re talking about fate. Like how things are bound to happen in every universe.”
“Oh, we’ll I never really thought about that. I didn’t know the universes were that connected,” you reply, a little confused.
“You have no idea,” she mumbles, but before you can ask more questions, she gets up. “I’m a little hungry. How about we go back to that party on Miles’ roof?”
“Sounds good to me, I’ll kind of have to hide though,” Miles says.
You groan, realizing that you’re going to have to stand up and swing around again.
“Literally, how are you a spider-woman?” Gwen asks jokingly.
“I don’t know either,” Miles responds. “She didn’t even show up to a fight earlier.”
“Oh please, you’re one to talk about not showing up. Besides, that cow guy didn’t seem like that big of a deal.”
“Okay it’s time to go!” Gwen shouts, jumping off the building and swinging towards Miles’ apartment. You give Miles a look before doing the same.
As soon as you make it to the party, you decide to give Miles and Gwen space by going to get a soda. And maybe another cookie, making a mental note to ask Mrs. Morales where she got them.
As if hearing her name telepathically, Mrs. Morales approaches you.
“So? How did it go? Is he out of his angsty teen phase?”
“Um, it went well, but he’s still pretty angsty,” you reply, faking concern.
She laughs before looking around for him, only to find him under the water tower with a girl. “Who’s that?”
“Oh, her? That’s uh,” what was her fake name again? “Gwanda.”
“Gwanda huh? I better go find Jeff,” she replies, almost distracted. After she walks off, leaving you there, you try to find something to busy yourself, settling on picking at your nails.
You watched the whole interaction from afar. You really didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but it was so hard not to. From Miles’ parents meeting “Gwanda,” to her leaving, to Miles and his mom talking. To be honest, the whole thing was hard to watch. So towards the end, you stopped. It hurt that Gwen left without saying goodbye to you directly, but you understood that she and Miles were better friends than you two were.
Apparently, Miles and his mom finished their conversation because Miles comes to find you and drag you away by the arm
“Let’s go, I wanna follow Gwen. This whole thing is weird,” he rushes out, still pulling you.
“Ow,” you mutter, making him loosen his grip. “Are you sure you just don’t want to see Gwen?”
“What? No,” he gives you a look, but you give him one too. One that says you don’t believe him but will pretend like you do.
You sigh, still following him. You just wanted to get home and change into comfy clothes at this point.
A/N: i got carsick while writing this
304 notes · View notes
specialagentlokitty · 7 months
Text
Mr Evershed x student!reader - what you need
Tumblr media
Hi, how are you? 🫶 I have a request for an EvershedxStudent Reader story. R has lived in the orphanage their whole life. It's anything but great there. However, at school R claims everything is fine. But Mr. Evershed finds out during the school year that R is not feeling well. Prompt List 21: No matter what happens I am here... Maybe you want to write it. Thanks and have a great day. 🥰 - Anon💜
21: No matter what happens I am here...
Sitting on the steps inside the school, you were reading one of the worksheets you had to complete for the following day, tapping your pan against the step.
“School finished half an hour ago (Y/N).”
Glancing up, you smiled a little bit.
“I know sir, I’m just doing some homework.”
“We have a library you can sit in, but unfortunately if you’re not here for an after school club or detention I do have to ask you to leave.” Mr Evershed said.
“Sorry, can I have just a few more minutes so I can finish this?”
He smiled, nodding his head as he sat on the step next to you, watching as you worked.
“You always sit here after school don’t you?” He asked.
“For about an hour so I can do some work yeah.”
“Is there a reason? Is everything alright outside of school?”
He knew of your circumstances, and a lot of the teachers closely monitored you, from your work, to your overall health and appearance to make sure you were okay.
And aside from the fact he wasn’t sure he had ever seen you eat in school before, he was aware that you seemed to take a lot of days off sick.
“Yes sir, it’s just easier to work here so if I need help I can find someone to help me.”
He nodded his head, holding his hand out so you could hand him the work.
“I understand that, if you want we can arrange something for you in the library, so you don’t have to sit in the stairs.”
“No thank you it’s okay, I don’t mind it really, plus when I’m done I can leave straight away.”
“You mean you run off before we notice?”
You laughed sheepishly, nodding your head as you took the paper back from him, stuffing it into your bag.
“That’s all correct, go on now, get out off here, go have fun or whatever it is you lot do after school.”
“See you later sir!”
With that you ran away, and he sighed a little to himself.
He’d noticed the few small holes in your jumper, and the fact that your shoes seemed to be barely hanging in there.
The next day you came in, and you sat on the same step before lessons to go through some of your papers, your stomach rumbling a little.
Mr Evershed walked over, sitting next to you, and he held a cup out for you to take which you did with furrowed brows.
“Do you like hot Chocolate?” He asked.
He picked his own cup up from the steps and held it in his hands.
“I do, but I like milk in it because I can drink it so much faster.”
He chuckled.
“Come on then. But don’t tell anybody.”
You got up and followed him to the staff room, and he handed you the bottle of milk so you could put some into your hot chocolate.
“Do you mind if I ask you a question?” He asked.
“No sir.”
“Do you have any warmer jumpers or jackets you can wear during winter?”
You glanced at him before putting the milk back in the fridge.
Walking over to your cup you picked it up and sat on the floor.
“I do, but one of the younger lot like wearing them because it reminds them they’re not alone, so I let them have mine.”
“So what do you wear in winter?”
“Just my school jumper.”
He sighed a little bit.
“Alright, is there anyone to drop you off and pick you up?”
You shook your head.
“Alright.”
Mr Evershed carried on asking you questions, trying to understand what your situation outside of school was like.
You answered him, but your answers just seemed so strange to him, and when you replied you made it sound like it was totally normal or that it was okay.
Then he began to notice a decline in your attendance and grades again, and he grew worried.
When you were next in, he spend some time trying to find your timetable and found out what lesson you were supposed to be in.
Knocking on the door, he glanced around before turning to your teacher.
“Can I borrow (Y/N)?”
“Of course.”
He looked at you and you gathered your things, making your way over so you could silently follow him to his office.
He got you to sit down and looked at you.
“You’re not in trouble, i just need to know what’s going on with you (Y/N) I’m worried about you.”
You sighed a little, giving a small shrug.
“I’m just not feeling great…”
“Can you explain why?”
You gave him a brief explanation to him, explaining how you just didn’t feel well, and no matter what you did the feeling wouldn’t go away.
You told him about the lack of sleep, and how you had to spend most of your nights looking after some of the younger children at the orphanage.
“Plus my shoes are broke so I have to wear these ones that are too small…”
“Why didn’t you tell us any of this?”
“Nothing you can do…”
Mr Evershed sighed.
“There is, we can offer you help.”
You looked at him.
“We can help you, get you new clothes and shoes if you need it, we can also get you free school meals.”
“It’s okay, that sounds like a lot of work.”
“I’m more than happy to sort it all, okay? You’re not alone, and if you ever need any help all you need to do is ask.”
“Thank you…”
He smiled at you, reaching down he pulled up a bag and handed it to you.
“No matter what happens I am here...” he said softly.
You took the bag and found new shoes and a jacket in there, and you gave him a sad smile as you took it, holding it closely
51 notes · View notes
kingsansa · 2 years
Text
One wave short of a shipwreck
word count: 654
tags: college/university, sororities, casual sex, sexual content
He’s barely dated enough girls to subscribe to a type, and loathes the idea of being predictable enough to have one, but it doesn’t exactly take rocket science to understand that whatever that type is, Sansa Stark is definitively Not It.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
She has a picture of her winning Miss Teen Pennsylvania on her dresser in her cluttered little single freshman dorm and the social media christened title of Miss Bamarush and a personalized, monogrammed jewelry box that could have very well paid a solid chunk of her tuition if her parents weren’t already doing it for her and more pink clothes than he thought was physically possible.
She carries a tiny sewing kit in her bag. Like an actual sewing kit.
Everything she knows about football is against her will.
When he asked her—with no small amount of surprise, he’ll admit, though it was completely unintentional—You got into Yale?—she stared at him, mouth curling into a sneer that was sugary sweet, It wasn’t like it was hard.
From that very moment, she decided she couldn’t stand him, which he supposed was fair.
The sex is insane.
*
She’s got this cross necklace, a flash of 22 karat gold just between her breasts. It triggers something like a Pavlovian response in him after they hit the two month mark, makes his mouth water and his breath quicken. It brushes cold against his chest whenever she rides him.
Jon is 20 when he recalls why sex makes people do the craziest things.
Eight years of gymnastics, she says, a little haughtily, when he marvels at the limberness of her body. She folds her legs perfectly over his shoulders so she can open wider, presses her knee almost flat against her stomach just so he can be deeper, arches her back when he’s behind her because they are now so in tune with what the other likes.
She likes his mouth, on her throat, sewing hickeys into her skin like glittering red sequins, and bracketed by her thighs when she straddles his face from above. Oh please, she snaps, when she’s just about had it with him and she’s gonna let him know, then: Please, muffled into her arm when his hands are on her hips and he’s pulling her back onto him.
He likes messing her up. He likes tossing her prissy little headbands to the side and leaving a rash from his stubble between her legs and shoving down her tube top and winding her hair around his hand, making it known on her body that he was here, even if the assholes stumbling over their feet on campus can’t see them, he knows—
He knows.
“You’re the worst,” She grumbles, dabbing concealer on her neck before she heads back to her dorm in time to get ready for date night.
Roaring 20’s is the theme.
Her flapper dress is the color of starlight. She tried it on in front of his mirror, and he pretended to do his homework while she twirled in front of the mirror.
He didn’t know what he liked better—when she didn’t know he was watching or when she pretended not to notice.
“You could stay,” he offers, casual, like his heart isn’t in his throat, like she isn’t under his skin.
Sansa’s gaze slides over to him in the mirror as she strategically drapes her hair around her neck.
He breaks first, looking away.
This happens a lot with her.
“If I did,” She says, voice lilting and airy, “You’d never get anything done.”
Probably not. Then, as she makes his way towards him, he amends that, “Definiteky not.”
Sansa kisses him, soft and brief, tasting of cherry chapstick and him.
“Thanks,” it’s sweet and it’s quiet and it’s sincere and that’s probably the worst part of all, because that’s just who she is. It probably means nothing.
He doesn’t even want it to.
She isn’t even his type.
64 notes · View notes
summersareknives · 1 year
Text
dramione + weaving
----
( note – I may have confused weaving with knitting , and I am so sorry about that -  basically what I describe as weaving is basically knitting because I got very muddled ) 
It happens , first , a few months after the war.
They’re all back for Eighth Year , Harry and Ron - and her , of course. She feels the need to do something with herself. 
All the seven years they’ve been at Hogwarts , Hermione has been busy. She’s been protecting her best friends – Harry , especially , and saving the wizarding world. 
Her head has been somewhere else completely. It’s not her fault , not really , it’s the fault of that great big wizard bastard that went around calling himself ‘Voldemort’.
Or the ‘Dark Lord’ , rather.
But she came back to school , because she needs this year of peace. Of silence. Of worrying about normal teenager things like her homework (which she’s done the very same day she gets it , as Harry keeps reminding her) .
But she’s done all her homework , and she’s become restless. 
So she goes to the library – to do a bit of light reading , and when in the Muggle Section , she sees her mother’s favourite book – ‘Pride & Prejudice’ , she is reminded of all the wonderful things she used to do with her mother before the war.
Saturday baking sessions in the kitchen.
Sunday trips to the town centre. 
And all throughout the week , from Monday through to Friday , her mum would take an hour out of each day to teach Hermione the wonderful skill of weaving.
She learnt it , at first , on the loom. It was cathartic to her , watching her movements with the yarn turn into something resembling clothing worth wearing.
Then , of course , in fourth year , she learnt how to do it with magic. 
She wishes , perhaps , that she’d kept that little bit of home with her. But when she learnt an easier way to do it – because she had to make so many of them , for SPEW - she decided to take that way , leave the loom behind , and make those socks and hats and scarves all on her own , with a little bit of magic. 
Then the war hit , and she had no time for things like weaving , or knitting , and she had barely enough time to save herself. 
War , now , has become a part of her. Before she felt clean . She felt like the world was at her behest , and she could do anything , be anything. 
But now , it feels like she’s somewhat lost that part of herself that was pure , and neat and clean.
If she ever was a Mudblood , it was now.
And after seeing that earmarked copy of Pride and Prejudice , the one that looks like it’s holding onto life , she is reminded of her mother , and the purity with which she was loved by her.
Unconditional. Unfiltered.
So , in memory of her , she decides to do the things they used to do.
But alone. 
The first thing she tried was going to the town centre. But it was then , that she realised half of the fun that came with being there were all the comments her mum would make , or maybe it was all the times she used to pose like a mannequin. 
She can’t do that alone. Maybe , she’ll go with Harry or Ron one day , and she just knows they’ll do something stupid to make her laugh.
But it wouldn’t be the same.
Nothing ever would be.
The next thing she tries is cooking. But she’s kicked out of the kitchens in such a hurry , she doesn’t dare to go back. She thinks about nabbing Harry’s invisibility cloak , but she doesn’t think she’s that desperate for brownies. 
So , weaving is left as her last resort.
Every single Thursday , Hermione sits in the armchair , next to the Muggle books , the little hearth of fire warming her up . She weaves , and she weaves , and she does everything to keep the memory of her mother alive.
The memory of her mother , the lady who was behind her in everything she did.
She’s lost her touch , she realises. It takes her two weeks to be able to knit a little woolly hat , and with a pang in her chest , she thinks of Dobby. 
She’s back , on her Thursday , to sit in her armchair , and weave her pitiful little hats or socks , or whatever shape it’s closest to – the trick would be to ask Harry what it is. He’d tell her , something or the other , and she’d act like that’s what she meant to make. 
But when she’s reached , her bag sagging off of her shoulder , she spots the top of a very blonde head sitting up in her chair , holding the very copy of  Pride and Prejudice that reminded her of her mother.
She thinks about the fact that he’s sat in her seat.
She thinks she could skin him alive for having the sheer audacity.
But she thinks she can see that he’s taking a step forward. Miniscule , but it is visible , nonetheless. 
So she leaves his skin on his body , and decides to sit there – because , well , she wasn’t just going to leave , now was she ?
She sits on a little stool , with a soft green pillow on the back of it , and she takes out her yarn , and she starts it.
By the time the library closes , she’s only made about two inches of a  scarf.
---
She comes back , the next Thursday , expecting the fluke of Draco Malfoy sitting in her seat to have disappeared. 
But he’s still there. And Hermione is still determined not to be rude. 
So she huffs , and sits down on the same chair as last time , taking out her materials , and beginning her little weaving journey all over again.
By the closing time , she has something resembling half a scarf. She is very proud of herself, especially considering the fact that she has not used magic. 
She skips off , completely ignoring the fact that Draco Malfoy had his book upside down the entire time.
---
 The next Thursday , Draco Malfoy does not have a book in his hand , but he’s still there , in the chair.
He almost looks like he’s waiting for something , and Hermione momentarily considers asking him to swap seats , because she really wants her comfy armchair back – but she knows that if it their roles were reversed , she’d start a whole argument about how the seat doesn’t have his name on it. 
And right now , she really , really doesn’t want a squabble. She comes here for peace.
So once again , Hermione acquiesces . She follows the well-imprinted routine of taking out her needles , her yarn , and that’s when she watches Draco Malfoy doing the exact same thing. 
Well , not the exact same. 
Unlike her , who has only three balls of yarn , he seems to have an entire factory of yarn , in all the colours she can possibly think of , some she wasn’t even sure existed.
He’s staring at the ceiling , avoiding her eyes completely , his hand clicking the silver needles together  , her eyes staring at the little monogram at the top of the needles.
D.M. 
Because he can never do anything without marking his name on it , can he ?
But he’s not doing anything bad , she reminds herself , he’s just – well , he’s doing Muggle things. 
This realisation makes her sit up straight. 
She shuffles a little closer , just a little , and immediately , she starts her routine , occasionally looking over at Malfoy , trying to see if he’s doing alright. 
And if , out of the corner of her mouth , she slips out a couple of instructions , no one can prove it.
When they have to leave , she’s added a little bit more onto her scarf. A month more , she thinks. 
She gathers up all her things , and when she leaves , she does not miss the small ‘Thank you’ that leaves Malfoy’s mouth.
It means a lot more than just showing gratitude.
---
She’s back again , and this time , her chair is just a couple of centimetres away from Malfoy’s chair . 
She’s close , so close , she can smell him.
He smells like apples , and faith , and redemption. 
She thinks he smells good. Quite nice , actually.
She gets straight to it , this time not even bothering to conceal her voice when the instructions begin to leave her mouth – ‘Stitch up , not down.’ , ‘Tsk , Tsk , Tsk.’
This time , by the end , she’s finished with a whole ball of yarn.
Draco lets out a strangled gasp ,  looking like he’s cursing everything in the whole room , because he’s made around two layers of stitches.
This , this is exactly what makes her laugh. She ugly laughs , she knows that , her entire body joins in with her , and all the grief that sits on her shoulder leaves for just a second.
Draco wait until she’s done laughing to say something.
“Same time , next week ?” he asks , tentatively
“Yes, yes.” She replies , wiping the tears from her eyes. 
And she does come. 
The next Thursday , there’s a box of macaroons sitting on the coffee table – all the colours and flavours there ever were , and the next one , there’s two cups of tea , and hers is just the way she likes it.
Milk , no sugar.
His , she can see it sugar , no milk.
They start talking eventually , because she’s teaching him how to weave – or knit , rather , because she’s not using a loom , and he surprises her.
It seems like he’s taken a turn for the better . He’s not the same person he used to be , and there’s a sense of camaraderie that’s been instilled amongst the two of them , one such that Hermione feels a little less guilty about looking at his face , and thinking about just how sharp his jawline is.
They talk about books – and he gives her something that Harry and Ron have not ( though she doesn’t begrudge them for it. To the contrary , because if they liked reading , they would not be Harry and Ron ) . He gives her intellectual stimulation.
It’s over cups of teas and balls of yarn and macaroons that he apologises to her for the first time. 
It’s with a small smile on her face she forgives him.
They talk even more in the coming weeks – sometimes , he comes into the library not on Thursday  , and he finds her , in the Muggle Section , and he’ll start a debate of how she’s sitting in his chair – because they can do that now . They can argue like kids , without the weight of war on their backs. 
( It weighs still . But it weighs on her heart more than anything else. ) 
And it’s over a cup of coffee and blue yarn that she realises that her scarf is nearly finished – and that he might in fact notice if she keeps coming for a chat.
It is then that she decides she doesn’t care.
(she also decides that his eyes are a little too silver to be real. )
It takes another week , for her to decide that she likes his eyes.
( he likes hers too. She does not know this yet.)
It takes her till the next Thursday , and a minute of him staring at her fingers , then at her face , to decide that she’s going to ask him out.
But it takes her another month to work up the courage to do it.
Over cinnamon cookies this time , hot and fresh – she does just that.
She watches his face split into a winning smile – one that she graced his face with , and she is proud to be the reason for it. 
Very proud. 
“Finally ,” he says , “Knew you wanted to say something. You’ve got that look about your face , y’know?”
( she did not know this. but then again , she did not know she was being obvious. She thought she was being rather subtle , in fact.)
On their first date , he gives her a rose , or at least that’s what she thinks it is. 
She gives him the scarf she was weaving , on that very first night .
( he wears it all the time. Sometimes , even when he’s not cold )
10  years later , the rose is sitting in a vase on a mantelpiece in their house.
The ghosts are still there. 
But she’s got a hand to hold now.
32 notes · View notes
avonne-writes · 2 years
Text
Practice Makes Perfect
Tumblr media
Pairing: Nick/Charlie
Word count, rating: 1410, T
Summary: Nick is insecure about his kissing skills, so it’s Charlie’s turn to teach him something new.
Link to the AO3 post
It’s a miracle that Charlie hasn’t exploded yet from the shivering bliss he’s been in for minutes now. Who knew that kissing could feel so electrifying? It never did with Ben. Not even the first time. 
He and Nick are supposed to be doing their homework in Nick’s bedroom, but that idea had been discarded before they even got their workbooks out. Alone and without the risk of interruption, there are much better things to do. Like making out in Nick’s bed under a fluffy blue blanket, with their knees pressed together and their hearts racing. It’s the best thing in the world. 
At this point, Charlie can’t even count the kisses anymore. He doesn’t have a lot of experience, but kissing Nick is better than anything he has ever done before. Nick's lips are so soft, never demanding like Ben’s were, and he’s got the tiniest hint of stubble on his chin, which Charlie finds fascinating and way too hot for his sanity. He can’t stop rubbing his thumb over it, but Nick hasn’t picked up on that obsession yet - his fingertips are poised around Charlie’s wrist, stroking Charlie’s skin in barely-there circles. It’s sweet.
And quite a bit maddening. 
The thing is, Charlie knows that not all relationships are the same, but for some reason, he still expected things with Nick to progress like they did with Ben. He assumed that Nick would be needy about it - which he is, just… Not in the same way Ben was. While Ben always wanted to just snog as much as they could, Nick seems to prefer cuddling. He keeps pulling Charlie into his arms, closer and closer, and loves pressing his face to Charlie’s shoulder, content to stay like that and talk about everything and nothing until one of them has to go home. It’s starting to become their thing and they’ve only been going out for a week.
Other than that though, everything they do seems so… restrained, compared to what he did with Ben, and Charlie doesn’t know why. Like the fact that Nick never parts his lips more than a fraction of an inch. Doesn’t he want to go further? It drives Charlie crazy. He can’t go on without doing something about it, he wants more. 
Carefully, so as not to startle Nick, he opens his mouth and lets the tip of his tongue brush the seam of Nick’s lips. 
Nick pulls back with a gasp. “Oh.”
Charlie wilts away on the inside, cringing at how stupid he was. Why would Nick want to do that? He probably thinks it’s disgusting. "Sorry. Too much?"
"No, no." Nick’s voice wavers a little, but he puts a hand on Charlie’s arm to keep him close. His ears are turning red. "I just… I've never… you know.” He clears his throat. “With tongue."
"Oh." Now, Charlie feels like an idiot for a completely different reason. Of course, why didn’t he think of that? Before this whole thing between them started, Nick’s only experience was his kiss with Tara and a few pecks he received during truth or dare. That shouldn't even count. "Well…. Do you want to?"
Nick’s eyes are wide and nervous, but he nods. "Yeah."
"Okay." 
“But I - I don’t know how to.” Nick closes his eyes in mortification. His entire face has turned pink by now, scalding hot blush under his freckles. A few locks of his hair are spread out on his pillow like a flame. "I don't want you to think I'm a bad kisser."
"I won't, I promise." A small smile plays around Charlie’s lips. “I can teach you. You can copy me.”
Nick’s exhale is shaky, but after a moment, he's smiling too. “I’d like that.”
They’re lying close enough that Nick’s smell, that enticing, fresh spiciness of his deodorant and the scent of his body fill Charlie’s senses. He wonders if he smells good to Nick too, if it’s something Nick finds comforting or even desirable. Is that why he wants to hug all the time? Charlie’s too shy to ask. Does Nick find him attractive?
His thumb twitches to stray to that spot on Nick’s chin again, but he moves it to Nick’s cheek instead as he leans closer. He rubs the tips of their noses together. “Just open your mouth if you’re ready.”
He starts the kiss as they usually do. With his lips forming a plush bow, he brushes the curve of Nick’s mouth gently. Lays a lingering peck there, then another. Nick meets him halfway for the second touch, his own lips parted just enough to capture Charlie’s bottom one and press against it in a tentative plea for more. His fingers slide up to Charlie's biceps, only holding him at first, then stroking Charlie's shoulder through his sweater. Then, after a moment's pause, Nick's jaw moves under Charlie's palm and his lips slip open around a shaky sigh. The nervous puffs of his exhales brush Charlie's skin.
Oh my God, Charlie thinks.
It's finally happening! Their first proper French kiss. 
There's no finesse to it, but neither of them seems to mind. There are too many sensations exploding on Charlie's tongue to remember anything about technique. Nick's mouth is warm and welcoming, and he tastes sweet, probably from the huge Cadbury bar he wolfed down after rugby practice. It's so good to feel him like this that Charlie doesn't dare deepen the kiss beyond the first tentative lick until Nick moves to match him, and then it all becomes wet and tingling and wonderful. A tangle of emotions. 
As tenderly as he can manage, Charlie presses closer to explore Nick's mouth, the ridge of his teeth and the velvet-soft touch of his tongue. It's a heady feeling to know that lovely, confident Nick needs Charlie to take the lead in this, to show what's good and what sends quivers down their arms. They lose time in the comfort of it. Again and again, their lips meet with the quiet, damp sounds of a sensual kiss until Charlie gathers the courage to do more, to take it even further than he did with Ben, and he sucks on Nick's tongue.
Nick whimpers.
They both pull back to give each other matching flustered glances.
“Wow.” Nick whispers, lips shiny-slick in the afternoon light. 
“Wow.” Charlie echoes him breathlessly. He moves his hand to Nick's chest, where the frantic rhythm of his heart beats. "You okay?"
Nick stares at him for a moment, then surges forward to capture Charlie's lips once more - except, he miscalculates the force, and in a very enthusiastic and just as painful way, their noses smash together.
"Ow." They both groan. 
As they squint at each other through the pain, a giggle bubbles out of Charlie. He reaches for Nick's right hand and cups it with both of his. He can still feel the sparks fly as he curls and uncurls Nick's fingers, wanting to play with them but feeling a bit scared that Nick will pull away. “Maybe, uhm, go a little slower.”
"Sorry." Nick's quiet laugh has that sweet lilt that reminds Charlie of a purr. “I’ll kiss it better.”
Nick's arms snake around him and cross behind his back, then Nick's lips are on his cheek, peppering kisses all over Charlie's face.
“Nick!” Charlie laughs again and squirms until he gets his palms to rest on Nick's neck. When Nick puts his head on the pillow again, he strokes the fluffy wave of Nick's fringe, pulling the strands into a ray of light to see them glow. “I really like your hair.”
One of Nick's socked feet nudges its way between Charlie's. "I like yours too."
Charlie slips his hand to the back of Nick's head. He watches the light flicker in Nick's warm brown eyes. "So… do you want to practice some more?"
"Yes, of course!" Nick smiles, crooked and sunny as always. "I obviously need it." He glances at Charlie's lips, then back up. "I need to know all the tricks if I want to kiss you breathless one day."
Charlie chuckles. He doesn't tell Nick that he has already done that, just presses his thumb to the spot behind Nick's ear. "Oh, you're going to need a lot of practice to achieve that."
"Yeah?" Nick breathes out. His hand rubs up and down Charlie's back. "I'm lucky to have such a good teacher then."
Charlie smiles. "Close your eyes."
~End~
106 notes · View notes
llatimeria · 7 months
Text
I guess what it all comes down to is what you believe "trying very hard" actually means. For me it means at least partially completing and actually submitting assignments, even if I do them very badly, that is the bare minimum amount of effort to make me feel justified saying, "well, at least I tried!"
The thing is, though, sometimes I feel like I'm trying very hard, like I'm trying so hard I'm making myself sick, but in reality, I'm doing fuckall. I don't want to do the assignment, I'm refusing to even think about the assignment, I have no plans or strategies to submit even the most barebones version of the assignment, sometimes I'm not even sure what the assignment even is or when it's due. By all accounts, to a reasonable person, I am not trying at all. I KNOW I'm not trying, not even a LITTLE bit, but the subconscious anxiety and pressure (punctuated by more conscious bouts of intense shame and self-hatred) takes so much out of me that I feel just as exhausted as if I'd worked on the assignment day in and day out for a week. Is that trying? Does feeling fear and rage so strongly that my body begins to unravel count as a "try", even if I didn't actually do... Anything?
After all, if you decide you're going to try a new food, order it from the restaurant, and then pick out all of the new ingredient from your meal and leave it there without taking home the leftovers because you got too nervous to actually try it***, you still haven't "tried" the food. You don't know what it tastes like or what the texture actually is. None of it has been broken down by your guts and integrated into your body. You don't if you like it, or hate it, or if you're allergic to it. You haven't learned anything new from the experience. You tried, but you didn't "try it", y'know? Is that even worthy of a participation trophy? Or even an "E" for "Effort"? Not... Not really, right?
***(This isn't shaming food anxiety/picky eating btw. completely unironically, I almost did exactly this scenario like two days ago and only went through with trying a very small bite because I was lovingly called on it)
Personally I'd only give myself the gold star "you tried" sticker if the food actually went into my mouth, even if I immediately spat it back out. I guess in my personal metaphor, tasting a small particle of the food is equivalent to writing one sentence or answering one question on the assignment, clearing the plate would equal above-and-beyond effort worthy of extra credit, and eating a normal amount would be getting an average grade, and instead of the consumption of new food, it's the consumption of new knowledge. If I don't eat any of the food (the assignment), I learned nothing new, and therefore should not get credit for "trying" it, even if I thought really hard about it and maybe even read the wikipedia article on the food in question and could maybe even describe what it supposedly tastes like to someone else.
But on a more self-invested level, the gargantuan effort it takes for me to just exist when I feel like I'm strapped into an academic guillotine feels like it should count for SOMETHING. Even though I'm not actually "strapped in", I'm the one holding the rope keeping the blade from decapitating me, I can get out of the guillotine at any time just by doing even a little bit of a frustrating homework assignment, and the only reason I haven't done that yet is because being in a fucking guillotine makes it a smidge difficult to focus on the intricacies of meiosis since you think you will no longer have a head in a few, precious, endless, seconds if you take your hand off the rope to write - that still feels like it's worthy of, like, pity points at the end of the quarter, at least.
On one hand, I probably shouldn't get rewarded for enduring a problem that I simply could have chosen not to cause. I could always just Not Enter The Guillotine.
On the other hand... I don't really think the guillotine is a choice for me. I always end up in the guillotine, even when I'm consciously aware of and am attempting to avoid the guillotine. The only person putting me in there is me, but I don't seem to know how to not put myself in a guillotine the moment I see one, which is a silly thing not to know, but that doesn't mean I secretly do know how to not put myself in a guillotine and I'm just keeping it from myself because I DESERVE the guillotine this time FOR REAL. No matter how simple the information is, I still don't know how to avoid the guillotine, and I still need to take the time to learn how.
Something, at some point, taught me how to get into a guillotine, but never told me I didn't have to, and never told me how to get out. Maybe it innocently felt that was obvious, or maybe it wanted me to decapitate myself, but that doesn't actually matter when the result is the same: I still need to learn how to get out of the guillotine.
2 notes · View notes
roadtogracelandx45 · 2 years
Text
Among Angels|3| Top Gun Maverick
@luckyladycreator2 @prettyinpayne
masterlist
part 2
“Morning.” Maverick greeted his daughter who had come down the stairs rubbing her eyes sleepily, her three dogs trailing behind her antsing to go outside. “Mornin’.’ She yawned before she opened the back door and let the dogs go running outside. 
“Coffee?” He offered, he was taking Ice’s advice from the night before seriously. He had to take it one step at a time with Bianca , start with the little things otherwise, she would shut him down. 
“Please.’ She yawned again.
 “A lot of homework?” He busied himself with grabbing a coffee mug out of the cabinet. 
“Two last papers for my AP classes. And I talked to Bradley until about midnight.” Her father turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow.
 “It was a paper on something he was studying at school so he helped.” She shrugged her shoulders and put some milk in the coffee he had handed her. 
“We have almost daily talks. We talk about school, about the Navy, about our dads. You included.” Maverick knew that she wanted to say that he didn’t deserve that title because of what he had done in the past.
 But she held her tongue. 
“He tells me about his girlfriends. And I tell him about George.” “George is?” “George was the first serious boyfriend I had.” She took another sip of her coffee and stood up from her chair, she could hear the rumblings of the rest of the house getting up so she figured she could start on breakfast. 
 “And the only one I had. It's a long story and I don’t want to talk about it.” 
“Of course.”  
“Can I ask you something?”  Maverick nodded his head as he poured some dog food into the bowls that were lined up by the island. 
“Why do you leave so often?” The food spilled over the rim of the bowl and he froze at her question. “I mean you were here for Bradley, but me every time something happens you aren’t here. Did you not want me? Do you not love us?” 
 He could tell by the tears in her voice she had been holding onto this for so long, he wondered if Bradley had prompted this. He glanced at the doorway and saw his husband standing barely in sight dressed in his uniform. 
“I,” He started before clearing his throat, “have been afraid of losing you and Ice. Like I lost my parents. Like I lost Goose. And don’t think that I don’t love you, I do, I have since the moment I felt you kicking in Charlie’s stomach.” 
 There were more tears in Bianca’s eyes at that point, Charlotte Blackwood, had been their surrogate and had been around for the first years of Bianca’s life then passed away from a nasty motorcycle accident. 
 “When I got to hold you the first time.” Maverick had put the dog food back on the counter and crossed the room, “It was like.” 
“Love at first sight.” Iceman said as he came into the kitchen,  “You made our family complete.” Bianca looked at Maverick for reassurance and he nodded his head.  She took several deep breaths to steady herself before nodding her own head as her aunt and uncle joined them.  “Everything okay here?” Alex asked, looking first at his brother and niece then at Maverick.  Bianca nodded her head in agreement. 
``You look like shit kid.” “You will be the top of your class and have to give a speech in front of everyone and their mother in a week and tell me how you feel. It's exhausting. I am exhausted, okay?” 
Glancing at his husband to see if he thought  the same thing, Maverick spoke, “Do you have to go to school today?”  ``No, I turned my papers in electronically.” “You are going to come with me.” “Huh?” Alex, Ana and Bianca  all said together, surprised. It was very rare that he wanted to spend time with Maggie, usually it was a big family thing. 
“Don’t ask. Just go get ready for the day.”  Carrying her plate of food and coffee mug, Bianca, still wearing a confused look, went up the stairs to her room. “Just don’t anything stupid Pete. Please.’ Iceman commented once the music turned on in their daughter’s bedroom. “She has worked too damn hard to get into the academy that doing some stupid stunt with you is going to ruin it.” “Don’t worry babe.” Maverick smirked, ‘I got this.” 
~*~
“Mav? Where are we going?’  Bianca questioned as her father directed her jeep towards the highway, “Dad will kill us both if you try to sneak us into Top Gun and into another plane.” Maverick laughed, his husband had been furious when Maverick had snuck Bianca into MiraMir and into a F13.  
Bianca was completely silent the whole flight until he started turning and burning and going inverted. Then she started laughing and screaming in excitement and Ice heard and went ballistic on the radio.  
“No, we won’t give your dad a heart attack unless you really want to.’ Bianca shook her head, “No, he already has high blood pressure.” Maverick glanced at her in confusion, he hadn’t been informed of that. “Stevie and I got into some trouble not too long ago, he crashed Slider’s mustang into my old room.”  He slammed on the breaks causing her to curse and throw her hands out to stop herself from flying forward.
 “Uncle Alex was in charge because Dad was on a deployment, his last one actually, and Slider was over and they left us unattended and he got into the car and smashed into the house. It was a good thing I was outside with them and not already in bed.”  “And Steven is still alive?” “Yep.” She popped the p, 'He is actually going to the academy too, and he’s giving a speech at graduation too.’ Maverick shook his head in surprise.  
“Trust me, I did that for an hour after they told us. And I broke my favorite coffee mug from London when he told us he got into the academy.” 
Maverick was mentally kicking himself in the ass for missing so much of his daughter’s life, he didn’t know the girl sitting next to him. He had glimpses of her, from the videos and pictures Ice would send him.  
“What do you want to go into with the Navy?” “At first, Bradley said I would make a good lawyer with how much I argue with people. So it was going to be law.’
  He did remember that he had been on the receiving end of one of her arguments and knew how good she could be. 
“But Dad took me up in his plane before he stopped flying and I just.” 
“Felt alive?” 
“Yeah. he didn’t do a lot of crazy stuff like you did but still. It felt like I was meant to be up there.’  
He nodded his head, he knew exactly how she felt, he felt it every time he was up in the air.  “It is so hard to get into the pilot program that I don’t think I will actually get into it.”  “You are a  Mitchell and a Kazansky, you will get in. if not become a JAG lawyer and bail my ass out of trouble.” She laughed at that, “Be the Kazansky family job, bailing a Mitchell out of trouble.” 
29 notes · View notes
valewright67 · 2 years
Note
Are you okay?
Hello.
I'm a little stressed?
It's kinda stupid, honestly.
I start school on Monday, right? And it's my first year in college, I'm doing deaf studies and interpreting for ASL. I thought it would be good to learn asl, since I struggle to hear anyways.
Also, my therapist thinks I have autism? We're not gonna try to get a diagnoses, because that could very well be upwards of 5k, and I don't have that to throw around, yknow? But he strongly suspects, and I don't know what to do about that.
I have classes Monday and Wednesday in person, plus homework. Tuesday is my allotted online day, PLUS the one day with a flexible schedule I'll have to run any errands I may need to do. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I'm WORKING, 8 to 4. After that is any other homework I need to get done, plus all my household chores, and maybe some smaller errands, like shopping.
On top of that, my partner just like. Doesn't respond? We had plans today and tomorrow we made a couple weeks ago and I was trying to confirm and it's been EIGHT HOURS, and no response. I try to be patient, but this is a regular thing. I get he stays up most of the night and sleeps the day away, but it's 8:15 pm and NOTHING. He finally responds at 8:30 saying his phone is on the fritz and he got around it by connecting his number to his laptop. Which I can understand but I was half ready for HOURS. He couldn't have checked in earlier??
I'm not gonna HAVE any time off, I'm not gonna HAVE a day. And that in off itself stresses me out! Between school and work and homework and errands and chores, I'm either going to have time for sleep or a personal time. I can alternate between those well enough, I'm 18, almost 19, and I've got enough stamina to give up on sleep a couple nights a week. I won't be especially energetic, but I'll be able to function.
And I've been trying so hard to just WRITE, because I'm RUNNING OUT OF TIME. I've got ideas, LOADS of ideas, I'm up to the BRIM with them! And I'm not gonna have any time to write, this is my last chance, but I just CANT?
And you've sent me asks, I've seen them, I've thought about them, ive got stories, and then they just rot in my inbox, because I can't even START them. And do you know how many blurbs and thoughts and COMPLETELY FORMED STORIES I just need to actually WRITE? Like the Tristan reblog, do you know how much I want to add to that, but I can't pump anything out? I've got this great idea for the "by the way your best friends your mother" reveal. And I've got a big bro zel au I'm so PROUD of, and I want to share it with @demonprincezeldris but I've only got one section written, which I submitted WEEKS AGO AND WAS RESPONDED TO ALREADY. It was supposed to be a three part, and I've got the whole plot there, spent ages muling it over and hammering out every detail.
Then there's what I've got on A03. Did you know there's someone who thought I stopped writing Vorago because I didn't like their idea? That's not it at all! I LOVED their idea! But I couldn't even respond to their COMMENT, because what do I say?? "No, I stopped writing after you gave me this idea because I'm paralyzed staring at Google docs." And it was months ago, anyways! And I've got a bunch of others there that people want more of!
And I just. Can't. Write. No matter how hard I try. What I actually manage to force out is jilted and cringy and awful, and I will absolutely not publish that. It's almost worse than my WATTPAD ERA!
Almost. Those were dark days.
Im just so frustrated, because I'm OUT OF TIME, and I. Did. NOTHING. I'm not gonna have any time to write, even if I can, I'm not gonna have any time for a social life - that I barely had anyways - im not gonna have time for myself, im barely gonna have time to SLEEP. I feel like wasted what I had left.
Is this what it feels like to be an adult? I don't like it. I wanna be a kid again.
11 notes · View notes
xsage-writingx · 2 years
Text
Breaking the Rules Chapter 5
Author’s Note: Chapter 5 and we get more interactions with different people! I know I say this on all of my posts but people don't seem to listen and I've ended up blocking people already. So, I guess I'll say it again, I will am checking bio's, for everyone's safety. If I don't see anything that is noting that you are over 18 years old, I will have to block you. I know some chapters are tame but just to be safe I need to do this.
Once again, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.
Warnings: Bullying, Adult Language (if I missed anything, please let me know)
Masterlist
** I do not condone the copying and reposting of my work. If I find that it is being done I will delete everything and cease writing.**
ALSO: I gave the one Hellfire/Corroded Coffin member the name "Matty" as I couldn't find anything for him other than "Freak 1". If there is a different name than what other's prefer, please let me know!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rest of the weekend was quiet. Eddie had practice with the band Saturday night and I had to do my weekend homework on Sunday. It wasn’t until Monday morning, when Eddie picked me up for school, did we see each other again. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when he pulled up to the curb. But it still surprised me to see him waiting at the open passenger door. When I met him at the van, he reached out and pulled me in for a kiss.
My lips met his, and at first my eyes were wide, completely motionless. But after a moment my eyes closed softly and I pressed my body into his. I hummed into the kiss and found my arms had moved to curl around his neck.
He pulled away from the kiss, but left his forehead pressed to mine. “Good morning to you too, princess.” He gave me a little squeeze. “I missed you.”
“It was barely a day and a half,” I said as I pulled away from him and moved to get into the van.
He stopped me and pulled me back into his arms. “Are you saying that you didn’t miss me?”
I sighed and said, “Of course, I missed you. But you made it sound that we haven’t seen each other in a week.” He hummed as he brought his face closer to mine, ready to kiss me again. “What’s going to happen if one of us as to take a trip?”
“Well, I’m not going on any vacations and I’ll just follow you anywhere you go.” He said it so matter-of-factly, like it was the simplest solution and how silly of me not to think of it.
I laughed as I ducked under his arms and got into my seat. “Come on, handsome, we have to get to school.” Eddie sprung forward and placed a peck on my lips before he closed the door and ran over to get into the driver’s seat. We drove with the music on down the road, but as we got to the first turn off my road, reality tickled the recesses of my mind. I turned down the music and said, “So, the Freshman know about us. Chrissy knows about us. Do we just say ‘fuck it’ and act like every other couple at Hawkins?” I picked at the hem of my jacket and continued, “I mean, that’s completely up to you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Eddie’s hand squeezed my knee, it pulled my attention from the hem of my jacket to his eyes that darted between the road and me. “I want to yell from the rooftops that we’re dating. I couldn’t give a shit less about what they think.”
I smiled over to him, then said, “Alright and should we say something directly to our friends?”
Eddie grinned and said, “Oh, don’t you worry about Hellfire. I have that under control.” I nodded as we pulled into the school parking lot. One less thing for me to worry about.
We got out of the van and the only change from how we had walked into school for the past month was that Eddie’s arm was slung over my shoulders. No one stared, no one called to us, and no one approached us. I thought that, maybe, spending every day at school made people not care that we were seen together, even if the change between us was monumental for us. Regardless, I felt the tension drip away from me as we continued through the parking lot. Even as we passed Jason’s car, I wouldn’t have looked if a brilliant smile hadn’t caught my eyes.
I looked over to see Chrissy beaming. When our eyes met, she held up two thumbs then turned back to the group before anyone noticed her looking our way. Eddie leaned over and asked, “What was that about?”
I looked up to his curious eyes and said, “I told you; she was super nice when we ran into each other in the bathroom on Saturday.” I leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Maybe we over thought all this and people really don’t give a shit. I mean, you stand on the lunch tables, for gods sake. Us dating, probably, will go unnoticed.”
He grinned and squeezed my shoulders in his arm. “You just want to see the best in people, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “I’m just hopeful.”
We walked through the double doors and at the senior hall of lockers Eddie went to his while I turned and went to mine. As I approached my locker, I saw a crowd of people. They seemed to have been laughing and I groaned as I hoped that some kid didn’t leave milk in their locker over the weekend, the smell having caused the scene. However, as I neared, I realized that the commotion wasn’t just near my locker, it was at my locker.
My heart jumped to my throat and I felt my knees shake. Painted diagonally across the entire locker-face was the phrase: Freak’s Slut in bright red. As I approached, the laughing faces turned to me. I swallowed my humiliation and forced every other emotion down until only anger coursed through my body.
I was nearly vibrating by the time I faced my locker and at the corner of “t” in slut I scratched my nail on the paint. It chipped under the scratch, cheap acrylic paint. I turned on my heel and stalked back out to the parking lot. I barely noticed Eddie on his way back to me.
The stares followed me along my rampage through the parked cars until I saw the group of letterman jackets. “Hey assholes,” I shouted.
Every face turned to me; the at-ease smiles turned maniacal at my approach. Jason stood in the middle of his group; they all had their hands tucked into their pockets, the picture of ease on a Monday morning. I forced a wild smile to my face as I stopped before them.
“That was such a funny joke,” I said as I looked between each guy at least a foot taller than me. “I wonder, though, who was the artist? I would love to give my compliments.”
Chrissy tugged at Jason’s sleeve as she tried to ask what was going on. Jason just tucked her further behind him. “We don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yes, you do, I thought but I simply said, “Well, that’s too damn bad.” I looked between them all until my eyes caught on the sleeve of Chance’s letterman. A smudge of bright red stained the white. Slowly, I walked up to Chance. The gathered crowd behind me went dead silent, and even the air hung with baited breath. I pinched the red spot and said, “Missed a spot, Bob Ross.”
I turned to begin walking back to the school but there was just enough anger left in me. I turned back to half face them again and said, “Oh, and Chance? Use a little bit of Dawn dish soap, cold water, and a wash cloth. Dab, don’t rub. It’ll only make it stain if you rub.” I winked, clicked my cheek and have him a finger-gun, then turned back to the school.
The entire audience that gathered “ooh”ed at my parting comment. Eddie stood at the front of the crowd, waiting for me to come back. Something dark shone in his eyes, but when he looked down to me it was replaced with an unnatural calm. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tucked me close to him. The crowd before us parted and I had to remind myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other as the adrenalin faded.
The entire Hellfire Club, except Lucas, spent lunch with me at my locker while I cleaned the metal of the red paint. They all went in order of how awful the jocks were and that it was cool that we were together. Eddie offered to help with the scrubbing but I turned him down. Whether it was pride or a way to keep the anger down, I wasn’t sure.
Every now and then, Eddie would reach over and pop a mini-pretzel in my mouth. I was on the last letter when I leaned back on my heels and said, “Well, at least we didn’t have to have some awkward talk with you guys about us dating.”
The guys all started to laugh.
“I was actually going to announce it at lunch,” Eddie said casually. Everyone, myself included, looked over to him to elaborate. “It’s been a while since I got on my soapbox - .”
“Got on a table, you mean,” Gareth said between bites of a very sloppy joe.
Everyone laughed and Eddie laughed sarcastically, then said, “As a matter of fact, yes. I had planned to stand on that table.” He stood from his place next to me. “I would have gotten the entire cafeteria’s attention.” He cleared his throat as if he was playing out his plan in the hall for us. “I would have reached out a hand to our lovely lady,” he reached out his hand to me.
I took it, giggles escaped me as he pulled me up with him. He held me as if we were about to tango when he continued, “Then I would have announced, ‘Here ye, here ye! I would like to announce that this stunning woman has agreed to date me! So, if you have any lingering ideas of trying to snatch her up, you can put them to rest before I do it for you!’ Then I would have spun you around,” at that he spun me into a dip. “Then I would have - .”
Every boy in the hall began to yell, “No,” as Eddie tried to lean in for a kiss. We had all been laughing so hard that we didn’t see a figure make their way down the hall and stand just outside of our group.
There was a soft cough to get our attention. Eddie pulled me back up to an upright position, but tucked me carefully under his arm. Chrissy Cunningham stood just outside our group, arms wrapped around herself and the toe of her perfect tennis shoe rubbed against the tiled floor.
“Hey,” she said softly, “I was just wondering if I could talk to Becky really quick.”
The boys all looked to me and I leaned up to place a quick kiss on Eddie’s cheek. I turned back to Chrissy and said, “Yeah, sure.”
She nodded quickly and we made our way just down the hall and out of earshot of the boys. We both leaned against the lockers, shoulder to shoulder, out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Eddie had taken up scrubbing the last letter off my locker. Dustin must have said something and Eddie chucked the rag at him. I laughed as I turned back to Chrissy and she was looking at me with glistening eyes.
I turned fully towards her and asked, “Whoa, are you ok?” She sniffled and went to rub the tear that was threatened to escape her eye. “Wait right there,” I said gently and took a tissue out of my back pocket that I had stored there at the start of the period in case I started crying while I cleaned my locker. Thankfully, with all the boys there, I had only laughed and the tissues went unused. I dabbed the tissue at the corner of her eye and said quietly, “If you rub, you’ll have a red spot. You should know that.” I leaned back with smile,
“Why are you being nice to me? I came to apologize to you,” she said as another tear threatened to take the place of the one I had just dabbed away.
I handed her the tissue and said, “I’m nice to you, Chrissy, because you have done nothing against me.” I leaned back against the lockers with her. “You have only ever been nice to me.”
“Yes, but Jason and the other guys on the team have been awful to you and Eddie.” She dabbed another tear. “They have made you feel uncomfortable and that’s not ok.”
I shrugged and said, “Chrissy, this isn’t the first time that I’ve had to deal with jerks. But it is the first time that I’ve had friends to help me through it.” I looked back at the group by my locker now flicking soapy water at each other.
She laughed as she looked at them too. “Why have you had to deal with jerks before? You’re so pretty.”
I looked back to her and it was true confusion in her eyes. “Well, when you have a smart mouth, dorky interests, and you’re a military brat… you’re only cool on your first move.” Chrissy laughed and tabbed her eyes again. “But I meant what I said on Saturday. I would love to still hang out some time, if you still want to that is.” I looked over my shoulder to the boys as Eddie wrestled Mike to the ground. “I’m drowning in testosterone over there.”
Chrissy was giggling as she watched the show unfold. “Do they do this a lot?”
“Oh yes, and you wouldn’t believe who the instigator is.” We both laughed as I took out a pen and little notebook from my other back-pocket. I jotted down my phone number and tore out the page. Chrissy took it with tentative fingers.
“May I?” She pointed to the pen still in my hand. I handed it over and on the lower half of the page she jotted down her number, tore the page in half, and handed me her number. “I would love to hang out some time.” She tucked the half piece of paper in her pocket and said, “Well, I should probably get going. They think I’m in the bathroom.”
I nodded and said, “If you ever want to talk, just give me a call.” I reached out my arms with a shrug. It was like watching someone cut the strings of a marionet, tension eased from her shoulders and with a tentative step Chrissy hugged me.
“Thank you, Becky,” she said when she pulled away.
“Chrissy, we just hugged. I think it’s safe to say you can call me ‘Beck’ like all my other friends.”
A true, unfiltered smile broke across her face. “Thank you, Beck.” She backed up down the hall and she patted her pocket as she said, “I’ll call you.”
I waved just as she was about to turn. Chrissy returned my wave then skittered around the corner back to the cafeteria. I walked back to the group. The wrestling had paused and they were all staring up at me. Matt was the first to speak up, “Did you just exchange numbers and hug Chrissy Cunningham?”
I paused and said slowly, “Yes, why?”
“What if she’s going to run back and give your number to all the jerks,” Matty said with his earrings glinting as he jolted forward in emphasis. I rolled my eyes and clutched my heart dramatically. “Oh, please save me. If they start prank calling my house… What ever will I do?” I raised a hand to my forehead and proceeded to Shakespearian faint before the group. I lifted my head from the floor and looked to their shocked faces. “I think I’ll survive.”
**Thank you for reading!**
8 notes · View notes
oatmealcrisp-freak · 2 years
Text
heres the 2 pages of that jennifers body/saiki k merger that i lost interest in almost immediately lol
For the most part, Kusuo Saiki lived a normal life.
He liked it that way.
He went to school. He came home. He did his chores and his homework. He ate with his family. He entertained himself as most kids his age did. He even had a handful of friends, despite his general mistrust and antipathy toward people in general. He still wasn’t sure how that happened but there you have it.
He lived in a small town that had been incorporated into Tokyo somewhat recently. He was barely below the average height for a person his age. He had black hair inherited from his mother, and eyeglasses he wore for a slight astigmatism inherited from his father. Outwardly, Kusuo was, indeed, quite average. It could be said that there were only two things unique about him, to the outside observer - that he went to a private academy (not actually that unique but maybe a little uppity), and the colour of his eyes, a vibrant, almost neon shade of purple that, while genetic, was still pretty dissimilar to the very dark hue his mother and grandfather sported.
Internally he was still pretty average, Kusuo mused as he mulled over his test, squinting. The only real thing separating him from other people his age would be his IQ.
‘Not,’ He thought as he circled the wrong answer. ‘That anybody knows about that of course.’
Well, a psychotic older brother might count too but that had very little to do with him.
Or at least that was how Kusuo preferred to see it.
Kusuke disagreed.
That, Kusuo thought as he glanced over at the clock, was a problem because Kusuke was coming home today. 
The twitch of the second hand, moving no matter what to an event Kusuo absolutely didn’t want to deal with, was enough to drive him a bit mad if he let it. Well, he was already a bit mad. He’d woken up that morning breathless and shivering and even though he’d managed to pull himself together so for all appearances he’d his normal expressionless self, internally he was something of a wreck.
He looked back down at his test again. A second later he caught his eyes straying back to the clock and forced himself to give his attention back to the slip of paper in front of him, biting back a grimace. In irritation, Kusuo finished quickly and stood, turned it in, and left to take his lunch early.
Coffee probably wouldn’t help his anxiety but he would need every ounce of energy he could muster for when he got home.
~~~
‘There’s got to be some way out of this.’
It was a thought that followed him constantly, clawing at the edges of his sanity. Kusuo had done his best to pay it no mind. Now with nothing to distract him, it was pacing him even more.
‘I shouldn’t have left early.’
His chopsticks waggled in his grip, rapping out the steady hum of his anxiety onto his lunch tray. Kusuo was trying to read. He was failing, the words blurring before his eyes and smudging into a mess more incomprehensible than when he didn’t wear his glasses at all. He whispered a soft sigh and took the frames off, setting them on the table to rub at his aching eyes.
He’d slept for shit last night. The emotions of today had snuck up on him, he’d been fine all week. This was really such a pain in the neck, good grief. Happily begrudging the tension straining his shoulders, Kusuo opened his eyes, looked down at his udon bowl. 
All the work Kusuo had put into this couldn’t be denied. Over the years he’d slowly adjusted his grades to decrease them gradually until he’d gone from acing things completely by accident to where he sat now - happily in the middle of his class’s rankings. He’d even adjusted his manner of speech and when he did allow people into his bubble, they didn’t get to stay if their intellect was anything close to his. 
It’d landed him in a bit of trouble - Teruhashi was nothing if not persistent - but if Kusuo could pull this off it would be worth it. For years he’d painstakingly constructed a presence that was as non-threatening to his older brother as possible.
It was time to see if it paid off.
‘Hell, maybe I’ll even get lucky for once in my life,’ He reasoned. ‘It’s been four years, he’s been away at university in a different country, it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that he’s changed and matured. I’m sure that just like here he ended up being a very big fish in a very small pond, maybe it’ll have soothed his ego enough that he won’t be assed to bother.’
If that was the case, Kusuo would be just as thankful if his work did pay off, he wouldn’t even be mad that he’d wasted years of his life or threw away his education to do it.
‘Anything to get Kusuke off my back will be worth i-’
“Hey Saiki!”
Geeze!
“Whoa, hey,” Kuboyasu chuckled as he sat at the table across from him. “Easy, it’s just us.”
“Sorry, I tried to get your attention,” Kaidou gave Kusuo a sheepish smile. “But you were lightyears away. Worried about the test? You left really early!”
Kusuo didn’t like being snuck up on. It made him twitchy. To that end he was usually hyper vigilant of his surroundings but without Kusuke around, he’d fallen out of practice a bit. Still, to not notice them come up at all-
Well, he had been pretty distracted.
‘I need to get my shit together,’ Kusuo decided. ‘If I’m this unaware, I stand no chance.’
“It was a pretty hard one,” Kuboyasu sighed heavily. “They must be gearing us up for exams.”
“Uhg, don’t even go there,” Kaidou sighed heavily. “Mama’s been ragging on me about it constantly. ‘You’re almost in your last year of highschool, you gotta step it up!’ Like I haven’t been trying.”
“Yeah, that sounds rough. Kinda glad my pops doesn’t care that much.”
“You should be, the pressure is stupid. I’ve got enough on my plate with Dark Reunion and all that crap. What about you, Saiki? You’re always landing 90th, I bet your parents are pretty mad, huh?”
‘Honestly if I could find somewhere else to stay, that would be ideal. I’m sure my grandparents wouldn’t mind if I visited them for a week.’
“Saiki?”
Oh, yeah. Getting his shit together. Kusuo blinked and looked up. Kaidou lifted an eyebrow in response.
“Did you hear anything we just said?”
Kusuo weighed his options. “No.”
Kaidou rolled his eyes, which Kusuo granted that he was impressed by because until now he hadn’t figured the meek chuuni had the capacity to be snide. Maybe he was rubbing off on the kid.
“Really nervous over that test, eh?” Kaidou smiled.
“Not really.” Kusuo turned back to his food, then tapped his phone and noted the time and wondered what it would take to bribe his dad to call him in sick so he could vanish for a week. Good grief, he should’ve done this yesterday. What the hell was wrong with him, had he seriously been living in denial instead of planning for this?
“Wh-really?”
Kaidou’s shocked tone made him look up. Kusuo pondered the faces of the boys across him, the number of the people in the cafeteria who might be listening in (approximately four, judging by their body language), and knew without looking how many cameras would be able to read his lips even from that distance, given Kusuke’s programming skills.
He might be able to use this.
“Why bother?” He shrugged and forced himself to smile. “I’ll never be able to compare to my big brother.”
Kuboyasu startled. “You have an older brother, Saiki?”
“I don’t think I knew that either,” Kaidou mumbled.
‘Go with it.’
Kusuo nodded. “That’s because he doesn’t live with us. Actually, he just graduated from his triple Doctorate at the University of Cambridge in England, which he was accepted to when he was fourteen. There’s no way I’m living up to that,” He made himself chuckle. “So why bother?”
‘I’m not a threat, I’m not a threat, I’m not a threat. I’ve never been a threat to you. See? This is me being non-threatening.’
“Oh wow.” Kuboyasu’s eyebrows were threatening his hairline.
15 notes · View notes
amjustagirl · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
Love knows not its depth (until the hour of separation) 
Tumblr media
pairing: Kuroo x f! reader  genre: angst / fluff, post timeskip! warnings: a tiny smudge of suggestive content wc: 4.9k m.list ~ taglist. ~
a/n: this is my rendition of a grown up Kuroo. life has been a little hectic for me recently, so i’m only getting around to posting it now. pls be kind and i hope y’all love it <3 
Tumblr media
“I need a break.”
Kuroo continues to snore. You are unsurprised he doesn’t hear you. After all, he came home glassy eyed, smelling strongly of alcohol after yet another night of drinks with his boss before quickly falling asleep in bed. It’s what he does most weekday nights, leaving you alone at home to manage your two daughters and tuck them into bed. 
“I’m tired, Tetsuro.”
You are too tired to even tell him how you feel. You have a career of your own, two daughters to raise, a never ending list of chores and errands that must be done. You are a mother, a wife, a career woman. You have so many roles to play yet there is no space for you. 
You must do something, anything or risk your heart imploding in your very chest. 
You cannot survive that. 
The next morning, you call your boss, ask for a day off. Then you pack your girls off to your mother’s place with two little suitcases with toys and clothes enough for a long weekend before you take the train to Hakone, check yourself into the ryokan with a view of Mt. Fuji that you spent your honeymoon at - except this time, you’re alone (but then again, you’ve been lonely for so long, you hardly notice the difference anymore).
You dip yourself into the hot waters of the onsens, watch bamboo sway in the breeze. It’s been at least a year since you’ve been even able to take a bath uninterrupted. There’s always something - Aiko needing help with her homework, Fumiko whining for another piece of mochi, your boss calling to chase for yet another report, so all you’ve ever had time for is a hurried shower before placating your daughters or seating yourself in front of your laptop to deal with your boss. 
Finally, you’ve stolen a day to yourself. It’s absolute bliss. 
The water is kind to you. Its heat soothes your aching muscles, the rising steam steadies your breath. You walk out of the baths feeling refreshed, renewed, but when you enter your room you find Kuroo Tetsuro waiting for you. 
“I’ve been calling your phone all afternoon”, he says, face pinched. “I was worried.”
“Were you?” you say before you can stop yourself. “Really?” 
“Of course”, he says, uncrossing his legs to stand. “You’re my wife and the mother of my children, of course I care.”
Wife. Mother. Employee. 
The roles that life has handed you haunts you again. There is no escape for you. 
Your skin suddenly feels as if it’s stretched too tight over your frame. Your bones rattle, brittle. They threaten to break if you take another breath. Yet you laugh and laugh and laugh, the sound spilling from your lips filling the room, suffocating the pounding of your heartbeat in your ears. 
“If you really cared, you would have noticed that your wife is broken”, you tell him between bouts of laughter. “I tried fixing myself with a break but you can’t even give me that.” 
Kuroo stares at you, equal parts horrified and confused. He takes a hesitant step forward towards you before thinking the better of it, swerving over to the kettle instead, clutching it as if it holds the cure to your madness. 
“Calm down”, he says, “take a seat”, and you do. He offers you a cup of tea. You accept it, even though you’re still shaking from the aftershock of your laughter. “Drink”, he says, and you bring the cup to your lips, though you wonder absently why you taste salt in the bitter tea. 
“Tell me what’s wrong”, he begs. “Tell me what I can do to fix you.” 
You want to tell him that you’re not strong enough to do what’s expected of you. You want to tell him that you’re drowning from the weight of being his wife, the mother of his kids, from being a working woman that he can be proud of. You want to tell him that you understand his career is important, but so is yours, and you can’t carry the weight of the world alone. 
But that would take too many words, and you are far, far too tired for that. 
So you say blankly - “I can’t do this anymore, Tetsuro.”
His face falls. 
You should remember that Kuroo Tetsuro, first and foremost, is a child scarred by his parents’ divorce. You should remember that you made promises that you and he would never put your daughters through that. But you’ve floated beyond hysteria into a grey indifference, your mind too broken, too tired, too numb to consider him when you can barely even hold on to yourself. 
You don’t even notice the hot tears soaking through your yukata. You are deaf to his pleas to give him another chance. There is nothing left in you to give because you’ve poured all you’ve had into him, into your family, into your job. You are so, so empty, and you just sit and sip your tea and wonder idly if the warmth from the liquid you’re ingesting will make you feel a little more alive, or if it’s possible to ease the dull ache in your heart. 
Tumblr media
It is only when you wake up the next day and the sun is high in the sky that you register that he rolled out your futon for you, tucked you into bed, and kissed your forehead as a goodnight and goodbye. But all of this is washed away by the relief you feel when you read the note he’s left behind telling you that he’s returned to Tokyo, and to enjoy your break. 
So you do. 
You relish every bite of the meals you have at the ryokan. It’s nice not having to cook or scarf down your food at your office desk for once. You fill your time flitting between the onsens and curling up in your room with a book, taking frequent cat naps until tomorrow comes around again and it’s time to check out and head home. 
There’s a brief moment of surprise when the reception informs you politely that your husband already paid your bill - but you suppose that’s just Tetsuro being efficient at racking up credit card points. The bullet train takes you back to Tokyo, and a couple stops on the subway takes you home.  
“Okaeri”, you call softly out of habit, not expecting anyone to respond, but Kuroo responds with an even softer ‘Tadaima’, striding over to take your bags from you and usher you into the apartment. There are pink roses sitting in a vase, but you pay it no mind. 
“The girls?” you ask, already headed in the direction of their room. 
“I picked them up from your mom”, Kuroo responds. “Don’t wake them up, I just put them to bed”.
A peek into their room and it settles your mind to see that your girls are safe and sound asleep. 
“Thanks,” you say, back in the kitchen, checking the fridge for what you can whip up for breakfast for you and the girls tomorrow. “By the way, I’ll pay you back for the hotel room from my own money, don’t worry.”
“It’s fine”, Kuroo answers, scratching his head. His hair seems a little more rumpled than usual. “I’ll cover it. I should’ve realised you needed a break.”
“You sure? You don’t have to pay for me, I’ve got money of my own.”
“No, let me pay for it, please. It’s the least I can do.” 
You shrug. “Okay”, you say gracelessly. “Thank you.”
He continues to watch you over the kitchen counter as you lay out bread, eggs, ham, cheese. It’ll do for a quick breakfast for the girls tomorrow, never mind the guilt eating away at you that you really should do better than feeding them processed food all the time. You’re so preoccupied with planning the morning rush, the best way to clear the stack of reports that must have piled up on your desk at work by now that you miss Kuroo rounding the counter to stare down at you worriedly. 
“You haven’t had dinner?” 
“Oh no, I had a bento on the train on the way back.” It’s second nature to you to brush away anyone’s concern. “It’s for the girls’ breakfast.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take them to childcare before work tomorrow. Sleep in and take a break.”
“Really?” You stare back at him, confused. He doesn't even take charge of the girls in the mornings when you’re sick, your mother always has to fill in your place. He only ever turns up on the first day of school each year. 
“Yes, of course. In fact, I’ve rearranged my work schedule so I can take them to school all of this week at least.”
“Oh”, you say, brows furrowed in confusion. “Okay, I guess. Wake me up if you need my help.”
“I won’t”, he replies, with a cocky smirk that seems almost false. “Goodnight, love.”
You don’t think of Kuroo’s strange behaviour overmuch, falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. 
Tumblr media
Kuroo continues to act strangely all of next week. 
As promised, he takes charge of getting the girls out of bed and ready for school. But you’re taken aback when he starts coming home for dinner, completely floored when he hands you a whole armful of bath salts and orders you to take a relaxing, hot bath while he wrangles both the girls and the washing machine into submission. 
He even calls your mother to ask her to babysit on a Saturday evening so he can take you out for dinner at a fancy restaurant that serves foam instead of food. You manage to stumble through conversation with him - a commendable effort, since it’s been so long since you’ve even held a proper conversation with him besides snatches of discussion about the girls. 
At least until he states during dessert - “we can make it work if you want to quit your job and stay home full time with the children.”
The mousse on your spoon melts by the time you put it down on your plate. 
“Did the guys at work tell you it’s easier to have a housewife instead of a working wife? Are you saying this because you don’t think I’m a good enough mother to our girls? Is that what this is about?”
Kuroo shakes his head frantically, reaches across the table for your hand, but you yank it away with a glare. The extra rest you’ve gotten this week has injected a little more fight in you. 
“I try my best to be a good wife and mother, but I’m sorry I can’t be perfect and be there for you and the girls 24/7.” You press down on the sliver of cake with a vengeance. Clink! goes the flat of your spoon against the porcelain plate. “I’m sorry for being selfish, but I don’t want to be reliant on you.”
You regret your harsh words when Kuroo slumps back into his chair, murmuring “I just wanted you to be happy. Forget I ever said that.”
He pays the bill and you walk home in silence. He bids you goodnight with a crumpled smile. 
Tumblr media
It finally clicks when you are startled awake by Kuroo’s shout of alarm. 
You roll over, grabbing his shoulder to shake him awake from the nightmare that has him in its grip. His eyes jolt open, and the sight of your face makes him sink back into the pillow with a sigh of relief. 
“Thank the gods you haven’t left.”
“Why would I leave? This is my home, isn’t it?” You mumble, turning your back to him again. 
You feel the bed shift as Kuroo sits up. 
“No”, he rasps, voice rough with sleep. “I was afraid you left me”. 
Oh. So that’s what all of this is about. 
You must stay quiet for far too long, because he gingerly crawls over to you. 
“Dearest”, he says, your heart suddenly aching because you don’t remember the last time you heard him use that pet name with any amount of affection. “Darling”, he tries again, pawing at your back. You shut your eyes resolutely and refuse to turn to face him. 
He doesn’t give up, even though the distance between you seems to yawn wide and wider with each passing second. 
“Are you?” he asks, his words small, shrunken in the still, dark room. “Going to leave me, I mean.” 
No, you’re about to say, the word balancing at the tip of your tongue but it feels wrong. Your break has given you the space to breathe, the time to think. It’s made you realise what you’ve said to him in the ryokan that night remains true. 
This week has shown you that Kuroo can do better as a husband, as a father if he wants to. But he’s poisoned your marriage with neglect, forced you to dress up your sadness in silence, allowed your resentment to fester and simmer into frigid indifference. If you reassure him that you aren’t going to leave him, it’s only because you’re too tired to, not because you actually love him anymore. 
“I don’t know, Tetsuro. Our daughters deserve to grow up with both their parents, but I’m not sure I want them to learn from my example that it’s okay to shoulder the weight of marriage, parenthood and a full time job all by themselves. Your dreams and career are important, I know, but I’m just so tired of being alone in this marriage when it was always supposed to be a partnership between me and you.” 
You hear him choke back a sob. You should comfort him, but the exhaustion you feel at being honest with him, with yourself, weighs your bones down, forces you to sink further down into your mattress. 
“I’m sorry”, he finally says. 
“I’m tired, Tetsuro”, you whisper brokenly, clutching the blankets to your chin. “I think I deserve better.”
“I know. I’ll make it better, I promise.” 
You want to ask him how, but your eyelids grow heavy, and you allow yourself to submerge into slumber. 
Tumblr media
You’re not sure what to expect, but the ground beneath your feet shifts. Things start to change. 
Kuroo continues to take your daughters to childcare in the morning on the way to work as he did last week. That very weekend, he straps Fumiko to his chest, takes Aiko by her hand, and within an hour at the department store aided by a flash of his credit card, he purchases a dishwasher and robot vacuum for the house. He loads the dishes without you asking, runs the robot vacuum remotely once a day. It buys you time to breathe, a little more time to sleep. 
He doesn’t always make it home in time for dinner, but he tries his best to rush home so he can read the girls a bedtime story and tuck them into bed. 
“Dada”, Fumiko lisps, chubby fists wound around Kuroo’s tie. ‘I wanna hear another princess story!” 
“No Fumiko! Papa promised to tell us how he met mama!” Aiko prods Kuroo’s side with the wooden doll Yaku sent from Russia that you know he abhors. ‘Keep your promises, papa!” 
“Alright, settle down you monsters. I’ll tell you two stories if you promise to go to sleep right after that.” The girls cheer. “Now. Let’s see. A long, long time ago, your papa met your mama when she decided to beat him up because she thought he was trying to steal her food.” 
“You were trying to steal my food”, you interrupt, leaning against the doorway amused. “You didn’t stop til I stabbed you with my fork.”
He glances up, surprised when you sit beside him on the bed. Then he grins. 
“You left it on the table, dearest. What was a guy supposed to think?” 
“Mama, please let dada tell the story”, Aiko interjects with a huff. 
“Hurry up, dada! I want the princess story next!” Fumiko pulls at her silly dada’s shirt, pouting. 
You both laugh. There’s a soft smile playing on his lips when his eyes meet yours. 
Tumblr media
Travelling all around Japan is still part of his job as a marketing director of the Japanese Volleyball Association. But now Kuroo pares it down to the bare minimum, makes sure he’s always back by the weekend at the very least to sweep the girls in his arms and shoo you off for a break of afternoon tea with your friends or shopping with your mom. 
“Will you be ok when I’m gone?”
You hand him his suitcase, a flask of his favourite tea. “I’ve always managed fine. Nothing’s changed.”
He bends down to kiss Aiko on her forehead, pinch Fumiko’s cheek playfully. 
“Yes. Well. I’ll come home soon”, he says, quietly. You startle slightly as he brushes his thumb over your wrist, lets it drift over your pulse point. “Please wait for me.” 
You glance up at him from beneath your lashes. “I’ll see you soon then”, you reply. His smile widens, his eyes are hopeful, bright. 
On the weekends, he stops flitting off for work functions and events. Instead, now he joins you for lunches at the kaiten zushi near your house, indulging the girls by ordering yet another plate of sushi just so Aiko has another chance to win a toy from the gachapon and Fumiko has another chance at feeling grown up when she lifts the plate from the conveyor belt. He stops ducking out from dinners at the grandparents’ place - both his and yours. Your mom stops giving him dirty looks when he actually turns up more than three times in a row with sake in hand. 
Once every so often, he even throws little parties for your family of four, going so far as to buy a frilly pink apron that makes your daughters giggle when he whips it out for the first time. After a few mishaps (and a number of frantic calls to Fukunaga), he masters how to make takoyaki and okonomiyaki, and in the colder months, he makes steaming pots of nabe and shabu shabu. 
“Itadakimasu” you murmur, and the girls follow suit. “It tastes good”, you say. 
He ducks his head bashfully, pink dusting the column of his neck. 
“Thank you”, he replies. “That means a lot, coming from you.” 
You start to savour the bubbles of happiness in your chest when you see how your daughters’ eyes shine when they see their papa whip out the pink apron. You learn to laugh when you hear the pitter patter of little feet, their delighted squeals and shrieks when they tell you the latest exploits their silly papa is cooking up - sparklers under the stars one weekend, a nerf gun fight, the next.
The weight on your shoulders grows lighter and lighter until one day you hardly notice it at all. 
Tumblr media
“What’s wrong?” you frown at the sight of your husband dashing out of your bedroom, hair a frazzled mess. 
He whips around at the sound of your voice. “Oh. Oh.” He approaches you, slowly, carefully. “You’re still here.”
Your frown deepens. “My boss called and asked me to send out an urgent email. I was just about to go back to bed. Tetsuro, is everything alright?” 
He nods. “It’s fine - I just... I just woke up and thought you were gone.” 
You take a closer look. It’s dark, but the shadows of the night fail to hide the purple smudges beneath his eyes, the fine lines carved into his brow. His shoulders are bowed, his lips downturned and he looks broken, battered.    
Your heart hurts for him. 
“I’m here”, you say, beckoning him towards you. Physical affection has been scarce between you two for so, so long but he looks so distraught it’s only natural to pull him close, let him rest his head on your lap. “I’m here, Tetsuro. I’m not about to run off into the night – you know I don’t like the cold.”
He doesn’t laugh at your feeble joke. “Are you happier now? Are things better for you?” 
“Yes”, you say firmly, combing your fingers through his hair, rubbing circles along his back. “Thank you, Tetsuro. I appreciate it. I really do.”
You can feel him sag in relief. 
“You don’t have to work yourself to the bone for me. That’s – that’s never what I was asking for. If you’re tired, you need to take a break.”
He shakes his head stubbornly. “I’m fine. I can bear it as long as you don’t leave me.” 
“Tetsuro –“ 
He sits up abruptly, takes your hands in his. 
“Promise you won’t leave me”, he begs, head bowed. “I know I’ve been a shit husband to you for so long. It’s no excuse, but I thought - ” he swallows heavily, waits until his voice stops wavering. “I thought we were ok, ‘cos we didn’t fight, not like my parents did before – before my mother left.”
“I was too tired to fight with you”, you say simply. 
He nods once, jerkily. “I know – I know that now. When you disappeared that day, I didn’t know what to do. I went to your mom’s place and she reamed me out, screamed at me in front of the neighbours. I took the kids back, and it made me realise how fucking hard it was for you to do it all alone.” He inhales, closing his eyes as if the memory aches. “I know it’s late but I’ve changed, I swear. The girls need you. I need you. I’ll do anything as long as you stay.”
His fingers are freezing, but you do not pull away. Not when the desperation reflected in his irises makes your heart lurch in pain.
“It was hard”, you confess, and he shudders, struck in the chest by your honesty. “It was so hard, Tetsuro. You hurt me so damn much that I think I became numb to the pain. I don’t think I was really functioning for a while. For a long while.”  
“I’m sorry”, he whispers, and you nod shakily. 
“I know”, you reply, reaching out a hand to cup his face, a bittersweet twist to your lips as he melts into your touch. “That’s a chapter of my life, of our marriage that can’t be re-written. We can’t rewind that. But the past few months have been so different. I – you’ve shown me you’ve changed. And I think –“
You fall silent. 
He prompts you. “Dearest?” 
You recall the glimmer of light in your daughters’ eyes every morning when he takes their hands to walks them to school. You hear the echoes of their laughter, the lilt in their sweet voices every night when they welcome him home. You think of the tea parties he throws, the blanket forts he builds, the frilly pink apron he wears without shame and the bedtime stories he weaves every night.
“I think”, you say, with a smile that reminds him of the rising sun. “I think we can make this work again.” 
He stares at you until the weight of your words dawns upon him, and he surges forward to fold you into his arms. 
“Thank you”, he whispers into the shell of your ear. “I won’t fuck this up again, I promise.” 
“Don’t thank me, you silly man”, you nuzzle into his neck sleepily, draping your arms around his waist. “Thank yourself for making me believe in you.”
He laughs wetly, cradling you close as you fall asleep against his chest, soothed by his heartbeat and the tenderness in his gaze.  
Tumblr media
Fumiko wakes you up unceremoniously before the sun even rises by climbing into your lap, and you open your eyes to Aiko pouting, hands on hips, demanding to know what’s for breakfast, and dada, dada, make a ham sandwich, pretty please with a cherry on the top. 
“You guys are little monsters”, Kuroo teases with dancing eyes. “Can’t even give your papa a break to snuggle up to your mama.” 
The girls shriek in dismay. “Don’t be mean”, you admonish him gently. 
He mock sniffs. “I’m cranky in the mornings unless I get a morning kiss.”
Aiko and Fumiko crowd the sofa, clamouring to give their papa a kiss, but he stalls them with an imperious wave of his hand. 
“This morning, only a kiss from your mama can chase my crankiness away”. His tone is teasing, but his shoulders remain tense.  
“Nonsense. You make it sound as if kisses contain caffeine”, you scold, swatting his arm lightly as the girls giggle. 
“Yours do!” he protests, and you roll your eyes as you press your lips to the corner of his lips, laughing when he puffs out his chest and declares his day can now start, that everything’ll be as right as rain.
Tumblr media
Some days are full of sunshine, whilst others are full of rain. That’s life – but it’s bearable, enjoyable even, now that you and Kuroo face each day together, thanking the sun when it shines, and splashing through puddles on rainy days. 
Things recalibrate. 
The mornings are his domain now – he’s a master at concocting the most random breakfast items to satisfy your finnicky daughters. Aiko sniffs when she informs you that she’d prefer her papa to braid her hair, thank you very much, and when you shoot a look of death at Kuroo, he can’t even keep his face straight, his trademark hyena laugh erupting from his chest. 
You cook dinner in the evenings, appreciating the times when he can join you at the table, not counting the nights he can’t against him because you know he’s trying his best. The girls clamour for his stories every night, laughing when he teasingly scolds them for yanking on his tie, demanding goodnight kisses from both him and you. 
Now you force Kuroo to take some time to himself, shoo him off for lunches with Kenma, get-togethers with his Nekoma schoolmates. “I know you can manage it”, you tell him archly, “but you need breaks  so you don’t burn out, or worse – you’ll lose your hair and we don’t want that”. When he opens and closes his mouth without a smart retort, you smirk. You get your way. 
Both of you organise parties and playdates, inviting your shared friends – Kenma, of course, is a frequent guest, Bokuto, who brings along Akaashi and his sweet tempered little son (who Aiko always manages to pick a fight with, much to Kuroo’s amusement). You host Kai, who always brings offerings of flowers from his garden, Yaku, when he’s in town with his daughter, son and alarmingly fat cat. The adults congregate in the kitchen with food and alcohol, cracking good natured jokes at Kuroo and his frilly pink apron, watching the children cause a ruckus in the living room. 
But you cherish the quiet moments you share with Kuroo at night when the children are asleep in bed. The chats you have whilst soaking in a hot bath about your day at work, the snippets of stories he shares about his boss, his crazy colleagues, the warmth of his arm around you as you stay up to clear emails late into the night, the heated kisses he presses to the nape of your neck to distract you when he thinks you’re working too hard. 
It’s a good life. You’re happy, and so is he. 
Tumblr media
A year slips by. 
The seasons come full circle. You return to the ryokan, finding peace in soaking yourself in steaming pools, watching the bamboo sway, the sun rise over Mt. Fuji. But this time, you’re not alone. You persuade Kuroo that he, too, needs a break - deserves one, truly. So you leave the girls with your mother and take the bullet train down to Hakone. 
He shoots you a smirk as you both emerge from the private bath he’d insisted on booking. You swat at him, pulling your yukata higher up your neck, scowling as he winds an arm around your waist to press you into his side. 
“You couldn’t wait til we got back to our room?” you hiss at him. 
He chuckles lowly in response. “Didn’t hear you complaining”, he retorts. 
“We were in an onsen, Tetsuro!” 
“A private one”, he says with a waggle of his eyebrows, laughing aloud when you try and fail to slap your hand over his mouth. “What d’you think I was going to do with my lovely wife? I’m not a monk, sweetheart”
You try your best to shush him, but his cackling manages to capture the attention of everyone in the lift.  
“What a happy couple”, an old lady remarks, within your earshot. “They must be newly married” 
You think she must be a little senile. Or a little blind. 
Neither of you are in your first flush of youth anymore - there are streaks of grey in Tetsuro’s mop of hair, extra weight in your hips and lines in your faces. No one could conceivably mistake you for a pair of newlyweds.
“Nah”, Kuroo drawls easily into your ear. “Just your regular old, married couple.”
You don’t speak until you’re safely in your room. 
“A regular, old, happily married couple”, you say, as he hands you a cup of tea. “That obaa-san got that part right at least.”
Kuroo chokes on the lump of emotion in his throat as you serenely sip your tea. 
The tea tastes bitter (as it always does), but the kisses that follow are so very, very sweet. 
Tumblr media
2K notes · View notes
hotwings0203 · 3 years
Text
The Middle Ground
*Deep breath*
Woo. Okay. First of all I would like to thank everyone for 400 freaking followers. That is seriously so insane to me, I mean I’ve only been on Tumblr for like half a year.
This piece is a contribution to @bakugosbratx ‘s collaboration. It has around 40k words in total, so it’s my longest piece yet. Because Tumblr formatting is shit, I have provided an Ao3 link in case you like the chapter setup better there. I hope you all enjoy, and please please heed the warnings ahead!
Pairing: Bully!Fiance!Touya x F reader
Summary: You've been friends with Tenko Shimura for as long as you can remember...but when you're forced into an arranged marriage with Dabi, that friendship is put to a test.
TW: Noncon, bullying, language, Dabi and Hawks are scumbags, gangbang, graphic depictions of violence, gang violence, arranged marriage
Tags: @hi--rubi @bakugosbratx
https://archiveofourown.org/works/31747549
Touya Todoroki kicks out his legs and slumps into the limo seat. A permanent scowl has inhabited his petulant expression, one that doesn’t go unnoticed by his glaring father and uncomfortable family. It isn’t like he wanted to be here anyway, what were they expecting? Especially when they were practically planning out his whole life’s demise right in front of his eyes.
 Think he’s being dramatic?
 Try putting yourself in his shoes for a second: after being hounded by his ape-like father to put some hair gel on and to ‘take out those fiendish piercings, you look like a hooligan,’ he was also forced into a suit that felt more like a straight jacket. Worst of all, he had to keep a straight posture.
 It was complete, utter torture for the young rogue.
 Only after stalking and lurking around his mother for the entire day did Touya have it revealed to him that the place he had to dress up like a prissy for was none other than the house of who he was going to be betrothed to.
 Once the bomb was dropped, all hell broke loose in the Todoroki house not like that was anything new, merely hours away from leaving to greet the parents-in-law.
 “Is this a fucking joke? You people weren’t even gonna tell me where we were going until I had to beg like a dog!” Touya raged with balled-up fists, smoke curling from his elbows and shins as he stood in his parents’ room and interrogated his mother.
 “Language, Touya!” An exasperated Rei Todoroki sighed while ironing her and Fuyumi’s dresses. “You’re of age to get married, and you’re an adult now- you knew this was bound to happen soon.”
 “Come on, Touya, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll like her; her family is really well known in hero society for hosting the annual hero galas.” Fuyumi leaned against the doorframe behind her irate brother with her arms crossed, peering disappointedly at him from over the bridge of her glasses. “I’m pretty sure her parents even work in the Hero Commission headquarters, and as for the girl, I’ve heard so many good things about her from-”
 “I don’t give a damn about some elitist brat who I’m gonna have to coddle. And I’m still in school, I’m not licensed yet.” Touya snapped at both the women, Fuyumi rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she walked away. Rei let out another heavy sigh and finished up her meticulous ironing.
 “I just don’t understand why in the hell you’d tell me on the day of us meeting them, like why couldn’t I have a heads up?”
“Because then we’d have to put up with your little tantrums even more in advance. Plus, it's not like us telling you earlier would’ve changed the decision or your reaction,” Natsuo called out from his room across the hall.
 “You know, she’s not some random gold digger. I’m fairly certain her family is more wealthy than us, and by uniting our families, we’ll both have many advantages in society and for a healthy bloodline-”
 But Shoto’s chiming in was cut off with the sound of choking from Natsuo drinking something at his last words. Touya didn’t appreciate his least favorite sibling’s unwanted opinion, especially when it was about the topic of banging some prissy chick.
 He let Shoto know what he thought of his comment by whipping around with a snarl and towering over the youngest Todoroki.
 Well, not really towering since Shoto was quickly catching up to Touya in terms of height, a fact that Touya loathed admitting.
 “You-” he jabbed a finger into the other’s firm chest, “-are the last person I wanna hear sex advice from, got it? I doubt a social degenerate like you would even get pussy anyways from the way you can barely understand a joke or social cues.” (“What did I say about language, Touya!”)
 Natsuo was positively howling now, and Shoto merely shrugged his brother’s scarred finger off as Touya kept advancing on him and spitting venom. Rei was desperately trying to quell the disaster waiting to happen by raising her voice slightly and telling all her boys to back off and calm down, but she was cut off by Fuyumi calling out to ask for her dress.
 “ENOUGH!” 
 All the other Todorokis simultaneously jumped when they heard his booming voice. Enji Todoroki appeared in front of his family, no doubt growing increasingly irritated by the pandemonium happening. He glared around at them all until his eyes landed on Touya, who grew quiet but still held a scowl on his face. Endeavor’s eyes narrowed as he approached his heir, and Touya subconsciously straightened up taller.
 “You can’t make me do this. We’ve never had one single conversation about the topic of marriage, and you think I’m just gonna give in on the night you planned to make me into some domestic schmuck? Were you even going to tell me yourself before we left?” Touya growled, maintaining eye contact with his brutish father.
 “You’ll do as I say, Touya. Your duty comes to your family before any wish of becoming a hero. You need to stop acting like a delinquent, and a wife would do some good to tether you to reality-”
 “Oh, right, because you’d know all about how to be good to a family, right?” Touya burst out as he sneered and gestured to the scars littering his body.
 Even Natsuo had stopped snickering as the house grew deathly quiet. Fuyumi sucked in a soft inhale, Shoto simply stared while observing the spectacle in front of him, and Rei was stock-still.
 Endeavor didn’t back down from his son’s impertinence, however. Instead, he stepped forward until both men were chest-to-chest and looked at Touya straight into his face, purposely neglecting to ponder on the way his son’s lip trembled and his eyes twitched as if he wanted to rub them. He knew if he saw Touya as the pouty seven year old he once was and loved, he would give in.
 “You will do what I ask. Do not embarrass our family or me.”
 Touya’s jaw clenched as he tried to stare his father down, but after a couple of painstakingly long moments he finally looked away. Everyone let out their breaths and started to get their coats. That was that.
 End of discussion.
 Unbeknownst to him, however, he wasn’t the only one who had been saddled with this news recently.
 Your parents might not have told you on the day of said guests coming over, but you weren’t given an option to argue either.
 In fact, you were told so casually over dinner a few weeks ago that one would think you were the crazy one for “overreacting,” in the exact words of your parents to be more specific.
 “Honey, you’re almost done with your hero licensing school. It's about time you start thinking of your future asides from your job and internships,” your mother had gestured to you as her delicate hands picked up a wine glass.
 “Dad, seriously?” You asked in disbelief, fork suspended in midair. “I haven’t even graduated yet, plus you promised when I was done I could intern with you at the headquarters-!”
 But your father merely hummed disinterestedly as if the topic of your very imminent future could do with less talking and more of shoveling roast beef into his mouth.
 You incredulously turn to your mom, hoping for some reprieve.
 “I don’t even know his name. Who is he, and why did you choose him anyway?” you grouch, pouting and pushing the casserole on your plate around.
 “His name is Touya Todoroki, and he’s merely a year or two older than you. I’m sure you’ve heard of his father, Endeavor. He’s the number two hero, and I believe his other two children are closer to your age...Natsuo and Fuyumi? Their youngest son is Shoto, you must have seen his performance at the sports festival a little while ago.”
 “T-Touya?” You almost choke on your asparagus when you hear his name. “Mom, I’ve seen him like, three times throughout the entirety of me being at that school. And I heard he’s a complete menace too! He’s got a reputation, him and his stupid friends. I know for a fact they’ve been giving Tenko a hard time for the past year for no reason.”
 You’re not lying either. You’ve seen the intimidating black-haired boy skulking around some of your classes with his cronies in tow. It wasn’t like he shirked off his grades or anything; you were fairly certain he was pretty smart...when he tried, that is. When he wasn’t ditching class and giving his teachers a hard time, you usually saw him push your best friend Tenko Shimura around. This included shoving the quiet boy down the stairs, clapping him over the head a little too hard to be passed off as friendly, and childishly throwing spitballs and other trash at the back of his head. Fortunately, you’d never had the pleasure of meeting his highness personally, and so far, you’d been secretly grateful for only picking up his binders and homework off the floor of Tenko’s aftermath attacks rather than bearing the full brunt of Touya’s abuse. You weren’t even sure he knew you existed, and to be frank, you’d like to keep it that way.
 However, it seemed as though your parents didn’t share the same sentiments.
 Your father finally decided to give his piece, which wasn’t in your favor, surprise surprise.
 “A sturdy family, they are. We’ve invited them for dinner two weeks from now, so you better curb that attitude of yours well before they arrive. Our decision is final.”
 You stay quiet, opting not to argue any further and upset your parents. To be honest, you weren’t known to be too rebellious or spoiled for that matter. You were a straightforward child- you got good grades, you didn’t trouble yourself or your parents with any drama or school nonsense, and you put up a good family name when in the presence of outsiders. To say that you and your parents were joined at the hip would be a bit of a stretch, though. You simply did what they asked, and they rewarded you with anything you wanted. Nothing more and nothing less. It’s not like they forced you to do anything unreasonable except getting married to some degenerate, so you usually followed pursuit. 
 So, instead of causing a scene at the dinner table, you finish up your food, clear the table, and stomp upstairs in the sanctuary of your room. You flop on the bed, and just for good measure you pummel a pillow in front of you.
 This can’t be happening, you groan to yourself.
 After a couple of minutes of finishing your tantrum, you decide to call Tenko. He was definitely someone who’d share the same disdain for the name Touya Todoroki.
 You dial his number, and after a couple of rings he finally picked up.
 “Y/N? What’s up?”
 It takes less than 5 minutes for you to explain your ordeal, and he’s quiet for a few moments.
 “Tenko? You there?”
 “Yeah, yeah I’m still here,” he says slowly.
 “Well? What do you think?” You urge, needing him to reassure you you weren’t being unreasonable for not wanting an arranged marriage with some psycho delinquent, family name or not.
 “I mean, obviously it sucks ass, and I wouldn’t wanna get saddled with Tou-yuck as a fiance,” you giggle at the absurd nickname and he shares a low chuckle too. “But...I don’t know, I mean I kinda expected you to sound more upset about it.”
 “Don’t get me wrong, of course I'm pissed, man. But what the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t really argue my way out of this, and even if I did, it would be so awkward between our families since his dad and my parents work so closely at the HC. I don’t think there's any way to properly react to this,” you finish helplessly, biting your lip.
 “Whatever. Just don’t expect me to throw rose petals and rice at him when he shoves me into the lockers after school,” Tenko says dryly, and you can’t help but scoff.
 “As if. Y’know, maybe that actually is a silver lining in all this. If we get engaged or whatever during the school year he might just go easy on you if he knows we’re friends.”
 “Hmm yeah, maybe we’ll hold hands and throw each other picnics too while we’re at it!” You can practically hear his eye roll over the phone. “Speaking of prince charming, what are you gonna wear when they come?”
 Which brings you back to now.
 T-minus 30 minutes until the Todorokis make their appearance through your front door.
 As much as you tried to convince yourself otherwise, there was no mistaking the butterflies in your stomach. You had adorned a warm knee-length dress to match the snow outside yet still look cute, meticulously done your hair in an up-do with some strands framing your face and light makeup. Your goal wasn’t to impress anyone but rather show the best natural side of you so that if any part of you wasn’t satisfactory to what met the Todorokis’ eye, they could still back out.
 You stand in front of the mirror and tilt your head slightly, assessing yourself. You look straight at your reflection and practice your bow. After feeling confident in your preparation, you decide to send a quick picture of yourself to Tenko to get his opinion.
 6:40: Looks okay?
 Not even two minutes later as you’re lacing up your flats does his notification pop up on your screen, and you smile at his punctuality.
 Ten-ten: You look great.👍 Don’t freak out okay? It’s not like anyone’s opinion should matter, especially not Tou-yuck’s
 6:45: Ugh, you’re right. Idk why I feel like I’m gonna throw up
 6:46: Oh fuck I think I hear their car
 Wait oh my god it's a limo wtf??
 When your parents call you down to greet the guests, you toss your phone on the bed and hobble across the room to close your lights and door. You don’t see the three dots coming up and disappearing as Tenko Shimura deletes the message of ‘actually, you look beautiful’ after reading your answer.
 ***************
 You frantically straighten out your dress and wipe your sweaty palms on your knees as you stand behind your parents when they open the door.
 First comes in the big man himself, a towering build of brute force and a stoic aura surrounding his presence. His brows are furrowed, but he doesn’t look angry. Your father and Enji shake hands and clap each other on their backs as your family moves back to make space for the rest of the family to enter. A woman you assume to be Rei shakes off the snow from her shoes before stepping inside the threshold, and when you make eye contact and greet her she smiles demurely at you.
 It warms your heart, much to your chagrin.
 Then, all time seems to stop as you see his shadow step in before he does. Your heart skips a beat or two and the wind swirls around him, causing snowflakes to latch onto his figure and obscure his face for a moment. 
 But when he fully comes into view, it does nothing to calm your heart that seems to be slamming against your ribcage.
 The white snowflakes blend into his porcelain-colored hair, which sticks out in little tufts although you could’ve sworn he had black hair at school…?. Dark purple patches cover underneath his eyes and the lower half of his face, along with small staples that seem to hold the skin up. However, his eyes are what captivate you the most, a bright turquoise that scrutinizes you under the glare of fluorescent lights.
 You freeze like a deer in headlights, hesitating a fraction of a second before bowing hastily to make up for the pause. Touya scoffs slightly before barely tilting his head and averting his eyes to your mother, who is ushering the rest of the family inside to the living room. Natsuo, Fuyumi, and Shoto follow after their eldest brother, all of them bowing more respectfully than the first sibling and giving you small smiles and waves.
 You trail behind to close the door, wanting to stall as long as possible before the inevitable bonding. As you turn from shutting the dark mahogany, you catch your dad’s eyes as he turns as well and you blanch obviously- needless to say, he isn’t amused and sends you a warning glare. 
 Taking a deep breath in a poor attempt to still your nerves, you walk as gracefully as you can to the living room, one foot in front of the other. As expected, when you cross into the area all light conversation stops as you reach a seat in one of the white leather loveseats. You can acutely feel Rei and Enji’s eyes especially trained on you as they observe their future daughter-in-law and her mannerisms. Luckily, your parents have given you years of practice in public events on how to act like the perfect little lady.
 Poised, calm, and collected, you recall the main attributes your parents had always said elders look for.
 “Y/N, was it? I believe you and Touya go to the same school?” Rei speaks up after you settle comfortably, and you can’t help but notice that although their family is known for ice cold or burning hot quirks, her voice reminds you of a good medium between the two; it sounds like springtime, a transition itself.
 You fidget uncomfortably before answering. “Yes ma'am, I think so. I might have seen him around the halls, and we may have had classes once or twice…” but you trail off as Touya coughs loudly, and rudely. He turns his head to look away from you not-so-subtly and the room temperature rises a few degrees as Endeavor’s mustache begins to flame. He glares at his son, but Touya stubbornly stares at the floor with an obvious scowl on his face.
 Well fuck you, too, you think as your smile begins to strain.
 Desperately, Fuyumi tries to fill in the silence by asking a follow up question.
 “Um, Y/N, what are you studying? Touya’s trying to get officially licensed at school so he can skip internships and just head straight to dad’s agency after he graduates.”
 “Well, since I don’t have a quirk I’m not doing any of the training courses, but my parents have some networks in the Hero Commision. Ultimately I decided to go into Department of Management and General Studies-”
 “Wait, you don’t have a quirk?” Touya surprisingly bursts out, eyes bulging out of their sockets. His voice is deep and grating, as if he spent his early days being a chainsmoker.
 “No, I don’t.” You say without missing a beat, increasingly getting a good feel of what type of person your fiance is and his possible superiority complex. “But as I was saying, even though I wasn’t born with a quirk I know I can succeed after my parents in aiding the Hero Commission and the annual galas. If I get licensed after graduation, I can kind of follow the same path as you in terms of skipping all the internships and stuff and get straight to work. Y’know, helping out in the foundations of future heroes is just as important as being an actual hero,” You say proudly as you stare straight at Touya.
 Your parents and a majority of the Todorokis nod in agreement, and the only one who doesn’t seem to share the same values as you rolls his eyes and mumbles under his breath.
 After that nice little ice breaker and a couple of other meaningless conversations between the other siblings and you, your mother finally decides to call in for dinner.
 You breathe out a sigh of relief and stand, your dress riding up your thighs for a moment as you get up. Out of the corner of your eye you see Touya glance momentarily at your slightly exposed legs before sliding up your body and finally meeting your eyes. He catches you staring and gives you a knowing smirk. Your face lights on fire and you look around to make sure no one is watching before you flip him the bird.
 He actually laughs, and you grimace as the butterflies in your stomach come back to life and travel up your throat.
 Natsuo turns around curiously to see the source of his brother’s rare gravely laugh. When he sees you both emerging out of the room at the same time, he flashes you a lopsided grin, very much akin to his brother’s.
 You shake your head, trying to quell the rising smile on your face as you take a seat at the marble table. Everyone finds their own chair, and much to your surprise Touya takes one right across from you. Whether or not it's a coincidence, you don’t want to get your hopes up.
 Chatter resumes as both sets of parents talk about recent hero news and the missions funded by the headquarters. Shoto and Fuyumi ladle takoyaki and ramen into their bowls while Touya picks at the miniscule helping of the other assortments and kaiseki on his glass plate. You decide to wait until everyone has finished taking food until you start digging in just to be polite, a fact that Natsuo pipes up on.
 “You don’t have to wait for us to finish y’know, we’ll just end up keep waiting on each other out of guilt.” he says kindly.
 “Oh, no worries. I just wanted to make sure you guys took enough-” but you’re cut off for the second time that evening by the same person, and it takes every ounce of self restraint you have not to dump the ramen bowl on his white hair.
 “Yeah, I mean we already know you’re so uptight, no need to shove it in our faces,” Touya rumbles and Natsuo swats his arm as he glances at you apologetically.
 “Sorry about him, he’s got a warped sense of humor.”
 “It’s fine, I get it. Some people just think they’re better ‘cuz of unseen reasons,even with lame quirks,” you snipe and you hear Shoto subtly snort into his cup.
 Touya’s nostrils flare and his forearm erupts in light blue flames. Endeavor and your parents are staring at you both, and it's not just his flames that warms your face.
 But Fuyumi, along with her ice quirk, seems to know just how to cool everyone down again.
 “Y/N, have you ever helped your parents out in any of the HC events?” she takes your hand in hers, and even though you expect cold palms, all you feel radiating off of her is warmth. She seemed to be saying I’m sorry about him.
 So for the time being, you decid to grit your teeth and bear it. It’s not like your parents were even pretending to care about his shitty attitude either, so why should you give in any more?
 “Yes, I have actually. A couple of months ago my parents were the sponsors of the annual Hero Gala, and I was the one who sent out the invitations to all the heroes and ensured their attendance. I even got to invite Gran Torino!” You can’t help but say animatedly-no matter how juvenile your excitement is, being in contact with pro-heroes was always exhilarating and nerve-wrecking.
 Hench the massive pools of sweat gathering under your armpits.
 And finally the youngest speaks up.
 “So out of all the heroes you’ve talked to or helped, which one’s your favorite?”
 “Uhhh probably Midnight, she's just so badass...and I won’t lie, she's pretty hot too,” you blush and Natuso whoops at the flush in your cheeks. Fuyumi laughs and agrees wholeheartedly, and even Shoto lets out a small smile Touya continues to pick at his sashimi as if no one had spoken.
  You marveled at how at home the Todoroki siblings make you feel, even in your own house. They went well together, and fill in the gaps where the other lacked.
 Too bad the same couldn’t be said for the one you were destined to marry.
 Nevertheless, the rest of the evening went by without any more mishaps or interruptions, thankfully. You and Rei had a couple of conversations too, about school and winter and what you liked to do in your free time. Even Enji spared a minute, but it wasn’t so much of a conversation as it was just a gruff ‘I hear from your father that you’re doing well in school. I might hire you at my agency if you surpass the other students’, and a meek ‘yessir, I’ll try my hardest’ from you. 
 When it was time to leave, you hugged Fuyumi and shook Natuso and Shoto’s hands along with giving proper bows to Rei and Enji. Only Touya was left, and you’d be damned if you made the first move of civility towards him. You settled for a little bow, peering up at him through your lashes. He mimicked the same motion he did when he first entered, a pathetic little head tilt that you assumed to be the world's worst impersonation of a bow. 
 But his eyes never left yours, and you couldn’t decipher the unreadable emotion swirling in his blue orbs as he watched your figure bend and lift again. Whatever it was, it didn’t exactly scream proper from the way he allowed his gaze to drop to your chest and thighs not-so-subtly. You shot him a glare and he met you with a sneer before whirling around to bid farewell to your parents.
 When the door finally shuts, your parents let out a sigh of relief and turn to you.
 “Well, what did you think? Wasn’t their family darling? Oh and Touya was so easy on the eyes too, I don’t think you’ll have any problems getting along with each other,” Your mother babbles incessantly, completely oblivious to you gawking at her.
 Is she serious? He acted like a total douche to me all night!
 “I agree with your mother. He seems like a solid young man and I know for a fact he’ll make a great husband. Now, Enji gave me Touya’s number and I gave him yours, so you should expect a text from Touya soon. It’s just a formality to overcome, and in addition I want you to let him know we were glad to host him and his family.” Your dad raises his eyebrows expectantly, and you groan, slapping a hand to your face.
 “Okay sure, whatever.” Your dad pulls out his phone and you watch glumly as he texts the number to you.
 “I’ll text him later, ‘gotta talk to Ten first,” you mutter as you begin bounding up the stairs.
 “No Y/N, you’ll do it now. Otherwise, no talking to Tenko. You need to start putting your fiance first instead of any other man.”
 You grit your teeth to prevent screaming and make a show of spinning on your heel to face your dad. Smashing your thumbs against the screen, you tap out a curt ‘Hey, this is Y/N. I got your number from my dad, just wanted to say thanks for coming over tonight.’
 Oh yeah. Tenko better not have any plans tonight, ‘cuz boy is he gonna get an earful of this evening’s events.
 *********
 Ping
 Touya’s phone buzzes in his hand, and the screen lights up the dark interior of the limo. He squints at the notification, and after seeing your name he scoffs disbelievingly.
 “Is it her?” Fuyumi asks excitedly.
 “Jesus, keep your fucking voice down, are you trying to announce it to mom?” Touya hisses, and rolls his eyes at his sister’s pout.
 All his siblings start clamoring over their seatbelts and each other’s shoes as they try to grab his phone to read the message he received, and it's all Touya can do to curse and ward them off by waving an inflamed arm towards their outreached grubby hands (thankfully Fuyumi easily distinguished his flames with a flick of her wrist, with a rather annoyed look on her face).
 By the time the Todorokis reach their house it's late and everyone stumbles inside, eager for warmth and a good shower. 
 But not Touya. 
 As soon as the limo is parked he slips off the driveway and trudges off the stone path to his own destination, quickly shooting his friend a text.
 “Touya?” he hears his brother calling to him from the lit up path of the driveway. “You comin’ or what?”
 “No, I’ll be back in a bit. Just tell them I went to sleep early or something, and don’t let anyone in my room while I’m gone,” Touya mutters.
 Natsuo wrinkles his nose and stuffs his hands in his pockets, countering the defensive look the latter was giving.
 “...bring me back a cig?”
 “Hell no, go the fuck inside, its freezing out here.” Touya snickers, and both boys laugh before heading off in their own ways.
 It takes Touya approximately 15 minutes to slink in and out of the shadows to reach the abandoned bar that resides outside the main city. He kicks a broken beer bottle out of the entrance and checks in the dark for a lack of presence before reaching behind the bar counter and fishing around the platform for-
 Bingo
 He omits a tiny blue spark out of his index finger as he slides into a barstool and lights the cigarette. Taking a long drag of the substance, he tilts his head back and closes his eyes as he exhales the fumes into the empty darkness.
 “Goddamn, just ‘cuz you’re immune to fire doesn’t mean we all are Touya,” a suave voice emerges from behind the counter.
 Not so empty after all, then.
 A dim light switches on and Touya squints to locate the source of the familiar sound. Red fills his vision as his friend’s wings spread, and he zooms in on the roguishly handsome face belonging to Keigo Takami.
 AKA Hawks.
 The blond makes an obnoxious show of coughing and waving the smoke away, and Touya merely takes another long puff just to blow it into Keigo’s face again.
 “So, how’d it go?” He asks, using his wings to wave the offensive fumes away from his pretty face.
 Touya shrugs and folds his arms on the counter, letting his head nestle on the cool granite. He closes his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the onslaught of questions that was bound to come his way any minute.
 “Oh come on, don’t give me that bull, man. She can’t have been that bad right?”
“Her parents work for the HC. Maybe you should marry her instead,” Dabi shoots his friend a dark look and Keigo raises his hands in a guilty gesture. It was no secret that aside from their incognito vandalism and delinquency, the winged boy had plans to become a great hero at the heart of the HC itself.
 “Yeah well, regardless of who seals the deal, either way that’s another good, ah, network for me to know.” He snickers and Touya lazily thrusts a flaming hand at his head, which Keigo easily dodges.
 “This is serious man. I don’t wanna be some fucking homebody and raise a bunch of little shits along with having some bitch up my ass all the time.”
 “Is she hot at least?” Keigo presses, and Touya feels his eye twitch as his patience wears thinner by each word coming out of his mouth.
 “The fuck’s that got to do with any-? I mean, she was alright I guess, not too hard on the eyes…” he thinks for a moment before admitting, “she had sexy thighs, that's for sure. And an okay body overall.”
 Keigo whoops and claps Touya on the back, both of them grinning like madmen now.
 “That’s what I’m talking about, see now you’re getting the idea.”
 “And what’s that?” Touya turns to him fully now, intrigued as to how this could be for his benefit.
 “Look, you said she’s not too bad right? So that basically means you got full ownership of some hot chick, and you get to have full access to any records or information you want if she’s joined to the hip with some HC pawns.” The avian’s gold eyes flash and narrow as he thinks it over more.
 “This is a win win for you either way, and hey, if you make the missus your little bitch then maybe I get to reap some rewards too, huh?” He elbows Touya playfully.
 “Yeah...yeah that’s not a bad way of looking at it now that you mention it,” Keigo can practically see the gears turning in his friend’s head as he whips out his own phone.
 “What was her name again by the way? I just wanna see my dear sister-in-laws’ thighs myself,” He sneers as Touya quirks up the corners of his lip.
 “F/N? F/N L/N I think. God, she even texted me like, 10 minutes after we left. So fucking desperate,” Touya chuckles as he shows Keigo the message you sent.
 The blond’s wings ruffle behind him as he glances at Touya’s phone before thumbing through his own, checking each social media platform for any of your accounts. After a couple of seconds his eyes widen and he positively leers at the screen before shoving the device in the latter’s face.
 “Holy shit, I know this girl! Dude, you do too, we had like three classes with her before. I’m pretty sure she runs around with Rumi too. She’s uber smart, you had me thinking she’s some bimbo bitch, man. Oh, and she’s friends with Tenko by the way, just a lil’ heads up.”
 At the mention of the scrawny boy’s name, Touya snatches the phone from Keigo’s fingers and holds it mere inches away from his eyes so he could scan every part of you.
 “Tenko? Tenko Shimura? No fucking way, that guy’s a total tool. The hell is she doing hanging out with him?”
 “No idea, but I mean I’ve seen her hanging out with some other girls in the general department, so it’s not like she only knows him. Why, you’re not getting all protective and hubby-like on her already, right?” Keigo says slyly, thoroughly drinking in the way Touya’s eyes darken and his jaw clenches at such a blasphemic notion. It was so much fun to rile him up and not have to deal with the aftermath of his brash actions.
 “Fuck no. I just don’t want to be associated with a bitch who hangs around with pussies all day.”
 “Mm, yeah, I don’t think I could fuck with you either if he became some kind of sister-wife to you.”
 ********
Winter started to seep into spring, the transition being made evident by the arrival of cherry blossom trees blooming across the campus. New clothes were bought, markers and highlighters upgraded to reflect the new bright outside weather, and the students themselves were giddy to see each other after their winter break.
 You donned your white school uniform and fixed your tie in the mirror, opting to leave your hair down for the first day back.
 Ping
 Your phone’s screen lit up from the bed, and you grabbed it while slinging your bag over your shoulder.
 Ten-ten: I’m outside, bring me a bagel if you can. Dad was being an asshole so I skipped breakfast
 8:20: Gotcha, I’ll be out in 5
 Thundering downstairs, you absentmindedly noted your parents’ absence as usual, your pre-made breakfast on the table (courtesy of the MIA mother and father).
 Making a quick scan as to what you could quickly scarf down and what you could bring for Tenko, you decided to drink a glass of orange juice and bring a yogurt for yourself, as well as a large cinnamon bagel and a banana for him.
 Opening your front door always brought in the multicolored rays of the horizon that was one of your sole motivations of waking up early. You weren’t disappointed as you stepped onto your porch and breathed in the crisp morning air, the sakura leaves falling softly onto the ground. Pink and purple stripes fanned across the sky, the trees gently swaying with the breeze. At the end of your driveway stood your lanky best friend, his sickly green and grey skin standing out almost offensively against the beautiful morning scene. His long, spindly fingers raised up and wiggled slightly in a poor imitation of a wave as he saw you coming towards him. His school uniform looked a tad bit too big on his thin, frail bones that were scarcely covered by stretched out, scratched-beyond-belief skin. His indicolite hair fell across his face in scraggly waves, effectively covering his vermillion, beady eyes.
 You had never been so comforted by anyone else’s sight before.
 As you reached him, you tossed him the large bagel and he helped your overbearing food load by taking the banana stem from your teeth and holding it in his own large hands, one pinky outstretched.
 “You ready to go back?” You asked as you both began walking towards your school, which was a mere 15 minutes away from your house.
 “Hell no,” he scoffed before tearing a large chunk out of the bagel. “Mmfh, thanks for the bagel-”
 “-don’t talk with your mouth full-”
 “-but nah, I’m not ready for Vlad King’s excessive droning about HC paperwork. ``Stuff's a bore honestly, I wanna take more actual work studies time out.”
 “Oh yeah, you were saying earlier that your dad was gonna let you work with him at his business, right?”
 “Yeah he did. But, to be honest, I don’t really know what's worse- Vlad’s lectures or my dads’.”
 You swat his arm with a disapproving look as he laughs at your disdain.
 “Ten, he loves you okay?” You begin softly as you furrow your brows and look at the ground in contemplation. “He just...doesn’t know how to show you. He’s just scared you’ll end up like your grandm-”
 “Yeah okay, okay, I get it!” He yelps uncomfortably. Hearing any praise or defense for his father always put him in a tough spot since he didn’t want to accept the very hard fact that his dad did in fact love him-even if it was shown in weird ways.
 The two of you eventually reached the grand school, the front blue and golden themes coming into view as you rounded the corner and walked through the gates of the campus. 
 It was a nice sight to see everyone again; kids younger and older than you laughing and shoving friends around, students sitting on the school walls, and teachers lounging around the classes with the occasional “Get to class!”
 Tenko and you walk through the halls, navigating the way to your new classes and assessing each other’s schedules when you hear, “Hey, Y/N!”
 You turn and see some of your other friends, Rumi Mirko, Moe Kamiji, and Yu Takeyama approaching you with grins on their faces.
 Mirko waves her own peach colored schedule in her hand as she says, “Alright L/N, hand it over- I need to see which hunks you got in your classes.”
 You smirk before giving your own witty reply. “Apart from you? I think the bar’s been set too high, hun.”
 You playfully tug one of her ears and she squeals before chasing you in circles around your small group. Your jerky running causes Kamiji to bump into Tenko’s slender frame, and he lets out a little “oof!” before wincing and rubbing his sore arm.
 “Ohmygod, I’m so sorry Tenko!”
 “No worries, it’s cool.”
 “Hey, Tenko, I wanna see your schedule for a sec’,” Takeyama says slyly, fluttering her lashes at him before snatching his paper. “‘Gotta see if I got lucky this semester to finally have such a cutie like you in one of my classes,” She feigns a swoon at the poor boy, his face growing a violent shade of red as he commences his hemming and hawing. 
 “No she’s actually right though! I wanna see which classes I have to put in extra effort in not to fail if I’m ogling at this absolute sex god for the entirety of the period,” Mirko stops chasing you long enough to peer over Takeyama’s shoulder at his paper, and Tenko finally gives in his self restraint in a moment of vigorous neck-scratching relief.
 You shake your head in disbelief before absentmindedly pulling his hand away from his suffering neck, and Tenko doesn’t make a move to stop you.
 “Okay, enough already, leave this poor ‘sex god’ alone, your guys’s cleavage is gonna send him into cardiac arrest alone without the horny dialogue.” You say exasperatedly, and the victim himself flashes you a grateful look out of the corner of his eye.
 All three girls give you both nasty grins before making a fake show of ripping open each other's shirt buttons and feeling their sides up with lewd moans.
 Just to play along and to spare Tenko’s sputtering and massively sweating self the embarrassment, you cover his eyes with a hand and shoot the girls a dirty yet humorous look.
 “Alright then, miss high and mighty, were you lucky enough to have your homeroom with Cupid over here?” Mirko asks, Kamiji and Takeyama nodding eagerly behind her.
 “I was, actually. Did you get anyone worth the look?” You say, beaming at a very sweaty Tenko.
 “No,” She pouted, her large ears dropping visibly. “But I really wish I could’ve gotten…” and she trails off as her focus narrows on something behind her, her nose twitching in excitement as her face morphs into a sultry expression. You, along with everyone else, turn to see what captured Mirko’s attention.
 “Speak of the devil,” she mutters, nudging you and the other entranced girls.
 And there he is in all his glory. One of the school’s most notorious playboys, Hawks himself-he spots your little reunion, and saunters his way past the sea of kids who part their way to make room for his highness. His blond hair glows in the early morning light, reflecting the golden and brown streaks that embed themselves through his locks. His teeth gleam a blinding white as he smiles at Mirko, coming up behind her (to her utter satisfaction).
 But it's not Hawks that makes your heart pound.
 It's his black haired buddy that you became betrothed to not too long ago that makes the butterflies in your stomach come alive again.
 He has a bored, brooding look on his face as him and Hawks approach your group. His hands are in his pockets and his body language is so sluggish and lazy that you’d think he has a million other places to be at 8:45 in the morning. In fact, the only indication you get that he sees you is when his icy eyes flit over to yours or rather, your body, and he raises an unimpressed eyebrow.
 I wonder if his family knows he dyes his hair at school? Or, when does he actually have the time to do that?
You snap your focus away from him, saving yourself the embarrassment of gawking at him before looking at the spectacle Hawks and Mirko were proudly showing off.
 He circled his arms around her shoulders and neck, resting his head against her soft skin. She giggles and swats his other straying hand away from underneath her skirt while the rest of you roll your eyes in disgust as Mirko croons, “I didn’t hear back from you for a while, you had me worried for a moment there hot stuff.”
 Hawks’s velvety words cut through the air like butter, his voice dropping a few octaves when he chuckles into her neck.
 “Sorry about that babe, ‘was training pretty hard for some time, got distracted and all that. But you’re up for next weekend, yeah?”
 It’s enough to placate the eager bunny and make you and Tenko gag internally for the meantime. “Mmm, only if you call me tonight,” she nuzzles into his hair. It was no secret (evidently) that the two were fucking, his smooth voice and sauve personality miraculously calming the eccentric and bold girl down. You didn’t come in contact with Hawks a lot, but you did unfortunately hear about his stamina from your girlfriend and see the way he undressed other girls in the hallways solely with his eyes enough to know that he wasn’t someone you wanted to spend your heart and time on.
 Which is why you did a double take when you realized his honey colored orbs settled on you.
 “L/N, right? How’ve you been?” His lids were lowered, the corners of his lips pulled up.
 You stutter a moment before answering lamely, “Uh, I-I’ve been good, thanks.”
 But it seems like he was more than overjoyed with your response from the way his smile widened and he lifted his head from Rumi’s neck to see you more clearly.
 “Yeah? Make any new friends over the break? Maybe got yourself a little boyfriend?” Hawks turns his gaze ever so slightly to his left, and you follow his eyes as they also land on Touya.
 You swallow thickly as you feel heat crawl up your neck to your face, your palms feeling slick as you register his meaning.
 He knows.
 And Tenko knows it too, from the way he side-eyes you concernedly, but staying silent (probably for his own sake, which was valid). Your “boyfriend” snarls quietly at Hawks, his balled fists turning a bright blue as they begin to heat up, much to the instigator’s amusement.  Touya never makes eye contact with you throughout the whole exchange, though.
 “Whaaatttt?” Kamiiji, Mirko, and Takeyama squeal obnoxiously, evidently intrigued at the notion of you being involved with a mystery man. “No fucking way, who is it?”
 “Well-he- I mean, my parents kinda set us up…” You stammer mortified, caught between telling the truth or not. It was obvious Touya hadn’t told anyone apart from his closest friend, otherwise Rumi would have for sure found out through Hawks with Touya’s permission.
 You wish you didn’t feel your heart drop a little at the thought of Touya so obviously wanting to keep your relationship with him under wraps. Were you really so embarrassing to be associated with?
 But you’re saved from your internal battle when Tenko pipes up at his own expense.
 Thank god.
 “It doesn’t matter, it's not like they’re married or whatever-”
 Yet. At least it's part of the truth.
 “-come on Y/N, we should head to class,” Tenko looks at you meaningfully, and wanting to head out of the limelight before-
 “Ahh, Shimura! Almost didn’t notice you there, buddy. You’re so quiet, it's easy to forget you’re there, y’know?” Hawks says gleefully as he throws an arm around the anxious boy’s boney shoulders and flashes a knowing smile at Touya, who mirrors Hawks’ saccharin expression.
 Tenko refuses to rise to the backhanded comment, opting to nervously scratch his neck and you quickly pinch your fingers to avoid reaching out and pushing the ravaging hand away and nodding his head weakly. 
 Touya comes on his opposite side, also wrapping a patched arm around Tenko’s other side so that the poor victim is trapped between the two bloodthirsty boys. They start steering him away from the group, and you stand there, trying to decide to butt in or join the oblivious girls who start making their way to class, chattering amongst themselves.
 Your dad’s words come back to you.
 You need to start putting your fiance before other men, Y/N.
 Fine.
 This is going to be killing two birds with one stone anyways. You technically were going to be putting Touya first by letting him know what you did or didn’t like. The start of your rocky relationship had to have foundations on some form of do’s and don'ts for either of you, right?
 And so, taking a deep breath, you march a couple meters up to the three boys, hearing sickening phrases of “grease-stain”, and “worthless little piece of shit, since when did you talk to girls?”, gently take an empty space of your friend’s shoulder that isn’t preoccupied by either tan or patched arm, and pull him around so that he’s facing you.
 Unfortunately, you didn’t think to account for the other two who would no doubt keep an iron-grip on Tenko, so you’re left holding onto him while Touya and Hawks are staring disbelievingly and amused at you respectively.
 “Tenko and I have to go to class,” you say quietly yet firmly as you ignore the spindly boy’s gaping at your audacity. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call him a grease-stain, or anything otherwise offensive.”
 You continue, mustering the last of your bravery as you finally address your fiance, or whatever the hell he was to you at this moment.
 “Look, Touya, it’s obvious Hawks knows, and I told Tenko too. I won’t tell anyone else, though, if you’re not comfortable with it. But I want you to please start respecting my friends, and in return me as well if we’re gonna be engaged.” It’s so hard to maintain eye contact with him while his blown-wide, furious blue oceans are burning holes into your face.
 “You little bitch,” Touya starts on you to your utter dismay, but Hawks hold an arm out to prevent him from advancing on you any further. Even Tenko moves slightly in front of you to shield you from harm, a move that doesn’t go unnoticed, but rather, adds to Touya’s irate state.
 In fact, if he didn’t realize, or didn't want to acknowledge your kinsmanship with Tenko, he certainly had to now.
 Because not only does Tenko move in front of you, but the second Touya falters he takes the opportunity to propel you forward, covering almost 3 feet’s worth of a distance in one stride as he pushes you away from both men and down the hall, blindly following the signs to land the two of you in your designated homeroom. It all happens so suddenly with your surroundings flashing by you from Tenko’s sheer speed that you almost get whiplash as he continues to push you through the entrance of the class, and right into the first empty seat he sees towards the back of the room.
 He pants slightly for a minute, staring down at your seated form intensely before sitting in the empty seat right in front of you. As he pulls in the chair, you finally speak in a mix of frustration and gratitude.
 “Ten, I had it covered! You didn’t have to do that, Hawks had him too, it wasn’t like he was gonna-”
 “No, you don’t understand Y/N. They’re messed up in the head, they would do something fucked up, and the worst part is they wouldn’t even care if it was in the open. Hell, you’re his-”
 He whips his head around before whispering the rest to you.
 “-his fiance, and look how he reacted! He’s dangerous Y/N, you need to be more careful-”
 “Tenko, I’m not gonna be scared of the dude I’m engaged to,” you roll your eyes. “Okay sure, he’s a complete asshole to you and me, but he’s got too much to lose to actually do something real.”
 But the rattled boy wasn’t convinced as he shook his head at your naivety. It wouldn’t do to tell you about all the times they used their quirk on him, having years of training before he did, essentially rendering him useless to fight back or stand up for himself. He didn’t think you’d believe him if he told you that merely a week ago they got in contact with some friends involved with the Yakuza to beat him into a pulp on his way home from school, simply because it made them laugh, it made them happy. And he certainly didn’t want you to have any fights with your beloved fiance because of the way they would push him down onto the gravel behind school after quirk training sessions, use their feathers and fire to burn and rip his clothes apart, and heat up the bigger rocks on the ground until they were burning coals as vermillion feathers aided in throwing the small missiles at him. He would come home in burns, bruises, and cuts that were easy to excuse from the similar treatment he got from his father.
 That’s one of the only good things about his father, in hindsight. He built up Tenko’s immunity to these things, simply teaching him that these were the ways of life. You either eat, or get eaten.
 So no, it wouldn’t do well to tell Y/N any of these things.
 The bell rang, pulling you both from your back-and-forth arguing into a silent state along with the rest of the class. Your teacher, Vlad King, enters the room and almost fills up the doorway as he makes his way to the blackboard.
 “Good morning class. I hope you all had a relaxing winter break-but not too relaxing, as I expect you all should’ve reviewed last semester’s notes.” He looks pointedly around the room, the class filled with a mixture of scoffs, laughter, and groans.
 You and Tenko share an exhausted smile and simultaneously roll your eyes at your teacher’s academic reach.
 “But, there is one announcement I’d like to make before we start today’s lesson. Due to some parents feeling as though their kids aren’t receiving enough variety in terms of quirk training and the business side, along with the logistics of the hero world, me and a few other teachers have agreed to switching out some students after a period of time to experience the other classes, and the materials that go along with them.”
 “So, because of this change, we will be receiving some new students in our class today, as well as taking some out. But fear not! You will still have the same lunches as your friends and be able to see them in between classes.” He walks over to the door while talking, and you raise your eyebrows at Tenko. He shrugs as well, similarly clueless as to what your teacher meant.
 But you needn’t be confused any longer, because when he turns the door handle and opens the door, a slew of students trickled in.
 And much to your utter horror, Hawks and Touya saunter in as well.
 Your eyes widen and instinctively you slouch in your seat trying to make yourself unnoticeable and smaller. You see Tenko stiffen as well, the tips of his ears turning bright red.
 The scratching commences, too, and you quickly kick a leg out to meet the side of his chair to deter him from it.
 From the front of the classroom, all the students that were switching into your room are lined up, ready to introduce themselves.
 They all go, one by one, and as meaningless names float in and out of your attention, you risk a look at the two who had you practically shaking in your seat.
 You wished you hadn’t.
 Thing One and Thing Two were looking straight at you, your slouching proving to be unfruitful. Thing One was smugly looking at you, taking his sweet time for his eyes to note your hair, clothes, demeanor, and lingering in some places that were less than appropriate. Thing Two was glaring at you, gaze narrowed as his hands were stuffed in his pockets and by no doubt did you think he had taken your words from earlier with appreciation.
 It was too early. You didn’t want to hear what they had to say about your little speech so soon, especially when you saw how Touya took your words as an insult rather than an attempt to understand you and improve your relationship with him.
 Finally, it was their turn to introduce themselves to the class.
 “Hey, guys. You can just call me Hawks, no need for formalities,” the blond shrugs casually, seeing Vald King’s unimpressed expression and giving him a charming smile. You hear a couple of girls fake screaming his name as he introduces himself, and Hawks flashes a round of winks and finger guns at his fangirls, much to your disgust.
 “The name’s Dabi,” and your attention is turned to him once again. His voice is gruff, yet clear, and as charming of an aura Hawks gave off with the noises of various swoons, your fiance’s introduction prompts nothing but a deadly silent classroom, the occasional paper-turning and small murmurs echoing throughout the room.
 Tenko turns slightly in his seat to you and gives you another meaningful look. You both knew what each other were thinking.
 That’s right, he goes by the name Dabi here. I shouldn’t risk calling him by his real name around others, he might get upset at the informality.
 The rest of the students chime in with their names, and finally your teacher claps his hands, gathering your attention back to him.
 “Alright everyone, now that you all know the new students, say goodbye to your transitioning classmates and wish them luck in their new classes. Hajime, Setsuna, Tenko, and Kai, please pack your belongings and report to class 3-A.”
 You whip your head around in horror at Tenko who has gone stock still. The boy behind you, Setsuna, starts packing his things and grumbling under his breath. Tenko slowly begins to put his binders and pencils in his bag, not having the courage to look at your helpless expression.
 You feel like you were being thrown to the dogs, a piece of meat ready to be torn apart and ripped to shreds.
 Vlad King notices Tenko’s dawdling, and barks out “Hurry it up Shimura, we don’t have all day and these students need seats!”
 At this, both Hawks and Dabi’s heads turn to the both of you, and if they hadn’t noticed the disposition of you both, they damn well did now. You see Dabi’s eyes trail to something behind you and the corners of his mouth quirk up a bit.
 Setsuna gets up from his seat behind yours, and passes to the front of the class along with the rest of the stragglers.
 Oh, fuck. Please don’t let them sit here, please please ple-
 But it seems that you had previous karma to atone for, because the moment you start praying, both boys start making their way towards you. You shrink even lower in your seat, wishing desperately that you had brought a hoodie to wear to at least cover your face from this torture.
 It was only when Tenko finally packed his things and stood up at the side of his seat in front of you that Dabi and Hawks stopped stalking towards the seats that sandwiched you. He blocks their path and predatory looks, giving you a second’s reprieve of sheer panic. There is a tense moment where Dabi stands directly in front of Tenko, sizing him up and looking him down. You vaguely hear Ten murmur something to him, and Dabi lets out a loud scoff, elbowing the thin boy out of his way.
 You half rise out of your seat, naturally wanting to intervene as Tenko winces and grips his wounded side, but he quickly looks over his shoulder and shakes his head minutely, as if warning you to stay put. In the midst of you standing up however, Dabi moves forward, leaving you face to face with him.
 For the second time that day, you were in very close proximity to him, much to your discomfort. His blue eyes scorch your soul, much like the small blue flames emitting from the sides of his forearms. He narrows his gaze at you and stares at you until you relent and slowly sit back down. You can feel his eyes still on your form as he halfway circles around you and sits in the empty seat behind you. Hawks watches all of this in great amusement, and winks at you as he usurps Tenko’s seat in front of you.
 That’s just fucking great.
 Your fate is sealed as you look at the front of the room and watch Tenko give you a worried look as he’s ushered outside in the wave of kids exiting the room. The door slams shut as Vlad King closes it behind him, and the class is noticeably quieter as the lesson starts, some boring shit about submitting paperwork on time in an office setting and how to deal with setbacks.
 You try to focus as much as you can, but it's hard to ignore the way the back of your desk leg is being repeatedly slammed against any time Vlad King raises his voice, so the sound is muted to everyone but you. You grit your teeth and grip your pencil harder, almost breaking the lead when almost two minutes later you smell singed hair.
 And singed hair it was, all yours in fact as you frantically gather your hair in your hands and see burnt stands breaking off in your trembling fingers. In complete fury now, you whip around and harshly whisper, “Can you please stop-”
 “You got some fuckin’ nerve, you know that? Hangin’ out with that freak, and then defending him-especially in front of me. As if that’s not bad enough, you got the balls to ignore me when you owe me an apology.”
 You gape at him and even let out a little disbelieving laugh at his words. He said you had some nerve when he’s the one asking for an apology? 
 “Apologize for what, exactly? Stopping you from harassing Tenko and calling him offensive names?”
 His eyes widen mockingly, his eyebrows raised as the staples around his mouth tremble in his effort to not burst out laughing at your indignation.
 “I’m not harassing him. He should be glad we’re even approaching him, we’re like the closest things to friends he has. Why do you think he only hangs with you? It’s ‘cause you're the only braindead idiot in this school who doesn’t realize what a creep he is. And as for the ‘offensive names’, it can’t be offensive if it's true. He is a f-”
 Your ears start ringing as you feel like he’s pushing you past your breaking point. You can’t bear to hear any more slander against one of your closest friends, but as you try to whip around to face the front Dabi quickly catches onto one of your wrists, preventing you from turning away from him any more. His staples holding his scarred sin together dig into your flesh, and you quietly whimper in pain as you try to wrench your hand free.
 He simply tightens his grip and jerks you forward, causing you to practically fall out of your seat as he leans in close.
 “Don’t try to move away from me, Y/N. You were practically thrown at me, and that means you’ll do whatever the fuck I want, when I want.”
 You look up at him with glassy eyes, hair messily covering your face from the rough treatment. He looks almost thoughtful, the closest thing to a soft emotion you’ve seen from him yet as he brushes the hair from out of your face and behind your ear. 
 “And right now, your fiance wants you to stop hanging out with Shimura. Permanently.”
 **********
It’s less of a school bell and more like a trumpet from heaven when the indication of the class ending rings throughout the school. You had already packed your bag almost 10 minutes before the bell rang, not wanting to waste a second of the opportunity to make a mad dash away from Dabi.
 But you needn’t worry, because while you were practically sprinting down the halls looking for Tenko’s class, Dabi and Hawks were leisurely taking their sweet time packing up their bags, which were a little too light for anything deemed studious.
 Hawks chuckles after your form stumbled out of the classroom. “What’s gotten into her? Scared her off already?”
 “Something like that,” Dabi scoffs humourlessly. “ I just told her to stop fuckin’ around with Shimura.”
 “Man, and here I thought we were gonna take it easy on her for her first day.” Hawks tuts, shaking his head mockingly so that his blond locks fall handsomely around his face. “You’re breaking her in like a dog, Dabi.”
 But Dabi could care less about the timing of your inevitable breaking. He shoulders his bag and runs a hand through his hair, careful enough not to dislodge the black dye.
 They both walk out of the room to the next class, Hawks sending random girls an appreciative  up-down look that lead to eruptions of teasing giggles along the halls. “Regardless of how or when I break her-which, by the way, is gonna happen hard ‘cause there’s no fuckin’ way I’m putting up with her bitchy attitude-I’m not gonna let that walking mistake hang out with her anymore. He’s dead weight to anyone, and it’s so embarrassing to see how big of a boner he gets when she looks at him.”
 “That's the spirit,” Hawks clapped him on the back, steering him around the corner to their next class.
 “By the way man, you know we have lunch with her too, right?”
 **********
“And then he burned my hair!” You cry indignantly, folding your arms and leaning against the wall next to Tenko who was waiting in line for mediocre cafeteria food.
 “See? I told you, he’s dangerous. Him and Hawks both have a messed up sense of humor, and they have no shame in it either. You need to be more careful around them Y/N, don’t piss Dabi off especially, please.” He murmurs, looking at you through his bluish white bangs. You pick up a banana and plop it onto his green tray, causing him to whine about ‘NPC’s poisoning the crappy facility food’. Whatever that meant.
 “It’s healthy, you need it,” you shoot him a disapproving glare and pointedly lift one of his free spindly arms, gesturing to the lack of meat on his skin.
 “Okay mom,” he sneers as you pluck a Twinkie from his tray and transfer it to yours with an innocent smile as you do so.
 You both reach the end of the line and you wait as Tenko checks out. Looking around, it seems like the cafeteria is filled, so you elect to eat outside on one of the benches.
 “But, anyways,” you continue your conversation from earlier, “is that how they always are? How do you deal with it?”
 “Well, usually if you try to stay out of their way and just do as they do, both of ‘em will leave you alone.” He says uncomfortably, opening the courtyard doors for you with nine fingers as you quickly hold his tray to minimize the effort.
 “I usually try to think of them as the boss battle. If you avoid them, you’ll have a peaceful day. But if you try picking a fight with them, then you’ll take massive damage.” He shudders as flashbacks of burning rocks pelting his skin and ripped clothes enter his vision.
You scan the area looking for a quiet place to sit among the pink ground littered with cherry blossom petals, and find relief when you see Rumi, Takeyama and Kamiji scattered around a bench on the farthest side of the building. You call out for them and all three of them simultaneously turn and wave excitedly at you to come over.
 The grass feels lush and soft under your feet as the sakura petals swirl around you both as you cross the school grounds. You got lucky eating outside with this weather, and you internally want to make it a habit to come outside if the skies stay clear and blue like today’s.
 “Hey you two! Lucky you both are in our lunches too, huh?” Rumi smiles wide as Takeyama tosses you a cherry Ramune. Kamiji scooches over on top of the wooden table to make room for you to sit as Tenko takes a place on the seat itself.
 “Yeah, we didn’t have you all last year so I’m glad your schedules coincide with ours. How was class?” You press down on the little ball at the top of your Ramune lid and watch as it drops and fizzles in the substance. Tenko eyes it with interest, so you pass it his way and watch amusedly as he snaps open the top and practically chugs the whole thing in one go, precariously holding a finger out while he does so.
 “Ugh, don’t get me started. Midnight’s tits were bouncing in my face the whole time, I couldn’t keep my eyes on my paper.” Takeyama swats Rumi’s white ears as Kamiji bursts out laughing.
 “God, you’re so vile. But I can’t lie, she definitely improved her fit from last year.” Yuu says with a snort.
 “She’s such a badass, I’d totally ask her hand in marriage if I wasn’t getting saddled with-” But you freeze mid-sentence, face heating up as you catch your mistake.
 Tenko chokes on the drink, the girls squealing in disgust as Ramune spews out of his nostrils. You stammer, trying to cover up your tracks but there’s no need to as the focal point of the conversation turns to something behind you.
 “Oh my god, what are they doing here?” Kamiji whispers in awe.
 You whip your head around, and for the third time that day, your heart sinks to your ass.
 **********
 “Where is she, anyways? I don’t see her in here,” Dabi tries to ask disinterestedly as he casually sweeps his eyes around the crowded hall.
 “Ahhh, the pining begins, I see. Don’t worry, Rumi has the same lunch with us, so my best guess is she’s with her.” Hawks chomps on a piece of chicken, somehow managing not to spill any teriyaki sauce on his jacket.
 “Shut up birdbrain, I’m not pining. I just wanna make sure she’s not embarrassing me any more than she already has,” Dabi drones, cuffing the blond upside his head.
 “Question: how is she embarrassing you if no one knows you two are engaged?” His red wings flutter with glee as he catches Dabi giving him a dark look, opting not to answer.
 “You’re not answering my ques-tion”, Hawks sings, thoroughly basking in the catching Dabi’s ulterior motives.
 “And I’m not gonna answer either. Just tell me where she sits, idiot.” Dabi snaps, getting antsier by the second. 
 “Alright, alright, cool your head, matchstick. Rumi usually sits outside, so let’s check there. But hurry up ‘cause I’m hungry” Hawks whines as they make their way to the outside doors.
 They too are greeted with the same colors of pink sakura and bright well-kept grass, along with clear blue skies. But all Dabi sees is red when his gaze finally looks around and sees you with your friends...including Tenko Shimura.
 Hawks sees you too, and whistles as he glances back at Dabi’s face. If looks could kill, you’d be a burning pile of ash right now.
 “I swear to fucking god, I’m gonna kill them both.” Dabi growls as he begins to stalk towards your group. And of course, his friend joins in too, if not to just watch the episode that will unfold, but rather to actually prevent Dabi from causing any lasting damage...at least, on school property, that is.
 At the sound of your animated laughter and voice, the inky black mess of hair snaps up.
 He doesn’t like the way his heart clenches when the sight of you registers.
 Your laugh is a mix of soft giggles that crescendos into crazed wheezes that are accompanied by breathless snorts.
 It sounds so fucking ugly and obnoxious.
 He wants to hear more of it.
 Your hands wave around wildly as you animate your story with various gestures, sometimes throwing your arms out in the air and then bringing them close together to emphasize something else.
 Who the hell uses hand gestures?
 What do your hands feel like? Are they soft, or rough? Are they bigger or smaller than his? 
 What would they feel like if they caressed his skin? If they slapped him?
 Dabi is 20 feet away, and you still haven’t noticed him stalking towards you yet.
 Your head is thrown back now, hair shaking as you screech with laughter, your face scrunched up in laughter.
 He should’ve burned the rest of your hair, too.
 What would the material feel like through his fingers if he yanked the strands? If he caressed them slowly, in the dark?
 Why the fuck am I thinking about that?
 Your laughter has stopped now, the air eerily quiet. Dabi makes straight eye contact with you as he sees you've finally noticed him, as he watches Rumi whisper something to the group.
 He sees Tenko look panic-stricken, fumbling around his lunch to pack up and no doubt get the hell out of there.
 But not you, though.
 You just stare at him like he’s a wild animal, like you don’t know why he’s coming towards you so fast and with such purpose.
 He’s glad your eyes are on him. Property should know who it’s attention should be on, and who to cater to.
 He just wishes your eyes weren’t filled with so much fear. It’s making his heart squeeze and it feels weird. He doesn’t like it.
 “Hey Rumi. Yuu, Moe, how are you ladies doing?” He hears Hawk’s smooth voice flow into the air and join in with the falling of the soft tree petals as well.
 “Hey Hawks,” they drawl, no doubt excited to be blessed with his presence.
 Only you and Tenko stay quiet, the latter looking uncomfortably at his feet while you simply stare at Dabi.
 “I see you ladies are all enjoying the weather tod-”
 “-What the fuck are you doing here?” Dabi rudely interrupts the would-be smooth transition into conversation, but at the moment he doesn't care. He wants to know why the hell you so obviously ignored what he said earlier, and where the fuck you found the balls to blatanlty piss him off.
 But you stay silent, and stare at him further, eyes widening marginally like a deer in headlights.
 His heavy presence brings the feeling of death, the onslaught of dread, and it invades the group’s senses like the plague. His flashing arctic eyes scream murder, his balled hands reflect nothing but danger, and his set-mouth indicates that anything that comes out of it will end in vicious tears and a broken body.
 It contrasts so weirdly with his counterpart, who has a kilowatt smile that stretches from one ear to the other, his teeth gleaming so blindingly similar to the sun that it was another reason you couldn’t keep eye contact with him for too long. His hands were stuffed in his jacket pockets, showing no sign of lashing out and causing strife. The yellow sky rays bounced off his back, making him glow with heavenly golden light like an angel, and his eyes....oh lord, his honey colored hues swam with mischief; untold secrets ladeled into his ears in the dead of the night when he would lie side to side with multiple women of all shapes, colors, and sizes.
 But either way, regardless of the mismatched auras of the two, they both brought chaos and hell in their own ways, subtle or not.
 “Uhhh, ladies, why don’t I treat you to some of the school’s finest soba?” Hawks chuckles and scratches the back of his head before offering a hand to Rumi. “It seems like Dabi here needs to have a conversation with Y/N in private.”
 Rumi takes his hand and offers her own to Kamiji and Takeyama, who all pull each other up and look at you curiously. They’re smart enough not to ask openly, though. No sense in making things more awkward than they already are.
 Tenko tries to subtly get up as well, but is stopped when Dabi snarls, “You stay there. You and I are gonna have a conversation as well, fucktard.” He looks directly at you as he hurls the insult at the gangly boy, who flinches as if the words were knives.
You nap out of your horrified reverie.
 “Uhhh, well, we’ll see you around, I guess.” Kamiji calls from over her shoulder at you, her face sympathetic as Hawks’s arm circles around her shoulders and pulls her closer, whispering something in her ear that makes her blush.
 “Tenko, you can leave. Whatever patchwork here has to say has nothing to do with you. It’s between us, as my fiance.” You deadpan and return his ice-cold stare.
 The poor boy looks between his tormentor and saviour, conflicted as to what he should do. While Dabi’s arms and legs are starting to alight, you remain calm as ever perched on the table as if the petals littered on the ground weren’t silently catching fire.
 “If you get off the ground, I promise you won’t leave here with all your limbs intact.” The flame user says lowly, his voice catching on the gravely rasp of his threatening words.
 “Tenko. Please leave.” You say with finality, crossing your arms.
 A tense moment passes between all three of you, Tenko sweating bullets. He slowly starts to build his limbs up to a stand, his height matching Dabi’s yet somehow still cowering over the striking look he was receiving from him. He hesitates for a moment before sticking a cautious leg out towards where the other four departed people went, as if he were testing the waters.
 Dabi copies you and merely stares him down.
 His expression is unreadable as Tenko moves another leg out, and another as his body starts functioning properly and jerkily walks away from the two of you. Miraculously, Dabi is letting him, not seeming too keen on fulfilling his past promise of detaching his anatomy in favor of getting to you now.
 And then there was one. 
 You both look away from Tenko’s disappearing figure and finally at each other. 
 You still don’t say anything.
 He starts slowly circling around the table towards you, keeping his malicious eyes on you and your body the whole time. But regardless of the feeling of dread that courses through your veins as he draws nearer, you refuse to kowtow to this overgrown-spoiled-rotten eldest child. He was just another man, another blob of superior prejudice that was in your way of being happy in your career and in your life in general.
 One more step and he’s finally in your face now, a mere foott away from your sitting form. Your eye level is with his chest as he stands before you, tilting his head as his eyes rake your figure up and down. Your skin crawls and you look away, not wanting to react to his offensive gaze when he suddenly lurches forward. You can’t help as your indifferent demeanor cracks as you flinch when both his hands settle on your knees.
 He leans down, a few inches away from you when he speaks.
 “Are you deaf as well as stupid, you quirkless cunt?” He breathes into your face. His hands warm up ever so slightly on your knees, and you can’t help but think with a flash of paranoia how easily and quietly he burned your precious hair not even two hours ago. 
 You try to placate him by talking calmly, a brutal contrast in the way your heart was pounding in your tightening chest.
 “I don’t know what you mean, Touya. If you’re upset about something, we can talk about it without you trying to intimidate me.” Placing your hands on his atop your knees, you gently attempt to move him off but only succeed in him gripping you tighter. He wrenches your knees apart and you gasp as he slides himself in between your legs.
 “Oh, you know exactly what I mean. Don’t play coy with me, I told you clearly not to hang around with that greasy freak. Or do I need to give you a permanent reminder, huh?”
 He grasps your chin and shakes your head roughly as he presses himself further into you, hips gently rocking back and forth into the confines of your skirt.
 It’s hard to keep up a calm facade when his clothed erection is feeling up the outline of your panties.
 You release a frustrated cry and try to buck him off of you, but that only ends up pushing even further against him, much to your displeasure.
 “Fucking let go! Let go of me you disgusting asshole!” Punching and kicking does absolutely nothing to deter him, he only laughs at your pathetic defense as he grabs a stray hand in its mission to slap him square across the face and slams it down behind you on the table. He fails to stop the other hand though, as it ducks from underneath his chin and gives him a mean uppercut.
 He takes it maddeningly gracefully, though, as he finally catches the offensive hand and also smashes it down on the wood, emitting a pained wail from you.
 Both of you pant for a couple of seconds, tears of pain and anger threatening to spill over your lashes and reflex tears in his amused ones.
 “Do I have your attention now? Or do you want me to bruise your legs too?” He slides closer to your ear and his hot breath tickles your lobe as he whispers darkly, “I got a couple ideas in mind on how I can do that.”
 Your eyes widen and you try to jerk violently out of his hold. The patched hands holding onto your wrists heat up significantly, and you wail as your skin simmers and bubbles.
 “Please stop, Touya. It hurts,” you sob as he moves back to your face again, his body hovering your overs as he leans in further and hips stilling in their perverse movements, only pressing against your clothed mound at a stand-still now.
 “You didn’t answer me. Why the fuck,” his cooled palms flared back to life again and you painstakingly stifle a whimper, “are you hanging out with Shimura again?”
 “I-I was just having lunch with him! It wasn’t like we were meeting up outside of school or anything,” you plead with him, completely abandoning your passive facade. At the end of the day, you were quirkless and he wasn’t. Which meant you weren’t stupid or cowardly, but you were just human- you didn’t want to piss him off further by givng shitty answers and then getting burned.
 You try shifting to evade the not-so-subtle bulge in his pants but he holds you steadfast. He leers at you, and you turn your head to avoid the manic expression on his face. It was just your bad luck that no one else was around, the rest of the students and teachers heading back inside for their next class.
 “Aww what, you’ll take Skin ‘n’ Bones’ dick, but you can’t handle a little teasing from mine? Do I scare you that bad, princess?”
 Your bottom lip quivers as you bear his filthy words, your seared hands shaking in pathetic attempts to quiet any pained noise.
 He moves his head in such a way that his tilted frame comes a few millimeters away from your trembling smooth lips, and you look up at him with scrunched eyebrows in a plea for mercy.
 “Or, has little miss perfect never had a cock before? Never taken a thick, pierced dick up her tight little virgin pussy?” He groans as he rubs his erection up and down your mound, your skirt shifted in the tussle in such a way that it offers him a snatch of open skin that he takes with relish.
 You gasp and bite your lip and he thrusts gently into you, looking at your fearful face for the truth.
 “Stop-stop being gross Touya. I haven’t done anything like that with him, not that you should care who I fuck with. And for the record, like I said before, I was just having lunch with my friends, not having a goddamn date with any of them, including Tenko. And I don’t know who you think you are telling me who I can or can’t hang out with,” you try to sneer as you finally wrench a hand away from his grip and manage to push him back some with a shaky arm against his toned shoulder.
 “We’re not married yet, and Tenko has never done anything perverted or twisted like you that I would have to stay away from him. In fact, if he were my fiance then he’d act like a real one, tenfold than you ever could.”
 You don’t realize how big of a mistake you made when Dabi stills his pressing hips and releases your other wrist, which you snatch in your other hand and cradle the bright red flesh.
 He backs away a step or two, to your utter astonishment. He looks at you blankly and cocks his head at your unsure self. You have no idea what you said that could have caused such a change in demeanor, weren’t you just dishing back at him what he was giving you?
 “You really think he’s that great, huh? Honestly, I shouldn’t even be surprised you do, a quirkless uptight bitch like you goes perfectly with that waste of space.”
 “He’s not-” you begin to argue but are cut off when he spins on the heel of his black combat boot and starts walking away from you, only to call out over his shoulder, “If that’s the case sweetheart, I can’t wait for you to see how great and perfect he looks when his skin is burnt to a crisp and his body’s nothing more than ash and soot.”
 The blood drains from your face as you realize what you’ve done. You’ve made the target on Tenko’s back even bigger by trying to defend him. There’s no doubt now that if he was trying to evade Dabi and Hawks’ brutal treatment, they’d never let him breathe in peace now.
 You’d lose your best friend, and he’d never forgive you.
 Pride be damned.
 “Wait!” you cry out as you stumble off shaking legs and chase after him. His arms are thrown behind his back in an easy stretch, the movement making his stapled and scarred limbs seem even more menacing than ever before. 
 “Touya, please, don’t hurt him, he didn’t do anything to you!”
 But he clicks his tongue and continues to stroll past you in the same direction your group had fled mere minutes before.
 “Too late dollface, I can’t have my little fiance bitch thinking some fuckwad is better than me, can I?” He pouts and gives you an innocent mocking smile, knowing you were breaking slowly at each word that came out of his mouth.
 “You should be glad I’m giving him any sort of attention anyways, like I said before he’s a nobody-he never uses his quirk anyways, he might as well be called a quirkless little fuck just like you! Hah! No wonder you two get along so well!”
 Tripping over your own feet, you try to keep up with his long strides and sway his mission to either kill Tenko or make his life even more hell than it was before.
 “No, no! That’s not true, please, Touya, he’s already so miserable, please leave him alone, I’ll do anything!” You practically shriek as you both finally reach the school doors and his hand grasps the handle.
 But he stops. Miraculously, he holds the door handle without turning it, and looks demeaningly at you.
 You try hard not to shrink back too much when he leans to your eye level, his hands on his knees as he says sickeningly sweetly, “Anything? You’ll do anything to save that sorry excuse of a bastard? Anything to make me not burn his ass down to hell?”
 It's hard to mask the loud gulp you make, and his grin stretches so wide his staples along the corners of his mouth move along as well.
 “Y-yes, anything. Please just stop hurting with him or messing with him at all. He’s not the one who pissed you off, I am.” You admit your defeat and hang your head low, peeking up at him between your lashes to judge his reaction.
 His cerulean eyes scrutinize you, his nose lifted in the air as he mockingly taps his chin in fake thought.
 “Hmm...well, I suppose you could start by not eating lunch with him in the first place. I don’t know how you stomach anything anyways, he reeks of a decaying body.” He smirks, but you dig your nails into your palms so as to not rise to the bait.
 Anything.
 You need to start putting your fiance before other men, Y/N.
 After a moment of silence that ensured you really weren’t going to lash out at him, he continues, this time stepping forward until he has you backed up into the adjacent brick wall in the little hidden alley besides the doors.
 “And,” his saccharine words penetrate your dizzy head as his arm stretches out towards you, and for the third time that day you were essentially pinned verbally and physically as his hand toys with the hem of your collar, “from now on you’ll be eating with me and Hawks too if he’s around. You’re also gonna stop being such a teasing little prude and let me touch any part of you without backing away or saying any bitchy comments. It’s your duty as a good little wife anyways, right Y/N?” 
 You squeeze your eyes shut as you feel one hand make its way to circle around your neck in a snug noose and the other slip up your shirt, fingers punctuated with cold little stitches spreading across the expanse of your stomach, causing goosebumps to erupt across your skin.
 “Come on,” He whispers in his gravelly voice, leaning into the crook of your neck, “where’s that little attitude now, huh?”
 For Tenko. This is all only for Tenko.
 “Okay Touya. I’ll do it. Just...please, please give him a break.” You muster up the last of your courage to face him, and you finally feel a single tear treacherously escape the confines of your eye and slide down your face. You feel humiliated, having put up such false pretenses of being cool, calm and collected when he first approached you and now...now you were an emotional mess. In just a few sentences and unwanted physical contact, he had you right where he wanted.
 And the worst part was, you both knew you couldn’t even tell anyone. If you told Tenko, he’d immediately reprimand you and try to brave it by hanging out with you just so you didn’t have to endure the plight he himself was always in. You couldn’t confide in any of your girlfriends, no doubt Hawks would somehow spin it with his honeyed words to make you seem like the crazy, overreacting one. Your parents were a no-go either, having been telling you from the start that they weren’t to hear any criticism of their perfect, levelheaded future son-in-law.
 You wonder how your parents would feel about their dear son-in-law licking the tears off your flushed cheeks with a condescending chuckle.
 “Oh come on doll, having lunch with me isn’t so bad now, is it?” He cooes at you with faux sympathy. He does nothing to hide the twitching muscle in his jaw that prevents him from bursting out laughing when you furiously brush the tears and his saliva off your face.
 No, I don’t want to have lunch with you, you sick freak. I want to see my friends and not feel my heart pounding up my throat when I’m with you.
 “No, it’s not bad,” you whisper dejectedly, hanging your head and waiting for his next move.
 “Attagirl,” he says lowly, one finger ghosting over the waistband of your pants before retreating out of your shirt and to his side. The other hand wrapped around your neck squeezes once, relishing in your panicked gasp and frantic scrabbling at the back of his hand before also coming down.
 He finally deems your disheveled state a good enough reason to stop tormenting you, and he backs away with a little smile on his face that does nothing to calm your nerves.
 Turning the corner and opening the doors, he doesn’t look at your pathetic shaking body sliding down the wall when he says, “I’d get to class if I were you. Wouldn’t want to get in trouble for hanging out with people you shouldn't be with in the first place.
 Something tells you he’s not referring to himself as the doors bang shut.
 **************
 8 New Messages
 Rumi: Hey girl, you okay? Dabi seemed kinda off, I wanted to ask you what happened but I figured you two needed space and Hawks said not to bother you abt it:/ Did you guys get into a fight?
 Yuu: Ummm since when did you and Dabi talk? And since when did he get mad at you? Text back ASAP!!!
 Moe: If you’re still alive, you def owe us an explanation, hello? What did that absolute hunk want from you? I didn’t even know you two knew each other!
 Ten-ten: Y/N please text me back as soon as possible
 Ten-ten: Are you okay? Did he hurt you?
 Ten-ten: What did he even want from you?
 Ten-ten: If you’re mad that I left, I’m so sorry, I just thought me being there wouldn’t be much help to you
 Ten-ten: Please tell me you’re okay
 2:10: I’m fine, just walk around the back and meet me by the gate when the bell rings. Keep your head down, too.
 **********
 Dabi doesn’t feel any shame jerking off in the bathroom.
 Hawks doesn’t feel embarrassed either, listening through Dabi’s grunts and shaky breaths as he recounts the entirety of what happened between you and him after the group left, babes hanging off Hawks’ arms.
“So, what, you two just boned and you told Shimura to piss off? That’s what got your dick hard as a diamond?” Hawks chuckles, folding his arms and leaning against the white tile wall.
 “Yeah,” Dabi grunts as his hand works vigorously up his shaft, his piercings clinking harmoniously at his ministrations, “But fuck, man, she felt so soft and hot down there. Her stomach was so smooth too, I couldn't keep my hands to mys-ahh-self.” He groans as he climaxes, watching his precious seed erupt and drop into the toilet below him. What a waste.
 He wishes it went into your mouth instead.
 “Her stomach?” Hawks’s avian eyes practically bulge out of his head as he roars with laughter, dodging weak blue flames aimed straight at his hair. “God, you sound like a virgin, man. Who the fuck gets turned on by a stomach?”
 “Shut the hell up you overgrown chicken. I don’t fucking know, okay? She just- argh, I don’t know, when I saw her from a distance I didn’t really think much of her but when I got all close up with her I felt like I was going crazy. I mean, my body started heating up more than normal and I just wanted to touch her.”
 The blond was quiet, continuing to listen to his friend’s rant as Dabi washed his hands and inspected his spiky hair in the dirty mirror.
 “And her attitude? My god, hearing every bitchy word come out of her mouth was worth the look on her face when I held her down. Priceless,” he chuckles, shaking his head as he begins tightening a loose stitch under his eyebag.
 “She smelled pretty fuckin’ good too, maybe thats what got me going in the first place. I just wanted to be closer to her, regardless of how she saw me. It was just so satisfying seeing her break down, and all because of me, yknow?”
 He finally finishes checking his reflection and picks up his bag from the ground, Hawks following pursuit as they make their way outside the bathroom. They were currently skipping their last class, Quirk Training because they could actually afford to. Their teacher knew that both of them surprisingly had the highest grades in the class and continuously kicked every other student into the dust, the rest of their peers not having the right quirks to even hope to make it to the two delinquent’s level of strength and skill. It wouldn’t hurt to skip a few times, they would just pick up right where they left off, pummeling every other kid aside until they made their way to the top again.
 Plus, with all the testosterone raging through Dabi’s blood after lunch, he decided it would be better to take all the energy out in more relieving ways in the bathroom rather than using the adrenaline to accidentally blast some poor chump’s face off in the heat of the moment, pun intended.
 Not that he would mind, don’t get him wrong. It would be pretty funny seeing the look of horror on everyone’s face when the smell of a burning body hit their nostrils. But it wasn’t worth a suspension, or worse, an earful from his dad.
 “Oh, and by the way, she’s gonna have lunch with us from now on. I told her if she didn’t want me beating Shimura into a pulp she was gonna stop eating with him and come join us instead.”
 At this, Hawks gives Dabi a smirk and says dryly, “How romantic of you. If you wanted her to spoon feed and baby you at lunch so you could have a boner the entire period, you should’ve just told her straight up.”
 Dabi opens his mouth to argue with half of his statement before he’s interrupted.
 “Where is Shimura by the way? Did you see him leave the locker room? Training’s done, he should be out any minute now, why don’t we pay him a little visit and relay the same message you gave your little bitch to him as well?”
 Both boys smirk at each other as they make their way down to the locker rooms. Unfortunately for Tenko and fortunately for the devious duo , all three of them shared the same last class of Quirk Training. The frail, quiet boy tried his best to stay out of their way, but he might as well have had a sign up on his head that said MAKE MY LIFE HELL, PLEASE from the way he scratched himself raw, earning occasional disgusted looks from girls and snickers from a majority of the guys. His hair was almost always unkempt and in his face, prompting Dabi to yank his overgrown bangs up and out of his face as he snarled and spat venom into his victim’s wincing expression. When they sparred, Dabi held absolutely nothing back as he relished in the difference in their fighting styles: Tenko with close combat techniques and Dabi excelling in long distance. It was a recipe for disaster on Tenko’s side, and almost a cruel joke to the flame user as he easily sent wave after wave of burning hot hellfire towards the yelping boy. It came to a point where Dabi would openly and very loudly question why Tenko would even try, why he would even attend this class when he was beaten in under a minute-not nearly enough time to utilize his quirk.
 Their teacher would scold Dabi very lightly, but the damage was done and doubt was already planted into everyone’s mind as the seeds of disdain germinated and grew into ponderings of, has he ever beaten anyone before? He’s always out of the ring so fast, I didn’t even understand what his quirk was. Is he failing, how is he even passing this class?
 Only you were the one who knew it was his lifelong dream of working in the Rescue and Search unit, his quirk of decaying proving to be so deadly and harmful that he never had the courage to use it against anyone, no matter how bad they had it out for him. He could never live with himself if he ever caused anyone permanent damage that could end up in paralyzation, or worse.
 But that was the difference between poor Tenko and Dabi. Only one of them acted out in an eat or be eaten way.
 Hawks was more subtle in his torment, having less of a grudge towards the sulking grey mass of limbs. Sure, it was amusing watching him squirm and flinch and hear him plead raspingly to move your feathers, please, they’re covering my nose I can’t bREATHE I CAN’T BREATHE PLEASE I’LL DIE-
 But unlike Dabi, he didn’t get that big of a high from drawing blood and whimpering. That was all for fun and jokes to indulge in Dabi’s selfish and ruthless desires, sure, but the real rush he got was from the overall power imbalance from everyone else he received. It was knowing that he was at the top of the food chain, that no one could surpass him, even his brooding patchwork friend who he considered to be beside him if anything, but not above him in any sense. Tenko was just another cog in the grand machine that reinforced that idea every time he wilted and withered under Hawks’ sickeningly sweet, fake smile.
 You can’t blame him, either. He never originally asked for any of the attention the school practically spoon-fed him with when he was younger. No, he didn’t seek out any of the multitudes of guys that asked him to hang out every other weekend at the beach or park, and he was always indifferent to the girls begging him to spend the night and exchange numbers on the regular. They were all idiots anyways, what did they know? Sex, fame, money, drugs, all that bullshit that every young adult craves. He was better than that, he had a goal, he had ulterior motives, but he soon began to realize that the mind-numbingly brain dead people who circled him like their god could very well improve his chances of achieving said goal.
 And so Hawks began to painstakingly take time out to meet some tools dudes at the beach or catch a movie with them, he started opening up to sluts and bimbos girls via their legs more often and eventually he became a name revered around school, a reputation told and passed around the halls in whispers that traveled through notes and texts exchanged throughout classes.
 It just so happened to be in his luck that he was able to one day put a face to another name that floated through the halls in his passing classes: Dabi.
 They had been paired up to sparr, both sets of ears alert and open when their teacher read aloud each other’s quirks. Fire and feathers, huh? What a joke.
 At least, that's what the both of them thought about each other until they actually started fighting.
 Columns of cobalt flames rained above and around Hawks, and he was surrounded mere seconds after the match started. But nevertheless, his feathers detected a breeze from an open air pocket through the wall of fire, and he used his great wings to propel him through the slim opening to safety.
 That was the first time Dabi had ever been bested by anyone before, having every single one of his limbs pinned down by multiple heavy feathers tearing through his clothes, and similarly, it was the first time Hawks had even been surrounded so quickly by anyone else either.
 Thus was the start of their begrudging comradeship, which quickly evolved into something akin to a friendship when less training commenced and more grunted words and short phrases thrown to each other formed into gruff sentences, and bitter rants about shitty parents, being surrounded by painfully stupid peers, and how everyone else but them two saw the world for what it really was: a playground where they could topple everyone else down and somehow still manage to win those same hearts over as they used them as stepping stones to their own advantages.
 Dabi’s lust for blood and pain went hand in hand with Hawk’s craving for power. It was disgusting how the school worshipped them, taking any instance of abuse from either of them with a grain of salt, having already submitted to their superior auras. They truly were stepping stones, eagerly ready and oblivious to be used.
 And Tenko was just that, another meek, fragile little stepping stone that seemed so easy to crack...but somehow, instead of shattering into hundreds of pieces, he managed to retain his brittle shape and morph into a thorn in Dabi’s side. When he would be shoved into lockers for seemingly hours on end with burning feathers taped over his mouth (courtesy of Hawks to supply some material) that accentuated the scars on the lower half of his face, he wouldn’t tattle to any head authority or teacher. When they would tear and burn his clothes off in the locker room after their training sessions and force him to walk home in sweaty gym clothes, Tenko never lifted a finger to decay a hand or turn a feather into dust. He would simply sulk off and try to remain invisible and out of their way. 
 It drove Dabi crazy; he wanted the translucent skinned boy to scream for his fucking life, he wanted to see him lash out and fight, he wanted him to squeal like the pig he was. He wanted more reasons to beat him down and feel an ounce of joy in himself that he never received elsewhere. Seeing people shake and cower before him gave him the same rush as any heavy drug would do-it was addicting, and left him craving for more. It reinforced the idea that he was better than anyone else, and if his dad wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction or assurance that there was a purpose to his miserable life, then he would have to relish in the emotions he felt within others, even if it meant at the expense of his peers.
 And although he would never admit it, it secretly was hilarious as fuck for Hawks to watch Dabi lose his mind slowly but surely over the most trivial of things, like Tenko’s lack of reaction to their abuse. He knew it only came from the neglect Dabi felt at home, Endeavor’s blatant disappointment embedded its manifestation in the eldest son’s whole being, even if he would always deny that's the case. The lack of direction and emotion Enji showed to his lost cause of a son caused Dabi to lash out in increasingly aggressive ways at school. It just proved that even though Dabi thought he was better than everyone else, he truly was just another sheep like the rest of these idiots milling around. The brooding, aloof face he put up at school wasn’t enough to fool the sharp-witted avian; he was just an average spoiled elitist brat that threw tantrums when he didn’t get what he wanted, how stupid could he be? He thought too much of what others thought, even if he sought validation through his parents, who gives a fuck? It’s just another useless miserable factor of his life to ponder on, in Hawks’ opinion.
 If you asked Dabi what he thought of Hawks, he would give you a similar answer but with different facets. Sure, it was nice to have another god of the school walk around by his side, enforcing their reputations, and yes, both of them connected on negligent parents... but Hawks gave in too much into materialistic things. Sex and popularity were deterrents from the real world, and Dabi would be damned if he were to follow pursuit. Hawks was slowly proving himself to also be another pawn in their life’s game of chess, but for the time being he knew that making friends with him was looking at the bigger picture if he wanted to make a name for himself, no matter how painful that process was at times. Why the fuck would he waste time going to parties just to socialize and bang a bunch of slutty whores when he could be proving himself to the yakuza? While Hawks would be schmoozing with some busty bimbo and playing beer pong on a Saturday, Dabi would be making his own types of friends in hidden alleyways and getting acquainted with shady figures like Kai Chisaki, a boy around their age with connections that ran around the city and underneath the city lines. The scarred boy was dedicated to his eventual goal to rid this rotten society of all the superficial heroes and scum, so naturally he hadn’t the need or want to indulge in his own selfish desires.
 Up until this point, that is.
 Which brings him and his winged partner-in-crime to now, waiting in the shadows outside the entrance to the locker room. Waiting for a certain spindly, greasy-haired freak to make his appearance so he could beat the shit out of him and release some still pent-up energy that was not relinquished in the bathroom.
 So that he could tell him to stay the fuck away from what rightfully belonged to him, for the first time in his life.
 He reached down to pick up some gravel, hand-picking the rocks that seemed the sharpest as he heated up his palm. Without saying a word, Hawks’ feathers floated towards Dabi’s hand, embedding their bristles between the rocks. 
 It took about 5 more minutes of aimlessly lounging against the wall and burning other various thrown-out papers scattered around the ground, until the man of the hour made his appearance.
 It was pathetic, really, the way the door slowly creaked open as his matted pigeon colored head peeked out, swiveling around to take his surroundings. The second his head turned right, his eyes widened as he saw the hellraisers, and Tenko frantically tried to retreat back inside and slam the door shut.
 Unfortunately, he couldn’t beat the too-fast quills that snatched him by the collar and practically threw him forward. He flailed his limbs, trying to regain his balance and flee his inevitable beating. The panic that rose in his throat grew exponentially as he was dragged further towards Hawks and Dabi, who was juggling burning blue rocks in his hand along with familiar red plumage.
 He knew the drill all too well, becoming dreadfully acquainted with the makeshift missiles over the years.
 “Hey, Shit-mura, catch!” Dabi lobbed a pierced feather at his bony abdomen, and Tenko flinched violently as a glowing blue pebble ricocheted off his body, hitting against a barely-fading bruise from a similar routine performed merely weeks ago.
 Albeit for a different reason, one that didn’t have to do with a not-so-lucky girl like you.
 Tenko fell backwards as a volley of feathers jabbed under the soles of his feet, and watched in horror as the perpetrators advanced towards him, Hawks with his wings so leisurely ruffling in the breeze with a laid-back smile on his face, hands tucked in his jacket pockets contrasting with the demonic grin etched on Dabi’s face as they leer down on him.
 “What do you want now?” The fallen boy barely mutters, not bothering to look up at them.
 “Don’t address me like that you little shit,” Dabi hisses, flames flaring up in his palms just to show off how much ammo was still burning and waiting to be used...all for him, of course.
 “Stop hanging out with Y/N. The next time I see you talking with her, or even looking in her direction I’ll burn your sorry ass alive. Though I doubt anyone would care, anyways.” He speaks curtly, and it kills him internally to almost admit how frustrated he is seeing you two cross paths, even after a sole day.
 Tenko raises his eyebrows, looking between Dabi and Hawks, who, for the meantime, doesn't feel a need to waste his breath on such a petty matter.
 “We’re just friends, that's all we are. If you’re so concerned about me getting in the way, I promise I won't-”
 “-You think I’m actually worried about losing you to her?” The inky head draws closer, his voice low and raspy as he laughs. “Let me tell you something, and listen to me very clearly, because the next time I repeat myself is the day I’ll fuck you both up- I don’t give a shit who wants her, or who doesn’t. I’m not concerned about losing her either, you know why?” He grabs the frayed collar of Tenko’s shirt, and the latter chokes as his air is squeezed out of his frail throat, hands frantically grabbling at the purple-scarred constraints.
 He can feel flecks of spit on his face, the hands around his neck heating up suffocatingly as Dabi nails the final lid in his coffin.
 “Because that little tease was practically sold to me, get it? I didn’t even want her in the first place, which essentially makes her nothing short of a playtoy for me to fuck and fuck with whenever the hell I want, without you in the picture. I don’t need some weepy moron like your sorry ass getting her all teary-eyed when her eyes should be on me and me only.”
 He releases the weakling’s throat, wishing it was your smooth one instead. He almost would’ve had a boner if Tenko’s big, gulping breaths were a little bit more feminine sounding, like yours.
 “Okay, okay, whatever man, I’ll do what I can to stay away from her. Just…” and his voice trailed off into a whisper, hoping he could muster any more sincerity in his words, “...please don’t break her heart, or be too rough with her.” The mere thought of you being bruised and banged up like he was made him gag.
 It was sickening how similar his words mirrored your own.
Dabi scoffs as Hawks finally decides to speak up, spreading his hands in a faux show of good gesture.
 “I gotta admit though, Shimura, you got good taste in girls. I’m almost impressed you managed to get a cute little thing like her to even touch you.” Tenko blanches, noting the way Dabi’s jaw clenches as the instigator’s mouth curves into a smirk, all of them knowing full well that the carefully chosen words were meant to rile the situation up even further.
 But after a tense moment of everyone glancing at each other, the patchwork figure relents and exhales through his nostrils, deciding to grant the mess of fallen limbs a rare chance of mercy.
 “Shut the fuck up bird brain. Let’s go, I don’t wanna hear my dad bitchin’ if I come home late again,” He kicks Hawk’s boot with his own and turns around towards the entrance of the school, not sparing Tomura a second glance. Hawks laughs handsomely and gives the rattled boy a mock salute and a fluff of his grand wings before trailing after his counterpart.
 Shimura finally lets out a shaky breath, slowly picking his scattered belongings off the ground, snapping his head back up frequently as if the two were bound to come back and mess with him further.
 While he was picking his remaining binders and gym clothes off the ground, unbeknownst to him, about 50 feet up and out the school Hawks was fishing an object out of his plush wings.
 “What’re you doing?” Dabi asks lazily as they walk the streets of Musutafu, kicking sake bottles out of the way.
 “Hol’ on-” Hawks grunts, yanking the object loose from his tight confines of his feathers before placing it in Dabi’s open palm.
 “Huh? The hell’s this?” He raises an eyebrow, gingerly holding up the beaten screen in front of his face.
 “That right there is extra material to hold against your little wifey. Seems like he had more pressing things on his mind rather than to check for all his belongings,” The quick-witted avian pats his elusive wings proudly, basking in the benefits his stealthy quirk allows him.
 And sure enough, as Dabi gleefully cackles with laughter at his good fortune, Tenko Shimura is desperately patting down his pockets, looking for his phone while you chatter on cluelessly next to him. 
 ****************
 “So? How was your first day?”
 “Did you see Y/N? I heard from some upperclassmen that you got classes with her.”
 “You should walk her home after school!”
 Touya is immediately bombarded with questions from his siblings the second he makes his presence known by slamming the front door shut.
 He growls under his breath at all the clammer around him, and he barks at them to shut the hell up before he burns the house down.
 It doesn’t faze the rest of them who are blessed with their ice quirks, and they continue to pester him until he spills the most meager, unsatisfactory answers to them.
 “Yeah, I had a class and lunch with her. Happy? Now seriously back off.”
 Fuyumi and Natuso cheer as Shoto gives a slight smile.
 He heads off into the dining table, munching on carb-infested snacks as he scrolls through Tenko’s phone.
 The messages between you and him are long, dating back years that he has to swipe for minutes before getting to the first words of your conversations.
 A majority of the speech bubbles hold nothing but dorky back and forth’s of new movies that came out, hanging out here and there, and school help. Sometimes he’d come across you asking for advice for your parents, or ranting about having to keep a frustratingly posh look in public, and he realizes surprisingly you two might have more in common than he thought.
 He hadn’t even bothered to look at most of Tenko’s messages, nothing holding too much leverage on potential blackmail or more fuel against him, but suddenly his thumbs stilled as his eyes rove over a conversation from a couple months ago.
 Y/N: Ugh, it’s just one of those days, y’know? Idk if its PMS but i’ve literally been watching porn for like 2 hours now
 Touya’s eyes widen and he brings the screen mere inches from his eyes, just to ensure he’s not imagining his good luck...as well as disbelief.
 The next messages however, grab his elation by the balls and twist them into a cloud of red-filled rage.
 11:57 pm: I could give you something better than porn if you want:)
 It takes all he has not to throw up his munchies on the table at the pure inexperience Tenko’s words so evidently hold.
 Can this bastard be more cringe?
 Apparently it didn’t matter to you, because not even a full minute later you had responded to past-Tenko.
 Y/N: Oh yeah, like what?
 Touya excuses himself from the table, ignoring Natsuo’s raised eyebrow directed at him from the kitchen.
 He stalks to his room, closing the door behind him and locking it for good measure. Thankfully the questionnaire was over the moment he walked in, and his parents were gone until the evening, so he was set for privacy. It’s not like anyone would willingly want to come into his room unannounced anyways, unless they were looking for a death wish.
 The gloomy black decor around his man-cave suited his mood well, only the dim light of his computer and phone providing him access to witness your whore antics.
 Picture after picture filled the conversation, lacy white lingerie and red silk complimenting your figure well, and his heart speeds up when he sees the slutty expression on your face.
 You were wearing makeup in some pictures, and completely bare-faced in others. Some photos didn’t do justice to your beauty with the naive angles you positioned yourself in, and others quite literally made him gape at your junk in the right places and slender bits along your silhouette.
 In his eyes, it was innocence at its finest. Your honesty at showing all parts of you was mouth watering to Touya, the way you didn’t hide any side of you in such an intimate exchange made him want to sink his teeth into your helpless being and never let go.
 It also made him want to melt Tenko’s skin off his very breakable bones.
 We’re just friends.
 Some friends they were, alright. A slut and a grade-A fuckin’ incel. How the hell did Shimura get a taste of you before he did? He’s your fiance for gods’ sake, that's his right and no one else’s.
 Honestly, he’s disappointed in you right now. For all that talk you gave him earlier today, he didn’t take you as some easy hoe that’d put out for such a creep like Tenko, with just a few sweet words thrown here and there along with some bad pickup lines.
 He crosses his arms behind his head and leans back into the plush mattress, frowning in thought. The sounds of his father banging open the door and his siblings chiming in to greet the old bastard float in and out of his ears as he thinks of what to do with you and Tenko.
 Obviously your guys’ friendship surpassed normal boundaries, regardless of what you both pleaded or believed. Just the fact that Touya fucking Todoroki, son of the Number Two hero, eldest child and heir to a powerful elite family lost first claim of his wife-to-be’s body to some...some withering degenerate is making his heels expel smoke.
 He’s not going to be second place again, not outside his own home too.
 There’s no doubt in his mind that if you truly are all bark and no bite, you’ll find a way to meet up with Tenko behind his back. The pictures he’s seen tonight just proves it's going to take something bigger than a copped feel and a verbal warning to pull you both apart, and Touya is more than ready to take on that challenge.
 A plan begins to form in his mind, one that ensures his fiance and the dirtbag will stay away from each other, even if he needs to push them to interact more initially. Even if he needs to make you desperate to reach out for someone, anyone who’ll come to your aid after he’s through twisting and welding your nerves together.
 Touya falls asleep with one hand in his pants, one hand holding his phone screen up showing your white lingerie.
 Tenko falls asleep for the first time in months without his bony hand down his sweats furiously working his shaft at those pictures you sent months ago. The cum that usually spills out and stains his abdomen is replaced with dread that embeds itself in the pit of his stomach. He knows either Hawks or Dabi has his phone, and he knows what he’s hiding in there isn’t something that would help his claim of being your friend.
 You send a message to Tenko before you sleep, telling him to wait for you in the adjacent empty hallway to the cafeteria after you finish lunch with Touya.
 *************
 “Where the hell were you yesterday? I tried calling and texting you!”
 You indignantly demand, making no effort to move out of Tenko’s way as he tries to gently brush past you to make room for himself on the sidewalk.
 “I, uh, lost my phone and forgot to tell you after school. Sorry.” He says lamely, and you squint your eyes and grip the straps of your backpack even tighter at his half-assed excuse.
 Begrudgingly shifting to accommodate him in the narrow walkway, you both begin to walk to school. The butterflies have risen from the grave of your stomach again, butterflies of dread and gross anticipation at meeting your inky-headed match.
 “Well, did you report it missing?” He scratches his neck softly and grunts in denial. You frown, thinking if it were you then you’d be throwing a racket at your missing phone. Guys are weird.
 “Okay...well, anyways, I texted you about meeting me outside the caf’ when the bell rings for class. I have a feeling Touya’s gonna be stingy about me staying put like the perfect, brainless doll he wants me to be, ugh. So just keep your head down as usual obviously, and I should be out in no time hopefully if I can manage to slip through the crowd. I’m thinking we meet up in the General Studies hall? It’s right there-”
 “-Wait, you texted me all this?” Tenko stops abruptly, red eyes wide with panic.
 You turn to face him, eyebrows raised at his composure. “I mean, yeah? I didn’t know you didn’t have your phone with you, so I’m just telling you now I guess. Why? Do you know if someone took it?”
 He hesitates, unsure of how to cover this up. He already knows either Dumb and/or Dumber has his phone, so no doubt if you truly did text him anything about your plan to meet up with him against Dabi’s specific instructions not to, one of them would already know by now. But he can’t tell you why your plan is now faulty and extremely dangerous.
 Because then he’d have to explain how they got his phone in the first place. One question would lead to another, and then he would have to spill about what they threatened him with, and you would somehow end up getting even more hurt if you found out what went on behind closed curtains.
 “Look,” He finally decides to speak, and rejoins you on your walk to campus, “I don’t want you putting yourself at risk to still hang around me at school if Dabi told you not to. He’s just gonna find out and get even more pissed. I’m used to it, but if you’re gonna be marrying that douche then it’s just gonna screw things up for you even more. We can just meet up after school like always and hang out at your place or something.”
 You pout at his proposition, annoyed that your oh-so-loving finance is weeding his way into your private life...more quickly than you’re comfortable with. Why should you have to sacrifice time away from one of your oldest friends just because of some overgrown, spoiled man-child?
 “Ten, you can’t let them dictate your life forever, okay? Like, I get it, they’re scary as hell and you were right-they’re not afraid to get physical. But it's only the first week of school back, are we really just gonna let them walk all over us? I’m not gonna be some stupid fucking bimbo thats gonna cower every time he flashes his fist at me.” You stamp the ground in frustration, and Tenko keeps quiet, growing more irritated by the second. You might now care about keeping your limbs intact, but he’s already as frail as can be. No sense in begging to get snapped like a twig just because of your suicidal intent.
 “So what exactly do you wanna do? I get how you feel, really I do, but Y/N they’re not talked about around school for no reason. I don’t know how else to explain this to you, no matter how much you want him to know how independent you are, he’s not gonna care.”
 Biting your lip in contemplation, you think on his words. He’s got a point, unfortunately. There’s not much you can actually do apart from run your mouth. Touya’s got the upper hand in every sense.
 But still. You’ll be damned if you wait for him to make the first move like a sitting duck.
 “Whatever,” you bite out. “We’ll just have to be smart about skirting around him. Just try to meet me in an empty hall outside the lunchroom if you can, and we’ll just make sure to stay out of open areas when we walk to class. No biggie. And of course we can still walk together home, right?” 
 “Yeah, sure,” he says, as you two near the school entrance.
 You try not to notice the delay in his answer as you walk through the gates.
 ***********
 Immediately when they spot you in the halls on the way to your homeroom, the trio of girls swarm and bombard you with questions...questions that you already answered with some half-assed, bullshit excuses about how Dabi needed help on homework.
 You guessed they weren’t as airheaded as they all let on.
 “It’s fine, its okay, it was just some stupid misunderstanding we had. We’re okay now, really,” you wave them off while Tenko worries his bottom lip in an attempt to subdue his itching.
 It takes some convincing for your concerned friends to finally leave with a warning of “If you hide anything from us, you’re getting your ass kicked!” and a casual laugh from you before you can head to class.
 “God, I don’t know how I’m supposed to hide the whole arranged marriage thing from them if they’re always gonna be so nosy. Especially when Tou-I mean, Dabi, isn’t exactly hiding his asshole-ness”.
 Tenko mutters in agreement to you, his head low as you both turn the corner into your classroom. He merely takes a step inside before looking up and hissing in panic, tripping backwards over his own feet.
 “Ten, what the hell?” You yelp, narrowly avoiding his skinny frame about to collide into you.
 “Shit, I forgot we changed rooms. And I’m not supposed to be seen with you, they already saw-!” He cowers at the side of the door, eyes wide with panic.
 And you realize too late that he’s right, that his sparse appearance in the doorframe must not have gone unnoticed by the dreaded duo already in class. You can see your seat from the window in the door, and an inky blob of black hair and blond locks not too far from your seat as well.
 “Oh god, fuck, just-just get to class before the bell rings, I’m sure they didn’t see you come in. But go, you’re gonna be late!” You swat him off and he dashes down the hall, throwing you a worried glance as he goes.
You take a deep breath, preparing yourself for whatever might happen if they indeed saw your figure with Tenko’s. Turning the handle with sweaty palms, you gulp and enter the room.
 “You were almost late, L/N! Let’s try to hurry it up next time and not idly stand outside the classroom with friends, shall we?” Vlad King barks from the front of the room, and you cringe as you internally wonder if the entire school was against you today.
 The room has quieted down significantly as your teacher starts to prepare the whiteboard for today’s lesson. You imitate Tenko’s earlier demeanor by keeping your head low and trying to avoid eye contact with everyone as you make your way to your seat.
 Except, that proves to be quite difficult as you pass by Hawks’ seat, a lean leg casually stretching in a mockery to make you trip. You try to step over it, but unbeknownst to you, a lone red feather darts under your feet as you take a step and lifts you up, causing you to lose your balance and fall drastically to the ground, the contents of your bag strewn across the floor.
 You can barely hear the scattered laughter filling the room, can hardly make out your teacher growling at you to take a seat and stop causing distractions, because the ringing in your ears drowns everything else out. The underside of your arms are prickling as you frantically adjust your skewen skirt and try to simultaneously pick up your displaced belongings. Your hands are shaking as they reach for a binder that slid under Dabi’s seat. 
 Bile rises to your throat as a studded black combat boot carefully places itself right on top of the binder. Your violently trembling hands pause midway to reaching for it, and you slowly raise your glassy eyes to meet your tormentor’s.
 You wish you didn’t.
 The way he looks down at your disheveled figure causes your heart to seize and create a giant lump in your throat. His piercing-decorated mouth is pulled back in a jeering grin, thoroughly enjoying the mess his friend created, just for both of their sick amusement.
 Your pleading look does nothing to deter his firm hold on your binder, and you grow increasingly panicked as you hear the lesson start.
 “Let go!” You whisper, eyebrows scrunched together, bottom lip trembling like a baby.
 “Mmmh. Only if you beg like a little bitch.” He doesn’t even look at you straight in the eyes as he murmurs in his gravelly voice, his purple patched hand lazily writing down a few scribbles here and there to take notes.
 It's cruel, almost. The bravado you held up in front of Tenko this morning is completely gone now, a mere facade to show you weren’t going to simply roll over on your back and show your stomach for Dabi. But it seems that’s exactly what he reduces you to, in just a manner of a few simple movements.
 Just like yesterday, when he had you pinned twice at lunch.
 Lunch.
 Oh god.
 You quickly shake your head from its treacherous wanderings, opting to focus on the imminent problem right now instead of combusting from future ones as well.
 “Please, Touya,” you say almost under your breath, leaning in painfully just to make sure your plea fell only on his ears only.
 His lowered lids rove over up and down your body in acknowledgement, letting them settle on your thighs clenched together, hands balled in your lap to prevent from ripping yours and his hair out.
 Leaning back further and lower into his seat, he keeps his lustful gaze trained on your wary, kneeling figure as he subtly starts to palm himself through his jeans. Your jaw drops at his audacity, your mind completely forgetting to try and snatch the binder from his hold as he lightly thrusts up into his open hand. You scuttle backwards in disgust, your face feeling like it's on fire as you do.
 But another trusty red feather slips underneath your skirt as you flail back, and grounds the flat side of its bristles against your clothed clit.
 It's all too much, your hyper awareness and sensitivity to the whole humiliating situation reaching its peak, and you gasp loudly as the scarlet plumage circles itself once around your clit once more and retreats back into its large red home.
 Dabi isn’t the only one palming himself now.
 Once again, the class attention has been brought back to you, pages stopping their movements mid-flip.
 “Y/N L/N, what is going on back there?” Your peeved teacher’s voice booms across the silent room.
 You flinch and try to speak but Dabi beats you to it.
 “She’s distracting me sir, I tried to give her back her binder but she wouldn’t take it for some reason.” He speaks monotony, a hint of feigned confusion so strategically accenting his words.
 “No, no, that’s not what-”
 “-It’s true Mr. King. I saw her get on her knees in front of Dabi while he was trying to take notes.” You’re interrupted again as Hawk’s smooth voice floats above yours, and your face burns with shame at his choice of words as your peers titter around you.
 “If these two men miss today’s notes because of your shenanigans, you will personally be in charge of catching them up and tutoring them on whatever need be.” And with that, he turns around and continues to write nonsense formulas on the board.
 The black binder that caused so much trouble is shoved towards you carelessly, papers slipping out onto the floor as it comes your way. The two demons share a knowing smirk at their fruitful teamwork.
 It’s not even nine in the morning yet, and you want to scream.
*****
It takes less than two minutes to gather everything off the floor and to slink yourself into your seat, cursing the placement of Dumb and Dumber in front and behind you. Brimming with rage, you clench your pen tightly as it skims back and forth across the page, making up for 10 minutes worth of missed notes.
 Not even a full beat of peace is passed before you feel a cool breath against your neck, and you slap a hand against your nape as goosebumps erupt across your skin.
 “So who came into the room with you before class, huh?”
 You honestly should’ve been more scared of his question, but you couldn’t even find the energy to turn around fully and refute his accusation. You merely exhale loudly through your nose, letting him know you were done talking in defense. He chuckles lowly and you can feel the vibrations from the rumble of his throat in such proximity to you.
 “Better keep your pretty little mouth shut, unless you really are into getting degraded by Vlad,” he leans forward, his mouth right next to your ears. You can’t stop the shiver that passes through your body as his tongue slips out to caress the shell of your lobe at the same time his hand reaches down and around your seat, just to pinch the flesh of your ass.
 You jump slightly at the onslaught of sensations and harshly bite your lip to prevent a yelp leaving your mouth. Clenching your pen tighter in your hands is the only thing you can do his touch wanders underneath your skirt, feeling the flesh of your thighs clench together again to ward off his offensive advances, elatedly letting his coarse fingers run in between your cheeks and dip into the crevice of your mound.
 The sound of your quiet whimpers and the sight of your rigid back is enough to send him over the edge.
 He suddenly digs his dull nails into your soft skin, and leans further towards you. You can feel his mouth press against the shell of your ear as he hisses.
 ¨I asked you a question you quirkless whore. Who the fuck came into the classroom before you? Was it that freak again?¨
 ¨L/N, can you answer the question up on the board please?¨ Your teacher´s voice rings out from the front of the room, and you and your bully both jump at the intrusion.
 The board in question has a jumble of words and numbers written on it, and in your frantic stupor none of it makes sense to you. But you know if you’r
e caught slacking off again, you might get written up.
 ¨Uh, l-let me check my notes really quick, sorry,” you mutter as you desperately flip through your notebook pages.
 ¨Actually sir, I think I can help Y/N out.¨ Unexpectedly, Hawkś buttery voice chimes in, much to your relief. He answers the question flawlessly, and even your teacher nods his head impressively.
 You might´ve even said a thank you to him if he hadn't turned his head at the side just for you to see him lick a long stripe up a certain feather, the corners of his lips turning up into a sickly sweet smile.
 You feel queasy.
 Dabiś fingers strategically resume their ministrations again to gain your attention as they trail down into the junction of your mound, lower and lower until the pads of his stitched fingers rest on top of your clothed clit.
 You jerk slightly and shoot a hand down underneath your desk to stop him from moving, but the second your palm wraps around his wrist his fingers press deeper against your nub.
 Fuck.
 You know what he wants, so you answer him just to end this torture.
 ¨I don't know who you saw walking with me, but if you're referring to Tenko, then he went to his class. Try not to make it so obvious that you´re jealous or insecure of him, it's pretty pathetic. I mean damn, you´re even starting to see visions of him around the school? Maybe you like him more than I do!¨ He scoffs under his breath but you can feel the temperature around you both rise up.
 Successfully managing to yank his paused hand away from you, you throw his wrist backwards toward him, savagely relishing in his stunned silence, no doubt.
 Without turning around, you end him on a good note.
 ¨Didn't realize you were into ‘weak nobodies’, Touya. Who's the freak now?¨ You don't personally believe such a vile notion, but you hope know itĺl be enough to shut his fragile ego up for now.
 It does.
 He doesn't touch or talk to you the rest of class, much to your satisfaction.
 You don't smell the burning of a certain someone's foot in youropen bag, all your hard work from notes to projects going up in literal tiny flames.
 ***********************
 The bell dings, and you waste no time shoving your binder into your bag, failing to notice little flecks of ashes billowing in the air when the belongings go into the scorched fabric. You yank both straps onto your shoulders and immediately start to get up, but are promptly stopped when two figures swarm you and force you back into your seat.
 ¨Where you runnin’ off to cutie? Don´t tell me you forgot to have lunch with your fiance?¨ Hawks shakes his head mockingly, tutting in disapproval.
 ¨Yeah, I mean, she obviously thinks I´m into her little boyfriend, so I guess I'll just have to sit with her to demonstrate how I'm into women.¨ Dabi sneers, towering over your seated figure.
 You blanch, regretting your outburst from earlier, knowing that he was going to make you pay for it.
 ***********
 Tenko slinks off into the courtyard to look for any possible signs of his phone around the same time Hawks and Dabi are leading you through the more deserted halls towards the cafeteria, their arms thrown over both sides of your shoulder, vile words and innuendos bordering on threats hissed into your ears.
 He knows it wouldn´t do any good for your safety if he went off trying to spot you amongst the crowds, and frankly, he didn't really want to. Especially not when he knew who you were probably with.
 Sitting with Miruko, Takeyama and Kamiji was a no-go, they would all be uncomfortable with his unsettling appearance there without you as everyone´s middleman. Maybe he could find Atsuhiro? Or even Iguchi? Surely he could find them and they could all converse about the latest game that came out, as they usually did.
 Somehow he manages to make his way into the crowded commons being invisible to most had its benefits sometimes, especially when being shoved forwards as if he's not there gets him forwards faster and looks around the massive room for the other two social outcasts.
 Lo and behold, he spots them towards the back of the mess hall, where most of the trash cans were placed.
 Typical.
 Iguchi unsurprisingly has his reptilian snout pressed into his console, his long talons clacking away at the buttons. It's a miracle he doesn’t rip the thing to shreds with how fast his fingers move. Atsuhiro is fiddling with his precious marbles on the stained table, shooting them at each other just to frantically put them back in their original place before they can fall off the table.
 Tenko clears his throat, moves his hood slightly off his head and makes his way to them.
 ¨Hey guys,¨ he mutters as he reaches their table. They both look up and squint at him, breaking out of their dazes as they try to register him. Feigning a roll of his eyes, Tenko brushes the wiry bangs away from his face so they can get a good look at him.
 ¨Aahh, Tenko Shimura! Our old friend, have a seat, have a seat!¨ Atsuhiro claps his hands loudly, and Tenko cringes as people from other tables turn around to glare at the commotion. He can understand why the brunette was an outcast like him- he talked weird, like he was from olden times, and he thought life was a grand play. Minor criticisms, but it was enough to be deemed offensive in their school, enough for his ass to be kicked all the way to the back of the cafeteria, marinating in the dumpster stenches.
 Quickly trying to avoid a bigger scene, the pale glaucous haired boy slides into a seat across from the two and nods at the lizard boy.
 ¨Iguchi,¨ He acknowledges, and the hybrid lifts his eyes for a second from the screen and curls his lips in his own greeting.
 ¨How´ve you been Shimura? Haven't seen you in a while, usually you´re hanging out with L/N, right?¨
 Tenko scratches his neck and feels skin pile up under his nails.
 ¨Yeah, she um...I think she wanted to sit with some of her own friends today.¨
 ¨I thought you two hung out with the same people-¨ ¨So what game´re you playing? Is that the one that just came out?¨ He interrupts Iguchi, trying to avert the conversation away from you. The less eyebrows raised, the safer you both would be.
 They talk about the latest games and consoles, grades and classes. It feels nice, honestly. Even if he's not as well known and presentable as you, he gets to bask in things he actually is passionate about. Not that you ignore his own hobbies, but it gets tiring after a while to talk about facials and hero work, girl stuff that he just never really understands. You act like a protector to him, and he appreciates it, he really does, but...sometimes it feels like he's more of a show dog, and not the cute kind. A kicked puppy-no, charity work is a more accurate representation of what he feels like when he sees the not-so-subtle sympathetic looks your friends throw at you when they think he's not looking.
 Tenko loves you a lot, and he knows you do too. But sometimes it's hard to see past that aged love when, as Iguchi basically stated, his friends are your friends.
 Funny thing is, he has no real friends apart from you.
Tenko loves you a lot, and he knows you know.
 It's been hard to remember that constant love when Dabi and Hawks have been making his life a living hell, especially now when they know you´re so protective of him.
 It´s hard to remember that love when you insist on putting the two of you in actual danger, just to walk down a stupid hallway together. 
 But he supposes he can't blame you all the way. He guesses maybe it's mommy issues from a younger age around the time he met you. It's the way he could cry into your shoulder after his father would beat him black and blue, it's the way you would rub his back soothingly and shush his cries, never really understanding why he was so upset in the first place but still doing your best to be there for him.
 His father had sent his sister away overseas to some private school to better her education, so he truly was alone with his batshit crazy family situation. You provided him with unrequited love from an early age on, you were his safe haven, his sanctuary of sorts. It was true, you really were the only one who understood why he acted the way he did and you accepted him for it.
 He supposes he should feel more grateful to you, but like how every child is supposed to fly the coop and become independent, you had unknowingly trimmed his already-deteriorating wings and tethered him back to your welcoming, warm embrace.
 You had ruined him
 Almost a half hour went by between the three boys, discussing a wide range of topics, and for the first time in a while, Tenko was actually comforted by another guys’ presence. He wasn't worrying about shielding his body from ammunition, or keeping his greasy bangs in front of his eyes so he wouldn't have to meet anyone´s judgemental gaze.
 ¨Hey man, you should come over one day. I got a couple of GTA discs we can try out, or COD if that's more your thing,¨ Iguchi offers, reaching his clawed hand out. ¨Why don't we all exchange numbers?¨
 ¨Y-yeah, that sounds great! Hold on, lemme get my ph-¨
 But his excitement was cut short, when his hand patted empty pockets.
 Oh.
 He almost forgot.
 ¨Uhm, sorry, I kinda lost my phone yesterday. Maybe you guys could just write your numbers down here or something,¨ And he fished around his bag for an empty paper, pushing it across the dirty table to them. They didn't seem to mind-they promptly wrote down their digits in chicken scratch writing.
 ¨Got any trash?¨ He stands up, plucking a few plastic wrappers off his seat and extending his courtesy to them. They wave him off and he shrugs, making his way behind them towards the giant dumpsters.
 The second he drops the scraps into the bin, some force shoves him face first into the reeking cesspool of school lunches. He grabs the edge of the bin in a split second, ignoring the slimy substances he feels underneath his palms and whips around for the source of the assault.
 All he sees behind him is a retreating figure, with blond locks swaying with every sauntered step he takes away from the frazzled target.
 His phone wasn't as far as he thought it was.
 In fact, if he had the balls to follow the winged boy back to his table, he would've surely discovered his beat up phone case held captive in Hawks´s open bag. He would´ve also seen both boys keeping a miserable girl sandwiched between them.
 Tenko would´ve seen all of that from a distance, but you were there in your own skin, fighting the urge to rip out a certain purple-burned aggravator´s staples, and preventing yourself from diving into your burned backpack, pulling out a nasty pair of scissors and giving a special birdbrain´s wings a well-needed cut.
 ¨Why so quiet sweetheart? Nothing bitchy to say now?¨ Dabi seethes in your ear as he busies a hand in pinching the soft flesh of your thighs, a 2.0 to your torment in the classroom.
 ¨No,¨ you gripe, trying to finish your spring rolls. A feather plucks the roll from midair as you lift it towards your mouth, and redirects it into its owner's mouth.
 ¨Mmm, Dabi, your bitch can cook right. You should've told me my sister-in-law was such a domestic homebody, I would´ve defended her from your evil clutches sooner,¨ Hawks chuckles with a mouth full of food. His arm is draped over your shoulders, fingers dangling oh-so-close to your chest. Shoving them off even in the hallway proved to be futile after they both used their respective quirks into silencing you every time a teacher walked by and you attempted to open your mouth in a plea of help.
 ¨I´m not his fucking bitch, you brainless pigeon,¨ and even though you know you can´t fully move with how close their proximity is, you still try and push them off.
 But Dabi is having none of it, igniting his fingers on your thighs as his counterpart cooes at your irate state. Ignoring your gasps and writhes, he doesn't give a moment to prep you as he fully shoves his hand down your panties, your skirt bunching up further up your legs when he does. 
 You give him a desperate look, and he merely gives you a sneer in retaliation.
 ¨Where did you learn to talk like that? That shit´s not gonna fly with me when I put a ring on it, bitch. If I hear you mouthing off like that again I'll personally make sure there's a better use for that slutty hole,¨ and at that his fingers start moving and heating up again, Hawk´s arm forearm tightening around you to prevent you from making a scene while the ravanette circles calloused digits around your wet nub.
 He leans closer to your ear, and the rings adorning his lips feel cold against your skin. On the other side of you, the blond is smiling knowingly down at you, brushing his thumb against your neck. 
 You jerk as Dabi breathes into your ear, ¨But something tells me you wouldn't mind that too much. I mean if you´re not exactly screaming for help right now then I guess you must want this as much as I do. Fucking whore.¨
 You shake visibly at the strength Hawks is using to counter your escape attempts, Dabi´s fingers tweaking your clit hard every time you jerk your body to the side.
 ¨No, no, what the hell? I don't want this, I don't want anyone to see me like this-!¨
 ¨Oh, is that what it is? Even so, I'm sure you remember our little talk the day before, right? About me laying off your friend, if you just take it like a good slut. Don´t think I haven´t forgotten about him, Y/N.¨
 And then you still. Because of all the emotions running through your frantic head right now, you keep Tenko above all the other bullshit. He doesn't deserve your share of hell, he's already gotten his fill.
 Red silk and lace cloud Touya´s mind.
 ¨We´re just friends¨.
 ¨That's a good girl,” your fiance whispers, kissing your outer ear and laving his tongue across the rim of it. You whine quietly and try to draw further into yourself-which is miraculously allowed by the blond as Dabi tugs you closer into his black shirt, his fingers down your skirt and teasing your slick entrance.
 The Hawks watches you shamelessly, playing with a stray feather between his hands as Dabi descends his mouth to your neck, nipping you lightly and then harder when you squirm.
 Your seating position is most unfortunate, the boys having picked an area that most teachers don't pass through on account of other delinquents settling in as well. No one would bother them here, just passing it off as PDA that the rest of them have no shame in showing either.
 ¨Oh! I haven't asked about your family yet. That's what good fiances do, right Keigo?¨ Dabi exclaims suddenly, lifting his head to give the amused blond a knowing look. Hawks hums in assent, eager to see how much more you could take of their special attention. 
 ¨So did your mom ask how her beloved son-in-law is doing? You told her all about our quality time together?¨ His other hand creeps beneath your shirt, your stomach muscles clenching painfully tight at his unwanted contact.
 ¨Did daddy ask how I’m treating his precious little girl?¨
 You bite your lip hard and squeeze your eyes shut as your bra is moved up, fingers trailing upwards towards your nipple. Hawks´ eyes are glinting as he watches in silence, his pupils dilated at the scene in front of him.
 ¨Or, actually, maybe save that nickname for me. I'd love to be the first to break it to him that his princess has a new daddy, a better one who broke her faster than he ever could.¨
 A sob builds up in your throat. There´s 15 minutes left of lunch.
 ¨Maybe after we get married, we can just crash at your place,¨ he hides his mouth behind your hair, but you and Hawks can hear his low gravelly voice as he murmurs, ¨So they can hear me fuck the living daylights out of their precious baby girl...make sure you´re loud too, ´wanna let them know you´re a woman now. A married woman who´s gonna slave away for her husband, down on her hands and knees like she's supposed to-
 Ding ding ding
 His phone goes off, pausing him from his vile monologue.
 You exhale in relief when he growls under his breath at the interruption, reaching for the offensive device.
 But instead of pressing the decline button after seeing the screen, his face goes slack and pales tremendously.
 His hands retreat from their perverse activities underneath your clothes, and you turn to him fully surprised now. You try to lean over to see the caller ID, but your less-than-pleased fiance actually shoves you off of him, right into Hawks (who thankfully catches you).
 You look up at him who seems equally bewildered, and then at Dabi who holds the phone to his ear.
 He gulps and clears his throat before he speaks.
 ¨Hello?¨ It still holds his raspy tone, but you can't detect his usual snarkiness.
 There´s a pause as he listens, and then he gets up from the table and walks away without so much as a second glance to the both of you.
 Hawks, being a guy who's too fast and too smart for his own good, already has an inkling as to who could emit such a reaction from the arsonist.
 A wandering feather that brushes against your leg jerks you out of your stupor, and you flinch away from the warm body that caught you.
 He laughs a real laugh this time, not one with any malice or with undertones of perverseness in it as you scuttle back to the other side of the short table. You glower at the floor as he rests his elbow on the table, cheek in his hand. He tilts his head at you, very birdlike and for a moment in his open eyes, you can understand why Mirko likes him so much.
 But fuck if he wasn´t a total scumbag on the inside.
 ¨Aw come on sweetheart, you know I don´t bite. We just wanna mess with ya´, it's cute seeing you get all nervous and shy. I gotta admit, it's a nice change from your, ah, colorful language.¨
 Your head whips up to face him, and you let out a short, humorless laugh at his audacity.
 ¨Mess with me? Hawks, you guys are fucking assaulting me. It's not funny or cute, and I know your little innocent act is complete bullshit. I know what you guys do to Tenko, and the fact that you don't even stop Tou- I mean, Dabi from it shows you´re just as bad as him!¨ You bang your fist on the table, acting out now since the worst one out of the duo is out of commission for the time being.
 But instead of narrowing his eyes and shooting feathers at you to shut you up, he merely smiles wider and shrugs in indifference, never taking his eyes off of you.
 It's hard not to gape at him. What kind of world was he living in, where none of this had any effect on him? All this-this bullying and torment was just fun jests for him.
 But you know it's less pure with your betrothed. You know with him, it's some fucked up power-play, a show of dominance that you want no part in.
 You can't help but toss a glance to where he was now, 20 feet away and speaking intensely into the speaker.
 ¨You know, if you stopped fighting him and just gave in it would be a lot easier for you. He likes putting you down and getting a reaction out of you.¨
You don't tear your gaze away from Dabi, so you don't see Hawks lean in and take advantage of your distracted focus.
 ¨He gets off on it.¨
 His velvety voice rumbles right next to you, and you whip around and slap a hand over your ear as a shiver simultaneously passes through your body. He doesn't move, however, but merely leans back and throws an arm over the back of your seat, grinning like a madman.
 ¨See, this is exactly why I´m not giving in yet. What the fuck is wrong with you both? How could you think something so fucked up is funny? No wonder you both give Tenko hell-¨
You clamp a hand over your mouth, forgetting in your rage not to mention the taboo name. Your eyes search gold ones for any sign of similar hate that you find in cerulean orbs, but there is none.
 All he does is raise an eyebrow and strain his smile a little.
 ¨Between you and me, sweet thing, it really is in your best interest not to mention Shimura´s name around Dabi. I don't really know why he's got it out for that dude, but it doesn't really help Dabi calm down when his wife-to-be is prancing hand-in-hand around school with him.¨ Your lip curls in discontentment, and you feign a scowl at Hawks´ words.
 ¨Why does he even care? It shouldn't matter who I hang out with, it's not like I'm cheating on Dabi or anything. Besides, he doesn't even like me, he just wants some girl he can ruin.¨
 A few moments of silence pass, and then he speaks. What he says makes your heart seize up, and the butterflies kick in again, much to your disappointment.
 ¨Is that what you think? Man, you both have a long way to go, then.¨ You want to ask what he means, but you´re unfortunately interrupted when a very unwanted lanky figure plops next to you, jostling you to move over.
 ¨ ´Just had something to take care of,¨ is all Dabi offers as he starts packing up his stuff from the table.
 ¨Who was it? Was that your dad?¨ Hawks presses.
 Dabi´s eye twitches.
 ¨Yeah. ‘Was calling about some stupid assignment I failed, giving me shit about it.¨
 ¨He usually doesn't call you at school,¨ is followed by a raised gold eyebrow.
 ¨I know. I was actually almost excited for once-¨ Dabi laughs bitterly, and you just listen with your head down, utterly confused. What was the deal between him and his dad?
 And just in time, the bell for dismissal rings.
 Thank god.
 You silently pack your belongings as well, hoping that this time you could slip out and actually see Tenko for a couple of minutes if he was waiting for you like you told him to, but as usual, your beloved fiance intervened.
 ¨You´re always rushing off when the bell rings, doll. Where are you going in such a hurry? I hope our company didn´t make you uncomfortable or anything,¨ he snakes a hand around your waist and pulls you in tight, leering at you.
 ¨I just don't want you guys getting me late for class,¨ you mutter, avoiding his lecherous gaze.
 ¨You sure no one's waiting for you out there? Maybe we could both go and say hi to whoever´s taking up all your time-¨
 ¨Uh, no no! That's okay, I really was just making sure I wasn't late. We can go to class together though, no worries.¨ You quickly grab onto his jacket sleeve and look at him with big eyes and a little smile in a shameless, desperate attempt to deter an inevitable bloodbath.
 He raises his eyebrows at your volume and the way you clutch at him while simultaneously quelling the blush that creeps onto his face and the smoke that was comically coming out of his ears. If his fiance was throwing herself at him for the first time, then who was he to reject her?
 ¨Alright, let's go then,¨ he steers you out towards the entrance of the cafeteria, and you force your legs from grounding themselves and running in the opposite direction of where he was taking you. 
 You feel him squeeze you tighter, and you raise your head at him, startled to find him already looking you over with a strangely soft expression. It wasn't anything deemed romantic for sure, but it was a lot different than his usual sneers and scowls. Your stomach does somersaults at this new expression that was privy for your eyes only, his piercing blue eyes rendering you speechless.
 He looks so much better when his mouth is closed, and his eyes do the talking instead.
 However, Dabi does in fact open his mouth, not to spew venom, but to say something that makes your heart beat even faster.
 ¨Yḱnow, all jokes aside, you weren't too annoying at lunch. Maybe it's ´cause you kept your fat mouth shut with a shit ton of food, but you were pretty tolerable.¨ you quietly scoff at his backhanded compliment as you both exit the hall, Hawks trailing a couple feet behind you, both sides of his shoulders clutched by fangirls who seemingly spawned out of nowhere.
 ¨I´d say the same to you if you weren't feeling me up every five seconds and mouthing off like a-¨
¨-But, yeah, thanks for actually sitting with me. I really would like it if we did this more often,¨ he murmurs so quietly that you´d think he was talking to himself. He isn’t looking at you anymore, his gaze squinted as he navigates through the crowded and loud hallway. 
 You want to point out that technically he wasn't really giving you a choice of where to sit when he threatened you like earlier, but something in you tells you to stay quiet as he maneuveres your body around so that no other student would bump into you by accident.
 A sense of whiplash comes over you at that moment. Only a mere couple of minutes before he was calling you his bitch and terrorizing you, but now with that soft gleam in his eyes and the confession he was giving you, it feels like it was only you two at the moment regardless of the massive crowd swarming around.
 If Hawks was a little closer within earshot, you have a feeling that Dabi would be acting very differently, no doubt. But nevertheless, you swallow your apprehension and acknowledge his different aura.
 ¨Sure, Touya. We can sit together more often...as long as you lay off the handsy part, we haven't gotten there yet. We've barely been able to have decent conversations, but I´ll try if you try too.¨ While you say that, you subtly try to look around for Tenko but find it hard as Dabi maintains eye contact with you and pulls you along the school. You glumly give up as you both turn the corner to where the classes were.
 He ignores everything else you say, solely cherry picking where you said his real name, again. Dabi didn't particularly care for all the other bullshit you uttered, but he shuddered when you stroked a thumb against his hand. He was glad that their plus one had opted to not be in their faces at the moment, because it was nice for once to say something relatively normal to you. Because in the end, he might be a menace but he wasn't delusional. He really could see you as his wife, not just on her hands and knees like he had purred about earlier, but actually as someone who could offer him a new, better life than the one he had at his own home.
 He saw it in the way you gazed so softly at Tenko, saw it in the way your voice lilted higher and in the way you softly pull his scratching hand away from his marred skin
 The way your lips puckered as your mouth invited another bite of food made his chest ache with a weird feeling he couldn't quite place a stitched finger on. The scowl you gave him and Hawks both when you sensed they were about to fuck with you more made him want you in a way that he had never wanted anyone so close before. He wanted to be the reason your scowl would eventually turn into a smile, but for the meantime he knew he couldn't refrain from seeing fear and panic in your eyes. You were cute, with a body and a smart mouth to match. Dabi guessed that you were also taken aback by his sudden intimate gestures, and he couldn't help himself to hope that you had a slight inkling of what your presence was slowly starting to do to him.
 But if you thought that you had newfound leverage on him, or thought that he was wrapped around your finger by a small sentence he said, then you were more stupid than he was givng you credit for.
 Because the second you bit your lip and looked away after touching his hand lightly, he turned his head back and made eye contact with Hawks, giving him a knowing look.
 Hawks´ wings flex as he gives a cheshire grin to his counterpart, letting him know he already knew what to do.
 ¨Sorry girls, ´gotta head to class, can´t let my grades fall. I´ll catch you two later, yeah?¨
 He is met with simpering ¨yeah, sure!¨´s and ¨of course, text me though!¨ as they sashay away.
 ¨Definitely,¨ He chuckles, running a hand through his floppy hair.
 As if he would be caught dead texting Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
 But anyways, back to business.
 He cracks his knuckles and stretches above his head, letting out a satisfied groan as he leisurely pulls out a phone. It takes some scrolling before finding the message, and bingo, he finds the right hallway adjacent to the cafeteria after backtracking his steps a bit.
 Lo and behold, who was already there? That's right, none other than Tenko Shit-mura. Hawks´ eyebrow raises as he sends a quick message from Tenko´s phone, and pockets the device.
 ¨You´ve got balls, I´ll give you that.¨ Tenko whips around in horror as he puts the voice together with the person. His thumbs overlap each other and alternate to scratch at his scabbed arms and neck. It's something near a miracle to Hawks as he can't fathom why a girl of your stature would hang around with this degenerate. Sure, he himself had girls sucking his dick in every crevice of the school and outside, but at least he had a name for himself, and a reputation befitting of a god´s.
 This thing?
 ¨Oh, h-hey Hawks,¨ and the unamused blond curls his lip in disgust as Tenko´s wavering words were almost drowned out by the sound of vigorous scratching. ¨I was just waiting for Iguchi-¨
 ¨-And Atsuhiro, right? Funny, they left the caf´ at the same time you did, so why exactly are you here?¨ He smirks and folds his arms, leaning on the lockers.
 It was borderline hysterical how white Tenko´s face went, and Hawks distantly wonders how much whiter could his face go before real blood and veins were visible behind the mess of scarred facial features.
 Poor Tenko stammers and stutters over his words trying to find a good enough reason as to why he was lingering there, but he needn't worry so much, because unfortunately for him, Hawks knows exactly why.
 He holds up Tenko´s phone casually and grins at his ashen face as if they were old buddies.
 ¨Didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with other people´s toys?¨ Tenko makes a quick swipe at the phone suspended in midair, but only succeeds in getting sliced by a few directed feathers.
 He groans and clutches his now bleeding stomach, holding up a hand to see a thin line of red adorning his cracked skin.
 Hawks shrugs as if nothing had happened, and cocks his head at his victim. ¨I decided, if you can't learn to keep your nose out of other people's things then I have every right to keep yours.¨
 ¨Give it back man, I don´t know what your deal is, but if this is about Y/N then I swear I haven't been anywhere near her.¨ Tenko looks at him desperately and Hawks chuckles lightly, making the other´s heart sink.
 ¨Yeah, you have. You might be just as gross and sly as Dabi is, but you´re not smarter than me.¨ He waves the device in his snug hand. ¨She might just see you as her friend, but we both know you want her more than that.¨ Tenko loves you.
 ¨In my opinion, she looked better in red.¨ His steel colored head snaps to see his phone screen showing the messages he was so afraid of them finding out about.
 ¨That's not fair, that was so long ago, way before Y/N even knew Dabi.¨ ¨You think that's gonna matter to him?¨ He pushes himself off the wall and advances with his hands in his pockets towards Tenko, who is now frantically scrabbling back on all fours like a mutt. 
 ¨The fact that it even happened is a given that you´re a dead fucker now, Shimura. And don't think I don't see you two running around in the hallways trying to avoid me and Dabi, he sees all that too, y´know. We've both got eyes around the school.¨ He crouches in front of Tenko, and his grin turns ugly into a sneer when the shit-stain on the floor flinches and raises his hands up as if he were about to be hit.
 ¨Why does Dabi care so much about me and her? She´s gonna be married to him, not me. He gets her officially, not me.¨ Tenko says rather bitterly, in Hawks´ opinion.
 ¨He hates how close you are to her. He's jealous, simply put, at how well you know her, how you make her smile and put her at ease. It drives him crazy that some social reject like you has seen her body and the best and worst parts of her before he has, and that's why he lashes out at her. These pictures just prove to him that you need to be removed from the scene. Permanently.¨
 ¨Okay, I get that, but then why are you so involved with it? What are you even getting out of snitching for him?¨ Hawks´s eyes glint and darken, sending a sinister shiver down Tenko´s back. He licks his lips and leans close, giving a confession of his own.
 ¨´Cause if your guys´ shared whore screws up again, I might get a taste of her too. Personally, I couldn't care less about Dabi´s heart, but I wanna see why this girl is worth all this trouble.¨ The fallen soldier recoils slightly at his implication.
 Tenko forces himself to take deep breaths and to stop his shaking. He needs to get his phone back and go to the nurse before anyone sees this scene.
 ¨Just give me my phone back dude, please,¨ He hisses desperately, outstretching a gnarled hand.
 Hawks studies him for a moment. He was almost disappointed in Dabi that the flame user was so butt-hurt about this pathetic sack of bones being closer to his girl than he was.
 But that's what he gets when he holds onto a shred of hope that someone could be a candle to his everlasting flames.
 ¨Here,¨ and he takes momentary mercy on Tenko, tossing his phone on the ground in front of him.
 He starts walking away, wings ruffling with foreboding anticipation as he pulls out his own phone to send a message to the man of the hour.
 But before he does, he calls out over his shoulder a warning to the boy on the ground.
 ¨If you see her again, you won't be the only one getting buried that day¨.
 Tenko scratches his neck.
 *************
Ashtray: Was he there?
 2:00 pm: Yup, you were right. Guess they never learn, huh?
 Ashtray: Whatever, I have her phone and I just sent him the message. Send me a feather so I can send it back to her class
 2:01 pm: You deleted the message right?
 Ashtray: Obviously. You too?
 2:01 pm: Yeah, did it as soon as I saw him standing there
 Ashtray: Good. Make sure the area is clear after school
     Call Kai over too, I'm gonna need him when I'm preoccupied
 And unbeknownst to you, a velvet feather was indeed carrying a small cellular device on its back, weaving in and out of empty hallways to find your designated classroom.
 The silent plumage floats stealthily through the slightly ajar door and makes sure to stay low to the ground as it approaches your desk. Luckily there's an opening in your bag, so it quietly drops your phone inside while you tediously take notes.
 It can't help itself when your legs cross over themselves; you look so unassuming and innocent that it just has to get a quick taste. The feather travels up the expanse of your leg up to your inner thigh, and gently brushes against you, laying some pressure on it as well.
 From his own classroom, Hawks shivers in sickening pleasure when he senses the vibration of your gasp and the quickening of your heartbeat as you jolt and look underneath your desk.
 But you find nothing, the feather already having been directed to whizz out of the room and back to its owner.
 ¨What the hell,¨ you mutter to yourself as you brush the crawling feeling off your skin. You glance at your bag for a second, and then do a double take when you see the screen of your phone glowing.
 After taking a quick glance at your preoccupied teacher, you reach for the device and squint at the notification that shows on your lockscreen.
 One new message from Ten-ten.
 Ten-ten: Meet me behind the training grounds outside after school, its urgent
 Your brows crease in concern and you tap a message back to him.
 2:05: Are you okay? What happened?
 2:07: Where were you today after lunch? I didn't see you outside the lunchroom
2:06: And when did you get your phone back?
 2:10: Hello?
 And from across the school, Tenko is trudging away from the nurse's office back to his own classroom, frowning at your message as well.
 Y/N: Meet me behind the training grounds outside after school, its urgent
 He sighs and drags a gnarled hand down his weary face, stopping his fingers under his jaw to dig his nails into the thin flesh.
 2:06: We can't meet up again at school, Dabi and Hawks are gonna kill both of us
 2:08: I´m serious
 He's in his classroom now, and his unease has merely grown. You were usually so good at texting him back promptly, what´s wrong now?
 Biting a fingernail, he hesitates before using his other free hand to type some more.
 2:10: You okay?
 Almost 30 minutes pass, and Dabi is counting each second in anticipation.
 *********************
The sounding chime of the school bell causes Shimura to stop his periodic scratching and leg-bouncing, instead opting to shoot up out of his seat and bound out the classroom to where you said you were.
 Anxiety clouds over and erases all rational thought from his disturbed mind when he thinks of your lack of response.
 Were you mad at him? Were you safe?
 A stronger man with more self control would have resisted from going to check up on the girl that caused so much trouble for him, but Tenko was not a strong man. He was weak, and soft-willed, and if he was already getting the life beat out of him any other day because of his weakness, then what would one more catalyst be?
 His bony figure is ricocheted off various bodies as he bolts down the halls towards the back of the school, looks of disgust thrown his way and noses scrunched as he mutters occasionally, ¨Sorry, excuse me¨ and ¨My bad, I´m sorry¨. It doesn't deter him, he's used to the disdain by now and with the thought of you in mind he finally reaches the back of the Quirk Training facility, shoving through the double doors.
 Muted sunlight peeks through the large trees that loom over the area, the sky already turning a russet color in the beginning of its descent. He looks around wildly for you, and then he finally spots you in all your oblivious glory standing at the edge of the fence, your face slightly covered from the large sakura branches winding over the mesh.
 Tenko releases a breath he didn't know he was holding, and starts approaching you.
 You´re playing with the vines growing on the fence, but you turn around when you hear footsteps coming near.
 ¨Hey! What´s up?¨
 ¨I could ask you the same thing,¨ he says warily, looking you up and down to make sure you seemed unscathed. ¨What's going on? Why haven't you been answering any of my texts?¨
 You raise an eyebrow and laugh a little, thinking that he was messing with you.
 ¨Huh? You´re the one who called me here. And you didn't send any messages to me, look.¨ He grabs the phone that you thrust in his face, scratching lighty at his collarbones.
 You gently swat his hand away and watch as he thumbs through your chat log.
 His own brows furrow and he looks at you weirdly as he produces his own device, flipping the screen around and showing you the many messages he sent not too long ago.
 You squint at the blue light and look back up at him, mouth agape.
 ¨Wait, so you didn't call me here? I tried texting you too, but I didn't get an answer. I just thought you were busy or something.¨
¨Look, I don't know what's going on here, but we need to leave,¨ He says anxiously as he grabs your arm and starts to pull you around the corner. ¨This is weird, I don't like it-¨
 ¨Hold it you two.¨
 You both freeze, ice flooding through both your systems as you recognize the lazy voice.
 Slowly, you turn your head to face the last person you wanted to see in this state.
 Hawks is leaning casually against the brick wall, wings flared out to their fullest extent. Next to him is a new guy you´ve never seen before, a brunette with gold eyes like Hawks´ and a black beak mask to match. His hands are clad in white gloves, and he periodically keeps checking the watch on his pale wrist as if he has somewhere to be. 
 He's surrounded by cronies, tattoos covering the expanse of their bulky arms and baseball bats along with guns strapped over their heads or twiddling through their fingers.
 You think you´re going to throw up.
 Dabi is the first to speak, his guttural voice cutting through the thick, tense air like a serrated rusted knife.
 ¨Well, shit doll. I didn't think I'd have to break my future house slut so quickly.¨
 ¨Dabi, wait, there's been a misunderstanding-¨ ¨-And you,¨ he draws on as if you hadn't spoken. You tried to catch his eye but it seemed like he was purposely avoiding you, instead going for drilling invisible holes through Tenko´s head.
 If you had asked him, he was granting you mercy and your last shred of dignity by not letting you continue speaking, before he viciously strips it away from you. He feels as though if he hears your voice right now, the entire pavilion will go up in flames, including the chicken bastard and the Shie Hassaiki members.
 He stuffs his inflamed palms into his fire-deterrent pants to quell his unbridled rage. To anyone else he seemed at sick ease in having the upper hand, but in all honesty, Dabi would be lying if he said he really did wish you would have passed his test and not met with Tenko.
 ¨You´ve got a lot of balls to be talking to my bitch for such a dickless wonder. I thought after beating it into your skull for a couple of years that you'd understand where your place is.¨
 Out of the corner of your eye, a massive wooden bat swings towards Tenko and smashes against his head with a sickening thud.
 They must have surrounded you from the other side of the building too when you both were distracted.
 You scream so loudly you can feel your vocal cords vibrating in your throat. Everything seems to move ten times faster as you´re suddenly yanked back by invisible feathers, and dragged almost 15 feet away from Tenko´s unmoving body right into Dabi´s cruel embrace. 
 He harshly spins you around and shakes you like a ragdoll, staring you straight in your horrified eyes.
 ¨I told you not to hang around him, right? Well, if you don´t wanna listen to me, then at least listen to the beautiful sounds of your precious boy toy getting his skull bashed in.¨
And with that he spins you around again, a vice-like grip on your arms as he traps you against his hard body. You´re faced with front-row seats to watch the nauseating scene of Tenko indeed getting beaten to a pulp.
 ¨I´m going to make you fucking regret it,¨ He hisses in your ear, but you´re so dizzy with blood and teeth littering the ground filling your vision that you can´t even move.
 You vaguely hear Hawks tsk next to you, leaning against the wall and stretching his wings as if he had better places to be. As if watching a kid getting beaten half to death was something he saw every day.
 Grunts and jeering comments come from the large tattooed boys while they rain blow after blow on Tenko´s shuddering body. You can't even comprehend what kind of pain he´s in from the inhumane shrieks that come out of him. It was mesmerizingly terrifying how a human being could make sounds like the ones he was making, ranging from low wails of pleading mercy to high pitched cries of pain when they began kicking him.
 Feet pound on his back, crushing his paper-thin skin against the gravel, causing it to rip and tear,allowing rivers of blood to pool around his form. Now-cracked baseball bats become dented as they explode down on his head, and you distantly wonder how he's still alive with bits of hair and membrane clinging to the wood.
Your best friend flinches every time contact is made with his body; his fingers are curled and raised above his head to protect himself, and you think you can make out his chest puffing in and out a mile a minute. He might be having a panic attack, you´re not sure and you want to run to him, but the loud ringing in your head and the tears that cascade down your face are indications that you know you´re utterly trapped right now. You couldn't move even if you wanted to.
 ¨Stop,¨ you croak from the confines of Dabi´s arms, clawing at his jacket. ¨Please, stop, you're killing him.¨
 Dabi releases an arm to tap on his chin in mocking contemplation. ¨Hmm...tempting, but no thanks doll. This is supposed to be a lesson, not a freebie.¨ ¨Are we done from here?¨ A nasaly bored voice emerges from the background laughs and screams. The brunette with the beak-mask is standing a little away from Hawks, sighing and rolling his eyes.
 Is everyone here excluding you and Tenko a psychopath? How does Dabi even know them?
Not that you could say you were surprised, however. A man cruel enough to execute something like this surely has a heart blacker than coal.
 ¨Dabi, please!¨ you sob hysterically now, the pained noises coming from Tenko are coming out softer and less frequently now, you think he might die soon if one more bat slams into his ribcage. ¨I´ve learned my lesson, please, please don't do this to him.¨ you cry and beat your fists against his arms, which only squeeze painfully around your middle.
 ¨Nah, I don't think you have, actually. You said that last time, and look what's happening because of your lies,¨ he jeers at you, exchanging a smirk with Hawks.
 ¨I´ll do anything,¨ you whisper in desperation, looking at him full in his poker face.
 ¨Anything?¨ His brows raise gleefully, and you nod vigorously, not caring what that means for you, only concerned that the assault on the motionless body mere feet away from you stops.
 Dabi regards you for a moment, taking in your tears and wobbling lip, before he finally turns to the masked man, and gives him a curt nod. ¨Alright, we´re done here Kai. Take your guys and leave.¨
 The man named Kai dusts off his purple jacket and calls out for his boys to stop.
 ¨That's enough. We´re going.¨ He wrinkles his nose in afterthought. ¨And make sure you clean your stuff off, I don't wanna deal with bloody bats...god knows how many diseases that thing is carrying, ´looks like it has mange.¨ 
 That thing is currently groaning in difficulty to lift his face out of a puddle of his own blood, tears, and snot, almost choking on the mixed liquids invading his mouth and nostrils
 He blearily lifts his head ever so slightly, and sees you writhing in Dabi´s embrace, one of his forearms wrapped around the front of her throat and evidently choking you from the way you frantically gulp in air.
 He hoarsley whispers out your name, and you heave out another dry sob when you see his lips form your name in them. He painfully and slowly starts to rise up to his hands and knees, and it's like looking at a baby stand up for the first time from the amount of visible shaking you can see in his broken limbs.
 Dabi, you, Hawks, and Kai as well as the groupies all watch in awe as the stick-thin figure manages to elbow his way up, and Hawks scoffs in disbelief at Tenko´s grit. A man in his state shouldn't even be able to blink.
 Meanwhile, you can feel your fiance's arms tremble in barely concealed rage from watching the blatant act of disrespect.
 You want to tell Tenko to just stay the fuck down, and don´t piss them off further, but part of you takes savage pride in his perserverance.
 Is he just used to this? Is that why it's so easy for him to disregard the volumes of blood that come vomiting out of his mouth? How long has he been accustomed to places other than his heart being broken?
 It's hard not to cringe as he places his bloodied palms against the sharp concrete; you can see tiny pebbles embed themselves in his open wounds, and his fingers bend in unnatural ways as he elevates himself and maintains eye contact with just you.
 You think he's crying, but it's hard to tell when your own vision is blurry.
 It´s quiet for a moment after everyone witnesses Tenko´s own version of a fuck you, until Kai turns on his heels, his boys immediatley scrambling towards their leader as he makes to leave.
 He walks towards Hawks, and you can hear him murmur, ``You owe me.¨ He gives a curt nod to Dabi who merely grunts.
 Hawks, ever the optimist, laughs joyfully and reaches out a hand towards the beaked boy. ¨Of course man! We'll be in touch soon.¨
 Kai merely waves his hand in a resemblance of a farewell, crinkling his nose at Hawks´ outreached one. He rounds the corner, his boys smirking in tow, and then they´re gone. As if nothing has happened.
 The silence grows louder, deafening your ears. The only reprieve you get from feeling mounting terror of being vulnerable without anyone around is when Tenko starts hacking, his arms buckling underneath his weight in an effort to keep upright.
 And then they surround you.
 ****
 ¨What's with the tears baby? You knew this was gonna happen, we warned you-¨
¨-Scared you´re gonna end up like him? Good, but I´ll be honest, I think cum would look better coating your face-¨
 ¨-You didn't actually think I was gonna let you get away with this shit again, did you? God you´re such a spoiled slut, I´m gonna enjoy breaking you down like your parents never did-¨
 Shoving you around and into each other, groping you, leering right in your personal space, advancing towards you so that you stumbled backwards closer to Tenko.
 ¨No, stop, leave me-us alone, stay away from me!¨ You scream, and Dabi wraps an inflamed hand around your upper arm, racking up the volume of your cries.
 ¨Shut the fuck up. You don't get to complain anymore, you're gonna finish your punishment you little brat.¨
You wail as you wrench yourself out of his grip, fueled by pure adrenaline. Ignoring your searing flesh, you try running around them but with a lazy flick of Hawk´s wrist, numerous feathers catch you around your collar and feet, pulling you back. Your thrashing only serves in getting cut up more, and they deposit you less-than-gently right next to Tenko.
 He watches with wide eyes and shakes his head with urgency for you to leave, to run again, but his head is forcefully slammed to the ground by the blond´s boot. You hear a crunch from his nose and bile rises from your throat as you try scrambling towards him out of instinct.
 ¨Do you have a death wish? Stop worrying about him, and worry about yourself for a second doll, you´re gonna want to.¨ A scarred hand grabs your chin and yanks it to face him. His lips are curled back, his lids lowered and his eyebrows are raised.
 You jerk your head back and spit in his face. ¨You´re not gonna get away with this Touya.¨ You don't even care about using his other moniker anymore. ¨How the fuck can I not worry about him? Look at him! You´re the crazy one!¨
 He snickers and crouches to your level, moving forward until your rapid crab-walk backwards results in your back hitting the brick wall.
 ¨You hear that Keigo? I´m gonna pay for this, oh no, however will I recover?¨ He simpers, joining in Keigo´s boisterous cackles. 
 You risk a panicked glance at Tenko. At least there wasn't a boot on the back of his head anymore, but you didn't gain any comfort when he was roughly grabbed by his shirt and lifted up to a sitting position facing you, Hawks smugly holding his head up from rolling around in its socket. 
  His face was a mess. You could barely recognize his thin, narrow features anymore when his whole head was caked with splotches of liquid red, mud, and gravel piercing his cheeks. His mouth was gaping, filled with yet even more blood, and where his teeth used to be was instead gaping holes and vermillion-stained cracked bone
 Now that he's sitting somewhat upright, you can clearly see protrusions where his ribs are, clearly indicating breaks and torn ligaments.
 But your attention is directed to the monster in front of you. He rests a burning hand on your calf, and you whimper as you try to pull back from the unbearable pain. You were certain that if when you got out of here, you´d need to go to an infirmary immediately.
 Touya stops your leg from retreating, holding it down while simultaneously trailing his digits up your leg, crawling forward even closer to you with the most disgusting shit-eating grin on his face while doing so. All your pleas of ¨Stay back¨ and ¨Don't come any closer Touya, I swear-!¨ does nothing to deter him, rather goading him on while your audience of two watches in horror from one man and perverted amusement with the other.
 ¨Yeah? Or what, huh? You gonna hit me with your quirk? Oh wait, you don't have one.¨
 He straddles you, pressing his chest against yours and shamelessly looking down when your breasts swell from the pressure. You bite your lip and turn your head, taking in quick inhales to avoid breathing in too much of the smell of smoke.
 ¨Nuh-uh princess, I want your eyes on me now when I fuck you. I’m gonna show you who daddy is today.¨
 You don’t know what kind of adrenaline rush you experience when the words slip out, “That’s rich from the guy who practically creamed his pants when he talked to his own daddy. Why don’t you solve your own daddy issues before starting mine, huh?”
 He slaps you so hard you see stars within the setting sun.
 It's hard to tell who hates who more at the moment, but regardless, it doesn’t stop Dabi from grabbing your cunt and squeezing hard.
 Your lids fly open and your head snaps forward to face him in sheer panic, the moment of bravado gone as the chemicals pumping through your brain catch up to your heart.
 ¨Wait, no-¨
 In one fluid movement, he clenches his thighs on either side of yours, and uses his legs to flip you over. With the same momentum, he grabs your arms and yanks you to the new switched position; him against the wall and you in between his legs, back to his chest.
 In another time, Touya would have been secretly overjoyed being pressed against you so intimately like this. It almost felt domestic, not that he knew anything about that word, but it was the closest feeling he could pinpoint to it. His heart was pounding, and he wondered if you could feel it against your back.
 He hoped you could.
 The vague sounds of Shit-mura noisily inhaling through his broken nose only bothered him slightly, the feeling of his counterpart´s greedy eyes scanning your body and his hold on you barely registered. He was in a zone of his own at that moment, just the two of you, regardless of the circumstances. 
 Touya didn´t actually think of this as a punishment, no, he thought of this simply as an opportunity to unapologetically make love fuck you and show you how much he wants you who´s boss. Nothing personal, just business. You have to learn how to please your husband eventually right? Might as well let him show you how a woman is supposed to act in front of a man.
 It was just pure bad luck for you that you got saddled with a man who wants you to act like a whore for him.
 ¨Yo, Keigo, help me out here, the bitch won't stop moving.¨ He grunts out, struggling to subdue your flailing limbs. Despite him amping up the temperature in his palms against your stomach and arms, you still continued to try and escape him. 
 He couldn't bear to do any worse, the tears rolling down your face already made his heart feel funny and he didn't want to feel anything anymore.
 Hawks sighed dramatically and unleashed a few of his feathers to aid Dabi. Immediately your wrists were pinned to your sides, your feet weighed down by the sheer force of the plumage. You break down and sob to your heart's content, knowing that you were done for.
 Touya feels your body slacken, and he quickly put out the fire in his fists.
 ¨Watch the show, Tenko. I know you´ve been dying for a piece of this ass for a while, anyways.¨
 Hawks jerks Tenko´s chin forwards, ensuring that his attention was on you as Dabi began feeling you up, relishing in how your rib cage shook with heaves as you shook in his arms. He shoved his hands underneath your shirt and lifted the hem up all the way over you, the feather pulling your arms above you for easier access.
 A sudden breeze rattled you to your core, but it wasn´t just the weather that made your teeth chatter.
 It was the sick desperation and rapt attention in Tenko´s eyes. It was Keigo was looking you over with lowered lids, palming himself and hissing when Dabi took a mismatched finger and pulled your bra cups down ever so slightly, teasing the boys with cleavage and a hint of areola.
 ¨Touya, please,¨ you squint your eyes shut and turn your head away from salacious gazes. ¨If-if you´re gonna do this, please don't let them watch.¨
 ¨Nah sweetheart,¨ he simpers as he burns the straps off your undergarment, allowing the sheer protection to fall to the gravel. ¨You wanted to whore yourself out, right? Well, this is what happens to little whores who don´t wanna keep their legs closed.¨ His voice is right at your ear, nipping and suckling the senstivie flesh while his ruthless hands take handfuls of your tits and squeeze them, rub them together, weigh them appreciatively in his scratchy flesh.
 ¨Fuck, flick her nipples a bit, I wanna see them get hard,¨ Keigo groans out, yanking Tenko´s bleeding head. ¨You like this, you little perv? You like watching your best friend get raped?¨
 ¨N-no, no I don't! Leave her alone!¨ And even if it wasn´t from Keigo shoving him down and wrestling for his zipper to pull his hard dick out, you would've already known he's lying from the way his bloody mouth opens slightly and drools watching Dabi pinch and roll your nipples.
 You keen and whimper as Dabi leans his head down past your neck and lifts a breast up, darting his tongue out and swirling the appendage over your hardening buds. The feathers prove to be useful when they hold your wrists down and prevent you from escaping him.
 ¨Holy shit, he's actually hard from this. You´re even more fucked up than I thought, Shimura, I´m almost impressed.¨ The beaten boy cries out and pathetically tries to remove his member from Keigo´s tight fist, but obviously is no match for the way the blond fucks the skinny dick in his hand, squeezing almost painfully at his tip. With the help of his other feathers, he frees his own length and teases himself, the red turning white at the tips as they collect his precum.
 Dabi says nothing, but keeps his eyes on Tenko as he moves your body up into his lap, settling your ass right on top of his erection. You inhale shakily as he too fumbles to release his aching cock from his jeans, your nose clogged from crying and your voice hoarse from screaming. He lifts your skirt up and hisses in appreciation at the direct contact your panty-clad ass gives, suffocating his dick in your warmth.
 The experimentally thrusts lightly a couple times, jostling you up and down and making your tits bounce. Keigo and Tenko look in awe, the feathers and hands moving rapidly in time with Dabi´s thrusting. You try to avoid eye contact with either of them or their leaking dicks.
 You feel like your heart is a runny mess, you´re a mess, your hair is fucked up, your clothes are being strewn on the ground and burned away, your skin is being molested, you don´t know what the fuck is going on or what to do.
 So instead of pleading, you decide to relent and get this over with quickly. The less resistance you show, the faster you can get Tenko to an E.R.
 And speaking of faster, Dabi has stopped grinding against your ass in favor of snaking a hand around and toying with the hem of your panties, holding your skirt up.
 You bite your lip and your eye twitches, but you stay silent save for shuddering inhales through your nose.
 Taken slightly aback by your lack of complaint, Dabi hesitates for a moment before shaking it off, delving his fingers into your panties, the cloth moving and bulging out from his hand sliding in and out of your folds.
 You whimper and jerk your hips minutely in instinct, and he feels it, much to your horror. He grins and takes it as encouragement, circling his digits through your little-more-than folds until he finds the clit by the way you jump at contact.
 He presses down, flicks it, circles it, gathering lube from your mutinously throbbing cunt to slick yourself up, thoroughly enjoying your sharp inhales and the way you can´t help moving against the invading actions.
 It's only when Keigo calls out that Dabi remembers he's not doing this to please you, he´s doing this to fuck you over just like how you did to him. 
 ¨Pull her panties off, I think our little vouyer here is gonna come soon,¨ he positively purrs as he presses a thumb against Tenko´s jerking hips.
 More blood has covered Shimura´s head and body, but even amongst the mess of flesh that was once his face you can clearly see his eyes wide open, pupils blown black with lust, bones actually audibly rattling in their broken sockets as he breathes heavily at your corruption. 
 He looks insane, more insane than the ones actually raping you. You wonder if you feel more violated by the obvious monsters who told you straight up what they were going to do to you, or the one who swore to be your friend, who swore to never relish in your pain.
 You´re brought out of your empty contemplation when Dabi neglects fingering your clit to yank your skirt off your shaking legs. He doesn't even bother with slowly stripping the panties off, impatience overriding better judgement. You again offer little to no resistance as he does so, which riles up the squeamish feeling in his heart.
 Now fully exposed to him, his cock stretches another couple of millimeters, looking like it's going to burst from the angry red and purple swelling it adorns.
 Keigo whistles and licks his lips, lecherously looking over your tits and exposed pussy all for the taking.
 He pulls your hips back and forces you to hover right above his standing cock, causing your knees to shake in exertion. You feel like you´re going to faint any second.
 ¨You ready doll? Ready to take your husband´s cock for the first time?¨ He cooes, bringing you lower and swiping the weeping slit of his prick against the wetness of your folds. You mewl and try to shift, but it only serves in him pulling you down even more, your labia ever so slightly enveloping the top of his tip.
 Your cunt is pounding with rushing blood, and he almost gasps as the sensation flows into both of your sensitive bits.
 Leaning forward, he conceals his mouth behind your hair as he mutters, ¨Try to relax for me, it´ll hurt less.¨
 You can't care less for his consideration, not when his jerky thrusts feel like they're splitting you in two. All your poor pussy is aware of is the blinding white-hot pain felt on every wall as Touya takes from you what you would not willingly give.
 The sounds of your squelching hole-whether from blood, precum, your own tears, who knows-fill the air obscenely. You mistake a glance upwards in your blurry vision and you nearly vomit when you see Hawk´s hand furiously bobbing up and down Tenko´s flushed red dick, and his own being caressed with lust. They look like fucking dogs drooling over your state.
 You´re brought out of your horrified reverie when Dabi hisses. He fully sheathes himself inside you and you mewl at the sensation of being filled. Liquid trails down where you two connect, and it feels disgusting as he pulls out only to slam back into you, the cooling wetness of said liquids splashing everywhere and onto the concrete below you.
 Your tits bounce up and down as Dabi takes his sweet time pulling out all the way only to give you a moment's reprieve before diving back into the wet cavern. Eyes rolling back into your head at the feeling of his veiny dick thrusting in and out of you, mouth open when he remembers to heat up his hands and play with your nipples, your legs shaking when he alternates to play with your clit, you look like a real slut.
 Tenko cums suddenly, crying out and jerking his hips up into Hawks hand when you let out an especially pornographic moan. Ropes of white shoot up like a fountain from his tip and splatter Keigo´s hand and the pavement.
 Keigo cries out and laughs in disgust, wiping his soiled hand into Tenko´s hair.
 ¨You see that? Look how perfect and sweet your little friend is now, Y/N,¨ Dabi pants into your ear, yanking your hair back and forcing you to look at your ex best friend.
 ¨No, d-don´t wanna look, please let go,¨ you babble as he fucks you stupid.
 ¨Shut up. Whores don't get to beg for mercy,¨ He sneers as he slaps a bouncing tit, hard.
 ¨The same should apply for cucks like him,¨ Keigo speaks up and slaps the back of Tenko´s head, sending blood and hair flying off his face.
 Dabi stops pounding into you, allowing you to take a merciful breath despite what he said.
 ¨Yeah? You think so?¨ Shimura snaps out of his daze when he realizes they´re talking about him. He shakes his head frantically and tries to tuck his softening cock into his pants but a red feather is quick to restrain him.
 ¨Uh-uh, pathetic bastards like you need to get their dues too. We let you off easy with the Shie Hassaiki,¨ He snickers.
 ¨Come one. Lick this mess up. I'm sure you dreamt about it before, closet perv.¨ Dabi sneers as the blond´s boot sends Tenko flying forwards, almost colliding with your stomach.
 You squeeze your eyes shut, inhaling shakily as he gets back up on his hands and knees. You can't bear to look at him right now.
 They all disgust you.
 ¨What did I just say, slut? Eyes open.¨ A patched hand slaps you and your head is snapped forwards mere inches from Tenko´s. 
 Your gazes meet, but you can't recognize the eyes anymore. They used to belong to a man´s but now they reflect that of a monster´ s.
 ¨Clean this mess up. Any time this little pussy drools you´re going to eat it up like the roach you are. And if by the time she's done riding and I see a single patch of slick on her I'll knock the rest of your teeth out, got that?¨ Dabi reaches his arm around and pulls the weak boy´s hair forwards until his nose nestles where your filled pussy is.
 All you can do is watch as he hesitantly darts his tongue out and licks from Dabi´s engorged dick up to your clit.
 ¨Fuck you,¨ you whisper to no one and everyone as you let your head fall back, signaling to your finance that you were in enough pain to start up again.
 ¨You´ve had enough rest. Ride my fucking dick until I say stop.¨ He doesn't need to threaten you this time. You shakily rise up on your knees and twitch when he slaps your ass suddenly. The entire time you lift yourself up, Tenko´s tongue follows up Dabi´s exposed length until it swirls around your clit again.
 You feel numb. 
 Sinking back down onto him is even more excruciating because you can vividly feel every inch of him scraping up against your walls. It doesn't help that a certain tongue is lapping away at you too.
 But nonetheless you don´t waste any time bouncing up and down like your life depended on it, which it probably did.
 You can hear him panting behind you, his mouth letting out ragged breaths against your ear, his mouth desperately trying to suck galaxy colored hickies into your naked torso as you envelope him.
 The feeling of Dabi and Tenko´s breaths puffing onto your clit and nipples would´ve caused the start of a climax if it weren't for Keigo´s unnecessary commentary.
 ¨Holy fucking shit that´s so messed up. Wait no, move down a bit, lick the base of his dick. Yeahhh, just like that.¨ He walks around the scene with his phone out, obviously recording as he leans in toward some anatomy and pulls away to get the bigger picture at other angles.
 And Tenko actually listens. He follows through every salacious order Keigo gives, he even does it a little bit better than someone who's supposed to at least pretend they're not enjoying your ordeal.
 You can tell Dabi is reaching his peak when he suddenly grabs your hips in a bruising grip and slams you down on his length, emitting a broken scream from you. He quickly slaps a hand over your mouth and spews filth in your ear as he uses you like a fleshlight.
 ¨You like bouncing on my dick like a whore? Huh, Y/N? Answer me you little bitch, or are you too cock hungry to say anything else? Not enough dicks here to satisfy you, princess? Keigo, get over here, she looks like she needs more.¨ You wail and scream behind his hand as Keigo eagerly stands over you, his member already being pumped in a hand.
 ¨That's right slut, you already know what to do, don´t you? I bet a slut like you has practice, ´bet you and the degenerate licking the cum from your pussy did it all the time.¨ You look imploringly at his head ducked between your thighs and even clench them around his head to get his attention. But he refuses to refute the accusations hissed at you in favor of eating your own slick off your puffy folds.
 Keigo waits no longer as he seizes your hand and slaps it against his base, silently urging you to stroke him. You wearily look up at him and are faced with a bright camera light trained on your fucked-out face and trembling hand. Knowing that you were stuck, you started stroking, accepting whatever pace he made you take as he lifted his hips up into your cupped palm, his balls smacking against your wrist while you jacked him off.
 Dabi´s pants grew louder and more choked as every part of you became occupied with cocks. He still kept a hand over your mouth, bringing it up to his mouth every couple of seconds to taste the tears that slid down from your eyes down to his digits.
 ¨´Gonna cum, and you´re gonna take it all in that sloppy hole of yours. ´M gonna fill you up with cum and make you fat with my kids, you´re gonna be on your fucking hands and knees for me like a good little housewife aren´t you-¨
 The third time he brings his hand away to taste your tears you frantically gasp out, ¨Don´t do it inside Touya, please don´t, not inside I'm begging you to-¨
 But you´re cut off suddenly when Tenko teeths at your slicked clit, and you mewl, unconsciously rolling your hips into his mouth even more.
 His tongue travels around your stretched labia and around Dabi´ś balls, causing you both to hiss in unison.
 ¨I'll do whatever the fuck I want. You´re lucky I´m not fucking you up the ass, you ungrateful bitch.¨
 His dick starts twitching in your pussy, and you know he's about to burst.
 ¨I´ll never forgive you.¨ You whisper in defeat, for the umpteenth time.
 ¨I don't need you to,¨ he merely grunts as he cums inside you with a loud groan.
 His body shakes and he pulls your naked back against his torso, hugging you tightly and filling you up. At the same time, Keigo also lets out a string of curses as your hand is doused with milky white substance from his own.
 Dabi grabs your jaw and turns you to face him. ¨Who do you love?¨ he purrs, nuzzling your cheek with faux affection.
 You force yourself to make it sound faux, because you hate the way he looks so deeply into your eyes.
 ¨Y-you.¨ ¨That´s a good girl,¨ he whispers and kisses you, hard.
 You´re slumped. There´s mixed cum from all four people coating your body, various fluids and anatomy strewn on the concrete around you, and clothes shuffling in place as they regroup themselves. 
 Tenko slowly crawls back up from his position in front of your cunt, rearing back on his knees and wiping streaming blood from his head. Keigo tucks his dick back in his pants and cruelly wipes the cum that flew on his clothes into your hair, while Dabi dumps you off his lap onto the grating ground.
 ¨Well, I hope you two learned your lesson today,¨ Keigo simpered with scrunched eyebrows, pouting at you both.
 By now the inky haired man has gotten to his feet, brushing his hands off excess grime. 
 ¨That was fun, I should've done this a lot sooner, honestly,¨ he leers at both the figures on the ground, and you refrain from looking anyone in the eyes. ¨I´m gonna take her home. Keigo, deal with this fuckwad while I'm gone. And get him an ice pack, he looks like pure shit.¨ He snorts to himself.
 ¨How considerate of you Touya. And here I was thinking you didn't have a heart.¨
 You and Tenko don´t join in their vicious laughter.
 ¨Aw come on sweetheart, the worst is over. I doubt you´ll go through that again, since you know what'll happen if you continue to act out.¨ Your fiance crouches down and starts shoving your limbs back into their clothes, ignoring the way you weakly try to evade his callous touch.
 Everyone stares in silence as you´re dressed like a child, unable to properly move from the shock and trauma you just endured. It was weird seeing you so quiet. They thought you would´ve still been crying, or at least fighting back now that they no longer had a hold on you.
 But you were so, so accommodating as Touya pulled you up to your feet, keeping a firm grasp around your waist to keep your knees from buckling. You kept your head down as he grabbed your backpack from a helping feather´s elevation and slung it over his own shoulder.
 ¨I´ll catch you later Kei. Keep me updated on our little experiment,¨ he winks before steering you around the corner.
 That was the last time you saw Tenko Shimura, your best friend of years.
 ¨E-experiment?¨ His hoarse voice questions, nasally from the buildup in his broken nose.
 ¨Yeah, you heard right. You´re our little experiment, Shimura. Truth be told, I always saw the potential in you. After Touya showed me those texts between you and Y/N it just confirmed my suspicion.¨ Keigo plucked a feather out and tossed it to Tenko´s gnarled hand. ¨Here, use this to wipe that shit off your face. I´m not in the mood to drag you to a nurse right now so this´ll have to do.¨
 ¨Potential? Suspicion? I don't get it,¨ he brings the feather up painfully down the sides of his cheeks, collecting the grime and gore onto the victimized plumage.
 The blond grimaces at the disgusting sight and looks away. ¨I mean, I see the potential in you to be one of us. I knew you weren't this goody-two shoes, quiet loser that everyone made you out to be. And you really proved it today, too. I didn´t know you had it in you all the way to eat her cunt like that while she was getting raped, shit was pretty erotic if I´m being honest.¨
 Tenko cringes at the brutal choice of words but doesn´t refute them. He stays quiet before Keigo realizes he needs some more coaxing out of his cautious state.
 ¨Hey, look man, none of that stuff earlier was personal, alright? Touya just needed to prove a point to his bitch, that's all.¨ He shrugs so easily, as if everyone was as delusional as him to believe that.
 But maybe Tenko really had snapped, because he turned to Keigo with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, taking in his words.
 ¨Really? I thought you guys hated me,¨ he mutters, looking down at the soiled feather in his hand.
 ¨Nah, it's nothing like that. Just gotta prove to us how you´re different, y´know?¨ Hawks slings an arm and wing around Tenko´s bruised shoulder as if to offer him some security.
 ¨You don´t wanna be a loser anymore, right? Consider this a new chapter in your life, the next big steps.¨ ¨Yeah.¨ ¨Good.¨ They stay like that for a couple moments of silence, drinking in the setting sun.
 And then Tenko can´t hold his curiosity any longer.
 ¨But how do I do that? There´s nothing really about me that´s special...I mean, except for...however the hell I was acting like earlier,¨ he shifts uncomfortably, recalling the thirst he felt when he saw your sopping cunt getting fucked stupid. It was strange, really. The itch in his body had never felt more satiated when he felt like the oppressor once, rather than the oppressed when watching your eyes fill up with tears, knowing that he was the one who caused it. He had never felt that calm and pleased even when the itch was satisfied by your soothing fingers over his scratched-raw skin.
 ¨That's what I'm thinkin´ too,¨ Keigo thoughtfully holds a hand to his chin, his wings flapping lazily with the cool breeze. ¨I´d say the first step to a new chapter with us is to change that dopey schoolboy name. Tenko Shimura? That sounds like a dog´s name. And you don´t wanna be a kicked around puppy anymore, do you?¨
Tenko vigorously shakes his head. 
 A new chapter with us.
 Us.
 He swallows hard, unable to think of a cool name that would be good enough as a new group member. The shock on his body was catching up, so he forfeited his pride and sought help from his recruiter.
 “Did you have anything in mind?”
 Hawks hums thoughtfully. “Yeah...how ‘bout Tomura? Tomura Shigaraki?” He looks over ex-Tenko’s broken body and nods in confirmation.
“Tomura...Shigaraki,” the new Tomura says slowly, letting his tongue run over his missing and broken teeth in the midst of testing out the new name.
 “The kanji for it has to do with change and mourning, something like that I think. It’s pretty fitting, especially since you’re letting go of your past and moving on with your life...right?” Keigo side eyes Tomura mischievously, knowing he was in no place to defy him.
 Shigaraki merely looks to the horizon, silently acknowledging the new chapter of his life. Another cold breeze swirls around the two men, but it's not the sting of the wind that brings newfound tears to Tenko Tomura’s eyes.
 He shakily rises to his feet with a grunt, clutching his ribs and tilting his head back to avoid breathing in anymore drying blood. Keigo gets up with him, outstretching a hand towards him to steady him on his feet, which Tomura takes.
 “I think I need to see a nurse.”
 The blond laughs, his wings fluttering with the waves of his voice.
 “Almost forgot about that. But y’know, you should be more careful next time you train with us. I don’t think your body can take any more damage than it already has.”
 ******************
 You haven’t returned any of Touya’s calls.
 You haven’t received any messages from Tenko.
 You didn’t get out of bed when you saw a red feather zooming past your window in the morning.
 You’ve been home for three days now, huddled under the comforters and only getting up to drink some water like a zombie. Showers are a no-go, it’s unbearable to look at your own naked body anymore. The school kept ringing your parents for your attendance, but the image of you stumbling home and bursting into tears is fresh in their minds; they let the calls go to voicemail.
 Tenko’s broken body. His screams of agony. Dabi’s hands all over you, Hawk’s feather holding you down, your body shifted and positioned like a ragdoll-it’s all too much, you can’t face anyone yet. You’re absolutely terrified.
 A knock at the door jolts you out of your catatonic state.
 “Honey? You want something to eat? We haven’t seen you come out today…” Your father’s voice trails off unsuredly, and after some harsh whispers coming from behind the door and scuffling sounds, your mother speaks.
“You need to move around sweetheart-”
 Your body jolts violently when she says that cursed nickname.
 “Ahh come on sweetheart, the worst is over.”
 “-did something happen with you and Tenko? You two haven’t talked in so long, you usually never argue like this.”
 A burning comes up in your chest as your stomach rumbles, bile rising up your throat. You want them to leave. Now.
 “I’ll-” you cough and clear your raspy voice from disuse. “I’ll be out in a bit, ‘head hurts.”
 “Are you sure? We can come get it for you, we don’t mind-”
 “-No, I’m fine. Please just...just give me some time.” You grit your teeth and squeeze your eyes shut, silently willing them to go away.
 It’s only until the sound of their footsteps padding away from your door that you rigidly rise out of bed, reaching for your phone on your nightstand.
 2 missed calls from Rumi, 3 text messages from Touya, and nothing from Tenko.
 Was he alive?
 With trembling hands, you punch in his contact and pull up your messages.
 3:04 pm: We need to talk.
 You sigh and throw the phone back on the table, running your hands down your face. You just wanted things to go back to normal, when you and him were okay, when you werent engaged to Touya, when they didn’t turn him into a monster who ate you out while you bounced up and down and up and fucking down on your rapist’s-
 No. You can’t think like that. You can’t. That wasn’t him, they made him do that.
 At least, that’s what you tell yourself in order for your sanity to remain on its barest of threads.
 Time moves at a snail’s pace as you find things to do that distract you from checking your messages every five minutes. Soggy leftovers are pushed through your throat, the t.v blares while you watch without actually seeing, your bedsheets are made and remade into perfection...but nothing prevents you in the end from snatching up the device and checking for his text.
Nothing. Absolutely nada.
 Just a “read” sign that makes you see red.
 Who the fuck did he think he was? He wasn’t the fucking vitcim, you were-
 Oh. But he was, just as much as you were.
 Anger curls into anxiety as you nibble your lip in contemplation. Was he mad at you?
 It was your fault in a way.
 You try calling him, no one picks up.
 If he was going to flat out ignore you, then you knew there was only one way to corner him for talking.
 And corner him you did, when on a bright Wednesday morning you decide to go to school, for nothing else if not hounding Tenko down and seeing if he was okay. You didn’t know if he deserved it, but you just had to see him once.
 You wait outside his front gate, idly watching the sky turn from a deep purple to mix in with hues of orange and blue. After a few minutes, the door creaks open and you whip around to face him.
 It’s only been a few days since you two last saw each other, but at that moment when he turns and his eyes go wide from seeing you, you feel as though you’ve never known him before. Not his tangly hair that hangs in front of his face, not the new bruises and bandages on various parts of his body, and not the sneer his mouth curls into, that is oh so reminiscent of-
 “Where have you been? You didn’t answer your phone…” You trail off confusedly as he practically shoves past you through the gate, ignoring the way you stumble from the impact of his bony shoulder.
 “Hey, wait up!”
 You do a light jog after him but your heart is pumping at light speed, uncertainty creeping up your spine at his behavior.
 “Tenko, stop!”
 “It’s Tomura, now, Tomura. Don’t call me by that dopey ass name anymore.” He stops in his tracks and looks down at you as you pant and stare at him.
 “T-Tomura? What’s that? And answer my question, where have you been?”
“Yeah, fucking Tomura Shigaraki to you. And I’ve been doing my own thing now. I’m not wagging my tail behind you like a fucking lapdog anymore, got it?” He shoulders his bag and continues to walk past you.
 “What the hell are you talking about? Why are you so upset at me, I didn’t even do anything!” You walk backwards side by side with him, desperately trying keep up with his curt pace.
 “Oh right, you’re just so innocent aren’t you? I should’ve left you from the start, honestly. Keigo was right.” “Keigo? When did you talk to him? He assaulted you! How could you even face him? “You say that as if he’s the one who made me like this.” He gestures to his barely healing body, and your breath catches in your throat.
 “Wait...you’re blaming me?”
 “Finally got it Einstein?” He sneers at you. “You did this to me, you made Keigo and Touya beat the shit out of me. If you had just listened to them and left me the fuck alone, I wouldn’t have suffered half as much as I already have.”
 You ball your fists and try to swallow the growing bulge in your throat. You thought your sanity would be kept intact for a while longer, but you feel the last threads barely hanging on.
 “Tenk-Tomura, please just wait a second,” You say desperately, not even thinking before grabbing onto his shirt sleeve. You want to hold him here forever, you want to go back, you want things to be the way they were before, he can’t leave you alone with Touya-
 “I’m glad they showed me how selfish you’ve always been. You never thought of my safety when you kept hanging around me knowing full well that they’d beat the shit out of me if they caught us. And they did! You happy now?” He’s laughing, but he can’t hide the rage from his balled shaking fists.
 “No, no please-” you whisper horrified.
 But he turns around, barely glancing back at you before bidding his adieu.
 “I’m saying goodbye to you as Tenko, and saying hello as Tomura now. Forget we were ever friends, it means nothing to me now. I used to feel like a burden to you, but it’s funny, you seem to be weighing me down more than ever now.”
 “But don’t worry. You’ll still see me around. After all, Keigo and Touya seem to be pretty solid guys. And hey, maybe I’ll even be the best man at your wedding coming up.”
 Your head is swimming. The sky is almost a clear blue now, the purple having faded away a long time ago. The sounds of strings stretching are brought to a climax.
 He’s so close, yet so far away from you that you barely catch the words that come tumbling out of his mouth so easily, so effortlessly you'd think he’d either rehearsed saying them all his life or that he’s had a lifetime of saying it.
 “I fucking hate you.”
 And the threads snap.
1K notes · View notes