Duke stumbles a bit as the disorienting energy surrounding him fades and the ground turns from solid concrete to gravel.
He scans his surroundings, trying to take in what the fuck just happened. Its then that he realizes, abruptly, that he's not alone.
Stephanie is shorter than the last time Duke saw her, wearing a much worse version of her Spoiler costume. There's a tugging in his mind, puzzle pieces slotting together, and he doesn't like it one bit.
Hey at least you found out that meta's fucking powers huh Thomas?
Great detective work.
Stephanie turns, slower than she should, grabbing a loose brick from the shoddy building facade.
"The fuck?" she says, holding the brick aloft. "Is big bat making boy wonders in a factory now?"
"Yeah, I'm the diversity edition," Duke responds, shamelessly stealing his girlfriend's joke.
"Happy pride I guess," Stephanie's voice is as chipper as ever. "Now back off before you end up like the other boy blunder."
"You'll hit me with a brick?" Duke asks.
"I will hit you with a brick," Stephanie confirms.
"Did you hit Ti-Robin with a brick? Please tell me you hit him with a brick," Duke can't keep the glee out of his voice.
"He knows what he did," Steph says ominously. "I have plans to Spoil, so you can stand there and watch or.... you can help."
Duke has, what some people might call, a chronic inability to say no when people ask for help. His parents raised a nice polite young man, you see, and when a friend who is not yet a friend but will be asks for help; Duke is helpless to say anything other than—
"Lead the way."
part 2
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hii!! can we get some platonic fuuta amane interactions please? thabks !!!
Ahh yes, thank you so much for the request! I love them so much ;--; They've been making my brain go brrrr lately with T3 possibilities, though I decided to stay away from the drama for now. Here something sweet after T1 verdicts but before the attacks -- they're just hanging out :3
Yuno smiled down at Amane, finding her hunched over a table of craft supplies with Fuuta. The guilty verdict had hit them hard, so it was good to see them in better spirits. She tried to peer over her shoulder to see what they were working on. “Aw, what are you two up to?”
Amane returned her smile. “Fuuta is teaching me to misbehave.”
His face twitched in horror. “Oi, you can’t just go around saying that!” He looked frantically at Yuno. “We’re just folding paper planes.”
Amane lifted her chin. “You said in middle school, you made them to throw in class.”
“I said my friends made them to throw in class. And it’s not like I’m telling you to throw them. I was just making them because there’s nothing better to do in this damned place. You were the one that said it looked fun and sat down to annoy me!”
Fuuta huffed at the accusation as Yuno walked away, laughing. He returned to the design he was folding. He hadn’t been giving an explicit step-by-step for each, but Amane was keeping up just fine. They each had a small pile of various plane designs they were adding to.
Running a finger along a new crease, he gave Amane a sideways look. “Though, you could stand to misbehave a little bit.”
“I did.” She reached forward to mimic the fold on her own plane. “That is why I’m here.”
“Eh? I don’t mean you should commit crimes!” He scowled. “I’m talking about normal kid stuff, nothing against the law. Like staying out too late, driving your teacher crazy, funny vandalism–”
“--Vandalism is against the law.”
“Oh come on, it’s harmless! Don’t even try to argue that a little graffiti is comparable to what got you here.” He rolled his eyes. “So? What about that other stuff?”
She shook her head. With neither disappointment nor pride, she said, “I never left my home at night. And my teachers were far too strict.”
“Aw, it’s the strict ones that are the most fun to prank!” He pointed to Amane, adopting the most persuasive voice he could manage. “You gotta do some of these things, or you’ll turn out with a stick up your ass. Like Kotoko, or Mikoto. Or a weirdo like Kazui and Mahiru. Shidou’s more or less normal, and he’s the type of guy to break some rules now and then.”
“And you?” She raised her eyebrows at him, feigning innocence. “I take it you turned out perfectly because you misbehaved as a child?”
“Hey, I never said I was a shining role model or anything. But I mean it. If you stay like this, you’ll grow up to be a boring loser, another cog in the wheel.”
“It is an honor to be a part of something bigger than yourself, to find belonging, and purpose.”
“Tch, don’t be such a pain!”
“I wasn’t.”
“You know that’s not what I was talking about!”
“What were you talking about, then?” She gave him the same expression as before, and wondered if could hide her genuine confusion.
“Don’t play dumb. I know working in a group is a good thing, but you don’t want to kill yourself for leaders that don’t give a shit about you. That’s a major issue in this country, you know? In government, and corporations, and all that. That’s not belonging, that’s just exploitation.”
Amane stayed silent.
Oblivious to the emotions flashing across her lowered eyes, he nudged her in annoyance. “And the best way to break from that is to loosen up a bit. So have a little fun now and then, jeez!”
She picked her creation off the table. She turned it over in her hands. It had come out perfectly sharp and clean. “I’m having fun now.”
Fuuta, preparing to argue with whatever she said, blinked. “O-oh.”
“At school, my favorite activities included choir practice and the arts. It has been difficult to sing here without accompaniment, so I am grateful to have the opportunity for crafts.” She looked at him earnestly. “Despite your past of disobedience,” she smirked, “I always enjoy your company.”
His expression twisted up, but he couldn’t hide the reddening of his ears. “What do I care if a brat like you likes my company?”
She smiled. “I’m not a brat. As established, I am very well-behaved.”
“That’s even worse!”
“Tell me about this plane, Fuuta.”
After sufficiently rolling his eyes and sighing, he agreed. He started explaining what made these planes different from the last: how they compared on speed, accuracy, and length of flight. It didn’t really matter if they were just going to toss them around here or the panopticon later, he thought it would be helpful to teach her anyway. Maybe if she ever was inclined, she’d remember which ones were best for pinpointing a teacher’s back, or a warden’s…
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