Archive of Our Own ^beta

Eri is, by all legal means, not his child. Not even close. Tenko’s a college drop out, who can’t hold a stable job and can barely take care of himself, he’s pretty sure he’d get arrested if he even tried to foster a child. Also he’s only just twenty-two, and being a teen mom wasn’t really his thing.

Eri is, by all biological means, not his child. Not even close. She’s his abusive ex-boyfriends inherited (which is a really fucking weird way to say that a child is in your care, but it’s how Kai phrased it at the time, and apparently Tenko can’t see a red flag that’s three inches from his face) child. Plus, Tenko has absolutely zero intentions of putting his dick anywhere that could provide a child. Technically, he has absolutely zero intentions of putting is dick anywhere at all, seen as he doesn’t really have one.

Eri is, by all ethical means, not his child. See last two paragraphs.

Eri still is… something to him though. He’d be lying if he said she wasn’t. Shared trauma is really something. Which is why he’s standing where he is.

He’s never felt more out of place in his entire goddamn life. Which is saying something considering most of the time, he finds himself realizing that he looks like a character from an Edgar Alan Poe poem. Not exactly the social norm.

The house in front of him is… nice. The upper middle class neighborhood it’s in is well kept, he’s honestly surprised no ones called the cops on him yet. Creepy dude, dressed in all black, repeatedly checking his phone as he stood in-front of the door for far too long. Yeah, he’ll be the first to admit it doesn’t look good. It reminds him, in the worst way, of Kai. He tries not to think about it, especially when he’s here for the reason he is.

While he’s caught up in his inner turmoil, the door opens. Funny, considering he didn’t knock. Behind the wooden door, in front of him, stood a kid. Teenager, actually. Purple hair and cat socks, he’s carrying a trash bag.

“Uh…” The kid says.

“Is this the Yamada-Aizawa residence?” He blurts out before he can stop himself. He’s painfully aware of how gravelly and cracking his voice is, and he thinks about booking it. He guesses running away at this point isn’t an option. The kid stares at him for a second, before leaning into the house, calling out into it.

“Dad? Pa? There’s um,” the kid looks back to him, scans his figure, then looks back into the house, “a guy?” Honestly, it’s one of the better ways Tenko had been described by a stranger. 

He hears some voices, then footsteps, then two more figures appear in the doorway. They both look around their late thirties, maybe a little older. The first one has black hair and is glaring at Tenko so hard, he thinks his hands go numb. Weird thing for a glare to do. 

The second guy, slightly taller and more lanky than the first, has long blond hair, glasses, and a much more welcoming demeanor. Tenko’s hands itch to check his phone again, make sure the time and date and address are correct, despite the fact he’d already checked it about fifty times, but Kurogiri told him he needs to stop second guessing himself, and Spinner gave him a speech about manning up yesterday and-

“I’m, I’m uh,” the three pairs of eyes bore into him. God fucking- he glues his eyes to the blond one’s left eyebrow (it’s close enough to eye contact in his books), “I’m Shimura Tenko,” the blond one’s left eyebrow raises (he assumes the right eyebrow does too). “I’m-”

“Tenko!” His sentence is interrupted by Eri’s excited call, then her weaving her way through the three others' legs and crashing into Tenko, hugging him.

“Eri,” He says. The little girl looks up to him, smiling brightly. She looks so incredibly happy. 

“Shimura, we’re so sorry, we forgot you were coming today!” The blond, Yamada Hizashi, says. Now that his brain had calmed, he could remember their names.

“Uh, yeah I still don’t know what’s happening?” The purple haired kid says. The black haired one, Aizawa Shouta, shoots Yamada a look. He looks at his husband a bit sheepishly.

“Sorry kid, must have forgotten to tell you,” Yamada says. The kid looks between them awkwardly.

“Right… well I’m gonna take out my trash,” He says holding up the bag and then walking out towards the bin at the side of the house. Yamada laughs a little.

“Can he come inside?” Eri had taken Tenko’s hand and tugged him forward, looking up expectantly at Aizawa. The icy composure that he’d been holding melted under the little girl's gaze.

“Yeah,” Aizawa says, “want some coffee?” He asked, leading the way as Eri dragged Tenko inside.

“Yes. Uh please.” He said, as Eri pushed him to sit down on the couch, then jumped up and sat next to him.

“Tenko you were gone for so long! Where were you?” Eri asks looking up at him expectantly.

“I’ve been staying with Kurogiri, we both miss you so much,” he tells her, she smiles.

“Come stay here with me! It’s so nice, Daddy and Papa are the best!” Tenko laughs lightly. “You’d get along with Hitoshi too! He likes video games!” Hitoshi, Tenko guesses, is the teenager. 

“I can’t, besides I gotta keep Kuro and Sako company,” he says, booping her on the nose with one of his fingers. She giggles.

(“You live with your dad?” Kai asked. Tenko shrugged.

“Yeah, college is expensive, better to stay with him than try renting out a dorm, y’know?” Kai considered this for a moment.

“Move in with me,” he said.)

“But Tenkooo,” she says.

“But Eriiii,” he responds. The clink of a cup on the coffee table drew his attention away from her.

“So Shimura,” Aizawa says, taking a seat across from the couch in an armchair, “remind me what you do again?” an interrogation. Great. 

“Oh I’m uh,” a college drop out? Living off my adoptive guardian? Was living off my ex, who by the way, traumatized your kid! Sold weed for like a week then decided maybe that’s not the best choice? “Between jobs.” Unemployed. 

“Eri’s mentioned that you went to school?” he asks. God damn attentive children and their attentive parents.

“Uh yeah, I went for video game design for three years. I um, had to drop out because of health complications.” Tenko says, focusing on Eri playing with his fingers. Health complications was putting it very lightly, even he could admit that.

“Dad,” standing a few feet from the armchair was the teen from earlier, “Shoto and Deku are still planning to come over soon if that’s ok?” The kid glances at Tenko. 

“Yeah, should be.” Aizawa says, the kid nods. He glances at Tenko again.

“Right, Shimura, this is Shinsou, our son, Eri’s older brother. Hitoshi, this is Shimura, Eri’s…” Aizawa trails off. Tenko guesses ‘fellow victim of abuser’ isn’t a very good introductor. 

“He’s my guardian angel!” Eri says excitedly. Tenko laughs, the information definitely doesn’t help Shinsou, but the teen softens anyway at his adoptive sister’s words. Suddenly Eri gasps, tugging down Tenko’s hood. Tenko tenses. “Tenko, can I braid your hair?” She asks, he relaxes slightly and nods. “Yay! Wait here!” She says, hurrying off the couch, running up the stairs.

“What’d we say about running!” Aizawa calls after her, and Tenko can hear her footsteps slow.

“Sorry!” She calls, her pace picks up again, although now more akin to fast walking, rather than running. Tenko shifts awkwardly, Aizawa looks back at him.

“She’s getting her hair clips,” he says, Tenko nods. Aizawa stares at him for a moment before his eyebrows furrow. “Are you bleeding?” he asks. Tenko’s hand shoots to his neck, and sure enough feels a sticky red substance oozing from his neck. It must have been from earlier, he figures. He nods. “I’ll get you a bandaid,” Aizawa says, standing up. 

Tenko’s honestly a little shocked neither of the fathers nor the brother had commented on his overall very shitty appearance. He tried his best to not look like a walking corpse when he left the house that morning, the effort was mostly in vain however. At least he managed to make sure his clothes were freshly washed. 

“So how do you actually know Eri?” Tenko almost forgot the teen was still there. He looked over to him. Honesty is my best quality, Tenko thinks.

“I’m Kai’s ex,” he says.

“Uh, who?” 

“Chisaki.”

“Oh fuck,” Shinsou says. Tenko snorts.

“Yeah." a tense silence floats through the air. Tenko sighs. “Ask whatever you’re thinking.” Shinsou hesitates.

“Eri mentioned you liked video games?” It’s not the question Tenko is expecting. He’s expecting a useless apology, or maybe a question about him pressing charges.

“Uh yeah,” Tenko says, “favorite games?” He asks Shinsou.

“Last of Us, Portal, and Animal Crossing” Shinsou says, “You?”

“Dark Souls, Skyrim, God of War. First console?”

“PS3, have you beat Dark Souls?”

“Yep, three times.” 

“Damn, I can barely get like two thirds through.” he says. Tenko laughs.

“Trust me, three is nothing. One of my friends was a Hikikomori, he could beat it three times in a week, per week.” Tenko said. Aizawa returned with a wet cloth and bandages. He set the bandages down on the coffee table and offered the cloth to Tenko, who took it and wiped down the back of his neck. He held up his hair, letting Aizawa apply the bandaid. Thankfully, the older man didn’t comment on the hellscape of marred skin that was the back of Tenko’s neck. “Thanks.” he said. 

Eri came walking down the stairs, with Yamada behind her. He was holding a clear plastic sorting tray, that seemed to be filled with hair clips and other hair things. Eri proudly held a pink hairbrush.

Yamada set the tray on the coffee table, Eri opened it and looked at Tenko in consideration. She grabs a handful of clips and a few hair ties.

“Hold these,” she says.

-o-

His hair ends up in one braid, held with a hot pink hair tie, pink and blue butterfly clips interwoven throughout. Shinsou’s two friends had arrived around halfway through the braiding process, the two teens now getting the same treatment of various items being stuck in their hair.

Midoriya had a bush of green hair, talked a lot, and seemed most excited out of the three, judging by the amount of fake flowers he’d let Eri stick in his hair. His mom had dropped the two boys off, saying one of Todoroki’s older siblings would be there to pick them up. Todoroki seemed mostly unbothered by Eri’s insistence of braiding his hair, and Shinsou himself was braiding Eri’s hair as she worked on the other two.

Tenko acted as Eri’s assistant, handing her things and keeping everything in her box sorted. Yamada had run out to the store, and Aizawa sat in the dining room that the living room was connected to, watching the various antics of the group. 

It had been a relatively fun evening, definitely not what Tenko was expecting. A knock came from the front door, Tenko looked over to the dining table. Aizawa must have gone to the bathroom, he thinks when confronted with an empty chair. He looks over to Shinsou, who was in the middle of a small braid on the side of Eri’s head. 

“Can you get that? It’s probably just Pa, he forgets his key.” Shinsou said. Tenko nods, getting up from where he sat. He unlocks and opens the front door.

The man standing there is not Yamada. If Tenko thought he’d get the police called on him, then he’s surprised cop cars weren’t trailing this man. He’s only slightly taller than Tenko, but it's exaggerated by the fact that Tenko’s posture is hunched. He wore black pants, and a loose v-neck that hung off his thinner frame. His hair is a stark white, but really his defining feature is his tattoos. Across his face, neck, and down his arms, were carefully inked tattoos. Countless tattoos. All in a dark purple, almost black ink, they wove and danced around each other. They stopped at his wrist, a bit below his collar bone, and made a neat line stretching across his face. Tenko stared. Chilling turquoise eyes stared back. 

(“Who was that?” Kai asked. Tenko glanced over his shoulder at his classmate, raising an eyebrow. Kai nodded.

“Just a classmate, why?” He asked. Kai clicked his tongue.

“Nothing, he just… has an interesting look.” Kai said. The classmate in question had bursts of colored tattoos up and down both arms, Tenko shrugged. He went to take Kai’s gloved hand in his, who jerked back.

“Sorry darling, just... please wash your hands first.” Tenko nodded, heading off to find a bathroom, “and darling?” Tenko turned around, “stay away from him for now, alright?”)

“Hi princess.” Gross. This man is gross, any attraction points won were quickly thrown out the window.

“I’m a boy.” He says.

“I figured, otherwise I wouldn’t be flirting.” Tenko crinkles his nose.

“Why are you here?” Tenko asks. The guy didn’t exactly look like a girl scout.

“I’m picking up Shoto, better question, who are you? Didn’t know Aizawa adopted adults,” he said. “Maybe I can get him to take me in too, though then we’d be siblings, don’t know how down you are with that.” Tenko gags at the thought.

“Gross, and I’m not related to Aizawa.” He says. The man shrugs.

“Probably for the best.” He says. “I like your hair,” the tone is teasing. Tenko’s hand shoots up to make his bangs cover his face better, oh. Right. He’d forgotten the braid and butterfly clips. His face heats up. 

“Touya!” Eri and Shinsou are standing behind him, peaking around the door. 

“Touya-san, sup,” Shinsou said. 

“Hey,” he says.

“Touya, can I color?” Eri asks. When he nods, she grabs his hand and drags him, much like she did with Tenko. Tenko stares for a moment at the empty porch, before shutting the door and following them in.

When he got back to the living room, Touya was sitting with his arm in Eri’s lap, who had a set of washable markers, and was coloring the design on his forearm. Todoroki, Midoryia and Shinsou all seemed to be engaged in their own conversation. Tenko hesitantly made his way to the couch, and sat next to Eri.

“Oh, Touya,” Aizawa walked out of the bathroom, “I assume you’ll be taking those two home soon?” He says, gesturing to the two teens that weren’t his own. Touya nodded.

“Yeah, like fifteen minutes. Eri wanted to color,” he said, gesturing to where Eri was choosing between blue and red on a flame design that sat on Touya’s wrist. She chose blue.

“Shimura, you have a ride?” Aizawa asked. Tenko’s hand went to his neck. He shook his head.

“I was just planning to walk.” He says. Aizawa looks at him for a second before Touya speaks up.

“I’ll give you a ride,” he says. Tenko stares at him for a moment before nodding. Normally, he would have probably made a sarcastic decline, but he didn’t want to be a further burden on Aizawa. Plus, if Eri trusted him, then he wasn’t the scum of the earth. 

Fifteen painfully awkward (it was only awkward for Tenko, which made it even more painful) minutes later, Touya had a mostly colored forearm, and a buzzing phone.

“Fuyumi says we should get back,” he says to Shoto, who nods. Before Tenko can really process it, Touya, Todoroki, Midoriya, and himself are on the front porch, saying goodbyes to the family. Dusk had begun to settle, he really did stay longer than intended.

“You’ll be back, right Tenko?” Tenko was kneeled down to Eri’s height, she clinged to his sleeve.

“Yes,” he said, “I promise.” She nodded, though she looked like she might cry.

“You’re not going back to him?” She asked. Oh. Oh. 

“No Eri. He’s gone, ok? He’s not getting either of us. You have your brother and dads, yeah? And I have Kurogiri. And we have each other. We’re safe.” She nodded rapidly, and god, Tenko hoped that despite the fact he was surrounded by people that nobody heard that.

When he looks up though, he knows they have. Yamada (who’d arrived back a little while after Touya), definitely had tears bubbling in his eyes. Aizawa has his hand over his mouth. Shinsou looks like he might hug him. Tenko reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a slip of paper.

“That’s Kurogiri’s number,” he says, handing the paper to Aizawa, “he’s my legal guardian. He’ll probably want to have you over for tea if you contact him. He’s a great babysitter and has worked with trauma patients in the past.” Tenko says. He neglects to mention that he technically is one of the previously mentioned ‘trauma patients.’

Eri looks excited by the information, “Can I have tea with Kuro and Sako?” she asks Aizawa.

“Sako?” He asks.

“Kurogiri’s fiance.” Tenko supplies. Aizawa nods.

“Of course,” he tells Eri, who excitedly cheers, then runs back inside, dragging Shinsou with her, talking about how she wanted to do his hair. He sheepishly waves to his friends as he’s dragged away. Tenko stands up.

“Thanks for letting me see her. She’s a lot happier,” Tenko says to the two men. 

“Thanks for coming to see her, she talks a lot about you.” Yamada says. Aizawa nods in agreement. Tenko scratches his neck.

“Cool. Or… yeah. Contact Kurogiri if you need anything, he’ll respond faster than me. Bye.” With that, he turns around and walks down the path to where the three others stood.

“Woo, took ya long enough fairy.” Touya says. Tenko makes a face.

“Fairy?” He asks.

“Well you didn’t like princess, and your hair,” Touya loosely gestured with his hand, “It’s got fairy vibes.” He says. Tenko keeps his face scrunched. Touya shrugs. “Cars this way.” He says gesturing up the path, the four start to walk. 

“Can I be a fairy too?” Midoriya asks Touya, who laughs.

“Yeah kid,” he says.

“Score! Shoto you’re my Peter Pan!” Midoriya says to Todoroki, who smiles. 

They came up on a black car that looked a little old and beat up, Touya swung the keys on his fingers, unlocking and getting into the car. The two teens take the back seats, leaving Tenko to take the passenger seat.

Touya reached over to the glove box and popped it open, digging through the cassette tapes that it held.

“Cassettes? What are you, fifty?” Tenko says before he can stop himself. Touya snorts.

“Nah, I’m old fashion,” he says with a smirk. He picks a cassette out of the stack and shuts the glove box, before putting it in the player. A low bass hums throughout the car as Touya starts driving. The song picks up pretty quick, electric guitar and drums joining the track. Tenko hates that he starts to tap his foot. The music felt like the type you’d thrash too. Get beer spilled on you too. Join a mosh pit for. Such a far cry from the calculated steps of elaborate orchestras that Tenko had grown accustomed to.

(“You’re not in step darling,” Kai said. Tenko groans, dropping Kai’s hands.

“I can’t dance,” he said, “and I know you want to bring me to this banquet or whatever, but I’m really not made for it. My anxiety probably wouldn’t work well with it anyway” He said. Kai sighed and pinched his nose.

“Darling, you must understand that this is my world,” Kai said, “I just want you to see my world.” He whispered it low into his ear. Tenko shivered.

“Ok,” he said, “lets try the dancing again.”)

They pull up to an apartment building, Midoriya unbuckles his seat belt. “Thank you for the ride Touya-san! It was nice to meet you Shimura-san, and Shoto I’ll see you at school on monday!” He says as he gets out of the car, the three wave to him as he enters the building. They start driving again.

After a minute or so of driving, Touya reaches over and turns the music down slightly. “Shoto, you should undo your hair.” He says. Tenko glances back at Shoto, who seemed to reluctantly nod in agreement before going to take the clips out and undo the hair ties. “I’m sure Fuyumi will redo it if you ask,” Touya says, obviously sensing his brother's disappointment. His brother just nods and shoves the various items in his pocket. Tenko stays silent, he has a feeling this doesn’t need his commentary.

They pull into a rich neighborhood, not just upper class, but rich rich. If being in the cushy middle class neighborhood reminded him of Kai, this is ten times worse. He’s pretty sure he’d opened at least three wounds on his neck from the time they entered the gated community. They pull up in front of a set of gates. “If Enji asks how you got home, just say you walked, ok?” Touya says as the other boy unbuckles his seat and gets out of the car. Todoroki just nods. The silence in the car is tense.

“So pretty boy, where am I taking you?” Touya asks once they’re safely out of the rich neighborhood. Tenko gives him the address of the bar. 

“Why’d…” he trailed off.

“I make him undo his hair?” Touya filled in. Tenko hesitantly nodded. “His father isn’t the most accepting, if you catch my drift.” Touya says.

“Oh,” Tenko says. Touya just nods. He turns up the music.

-o-

“That is a bar.” Touya said as he pulled up to the address. “A closed one, at that.” 

“Your observation skills amaze me.” Tenko says, getting out of the car.

“Hey! You realize this looks like a drug deal or some shit, right?” Touya says, getting out of the car and following after Tenko. Tenko ignores him, going around the back alley, Touya following behind him. He came up on the back door, dug around for his key and unlocked it.

As he pushed the door open, he was greeted with the inside of the bar. Kurogiri stood behind the bar, washing a few glasses. “Tenko, your back with… a friend?” His voice edged confusion

“He’s not my friend.” Tenko said.

“A… date?” Kurogiri asks. Tenko flushes. Touya smirks.

“No! No, he gave me a ride. I don’t know why he’s still here.” Touya’s face shifts to fake-hurt.

“Come on, throw me a bone here,” he says.

“Will you stop trailing me like a lost puppy if I do?” Tenko asks, Touya smirks.

“Can I get a drink?” Touya asks Kurogiri.

“No, go away, we’re closed.” Tenko says. Kurogiri gets out a glass and starts to prepare a drink. Touya smiles and takes a seat. Tenko groans and takes the one next to him. 

“Loving the hair Tenko,” Atsuhiro said, walking into the main bar area. He was in his normal attire, though his prosthetic arm wasn’t on. “You brought a friend?” He asks, gesturing to Touya.

“Not friends!” he says.

“Date?”

“Gross.” He says.

“I’m Touya, pleasures mine,” Touya said, smiling.

“That’s a showman's smile, I already like this one.” Atsuhiro says, “Sako Atsuhiro,” he says, extending his remaining hand. Touya shakes it.

“It’s on the house, as thanks for returning Tenko safely.” Kurogiri says, setting a drink in front of Touya.

“I’m going to my room,” Tenko grumbles, getting up from his seat and walking through the door that led to the upstairs of the bar that acted as an apartment for the three residents.

-o-

“He left his number,” Atushiro says when Tenko walks down the stairs the next morning.

“Don’t care,” he says. Kurogiri hands him a slip of paper. Sure enough, it’s a phone number. He grumbles and shoves it into his pocket. 

“Eri’s fathers called, I invited them over for tea this Saturday,” Kurogiri said. Tenko nodded. Figures, he thinks. “We need to schedule the appointment with your new therapist soon,” he says. Tenko groans, taking a seat at the bar.

“Why do I need a new therapist?” he asks. Kurogiri gives him a look.

“Because your last one didn’t work out.” He says like it’s obvious, which to be fair, it is.

“But I have you!” Tenko says.

“I haven’t been a practicing therapist since you were sixteen, I’m also your legal guardian now, I hardly think that’s ethical.” He says, setting one plate of eggs in front of Tenko, another in front of Atushiro, then keeping the last plate for himself. He hands Tenko his medication too.

“You were my teacher,” Tenko grumbles, “how was that ethical?” he asks. Kurogiri stares at him.

“You were homeschooled.” He says. Tenko rolls his eyes despite knowing he has no ground to stand on with this. God, why did Kurogiri always have to be right? 

“Whatever. I’m going to Spinner’s.” He says, getting up, swallowing his pills with a gulp of water and leaving his barely touched eggs behind. He made his way back up the stairs and went into his room. He briefly considered taking a shower before shrugging the idea off. He takes off his sweatpants and changes into the same jeans he’d worn the day before, tugging on his red shoes and grabbing his keys and phone, then throwing on a jacket before hurrying back down the stairs again.

“Please schedule your appointment!” Kurogiri calls after him as he hastily exits the bar. If he slams the door like he’s a child throwing a tantrum, that’s no one’s business but his own. 

If he feels bad for it, that’s also only his business. Kurogiri wants the best for him. He knew that. The man had raised him since he was ten or so, always put the young bratty kid before himself, treated him like he was his own child. (Tenko ignored the voice in his head that told him he is Kurogiri’s child.)

He focused instead on the sounds of the city waking up, walking fast through the shopping district, making his way down to the shitty apartment buildings. It averaged a thirty minute walk, but with the short cuts Tenko knew by heart, he could cut it to twenty.

He rounded the last corner of the trip, Spinner’s and Jin’s apartment building coming into view. He’d met Spinner online when the other was still a Hikikomori, “Spinner” was technically his online alias, but seen as most of his friends had met him online, the name stuck in real life too. After they’d been friends for a while, Spinner had admitted he had periods of not leaving his house for months, sometimes even years, at a time. 

He and Tenko decided to meet in real life for the first time after Spinner had admitted that meeting up with his best friend was probably the only thing that would get him to leave his house. That had been five years ago now, Spinner having moved to the apartment he was currently in four years ago. He’d not gone back to his extreme reclusivity since. (Bad habits are hard to break, however. He still had bad weeks where he holed up in his apartment, but they were getting rarer.)

They’d both met Jin around the time Spinner moved into the apartment, he lived in the apartment a few doors over from Spinner. Jin, or Twice, depending on the day, was older than both of them by about six years, and honestly one of the nicest people Tenko had ever met. (Not that he’d admit that to the man's face.) He was awkward and a social outcast, which meant he fit right in with Spinner and Tenko. The three formed a pretty tight bond together. (One that had been cracked but Tenko was repairing it.) Tenko also had mild suspicion that Spinner had gained a crush on Jin, but love lives weren’t exactly his expertise. Obviously. 

He entered the apartment building, walking up the stairs two at a time to get to Spinner’s. He hadn’t been able to physically visit in awhile, but the two kept talking when playing various online games. He stopped on Spinner’s and Jin’s floor, exiting the stairwell and making his way down the hallway to Spinner’s door. He knocked.

No response. He knocked again. No response. Again. Nothing. He huffed and pulled out his phone, checking Discord. Spinner- OFFLINE his screen read. He sighed and walked a few doors over. He knocked.

The door opened, Jin stood in all his glory. “Tenko, what’s up? Why are you here, Dusty? ” His voice switched tones halfway through the sentence. 

“Is Spinner alive?” He asks.

“Yep! Talked to him yesterday. Through a door, I haven’t seen him. ” Tenko pinches his nose. 

“Thanks for the honesty Twice, give me the spare key.” He says, sticking his hand out. Jin makes a face.

“You know he doesn’t like it when we barge in, It’s on the coffee table. ” Tenko ducked under Jin’s arm and into the man's apartment, with only mild protest from Jin. He walked into the living room and… a girl, no older than sixteen, sat on the couch.

“Why is there a child?” He calls over his shoulder. The girl looks up from her phone.

“Jiiin, you didn’t tell me you were having friends over!” She says. Jin walks up behind Tenko.

“Tenko, Toga. Toga-chan, Tenko.” he says, addressing both then gesturing to the other. “She’s my cousin. Got a tattoo apprenticeship downtown, so she’s staying here.” He says with a shrug. Tenko’s mind begins to drift to Touya, but the girl interrupts before his brain can get too far.

“I’m Toga! Also nice aesthetic, very corpsey. I feel like I’d find you dead in an alleyway” She says, smiling.

“Thanks. I think.” Tenko says. They stare at each other for a moment, Toga’s smile stays plastered to her face. Tenko grabs the spare key to Spinner’s apartment off the table. “I’ll talk to you later,” he says, turning to Jin, then glancing back at Toga. 

“Bye-bye Tenko!” she calls as he exits the apartment.

He walks over to Spinner's apartment, unlocking and opening the door. The only light he could see was the blue glow of the TV screen in the living room. He enters and shuts the door behind him.

The sight he walks up on isn’t too unusual. Spinner is sitting on the couch, surrounded by empty food wrappers. His headset is on and his eyes are glued to the screen. Tenko hates himself for not checking up on his friend sooner, but his pity party can wait.

“Spinner.” Eyes stay on the screen. “Spinner.” he tries again. He sighs, steps forward, and tugs at the headset, “Spinner,” the headset falls around Spinner’s neck.

“One minute.” He says.

“No, not one minute, turn the game off.” He says, Spinner shifts so that Tenko can’t reach the controller when he goes to grab for it. “Spinner,” he says. Nothing. “Shuichi,” he says, tone serious, bordering mad.

Spinner’s given name gets his attention, his eyes break from the screen and he looks to Tenko. Realization hits him like bricks. “Oh… fuck.” he says. Tenko snorts.

“It’s sunday.” Tenko says, already knowing Spinner will need the day. Spinner gives a sigh of relief.

“It’s only been like three days then.” He says. 

“Have you slept?” Tenko asks.

“Uh, I think so? I just chugged a red bull though, so I doubt any sleeping is happening soon.” He gestures to the side table, where four empty red bulls sit.

“Just one?” Spinner nods in response. Tenko thinks for a second.

“Go get in the shower. I’ll clean up.” he says. Spinner gets up. 

“I’d hug you but I’m gross as fuck right now,” Spinner says, which gets a laugh from Tenko.

“Just go take a shower dumbass.” He says. Spinner nods and heads to the bathroom. Tenko walks over and opens the windows first, sunlight floods into the apartment. Then he goes to the TV, picking up the controller Spinner left on the coffee table, saving and exiting the game then shutting it off. He opens the supply closet and gets a trash bag, picking up the various food wrappers. The only thing he doesn’t touch is the plastic bottle of yellow liquid that definitely isn’t lemonade. 

Spinner gets out of the shower after about fifteen minutes, going to his room to change. He comes out dressed, still drying his hair.

“Thought you were doing good?” Tenko says, a little mad that Spinner had lied to him on their call a few days ago. Spinner sighs and leans against the wall. 

“I was, but when I went to the gym after our call someone commented on…” he gestured to his face. Most of his face was covered in deep acne scarring, and a recent break out showed on his forehead. He shrugged. “Usually it wouldn’t have bothered me y’know? I’m mostly over my whole angsty teen shit of hating myself for my appearance but… it just hurt. I panicked and I guess the comment just sent me spiralling.” He sighed, “I tried to go over to Jin’s place to get my mind off it, but he was out and not answering his phone. So… I holed up.” He shrugged.

“Speaking of Jin, have you met his cousin? She’s weird.” Tenko says.

“Weird in a us way?” he asks. Tenko shrugs.

“Come on, throw out your piss bottle then we can go say hi, I gotta give your spare key back anyway.” Spinner’s face goes red. 

“It was an emergency!”

-o-

“Oooo, you must be Spinner! Jin talks about you a lot!” Toga says when she opens the apartment door. Spinner’s face goes red. “He’s in the bathroom right now,” she supplies before either can ask. She lets them into the apartment, Tenko shutting the door behind himself.

“Uh, what does he say about me?” Spinner asks, following the girl into the apartment. She giggles.

“Like I’d tell! I like your scars by the way, they’re so cool!” She says, Spinner goes redder. He chats his teeth together in rapid succession, and somehow, goes even redder. 

“I- I, sorry, I do that when I’m nervous, I’m sorry-” he stutters.

“Don’t worry!” she says, “I’m Toga by the way!” Spinner just nods. Tenko snorts. Jin exits the bathroom, a smile spreading across his face when he sees Spinner.

“Spinner! Spinner! ” He cheers. Spinner grins.

“Jin! Twice!” He cheers. The two laugh, then hug. Tenko feels a tug on his sleeve, he looks down to see Toga hanging off it.

“They’re so cute!” She fake-whispers to him. Tenko attempts to shake her off, but her grip is strong. The two stop hugging, and Jin keeps an arm wrapped around Spinner’s waist, Spinner with one over Jin’s shoulders.

“I have to take Toga-chan to meet the guy she’s apprenticing under, you guys want to come?” he asks the two. Tenko shrugs and Spinner nods.

“Woo! Family outing!” Toga cheers. 

“Family?” he asks.

“We are now!” Toga says with a smile. 

-o-

They pull up on the tattoo shop. Blue Flame Tattoos the sign above the door reads. Toga rocks in her seat excitedly. “Dabi gets hundreds of portfolios a year!” Toga says. she'd been going on about this Dabi guy since they got in the car. Apparently, he’s one of the best tattoo artists in Japan. I wonder if Touya’s are done by him, Tenko thinks before he can stop himself. God. He meets a guy once and he’s whipped, how pathetic is that?

“It’s a miracle he chose mine! I wonder if it was the detail I managed to get on the blood that impressed him? Or maybe it was the teeth one?” She ponders aloud. She held a sketchbook filled to the brim with various gory drawings that she had been excitedly shoving in Tenko’s face. Needless to say, they were pretty fucking cool.

“I liked the one of the exposed bone,” he supplies. She’d showed him a sketch of a person's back, their skin pulled open, showing off their spine in detail. She giggled.

“Thanks! The finished piece is better, trust me!” she said.

She practically bounces out of the car, the three others following behind her. The bell rings as they enter the shop. Tenko stays hidden behind Jin’s larger figure with his hair hiding his face and hood pulled up. He talked to Spinner about the game they’d both bought recently as they walked in.

“Ah, you must be Toga Himiko, your portfolio is the first to impress me in awhile,” a voice speaks and… no. No it can’t be, he just sounds similar. He gets on his tip toes and peaks over Jin’s shoulder. Fuck. It’s Touya. Of course. He shrinks back down. Spinner looks at him funny.

“Thank you!” Toga says. She and Touya shoot into a conversation. Jin and Spinner had taken to looking at the photos on the wall, a lot of framed artwork, mostly ink drawings. Tenko distracted himself with the art too, a large one that seemed to be a centerpiece on the left wall of the waiting area.

It was by far the largest piece on the wall. The background of the drawing was a detailed fire pattern, the black ink dancing around the main figure of the drawing. It’s the same pattern that’s on Touya’s arm, Tenko realized. The drawing was more than just that pattern though. A figure danced in the flame, arms out with one leg lifted back. He faced away from the viewer, as though it wasn’t them he was entertaining. Tenko peered up at the laughing face of the figure. It's Touya, he realizes, showman’s smile and all. The only color in the piece is red ink that acts as the figure's shadow, cast towards the viewer, as though Touya was backlit by the flame.

Tenko breaks his eyes from the drawing to read the small engraved metal plate that sat at the bottom of the frame. ‘ -Rebirth- ’ It read. 

“That one’s my favorite.” Touya says from behind him. Tenko tenses. “Newest piece on the walls too, finished it a few months ago.” He says. “You’re one of Toga’s friends I assume?” He asks. Honesty is my most regrettable quality, Tenko thinks before turning around and tugging down his hood.

“O-oh, hey,” Touya says, “uh I’ll take that as a no on the being Toga’s friend?” he asks.

“She’s my friend's cousin. I didn’t know you worked here till I saw you, don’t worry.” he says.

“Worked here? I own the place.” He sounded proud, Tenko raises an eyebrow.

“You’re Dabi ?” he asks. Touya laughs.

“The one and only,” he says. Tenko looks back to the piece on the wall. “I uh… left my number for you, I don’t know if you got it-”

“I did.” Tenko says.

“Oh.” Touya says. “Sorry for bothering you then-”

“How old are you?” Tenko interrupts him.

“Twenty-five.” Touya answers. Tenko thinks for a moment before pulling out his phone and the slip of paper. He makes a new contact, copying the number from the paper into his phone. He sends a message. Touya’s phone, located in his back pocket, buzzes. He reaches for it, opening the message.

unsaved > you

im going to regret this

-o-

They text. Semi-regularly. He learns a few things about Touya pretty quickly. One, the obvious one, is that he’s a tattoo artist, under the pen name Dabi. Tenko calls him emo for it, and Touya’s retaliation is that he thought of it when he was fourteen. He hears about Toga’s progress as his apprentice, he says she’s impatient, but he likes her potential. Apparently he gets rid of most apprentices after less than a week. She’s lasted a week so far, and Touya is pretty confident she’ll stay.

Two, his drawing, Rebirth, is part of a series of drawings he started when he was fifteen. He thinks he might burn all the pieces in the series to ‘complete its process’ or some weird artist shit. When Tenko told him that he sounded like a pyromaniac, Touya said he’s had a diagnosis since he was five.

Three, his tattoos cover scarring. All of them. Every tattoo is on a scar. The only reason he tells Tenko is when he asks Touya if it’s possible to tattoo over scarred skin. (Spinner had expressed interest in getting a lizard tattoo on his arm but the place that he’d want it is covered in deep acne scars.) 

There's more, obviously, but Tenko isn’t a Touya wikipedia page. By far the worst thing he learns however, is that he likes texting Touya. He likes talking to him. He wants to. His first thought after something funny happens is I should tell Touya. It scares him to all hell. He’s only known him for a week. 

He wakes up Saturday morning with a crick in his neck and a dead phone. He checks the clock on his bedside table. 11:47am. He’d fallen asleep late texting Touya. They’d gotten into a conversation about fucky government things, and while conversations like that with Spinner usually derailed into insane conspiracy theories, Touya talked at length about how he personally would be a cannibal if it meant eating the flesh of a rich man. (Not that Tenko didn’t like crazy conspiracy time with Spinner, he just appreciated someone else who hated capitalism as much as he did.)

He plugs in his phone and walks down the stairs, opening the door that led to the bar. He’s met with the sight of Aizawa, Yamada, Kurogiri, and Atsuhiro sitting at the bar with tea. Right, he forgot. Oops.

“Tenko, good morning,” Kurogiri says, “though it’s almost noon.” he adds.

“Morning,” Tenko says. “Aizawa, Yamada,” he nods at the two of them. Yamada gives a small wave and smiles, while Aizawa nods back. He sits down at the bar a few stools away from them. Kurogiri puts a plate of eggs in front of him. “Medication?” he asks, Kurogiri reaches under the bar and pulls out two pill bottles, setting them in front of Tenko. They each have one dose left.

“I meant to go shopping a few days ago and get them refilled, but the pharmacy was closed.” he says. Tenko vaguely waves with his hand.

“It’s fine, I can go today.” he says. He takes the pills with water. Whilst Kurogiri and him had been speaking, Yamada and Atsuhiro had their own conversation. Tenko noticed Atsuhiro was wearing his prosthetic, with its glove that went up to the elbow, the rest of the prosthetic was hidden under his long sleeved shirt. They both spoke at a fast pace, adding on and laughing every time the other spoke. Aizawa stayed silent, mostly just listening and watching his husband speak.

“How’s Eri?” Tenko asks. Aizawa looks at him.

“Good, she keeps asking when you’ll visit again,” Aizawa informs him. Tenko snorts.

“She’s insistent.” He says. Aizawa nods.

“She uh… she still get nightmares?” He asks hesitantly. Aizawa eyes him, a bit suspicious. He nods. “You stay with her through them?” he asks. Again, Aizawa nods. Tenko’s entire body relaxes. “Good. That’s good.” He says, nodding.

A knock comes from the back door. Kurogiri looks over to Tenko with his eyebrow raised. “Are you expecting anyone?” He asks Tenko. Tenko shakes his head. Kurogiri walks over, opening the door. Jin stood with Toga, he smiles when he sees Kurogiri.

“Hi Kuro! We’re here to kidnap Tenko! ” He says. 

“Hi Mist -er! I’m Toga, Jin’s cousin!” Toga says excitedly, shaking Kurogiri’s hand. She spots Tenko sitting at the bar and bounces over to him. How much energy did that girl have, and how the hell was she steady enough to tattoo? Tenko thinks. She stops though, when she sees Yamada and Atsuhiro.

She looks between the two of them, squints, then a look of shock takes over her face. “Holyshit!” She screeches, if she didn’t already have the bar's five occupants' attention, she did now. “Jin you didn’t tell me you know Present Mic and Mr. Compress!” She says.

“No idea why Present Mic is in the bar, I did too tell you about Compress, you just don’t listen! ” Jin said. He looked sheepish after Twice spoke, glancing at Yamada and Aizawa, unused to having one, much less two new people with their attention on him. Luckily Toga steals it back pretty quickly.

“I listen to your radio show every night,” she tells Yamada, “and your magic routine, not even other professional magicians can figure it out!” She says to Atsuhiro. Both men laugh, Yamada calls her a ‘little listener’ and she glows, meanwhile Atsuhiro produces a blue marble from thin air and hands it to her. She squeals. “Can I get a picture?” she asks. They both nod.

She gets out her phone and throws up a peace sign, the other two do the same, almost subconsciously. She snaps the photo, then giggles as she looks it over. “Bisexual hours,” she mutters, mostly to herself. “Thank you! As much as I’d love to stay and talk,” she says, “I’ve got a Tenko to steal!” She turns her attention to Tenko.

“Come on! Dabi told me if I can get you to visit him I get to learn about the machine!” She says, tugging on Tenko. Tenko rolls his eyes. 

“Off, I need to get dressed.” he says. He throws one last glance to Kurogiri and Aizawa who seem to be having some sort of silent conversation. How the two connected so fast and easily, Tenko had no idea.

-o-

He changes into his last clean pair of black jeans, a shitty hawaiian t-shirt he’d stolen from Spinner, and his red shoes. He throws his black hoodie over it and the moment he re-enters the bar, he’s being dragged away by Toga. He barely manages to swipe his prescription off the counter to get refilled before he’s out the door, calling out his good-byes to the four adults as he’s dragged out of the alley-way and shoved into Jin’s back seat. To any outsider, it really did look like a kidnapping.

Toga and Jin began talking about some show the two had started watching, Tenko zoning out a bit as they spoke. Soon enough, the car stopped in front of Blue Flame Tattoos. Tenko stepped out of the car. “How’s Spinner?” He asks Jin as they walk to the door.

“Good! Actually this time, we went for coffee yesterday. He’s so cute. ” Jin went bright red and looked off as though he hadn’t said anything. Tenko snorted. They opened the door, the small bell dinging to signify their entrance. 

“Ah, my favorite apprentice,” Touya says, leaning out from behind the privacy curtain where he was supposedly working on a customer. He sees Tenko and raises his eyebrow, “you brought gifts,” he says. Tenko makes a face. Touya leans back behind the privacy curtain, the buzzing of the machine shutting off.

“That’s all we’re doing today, I’m getting tired of these wings anyway.” He says. Tenko hears a laugh.

“Whatever you say hot stuff, just patch me up and I’ll be back Wednesday.” The voice says.

“Careful pretty bird, you might trip on that entitlement,” he says. The voice laughs. Tenko ignores the ugly thing that curls in his gut. He has no right, he barely knows Touya. (He feels like Kai. It’s disgusting. He’s disgusting.) A little while later, a man walks out with Touya from behind the privacy curtain, tugging on his shirt. His hair is a rugged blond, eyes sharp, teeth a perfect white row as he flashes the three a smile.

“Pay up pretty bird,” Touya says. Of course he gives flirty nicknames to everyone, why would Tenko be special? The man whistles and pulls out a card, handing it to Touya, who swipes the card and hands it back.

“I should charge extra for the emotional pain you put me through,” He mutters. The man laughs. It's big and bright. It is not cracked, dusted, and used. Tenko hates that these are the things he notices. The payment registers and Touya gives the man a thumbs up, who goes to exit the shop, not even glancing at the group of three.

“Later hot stuff!” he calls over his shoulder as the door slams shut.

Hot stuff.

“I brought your crush now teach me about the machine!” Toga says after a moment of silence. Crush? Touya smirks.

“Get your hands washed and gloves on kid,” he tells her, she runs off to the bathroom. “So, either of you have tattoos?” Touya asks after a moment.

“Yep!” Jin said, holding up his left wrist, a small semicolon on it. He’d had it for as long as Tenko had known him. Touya looked at it and smiled.

“Damn dude, I always love doing those,” he says. Jin smiles.

“How ‘bout you?” Touya turns his attention to Tenko.

“No,” Tenko says.

“Ever thought about it?” Touya asks.

(“A dog? You want a tattoo of a mutt?” Kai asked, looking at him with disgust. Tenko shrinked back.

“Kurogiri liked the idea,” he said.

“Well you're not living with Kurogiri, are you? I can barely touch you as is, if you got a tattoo I’d need to wash my hands from just looking at you. Be sensible darling.” Kai’s gloved hand gripped his chin.

“I’m sorry.” Tenko says.

“It’s ok darling, just don’t think about it again. We must stay clean, even in the thoughts.”)

“No.” Tenko says. Touya raises an eyebrow.

“Really? Most people at least think about it,” Touya shrugs, “lotta people see it as a big commitment though, to each their own. Though if you ever do want one, you know where to find me,” he says with a wink. Toga comes running out of the bathroom.

“Machine, machine, machine!” She chanted. Touya laughed.

“Jin and I have to go to the store,” Tenko said, “we’ll pick Toga up later.” He already had taken Jin’s hand and began tugging him towards the exit.

“Oh, uh yeah ok, I’ll text you,” Touya says. Tenko ignores him.

“Buh-bye!” He hears Toga call as the door swings shut.

“Woah, woah dude, I’ll take you to the store just slow down a second,” Jin said as Tenko patted him down for his keys. He stops, hands dropping lifeless to his side.

“Sorry.” He says.

“It’s fine, you touched my ass, not fine! Are you good?” He asks.

“Yeah, fine. I just,” he reaches into his zip-up’s pocket, pulling out the empty bottles, “need to refill these.” He says. Jin raises an eyebrow.

“You basically ran outta there, you don’t have to tell me- yes you do! I enact my certified best-friend certificate! Spill! ” Jin says. Tenko looks down to his shoes. Jin fills the silence by lighting a cigarette.

“I want a tattoo.” He whispers after a moment. Jin thinks.

“And?” he asks.

“And tattoos aren’t clean.” he answers.

“Oh. Oh. ” At least Jin and Twice are in agreement on something, Tenko thinks bitterly. “ Do you need a hug?” Jin asks. Tenko nods. Jin’s arms wrap around Tenko. They stay like that for a minute.

“Okay,” Tenko says into the silence, backing out of the hug. “I’m good.” Jin nods and gets his keys.

-o-

“Ya think Spinner would like these?” Jin held up a bag of dried bugs. Tenko scrunches his nose in disgust. Jin throws it in the cart anyway.

“Why are we going through the entire store?” Tenko asked as they went up and down every aisle.

“Tenko and Jin bonding time! I didn’t know this was happening, I don’t have my list, ” Jin says.

“Jin? Tenko?” A voice comes from up the aisle.

“Magne! Big Sis! ” Jin excitedly says, he abandons the cart, shoving a cereal box he picked up into Tenko’s hands, and runs forward to hug Magne.

“It’s good to see you!” Magne says as she and Jin compete to crush each other in a hug.

“Hey Magne,” Tenko says. His grip on the box tightens. He studies Cap’n Crunch’s smiling face to avoid meeting Magne’s eyes.

“Tenko,” she greets, “how’ve you been?” 

(“Her surgeries are cosmetic, I don’t see why you’re defending her.” Kai spoke, “I’ve always disliked her, too brash.”

“They’re so she feels more at home in her own body. You’re not even her surgeon, why do you care?” Tenko asks.

“Surgeries are miracles, Tenko. Changing one's body for the hell of it is a disgrace to the craft. You know how much of a shame what you did before we got together is. Is it for her livelihood? Will her heart stop if she doesn’t get it?” Kai asks.

“...no, but-”

“Then he doesn’t need it.” Kai cuts him off.

“She. Use her pronouns or I’m…” Tenko trails off, his nails digging into his neck so hard that blood stains his fingers.

“She. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Kai says.

“It’s ok.” It’s not ok, none of this is ok.)

“Good.” He says.

“Are you…” she trails off. 

“We broke up.” He says. “A while ago.” His nails dig into the cardboard of the cereal box.

“Congratulations,” she says it quietly, like it’s a sentiment for only Tenko and Cap’n Crunch to hear. His eyes snap up to her.

Congratulations.

He drops the cereal box, taking two large strides and crashes into a hug. Magne hugs back with force. “I’m sorry Big Sis,” he mumbles into her shoulder.

“It’s good to have you back,” she says.

-o-

They learn Magne is back in town for a few months for a mechanics event, though she expressed interest in getting an apartment in the city. They finish shopping together, planning to take their separate ways after they exit the store. Magne and Tenko stood off to the side as Jin loaded the groceries from his cart to his car.

“How’s Eri-chan?” She asks.

“Oh, uh good. Her new family is sweet.” He says.

“Kuro and Sako?” she asks, he shakes his head.

“No, Atsuhiro couldn’t qualify for custody at the time. His arm.” Tenko says. Magne nods. “Kuro proposed though,” Magne smiles.

“Am I getting an invite?” She asks. 

“Of course Big Sis. I don’t think Atsuhiro would let you miss it.” He says. “They’re waiting for the dust to settle and all that though,” he adds. Magne nods.

“We’re all loaded up, are you sure we can’t steal you Big Sis? ” Jin says, shutting the car trunk. Magne laughs.

“I have places to be boys, it was good to run into you, stay in touch! And you better introduce me to Toga soon, she sounds like a troublemaker,” Magne says. Jin laughs and hugs Magne one more time.

“You two are gonna love each other, I’m scared, you guys would definitely break a law, ” Jin says, Magne laughs and Tenko snorts.

“He’s not wrong,” Tenko says.

-o-

They stop at Jin’s apartment first, dropping off the groceries. “Has Dabi texted you?” He asks when they get back in the car. Tenko checks his phone.

4 New Messages from Flame Fucker

He opens them.

Flame Fucker > you

toga already knows everything about the machine

Flame Fucker > you

wtf this is literally a newer model it took me months to even get a look at one

Flame Fucker > you

what is jin feeding her

Flame Fucker > you

[image attachment]

The last message is a selfie taken by Touya. Toga is behind him, excitedly looking at the machine, appearing to be mid-speech. Touya looked at the camera, a mildly afraid expression on his face. Tenko snorted.

you > Flame Fucker

jin bought so many fucking pomegranates

you > Flame Fucker

so probably that

Tenko stared at the messages for a moment before opening his camera and turning slightly in his seat, getting Jin in the background of the frame. He stuck out his tongue, snapped the photo, and sent it before he could overthink it. 

Flame Fucker > you

thats ur contact photo now

you > Flame Fucker

fuck you

Flame Fucker > you

buy me dinner first

Tenko checks the time. A little past three. “We’re getting take-out, I’ll pay.”

-o-

Tenko set the paper bag filled with greasy burgers and salted fries on the counter next to the register, in front of Touya. He stared at it.

“That’s food.” He says. Tenko looks at him. 

“Ooo! Give me fries!” Toga says popping out from behind the curtain, then rooting around the bag and grabbing out one of the four fry servings.

“Ey, not near the machine!” Touya says before she can turn around. She gasps, offended.

“As if I would hurt machine-chan!” she said.

“Machine-chan?” Tenko asked. Touya shrugged.

“She said it, not me.” Tenko watched as she moved into the waiting area, flopping down next to Jin, who was eating his burger. Tenko reached into the bag and grabbed out a few fries. Touya watched, a weird look in his eyes as he stared at the bag.

“...do you not want your fries? Because I’ll take them.” He says when Touya makes no move to get food. 

“Nah, they’re mine,” Touya says, weird look gone. He reaches into the bag and pulls out fries and one of the burgers.

-o-

Apparently cheesy, frankly bad, early 2000’s memes about ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,’ are right. After the take-out, Touya (somehow) texts more. They text a lot the next few days, his time slot in the day for playing shitty horror games is stolen up by Touya. Tenko even considers letting him come with him later that week to visit Eri together.

“You should invite him to movie night,” Spinner tells him when Tenko said this in the middle of a CSGO match.

“...you guys still do movie night?” He asked.

“...oh. Yeah, I guess we forgot to start inviting you again after…” Spinner’s voice trails off in his headset. “Well, tomorrow, me, Jin and Toga were already planning to go see that new zombie thriller. You should come, invite Dabi.” Spinner said. 

That’s how he ended up here, in front of the movie theater he hadn’t stepped foot into in months. Tenko, Jin, Spinner and Toga waited outside the theater for Touya. Tenko was starting to regret letting Kurogiri wash his jacket, he felt naked without it on, and the cold pinched his arms. After another minute or so, Touya’s car pulled up, he got out and shut the door, spotted the group and walked over.

“Sup,” he says, stopping when he gets next to Tenko.

“Hey,” Tenko says. He sniffs. 

“C’mon! Movies starting soon,” Toga says, entering the theater. The carpet in the establishment is definitely caked with dirt, grime, and probably puke. Fluorescent lights glare, a harsh contrast from the setting sun outside. 

They buy their tickets off a girl with bright pink hair, going to the snack counter next, buying sugary drinks and buttered popcorn. The tired worker, a teenager with spiky blond hair, hands them their two popcorns, drinks, and candy. “Enjoy the movie,” he drones in a bored voice.

“Bakubro you gotta say it with more enthusiasm!” His coworker says.

“Shitty hair, I will kill you.” Tenko hears as they walk towards the designated screen.

The group takes their seats in the back, ordering Spinner, Toga, Jin, Dabi, and Tenko left to right. Tenko hadn’t seen any trailers for the movie, only knowing it’s a ‘zombie thriller,’ as Spinner had told him.

-o-

“-and then, I shall cleanse the human race!”

That’s the point Tenko walks out. The movie’s barely been on for thirty minutes. Turns out, where he was expecting a gorey survival of the apocalypse, he got a story of a doctor’s mad descent into curing the earth of the ‘disease of humanity.’ He’s up and out of his seat as soon as the doctor ends his speech on cleaning up god’s trash.

This is stupid, he thinks as he exits the theater into the main area.

This is stupid, he thinks as he exits the building into the cold night.

This is so, so, so fucking stupid, he thinks as his ass hits the hard pavement. He pulls his knees up and rests his head on them, hands going back to scratch at his neck. 

A coat gets draped on his shoulders. He hears the soft thunk of someone sitting next to him. An unsuccessful flick of a lighter. Flick . He looks up. Flick. The street lamp’s light glows off Touya’s hair. Flick. His cigarette lights. Touya leans back until his back hits the brick of the building. Tenko watches.

“You’re missing the movie,” Tenko says after a minute. Touya raises his eyebrow.

“So are you,” he says. Silence washes back over them. Tenko’s hands move from his neck to the jacket, tugging it around him.

(Tenko laughed, then pouted. Kai raised an eyebrow, amused. “I’m cold,” he complained, “and you have a long sleeved shirt on under that jacket,” he adds. The amusement is gone from Kai’s face. Tenko already regrets speaking.

“You’re dandruff would get stuck in the fur.”)

Tenko leans back and rests against the brick of the building next to Touya. The silence isn’t suffocating as Tenko would have guessed. It’s just silence. Tenko can breathe in the silence. It’s nice. “Sorry,” he says after a minute.

“For what?” Touya asks.

“Making you miss the movie,” Tenko says. Touya laughs out smoke.

“You’re not making me do anything, came out here on my own free will,” Touya says. Tenko turns to look at him.

“You came out here because of me.” Tenko says. Touya nods. Tenko furrows his eyebrows. “I’m being an inconvenience,” he states.

“I came to the movies because you invited me,” Touya says, “if anything, the movie was the inconvenience in hanging out with you.” Touya sticks the cigarette back in his mouth.

“We’re sitting in silence, that’s hardly ‘hanging out.’” Tenko says. Touya rolls his eyes.

“Well let's go do something then,” he says. Tenko considers him for a moment.

“Ok.”

-o-

“Is this legal?” Tenko asks as they stand in front of a tall fence, Touya already half-way up. They got in Touya’s car and drove for a while, to the outskirts of the town.

“Probably not!” He calls down. Tenko shrugs and starts climbing. He reaches the top and straddles the fence, Touya jumps down, hitting the grass below. “C’mon! Jump down,” Touya says. Tenko looks down and scrunches his nose.

“I’m not breaking my leg,” Tenko says. Touya snorts.

“Fine, if you’re such a baby,” he offers his arms out, “I’ll catch you.” Tenko grips the fence tighter.

“Your twig arms would snap,” he says. Touya raises an eyebrow.

“Your twig body weighs less than a corgi,” Touya retaliates. Tenko rolls his eyes.

“...if you drop me I’m never speaking to you again.” He says. Touya laughs, bracing his arms. Tenko hesitates for a moment more, then jumps.

Touya grunts when he catches him, stumbling back a bit. Tenko sits bridal style, mildly frazzled, in Touya’s arms. “See?” Touya says.

“Whatever,” Tenko mumbles. Touya gingerly sets him down, then takes his wrist in his hand and starts walking towards the abandoned playground they came here for. “How do you even know about this place?” Tenko asks to ignore the rising heat in his cheeks.

“My siblings and I used to hang out here,” he says. They get to the rock wall, which to a kid, four or five, would look like a mountain. To Touya’s five ten and Tenko’s five nine though, it was maybe a little less than double Tenko’s height. 

They climb up it, Touya first, then Tenko. Touya offers a hand to Tenko from the platform he sits on as Tenko reaches the top. He takes it. Touya pulls him up, but doesn’t let go of his hand. “Look up,” Touya says in a quiet voice. Tenko does.

The stars shine in the sky. Light pollution in the town made stargazing mostly impossible, but out here, the sky offered itself to the viewer. Tenko’s eyes went wide at the sight of the stars. “Pretty, right?” Touya mumbled. When Tenko looked down, he found Touya closer than expected.

“Can I…” Touya trailed off, “can I kiss you?” He asked.

(Kai forced his tongue into Tenko’s mouth, which meant it was a good day. Meant his mysophobia wasn’t acting up. Meant he and Tenko could… touch. 

“Kai,” Tenko said, pushing his shoulder back slightly, Kai began trailing kisses down his throat. “Kai, stop I-”

“Darling, you wanted this yesterday, right? I don’t know when I’ll feel up to it again,” he says, hands curling around Tenko’s shirt, tugging it over the man's head.

“I don’t feel well.” Tenko says. That makes Kai’s hands stop.

“Like… sick?” He asks. Tenko nods, letting the lie press into the silence. Kai’s hands are off him in an instant.

“Stay in the guest room,” Kai says, getting up and running to the bathroom to clean himself.)

His phone rings. Tenko reaches into his back pocket and grabs it, other hand still in Touya’s. He turns his face away from Touya’s and answers it without even looking at the contact.

“-be fine! Tenko, thank god, we thought you two would come back, we’re sorry, we didn’t know it’d-” Spinner’s voice filled his ears.

“I’m fine, we just went for a drive,” He cuts Spinner off. He hears Spinner sigh in relief, then communicate the information to Toga and Jin.

“So Dabi will drop you off at the bar and everything?” Spinner asks.

“Yeah,” Tenko answers.

“‘Kay, that’s good! Text me when you get there, just to be sure you're safe.” He says. 

“I will,” he answers. 

“Great! We’ll talk later, and choose a better movie next movie night,” Spinner says.

“Ok. Bye.” He says. The line clicks. He looks back to Touya.

“The uh… the question still stands,” Touya says. Tenko stares at him.

“I’m…” Tenko knows this is a bad idea. He’s alone with Touya in god knows where, with no mode of transport that isn’t controlled by Touya. He’s either about to, at best, get rejected. At worst, die. Get hate crimed, brutal beaten, the whole sha-bang. Touya’s gay though, so slightly more trust worthy, but… still. “I’m trans. Gender. Transgender.” 

It takes a second for Touya’s brain to catch up, and when it does he opens his mouth. “Female to male? Or uh… ftm? That’s how people say it, right?” He asks. Tenko stares.

“Yeah.” He says, gaping like a fish.

“Cool. Doesn’t answer my original question though,” he says. Tenko looks at him like he’s crazy.

“What will you do if I say no?” Tenko asks.

“Uh… not kiss you?” Touya says. Tenko thinks for a moment.

“Can I… think on it?” He asks. Touya nods. 

“Ok. I’ll um… I’ll think about it.” His cheeks are on fire.

Touya, the insane man he is, smiles.

-o-

He has a process with this. Has since he started testosterone when he was seventeen. Kurogiri used to help with this, actually putting the needle in, but he’d started doing it himself when he was twenty. 

First, he sits in the bathroom that shoots off his room in just his boxers and a shirt, preparing mentally for the needle. It always took a lot of work up, he’d hated needles and hospitals since he was a kid. (The irony is not lost on him. He just hates them more now.)

Then he wipes down the area he plans to put the shot, a meaty bit of his thigh. Then he preps the shot, deep breaths in and out the entire time. Then the actual shot. Insert, press, and… done.

“Holy fuck, are you shooting up?” Touya’s voice comes from the doorway of the bathroom. Tenko looks up, holding the empty shot.

“What?! N-no! Jesus, this is my T-shot,” He says. Touya raises an eyebrow.

“Your uh… what?” he asks.

“T. Testosterone. Masculinizing hormone.” He says. Touya makes an ‘o’ face.

“So like… does it hurt?” He asks. Tenko shakes his head as he begins to clean up.

“No, just don’t like needles.” He says. Touya nods. Tenko pauses, eyebrows furrowing.

“Why… why are you here?” He asks, confusion clear in his voice. Touya laughs.

“You invited me to go visit Eri with you, remember?” Tenko thinks… yep. After their late night star gazing two days before, he got out of the car and told Touya to come with him to the Aizawa-Yamada residence that Friday. He checked his phone. Friday.

“Kurogiri let me in, I thought you’d be ready, and uh… dressed.” Touya says. Tenko snorts and rolls his eyes.

“Oh wow, you can see my legs, so scandalous.” He says, turning around to look at Touya, who’s smirking.

“Well, you’re jeans don’t hug your ass that tight so… it’s a treat.” He says. Tenko’s face heats up. He looks away, walking past Touya into his bedroom, grabbing a pair of pants off his bed and putting them on. Next he tugs on his shoes, then grabs the jacket. Right. The jacket.

He’d forgotten to give Touya his jacket back, and would probably now have to explain why it was on his bed. He turns slowly to where a, still smirking, Touya was watching him. 

“Not a word,” he says. Touya raises an eyebrow, mimes zipping his mouth shut, locking it, and hands Tenko the invisible key. Tenko rolls his eyes. “Good.” he mumbles, walking out of his room and motioning for Touya to follow. Tenko puts the jacket on half-way down the stairs.

-o-

“What song is this?” Tenko asks a few minutes into the drive. The song was in English, but Tenko’s foot subconsciously tapped to it. It was different from the other music of Touya’s that Tenko had heard, acoustic rather than electric. Touya looks at him. “Uh… hello?” Touya points at his mouth. Tenko stares for a moment before rolling his eyes. “Focus on the road,” he says, turning away from Touya. They keep driving.

About ten minutes later, they pull up in front of Aizawa and Yamada’s house, Touya pops the cassette out and puts it back in his glove box, then looks at Tenko expectantly. Tenko rolls his eyes again, and takes the invisible key he’d been handed earlier, then unlocks Touya’s mouth.

“Coffee, God, And Cigarettes, by Mischief Brew.” Touya says.

“What?” 

“The song earlier, American band.” Touya explains. Tenko stares at him. The morning light reflected off his face, making his hair look as golden as his piercings. The light highlighted his tattoos, making the purple tint of the ink more noticeable. His eyes are bright and shining, light reflected off them, bringing out the depth. Specks of grey floated in his iris. Like Kois in a pond, Tenko thinks.

“Ok,” he says. Touya goes to open his door, but Tenko catches his hand. “No, I mean…” he trails off. “Your question. Ok.” Touya shifts, facing Tenko again. His body is relaxed. He leans forward. His breath is hot against Tenko’s lips.

“Yeah?” He asks.

“Yeah,” Tenko says. Touya leans forward. Their faces slot together, and they kiss.

It’s soft. Well, kind of. Tenko’s lips are chapped and scarred, Touya’s bottom lip is rough, but the sentiment is there. There is no urgency to it, the sun’s light streaming in through the windows of the car and the birds singing outside ask nothing of them, so they let the moment take its time.

They separate slightly, then kiss again. Tenko’s hand goes to Touya’s hair, which is soft with no complications to it. Tenko’s hand sinks into it. They separate again, this time Tenko leans back just slightly. “We should head in,” he says.

“Ok,” Touya says just above a whisper.

They exit the car, walking up the path together. Their hands brush a few times, Touya hooks their pinky fingers together before they reach the porch. They pause for a moment, Tenko looks over to Touya. He has a small smile on his face. Tenko raises a hand and knocks. The door opens.