Work Text:
You had seen him first. Long legs striding pridefully over the concrete (fitted so nicely in his uniform), loudly shouting at his classmates who trailed behind him about how ready he was to see what these students could do, how strong they were and how amazing their quirks were. It would have been adorable had it not been for the blood leaking from the underneath the cap.
There had to be some sort of brain damage due to his outrageous behavior. It would have been a pity for him not to participate in the Provisional License exam. Just based off of his physique you could tell he had a better chance than some people you knew.
So you couldn’t just leave him be, maybe if the wound was tended to quick enough they’d still let him take the Exam.
“Uh, I-Excuse me” You already feel the sickly fidget of nervousness flow through you. Honestly, how were you expected to help people if you couldn’t even approach them without getting nervous?
He turned, smile encompassing his face. Even outside he felt like he captured all of the space. His presence was pulling you closer and the warmth of his smile seizing you. No one should be allowed to be that cute with blood on their face.
“Yes! Hello!” He basically roared over the chatter of the students beside him, catching glances here and there (all well deserved) and yet he focused on you. He leaned in, head upturned and eyes scanning your face.
“Well, uh-Yo-your head…” You let out a shallow breath, smoothing out the cloth of your shirt. “I’m not, uh sure if you’re aware it’s um…bleeding.”
He simply chuckled, rolling sweetly off his tongue, a hand drifting to grab hold of his abdomen and he swayed with his full body laughter.
“Yeah, I just tend to get excited pretty easily!” There was no shame to his words, smile bright and gleaming. “Sorry if it’s bothering you!” He dipped down to bow but you stopped him, catching your hand on his shoulder.
“Ah- it’s just well, I thought that, well I’d hate for you to not be able to participate due to any injuries!” You could feel the muscles from your light touch on his shoulder. Your other hand found little refuge in the flittering fear of being shoved into the loose fabric of your shirt.
He gave you a look. You could even say a glint in his eye and then his smile seemed almost stretched thin. “You are so kind! Wh-” You moved your hand to his hat, carefully taking the cap in your nimble fingers. You gave a soft ‘may I’ with a nod of your head and he nodded before going on about what school you were from. You answered and he’d grow even more excited wanting to know as much as he possibly could about your school, about the medical study they do there, about the people, about you.
You were careful not to get blood on your hands as you expected the wound. It wasn’t bad, just a simple scrape, probably against some concrete, there was small debris in the wound.
You set his hat in his hands, his fingers brushing yours as he took it, ready to place it back on his head.
“You should clean the wound!” You stop him, and he drops the hat to his side. “Cleaning the wound will help, otherwise I don’t think it’s that bad, definitely something to wrap so it doesn’t bleed or until it scabs over. I-Uh, If I had my medical equipment within suit I’d do it but-” He interrupts you with a bow, far to low for you not to laugh and then his eyes are shining up at you.
“No! Thank you so much! Your school should be so proud of their students! You’re great!” His eyes are looking so intensely at you. You smile and bow back (not as low) and when you look back up at him he seems to have found whatever he was looking for.
“Would you mind showing me where the Nurses Station is? If you happen to know?” He is leaning so close, waiting so gingerly for your answer. What kind of idiot would you be to say no?
His smile seems to be infectious as your lips pull wide and you turn, bringing a hand up to wave him over, “On the way maybe you can tell me about how you got the wound?”
He strides bounds up toward you, leaning ever so close, the warmth just barely reaching you.
You shake the embarrassment from your palms and match his pace.
With him, there would be no time for nervousness.
You’d meet him again after the Exam, you had already heard about his mishap. A soft sadness shrouded your thoughts. You had wanted him to pass, he was so ready to help and save people. Telling you about all the people he was going to save when he’d pass and yet this happened.
And still, you couldn’t curb the laughter that erupted from your chest as he stiffly made his way to the Nurse’s Office.
“Why is it every time that I see you it involves a trip to the Nurse?”
Inasa turn, a smile cracking onto his face as he stiffly moves in your direction, you can see the dry lumps of concrete drying on his suit.
“They really got you good with their cement guns, huh?”
He looks down at his suit, dusted in a slight grey from the powder, “Yeah they did!” You follow him down the debris-filled trail down to the Nurse’s Station. You can see the object blocking your path roll to the side with a soft gust of winds.
“I’m happy you get a second chance…” Inasa is looking out over the rumble of the city, gazing so intently into an empty sea of chaos. When he hears your words his intensity is all focused on you in one stare and you can feel your confidence crumble. You find comfort in kicking small pebbles. “ I think you can really make a difference. With all the stuff going on its just, I, uh-” You brush your fingers through your hair, nails dragging against your scalp. “You’re a great person… Someone who people can look up to.” You just barely catch a glance at his eyes, and your face flushes pink. He looks in awe, his mouth barely hanging open. His eyes glisten and it’s the absolute perfect time to realize how close you both are.
“I know I barely even know you and I’m rambling an-” You fingers intertwine with each other in a nervous mess.
He lets out a soft whisper of your name, you don’t hear it over your embarrassment.
“I just believe in you so much a-”
His arms wrap tightly around you and suddenly you feel weightless. You can feel his arms pull you closer and he presses you against his chest, twirling. You can feel his warmth through his suit (despite how thick it is) and you hide your blush in his arms. His stomach is jerking with his loud laughter and the wind whips at your cheeks. It is only then you realize you’re in the air, suspended several feet above the floor. You can’t stop the scream that’s ripped from your throat. Inasa suddenly realizes what he has done.
He sets you down hastily but he still seems so excited, bouncing from foot to foot like an excited puppy. You can hear the crackles of concrete on his suit. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you or invade your personal space!” His cheeks are dusted a delightful pink and his smile is shining so brightly. You don’t know how seriously you’d take that apology with anyone else but with Inasa you know he means every word he says.
“It’s just, I can’t wait now!”
You give him a questioning look. Though you can’t help the smile that is matching it.
“I was already ready to do as much as I could to get my Provisional License with this second chance but now-!” He throws his fist up and you can see the small pebbles floating around you both, you can’t help but beam back at him.
“I’m gonna be someone people can look up to! I’m gonna make you proud!-”
His rambling goes on as you reach the Nurse’s Station, her constantly telling you both to lower your voices (prompting a louder “Sorry!”).
You are interrupted by a vibration in your pocket, pulling your phone out you see the various texts demanding to know where you are, and why you had strayed so far from the class.
“Well, Imma have to get going, I-”
Inasa places his hand out, “Can I?”
You raise an eyebrow, “Huh?”
He looks so excited, basically vibrating in his seat. “Can I put in my number? I want you to be one of the first to see when I get my license!”
You’re filled with a gushy feeling, warmth pooling in your chest. You half expected to never see Inasa again, with a different school and everything. Just a quick fling but placing your phone in his large hands makes you tingle with excitement. You can’t stop the smile that pulling at your cheeks.
You’ll get to see more of him, be able to talk to him more- the possibilities.
Inasa says he can’t wait to text you and you believe it. His presence fills the room, bright and warm and huge. You lean closer, giving your last goodbyes. The Nurse looks almost excited to see you leave, probably ready for some peace and quiet until Inasa sees someone else with something interesting and is shouting again. You can’t help but laugh and glance at him one more time before leaving. For a second he stops his screaming, mouth stopped at a ‘o’ and he smiles. Not similar to the wide ones that encompass his whole face but a softer one. His lips are just slightly curved and he looks almost heavy with an emotion you can’t quite interpret. He waves a large had at you and you make your way to the buses.
Inasa is one one of those texters that send an absolute avalanche of messages and pictures when he messaged you. You had grown accustomed to the loud dings from your phone at any and all times of the day. Along with multiple blurry pictures of whatever he was talking about and usually one selfie of him screaming (you wish you could say that they were nice pictures but they usually were close up, just a corner of his face and the blur of movement coating it). You always had the occasional text at 3 am about the little things he wondered about (like how cool lizards were or how smart you were and that you’d ace that test).
You could never quite quell your excitement upon hearing your phone sound off, scrambling to reach for it and unlocking it to see the latest update. You had never been good at hiding the optimism which of course only coaxed a trivial amount of teasing from your friends. You could only be happy that he couldn’t see your face.
You could hear his voice boom from your headphones, cursing at yourself for forgetting to turn it down.
“Are you on your way?” You are unsure if he heard you over his excited rambling until he stopped and after a rumbled of movement you heard a rough, yes.
“I can’t wait to play games with you! It’s going to be so fun! I told you about the food there, right? It’s so gooooood!”
You press your arms closer against yourself and laugh at his abundant enthusiasm, “Yeah, you said there was a food court right? What are you in the mood for?”
You hear another bustle of wind, “Oh! They have Takoyaki and Udon! There are a few stands I haven’t been to yet though!”
You turn the corner of the busy street, gently nudging your way through the people. Usually, your nerves would have gotten the better of you. The street wasn’t exactly your favorite place especially alone but hearing Inasa’s voice soothed you beyond words. You anxiety drifts away with the gust of wind.
Turning into the large opening you see the storefront of the arcade. It looked older, a few bottles and bags of garbage drifting around the front. Yet the inside made up for it all. The neon lights delve into the light of the afternoon sun and you can only imagine how they’d light up in the night. Deeper inside you can see the cluster of machines and lights, various loud beeps and booms came from the depths of the arcade mixed with loud laughter.
The surrounding stores seemed a tad bit tidier but the held the same lovely chaotic aura.
You heard the faint call of your name and you turned just in time to be enveloped in another one of Inasa’s choking hugs.
“Ah! I’ve missed you so much!” Despite his loud words and exaggerated movements, he sets you back down gently. Gazing up at him you can’t help but feed off of his excitement. You nudge into him, “I missed you too big boy!”
You realize too late that this might of been a bad idea. Inasa in all his glory decided that he would go casual. It should be a crime how good he looks in a simple plain shirt, pulled taut against his muscled chest. Not to get started on how well he fits those jeans. You focus your gaze back on his face, you can feel your ears burn.
“You don’t seem to have changed much, have you?” You pull him along with you toward the arcade. He bounds along beside you, hands waving and his presence fills the space.
“Well, I would have hoped not!”
It doesn’t take long for you and Inasa to scour the area and find refuge in one of the furthest corners, where the older games lie. This game didn’t have the same technologic appearance as the other machines, it’s neon fading into bland colors yet it still gave off a soft glow. The chessily drawn flames climbing up the sides of the game, letting out soft beeps.
“Oh man, we gotta play this one Inasa!”
You watch when his gaze finally hits it and just like every other game that night his eyes light up in a way that you know will never leave and he is pulling you along to the table.
“This game is amazing! It’s been so long since I’ve last played!” He is already hastily pushing in the quarters, jumping around from his side of the table. You can’t help the laugh that leaves your mouth as you stretch your wrist, preparing for the oncoming battle.
“I mean you do gotta admit, it’s one of the oldies. I haven’t seen this one in a while.”
The hockey puck shoots out onto the glossy top of the table and you see the quick change in Inasa’s demeanor. His smile takes that thin turn to a smirk and his eyes narrow, fist clenching around the striker. Akin to all the other games that evening, he’d never take it as one, it was a challenge, a test of his courage. And as much as you appreciated his seriousness, you couldn’t wait to see the face he made when he lost.
“Since I’m going to win I’ll give you the upper hand.” You pass the puck toward him, it drifts casually across the surface, Inasa laughs (more like chuckles evilly). “I love your passion about this!” You think he’d say more. Add a snarky comment or tease you but instead (as always) he shows it in his actions. The puck goes flying across the table and you curse as you throw your hand out to hit it back. You realize too late that you’ve messed with the wrong man.
He scores the first point easily but he doesn’t laugh, he just smiles and bounces from foot to foot waiting for the next round. He would look so sincere if not for the serious intent on his face. Slamming the striker into the puck it goes flying back, not as fast as Inasa’s but enough that he has to reach out for it. Once he hits it back its a dangerous game of who can react the fastest. The loud smack of plastic against plastic fuels you even more as you dive across the table to hit it back. You almost don’t recognize that you scored the point until the loud dings burst from the speakers. And suddenly you have a better chance that you thought you did.
“You know. If you weren’t going for a hero I’d suggest air hockey.”
Inasa laughs, swaying with laughter before the clatter of the puck hits the table draws him back.
“You think I’m that good?”
You lower yourself and ready once more, “I mean not enough to beat me but maybe enough to put up a fight.”
He taps the puck lightly, the lights blink and the battle is started.
One Point.
You lost by one measly point. Maybe it was the teasing that did you in, the constant stream of gibes as you hit the puck. Though it doesn’t matter, in the end, you lost. You whine as you let your head roll back on your shoulder, fingers dragging on the glossy top as you make your way to Inasa.
“You did so good! That was a great game! I loved it so much! I don’t think I’ve ever had someone put up that much of a fight before!” His shoulder’s jump with his laughter, pulling you closer. You simply turn your head away giggling at his compliments, “You’re too nice! At least brag a little!” He only smiles down at you and continues on. “Hey, let me buy you some dinner! You did win after all!”
“I can’t let you pay for it all!”
You rest your hand over his and scoff. “Look Inasa, you won fair and square. It’s fine!”
He looks away for a moment, evaluating the situation. He turns quickly clasping your hands in between his.
“We can split the bill!”
The passion in his eyes sparkles and you can’t find it in yourself to argue.
The stand has a homely feel coming from it, mingling with the scent and soft chatter of its inhabitants. It basically pulled you in, begging you to try some. You understood Inasa’s intense passion for this place.
You survey the menu, basically drooling at the combinations. Inasa shakes with excitement besides you. “Last time I was here I tried the takoyaki octopus balls! It was sooooo good.” He looks almost far off as he reminisces, it would be wrong of you to deny him and yourself a taste.
“Then let’s get it!”
Inasa smiles wider and leans closer, nudging you affectionately. You nudge him back and say your orders.
The warmth radiates from the food and you find yourself trying to stop yourself from drooling. “Oh my goodness Inasa, it just looks amazing!”
Looking up you are once again reminded of his large stature squished into the small outside tables and your giggling again. You cover your mouth before you have another laughing fit.
“This is one of my favorite places here! I’m just happy I get to share it with you!” He takes a slow sip of his drink and motions for you to try the food. You bring one of the balls to your mouth, the sauce glazing the takoyami with a bright sheen. You don’t think you’ve ever seen food look so appetizing.
“You know this is FatGum’s favorite food, right?”
You take a small tasting bite and you can feel your insides melt in pure awe as you chew. You can barely hear Inasa’s cheerful speech about the amazing pro hero with the fireworks popping off in your mouth. When you finally come back down to earth you see Inasa quickly chewing down a takoyaki ball and excitedly shouting off about the one time he saw FatGum in the city. You can see the excitement in his eyes, his hands flying out expressly. You lean on your hand and watch him talk, your not even sure he is aware of your gaze. You don’t think you want him to. Not with the way he gets lost in his words, smiling and laughing.
Your so happy he got your number. You can feel your heart fill as he motions to a nearby store. You loved the way he pulled the world to his attention. The way his presence filled your senses and carefully wrapped around you. He pushed the tray toward you for another takoyaki, the last one. You resist the urge to swallow it down.
“Well, what do you want to do now?” You ask, crumpling up the trash and tossing it into a nearby bin.
When you finished the food you and Inasa just sat there. Wallowing in your time together, making simple and small conversation. It wasn’t until he mentioned it was late that you realized the sun was already starting to set. You looked around the small plaza and you let out a small gasp. You had been so fixated on Inasa that you hadn’t noticed the beauty around you. The neons from the arcade shine so pleasingly in the faint orange of the evening. You can see the greens and yellows flash just so against Inasa’s skin.
“I…I rea-really liked today.” You can feel the familiar tingle of nervous travel up your spine, curling around your stomach. “I-Your really fun to hang out with, we gotta do this again.” You barely gather the courage to meet his eyes. His lips stretch in a closed mouth smile but he leans forward with such serenity, you barely feel his hand grasp yours. His eyes aren’t intent and his gaze isn’t piercing, it reminds you of the look he gave you in the Nurse’s Office.
“This was the best date anyone could ask for!”
And you blanch. You can feel your stomach flip and churn.
Oh God, oh fuck. This is a date?
Inasa knows he fucked up when he sees your eyes widen. “Oh! I-uh I, you didn’t know? I thought you knew?”
You can feel the panic running through you, overwhelming your systems but this is the first time you’ve heard Inasa stutter, or even resemble panic. And despite the crippling panic you just throw your head back and laugh. You can feel Inasa’s finger press into your shoulders as he questions what’s happening but all you can do is giggle and press into him for support.
“I haha, I just, ha!” You struggle to grasp for his shoulder as you take slow and shallow breaths, urging the giggles out of your throat. Once you’ve calmed down you notice the look of concern on Inasa’s face. “I just didn’t know it was a date Inasa! It’s fine! Besides your right you know-” You pull yourself away from his side, despite the warmth and stand in front of him, looking him straight in the eyes. The panic is tingling in your skin but as you slide your fingers into Inasa’s large grasp it just withers away.
“This was the best date anyone could ask for! I’ve-” You let out another breath. “-liked you for a while now and the fact that this is a date makes this time with you so much sweeter.” You let your thumb rub over his. “Your the best.”
Inasa’s face is a flurry of red, perfectly matching with the soft orange glow of the sunset. He pulls your hands closer to you, hand pressed against your cheek. He isn’t giving you the wide smile you always see pulled across his face. This time his lips are just slightly upturned and his eyebrows are pushed up in an awe-striking look.
“Can I kiss you?”
You can’t help but giggle, cause that’s what he always makes you do and nod.
His teeth clash with your and his fingers are digging into your waist. You can feel his smile through his kiss, he presses you closer to his chest, desperately and then, suddenly he is pulling away. He stands there huffing, bent down and his lips stretched taut against his cheeks. You expected him to be loud, yelling as he usually does but he doesn’t. He just simply pulls you closer, his fingers slip up to the curve in your back and he presses his forehead against yours.
The moment is so tender and sweet you don’t want to leave, he is so warm and lovely and you already know he is still smiling.
“I’ve liked you for so long” He is so quiet, his breath coming out in short puffs. “I’m so happy.”
Your fingers grip into the fabric of his shirt and you press another kiss to his lips, sweet and quick.
“Me too.”
And then he is picking you up in his arms and twirling you around. The wind pushes up against you and you can’t help but laugh along.