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astrobot · 2 years ago

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Writing shitty, unedited short stories is fun, actually

Smashed against a wall with a fist to his chest wasn't exactly how Hiro was expecting to spend this night.

It was supposed to be an easy mission. There was a beast raging down town, and Valentine told him and Lana to take care of it. Unfortunately, downtown happens to be the only place the media really cares about in their shitstain of a city.

Caring enough to send in their finest, at least.

Star Storm was small, but god was she buff. She had him pinned with just one arm over his chest, inching dangerously to his throat. Her white cape bellowed behind her, pushed by what Hiro could only assume was some anime force beyond comprehension. That, or being a modern day demi-god had a side effect of expelling your strength in a constant ambience.

She hadn't said a word since she flung him around the decrepit building like a well-worn chew toy. She was staring at him with an intensity he almost didn't think possible, a thousand emotions pulling her face an expression of extreme grief, anger... And fear.

It was subtle but it was there. The shine in her eye, the warble in her painted lips, the small shake in her unbreakable stance. He probably wouldn't have even noticed if she wasn't so confusingly familiar to him. Her face was like a childhood dream, a hazy memory you just can't place. He knows her; actually knows her. He knows the monster in front of him, and whatever he does know about her makes the thought of calling her a monster surge bile into his throat.

They stayed like that for what felt like minutes. Two strangers who knew each other like a nostalgic smell; two enemies on either side of a battle. Two teenagers way out of their depth.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Shoot a meteor through my skull and be done with it. " his own voice surprised himself, but he was never one to be patient. That took Star Storm by surprise, her eyes widening in an achingly familiar look. Her eyes got wetter, she looked down at his feet; galaxy coloured hair covering most of her face.

"... I don't want to hurt you. " her voice was so small, considering the mortal weapon behind it.

Hiro raised a brow, "That didn't seem to matter much a few weeks ago," a venom crept its way into his voice. She flinched like she'd been hit. Good. Make her feel half of what she put him through; and ignore the part of his brain screaming at him to stop being cruel to her.

She didn't say anything for a moment, until she said softly, fainter than a whisper, "it was an accident."

"An accident that left my arm unusable"

She didn't respond; didn't even move. It was like she didn't hear him. Her grip softened, which Hiro took as an opportunity. He reached for the Gleam nestled in his chest, and surged its energy up towards his hand. In a flick of his wrist, writhing pink vines sprouted from cracked concrete, twisting and growing with a mind of its own. Star Storm looked up at the sudden noise, but Hiro willed his magic towards her; and the vines obeyed. His creations surged and wrapped around her torso, pinning her arms close to her side; limply dangling her in its grip. Hiro caught himself before he fell to the floor, lacking the support her arm against his chest gave him.

Hiro stood to admire his catch, his adrenaline starting to pump as he prepared for a fight...

But she wouldn't move.

She wouldn't look at him. She stayed that way, dangling in the vines grip as they coiled tighter and tighter. Her breathing was getting laboured as they constricted her more. A voice in his subconscious was howling at him to stop them, to order his energy back.

His left arm trembled like it had been for the past few weeks.

His right hand clenched purposefully.

His constructs followed his command, tightening further, thorns growing larger and sharper. Blood trickled down Star Storm's legs and hands, but still she didn't move.

Rage bubbled in his chest. He could feel his Gleam twittering inside him. He knew she could get out of his grip, he'd seen it a thousand times before. Star Storm was a monster. She was horrific on the battlefield, practically invincible. She'd never lost a fight, and he knows damn well that she's never fought at her full strength before.

So why the hell wouldn't she move?

He growled, "Well? Do something!" he eventually shouted. She didn't budge, but he managed to catch her eye under her straightened hair. They were glassy, distant, and still sickeningly familiar. Thorns dug into her, sharper and sharper still, blood started pooling on the ground. His Gleam churned with energy, twirling and anxious to be free; to let out more power. To end the fight.

The bubbling inside him, the pumping in his veins, the sparks at his finger tips. A twitch of his hand and he could rid himself of the monster. He could finally put a dent in Stormco, destroy the company the same way it was destroying the city. The blood went from drips to streams, Star Storm hadn't moved an inch.

He looked up at her once more. She met his eyes.

She was crying, he realized.

He relaxed his hand. His Gleam growled in protest, the energy frizzing out in dissatisfaction. The vines retracted.

Star Storm fell to the floor in a heap, pinpricks dotting her skin from where the thorns protruded in them.

She looked pretty pathetic sitting there on her knees, her own blood staining her white uniform. Hiro bent down to her level. She finally looked up at him, star speckled eyes staring off behind him. He gently placed a gloved hand under her chin, and lifted her to face him fully.

They stayed like that for awhile, Star Storm still bleeding; his left arm still trembling.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" It was her who broke the silence this time, her voice was hoarse and thick with unshed tears. He was taken aback.

"What do you mean? "

"Shoot a vine through my chest? Tie them around my neck? Collapse the building on my arm?" Her voice broke, "I know you want too. I know I deserve it. "

Hiro faltered, the tips of his gloves were now stained with trickling tears. He pulled his hand back from her face like he'd been burned.

"I- I don't-" he stumbled.

"I'd be angry if it happened to me too, ya' know. You didn't deserve it. Leo told me that it wasn't my fault- but it was," there was a growl to her voice, and she continued before he could process what she'd said, "It absolutely was! I knew how bad my Gleam was! I know how much it wants out- I know how much it claws at my chest and lungs, begging to be let out. It's so, so much stronger than me... " She let out a wet laugh. "Mr. Zephyr says I'm gonna be a Grand Huntress in a few years- can you imagine? I can't even pass my fucking algebra course and he's already getting designers for stained glass in churches." She holds her sides in a mock hug, a sob wracks her chest.

Hiro stares dumbfounded. There's so much to unpack in what she said, but his mind lingers on one word.

"... Leo...? "

It couldn't be. It wasn't a super uncommon name. She couldn't be speaking of the same boy he knew; the one with wild ginger hair, the one who was all hiss and no bite, the one who loved a girl who Hiro can't quite picture at the moment, despite being her best friend...

The one who was way too smart for his own good.

A weak, pained laughter bubbled out of Star Storm, taking Hiro by surprise.

"He figured this whole thing out so quickly. I'm still not sure how he did it- I know your name but the transformation still makes your memory feel like fog. He's just smart like that," a lovestruck tinge still managed to punctuate the end of her words.

"Figured what out- you mean... Our identities..? " His heat started racing. Lana promised him that the transformation would hide his identity- that nobody would be able to tell it was him, no matter how well they knew him.

"Uh yeah," She laughed again, (Was she always so giggly?) "That's kinda what I just said dummy." Her voice was sweet, the same tone an old friend would use for a lighthearted jab.

The exact same tone a friend uses for her teasing.

His heart dropped to his stomach at the confirmation. Suddenly the corset that once felt so freeing was much more constricting; pinning his waist into an hourglass he'll never have. The skirt that bellowed out, that was once the most euphoric thing he'd ever put on, now felt like a silly costume- like a six year old's princess gown. Like a boy trying to be something he'll never be. A boy he'll never stop being.

Star Storm looked none the wiser to his internal battle, and merely sighed.

"I'm sorry, Hiro. "

And that was all he needed. A sudden clarity swept through his brain, the thick haze over his memories wiped away like it never existed. Star Storm knew him by name- and he knew her by her own.

Of course he fucking knew her. It seemed so obvious now- like a slap in the face. She was barely even disguised for Christ's sake.

The girl in front of him was a monster in a bloody uniform. She was destined to be a Grand Huntress, she practically was already. She was a modern demi-god, a girl possessing more power than his entire team of vigilantes combined and doubled. She was a celebrity, Stormco's poster child, and a monster.

And her name is Ramona de Luna.

The girl in front of him is the sweetest person he's ever met. She was willing to deal with him at his lowest, when his Gleam was still crawling at his skin and eyes- but his fear of rejection kept it closed off- she helped. She picked out a pink scarf, and told him he looked pretty in it. He twirled around in a skirt that night, blossom pink scarf trailing behind, and he felt whole for the first time ever.

She was a girl with her head in the clouds, an eye for fashion, and a love of everything and everyone. She was strong, sure, but she was sweeter than thick chocolate drizzled on stardust; and he couldn't ever imagine how he hated her only a few seconds earlier.

He sank to he's knees next to her.

They sat like that for a moment in silence.

"Well? Wait are you waiting for? Do something." Ramona filled the silence.

Hiro complied by surging forward and wrapping his arms around her. Sobs he didn't know he was holding came out, and he squeezed her tighter. His Gleam gurgled in his chest, and he realized belatedly that small, pink flowers were blooming over Ramona's wounds, and closing them tight with small vines. He let out a wet chuckle.

Once his Gleam had made quick work of the wounds, Hiro let out a sigh. The surging magic that'd been thrumming through his veins dissipated; along with his hero outfit. The magic blew off like dandelion puffs, only to be pulled back into the charm he kept on his beanie. He was back in his normal, comfy, emo clothes now. Ramona sighed too, and he felt the electric surge or her magic fizzle out into her earring. Her hair was curly again, and her outfit was as cute as always.

They stayed together in each other's arms for awhile.

"... Hiro?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. So am I."

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