Chapter Text
A/N
So I had been going through all the Tokoyami fanart content recently bc I love him and 90% of it is emo jokes, but there isn't very much actually serious content and it kinda inspired me to do some serious fluff.
I was gonna pair him and Tsu but then I got concerned about the potential for ridiculousness with two animal quirks... so I made an OC instead
This work is much longer than I expected, but here is the first chapter. I will post more over time, hope there's someone out there that appreciates this :)
Chapter 1
When class A dispersed around the mall Tokoyami made for one of the few shops that he really felt comfortable in. Clothes didn’t really appeal to him, most stores in malls were boring, but music stores always had something for him.
He noticed that he wasn't the only one here, Jirou had also come to the record store. The two of them flicked through records in comfortable silence. Tokoyami spotted a band he liked, but no new albums.
Jirou pulled an album out to look at it, turning it over and reading the back for a while. Seemingly unsatisfied, she pushed it back into the rack and walked out of the store. On her way out she said goodbye to the guy at the counter who waved at her as she left. Tokoyami looked up briefly from the vinyls, and immediately wished he hadn't.
He felt his heart start to pound as he consciously averted his eyes, looking down at his hands. He had worked very hard to be able to keep his face neutral, so he was able to not show anything on his face even though inside he was feeling incredibly flustered and nervous. He could feel his face heating up and he was thankful for the feathers that covered his head.
Tokoyami stayed in the store for longer than he needed. Browsing the records section. He went through each and every record one by one, even records he had absolutely no interest in. Every so often he worked up the nerve to peak across the store to the counter and the guy behind it, doing his best to remain inconspicuous, though his face didn't really lend itself to that.
Sometimes when he looked up he made eye contact with the guy which always caused his heart to leap in his chest. Every time he worried that the boy knew that he was staring, and could see how he felt. He looked up after to see if the boy had continued staring, or showed signs of noticing. But every time he looked up again the guy behind the counter was staring back at the computer, or organising the desk, or looking at the mall outside. This still didn’t comfort Tokoyami much though.
After a while he was just pretending to browse rather than actually looking. He had worked himself up to such a state of nervousness that he couldn't focus on the vinyls in front of him. He was trying to work up the nerve to talk to the guy behind the desk, or to at least go buy something but all he was doing was making himself more anxious. He kept thinking about how long he’d spent in the store and how weird it was that he was staying here and doing nothing. His mind jumped from thoughts, but he kept coming back to how weird he must look just standing at the records for so long.
Dark Shadow noticed his nervousness and poked his head up, nudging him. Tokoyami looked down at Dark Shadow who looked at him questioningly, its head tilted. Tokoyami took a deep breath and stroked Dark Shadow’s head soothingly. It was a nice distraction and pulled him from his spiral a bit.
“Don’t worry Dark Shadow, I’m not in trouble.” He said.
He would have said more but his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Iida telling everyone in class 1A to meet up in the food court for lunch.
Tokoyami put his phone away and made for the exit, Dark Shadow retreating back inside him. It was too bright in the mall for him to stay out long. Tokoyami nearly jumped as the guy behind the counter wished him a good day on the way out.
He nervously looked back and nodded as he exited, immediately regretting not saying something. He should have at least said thanks or you too, but he didn’t turn around. He rushed to the food court, getting as much distance as possible between him and the store.
When he arrived there he noticed that he was pretty much the last one there, so most of the group must have formed before Iida sent out the text.
Midoriya waved him over with a smile, even though Tokoyami had already spotted the group and was heading their way.
"Hey, how was your day?" He asked.
"It was good." He didn't want to elaborate more.
"Where'd you go? We looked for you but you were already gone." Uraraka said, leaning around Midoriya to join the conversation. Tokoyami looked away, avoiding eye contact.
"I just went to the music store to look at records." He said. He hoped they'd stop asking questions.
"Oh that's cool! I've never owned any records but they have such a neat retro feel!" Uraraka said. Midoriya nodded and agreed.
"I think digital is far more functional, the portability makes it so you can do things while listening to music!" Iida declared.
"Though I've heard vinyls have a sound quality that other music players can't match." Todoroki added in.
"How can sound quality even compare to functionality?" Iida asked.
Tokoyami relaxed now that he wasn’t under scrutiny. He listened into the debate with mild interest, though he did side more with Todoroki than he did with Iida. Besides, you can also hang records on the walls for decoration even if you weren’t listening to them.
When the debate cooled and Todoroki agreed to disagree, they all went off to the various places for food, then came back to eat together as a large group. Everyone from 1A was there, minus Bakugou obviously. Tokoyami made sure he was right at the edge of the group, he happened to find himself beside Midoriya and across the way from Iida who insisted he be at the end to watch everyone and keep them together.
During the meal everyone was talking, laughing and enjoying themselves but Tokoyami couldn't get his mind off of that guy at the record store. He wanted to talk to him, but didn't know how to start the conversation.
He barely even noticed that the rest of the group start a heated debate on the best fast food place. Finally after much internal back and forth and doubt he decided to ask for help.
"Excuse me Midoriya but I have a question." Midoriya turned from the shouting on the other side of the group, which had turned into whether McDonalds was the best fast food burger place or not. He smiled encouragingly at Tokoyami.
"What's up?" Before he could lose his nerve he just went for it.
"Say you meet someone attractive, how do you go about talking to them?" After the words left his mouth he immediately regretted them, but he tried to wait patiently for Midoriya to respond.
"Well…. I don’t know much about that sort of thing… I guess I would try to talk about something relevant? If it was someone in this class you could talk about hero training, were all involved in that."
"No no he's not in this class… I saw him today." That was all the information Tokoyami was comfortable giving.
"Well in that case maybe try talking about the mall? I don’t know I'm not very good at relationships." Before Tokoyami could respond he saw Iida lean in out of the corner of his eye.
"If you're looking for relationship advice I would be happy to help!" He said, looking between Midoriya and Tokoyami, trying to determine who needed the advice from the little he heard.
Tokoyami opened his mouth to turn him down but Midoriya agreed in his attempt to be helpful.
"If you think you can help, Tokoyami met a guy today and is hoping to talk to them but doesn’t know what to say."
"Well then, I am here to help!" Iida pushed his glasses up his nose then pointed at Tokoyami.
"First you must buy flowers and present them to him, tell him you would like to take him out for a date and then if he agrees, set up a time and place in a nice restaurant that shows how much you care! Then you must pay the bill to show that you are able to provide and are thoughtful!" Tokoyami tried to interrupt and tell him that wasn’t going to work but Iida was on a roll and was not going to be stopped. "Then on the way home if you happen to be attacked by a villain show off your powers and training to save him from danger now that you have your provisional license. However make sure your efforts are focussed on rescuing the one you are wooing rather than facing down the villain, and make sure you call the professional heroes to fully deal with the situation as facing a villain is too dangerous on your own! Once these steps are complete he will trust you and your abilities, as well as see how powerful you are and will be yours!"
By the end of that Midoriya looked as shaken as Tokoyami felt, though Tokoyami's face remained as neutral as ever. Only his eyes betrayed his anxiety.
"I think that's a little much Iida." Midoriya said, his voice weak and quiet.
"Who are you trying to seduce with that method?" Uraraka asked, leaning over to join the conversation. Many other people were also listening in after that display.
"It isn't for me, it is for Tokoyami, he met someone at the mall who he is interested in wooing." Iida said, his voice so loud that now most of the group were listening. Except for Denki and Kirishima who were locked in an arm wrestle without using quirks.
"Really? Tokoyami has found someone?" Mina asked, turning quickly. Denki's arm slipped and he lost the match, knocking his chicken nuggets on the floor. Kirishima stood up, flexing with his quirk so his arms hardened.
“Oh yeah, biceps of steel!” He yelled. Denki was crouching on the floor over his chicken nuggets. He looked up at Kirishima with tears in his eyes.
“Forget your biceps my chicken’s on the floor!” His voice cracked with emotion. Everyone turned back to Tokoyami, more interested in his problem than Denki’s chicken nuggets.
"Don't listen to Iida that approach will never work." Todoroki said, leaning back. Iida looked frustrated for a second but he smoothed his expression over and turned to Todoroki.
"If you have any better advice I would love to hear it, I am always looking for ways to improve myself in all facets of life." Iida declared.
"Well where did you meet this person?" Tsu asked, trying to be helpful.
"Was it at the record store?" Uraraka asked. Tokoyami averted his eyes and didn't answer but now Jirou leaned in to the conversation.
"You wouldn't happen to mean Elias would you?" She asked, absentmindedly twirling one of her headphone jacks around a finger. Tokoyami looked up at her sharply.
"You know him?" He blurted out. Jirou shrugged.
"Yeah, I spend a lot of time in music stores. He's cool." She said.
"Elias, that's not Japanese." Tsu said.
"He's American." Jirou replied.
"If Tokoyami is a bird does that mean he's attracted to other birds? Do you think this Elias is a bird?" Denki whispered to Kirishima conspiratorially, but everyone nearby heard. Mina stood up, her pink hair bouncing as she did.
"We should go find out!" She said. Tokoyami stood up just as quickly.
"Please don't!" But nothing would stop class 1A once they got their mind set on something. Denki and Sero stood up too, both of them looking eager to see.
"I don't know about this." Uraraka said, glancing nervously past Midoriya to Tokoyami It was no use though, half the table was standing at this point. Iida stood and Tokoyami looked at him desperately, hoping he'd side with him and yell at the group for being foolish.
Instead Iida grabbed him by the shoulders.
"I think this'll be a great way to see what he's like and therefore give better advice!" Iida yelled, grinning like he thought Tokoyami would thank him. Tokoyami was steered off through the mall towards the record store, with the entire class coming along too. He didn’t resist very hard, but mostly because he knew they’d go anyway, and maybe he could stop them from doing something crazy and potentially irreparable.
When they rushed through the doors he made direct eye contact with Elias, who’s eyes widened. Then in a blink he was standing a couple feet to the left in the exact same position as before. It briefly registered in Tokoyami’s head that his quirk must be teleportation before Tokoyami was shoved behind a rack of CDs. The whole group gathered there to whisper about Elias and do some “reconnaissance”, feeling like they were out of sight and were therefore being subtle. Though it is hard to be subtle in a large group. Elias kept glancing their way as the large group squeezed into a corner.
“He doesn’t have a bird head.” Denki remarked, taking advantage of where he was standing to look around the shelves at Elias. Sero leaned around him to look as well, but Momo pulled them both back, shushing them.
“You guys are as subtle as bricks!” She whispered.
“I can be subtle!” Denki whispered back.
“You know he is kind of cute, in a bookish way. I’m into the purple hair.” Mina commented.
“I like his shirt, the blue goes really well with his hair.” Hagakure commented. She was far more subtle when she leaned out because of her invisibility quirk.
“Hey guys, why don’t we go check out the magazine section? It’s closer which means we could get a better look while still looking casual.” Mineta whispered to Denki and Sero, but the look in his eyes betrayed his other motivation. He wasn’t interested in Elias, he did want a look at the magazines though. Denki and Sero quickly followed him off, they moved so fast that Shiro missed when he tried to make a grab to stop them.
Tokoyami shrank back against the wall, knowing that there was no chance of getting out of here without an incident.
“Focus up everyone, right now this is about Tokoyami and Elias. So, Jirou, what can you tell us about Elias?” Iida asked, organizing everyone and pulling their attention back. Unfortunately he also had a voice that carried, and he wasn’t good at being quiet.
“I don’t know much, but my parents make music and I come here to check it out once it hits stores. He is sometimes here when I come by, and we’ve chatted a bit.” She replied.
“What have you chatted about?” Uraraka asked. Jirou shrugged. “Mostly music. He likes my parents stuff, apparently he’s listened to most of the music in the store. He doesn’t like rock much though. And he goes to an average highschool because he didn’t have the quirk to get into UA, but he admires the work heroes do.” Iida seemed to consider that for a moment.
“Ok so perhaps Tokoyami should go over there playing music instead of the usual offering of flowers.” He said, completely seriously.
“Perhaps if you had a bit more twinkle like moi you could catch his eye!” Aoyama posed dramatically.
“We could give Tokoyami a more eye catching look? That would be a way to grab Elias’s attention.” Hagakure suggested, bouncing.
“Or he could start up a conversation about All Might, everyone looks up to him and you could talk about what it’s like to have him as a teacher.” Midoriya suggested.
“I would go with Midoriya’s suggestion, conversation is much better. That way Tokoyami can get to know Elias.” Todoroki said.
“But that is not the rules of wooing.” Iida protested.
“I think your rules are a bit outdated.” Momo said.
“Yeah lighten up Iida! Conversation is a much better way to start. We don’t even know if they are actually compatible!” Mina said.
“I suppose that’s true. Then it seems we should determine their compatibility before they make the first step towards a relationship.” Iida said.
“You mean like a test?” Tsu asked.
“Maybe we should ask about his quirk? I mean, some are completely incompatible so maybe we should see if they work well together.” Jirou suggested, though her body language suggested she didn’t really care either way. Todoroki bristled however.
“Quirks shouldn’t matter, they have nothing to do with love.” He said.
“That’s true, but personalities do matter.” Momo said.
“Sure, but there’s no good way to test if they’re compatible.” Ojiro said.
"Just go up and kiss him, if there is a spark it is meant to be." Aoyama cut in, but everyone ignored him and continued discussing a way to test compatibility like he never said anything.
“Tokoyami, just go talk to him.” Kirishima finally said. “There’s no point in preparing, it’s only going to make you more nervous. Just go up, without expectations and have a conversation. Even if it’s just a nice conversation and it doesn’t lead anywhere you’ll feel better.”
Everyone got quiet after that, staring at Kirishima for a minute. He was the only one who seemed to actually have relevant advice. One by one they turned to look at Tokoyami, as if to say that it was up to him now. He sighed and nodded.
“Ok. But I need a reason to talk to him.” He said.
“So grab a record you like and buy it, that would be a reason.” Kirishima said.
“That’s a great idea.” Iida said, steering Tokoyami back out to the section with the records, though this time his hand was more comforting than before. It felt like the reassuring hand of a friend, rather than the directing hand of a leader.
Thankfully Tokoyami already had a record he’d seen while extensively browsing. He hadn’t bought it before because he was panicking, but this time with his friends here he felt confident enough to do it. He grabbed it out and then headed alone towards the counter. Elias looked up at him and smiled, making his heart leap in his chest. But he didn’t stop, he was determined. Elias's body seemed to waver, moving ever so slightly to the left.
Before Tokoyami could reach the counter though Mineta darted out in front of him. Thrusting several magazines onto the counter. The top of which was a swimsuit edition of Hero’s Illustrated.
“I would like to buy these!” He said. Elias looked down at Mineta then back at Tokoyami. His smile changed slightly, so it looked practiced. Tokoyami immediately lost his nerve and retreated, putting away the record and hurrying back to the safety of his group of friends. Iida rounded on Mineta.
“How could you do that Mineta you know why we’re here!” Elias looked startled but Mineta just looked very self satisfied.
“It’s the swimsuit edition! The Rook is featured in this one and she is just too gorgeous to pass up! I had to get it.” Iida started yelling at Mineta in vague terms, like he was trying to not tip off Elias, who was ringing the magazines through now.
He yelled things like “we came here for a purpose and you are getting in the way” and “You know why we’re here, how could you think this was a good idea!” Elias seemed to waver again, before stabilizing.
Before he finished Tokoyami decided to get out of there instead of facing any more embarrassment. This was already too much. He hurried out of the shop quickly followed by everyone else from Class 1A. Iida and Mineta brought up the rear, arguing about Mineta’s behaviour.
“Hey what Mineta did sucked, he has shitty timing and the dude is gross, but I can’t argue with his choice. The Rook is gorgeous.” Sero commented. He was met by nods from several others in the groups, including Denki.
“You ok Tokoyami?” Midoriya asked quietly, seeming to understand how nervous he was.
Tokoyami nodded but he didn’t say anything. He was still trying to calm himself down.
Side note, that mention of the Rook is actually an OC my friend came up with, she's a hero manager and her quirk is changing the temperature of up to a litre of water, which doesn't sound like much but just think of the applications! Having an important meeting? Make sure the coffee/tea is piping hot and the water is crisp and cool.
Or if you're having a really shitty date just run your finger along the rim of the glass, it looks good and now suddenly that jerk has boiling hot wine.
I loved the character idea so much I had to include her in the story, even if it is a brief mention. Couldn't think of a way to work in the actual quirk unfortunately. I promise if my friend posts her story with the oc I will link it :)
~Mind