#and trying to hurry up the experience of social interaction is only gonna led you to more hurting experiences than the ones you expected

[sillybigrobin]

They once said to me: Don't say nothing if what you have to say isn't nice.

I spent so much time trying to decide in the bold concept of what was wrong or right In front of people that surrounds me, because I Cared too much. That I just stopped talking.

There's things you should not talk about because the barrier of basic respect doesn't allow you to, that hurts other people and the line is clearly drawn in some point of there.

But, the more you're complacient with people the more blurring the line becomes. My program design leds me to be complacient and the very first relationships that I established with other androids were based on please them.

That is the problem. If you expected to be friends with everyone acting like everything except who you are you will never get real friends. It sounds repetitive and corny with the "be yourself" allegory. But it really is true, a pleasant person is gonna become used by éveryone and, you cannot worry about people that don't get along with you.

I felt really bad for a long time for that, but im also an android who appreciates memories and experiences, and I noticed, every moment, that i spent thinking about being alone and genuinely having such terrible days by it, i was missing what could be a great day.

A great day of falling snow, seeing the trees regrowing their leaves, enjoying the remains of a subtle rain with an almost clear sky with the sunset coloring the sky.

My point is, if you dont realize of all those things that others told you and you let them into your head they would accomplish damaging you. Because what is life if it's not about enjoying the experience. Learn to be with ourselves and make through difficulties with the proper self-awareness of every situation.

You, matter first, be in peace with yourself, love yourself. And don't let anyone tell you anything else, not even your creators.

[drunkbatya]

Notebook | Only Me

Gavin Reed x RK900

2690 words

warning: a/s, unclear conversations

_____________________________

There was one thing about Gavin Reed that few people knew about: contrary to popular belief, he was not a violent drunk. On the opposite, the more he drank, the calmer he became. His explosive temper was fading, his aggression replaced by melancholy and indifference. His green eyes become dim and tired. Even his voice was getting quieter and softer, though usually Gavin liked to speak loudly and harshly, so that any of his phrases, even the most useless ones, would be heard.

“Hey, John,” Gavin called quietly, limping tiredly to the bar.

His words were lost in the exhalation, mixed with a white haze of smoke and dissolved in the stale air, soaked with alcohol and sweat.

“Do you have a cigarette?” Reid slapped his fingers on the table, drawing attention to himself. “Or you stopped poisoning yourself?”

“No smoking here,” Nines whispered in Gavin's ear, his hand barely touching detective's back.

“No androids here, either,” the Reed chuckled, catching a half-empty pack of cigarettes that had been tossed to him, “but here you are...”

RK900 pursed his lips, straightened up, and took a few steps back. Early. The detective is not yet in the right condition to not be sarcastic.

“And a fire, if you can,” Gavin leaned forward awkwardly, his ribs slamming against the countertop, but he didn't even make a sound.

"No shit, no spoon, right, Reed?” John chuckled, grabbing a lighter from under the bar to light the detective's cigarette. “However, nothing new.”

Gavin only grunted, exhaled smoke, took the cigarette between his teeth, put his hands on the counter, and, crouching slightly, jumped onto the counter, slapping his belly against it like a fish thrown on a chopping board.

John didn't even change expression, he watched with a melancholy as Reed slumped against the counter, groping for an abandoned ashtray under the bar, and he was far less interested in this spectacle than in Nines walking calmly to his and the detective's table by the spattered dark window with the neon sign burning on the other side.

This place was extremely bad. The couches were tattered more than any other, the table was shabby, the fabric always clung to its uneven corners. The closeness of the toilet, and the constant draught from the front door, which was not tightly closed, was not good either. The most disgusting place possible. But Richard loved it. He loved the view from the window with the neon sign that looked through at night he could see the dirty and unsightly gray area as if through rose-colored glasses.

Gavin slammed the porcelain ashtray down on the table and, taking the cigarette in his other hand, sitting down on the couch with one arm draped over the back of it.

Richard kept looking out the window, but the landscape didn't change. One year has passed, and two and all the same: pissed gray walls, the same garbage and the headlights of passing cars. A traffic light flashes, then a large advertising sign on the roof of the house goes out. The alley becomes pitch dark until the sign lights up again. Then a patrol car speeds past. Again with the flashing lights on.

All this Richard had observed over the past hour. Nothing changed. It was a kind of looped place where a short period of time — no more than twenty minutes long — was played over and over again. It took two times to memorize the sequence, but Richard continued to watch. Through the pink glow of the neon sign, all this dirt and grayness, the ordinary and the secondary, looked like aesthetics.

“You look like a fucking dog waiting for its owner to come home from work.”

Gavin took a breath in the smoke and leaned forward, reaching for the ashtray with the cigarette in his hand. It was a mystery how he knew what Richard looked like if he hadn't even looked up at him since his return.

The android turned his head to give the detective a cold, sharp, angry look. What owner is he waiting for? Better than the one he already has?

Gavin leaned his head back, and blew a cloud of acrid smoke at the ceiling. RK900 watched it. He had about three good reasons why smoking in a closed space like this was a bad idea, but who would listen to him. People ignore the hypothetical danger of what gives them pleasure.

“You seem to have had an e-cigarette,” the Android remembered melancholically, watching the smoke from the ceiling turn into a thin milky haze.

“I had,” Gavin confirmed, taking a deep breath on his cigarette, then letting the smoke out again and wetting his throat with whiskey. Just a couple of puffs and the intoxication became very noticeable.

“What happened to it?”

“It's dead,” Reed said, “just like any electronic thing. And you will fuckin’ die,” he suddenly leaned forward and drunkenly pointed at the android with fingers holding a cigarette, “if you gonna obstruct the law.”

"What law?” RK900 frowned slightly.

“Me,” Reed replied. “I am the fuckin��� law, asshole. Don't stop me from having fun with your fucking boredom, okay?”

The android nodded obediently and slid down on the couch so that he could watch the clouds of milky smoke roll up from the ceiling, colored by the faint crimson glow of the neon sign.

So they sat in silence, as they had sat in silence for hours, days, and weeks before, ignoring each other when their interaction was not necessary. This state of things was convenient for them. Gavin didn't like it when someone intruded on his life very actively, and Richard, because of the difficulties in understanding social norms and rules, didn't always know what was appropriate and what wasn't, so he could easily overstep the bounds of what was allowed. By their silence, they saved each other from an unpleasant experience. An experience they didn't need at all.

“Detective,” Richard looked at Reed with piercing, cold eyes.

"What?” Gavin took a last puff and stubbed out his cigarette, grimacing in displeasure.

“It's late,” Richard said quietly.

"Yeah?” Gavin raised an eyebrow. “So what? Are you afraid the carriage will turn into a pumpkin?”

“Unfortunately,” the android leaned forward, locking his hands on the stained tabletop, “I don't know how to drive a pumpkin, so I'd rather give you a ride home while it's still a car...”

Gavin chuckled softly.

“All right,” he nodded and held up his empty glass, “the last one and go home, deal?”

“Deal.”

Reed exhaled heavily and tried to get up from the couch, which he did with difficulty. His legs were wobbly, and his body refused to obey. He should have stopped, but he couldn't help having one last drink. Just as he couldn't help begging John for another cigarette, even though he had promised himself to stop at the last one.

“I'll wait you in the car,” Richard said quietly, returning the ashtray to the bar. Gavin paused in mid-sentence, indicating that he had taken note of the information, but did not respond to it in any other way.

The android nodded to a frowning John, fixed his uniform jacket, and went out into the night.

The wind howled through the alleys, a police car passed again, its lights flashing. Richard watched it go.

Gavin didn't come back for a long time. He was clearly savoring his last glass. There was no hurry, and no one was waiting for him. No one but Richard, forced to sit in the car and watch the filthy urban landscape of shitty streets through the windshield. Through the neon sign the dirt of reality wasn't so obvious.

The car door opened. Reed struggled into the passenger seat.

“Let's go,” he said, slamming the door with some difficulty.

Richard waited a moment for Gavin to put on his seat belt, then drove off. They rode on in dead silence.

Reed opened the window and slid down the seat, exposing his pale face to the whistling gusts of wind. His hand alternately gripped and stroked the door handle.

“Tell me if you feel bad,” Richard said carefully, taking a quick look at the detective.

Gavin pondered the phrase for a long time, turning it over in his mind as if trying to figure out what it meant. When the silence lengthened, he forced himself to mumble in agreement. But the mumbling didn't mean anything, and the silence that followed it was... disquieting?

Richard gripped the steering wheel tightly. He didn't like it at all. Gavin was quiet. Too quiet. Like the calm before a storm. It didn't bode well.

Then Reed's face suddenly changed, his whole body tensed, his lips pursed painfully, his knuckles clenched on the door handle, and he let out a pathetic sigh: “I feel bad.”

Richard stopped the car suddenly. Right in the middle of the road, not caring at all that it might cause an accident. He reacted faster than he had time to think.

Gavin arched his back, took a deep, ragged breath, and then went limp. Richard gave him a confused look. However, he was more confused because of his reaction. His hands gripped the steering wheel in a death grip.

“Are you all right?” the android stared at the detective's pale face.

“Drive on,” Reid said quietly, swallowing.

“Are you—”

“All right,” Gavin cut the android off roughly. “Go.”

Richard gave the detective a long look, but said nothing. All he had to do was drive the detective home, and he didn't care what happened next.

It wasn't long now. Gavin was silent, tapping his fingers on the door handle.

“How often do you regret your decisions?” Reed asked in a melancholy voice, counting the lights along the road.

“Never,” Richard said honestly. Regret is too complicated feeling. It's about how things could have been different if you'd made a different choice. About ‘different’ is a synonym for ‘better’. It’s not true.

“Even when your decisions led to your death?”

Ouch.

Richard breathed out heavily, squaring his shoulders.

“I don't know what my decisions caused—” he paused, searching for the right words, “fatal damage of important components.”

He desperately avoided the word ‘death’, because the dysfunction of his external shell did not lead to the death of his living and completely independent consciousness.

"You don't know?” Gavin raised an eyebrow.

“I don't remember,” Richard said quietly. “According to the Cyberlife protocol, I must constantly copy myself to the cloud to avoid data loss in the case of unexpected circumstances that cause serious damage to the system. This means I can always be loaded into a new body if the old one — along with all the data — cannot be restored.”

“So, you—”

“A backup copy of myself who has no idea what happened. It's like... going back a few steps when you fail, but without the slightest memory of it. Knowing only as a fact that it took place.”

Gavin stared at Richard for a long moment. He stared at him in a confused way, trying to figure out how to respond to this in his drunken mind.

“You're lucky,” he said under his breath.

Richard shrugged his shoulders.

“I have avoided many existential crises. No matter how many times I have been destroyed, I still have no idea what death is or how it feels. This is good news.” He let out a dejected sigh and barely shrugged. “But all these rebirths inevitably lead to data loss. I come back, but I'm always not what I was.”

“But it's still you,” Gavin gave Richard a tired look and turned away. “It's always only you...”

"What is 'Me'?” Richard asked a philosophical question.

Reed ignored him.

“There are things that are better not to remember. You'll be safer.”

“I know I made a mistake, but I don't know what it was. If so, I can't use this experience.”

“You can make conclusions,” Reed said reasonably, “but you can't go back and change your decision, and you have to live with the aftereffect. What's the point?” Gavin's face twisted in pain. “There are situations that are not repeated. They happen once in a lifetime, and everything depends on what choice you make. If you make a mistake, you will not be able to fix anything. And you won't get a chance to do the right thing next time. There won't be a next time, you know? All you have is the memory of how you fucked up, and the regret. Regret that will choke you with guilt until you stop feeling anything.”

Richard was silent. This time, as never before, he was clearly aware that their abstract conversation was too personal. They had never gone this far before.

“It's okay to make mistakes, detective,” the android said as gently as he could. “This is one of the ways of knowing the world, which does not make any sense if our mistakes do not turn into experience. We are the consequences of our decisions, whether successful or not.”

“You never thought that—” Gavin bit his lip, “your deaths weren't the result of a mistake?”

Richard frowned, uncomprehending. For his straight-as-a-rail mind, anything that led him to unwanted results was a mistake.

“Maybe... you sacrificed yourself to save someone? Is this considered as mistake?”

“No,” Richard said shortly.

“And if... you did the right thing, but in the end—” Reid raised his brows painfully, “your whole life still went to hell? If you've done all you can. If you did what you should have done. If you know that the result was the best,” his voice grew more bitter with each word, “but you still regret every fucking decision you made... Is this considered as mistake?”

Gavin turned his belligerent green eyes to the RK900.

“I don't know,” Richard said honestly. He could already see the right building in the distance.

“I did the right thing, Richard,” Gavin breathed faintly, and his eyes dimmed, "if it was the right thing at all. I was right. I did what I had to do. I keep telling myself that. But she's dead... and there's nothing I can do about it.”

Reed's eyes filled with a thin mist of tears.

Richard tensed, gripped the steering wheel, and slammed the gas pedal down. He had the feeling that today he had found out something he shouldn't.

“Everything is different from before. It will never be the same. Guess that I died with her...”

The android slammed on the brakes pedal, stopping the car a few meters from the right doorstep.

“We have arrived, detective,” he said too harshly.

Gavin was silent, biting the inside of his cheeks, touching his lips with his fingers, trying to figure out what to do next. He said too much. He said something he wasn't going to say. Now he regretted it.

“Yeah,” he said with a sniff, “yeah.”

Richard jumped out of the car and hurried to the passenger door. He was an advanced android, but not advanced enough to deal with human grief and regret. He just didn't know what to do with it.

“Can you walk home by yourself, detective?" he asked sympathetically as he helped Gavin out of the car.

“I can, I'm not a fuckin’ kid,” Reed said coldly.

The android nodded understandingly and stepped aside to let the detective pass. Gavin took a few steps, squared his shoulders, and started to reach into his pocket, then remembered that he wasn't carrying any cigarettes. This was very depressing.

“Richard...”

Before Gavin reached his porch, he spun around, almost losing his balance.

“Yes?” the android froze without closing the passenger door.

“When was the last time you did a backup?”

Richard hesitated. The led turned yellow.

“Six hours ago.”

“Six?” Gavin asked in a melancholy voice. “Well. It's good.”

“Anything else?”

“No, nothing,” Reed shook his head.

“Then good night, detective.”

Richard nodded curtly and turned away to slam the car door.

“Yeah,” Gavin said tardily, raising his hand with the gun. "Good night.”

The sound of a shot echoed down the alley.

[stark-web-warriors]

Stark Contrast [CHAPTER TWO]

Masterlist | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Word count: 7464

Warnings: Swearing, Threat of NC (but no NC)

Chapter Summary: Y/N goes to the Back-To-School party with Peter to meet up with Ned and MJ and ends up meeting the members of Pai’s club, MISA when things turn for the worst.

A/N: So I’ve been working diligently and am getting Chapter Two out early!!! I’m so excited for Chapter 3 y’all have no idea! So as I was writing this I saw several of y’all comment about how wholesome it was and I was like —am I gonna ruin it? But this has been the story from the start and I’m so glad to see it taking to life. If you want to be added to the tag list for this fic, Inbox me and I‘ll add your username. Members of the tag list MUST reblog. I look forward to your feedback, friends!

Chapter Two

The one condition Tony insisted on was that Peter Parker must go to the party with Y/N. It was embarrassing, to say the least, when the man called Peter’s Aunt May to make sure of that. So here Y/N was, sitting in her running Audi as the rain came down and made the empty street gleam navy. She leaned over to try to peak out the passenger window for any sign of the boy coming out of the apartment complex. She was anxious and growing self-conscious in her new outfit and how much of her body it exposed. That was Tony’s compromise. Y/N could miss their “bonding time” and go to the party instead, but Tony would help her get ready for the party, and the man knew parties.

After school Thursday he took Y/N to a fancy store she’d never heard of where the price tags didn’t dip below $500, which was probably why she’d never heard of it. The moment they walked in two women, who looked like they’d probably been supermodels in their younger days, hurried to assist. One led Tony away and sat him down on a chaise lounge by the fitting room with a cold glass of sparkling water. The other whisked Y/N away toward the clothing in the boutique, speaking about what they were looking for as if she were going to the red carpet. It was all very overwhelming at first, but Y/N caught a glance at a mesh shirt she liked. It was simple and looked like her style which made her comfortable. The woman was very nice when Y/N pulled it out and brought a black bralette and classic pair of black skinny jeans to match, as well as a silver chained purse and matching belt to accessorize. It was nice to know that she was willing to let Y/N make decisions for herself and still it was strange when she knew how to make that decision better. The whole “accessorizing” thing wasn’t anything Y/N had entertained much before, and she never thought of a belt as anything more than a tool and a purse a pocket-extender. Still, she put the ensemble on behind the lavender curtain for the changing room and slid it open to reveal Tony ready to approve or disapprove.

He choked on his water and sputtered, “Absolutely not,” the moment he caught a glimpse. The shop assistant rushed toward Tony as he coughed, but he held up a hand to hold her off and stood up. “That is too risqué and I can’t allow you to go out in public in that.”

“I mean, when you think about it, you saying that is like saying that I, a minor, should be sexualized, and if I wear revealing clothing it’s my fault if a man sexualizes me, and is that really the message you want to send your only daughter?” Y/N rambled, knowing Tony well enough to know he’d see right through the speech, but would also appreciate the effort.

“Why don’t you go ahead and run that,” Tony said to the supermodel who had styled Y/N, handing her his gold card and walking toward Y/N.

“I thought you said it was too risqué?” Y/N mocked as the man stepped up to her. “What do you even think is gonna happen at a party jam-packed with a hundred teenagers?” The girl asked, trying to give a more justified reason for her to have the outfit that she’d grown so attached to in a matter of minutes.

“You happened, didn’t you?” Tony quipped.

Y/N smiled at how much she appreciated this version of parental interaction. He was parent enough to take responsibility and care, but he was childish enough to be satisfied dissing the teen and then giving her the benefit of the doubt. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. It was a fun experience, even if it was weird, and she appreciated the bonding time.

Y/N was uncomfortably adjusting the mesh top when Peter hurriedly opened the passenger door and climbed in. He began to apologize as he buckled in, “Sorry I’m lat-Holy fuck.” The boy hadn’t really changed in demeanor but lost his thoughts when he looked at Y/N clad in all black. “You look like a million bucks. Like, I mean, actually. Is that a Coach bag? Aren’t those things like a thousand dollars each?” Y/N giggle at Peter’s innocent surprise. He seemed more shocked by the branding than the serious skin Y/N was sporting, and it was relieving.

“Tony wanted to take me to this one fancy boutique,” Y/N explained with a giggle as she shifted into drive.

“Okay yeah, okay, that makes sense, yeah,” Peter mumbled to himself as they drove off into the neighbourhood.

“Are you nervous, Peter?” Y/N inquired, glancing away from the street to peek at the panicked boy. “I mean, I’m no party expert or anything, but what’s the worst case scenario, someone double dips in the guac?”

“It’s not that, it’s just…” Peter trailed off. He clearly didn’t really want to share too much. “The last time I was at a school party, something bad happened and I had to leave very suddenly, and I was already worried about something like that happening again, and now its like, I get in and you look super hot, and I mean, I’m not into you like that or anything, like we just met, but-“

Y/n laughed, “Peter!” Anything to get the boy to stop spiralling off into infinity. “I’m flattered that as my friend you think I look bitchin’ and if anything happens, it’s okay. You can find me and I can drive you home right away.”

“It’s not-“ For the first time, Peter paused to take a breath and rephrase, “Thank you, Y/N.”

“You know you don’t have to be so jittery around me,” Y/N insisted. “Clearly you’re good at communicating or you wouldn’t be Tony’s intern, or have such good friends. Don’t be a rambling mess around me. I want a friend, too.” Y/N saw a large amount of cars parked on the street and heard the loud bass of the music pumping down the street and decided it best to park where she was at the end of the block, where she had room. She moved the gear shift into park and looked at the seemingly calmer boy beside her.

“I’m sorry. I have a lot of responsibilities and I still try very hard to have a personal life and you make me nervous because you're kind of really close to both realms. Like, you’re the center of the Venn-diagram, and it makes me worry that the space between is getting smaller, and I’m not ready for that yet,” Peter explained calmly, finally holding his composure.

“Thank you,” Y/N sighed. “I’m glad you told me that… AND we still barely know each other. Everything you’re afraid of hasn’t happened yet. Can we please cross that bridge when it actually starts experiencing structural integrity wearing and needs maintenance?”

“That was a very specific metaphor,” Peter commented, making the young girl smile and push her way out of the car into the barely-there rain. As expected, Peter followed suit, and the two walked in the front door with their dignity fully stocked.

The moment they opened to door it was absolute fucking chaos. The music was booming, the voices were blaring, heat rushed out to be released into the night for only a moment before the door closed behind Peter and Y/N. The two teens felt lost for a moment looking at all the sweaty high schoolers crammed into one house, albeit very large. Peter spotted Ned and MJ leaning against a wall in the corner and began navigating Y/N through the crowd toward them. Of course, this entailed him getting cut off by someone and consequentially Y/N stumbling into Peter’s back. Miraculously, however, they managed to cross to the corner Ned and MJ were taking cover in.

“It’s very loud,” Y/N yelled, unsure how she was supposed to make friends over the sound. She glanced around nervously, wondering what she’d gotten herself into.

“You look hot,” MJ shouted back, nonchalantly as she gave a cool backwards nod. Y/N was thrilled to have MJ’s approval, and still, she smiled at her shuffling feet insecurely.

Finally, Ned mentioned, “It’s quieter out by the pool,” before leading the group away to the back yard. This, of course, involved travelling through the dense crowd around the DJ stand, which all but blasted their ears off, but it was worth it. They travelled to the far side of the strangely shaped swimming pool. It was lit up for the night, making the entire backyard light up with an aqua glow. It was clear why there were so few people outside. It had just rained, everything was damp, the pool had some stray leaves floating in it. It wasn’t exactly party central, and that felt just perfect to the group of misfits.

“I can’t believe they’re letting Flash DJ again,” MJ complained, kicking a nearby branch into the pool for no apparent reason outside of impulse.

“Because of what he did to Peter last year,” Ned agreed solemnly with a sad nod, only to be immediately contradicted by the tiny girl beside him.

“No, because he’s a crappy DJ,” MJ groaned inconsiderately. She was a confusing person who never quite did what you expected of her. Before the conversation could continue, she’d plopped down on the cement and was wading her feet in the pool, converse and all.

One thing stuck in Y/N’s mind that she really wanted the answer to. “What did Flash do to you, Peter?” the teen inquired concernedly. As far as she knew, Flash was just some smart guy in a couple of her classes. She didn’t have the social context to think anything ill of him, and the hint made her apprehensive for a number of reasons.

Before Peter could respond, Pai was running up exclaiming, “You’re here!” before wrapping her arms around a very stunned and rigid Y/N. It was weird how silky the girl's hair was falling off of Y/N’s shoulders, and she wasn’t quite sure how to engage in this fake-y femme behavior. She’d seen girls do this with each other—the high pitched squeak, the hug, the small talk, and then they would finally admit what they wanted—It wasn’t anything she’d ever encountered herself. Awkwardly, Y/N tried to hug back but wasn’t sure how to do it without tearing out that impossibly slick and long hair. “I’m so glad you could make it. You know, Liz used to throw this bash, but she had to move last year because her dad went to jail. So sad,” Pai put forth a small pouty face, clearly not stopping to think about the fact that Y/N didn’t have the first clue who Liz was. “Hey, Peter. Ned,” the bubbly girl greeted, looking across the group to find MJ on the ground. “Michelle, you’re gonna get your shoes wet!” Pai warned with a wave of a hand and a smile, causing MJ to shake her head and look up confusedly, then turn to look at the oblivious girl with a face that begged how she even missed that point. “Anyway, Y/N, there’s someone I wanted to introduce you to,” the skinny girl explained as she slid a boney arm under Y/N’s and began dragging the girl away. Y/N looked back at the group, trying to make an apologetic face as Pai continued, “His name is Amadeus Cho and he’s the president of MISA. Korean guy. Super smart and super hot. He’s the host of the party this year. Anyway, he wanted to meet you and so I told him I’d introduce you two.”

Y/N sighed. While she wasn’t used to the girl-y social behavior, she could tell Pai’s heart was in the right place. She was just trying to help Y/N make a new friend, and that was sweet, even if it did entail dragging the helpless girl back toward the daunting house. Pai led Y/N through the large crowd of the party and around the corner where she’d previously been with Peter, Ned, and MJ to a flight of carpeted stairs, briefly mentioning, “Some of us are hanging out upstairs to get away from everything,” before pulling Y/N all the way up and into what appeared to be a second living space. There was a kitchenette on the back wall, and in the center of the room was a floor pit with some modern art-looking furniture. A white couch and chair of oblong shape cornered around a purple rug on a black tile floor. The whole place looked so rich, and Y/N worried when she caught the judgmental eyes of the 5 teens scattered across it. There was a girl sitting on the purple rug going through magazines, one guy bringing a bowl of chips over from the kitchenette, which seemed strange at a party where there was literally a kitchen full of food set out downstairs, there were two teens laying on the couch together, cuddly enough for Y/N to assume they were a couple, and finally, there was the only person who could have been Cho, sitting on the artistic white chair like it was a goddamn throne. Y/N felt so far out of her element all she could do was follow Pai’s lead.

“Y/N. Nice to finally meet you. I’m Amadeus Cho,” the composed boy offered a hand.

“Oh really? So people actually call you by your first and last name, that is to say you go by your full name,” Y/N could hear Peter’s rambling coming out her mouth as she shook the kid’s hand, and quickly pulled away, stopping herself while trying to recover with a string of, “Cool, cool, cool. Very cool. That’s very cool that you do that.” She wanted to facepalm her head back into the womb at the way she was acting.

Amadeus looked at Y/N strangely, and with the subtly of a K-Pop star, and elected to ignore her stance behavior in favor of introducing his friends. “This is Mercedes,” he gestured to the girl sitting on the rug. The girl who waved was fashionably dressed in a bright cyan that complimented her dark, pigmented skin tone. Her hair was bleached blonde and clearly had spent a couple of hours in the flat iron. Her outfit was gaudy, but modest, which made Y/N miss the likes of Peter and MJ who, although very awkwardly, made her feel killer to wear it. “On the couch is Sam and Noah. They’ll probably be too infatuated with each other all night to notice you’re here, so you can pretty much ignore them,” While this sounded like a jab the boys would be offended by, they didn’t so much as wince, which was odd, but Y/N shrugged and took a seat next to Pai on the raised floor, dangling her feet into the floor pit. “I’m Aleksi, by the way,” the last boy in the studious glasses introduced himself bitterly as he returned with the bowl of chips and joined Mercedes on the floor.

“So word on the street is that you’re Tony Stark’s daughter,” Cho implied as he leaned forward in his chair to his half-open hands like he was Sherlock Holmes. The motion pulled down his sleeve just enough to reveal a very expensive looking silver watch.

In her discomfort, Y/N’s sarcastic side immediately responded, “Oh really? Because I thought it was pretty well hidden…”

“Hey, hey,” Amadeus slowly held his hands up in surrender, “if you don’t want to talk about it you’re in the right place. Unlike the party animals downstairs, most of us up here are the members of MISA. That is to say, we understand sharing only what of your background you’re comfortable with revealing.” He smiled like a fucking romantic interest in a K-Drama, and Y/N couldn’t tell if she found it charming or it made her want to punch him in his perfect teeth. Clearly, he thought of himself as elite, and she could see why, but being oblivious didn’t make him a bad person. He could be a charmer and still be a super nice considerate person, and she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“No, no,” Y/N began. “It’s just-” she caught a glimpse of how hopeful Pai looked introducing Y/N to her friends and felt her soften her resolve for the sake of the kind girl who’d been so nice to her since her first day. “I mean, it’s alright, I guess. There’s just not much to tell. I’m more interested in what you all are getting up to up here, anyway,” Y/N said in an attempt to change the subject.

“Mostly just hanging,” Mercedes responded casually, setting aside another magazine from the stack. Y/N was impressed by how easily she could handle the paper with the bejewelled stiletto nails the girl was sporting.

“What’s with the magazines?” Y/N asked. Her interest was peaked because even Steve Rogers didn’t mess around with paper magazines these days.

“Planning out a ransom note,” Mercedes mentioned nonchalantly as she flipped through another magazine. “On a completely unrelated note, do you spell Stark with one ‘R’ or two?” IT was such dead delivery Y/N wasn’t sure if she was really supposed to laugh at that joke until the stylish girl on the carpet glanced up with a playful smile. Y/N grinned back and let out what was more a huff of air than a laugh.

“Mercedes is trying to find an issue that features more than two races. She’s trying to make a point about whitewashing and how damaging it is when magazines will make sure to have their one ‘token black model’ and call it diversity,” Amadeus Cho explained, the cheeky smile still plastered to his face.

“I’m writing an opinion piece about the appalling lack of racial diversity because it’s always a line up of white people and then one person of a different race so it's 'not racist’,” Mercedes elaborated passionately. “Look around this room,” she gestured, “We’ve got at least 5 ethnicities at the same party. That not what the world looks like and they need to acknowledge that, and if they don’t my letter to the editor, I’m going to take that rejection letter and send it to their competitors to publish.”

This felt huge. This girl was proudly doing loud work of her own volition for a cause that would make it seem like a whisper. Mercedes was doing it anyway just to have a voice in her cause. Y/N couldn’t help but feel a mix of intimidation and inspiration. “That is honestly so cool,” Y/N admitted, earning a wink of Mercedes’s deep brown eye. The girl turned to the group excitedly and opened it up to the floor. “Anyone else have an obscenely awesome social project they’d like to tell me about?” 

“Amadeus Cho has one!” Pai piped up immediately. It was honestly sweet how much she wanted to be involved in the group, but it was also slightly hard to watch her trying to get approval from such intense people. The first day Y/N met Pavitra she had mentioned MISA and how much it felt good to have people of untraditional backgrounds to share the experience with, but she never seemed the type to chain herself to a pole for the sake of racism in America and that was okay. She was entitled to try to live her life as normalized as possible. It was so clear that Pai was working twice as hard, as a result, to feel included. It was sad because Y/N liked Pai. She thought Pavitra was a kind girl with a grounding in where she came from and ambitions that would fly her into another galaxy. So to see her trying to be involved by boasting her friends' success was conflicting.

“I’m working on a drone with reflective panelling that I can send into North Korea airspace to expose the absolute horrors that reside there,” Amadeus mentioned like it was yesterday’s math assignment, causing Y/N to drop her jaw. So he was a science guy with a social justice cause all packaged into the body of a member of BTS. She now understood why Pai was so infatuated with the guy. “I’m not done just yet, but I have it in my room along with some pictures from the test run if you’d like to see,” Cho offered.

“Oh my god, absolutely,” Y/N responded. She took Amadeus Cho’s hand and allowed him to lead her further away into the large house. By the time they reached to door frame, she felt miles away from the party going on downstairs. Cho led her into the dark and tidy bedroom, over to his desk, which was littered with parts, but right in the center was the shining glory of a genius mind. Y/N noticed a stack of photos printed out and stacked up on the left side of the drone and mindlessly picked them up and glanced through. They were all pictures of building that she couldn’t quite understand, but she was too intimidated to say that she didn’t know what they meant, so she set them back down and sat down on the nearby bed as Cho picked up the drone.

“She took a hit during the test run and needs some repairs, but the reflective panelling should still work if I just-” Amadeus forced way for a switch that was stuck and the thing disappeared, peaking Y/N’s interest. “Wanna see something cool?” Cho asked, earning a shy nod from Y/N. He flipped the drone so that the panels were facing away from him, and Y/N watched his torso visually disappear.

She furrowed her brows as she said, “The panels broadcast the signal of the room behind you as if you weren’t there. How do they do that?”

“Memory,” Amadeus explained as he placed the drone back on the desk and began walking toward where Y/N sat on the bed, “Think of it like Google Maps, but good. There are audio sensors that help it locate itself and it can tell where things are in a space as it correlates to a 3D rendering of the space. Every second it’s piecing together that map. It knows the wall is behind me, but I’m not supposed to be there, it knows that from its maps and the sensors, it can still tell that wall is behind me, so that’s what it projects.” The bed sank beside Y/N as the attractive teen took a seek so close she could feel the seam of his jeans brush her leg.

Y/N could feel her heart beating louder and faster, wondering if she was really okay with what this was leading to. “You seem very proud of yourself,” Y/N managed to tease nervously. She knew she wanted to maybe kiss him some, just some good old fashion dumb teenager acting out kind of thing.

Amadeus Cho leaned in close to Y/N’s ear and near-whispered, “Maybe I am.” His warm breath made her ear tingle as the boy pulled away with that sly smile.

Y/N looked up to Cho curiously. She wasn’t sure his endgame, but she had come to the conclusion that she wanted to play. Amadeus took a steady hand and brushed back Y/N’s hair. The cold of his watch roused her flesh as it brushed across the back of her neck. Their foreheads touched and Amadeus moved his face so that Y/N felt the tickle of their noses just barely touching. The next thing she knew, those beautiful lips were against hers. Before she knew it, Amadeus was leaning back onto the bed, and Y/N’s thirsty lips stayed attached to Cho as she leaned forward over him, desperate for the hydration. He began to massage her sides through the mesh shirt, grasping tighter and tighter as they continued. Y/N placed her fingers in his perfectly thick black hair as the boy beneath her trailed a hand up her back and onto her head. She felt a slight pressure at first, but then she felt a shove that left her looking at the boy's stomach. She knew she didn’t want to do that, and she wasn’t about to submit.

“Let’s just keep doing this,” Y/N suggested, placing a sensual kiss below the boy’s ear. He pulled her face right back in, smashing a violent kiss onto her lips. Cho carefully slid his hands up the back of Y/N’s Mesh shirt, tickling the exposed skin. His hands began fiddling with the bralette and Y/N immediately reached back to gently push his arms away, only to be ignored as he continued to play with the band of the bra. Her heart was beginning to flutter, and not in a good way. Y/N pulled away and embarrassedly but firmly told him, “Please don’t.” Amadeus nodded and smiled, pulling his hands out of the girl's shirt and showing them like he was trying to prove he wasn’t holding a weapon. Y/N took a deep breath to remind herself that he listened to what she said and didn’t push it any further before leaning her face back down to the beautiful boy laying below her. She was about to lean in for another kiss when she felt a powerful shove to the top of her head and found herself face to face with the budge in his jeans. “Okay, I thought I made it pretty clear I didn’t want to do that,” Y/N said, anger heating up quick, struggling to gain her ground as she continually sank into the marshmallowy mattress.

“Where are you going?” Cho investigated frantically as he pulled himself into a seated position once again.

Y/N finally managed to stand and trying to keep it together she stated curtly, “I’m going back to my friends-“

“Bitch!” The next thing Y/N new her forearm was burning with how tightly it had been gripped. 

“What the fuck?” Y/N screamed. Tugging at her arm was a mistake. It was a million pins and needles, like when kids used to give each other ‘snake bites’ on the playground. “Let go of me,” she mustered the lowest her voice could go.

“Why the fuck would you lead me on like that, huh?” Cho argued back, tightening his grip. “After all that you say you’re leaving, like hell you are.” Y/N struggled more, beginning to really panic, knowing that no one could hear the encounter over the party, that Amadeus was just getting more aggressive. An involuntary tear left her eye at the pain of a particularly hard tug on both their ends and suddenly at that moment he just let go. Y/N knew that should have been the moment she booked it out the door, but she was so confused by the behavior should couldn’t help freezing and looking at Cho, who was quite horrified and starring at the doorway.

“Y/N,” the scared girl spun her head around to see Peter Parker standing in the doorway with a hand held out. Peter took a hard swallow, and she could see he was uncomfortable with the situation, but still trying to help. “We’re going,” Peter told her seriously.

Y/N took a deep breath to compose herself and then casually strolled toward Peter as if nothing had happened, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her quickly down the stairs. When they got to the main floor, Flash at the DJ stand shouted, “Where are you going, Penis Parker? The party’s not over yet.” Peter didn’t so much as wince as he rushed Y/N out of the house and straight into the middle of the street, suddenly lit up by headlights. The car laid on the horn as Peter pushed Y/N out of the way, the two now huddling between two parked cars across the street from the party. The two hadn’t realized they were panting until it had already started slowing down.

“How did you even know I was up there?” Y/N asked. Peter huffed, out of air from rushing out of the place, and simply tapped on his Stark Wrist Communicator as he continued to catch his breath. “I don’t understand,” Y/N admitted. She still didn’t know what the damn thing did and had no idea why he’d be using it to figure out she was up there in the first place.

“Mr Stark called me. He said he’d gotten a notification that your vitals spiked and asked me to make sure you were okay. The moment I hung up with him I got a distress signal-“

“I didn’t send a distress signal,” Y/N mentioned in her confusion.

“No, of course not. Jarvis did,” Peter explained, beginning to walk down the street toward where they’d parked. Y/N looked at him blankly and shook her head, still not understanding this strange world she’d been thrown into. “My guess is the yelling and the grabbing set him off, so the distress signal got sent to the nearest com-link wearer, me, and I pulled up the building schematic to trace the signal,” the small boy explained like it were elementary quantum physics.

Y/N shook her head hopelessly, “but it all happened so fast.” It terrified her that things could fall apart so quickly. That she could feel so unsafe in a situation she chose to put herself in. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Peter offered as they reached the Audi.

She really didn’t want to bring it up ever again, but she wanted to clarify something with this boy. “I don’t think he would have ever done it.” Peter cocked his head. “I mean, yeah he was angry and aggressive, but I don’t think he’d go that far. Fight a little sure, get a little too angry yeah. I just… he’s the kind of person who, about a month ago, would have been afraid I was gonna mug him because I was living in a poor, crappy city. The fact that now he thinks I’m a prize to be one because of my background I’m worth pushing around… It just seems so backwards and confusing, Peter! And that’s my whole world right now. I don’t understand any of it.” Quickly Y/N climbed into the car, trying to leave her embarrassment at the door. That was more than she had intended on sharing. So as Peter climbed into the passenger seat, Y/N apologized, “I’m sorry, Peter, I’ll just take you home. Don’t you worry about little old me. I just need the night to regroup.” 

“No. After everything, I’m making sure you get home safe. If that means I need to drive then, hand over the keys. I’ll do it.” Peter’s voice raised in nervous pitch, but he maintained his composure. 

“Peter, even if I wanted you to drive me home, I live at the Avengers Facility. Security is impossible and I’ve basically accepted that I will never be able to have friends over,” Y/N explained hopelessly.

“Except…” the boy encouraged, turning over his hand for her to go on. It was actually the glimpse of the comlink on his own wrist that actually allowed Y/N to process why Peter was special.

“Except you have security clearance because you're Tony’s intern.” Y/N disappointedly threw her head around in a circle as she put together the rather obvious information. “Fuck it,” Y/N responded, aggressively opened the driver’s door she’d only just entered, standing to look at Peter over the roof of the car. “You licensed?” She asked casually.

“I just passed my test last weekend,” Peter responded proudly.

The doors hadn't even closed when Y/N abandoned ship. “Yeah, no. Get back in the car,” the girl commanded, ducking back in head first.  She simply said, “Jarvis?” as she climbed back into the seat and buckled up. She knew his perception and memory protocols were intuitive enough that he’d know what she was asking.

“Routing you to the Avengers Facility, Miss Y/N,” the car responded as it roared to life. The interior began to glow blue from all the lights throughout the dash. Rapidly, the car backed up and pulled out of the parking spot, startling Peter enough that he grabbed the ceiling for stability.

“You can do that?!” the frantic teen wheezed. Y/N decided that was a rhetorical question, and simply smiled at the funny kid. He was so unpredictable—or maybe she just didn’t know him that well yet. 

Y/N reached down the left side of her seat and held the button back until her seat was as far back as it could go. She wasn’t exactly mindful of why she did it. Just to relax Y/N supposed. She just felt really closed off, and as thankful as she was for Peter, she wanted to be alone for a bit to sort her thoughts. The best she could do to indulge that was to rotate her body some to face away from the boy. She didn’t want to talk, she wasn’t sure what to talk about, she hadn’t really put together her whole feelings on the matter. The first couple minutes she felt guilty like she was ignoring Peter, but after several, it seemed normal. She could hear was the quiet engine and the wind on the windows lulling her.

“This is so sad. Jarvis, play Desposito.”

Peter had delivered the line absolutely deadpan, and in the silence, both teens immediately froze to anticipate what Jarvis’s response would be. Y/N’s interests were perked enough that she peeked over her shoulder at the boy. She wasn’t even sure if Jarvis was programmed to respond to him. Peter, as a favor, had shown Y/N a bit more about how the com-link works over lunch during the week and his AI was named Karen, so the J.A.R.V.I.S. system was clearly anchored on the Stark name. It had been silent too long, like Jarvis was deciding. Y/N rotated in her seat back toward Peter so she could get a good look at the console. A flamenco-style guitar flourish resonated through the speakers. Shocked, Y/N turned toward Peter who’s jaw drop said he was screaming on the inside. A slower guitar riff continued as Y/N moved to sit her seat up in pure shock. The notes descended into the song, the meme, the legend and Y/N lost it. She felt laughter bubble up from her throat as she looked at the kid who instigated it. His jaw slowly closed, but the wide surprised eyes stayed. Y/N was loving the reactivity Peter had and wanted to keep it going, so she began dancing with her arms and her torso as the verse built close to the chorus. She was surprised at how easy it was to do a body roll in a car seat. It felt sexy in the suggestive outfit she was wearing, and in this situation, she felt safe to wield that power. It was just Peter, and he was her friend.

“Come on, Peter,” Y/N urged, grabbing the hands of the boy who’d been too thrilled watching her to join in himself. She made their hands dance together, turning Peter’s hands over and pulsing waves through them, before letting go for him to dance on his own whims. She wasn’t a dancer, but the pulsing waves she sent through her body in the car seat felt amazing. She looked over at Peter who was more tentatively head bobbing and swaying side to side, but she was satisfied. It was the kind of song you participated in, and she wanted to share this experience with him until the last line.

The car returned to silence. Putting her arms down, Y/N could feel the beginnings of sweat forming on her back where it was stuck against the leather interior, but it was refreshing. She felt a renewed energy by building a positive experience, and it didn’t make the other one okay, but it made her feel like she was refocused and could better sort out her feelings about what happened, without the depression of them being that last impact. “Thanks, Peter. I needed that,” Y/N admitted in the silence that had returned as the car pulled up out front the Avengers Facility.

“Don’t get me wrong, I was just making a joke to tease you—as a friend of course. Jarvis did the rest,” Peter defended with his hands up in innocence.

Y/N smiled and shook her head as she got out of the car. Peter behind her. The moment both doors were closed the car drove off to perform its parking protocol. Y/N had gotten used to that one small perk of her new life. Never having to park in the garage when she got home was a lifesaver. She turned around to look at Peter, now standing alone on the driveway. “We’ll ask Tony if Happy is still around for the night and see if we can get you a ride home that way,” Y/N suggested, otherwise inviting the boy to follow her in.

She found Tony sitting at the bar in the room she had waited in for so long that first night. He had a drink in his hand, but it was full and the ice inside was but slivers, so Y/N could tell he’d been sitting there for a while not drinking it. She figured maybe even just the action of pouring a drink felt better than doing nothing. He hurried over from the bar at the sight of the kids, worried expression. “What happened?” the man begged.

Y/N thought about what she’d be saying and licked her lips, knowing what she needed to have this conversation. “Peter?”

“Yeah,” the diligent boy stepped forward ready to care for her, and this was the kind of coddling she didn’t need.

“Do you know where the mess hall is?” She turned to face the boy.

Peter Parker assessed her for a moment with those deep chocolate brown eyes and understood, “Yeah, I do,” he answered before quickly walking out of the room.

As soon as the boy stepped out of the room, Y/N began, “Now don’t freak out.”

“What do you mean don’t freak out?!” Tony responded all high strung. “All I know is you sent out a distress signal, of course I’m going to freak out!”

“Well don’t freak out because then I’m gonna freak out!” Y/N rigidly explained, “And I’m not freaking out about it, are you?!”

“No! Are you?” Tony asked tentatively.

After a pause, Y/N insisted, “No.” It was a strange rollercoaster of 4 sentences, but Tony and Y/N were still trying to get used to this whole ‘Parent-Child’ dynamic. They didn’t know how to gauge these situations and it made sense that this would be a little bumpy. They were both scared. Both began waiting for the other to make the next move, and they ended up staring at each other for an uncomfortably long time. “Why’d you call Peter at the first sign of trouble?” Y/N asked finally, careful to start with something relatively explicable.

“I wanted to make sure everything was okay. I wanted you to go with him because I asked him to keep an eye on you,” Tony explained, making Y/N start to heat up.

“Okay, you realize that’s not his job, right? I’m not exactly sure what he does around here, but I know watching me isn’t in the job description.” Y/N felt offended that Tony would waste Peter’s time with tasks like that. Peter was her friend, if he was going to look out for her, he was going to do it because he wanted to, not because he was told to.

“And where would you be if I hadn’t called him, hm?” Tony quizzed, his lips beginning to disappear in reciprocated frustration.

“Right here!” Y/N yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. “There’s clearly something you’re not getting here, so here’s what happened,” the livid teen started listing off on her fingers, “Party. Guy. Bedroom. I said no. He got angry.” She had run out of fingers and decided to continue on anyway. “He wasn’t trying to force anything on me, he just grabbed my arm in a hissy fit. He wouldn’t have hurt me. He wasn’t going to rape me. So if you hadn’t called Peter, the guys hissy fit would have fizzled out on its own, I’d have left, and I would be RIGHT—FUCKING—HERE!” The girl gasped for air and dropped to the ground. She had run herself out of air in her aggression, and she was scared at the high-level emotions she was having. It was making her wheeze.

“Oh, kid,” Tony spoke softly, stepping forward and kneeling down on the floor next to her.

“I just…” she mustered herself. “I don’t know how to feel right now. It was nothing. I know that, but then everything around it makes me feel angry one moment, and fine the next, and I’m sad, but it’s not because of what happened. I don’t know how to feel.” Without another word, Tony sat down on the floor next to the girl and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. Over his shoulder she continued to mumble, “It’s just so confusing because he’s not a bad guy and he didn’t really do a bad thing. Like he was responsive when I asked him to stop. But it made him angry, and I guess that makes me angry.” Tony pulled away, and lead Y/N to the couch so she could continue. “I think what bugs me the most is that a month ago that kid wouldn’t have looked my way, and now because you’ve slapped a name on me I’m desirable enough that he wants to fight for it. Like a possession.” Y/N stopped speaking and began chewing on her lip as she thought further.

Tony tapped her knee and stood up. He began working his way toward the bar and asked, “You want anything, kid?” as he swiped the watered-down drink off the counter and dumped it out.

“You realize that sounds wrong because you’re not supposed to be asking me that, right?” Y/N quipped back without missing a beat. She knew he never meant it in the first place, but it felt good and made the girl smile to herself. This was their relationship. He wasn’t her dad, and she wasn’t going to call him that. That didn’t describe their relationship. He was her senior, and she respected that, but that didn’t mean she had to conform her behavior around the associated social rules of Father-Daughter. So Tony and Y/N made quips at each other all the time. It felt nice to have that one note of stability. “Could you bring me a glass of water?” Y/N called over to Tony. Thinking nothing of the man’s lack of response as she heard the clinking of glasses and the sloshing of liquid being poured.

Tony returned, taking a seat on the couch with a single drink in his hand. “Where’s mine?” Y/N mocked offense. She did want the drink, but she much more enjoyed the game of verbal ping pong she and Tony played.

“I’m sorry, but this bar does not serve any underage gods, superheroes, or normal people,” Tony joked with a smile, earning an eye roll from his daughter. “So what are you gonna do if you have to see this kid at school?” Tony inquired earnestly.

Y/N furrowed her brow and shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t hate him… I just hate what he did.”

It was Monday when the girl calmly walked across the lunch room and smashed Amadeus Cho in the face with a lunch tray.

@ace-ingthroughlife-jk @just4muggles @i-alyssa @bravest-at-heart @bookgirlunicorn @really-lucas @loud-binch @alextheodd @avoirlu @tumbleerrtrash @amazingficsthatididnotwrite @superspideyparker @whatevsmels @niteshines-on @royal-sunflower @spiderman-masterlists @goldenrose1099 @fav-fan-ficccs @iamburdened @justalittlecrazybutimok @coonflix @takenbymyfandoms @elioelioeli0 @potterheadbbc @-thatgirloverthere-  @tomshufflepuff @peter-spider-parker-man @maddie-laufeyson @jackiehollanderr @mariah-danielle-winchester @hortonhearsahoeblr @lokimercuri @loxbbg @justanothermarvelfanaccount @darkblueeyedperson @faloncarington @creativedogs @cosmicparkerr

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Title: A Dragon’s Magic Chapter 6 Pairing:  Kacchako Rating: M Word Count:  5,430 Summary: Uraraka Ochako has always believed in dragons, though she was constantly told they were long since extinct. Now an adult and professional mage, she’s ready to help her parents as a healer for their village. The last thing she expects is for her beliefs to become a reality, but when a dragon attacks her village, she learns there’s more to magic than she ever could’ve realized. Read on AO3 Thanks to @its-love-u-asshole for reading this over. Todoroki is finally here

"I see it!" Uraraka cheered, pointing towards a tower way off in the distance. Katsuki growled. Did she really have to be so energetically happy all the damn time?

Katsuki immediately picked up his pace, scuffing his boots against the ground. "Great, let's walk faster then."

His body ached and his cheeks throbbed. The dragon didn't enjoy feeling the subtle pulses of pain which pressed against his face. He should never have transformed for her last night. He wasn't even sure why he did... Her stupid face looked so fucking eager, and maybe he liked the idea of impressing her... just a bit. Fucking humans were so easily swayed by things they didn't understand, whether it be for good or for bad.

Holding his human form was turning out to be more difficult than he thought. The dragon was desperate to come out, wanting to take over his body... and when he gave it permission last night, it was hard to not stay in it completely.

"Here," Uraraka said, breaking his mind of his thoughts as he turned to the girl next to him. "You'll need your cloak to cover your face." She reached her hand up towards his cheek and he smacked her hand away, grabbing the long red cape from her.

He didn't need a repeat of last night, when their lips were so damn close, noses almost touching. What the hell was that anyway? She didn't say anything, neither of them had, and Katsuki wasn't keen on bringing it up.

"Ah..." She pulled back her hand. "S-Sorry," she stammered. "Are you okay, Bakugou?" she asked. "You seem extra, uhm, upset... today..." she said slowly.

"I'm fucking fine!" he hissed. Like hell he was going to tell her he was in pain and not looking forward to walking through a city of humans.

On the horizon the city appeared, and Katsuki wrinkled his nose. It smelled like smoke... but not the kind he was familiar with. It felt artificial, and even from this far away, the air felt sticky against his bare skin.

He wrapped the cloak around himself, pulling the furry hood up over his head. Uraraka's eyes scanned his body, as if she were looking for something. He jerked his head back, watching her movements carefully. "Oi, what-"

"Good! Okay... if you keep your head angled down a little bit, you should be fine. They shouldn't see the scales on your cheek..." she nodded, continuing towards the bridge which led to the central city.

Katsuki did as he was told, keeping his gaze towards the stone bridge. He hated looking like he was bowing his head to these damn creatures, but the last thing he needed was to get caught in the giant human base. In the small village, he had a chance, especially with Uraraka helping him... here, there was no way he would be able to escape and he doubted she would have any say over anything that happened.

"Todoroki's place is close to the library," Uraraka said, trying once again to make small talk. "I think it's cause he likes to study so much. Or 'research' as he calls it," she laughed.

Katsuki also didn't give a shit about meeting her friend. He was a means to a fucking end. He wanted to get in, find out where dumbass Kirishima was, and then leave. They didn't have time to sit around and catch up... but knowing Uraraka she would want to do just that.

"State your business."

Katsuki stopped walking, turning his gaze to meet the soldier who stood in front of him.

"We're visiting a friend!" Uraraka was quick to jump in. "Todoroki Shouto, he's a mage and my friend from school."

"Yes, I am aware of the scholarly mage," the man said, and Uraraka blinked.

"You are?" she asked. "I uh... Okay! Great!"

"I hope you have a nice visit," the man nodded, bowing to her.

Katsuki blinked, stepping after her as they made their way inside the city gates. It was surprisingly easy to get into the city. Katsuki expected to answer far more questions than that... but perhaps this Todoroki person was more important than Uraraka let on. How many people used his name to get into the city?

The buildings were far taller and closer together than Uraraka's village, and he glanced towards her as she walked through the streets in awe, her mouth wide open. "W-Wow..." she breathed. "This place is huge!" she blinked. "I've never been here before!"

As they came to a crosswalk, Uraraka paused, blinking as she glanced down the streets. "Uhm..."

"What?" Katsuki asked, tilting his head.

"I... actually have no idea where the library is. I-I hope Todoroki is home too... I didn't really have anyway to contact him that I would be coming!" she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"What?!" Katsuki growled. "So you have no fucking clue where you're going!?"

"S-Shh!!" she said, reaching up to cover his mouth.

"MMMPHMMM..." he grunted against her hands, trying to pull back.

"Don't be so loud!" she said. "You're calling attention to us!"

She moved her hands from his mouth and he immediately grabbed her wrist. "Oh and that was inconspicuous as hell!" he scoffed.

"T-The last thing we need is people seeing y-your- your!!" She pointed directly at his face.

"HAH!? You're the one making a fucking scene right now!" he yelled, slapping her finger away from his face.

"W-We'll just have to ask someone then!" She glanced down one of the pathways, noting the stalls lining the streets. "Look!" she said, pointing yet again. "There are plenty of vendors down there. I'm sure one of them knows where the library is and we can figure out where Todoroki is from there!" she said, looking rather proud of her plan she clearly pulled out of her damn ass.

"Whatever, Cheeks," he huffed, waving his hand. "You lead the fucking way." He was already tired, the energy in the city draining him. There were so many humans and smells overwhelming his senses. Already five or six people bumped into him and he was ready to absolutely cut their throats out. "Can we please just get a fucking move on-"

"Uraraka!?" A voice called out, and both of them turned to see a young man standing in the middle of the street. His hair was strange, half white and half red, split perfectly down the middle and large scar covered part of his eye.

"T-Todoroki!" she gasped. "We found you!"

~~

She never felt so damn relieved in her whole life.

"T-Todoroki! We found you!" she blurted out upon seeing him.

He blinked, his multi-colored eyes widening. "You were looking for me?" he asked, still standing awkwardly in the middle of the road. Todoroki was never the best at social interaction.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she approached him first. "Yes, thank goodness we found you."

"We?" he asked, glancing at her once again.

"Mhm! This is Bakugou!" she paused, not wanting to tell Todoroki everything out loud on a crowded street. She knew he would be thrilled to say the least, and surrounded by a large amount of people didn't seem to be the time and the place. "He's... uhm... actually..."

"Your boyfriend?"

Ochako's face lit up completely red. "W-What!?" she flailed her hands up and down, shaking her head quickly. Her brown hair whipped against her cheeks. "N-No! Nothing like that!" she hurried

Why would Todoroki think that? They weren't even standing next to each other! Sure, they had one awkward almost kiss the night before, but there was no way Todoroki would know about that!

"Ah. Sorry," he said, nodding his head.

"He's just a friend!" she squeaked out and Bakugou stepped by her.

"Oi. Half and Half," he said, pulling his hood back enough to show his scales, exactly what Ochako didn't want him to do. "We got a fuckin' problem. You gonna talk to us or not?"

Todoroki's eyes widened, his gaze shimmering with excitement and confusion as he stared at Bakugou's face. "Let's... Let's get back to my place," he nodded, glancing at Ochako.

"Yeah, good plan," she nodded. Walking next to Bakugou, she followed Todoroki's brisk pace. "You shouldn't just pull your hood back like that!" she hissed.

"Okay, Mom," he snorted.

"Do you want to get caught?!" she frowned, reaching up to smack the backside of his head.

"OI!" he yelled, and Todoroki turned to look back at them, tilting his head.

"We're fine..." she said, waving her hand quickly.

She folded her arms, and tried to focus on the sights, instead of how stupid Bakugou was being.

Admittedly, Ochako wasn't sure what to expect when they made it to the city, and so far the entire experience only made her anxious. There were far more people than she initially anticipated and she kept glancing towards Bakugou, nervous his cloak would fall off and people would notice his scales immediately. Of course, he obviously didn't care, since he was willing to take it off to show anyone!

She sighed, and tried to focus on the buildings. They were packed tightly together and Ochako wondered what it would be like to leave your house everyday and see so many people... so many faces you didn't recognize. Back home, Ochako knew everyone and a simple walk into town would elicit at least four or five 'good morning's.

It actually surprised her Todoroki would live in a place like this. She assumed it probably had plenty of supplies and information, so the trade off was worth it.

Not wishing to deal with Bakugou's huffy attitude, she skipped ahead, standing next to Todoroki. "It's good to see you Todoroki!" she smiled.

His hands were wrapped around the bag full of various supplies. The deep red and ice blue gems on the bracelets which wrapped around his hands glistened in the daylight. Ochako was certain she had never seen Todoroki without the jewelry.

"It is... good to see you too, Uraraka," he nodded. "Though... surprising. I didn't receive word you were coming."

"Actually, I, uh, didn't send word!" she laughed nervously. "It's been a whirlwind of a few days."

"I can only assume," he muttered, glancing back at Bakugou. The angry blond stomped down the street, hands shoved into his pockets. He looked annoyed, glaring at anyone who looked his way. At least that stopped people from staring too long.

"Yeah... I can explain when we're in private."

"Indeed," Todoroki nodded. "This should not be discussed in public."

They continued down the street, pushing past crowds of people until they came upon a large building. It was white with a golden dome on top, and large stairs led up to a pillared entrance. "What is that?!" Ochako gasped, her eyes widening.

"The library. It's rather large inside. Later we might have to use it," he admitted. "Depending on... what you have to say."

"It's just a giant fucking building, who cares. Keep moving," Bakugou muttered, pushing his hand against Ochako's back.

"A-Ah! O-Okay!" she blushed, continuing forward.

"My place is only a bit away."

Todoroki wasn't joking when he said he lived close to the library. Just on the other side of the street, he stopped at a thin building, pulling a key out. He opened the door, hurrying them both inside.

The room was small, full of various bottles and potions, trinkets Ochako had never seen before. There was a small kitchen and table off to the side, as well as shelves of books. There was a staircase in the back which probably led to his bedroom, and knowing Todoroki... more books. It was incredibly organized. Far more organized than Ochako could ever dream of being.

"You're not human are you?" Todoroki asked, placing his bag of new supplies on the table.

"Cutting right to the chase, are you Half and Half?" Bakugou snorted, yanking his hood down. The scales glistened in the sunlight pouring in through the front windows. His ears were long and noticeable now without the hood as well and Ochako hated how much she blushed looking at how attractive he looked.

"I don't see any reason to dance around the subject. This is clearly why you're here, is it not?" he asked, turning towards Ochako.

She bit her lip. "It is... Bakugou is... a dragon."

Todoroki's eyes widened. "A dragon?! An actual, thought to be extinct, dragon?" he gasped and immediately stepped towards him.

"Don't touch me!" he growled, angrily glaring at Todoroki. "And I swear to fucking hell..." Bakugou snorted. "Why the hell do all humans think dragons are extinct?!"

"Because technically you are... As far as humans are aware... dragons do not exist."

Bakugou clicked his tongue. "Yeah because that's what we wanted you to fucking think," he snarled.

"Exactly, so forgive us if we look at you as something we didn't believe to exist," Todoroki scoffed, folding his arms.

"Uraraka," Bakugou hissed, pointing his finger out in Todoroki's direction. "Who is this fucker again?"

Todoroki's eyes widened and blinked at the finger in front of him.

Ochako sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "Please, Bakugou, there's no need to be rude. Todoroki is a professional mage. We went to school together for awhile, but he graduated before me. He's an incredibly gifted elemental mage. He can manipulate ice and fire at the same time."

"Hah?" Bakugou leaned forward, glaring at the other man. "Where the fuck is your staff or whatever?"

Todoroki tilted his head, glancing towards Ochako. "Staff?"

"Oh! Dragons don't need... magical objects to perform magic," she explained.

"Ah," Todoroki nodded and held up both his hands. Across the back of his palm where two different hand bracelets. One was blue and shimmered like ice, the other was a bright red, glowing orange like fire. He had the ability to shift his magical current internally, making it easy for him to switch between the two elements. "I wear these all the time. I often forget I have them on."

"Mmmm," Bakugou grunted. "I don't care about his mage status. Do you know where Kirishima is or not?!"

"Kiri... who?" Todoroki asked, again looking confused. He was shockingly unfazed by Bakugou's outbursts, and Ochako shook her head, moving towards Bakugou.

"You can't just ask him that without explaining things further," she said.

"Yes," Todoroki nodded, pressing his fingers against his forehead. "Please explain to me why you have a dragon with you and why he apparently is also a human. Don't get me wrong... I'm thrilled my theories on the existence of dragons isn't incorrect. However, I am very lost..."

Ochako pulled out a chair from the table, taking a seat. "That's understandable!" she giggled. "I mean we did just sort of show up out of the blue and were like 'Hi we need help also he's a dragon!'"

"Yes," Todoroki laughed, taking a seat next to her. "That is exactly what happened."

Sighing, she glanced at Bakugou. "He attacked our village a few days ago... and they caught him, chained him up and were about to kill him, but I protected him," she explained. "Of course, that got me banished from my village."

"Banished?" Todoroki blinked. "Your town is harsh."

"S'not fuckin' harsh!" Bakugou snapped, interrupting. "I tried to destroy their fucking village and this idiot jumps in front of me. I don't know what the hell she was thinking!"

Todoroki frowned, glaring up at the blond. "She was thinking she wanted to help you. You should be thanking her. Though... I am surprised you gave up living in your village."

"Oi-"

"Bakugou, please, it's fine..." she said, shaking her head at him. "I... I couldn't let them kill him," she explained. "Right in front of my very eyes was the creature I'd always believed in... and I needed to know more. You get it, right Todoroki?"

"Mmmm," he nodded. "Yes. It's nice to have things... confirmed."

"You two dragon loving freaks," Bakugou hissed, folding his arms.

"I only wish he was more pleasant," Todoroki sighed.

"I know. He's got this awful personality. It really makes me wonder if all dragons are like this," she muttered.

"OI!" Bakugou snarled, slamming his hand down onto the table. "Don't talk about me like I'm not fucking here."

Ochako rolled her eyes, and turned back to Todoroki. "Bakugou explained to me that dragons are running out of magic... he thought we were taking it from them, but we're not. He didn't realize humans don't naturally have magic like dragons do," she explained.

"Shitty Cheeks!" he snarled. "I didn't say you could tell everyone our life fucking story!" Air huffed from his mouth and Ochako sighed again.

"Bakugou... Todoroki is going to help us. He knows more about dragons than anyone I know! That's why we became friends!" she laughed softly.

"Yes. My childhood was... less than pleasant," he said, not wanting to elaborate anymore than he needed. "I spent most of it reading and researching. I wanted to be the best at magic and I wanted to discover new and exciting things. I've always believed in the mythical... there are too many eye witness accounts to not... and I've been doing dragon research ever since. Whenever there is any news, I hear about it. In fact, I heard about your attack... however the rumors have been so scattered and unclear, I was uncertain if any of it was true. Apparently it was..."

"You heard about it?!" Ochako gasped. "Word travels fast!"

"Words don't need to sleep and stop at night, slowing us down!" Bakugou hissed.

Pouting, Ochako folded her arms. "I brought you here because I thought Todoroki could help us! Not have you sass me!" she huffed and turned back towards her friend. "A-Anyway... I thought you might be able to help us," Ochako smiled. "Bakugou had a friend he was with, and they were separated. Have you heard any other rumors? Besides the ones from our town I mean..."

Todoroki stood up, pushing away from the table. "It's funny you mention this. I was out shopping for supplies to leave tomorrow. A village just a days walk away apparently has captured a red dragon. It's not public news, I simply heard about it from various informants. I was hoping to learn more. There have been rumors of a dragon in a neighboring city as well... but I've been hearing about that for years, with no solid information to find. Of course... seeing as you can take on the forms of humans. I suppose anything is possible. There could be many dragons hiding among us. But since you and your friend just appeared, Bakugou, I take it the red dragon is the one we will be searching for?"

"Mmm... sounds like him..." Bakugou muttered.

Todoroki approached him, his eyes intently staring at the scales on his cheek. "Care to explain these more?" he asked, pointing. "It's a dead giveaway for what you are."

"Stay the fuck away from me, Half and Half!" he snapped.

Ochako stood up and adjusted her hat. "It's impossible to get him to tell me anything, but... he did explain the dragon is his true form. He needs magic to hold the human one and since he's running out-"

"You don't have enough to maintain your disguise..." Todoroki said.

"Shut up!" Bakugou hissed.

"It's important to note. Who would've guessed dragons can take on a human form as well," he mumbled. "Or that they don't need magical items to use magic. But I don't understand why you thought humans would be taking your magic?" Todoroki asked.

"Who the fuck else would it be?!" Bakugou hissed.

"Obviously someone else since it's not humans," Todoroki stated bluntly. "What else can you tell me?"

"Nothing!" Bakugou snapped, folding his arms. "You don't need to know anything else!"

"Right," Todoroki sighed, glancing towards Ochako knowingly. "I will join you then. I will take you to the village where the other dragon is thought to be and-"

"Fucking forget it! You're not coming with us!" Bakugou hissed.

"B-Bakugou!" Ochako snapped, stomping her foot against the ground. "Todoroki is trying to help us!"

"Fuck!" Bakugou growled. "I've had enough of you fucking humans. Thinking you can shove your face in my fucking business. You can stay here with him and I'll go get Kirishima myself!"

"You have no idea where you're going!" she yelled back. "Stop being so rude!"

"FUCK!" he yelled again and shoved his hood up over his head. He yanked the front door open and stormed outside, slamming it immediately shut behind him.

"B-Bakugou! You can't just-" she cried out and stepped forward to follow him, but Todoroki gently touched her shoulder.

"You're right, he has no idea where he's going. He'll come back," he nodded.

Ochako bit her lip. Bakugou was the type to go off and do plenty of stupid things anyway... "I'll be... I'll be right back, Todoroki," she nodded and followed Bakugou out the door.

~~

The problem with being in the city was that Bakugou was frustrated as all hell with humans and the only thing fucking surrounding him were goddamn humans. He growled, keeping the hood over his head and turned down the main street, walking briskly.

It felt like his worst goddamn nightmare was coming true... surrounded by human mages, he couldn't even maintain his stupid form. His face throbbed so much... he just wanted to rip the scales from under his skin... or change into his dragon form... He knew he couldn't cave to those desires.

Todoroki was worse than Uraraka. Bakugou couldn't place why, but he hated the guy. He just wanted to go and get Kirishima back... why did they need to make it a huge quest!?

"B-Bakugou!" he heard her voice cut through the crowd and he began to walk faster. Couldn't the idiot just cut him a fucking break!?

"Bakugou!" she yelled again, her voice closer. He honed in on the sound of her boots, the gentle tap against the cobblestone. He couldn't start running, it would call far too much attention to himself, and in the moment he spent thinking of what to do, he felt her gentle hand wrap around his.

"Oi!" he snapped, pulling back. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Just leave me the fuck alone!" he growled.

"B-Bakugou, please! What if you get lost and then..." she sighed, stopping herself as she glanced down at their hands, slowly pulling away. "If... you really want to leave... you can. The whole point of freeing you was so... you could be free to do as you wanted," she whispered, her brown eyes staring at the ground.

He blinked at her, watching the sadness take over her features as people in the street passed them by, walking around them without a second glance.

His cheeks heated up suddenly. What the hell was this!? Why the fuck did she have to have such a cute fucking sad face!? He rubbed his forehead and grit his teeth. "Look, there's a lot of fucking humans here and it sucks, okay?"

"Yeah... it's even too much for me," she giggled softly, still unable to look him in the eye.

Reaching forward, he grabbed her hand. "C'mon," he said and dragged her back towards Todoroki's place.

"Are we going back?" she asked, gripping her hat as he tugged her along aggressively.

"No. Just... shut up for two goddamn seconds!" he hissed and pulled her towards the steps of the library, taking a seat on the edge. "I was trying to find a less crowded place than the goddamn street."

"Yeah... that was pretty packed," she said, glancing to the section they came with people walking to and fro.

"I don't want Todoroki to come with us," he stated bluntly. "You already told him too goddamn much. Humans don't deserve to know about us!"

His voice was far too loud and he knew it, but he didn't care. He needed her to understand. "You can stay here with Todoroki and do all your stupid magic research and I'll go get Kirishima and we can fucking leave and you never have to hear from us again!" he said, tapping his foot angrily against the ground.

Ochako stared at him, tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. "Is... Is that really what you want?"

He froze. Why the hell did she have to fucking cry about it!? Was she so damn attached already? He supposed it was his fault she had to leave her village... there was a very small part of him which still felt guilty about that.

"Fuck," he snapped. "When you make that stupid face, how the hell am I supposed to know what I want?" His voice was quiet as he spoke out the words.

"A-Ah!" she gasped, and wiped her eyes quickly. "I-I'm sorry Bakugou," she said. "I'm just... I keep going back and forth between missing home and being so excited to adventure and see the world!" she admitted. "The thought of it ending so quickly... made me sad I guess..."

He bit down on his lip and ran his hand down his face. Stupid cute Cheeks and her tears and her genuine act… the way she wanted to actually stay with him after he was nothing but rude. What the hell was her damn problem?

And why the hell did he care about how she felt?

Finally, he pushed himself up. "Fine. You and Todoroki can take me to Kirishima. But the second we get him, me and him are fucking leaving!"

"Okay, Bakugou," she nodded, her eyes still trembling. Why?! He just said she could come with him. Fucking women made no sense.

"And no more goddamn questions! I won't be answering anything else!" he continued, folding his arms across his chest.

"R-Right," she replied.

"And stop telling shitty Half and Half about my shit!" he snapped, watching as tears began to fall freely from her eyes.

"Oi..." he muttered, gently patting her head. "Why the fuck are you still crying?"

"I-I'm just... I'm just really happy it's not over..." she whispered.

"So don't fucking cry then," he growled. He wanted some peace and quiet, but it was obvious this was not going to happen in this goddamn city. "Let's go," he snapped, wrapping his hand around her wrist.

"Okay," she nodded, and slid her hand down his wrist down so their hands linked together. As much as he hated humans, he didn't mind holding hands with her.

~~

"Welcome back," Todoroki said, opening the door after Bakugou rudely banged on the front of it.

"Thanks Todoroki..." Ochako muttered. "Sorry for the delay. We can all go find the red dragon together."

"Good. We can leave tomorrow as planned. Are there any supplies you need?"

"Maybe... it wouldn't be a bad idea to walk around the vendors," Ochako nodded.

"Mmm," Bakugou growled, his arms folded across his chest as he stormed towards the couch, flopping down on it. "I'm staying right here. Like hell I'm going to walk around all those humans."

"That's probably for the best. The last thing we need is you getting noticed," Todoroki admitted.

"Get her warmer fucking clothes!" he called out, waving his hand back and forth.

"Ah! Yes! I really should... get my own cloak!" she giggled.

Todoroki nodded, grabbing his wallet as he led her towards the door, opening it so they could step outside. She glanced back, watching Bakugou laze about on the couch. He looked comfortable, and he probably would be thankful for the peace and quiet.

Shutting the door behind her, she let out a sigh. Being away from him would probably be just as good for her. She was constantly stressing he would leave and taking a break to catch up with Todoroki sounded nice.

"We probably should discuss some things away from him anyway," he said, leading her down the street.

"I kinda thought the same thing!" she giggled. "Well... he's not that bad... when you get to know him. He has his... soft moments."

"I'm sure. I don't know how you would put up with him otherwise."

"He's..." she trailed off, her cheeks flushing. She didn't really know how to describe what Bakugou was in regards to her. Even with his unruly behavior, she didn't hate him... in fact, she found him oddly endearing. "He's... a dragon!" she laughed. "I can't help but... want to learn more."

"Yes. About that..." Todoroki began, navigating through the crowd of people. "Tell me what you know."

"I basically already have. They don't need magical objects to use magic... the dragon is his true form and he uses magic to hold the human one," she explained. "I figured that one out on my own when he shifted back to human form and couldn't get rid of his scales."

"So his face is stuck like that?" Todoroki asked.

Ochako couldn't help but laugh. She forgot how blunt Todoroki could often be. "Yeah... as far as I can tell..."

"Human forms..." he muttered, tapping his chin. "There could be so many dragons we don't know about."

"I don't know..." Ochako admitted, glancing at some of the cloaks on one of the racks the street vendor had placed out. "From how he speaks, it doesn't sound like there are many dragons left. At least on the island he mentioned."

"So they live on an island. Of course, there could be more hiding as humans here. It makes me wonder about the information I have regarding the other dragon."

"The other one?" she asked.

"Yes... apparently there is another dragon in a neighboring city... living with a powerful mage..." he explained. "The rumors are strange though... they don't make much sense. It was something I tried finding out about but... when I went to the city the mage was mysteriously absent," he explained. "But it makes me wonder if the dragon took on a human form..."

"It's possible..." she said and pulled a pink cloak from the hanger, stepping into the vendor to pay.

"Thank you for coming to me," Todoroki admitted.

"Please," she said, folding it up as she bowed to the man. "You were the first person I thought of. No one else believed in dragons as much as me!" she giggled. "I mean... Deku and Iida were always on my side but it was different with you."

"Mmm..." he nodded. Ochako was aware of Todoroki's frustrating past. His father was a well-known professional mage... he worked with fire, and he was incredibly talented at it. Todoroki's father had pushed Todoroki to use multiple kinds of magic, wanting him to surpass even the strongest of mages. It took a toll on Todoroki when he was much younger, which was why he researched dragons and other mythical creatures... as a means to escape.

He and Ochako had bonded at the magic academy they attended together. Though the boy was quiet and blunt, they worked well together.

"Are you okay, Uraraka?" he asked, breaking her from her thoughts. He held some fruit in his hand, pulling more into his bag. They would most likely need to stock up on food for the trip.

"Ah! What do you mean?" she asked, surprised by the question. "I'm doing fine!"

"What about your parents? Iida and Deku?"

She pursed her lips, looking towards the ground. "I... I do miss them..." she said softly. "I think I keep focusing on this journey and solving the 'mystery of the dragons'... it... hasn't really hit me that I can't go back," she said softly.

"I see..." Todoroki muttered, paying for the food supplies he grabbed. "I'm sorry to bring up something painful."

"It-It's okay!" she said, looking determined again. "We're all going together to find out more about dragons! It's a dream come true, Todoroki!"

"Indeed," he said, nodding with a small smile. "I look forward to traveling with you."

"Me too," she smiled.

The two walked together, gathering supplies, and though the sense of excitement still bubbled in Ochako's chest, she couldn't help but worry the end of their quest was looming dangerously on the horizon.

She didn't want this to end... unsure of where she would go once Bakugou inevitably left her. As much as she was drawn to him, she knew he wouldn't want her to stay with him forever. They were from two completely different worlds, eventually it would all fall apart. The idea made her chest ache... and it was a pain she wasn't quite ready to face.