#courtesy of saltysaccharin's thumbs

[saltysaccharin]

Happiness

— [ELYSIUM] {SEMI-CANON}

• characters :: ryouga atsumu ft. the other ryougas

• content :: the family‼️, angst, sibling shenanigans, atsumu being lonely on his 22nd birthday because he's just like that

• warnings :: no comfort (kinda?)

prompt / synopsis :: a birthday

word count :: 1.1k

a/n :: THIS IS LATE ACTUALLY his birthday was on the 3rd but i fucking forgot like the dumbass i am but it's okay because i churned out this thing last night and am still working on art thing so HOORAY ATSUMU BDAY WEEK (accidental)‼️

HAPPY NEW YEAR‼️‼️

"Ugh, Atsu-nii, what's the matter with you?" Kairo huffed, propping his head up onto his palm, "Don't you ever stop working?"

Atsumu scoffed jovially and rolled his eyes, skimming over the stack of papers he held. "I started working when you were two, like hell I'd give up my momentum now— Hey! Teruko!"

Atsumu's frown went ignored by the young woman who'd snatched the documents out of her older brother's hands, simply sticking her tongue out childishly at him as she brandished her winnings.

"I need those. Give them back." The doctor glowered from the kitchen bar.

"Nope. You shouldn't be working today, and you won't be," Teruko replied with a sneer, "I'll give them back tomorrow! Don't be mad at me!" She hummed before sashaying away with the files.

The twitch of Atsumu's eye got a snicker from Kairo, further vexing the former. "Oh, fuck off. You guys have been in cahoots since forever."

Kairo shrugged, "So sorry, doctor, but I do hope you won't be using such vulgar language around Mama later." He jabbed, settling down not long after. After a moment, he tapped his fingers along the quartz finish of the table in thought as he turned back to Atsumu, "D'you think Dad'll come?" His voice significantly lowered in volume with the question.

With a heavy sigh, Atsumu rubbed his temples to dramatically emphasize his stance on the subject. "Who knows? Old man's too busy doing.. whatever he does to have time for his family. Guess I got that part right, at least," His jest fell a bit flat, only getting a disheartened nod from the brother. Atsumu shook his head, quickly changing the subject. "Where did the twins and Mito go off to? I haven't seen them since you five showed up on my doorstep."

"Oh, they went to the local minimart to get a couple things. Y'know, since you city folks have some real good stuff over here—"

"They went where? Kai, this building already has its own convenience store on the first floor."

"I knew that— Well..." An anxious chuckle left Kairo's lips as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm not sure if they did..."

Luckily for him, Teruko waltzed back into the kitchen, inadvertently saving her younger brother from the older's exasperation.

"Hey, Atsu-nii," She called out, pointing her thumb over her shoulder toward the corridor leading to the bedrooms, "Saw your room, saw the guest rooms — they're too good to be true by the way — but whose is the, uh..." Teruko trailed off, gently knocking on her forehead a few times to reorganize her thoughts. She snapped her fingers, "The room with the geeky stuff and the dog bed."

Kairo snorted, "The room with the geeky stuff?" He repeated in disbelief, straightening up in his seat before hopping off of the chair, "This, I've got to see!"

"HEY, NO NO NO—" Atsumu flushed, instantly chasing after his two siblings down the hall while they giggled mischievously. "That's not mine, stay out of there! Tch, you two never change!" He groaned, slowing down once they had already slipped past the door frame.

He put his hands on his hips in an attempt to look disappointed, imitating their mother subconsciously. The stupid grins on his sister and brother's faces warranted an irritated huff to come out of his nose.

"I didn't know you had a roommate," Kairo questioned, facing Atsumu suspiciously, "You definitely don't seem like the type..."

Meanwhile, Teruko deadpanned, "It is a mess in here. But Kairo's right; how come you've never let us stay for more than a couple weeks but then suddenly you just let some person actually live with you? Favoritism."

Rolling his eyes, Atsumu ushered them out of the room. "No need to be jealous of a complete stranger, my irreplaceable little sister," He muttered sarcastically, closing the door behind them, "Today, I've been reserved for my blood-related family, and so you guys will unfortunately not be meeting my boyfriend until much later. Thank you for understanding."

"Your HUH?" Both Teruko and Kairo exclaimed loudly, Atsumu making a displeased face in response.

"Jeez, if I didn't know any better I'd say you two were the twins in this family..."

As if speaking of the devils would summon them, the penthouse elevator dinged before the doors parted to reveal a duo of identical teenage girls with a smaller boy in tow. Behind them stood a woman well into her forties, her dark brown hair the closest shade to Atsumu's than those of the other Ryouga children.

One of the twins cheered, lifting a plastic bag to the air in celebration, "Guess who we ran into in the lobby!"

"You're back," Teruko observed, before lighting up upon seeing her mother accompanying them. "Ah, Mama! You made it!" She chirped merrily, skipping over to the group by the elevator, soon followed by Kairo.

Atsumu lagged behind, however, making no move to greet the rest of his family. He looked on with a soft, lopsided smile — they really did appear to be just an ordinary, happy.. well, family.

Eventually, the older woman approached him, an undeniable gentleness in her aura as she reached out to pat his head. Atsumu was taller than her, but he felt like a child in her bearings. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye for some reason, despite not having done anything worth a reprimanding.

The woman hummed, giving him a closed-eye smile, "Don't have anything to say to your mother, Atsumu?" Her question playful in nature.

"...Hi, Mama." Atsumu spoke, uncharacteristically timid.

"Unhappy to see me?"

"No, nothing like that, I'm just," He stammered, "Mm. Yeah."

His mother giggled, ruffling his hair. Normally, he'd snap and whine and do his best to salvage what little style was left of it, but he found himself to be suddenly eleven again. He did not spare a quiet groan, though, a smile creeping up toward his face.

"Happy birthday, my little doctor," She sighed contentedly, taking her son into a tender hug, "You did such a good job for yourself."

Ryouga blinked away the fantasy, shaking his head to rid of any leftover thoughts. The sigh he let out was nearly inaudible, yet the air still disturbed the small flame on the wick of a small candle placed into a small cupcake.

He hovered over it, a blank look in his eyes. What to wish for, he mused half-heartedly. It was rather absurd how he insisted on genuinely mulling it over, even though all of his wishes had already come true.

Well, a new one wouldn't hurt, right?

A single blow put out the only light in his ever-empty penthouse without much of a struggle.

[saltysaccharin]

Doctor

— [ELYSIUM] {NONCANON}

• characters :: hawks / takami keigo, ryouga atsumu + hero public safety commission (briefly)

• content :: angst, post-break up reunion, childhood friends to lovers to strangers to best friends again(?)

• warnings :: atsukei-typical angst

prompt / synopsis :: two years can change someone greatly; that doesn't mean the feelings one held toward them had to as well. unfortunately.

word count :: 1.3k

a/n :: haha this didn't go the way i originally planned because i fucking fORGOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO but it's okay it's basically still the same at its core just different dialogue? well most of the interaction is different from what actually happened hence the semicanon BUT I'M RAMBLING enjoy the food <3

The Wing Hero's eyebrows furrowed, accompanying the frown on his face, as he anxiously scrolled on his phone — persistently rereading the same text message over and over and over. He exhaled through his nostrils, the unease in his body unfortunately staying there rather than releasing with his breath.

He stared at his screen at the message from the HPSC, trying to wrap his head around the words that were delivered just the night before.

“ Doc Apollo will be returning to Japan shortly; I'm sure you've heard.

His private flight is scheduled for tomorrow, March 25th, and is estimated to land at 4 o'clock sharp.

A group of higher-ups, investors, and other individuals will be awaiting his arrival at an area near the hangar to welcome him.

Now, the important part: He wants you there. He specifically requested for you to be at the building itself when his jet arrives, likely intending to meet up with you as a priority.

However, this is not an order. I'm simply conveying a message.

It is up to you if you wish to be there.

That is all. ”

After everything that happened, one could hardly blame the disbelief that quickly formed. Hawks, now twenty-two years old, ran a hand through his hair, a myriad of emotions threatening to overtake him. Stress, confusion, thrill — they all boiled up to the surface akin to magma in a volcano that had been declared extinct for years.

He just couldn't understand anything. His mind raced with questions at a speed that even rivaled his own. What was he even supposed to be feeling? Why did Atsumu want to see him? Why didn't he reach out himself?

How has he been doing?

Hawks sighed heavily and leaned his head back, hitting the inner walls of the hangar. He ran a hand over his face, taking a deep, somewhat shaky breath to calm himself.

At this stage, Hawks was well past denying the fact that he definitely hadn't moved on. Maybe the second half of the first year had him fooling himself, convinced he'd be fine on his own, but he could only lie so much until the inconsistencies in his claims glared holes into themselves, eventually shattering the image of having 'come to peace with it' completely.

While it hurt to admit, pretending as if the opposite were true stung even more.

So he still liked Atsumu two years after their break up. Big deal.

Two years typically wouldn't feel like such a long time, but without anything to look forward to — without Atsumu — time passed by so excruciatingly slowly. That fact demonstrated itself so perfectly as Hawks stood in a near-empty field, staring blankly down the runway.

This was depressing. The very notion that he was even here was depressing.

But as the volume of an aircraft engine grew louder and louder, so did Hawks' heartbeat. Despite all of his nerves from just a few moments ago, in that moment, all he felt was an indescribable excitement at the thought of finally seeing his best friend again.

Because that's what Atsumu was, even after two years of radio silence.

He was his friend for much longer than that first.

Once the jet came to a full stop, it was already a few minutes past 4 p.m. Hawks didn't mind. He waited patiently, heart thrumming in anticipation, although he looked as easygoing as he ever was from afar. He steadily approached the jet, his hands in his pockets struggled to stay still as he closely watched the airstairs unfurl, and the cabin door gradually open—

"Ah, the air here's so much colder..." His voice rang like melodious wind chimes in Hawks' ears in spite of the slight rasp to it.

A yawn left the passenger's lips, small droplets of salt forming at the corners of his eyes. He brought a gloved hand up to wipe them away, simultaneously scanning his surroundings. And then, his gaze landed on the dirty blond who never took his eyes off of him since he came into view.

He froze, a hand on the railing while another rubbed his eyes comically. Hawks would've laughed had he not been holding his breath.

"...Keigo?"

The simple utterance of his name almost brought Hawks to his knees. He couldn't fall apart so easily right there; he just couldn't. Instead, he took a deep breath and smiled warmly, waving a hand.

"Hey, Ats—"

Hawks wasn't even given the opportunity to finish his greeting before Atsumu practically jumped off of the stairs and launched himself toward him. Instinctively, Hawks reached forward as well, successfully catching the other in time to feel his bubbling laughter against his chest.

Finding the sound contagious, Hawks gritted his teeth as he did his best to remain professional; distant; aloof; formal; restrained— All in vain, for he couldn't suppress the joy creeping up the corners of his lips. He joined in the childlike giggles before shutting his eyes, relishing in the moment while he got the chance to hold Atsumu this closely once more.

This was too much. He knew that.

But he was too happy to let go.

Eventually, Atsumu was the first to pull back, resting his hands on Hawks' shoulders. He seemed to get stuck, pursing his lips as he searched for something to say. His gaze then fell on where they still touched, lingering, until he timidly retracted his hands and anxiously tugged at the hems of his gloves.

"Uh—" While sounding slightly raspier, and more mature, Atsumu's voice still held every bit of 'Atsumu' that it always had. "Hi. Sorry, I shouldn't have..." He trailed off, sighing, "It's been a while, I..."

"Got excited?" Hawks chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep them to himself otherwise. Shaking his head, the Hero simply shrugged, "It's okay. I'd be lying if I wasn't happy to see you, too."

Atsumu glanced up at him, unconvinced. The fiddling didn't stop — only getting worse as he looked down at his hands, the discomfort in his knitted eyebrows growing more and more obvious.

Hawks' jaw clenched; he hoped, prayed Atsumu wouldn't bring up what he'd been avoiding thinking about since the jet landed.

He should have known better, though.

"...Kei, about what happened—"

"No, no," Hawks quickly interrupted, forcing out a laugh and putting on a bright smile, "It's okay! We were just kids, we.. didn't know any better. I understand a lot of things much more now." Words flowed too easily from his lips, as if he'd been waiting to speak them for eons. "Besides, the past is the past, it doesn't matter anymore; you're back!

"Now, we can just—" Subtly, his breath hitched as he lifted up a hand and offered the other a simple fist bump— "Go back to the way things were. If, y'know, you're fine with that."

Because Hawks definitely was. He was okay with pretending none of it happened.

He was.

Really.

The doctor didn't seem to believe him, however. His tangerine gaze flickered from place to place, searching Hawks' eyes for something. "You sure?" Atsumu asked cautiously, his worried expression ignored.

Waving a hand in dismissal, Hawks laughed once more, "Why wouldn't I be? Nothing could get between us even if we tried." That was true; it always had been, and it still was.

They both knew that.

A switch seemed to flip inside of Atsumu once he processed what was said. He smiled — a practiced, calculated thing. "That's great to hear! God, I was so nervous back there!" The merry chortle that left his mouth came very naturally, but to someone who'd heard what his genuine laughter sounded like, it was so incredibly counterfeit.

Hawks wasn't sure he liked the sudden, superficial change in demeanor.

This act was only ever reserved for people Atsumu kept at arm's length: Civilians, co-workers, Villains. Hawks was lucky enough to get a glimpse into Atsumu's truest form (as true as Atsumu could manage) back before the latter left Japan — back when they knew each other — but now...

Atsumu smiled at him the way he smiled at everyone else.

[saltysaccharin]

Three Words

— [???] {SEMICANON}

• characters :: shiro <insert last name>, baxter ward

• genre :: narrative, mild angst

• warnings :: kind of hurt no comfort but we don't really expound on the hurt much so it's f i n e

synopsis / prompt :: "i love you." "you love me? i thought we had decided not to fall in love."

word count :: 477

a/n :: @trashbynn sent me the fucking tiktok sound and i was hurt so like the wounded animal i am, i attacked

baxter ward is not mine he is from our life: forever and always it's a very good game where he broke my heart fifty times over the span of two months but ANYWAY

"I love you."

Shiro gulped as they forced themselves to look at Baxter despite the almost overwhelming urge to look (and run) away. Nails dug into their palm in an attempt to anchor themselves. Their dark irises filled with many different shades of fear, only for a glint of hope to find its way in.

Meanwhile, the person they had said it to froze — an uncharacteristic action for Baxter Ward, the tourist who always seemed so suave and self-assured.

It was reminiscent of the time Shiro first confessed that he was their first crush. Back then, he'd stumbled over his words, blushing like a schoolgirl at the revelation. But back then, he'd reverted back to his usual confidence and replaced his shock with pride.

Now, it looked extremely difficult for him to simply brush off this particular declaration.

Baxter stared back at the other, mouth slightly agape although no words came out of it. His rich brown eyes locked onto Shiro's black ones, and then—

He was the first to look away.

After a few awkward — no, tense — moments, Baxter cleared his throat and spoke. "You.. love me?" His voice was barely above a whisper as his eyes searched for something to look at, something that wasn't Shiro's uneasy expression. He couldn't bring himself to look.

Even before he said anything concrete, Shiro sighed in resignation; they knew. And still, they nodded. A small, timid nod that made their heart feel like it was about to combust.

Another dull beat of silence passed as they waited for a reply.

"I thought that we had decided not to fall in love."

There it was.

The tourist still couldn't look. He rubbed his arms in withdrawal while his feet shuffled — Shiro could tell he wanted to run as much as they did.

Whether Baxter wanted to admit it or not, Shiro knew him. At least, to some extent. At least, to the extent he'd allow.

Cracks showed up often in his façade that not a lot of people noticed anyway so he never taught himself how to fix them. He realized that was a mistake.. because Shiro noticed. They always noticed. They were always so caring and patient and observant with him.

...And he should have known better than to let them get as close as they did.

"I know."

Shiro's reply caught Baxter off-guard, causing him to finally meet their gaze once more on impulse. He wanted to retort; to clarify that he didn't want this to ruin their summer together; to make it absolutely clear that even if he couldn't love, he still liked them.

At least, to some extent.

The naturally white-haired of the two shrugged, an affectionate smirk adorning their expression as they nonchalantly took Baxter's hand and began dragging him along the shore as if nothing had happened.

"I just wanted to say it."

[saltysaccharin]

Med Student

— [PRE-ELYSIUM] {CANON}

• characters :: hawks / takami keigo, ryouga atsumu + hero public safety commission (briefly), others (briefly)

• content :: narrative, backstory arc™, childhood friends to lovers, fluff and angst so hurt/comfort-esque, bittersweet ending

• warnings :: none but remember the hpsc is horrible

prompt / synopsis :: a quick look at doc apollo before he became doc apollo. at least, from a bird's eye view (metaphorically).

word count :: 4.9k

a/n :: i've been wanting to showcase not-adult atsumu for a while, but i can't put his whole heart and soul out for the world to see just yet because he's supposed to be confusing and unreadable and ✨mysterious✨

so i got the next best thing, via hawks' pov <3

"Hawks,"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"That's enough training for today," The handler cleared her throat, uncrossing her legs before standing up. As she dusted off her pencil skirt, scarlet feathers belonging to thirteen-year-old Hawks paused in midair. He looked up at her curiously, which she acknowledged by raising a hand. "We have another task for you."

The dirty blond wiped sweat from his temple as his feathers gathered around him, then repositioned themselves properly onto his wings. He straightened his posture and patiently awaited the details of this new 'task,' although internally, his mind was racing in anticipation — was it his first official mission, perhaps? He realized that he was probably too young for that. Then again, he was barely a fledgling out of the nest when the Hero Public Safety Commission scouted him out, so  it wasn't impossible—

He was competent, right? Did they finally trust him enough to handle the real world again? Hawks' chest thrummed in excitement and hope, following his handler out of the training room and into the HPSC's dull hallways.

She hummed, likely noticing his silent enthusiasm but choosing not to comment on it further. Instead, she started, "Sometime last month, the Commission found a preteen..." Hawks furrowed his eyebrows, evidently perplexed while she explained, "He's been gifted a powerful Quirk — like you — but unfortunately, it caused the downfall of his ordinary life. We have since decided to take him in and train him.

"However, he has proven to be a very.. difficult child. It seems that even with time, he refuses to cooperate with us. He either refuses to speak a word or simply has an outburst." The handler sighed, bringing a hand up to the bridge of her nose. Clearing her throat, she turned to look down at Hawks, "So, we were thinking that it might be good for him to interact with someone closer to his age. Maybe you could talk some sense into him, given that you're skilled in almost anything else."

The sound of sugar-laced words were familiar to Hawks' ears by now.

"So, are you up for the task, Hawks?" She asked directly.

...But they had yet to lose their effect, by this point.

The young Hero-in-training nodded, a determined flame in his eyes. "I am. I'll convince him, for sure. I'm willing to deal with him, no matter what he might throw my way!" He declared, balling his hands into fists.

His handler only laughed with mirth, "So dramatic. Well, you're in luck; we're here," The woman abruptly stopped on their stroll, turning to face a door. Hawks scrutinized the lack of a nameplate. "Let us know how it goes, and don't be afraid to back out if it's too much to handle."

'It won't be too much to handle,' Hawks wanted to retort, but ultimately kept the attitude to himself in favor of a quiet nod. He reached for the handle and turned, slipping into the room and closing the door behind him in one swift move.

"I told you people to LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

Almost instantly, a small tray was sent flying his way. It would have hit him right in the face had he not used his wing to block the attack, the tray falling to the floor with a clatter. Hawks scoffed to himself before lowering his makeshift shield, finally getting a good look at his assailant.

"O-Oh. You're not..." Stammered a boy with one too many white strands tangled in his brown hair for his age. He retracted the arm used to attack rather bashfully, grabbing ahold of his gloved left wrist. He couldn't seem to look at Hawks for very long, bright orange eyes darting around the room anxiously; his lip quivered, the beginning syllables of an apology forming, before he settled for a "...Whatever."

The kid slid down the wall with a frown, bringing his knees up to his chest as he sat on the floor. There was a relatively decent bed right beside him, apparently rejected.

Hawks was at a loss. It had been far too long since he'd genuinely socialized with someone his age, not to mention how.. disturbed this particular person was. He understood very early on that maybe he bit off more than he could chew with this one — but that didn't mean he was willing to give up. The higher-ups were counting on him, relying on him; how could he even think about letting them down when he was finally given a chance to show how good of an asset he was?

Taking a deep breath, Hawks took a tentative step forward, which did not get a reaction from the other. He interpreted this as a good sign, choosing to come even closer, and closer, until he was eventually seated beside the boy on the floor.

When he was met with still no response, Hawks awkwardly took a look around the room before speaking. "So," That was not a good start, he winced internally, but pressed onward, "What's your name?"

"Atsumu."

The immediate reply almost caused Hawks' heart to beat right out of his ribcage. He wasn't expecting a reply at all, much less a quick and cooperative one. Steadying himself, the former cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "Well—" An unwanted voice crack made him want to die right then— "It's nice to meet you, Atsumu. My name is Hawks."

"That's a stupid name," Atsumu deadpanned with zero hesitation.

"It— It is not!" Hawks flushed, his wings puffing up defensively.

"Is too," The brunet huffed, looking up from the hiding place that was the space between his arms, "But seriously, what is your name? Don't tell me 'Hawks' is, because I'm not going to believe you."

Hawks glared, his own frown forming on his face. He glanced away and mumbled, "Smartass." Into his palm, only for an exaggerated gasp to come from behind.

"Hey! You're not allowed to say that!"

"Says who? Maybe you're not, but I'm older than you, you know!"

"Do you even know how old I am?"

"...Eleven..?"

"I'M TWELVE—!"

The two boys fell into a rather uncomfortable silence after that. Not so uncomfortable that it'd warrant one wanting the other to leave, but it definitely wasn't as warm and friendly as a normal interaction between children should've been.

Hawks grumbled internally, wrapping his wings around himself in an attempt to calm his nerves. He didn't dislike Atsumu so far, really, it was just.. difficult, like the handler had recounted. Hawks briefly considered that maybe he contributed to the problem. Considering the fact that he didn't have many friends growing up — or at all, for that matter. His way of living before the HPSC took him in was less than ideal...

As he looked back on that time, he sighed aloud. What harm would telling someone his real name be? The people who 'accepted' him with open arms told him to throw it away, but he never truly understood how something so personal could be tossed aside as carelessly as they wanted him to.

He still had it. He didn't use it, but he still had it.

Just when Hawks made up his mind, opening his mouth to speak, he heard a whimper coming from his left.

Hawks quickly moved his wings out of the way to get a better view at the situation. Atsumu's face was buried in his arms again, a gloved hand digging into his hair and gripping the locks deathly tight. His body shook as he inhaled and shakily exhaled between sobs.

Utterly shocked, Hawks stuttered, "Are.. Are you crying?.." His question only seemed to make it worse, however, as a choked sob came from Atsumu's withdrawn form. A panicked apology left Hawks' lips before he could fully register what was happening. "Hey, hey— I'm sorry, okay, I.. I didn't mean to—"

"It's not your fault!" Atsumu yelled, startling the former although the noise was muffled by the position, "It's mine. It's all mine! Everything that happened, I— I couldn't control it, and now—" Hawks worriedly glanced toward Atsumu's hold on his own hair, deciding it might be a good idea to intervene before Atsumu hurt himself.

"Hey, it's going to be okay— I'm sure you didn't mean anything—" Hawks tried, despite truthfully having no clue what Atsumu was rambling about. He reached out to grab Atsumu's hand, carefully prying it away from his poor hair.

The action slightly moved the glove's hem, exposing some of Atsumu's skin which seemed to cause him to violently jerk away in a frenzy. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" He pulled away, nothing but terror in his eyes, "I'm— I'm a sickness, I don't do anything but make trouble for other people even though I— even though all I wanted to do was..." He cried, sniffling.

Oh god. How was Hawks supposed to deal with..?

"I'm sorry—" Atsumu unexpectedly managed between the bawling, "I shouldn't have... Sorry, you didn't do anything..." He forcefully gulped down the lump in his throat, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hands. "I'm a mess. It shouldn't be your problem, just 'cause you're a kid too. I'm sor—"

Hawks couldn't stop himself from cutting Atsumu off. Before either of them knew it, Hawks had wrapped his arms around Atsumu, somehow simultaneously tight and gentle.

"Stop apologizing."

Atsumu sucked in a sharp breath before the waterworks started up again, unsteady hands gripping the back of Hawks' shirt as the shorter boy wept. The former kept mumbling apologies in spite of Hawks' wishes, but he let him get it out of his system. The handler said nothing about the rookie being so.. sad.

Hawks wondered, had Atsumu just been holding this all in for a month? Because he didn't trust any of the grown-ups to deal with his problems? Regardless...

Atsumu definitely needed that hug.

Hawks didn't know it at the time; but he did, too.

🪶

About a year after their mess of an introduction, the people running the HPSC had deemed it a good idea to allow those particular two to spend time together. Atsumu didn't really understand it (and made the fact very clear with his restless theorizing), but Hawks' feathers had managed to pick up some staticky noise about how they 'developed more efficiently when they were together.'

Or something like that.

He just guessed that it meant he and Atsumu were just easier to deal with as long as they weren't separated. Maybe they were similar to how two negative numbers multiplied made the product positive.

While not appreciating how that analogy meant he was a negative number, Hawks admitted that it was partially true. So well played, Commission heads, well played.

Still, it wasn't like every waking moment was some strange playdate orchestrated by the handlers — Atsumu spent a big chunk of his time in a different building, training both his Quirk and studying medicine; and Hawks had his own training to worry about, albeit he was much more advanced than the other considering how long it'd been since he was 'recruited.'

...Admittedly, even if the Commission hadn't constantly put them in the same room, the two would have probably found a way to use up their free time with each other.

Fifteen-year-old Hawks knitted his eyebrows together in concern as he watched Atsumu. The latter flexed his fingers and curiously observed the slow spread of.. whatever it was — it went from the tips of his fingers to his wrists now; it had stopped at the base of his digits when they first met.

"Are you sure it doesn't hurt?" Hawks inquired, understandably wary of this new development, "No stinging or itching or any of that?"

Atsumu took one look at him and chuckled for some reason. Squinting, Hawks scrunched up his face in confusion, his silent way of asking 'What's so funny?' The brunet shook his head in amusement, his voice still carrying a bit of laughter, "You're not very good at putting your feelings on your face."

What was that supposed to mean?

Atsumu shrugged, noticing the other's growing bewilderment. "I mean, you're not that expressive." He pursed his lips, "Like, at all." Of course he had to add that last part just to drive his point home.

Evidently, Atsumu had the exact opposite problem that Hawks (allegedly) did.

"I don't believe you," Hawks argued, internally reflecting on all the times he'd actively felt the muscles in his face move just to express a certain feeling. It was absurd to think that all that had been for naught, right?

"But you should," The brunet stuck his tongue out defiantly, having no regard for his technically-upperclassman, "It's not like any of the handlers'll tell you. They don't care about that type of stuff as long as you do a good job and be a Hero and blah blah—"

"Yeah, so then why does it matter to you, Atsu?" Hawks huffed, raising an eyebrow. He chose not to comment on Atsumu's disrespectful remark towards the Heroes, but it was fine; he knew and understood that his friend never really felt the desire to become one.

Atsumu only hummed in response, apparently taking some time to truly contemplate the reason. After some time, he finally came to the following conclusion: "Well, Heroes are supposed to be liked by the public, right? I think you have to be, like, human for that to happen."

"But I am human."

"You don't act like it!" Came the younger teen's retort, "I can tell how you feel since I know you, but if you told a stranger that you were worried about them being hurt while having the straightest of faces," Atsumu's shoulders slumped dramatically, "I don't know if they'd believe you—

"Which is bad! Because you're a good person and stuff. You just don't show it a lot past the actual.. y'know, Hero thing," The orange-eyed boy gestured wildly with his hands as he spoke, doing his best to get his point across. "You just look so serious all the time."

Pouting slightly, Hawks blew a stray hair away from his face, "Well, that's probably because I have to be — I'm always training, and..."

"Not always," Atsumu interjected, holding up a finger, "Not when you're with me."

Hawks lowered his head in thought, a few loose feathers idly floating around him. He supposed that was true; it was easier to unwind around someone his age, especially someone who shared the same.. abnormal childhood training experience he had.

"How do you manage to do it, then?" Hawks asked directly, "You have so much to juggle all the time, more than I do. But you're so..."

"So what?"

"...Cheerful? I guess?"

"Ha. That's funny. Anyway, to answer your question... I have zero advice. Sorry."

Hawks shook his head. "Then we'll have to work on that some other time," Gently taking hold of one of the other's hands without much resistance, Hawks brought it closer for inspection, "What's all this though? You avoided the question earlier." The blond huffed stubbornly.

Atsumu only shrugged with his free shoulder, making an uncommitted noise, "I honestly don't know either. My handler thinks it's a drawback, but I haven't felt anything."

"Hm. That's odd."

"Obviously, Kei."

🪶

"...Huh? Atsumu— Atsu, are you alrig—"

"Hawks, get your partner under control."

The sixteen-year-old trainee shot the handler a subtle yet absolutely outraged look as he took his friend's shaking form away from them. Hawks shushed Atsumu and rubbed circles on his back, saying nothing about how tightly the latter had clutched onto the back of his shirt.

Hawks turned back to the adult and questioned, "What did you do to him?" He barely held back a glower, "What happened? It's been five days."

Atsumu's handler sighed, looking down both literally and figuratively at Hawks. "What, can't stand being apart from the only colleague you'll know before graduating?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered to himself, "Tsk, we knew there were risks of codependency, with your.. animalistic Quirk, but no one thought it'd affect your ability to know your place. Ah... Is this going to be a problem for us, Hawks?" His question only had one answer.

Hawks knew that.

He stole one more glance at Atsumu on the verge of hyperventilating into his shoulder, then lowered his head in the face of authority.

"No, sir."

"Good. Now, get him stabilized, however you manage to do that. You two should be ready for dinner when I come back."

After waiting with bated breath for the door to finally click shut, Hawks pulled away from Atsumu and placed his hands onto the other's shoulders. He worriedly moved to cup Atsumu's face in order to get a better look at him, and vice versa.

"Atsu," Hawks tried, "What happened?"

"...Kei..." The brunet sniffled in response, tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes before rolling down his birthmarks, "...So, so many things... They... They made me—"

Hawks shushed, engulfing Atsumu in another hug before he had the chance to burst into sobs. Atsumu had always been a crybaby since they met. His lows were truly low. He wasn't as young as Hawks was when the HPSC decided to.. mold him into another 'perfect' soldier, and so the difficulty he had adjusting to the whole living situation — it was hard. He knew that.

Judging from how Atsumu's body practically convulsed, clearly sore in some way, Hawks guessed whatever they made him do involved something that hurt.

...Whether Atsumu was the one who got hurt or if he hurt someone else was unclear.

"I hate my Quirk," Atsumu suddenly spoke up, although his voice was muffled by Hawks' shoulder, "I wish I was just Quirkless. This stupid thing hasn't done anything except hurt me and other people..." His grievances devolved into a silent cry as Hawks held him, the older boy unsure how to comfort his friend properly yet figured that doing his best would suffice for the moment.

Several "I'm sorry"s were sprinkled across the lull, Atsumu's habit of apologizing for seemingly nothing and to seemingly no one arising again. It always confused Hawks, but he never wanted to pry...

"Don't say that," Hawks eventually disagreed with Atsumu's first notion, "Your Quirk is incredible. It's capable of saving lives, and reaches places that most healer Quirks can't," He sighed, patting the other's back, "So many people will owe you their lives in the future. Isn't that what you've always wanted? To save people?"

Atsumu did not nod, but he didn't deny it either. Instead, he choked out, "But it hurts."

"...I know."

Hawks didn't know what else to say after that. He could tell Atsumu didn't, either, given the complete silence that overtook them, save for a few sobs from the latter.

Right when he thought Atsumu had dozed off, the boy took a deep breath and sighed shakily. "...I wanna help people," He mumbled, "No matter what anyone else says. I wanna give everyone a chance, 'cause it's not fair that I...

"That I did everything I did, but.. I get to call myself a 'Hero' in like three years," He sniffed, then finally pulled back from clinging to the only friend he had in there. "So I'll do that — help people. Even with the endless classes, the.. training. I can do it. It's fine, I'm—"

"It's okay," Hawks sighed, putting a hand on Atsumu's shoulder. "There's nothing that says doctors have to be 'fine' especially with all the crap they have to deal with on a daily basis."

Atsumu sniffed again, this time bringing up an arm to wipe his eyes. "Whatever, smart guy,"

If it weren't for the situation, Hawks would have laughed at the ridiculous familiarity that Atsumu's antics gave; trying to play everything off as if it were nothing without giving either of them any sort of break to process their feelings.

He'd grow out of it someday, though, so Hawks wasn't too worried about that.

"So how are you feeling?" Atsumu asked, looking at Hawks with his full attention, "I don't ask that as much as I should, even though you're going through.. basically the same stuff as me."

Hawks only shrugged. An unsatisfactory answer, he realized, as Atsumu frowned and hit him with a stray pillow on the floor.

"I'm pretty okay, really," He managed, tone uncertain still. Scratching the back of his neck, he drawled out, "Well. Less okay and more.. used to it all, y'know?"

"...That's fucking sad."

"Shut up."

🪶

"Oh, Hawks-senpaiiiii," A sing-songy voice called out, coated in nothing but malice. At least, in the target's perspective.

"Here we go." The eighteen-year-old Hero in question rolled his eyes playfully as he swiftly stepped to the side, successfully dodging an attack from behind courtesy of his significant other.

Atsumu yelped as he missed, well on his way toward the ground had Hawks not grabbed his hand in time. It was absolutely unnecessary to, but Hawks couldn't stop himself from smoothly twirling Atsumu around before pulling him close — all with a smirk plastered across his face.

Atsumu made a very unconvincing angry face.

"You're so cute," Hawks grinned, taking note of how Atsumu's expression was contradicting his comfortable body language. He loved him, but Atsumu was not a good liar.

Not to him, anyway.

"Stop being condescending!" Atsumu cried out dramatically, lightly punching — tapping, more like — Hawks on the chest.

"You're the one who was calling me by my Hero name instead of your beloved Keigo," He argued, cheekily leaning his face closer to Atsumu's. The latter flushed and immediately looked away, grumbling a series of profanities. Hawks could only chuckle fondly.

The brunet turned up his nose, "It's your fault for being older than me. I still have, what, eight more months of training to go through before I can finally see the outside world once more." He hummed.

Hawks raised an eyebrow, "You're being dramatic. I literally just took you out on a date a few months ago."

"It's not the sameee, Keiii," Atsumu whined, "I should be allowed outside already, even as a doctor! I already have forty-two doctorates!" He crossed his arms, then a heavy sigh came after, "That amount isn't remotely possible for normal people. This is so unfair. I have to study all this and try to keep up with my Hero training, which is just glorified torture at this point, and still—"

Unfortunately for Atsumu and his little tangent, Hawks had developed a habit of kissing him in the middle of various rants. In turn, Atsumu seemingly settled into his own routine of releasing a muffled squeal followed by (eventually) kissing back.

Hawks pulled away with a calm expression, but his eyes practically gleamed with adoration. "You done?"

Atsumu glared, pushing the other's face away with a scoff. "I hate it when you do that..." The almost aggressive reddening of his face betrayed his statement.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Why are you saying that like you don't believe me?"

The former only shrugged, his wings fluttering slightly, "No reason. Hey, I have some paperwork to do for my agency, do you wanna just," He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, pulling a complete one-eighty from his earlier confident persona.

What could he say? For all his teasing, it was rather.. daunting, for a heart as closed-off as his to suddenly waltz into unfamiliar territory. Though, he supposed his heart wasn't as reserved anymore.

Hawks glanced away, the tips of his ears gradually starting to match the color of his wings, "I don't know, really. Just.. do nothing. Together?" His question floated in the air for a bit.

Atsumu thought about it for a bit, his eyes narrowing as he replied, "So you just want me in the same room for no reason?" A shit-eating grin plastered itself onto his pretty face while he did a horrible job at concealing his snicker. "What, do you enjoy my company or something?"

"No shit," Hawks grumbled, putting his hands on his hips. The blush on his face was obscured by the new visor, but his uncharacteristic, shy behavior seemed to tell Atsumu more than Hawks would have liked. "It's a yes-no question, Atsu."

A drawn-out hum from the med student only furthered Hawks' defensive attitude, but the joyful laugh that followed relieved most of the tension in his shoulders.

The brunet hooked his arm around Hawks', giving him a contented smile. "Well, if my beloved Kei doesn't mind me reading up on the different ways to perform mutant Quirk-related surgery..."

"Not at all."

"Then I think we're good to go!" Atsumu declared, "Need a pen? I can lend you one of mine—"

🪶

Nineteen-year-old Hawks chuckled quietly to himself as he watched his newly-established partner mingling with the public from a distance.

"The name is Doc Apollo and I'm looking forward to working with you all!" Atsumu cheerfully introduced himself to the crowd of civilians that had gathered to watch the now-resolved incident. He practically glowed in the daylight, soaking up the praise he got.

Hawks shook his head and sighed affectionately, his focus being pulled back to the police officer he had been discussing the details of the situation with. He reported things clearly and worded his thoughts in a way that would ensure this would be a quick and clean interaction, but he remained ever so patient on the outside. The ruckus from the group fawning over Atsumu rang in his ears, and the proud comments from the former did the same.

After wrapping up his conversation with the authorities, Hawks politely bid farewell and left them to deal with the technicalities of the affair. He swiftly made his way to Atsumu's side with but a single flap of his strong wings, the noise from their audience growing louder.

"Oh, it's Hawks! Look this way, look this way!"

"Hey hey, isn't it such an amazing opportunity to see him in real life?!"

"Thank you for your service, Heroes!"

With a year of official Hero business experience under his belt, it wasn't fresh information that Hawks was very well-received by the public. He was an efficient worker, as well as admired for reasons involving something he'd worked on: Charisma, one could say. The way he carried himself made him shine in the eyes of supporters, causing a spike in his popularity despite how 'new' he was as a Hero.

His hard work paid off; in addition to his good Hero work, no longer was he inexpressive or aloof, like someone had said all those years ago. Yet, it was only a mask — an act he put on for the fans.

At first glance, that didn't seem to be the case for Atsumu.

But Hawks knew better.

He had no doubt in his mind that the outgoing, confident Doctor Apollo would gain positive attention once he debuted. Now that the day finally came, it was almost surreal how intentional Atsumu's innocent, 'youthful Hero' demeanor was.

Yes, he was truly happy to be here — Hawks could tell that much — but the cynical boy he'd grown up with never really changed.

"You two work so well together! And Doc Apollo says he just started?" A journalist pushed their way into the front of the crowd, an audio recording device in hand, "What's up with that?"

"Ah, well," Hawks began, silently taking note of how Atsumu quickly adapted to the speaker and lowering his voice, "Apollo is actually my new partner! We'll be working together a lot from now on, isn't that right?" He hummed, looking toward the aforementioned Hero.

"That is correct, yes," Atsumu confirmed with a nod and a smile too big to be insincere, "It's a great honor! Hawks is such an awesome Hero, after all, don't you guys think?"

Hawks narrowed his eyes at Atsumu in playful accusation as the group of civilians enthusiastically agreed, only getting a cheeky smirk from his boyfriend in return.

How sly of him.

Later, once the ordeal was over and done with, the two Heroes continued their work throughout the day. A tiring, rewarding job, was how Hawks would put it. Atsumu didn't add anything onto the matter.

Eventually, their shift ended, and they stopped by Atsumu's apartment to rest a bit before heading to HQ.

"So, how was it?" Hawks eagerly awaited a response as he carefully took off his visor, examining it for damage before putting it away. "Your debut — it went well, didn't it?"

Atsumu huffed, moving his bangs out of his face, "You could say that," He trailed off, pausing until his next point. He fell down onto the couch, groaning, "But I really don't like dealing with all those people... They're so pushy and excited and loud, and I can't deal with noisy guys very well—"

A hand on his shoulder was all Hawks managed, along with a sympathetic look. "I know. It's okay. Though, you'll have to get used to it; they love you." Atsumu sighed and put his own hand over Hawks' nodding slightly.

The former didn't comment on that claim, however. He grew silent, appearing as if he'd withdrawn back into his thoughts. After a moment or two, Atsumu spoke softly, "Thank you for being there. It made things.. a lot easier for me."

"You did well," Hawks leaned down to press a kiss on Atsumu's temple, getting a defiant murmur in response. He chuckled.

They weren't going to talk about any of the other issues that went on inside either of their heads that day. And that was fine.

This was enough. For now.

[saltysaccharin]

Three Words (Again)

— [???] {SEMICANON}

• characters :: shiro <insert last name>, baxter ward

• genre :: narrative, fluff (hurt/comfort if you squint)

• warnings :: i did not get to play the dlc beta so baxter might be ooc but it's ok

synopsis / prompt :: "i love you." "...still?"

word count :: 709

a/n :: i would like to apologize for the last post, i am now aware that my actions have hurt people (bynn /j) and i hope to seek amends with this less heartbreaking kinda-sequel.

"That went well." Shiro sniggered, although lighthearted. They spared Baxter a single glance out of the corner of their eye before looking back at the seemingly endless ocean.

They were never particularly a beach person — that was Cove's thing — but growing up next to it made it rather hard to not appreciate it.

What didn't go appreciated, however, was Shiro's little jab. Baxter let out an embarrassed noise, though it was more towards himself than at the other.

The two of them had just dropped by Shiro's childhood home for a quick visit to their moms, and to say that neither woman was pleased to see Baxter would be an understatement. While Shiro had forgiven Baxter for his past transgressions, their mothers definitely didn't take kindly to seeing the cause of their child's teenage heartbreak.

Of course, nothing too hostile took place. The people who raised Baxter's wonderful, forgiving Shiro had to have set good examples, after all.

Shiro only laughed quietly to themselves as Baxter groaned, finally facing the very real repercussions of his foolish younger self.

"It could've been worse," They said, cuing another groan from the former, "At least Liz wasn't home!"

Baxter sighed in relief, running his hand through his hair, "Yes... That was most fortunate. I couldn't even imagine what she would do to me if she saw my face after what happened..."

"Let's just say that she has a good lawyer." Shiro joked, a shit-eating grin on their face before Baxter's overdramatic, horrified expression met their gaze.

"Wouldn't you even testify for a dead man's sake?!" Baxter pointed, shooting the other an accusatory look as he played along.

"And turn against Liz? No way. I'd be next."

The pair continued to exchange playful banter as they sat by the all too familiar seashore of Sunset Bird, just out of the water's reach. Baxter's semi-formal attire would likely never be fully rid of the sand, and the same could be said about Shiro's incredibly long hair — but neither seemed to care about anything else while they talked.

They'd deal with the sand (and everything else) later, but for now; each other was where all the focus was.

After a bit, the conversation died down into a calm lull, leaving only the wind and waves to fill the comfortable silence.

As cliché as it was, their hands found each other atop the sand between them. Shiro's slender fingers intertwined with Baxter's in what could only be described as a natural instinct.

They had always been drawn to one another since that summer five years ago. Even if neither Baxter nor Shiro were ready for each other back then, they knew it was true.

But things were different now.

"I love you."

...Or maybe not.

Shiro's cheekily narrowed eyes glanced at Baxter, whose reaction was nearly identical to the face he made the first time they said it. Shiro remembered it as clearly as day — of course they did. How could they forget the temporary blush in spite of the fear in his eyes?

Now, there was no fear. Only confusion, some guilt.. and a highschool girl's giddiness.

It took a moment for Baxter to speak again. Just one question, one word.

"...Still?"

He chuckled softly, light disbelief in his voice as he looked back at Shiro. He wasn't going to look away this time — he was going to make sure of it.

Shiro laughed. Their innocent, euphonious laugh; when genuine, always accompanied by a couple fingers to their lips and a completely closed-eye smile.

When their dark eyes opened again, the contented look they gave Baxter sent his heart on a marathon.

"You're absolutely delightful. Yes, still," Shiro hummed, still holding his hand. "And you can take your time with saying it back— You will this time. I know you will."

They said it with such a playfully threatening undertone, yet Baxter couldn't help but be endeared nonetheless.

He sighed; they were right. He'd already fallen head over heels, after all — it was only a matter of time before he'd say it out loud.

But for now...

"Well, I do like you." He half-joked, shrugging with one shoulder.

Shiro laughed again.

Oh, how he hoped to continue hearing that laugh.

"That's good enough for me."

[saltysaccharin]

Cletus Aite: Homecoming (0)

— [TRAGEDY/COMEDY!] {CANON}

• characters :: cletus aite, vil schoenheit, rook hunt, epel felmier, idia shroud, ortho shroud + cleonn aite (mentioned)

• content :: kind of crack, explains how and why cletus is in so many theater productions even though he's supposed to be in the basketball club, tall people (vil & rook) scare local short king

• warnings :: none

synopsis / prompt :: cletus aite has always had a tendency to garner attention — good and bad alike. it seems that that very attention-seeking-grabbing behavior is exactly what a stage play calls for. it's too bad cletus hadn't performed in years...

word count :: 1.4k

a/n :: breaking news, sachi projects their own skittish behavior toward their crush and injects it directly into an oc's bloodstream.

cletus is fine dw (sachi is not /ovd)

"…Why am I here again?" Cletus absentmindedly muttered to himself as he took a glance around the Film Studies club room.

"You're here because of your penchant for acting," The Pomefiore head, Vil Schoenheit, replied simply as he watched Cletus with narrowed eyes. "Frankly, as shocked as I am, your talent has the potential to accrue more interest in…"

Vil's explanation went in one pointed ear and out the other.

Suddenly shaking his head, Cletus interrupted, "Wait, what was that about me and acting—?"

Behind Vil, Epel frantically gestured to abort by repeatedly slashing his hand across his neck.

"…You're referring to the first thing I mentioned, yes?" Vil deadpanned, somehow managing to make it look elegant. Cletus almost felt shame for once. Sighing, the blond housewarden clarified, "The Film Studies club is planning to compose a theater production. Alas, most of our actors are more suited for the screen — I'm certain you're knowledgeable about the differences between film acting and theater acting.

"In any case, I searched through a few auspicious individuals' backgrounds…" Vil trailed off, his hand placed delicately underneath his chin, "And I happened upon the Aite twins' history with musical theater."

Oh.

Cletus flushed, waving his hands around in front of him in a panic, "Aha, no no no. You've got the wrong g— Um. Well, you do have the right guy, but I don't.. do that anymore—" He stammered, an anxious smile creeping up to his face.

"Quelle malchance! That's such a shame," Exclaimed a melodramatic Rook, who then raised a gloved hand to his lips suspiciously. "Are you absolutely positive, however? I distinctly recall querying Roi de Ta Chambre about your performing abilities… You generally enjoy attention, no?"

Querying.. who? Cletus didn't really get any of what Rook said, but he found himself feeling pity for whoever the hunter must've cornered to get that info.

"Well, why don't you ask Cleonn to do it? This is totally unfair!" Cletus huffed, avoiding the question.

Vil sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "Unfortunately, your housewarden hadn't a lot to say about your brother. Cleonn seems to have actually moved on from performing, but you…" He trailed off, inadvertently coming off as sinister in Cletus' perspective.

Huh? His housewarden? What did he have to do with...

Meekly clearing his throat, Epel chimed in from behind the older two Pomefiore students. His wide eyes told Cletus that he understood the dread of being cornered like an animal; and that he was trying his best to get Cletus out of the situation. Cletus internally burst into tears of gratitude, offering to do anything Epel wanted in return.

"Um, maybe you could just do an audition? Just— Just to see if you're fit for the.. role that Vil needs," Epel suggested with a smile, earning a hum of consideration from his upperclassman.

Cletus stared at Epel in disbelief.

His bright amber irises bore into the poor first-year's soul, causing Epel to laugh anxiously and flutter his hands wildly in dismissal of his own idea, "I mean, you don't have to, of course! I just meant that, uh, y-you could compromise and audition and if Vil doesn't like it then—"

"No, no; your idea was brilliant, Epel," Vil interrupted, "It's the perfect way to gauge Cletus' skill, as well as his compatibility with the vision we're aiming for. It also leaves room for our potential star to back out, unlike if.. Rook were to pull some strings for me… It's a much fairer arrangement, I admit." He hummed with a nod, a hand on his chin in thought. The blond glanced at Cletus, extending the 'offer' wordlessly.

Cletus smiled his biggest, toothy smile — as fake as he could manage. "I really haven't kept up with anything like this in a while… I'm rusty…" His attempt at an indirect rejection was not effective.

"Nonsense! Please refrain from speaking such drivel, Monsieur Juvenile!" Rook exclaimed, moving to stand beside Cletus before draping an arm over the shorter boy's tense shoulders. "Performing in the limelight is akin to riding a bike! Beautiful Vil has set his expectations for you because he has seen promise; it would be an affront to not even try!"

Vil waved off Rook's dramatics, fully turning to face Cletus. "If what you say about being out of practice, then wouldn't that make this a learning experience? On top of that, consider the amount of opportunities that could open up for you," He put a hand on his hip to assert his confidence in his choice to 'recruit' Ignihyde's black sheep. "There's a fire in your eyes, Cletus. I'm certain there's part of you that wishes to channel all the negativity in your student life into something more performative; something people would pay attention to. Won't you finally give yourself the chance to achieve something someone of your caliber deserves?" A gloved hand stretched out toward Cletus.

To call the offer tempting would be a severe understatement. And yet…

"Ah, well…" Cletus cleared his throat, gazing at Vil's hand as he fidgeted with his own, "Um…" He stole a glance at a worried Epel, as well as an expectant Rook; he didn't have the backbone to check how Vil was probably staring him down like a hawk. "I.. I'm sorry, but—"

"Idia! You got him into this! The least you could do is extend some moral support!"

Cletus stopped in his tracks, lips practically zipping shut as he heard the commotion directly on the other side of the door. Epel peeked past his two seniors, tilting his body slightly as he looked at the doorway. "Is that Ortho?" He asked, receiving a murmur from Vil.

"I-It's not my fault! Rook basically ganked me the other day by the dorm entrance! Our dorm, Ortho! I can't even catch a break in the comfort of my own base!"

The second voice, while still audible, was definitely trying to whisper. 'Trying' being the keyword — considering the speaker was loud enough to be heard through the door, he likely did not try hard enough. The two individuals outside continued to bicker, where one was reprimanding the other who only tried his best to escape the situation.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Cletus muttered to himself, feeling his heart rate start to increase.

Vil made a face of disapproval, presumably at Cletus' vulgar language, but it quickly morphed into one of surprise as a frenzied Cletus practically jumped in front of him.

The voices on the other side grew louder — closer to the door — and Cletus' panicked demeanor grew stronger. The teal-haired imp put his hands together and looked up at Vil with wide, anxious eyes, "Please get me out of here. Hide me. Anything." He begged, a forced smile etched on his features.

The Pomefiore housewarden's eyebrows lifted slightly, intrigued, "Oh? May I ask why?"

"Wh-What do you expect me to do once we're inside, anyway?! I can't just 'SoRe wA chiGAu yO!' Vil!"

"Just apologize and say you made a mistake! I don't think Cletus likes being cornered any more than you do. Now come on, Idia."

"NonoNONO, ORTHO, WAIT—"

Cletus bit back a yelp as the door rattled slightly. He turned back to Vil and nodded desperately, "I'll do it! I'll act in your stupid play— I'll even sing! In all of your stupid plays! Just hide me from Idia, please! He can't see me like this, I look—"

Vil raised his hand, temporarily silencing Cletus' rambling. "You'll commit? To all of our future productions as well?"

"Yes! I will! Anything you need from me!"

A faint lavender glow seemed to emit from Vil's eyes as he smiled and extended his hand toward Cletus once more, this time without his uniform's glove. He turned to Rook and spoke quietly, not taking his eyes off of Cletus. "Take note of this. Get this agreement in writing as soon as possible." Rook nodded immediately in response.

In spite of his confusion, Cletus took Vil's hand without a second thought as Vil's smile grew slightly wider. With a deep breath, he uttered:

Cletus deadpanned at the screenplay in his hands, the casting page open. Expressionless, he silently glowered at his name written adjacent to a 'Michael Mell.'

"Nothing to lose, nothing to fear. The shining crown is meant for me. Fairest One Of All," He declared as Cletus frantically glanced at the door, "Cletus Aite shall turn invisible until Idia Shroud steps outside of this room."

Vil must have had a sick sense of humor.

[saltysaccharin]

Bbg

— [ELYSIUM AU-ISH] {NONCANON}

• characters :: shigaraki tomura, ryouga atsumu, himegami kuroi, extras

• genre :: crack

• warnings :: written while high. not literally high bc drugs are bad kids but like high in spirit /ij none

prompt / synopsis :: "call him baby girl"

word count :: ~900

a/n :: i had SUCH a day today. very eventful /pos. i should be sleepimg bc i'm tired from said day but bro. smth took over. and i churned out like 900 somwthing words of utter stupidity.

dw, not canon to elysium at all bc. frankly it's TOO stupid to be 🫶

Himegami ordering Shigaraki Tomura to get an updated-daily social media account was supposed to be serious. He was supposed to upload short 'reports' on his life rooming with Apollo every day, not.. whatever this was.

"'Call him baby girl for me'? What the fuck?" Shigaraki barked out a laugh, muttering the comment aloud as he read it and clearly finding it entertaining rather than taking offense to it (as he definitely would have a year or two ago). "Fine. I need to find the fucker first, though."

The audio translated the shuffling off of a couch very well; he had been blessed with a really good phone model by the very person he was planning to make fun of. Oops. Hey, he had to give his audience something, didn't he?

Nice place.

holy shit its actually happening someone clip this quick

🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑

rly went 'bet' lol

Idk what y'all expected ofc he'd do it XD

Shocker, the symbol of fear has no fear?!?!?

Shigaraki casually walked through the spacious penthouse, still using the front camera as the Live continued. His watchers' expressions of disbelief and amusement flooded the chat as he continued his search for a certain doctor.

talk about upper-class

*whistles*

Do u guys need an extra roomie maybe?? 🥺

Address drop or no balls

where is that

Finally peeking his head and his camera around the master bedroom's doorway, the lens focused on his prey. There, sitting at his work desk, was Ryouga Atsumu — otherwise known as Doc Apollo — tinkering with a foldable bow. The brunet grunted ever so often every time he ran into a particularly frustrating component to calibrate.

it's a wild apollo!

Sexy Heroes in your area right now! Click the link: <https://www.insertcreativedomain.com/japan-no-2>

help mods theres a fucking bot

@/ERĀ Mod get the bot pls

Im jealous ngl how come u get to live w/ him :(

@/ERĀ sic it

THE SPAMBOT LOLOLOLOL

An especially impatient fan sent a Gift into the Live in an attempt to encourage Shigaraki. The loud notification from it managed to catch Ryouga's notice, dragging his attention from his weapon directly to Shigaraki.

"Oh, hey. Need anything?" Ryouga smiled softly as he spun his chair to face the correct direction. With a hum, he tilted his head before pointing at the phone in Shigaraki's hand, "Is it rolling? Daily check-in?" He asked curiously.

"It's live," Shigaraki replied, stepping out of the concealment of the doorway since he'd been discovered. He straightened his camera as well. "People are watching in real time."

Ryouga made an O with his mouth in understanding and nodded. "Right, yeah. Well, you know I don't involve myself much with social media, Shigaraki; I have a whole group of people running my account for me."

WHAT

omg he's a boomer in disguise. i knew no guy could be perfect </3

Was this not common knowledge?

knowing Apollo having a team just for managing his Tweetr made my fucking week

Send help

Shigaraki waved his free hand in dismissal, "Yeah, yeah, I know all that—" He paused, suddenly narrowing his eyes as he stared directly at the former, "—baby girl." Delivered with absolutely no shame, accompanied by a singular finger gun and a tongue click.

Ryouga only stared in response, seemingly frozen in time. Mouth slightly agape, he blinked twice, then a bunch more times in quick succession before leaning forward in his chair and shaking his head. He knitted his eyebrows as he squinted at Shigaraki for answers.

"Baby what?"

Shigaraki snickered as his focus transferred to the live chat, his thousand-or-so viewers currently blowing up the inbox at the speed of a bullet train. The number signifying how many people were watching went up a slight amount as more people joined the stream.

"Nonono, you listen here," Ryouga pushed himself up from his seat before marching toward Shigaraki, who watched him approach through the camera rather than directly with his own eyes. The red-eyed man only grinned as the doctor gave him an incredulous look.

Quite the switch in expressions compared to their less amicable times with one another.

"Ryouga, it's fine, it's a fucking meme—" Shigaraki managed to explain between every other chuckle as he raised both hands in surrender, the camera angle disregarded as the screen now barely showed either of them fully, much to the dismay of the people watching. It captured a diagonally-warped perspective of Shigaraki's face as he looked at the off-screen Ryouga.

I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING :ANGR:

this is honestly hilarious i cant do this im gonna die today

PLEAS E

Nooo the videooooo

🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑

he looks like he's getting an earful

All the viewers could experience from that point on was hearing Ryouga chuckle and go: "Oh no, I know. I don't keep up with online trends but I'm not that blissfully unaware of my surroundings!" He huffed, albeit overdramatically just to prove his point.

"You.. know? Then why the hell did you give me that look? I thought I upset you!"

"Well, I'm not 'baby girl,'"

A brief shot of Shigaraki's lips being pecked followed that statement, the culprit disappearing from sight as quick as they had committed the crime.

"You are."

"...I'm not sure you know what 'baby girl' entails." Shigaraki coughed into his shoulder, attempting to hide the blush creeping onto his face.

Oh my GOD

WIFE HIM UP APOLLO LMFAOOOOOO

nvm not an earful. mouthful maybe LOL

This was disgusting & I don't mean that in a good way smh

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!!!!!

I feel like i've intruded on a moment here

🫣🫣🫣

THEYRE TOGWTHER??_?_(?? AND NOBODY TOLD ME?_(_!()")?

Aww what a cute couple (is sleeping on the highway)

gay gay homosexual gay

@/ERĀ you and me when

Dudeee wtfff (do it again)

When is it my turn to be happy

wait WHAT is happening i literally thought apollo and hawks were still a thing help me

GET IT

Himegami slowly breathed out into her intertwined fingers as she deadpanned at her laptop screen.

What in the nine circles did she just watch?

[saltysaccharin]

Blanket Fort

— [ELYSIUM] {SEMICANON}

• characters :: shigaraki tomura, ryouga atsumu, spinner / iguchi shuuichi (mentioned)

• genre :: fluff

• warnings :: none

synopsis / prompt :: after three years into project elysium, ryouga learned a thing or two about how shigaraki likes his 'celebrations.' shigaraki didn't know his doctor was a hopeless romantic who'd go above and beyond, though.

word count :: 1k

a/n :: i hate them both so much omfg god why. neither of them know what to do with each other most times and i think that's fucking precious bc they're both trying their best anyway‼️ atsumu's attempts are more obvious but tomura's really trying to let him in too and i ajhskdegwv dies

Shigaraki sighed tiredly as he boarded the elevator going up to Ryouga's penthouse, Mochi following close behind. As they slowly scaled up the side of the building, Shigaraki gazed through the glass walls and took in the view of a bright almost-full moon stretching across the city.

It was almost curfew, he mused, thinking of all the possible ways his little doctor would lecture him for 'cutting it close' — but then again, it wasn't his fault. Ryouga was the one who told him to go out and get some air; he'd practically kicked him out of the place! In such a hurry, too.

He wondered what that was about.

After a ride that seemed to go on forever, Shigaraki had finally arrived at the topmost floor. He tapped his foot as he waited for the elevator doors to part, and when they finally did, an unusual sight met him.

While Mochi sprinted out of the elevator, Shigaraki took a quick glance around the apartment: The shutter curtains were, well, shut, effectively darkening the environment; while a faint golden glow seemed to come from the living room. It wasn't much of a bother to go check it out, so as exhausted as Shigaraki was, he did.

"Surprise!" Ryouga called out rather softly, waving his hands as he stood in front of something he appeared to have set up, where the TV once was.

Shigaraki blinked. He wasn't exactly used to surprises that were both quiet and pleasant — though one usually supplemented the other

Bringing a hand up to fiddle with his collar, he mumbled, "What's all this about?" He asked somewhat timidly, yet his eyes seemed to eagerly steal glances at the thing behind Ryouga.

The brunet noticed this, chuckling, but he was more concerned with something else instead of teasing the other about the star-struck look in Shigaraki's crimson eyes. Ryouga tilted his head before he began to explain, "Well, I know that you're not the type for big, celebratory.. celebrations, and that you aren't exactly fond of people, so...

"This is for you," He smiled, stepping to the side and gesturing towards the entrance of a blanket fort. "Happy birthday, Tomurrun."

...Oh. Oh—

"It's my birthday..." Shigaraki realized, voice lowering both in embarrassment and disbelief. Of course he'd forgotten his own birthday, again — it was probably the third time in a row since the whole Tartarus-Elysium ordeal — and yet, Ryouga didn't seem to mind. If anything, he looked amused by this quirk of Shigaraki's.

Ryouya's glimmering, tangerine eyes stared with nothing but adoration as the former Villain approached the fort. Dimmed fairy lights adorned the 'edges' of the creation, while some areas of the various blankets used were partially draped over the couch.

"It's not perfect, but I tried," Ryouga stated with a shrug, "In my defense, I probably haven't made one of these in a decade and a half..." He trailed off, though Shigaraki had zero complaints in reality.

He reached a hand out to carefully push aside one of the sheets, peeking inside to find Mochi already making himself comfortable among the soft pillows and cushions.

Ryouga excitedly continued, "Oh, and I threw in a lot of snacks in there for you. It's mostly junk food and sweets, stuff you like, but there's also a bento box somewhere if you want to eat a proper meal—"

He paused, suppressing a giggle as Shigaraki awkwardly climbed into the blanket fort. There was something endearing about a toned, fully-grown man giving in to childish reverie... Especially if you took the time to consider that this one in particular never exactly got the time to experience such a thing.

An 'oomph' came from the confines of the blanket fort, and Ryouga shook his head affectionately although the former couldn't see it.

Shigaraki hummed, raising his voice to make sure Ryouga would hear him from the outside, "There's a stack of video game CDs in here. And a streaming platform's on." He observed aloud as he felt around the area for the remote to the flat screen — the search was momentarily stopped in favor of petting Mochi.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted to do, exactly, so I figured I'd let you choose," was the reply. "I had Iguchi come over and help with all the cables and shit I couldn't figure out from the manual..." Ryouga laughed through a sigh.

A snicker from Shigaraki, "You tried."

A few moments of silence passed, nothing but the sound of Mochi's pants and the air conditioning filling the room. After a couple more, Shigaraki eventually cleared his throat.

"...This is nice. Thanks." He murmured shyly, to which Ryouga chirped happily.

"Of course. The best part about this is that you'll be able to enjoy some alone time. With Mochi, obviously." Ryouga subjoined, a grunt leaving his lips as he stretched and dusted himself off. "I'll leave you be." He didn't get to see the slight slump in Shigaraki's shoulders at that.

Ryouga hummed, "I'll be working. If you need anything, just ask—"

"Um—" Shigaraki stammered, having called out impulsively and without much thought, "I... Well... There is one thing you could do to make it better, probably." He muttered almost incoherently.

"Yeah? What is it?" The doctor sounded very willing to do whatever it took to make Shigaraki's birthday a happy birthday.

...It was kind of sweet.

Shigaraki made a frustrated noise (directed at himself) before groaning loudly.

In a motion that was both calculated enough to keep the blanket fort steady but also too fast for Ryouga to register, Shigaraki reached out from behind the sheets and practically dragged the other inside by the wrist while his victim yelped.

Ryouga's face burned as he found himself wrapped up in Shigaraki's arms.

"I want you here with me. Fucking stupid." The latter scoffed against the other's shoulder, bashfully burying his face in the cardigan Ryouga wore.

Ryouga chuckled, as shy as he was. "O-Oh. Okay. I guess I can do that," He took a deep breath before making himself comfortable as the decided small spoon. Mochi wasn't going to get excluded though; he made that clear after propping his head onto Ryouga's leg.

The brunet laughed softly. "Now are you satisfied?" He teased after regaining his composure.

Shigaraki sighed — not out of irritation or exhaustion anymore, but out of content.

"Yeah. It's perfect."

[saltysaccharin]

"Not Our Ryouga."

— [ELYSIUM] {NONCANON}

• characters :: ryouga atsumu, shigaraki tomura, hawks / takami keigo (briefly), og lov members (briefly)

• genre :: narrative, au, role swap kinda

• warnings :: atsumu has a breakdown/panic attack, canon-typical violence?

synopsis / prompt :: the same person viewing the world through a different set of eyes is rarely still the same person. or, hero atsumu and villain atsumu get a taste of each other's worlds.

word count :: 1.9k

a/n :: i have like three (four?) other things in my drafts but. i. i wanted to write this so‼️ i did‼️

i might add a short bonus later regarding what happens once they're returned to their respective timelines but who knowsssss

On March 5, 2XXX at 5:27 p.m., Dr. Ryouga Atsumu was assaulted with an unknown Quirk that seemingly had no reaction. The perpetrator was apprehended soon after, however, the lack of a disaster had a handful of people on edge.

...And rightfully so.

The Quirk took effect the following morning.

Ryouga stirred awake with a quick jolt, tangerine eyes snapping open before he processed his upright position — elbows leaning on a table of some sort while he sat with horrible posture. He groaned, his body telling him that it was likely very early in the morning.

Shaking his head and blinking away any leftover grogginess, he lifted his gaze to examine his surroundings. A kitchen, it looked like, or maybe just a dining area...

His breath hitched as the unfamiliarity sank in.

He attempted to get up, placing his palms atop the surface he'd apparently been sleeping on. A rustle caught his attention. Ryouga looked down, then moved his bandaged hand away from the papers below it. He recognized the handwriting on the documents; it was his.

'But I don't remember—'

A faint noise from another room in the facility startled Ryouga, cutting off his thoughts which steadily grew with fear.

He stiffened; he couldn't fight. He wasn't strong, he was all bark and no bite! Now that he'd come face to face with his captor soon, he was helpless. His thoughts raced once more: Who were they, what did they want from him, what were they going to do—

A figure somewhat larger than Ryouga yawned and tiredly rubbed their eyelids as they stepped into the dim light. They let out a surprised hum after seeing him sitting by the kitchen bar, though they couldn't have been more surprised than Ryouga himself upon recognizing them.

"Shigaraki? Why the hell is your hair— And your body— Gah, that doesn't matter! What the fuck is going on?!" Ryouga stammered, the panic from earlier subsiding a bit after seeing a familiar face, but his confusion only intensified.

The former (whose appearance differed rather drastically from the scrawny blue-haired bastard Ryouga was used to) squinted, "'Shigaraki'? Did I do something to upset you, doc?" He asked with something akin to a sneer in his voice.

Ryouga furrowed his eyebrows, even more bewildered than he already was. Had he ever called the boss something else?

Shigaraki glanced downwards, noticing Ryouga's outfit. "Did you do some late-night shopping or something? Never seen you wear that before..." A sense of mistrust began to rise in tone, "...Your neck is.. fine..."

His crimson eyes glinted with animosity as he faced Ryouga once more, a hand moving to tug on the hem of one of his gloves.

"Who the fuck are you?"

The brunet nearly fell off the chair as he stumbled away from it, blood running cold. He practically ripped off his bandages as he backed away slowly. It wasn't like 'Shigaraki' was the only one who had no idea what was going on — Ryouga'd been awake for all of five minutes before his life was put in danger.

He shook his head, "I— I don't know what's going on—" He tried, thinking that he might as well get some answers before dying to the hands of someone resembling the man he'd never confess his feelings to. "Where am I?"

"This is supposed to be your house." Shigaraki replied harshly, stepping around the bar counter. He caught a glimpse of Ryouga's darkened hands, eyes softening ever so slightly before returning to his scowl. "So you are Ryouga... But you're not mine." He sounded a bit.. sad?

Ryouga stuttered, "I— Yeah. Ryouga Atsumu. And you're Shigaraki, obviously, but..." He trailed off, biting his lip, "Not the one I know." He shook his head. "Considering this place is.. 'other Ryouga's,' I guess everything else in here isn't 'mine' either..." He gulped.

An awkward, tense moment of silence took over.

After a while, Shigaraki spoke. "Yesterday, you — well, not you — got hit by a Quirk that didn't actually do shit. We were scared that its effects were delayed, and something bad would happen eventually," He scoffed bitterly, "I guess we were right to be fucking paranoid."

"Wait, but I.. also got hit by something yesterday," Ryouga muttered, "Nothing happened back then. But now, I'm here, I don't recognize anything, and you apparently know some version of me..."

Shigaraki perked up, "Did you and my Ryouga switch places?" He thought aloud, a bit calmer compared to before, "Like an AU swap."

"AU? As in, alternate universe? Yeah, okay, that explains a lot."

"Yeah. Wait, why do you know what that means?"

Ryouga blinked, "It's a common trope in fiction. Does your Ryouga not know—"

He paused. Something occurred to him.

Holding up an index finger to signal 'wait,' Ryouga pursed his lips into a thin line and cleared his throat, the tips of his ears turning faint red.

"So, like..." Ryouga started, now unable to look the other in the eye at the very idea he'd conjured up in his mind. Shigaraki hummed in reply, urging him to continue. "Um...

"What are we.. to each other.. in this universe..?"

Shigaraki chuckled, letting out a mere "Uh."

"So, let me get this straight," Hawks inhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose before shooting an unpleasant look at the messier-than-usual Ryouga sitting on the couch. "The attack yesterday caused.. this, and our Atsumu's somewhere out there living your life. That right?" He huffed irritably.

Ryouga murmured in Shigaraki's direction, "I'm supposed to be friends with this Hero? Is he always this uptight?"

"Yeah to both questions," Shigaraki whispered back. "Also, you're a Hero too. Number Eight."

"HUH?"

Hawks let out an unamused, low bird-like noise similar to a human's scowl. The other two glanced at him for only a moment before going back to gossiping.

"Also you never told me directly but I'm pretty sure you dated Hawks."

"WHAT?"

"Enough! Shut up, both of you!" Hawks threw up his hands and sighed, exasperated. "Just, okay, we need to figure out how to reverse this and then we can move on with our lives. Okay? Okay. You—" He pointed at 'not his Ryouga,' "—what exactly is your original life like?"

Ryouga smiled for the first time since waking up (the lack of cocky grins seemed to concern Shigaraki and Hawks, but he chose to ignore that), although it was a bit.. nervous.

"How do I explain this to.. ah, a Hero..."

Hawks narrowed his amber eyes, practically demanding an answer.

"...Who were you in your universe?"

Ryouga groaned, bringing a gloved hand to shield his eyes from the artificial light; the bulb seemed to be giving off a concerningly loud buzzing noise. Slowly, he sat up, propping an arm behind to hold himself upright as his other hand rubbed his eyelids.

When did he fall asleep? His head felt like splitting open...

He let out a cough or two after really processing the state of the air he was breathing. The hell? He was practically inhaling pure dust at this point, not to mention the rank stench of burnt rubber and blood, among other things.

Finally cracking his eyes open, Ryouga's face fell. This was a far cry from his penthouse; he appeared to be in an abandoned warehouse, only a few stray pieces of furniture here and there — the moth-bitten sofa he woke up on being the nicest in sight.

His first thought was that he'd been kidnapped.

After thanking himself for never changing out of his Hero costume, he swiftly rolled up his right sleeve and unfolded his bow. He took out an arrow and readied himself for an encounter before getting up from the couch.

Doc Apollo must have been getting rusty. He didn't think of the possibility that the couch was right in the middle of the warehouse; that was likely why he didn't realize the presence of the infamous League of Villains at his back.

A low whistle came from behind, a familiar, gruff voice following soon after. "Nice bow, Ryouga." Dabi called out, looking up from a game of blackjack with Spinner.

Startled, Ryouga instinctively aimed right at the scarred man, zoning out as he said nothing.

"Damn, good morning to you too, I guess."

"Hey! Don't shoot! Fuck him up, doc!" Another Villain both cried out and cheered, their voice somewhat muffled by the black and gray bodysuit they wore.

...Wait.

He was supposed to be dead.

Ryouga felt his arms weaken as he lowered his weapon, his voice a hoarse whisper as he looked across the room seeing both Twice and Magne — who should not have been alive.

"What the hell is going on..?"

Toga's cheerful voice interrupted, but didn't answer his question. "That new coat is so pretty, Atsumu-kun! I want it! Can I have it?" She asked, hands balled into fists under her chin as she waited expectantly.

Mr. Compress chortled from across the room, "And is that gel in your hair? You look fantastic, though... I have to wonder where on earth you found the time to clean up so nicely given our current circumstances—"

Our?

"What... What are you talking about..?" Ryouga choked out, an uneasy grin starting to form. He felt nauseous. "I don't..."

"Wait, didn't he get hit with a Quirk yesterday?" Spinner added, turning to the others, "Maybe it messed with his memories or something."

"But why would it be delayed like this?"

"Hell if we know, let's just figure out what he does and doesn't remember—"

"Should we find Shigaraki? He is the one who brought Ryouga into the League."

"And do you know where Shigaraki even is?

Too many things were being said too quickly... Ryouga couldn't process what was going on, much less what the others were saying. The only thing he really understood right was that he was part of the League.

That meant he was...

"I'm a.. Villain..?" Ryouga voiced softly, utter disbelief and terror laced in each word he spoke as he took a step backwards. The others' eyes were on him, watching in concern; but their worry mattered not to him—

Did they genuinely care about him?  Nevermind, that wasn't important—

Dabi dropped his cards onto the cement and narrowed his eyes slightly. "What else would you be?" He huffed, ignoring a scolding look from Magne, "You may not be a killer like the rest of us but you're definitely not innocent."

Toga chimed in, clapping her hands together, "You take care of us when we get hurt and you go buy our supplies sometimes since you're not on the news!" She gleefully explained, "You're a big help to our team. And we trust you! So you're one of us!"

"We'd be screwed without you!" Twice added with resolve, before shaking his head and glowering at Ryouga, "You're useless! Dead weight!" He pointed accusingly.

Scattered murmurs of agreement — about the first part, mostly — resounded among the group, while the dread in Ryouga's stomach only grew and grew and grew.

"That.. That can't be right..." He forced out a small chuckle as he felt his chest tighten. "No no nononono..."

"Ryouga? You good?"

"I worked too hard not to end up at the bottom of the barrel— I can't do shit from here, no one'll listen to me if I'm not a Hero, I—" Ryouga buried his hands in his hair, grasping at locks as he looked down at the ground, shoulders shaking, "It's not supposed to be like this!

"I'm supposed to be able to change things from inside, not claw at Hero society's heels just to be kicked aside like garbage and— and—" A gasp escaped his throat as he stiffened, feeling something cold wrap around his neck.

Four digits.

Dabi waved absentmindedly, "Oh, boss, you're back. Your doctor's broken."

"Idiots," Shigaraki seethed, his grip on the 'impostor' tightening ever so slightly. "Can't you tell?

"This isn't our Ryouga."

[saltysaccharin]

"...Your name?"

— [ELYSIUM] {SEMICANON}

• characters :: shigaraki tomura, ryouga atsumu, others (mentioned)

• genre :: fluff

• warnings :: none

synopsis / prompt :: "what did you just call me?"

word count :: 478

a/n :: super short & sweet, idk why i suddenly wanted to write this when i saw the prompt days ago but here we are. have atsutomu being cringe <33

"Morning, Tomurrun," Ryouga teased from his position behind the kitchen bar counter, a cup of coffee in his right hand while his left jotted away on a small notepad.

Shigaraki squinted his eyes slightly and grumbled, absentmindedly making his way to the refrigerator. He still seemed a bit disoriented; it could've just been how unfamiliar his surroundings were, though. Who would've thought he'd ever even step foot in such an impressive penthouse? The whole floor, all to himself—

Well, technically, Ryouga owned the place. Shigaraki just happened to have moved in due to some developments with Elysium. The League had been transferred out of Tartarus to live with their respective Hero roommates — Ryouga insisted on being his.

He coughed shyly into his shoulder as he reflected. He wondered why.

Not that the evening at the lake meant anything.

Shigaraki yawned, opening one of the doors to the fridge, "Why the hell is there so much in here all of a sudden..? Didn't you live alone 'til yesterday?" He asked groggily, glancing towards the doctor, whose back faced him.

Ryouga only shrugged, taking a sip from his coffee, "I went grocery shopping last night after hearing you'd be moving in." was his simple answer, adding nothing more.

A bit embarrassed, Shigaraki mumbled from behind the fridge door, "...These are mostly things you knew I'd like, aren't they?"

"That was quick. Of course, we'll be eating a balanced diet, but I wanted you to enjoy yourself while you're here."

"'We'?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll be eating with you. I have time for actual food now that I get to leave the house less."

Holding his tongue, Shigaraki pursed his lips into a thin line as he silently contemplated how exactly Ryouga had been living before getting a roommate. Probably not very healthily, which was ironic considering how concerned he was for Shigaraki and the others' health.

"Mm. Sure," Shigaraki replied quietly, going back to looking inside the fridge. After a moment, he called out, "Do you want anything from here?"

An amused chuckle came in response, "So considerate. No thank you, Tomura. I don't usually eat breakfast anyw—"

"What did you just call me?"

Shigaraki's sudden inquiry startled Ryouga a bit, not realizing the former was that close in proximity. He stared from the side of the counter, gears seemingly turning behind his eyes.

Ryouga narrowed his eyes and put down his cup, speaking slowly, "...Your name?" He laughed, though appeared genuinely confused.

"No shit," The white-haired man scoffed, cocking his head to the side, "I meant— You called me—"

"I don't know what you're saying, calm down first—"

"But you said—"

"Relax…" Ryouga deadpanned, causing the other to grit his teeth and huff. The doctor then turned away and brought his cup to his lips with a smirk, pausing as he looked back at a flustered Shigaraki. "...Tomura."

"YOU—"

[saltysaccharin]

Sashimi

— [ELYSIUM] {CANON}

• characters :: ryouga atsumu, takami keigo

• genre :: narrative, fluff

• warnings :: none unless you keep in mind that this is a flashback and they fall apart

synopsis / prompt :: "Hey, after patrol, d'you wanna go get some teriyaki chicken at that place we used to go to?" Elysium, Chapter 5

word count :: 1.3k

a/n :: after the most sleep i've had this week, i thought, "wouldn't it be so cruel to show how happy atsumu & hawks were before the former left japan?" and chose violence

Considering his boyfriend managed to make it into Japan's Top 10 during his first year as a Hero, one couldn't really fault Atsumu for his skeptisism when the boyfriend in question wanted to take him out on a proper date.

(Their first one, to be precise; Heroes didn't exactly have a lot of free time, not to mention the fact that this particular one had started his own agency immediately after leaving HPSC's nest.)

"If you're worried about the public seeing me with you, I'll, uh, I'll get into disguise! And it could be quick!!" Keigo practically whined, doing his best to persuade the other, "And— And we can go somewhere super lowkey! Please, just let me do this for you..."

Atsumu only chuckled, shaking his head affectionately. "Of course I want to go out with you. I'm just.. trying to save your reputation, y'know," He hummed, "You only just started your very successful career, and I still have a year of training to do with the Commish before I get my Pro license."

The dirty blond deflated in response, "I know, but still. We're both pretty busy, but... I still wanna make time for you — us." He murmured slyly, tilting his head with faux innocence.

Shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Atsumu let out a sigh, long and dramatic and exasperated beyond measure. When he took a peek to check on Keigo, the winged man seemed to have an air of pride eminating from him as he grinned knowingly.

"...God, you know I can't handle it very well when you get all romantic like this."

"Oh, I know, Atsu."

"Bah. Screw you." The brunet scoffed playfully as he shoved Keigo's shoulder.

After a moment of silent warfare, Atsumu eventually threw his head back in defeat, groaning ableit without genuine distress.

×

As it turned out, Keigo was a liar.

While he did indeed take Atsumu to somewhere 'lowkey,' he did not, in fact, wear a disguise. His justification for this was that this place was apparently so lowkey that the press couldn't have followed them — rendering the act of disguising himself useless anyway.

Fortunately for him, Atsumu gradually became distracted by the charm of the quaint little restaurant. He mused to himself as he scrutinized the indoor architecture of the cozy building.

The walls were designed using a relatively modern style, though heavily referenced by traditional Japanese interiors. The air smelled faintly of tonkotsu, while a gentle tune in the background complemented the natural quiet of the premises. The owners of the restaurant were a nice couple in their fifties, and upon some questioning, Atsumu found out that the current employees were family too.

The best part about this place was that they were lovely people who knew how to respect their customers' privacy — hence why Keigo was so calm about taking his significant other to a place with no paparazzi.

Atsumu seemed happy, and that made Keigo quite content as well.

Nice things couldn't last forever though, he realized as his date turned to him with a familiar, menacing smirk that was never accompanied by sincere nor sentimental remarks. Instead, Keigo got:

"You're treating me so nicely. Do you secretly have a heart of gold, Hawks-senpai?" Atsumu teased, a shit-eating grin on his face as orange eyes narrowed towards the other.

Keigo stifled a snort, "Cut that out, Atsu. I'm only a year older than you..." He shook his head, his lips forming a small smile however, "Plus, it's not 'Hawks' right now — I'm off-duty, remember?"

"Okey-dokey, Takami-senpai."

The dirty blond deadpanned in response.

Atsumu raised his palms in mock surrender, chuckling softly, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, Kei. Thank you for bringing me here… It's a nice place." He glanced away with a small smile, a bit of red dusting his cheeks.

Keigo's turn.

The Hero sneered, partially leaning over the table, "Aw, are you embarrassed? Is my precious, beloved, treasured little lovebird getting shy now?"

"I'm going to give you a fracture that even I myself will be unable to fix, Keigo."

"How cute. But enough foreplay," He shook his head, laughing as he handed Atsumu a copy of the menu, "Their chicken teriyaki's great; very savory yet not overwhelmingly flavorful, not dry but not literal mush either. It's the closest thing to perfection." He stated with confidence, crossing his arms over his chest since he had already decided on his order.

The former giggled, "Didn't know I was dating a connoisseur. Fascinating," Humming, Atsumu squinted slightly, "It's like this is your one defining trait." He rolled his eyes at his own statement, knowing full well how incorrect it was.

"I would be offended, but you're damn right," Keigo's reply continued with the persona, however. Good decision — it was more fun that way. "You usually eat whatever diet goes well with your training regimen, which is… Well, you have the choice to.. not do that, but do you actually like the default stuff they feed us?" He raised an eyebrow, partially curious and partially mortified.

Atsumu shrugged, "Like you said, it's a.. decision. I don't really care, I guess? I haven't exactly developed a taste for anything particular since the Commission took me in, so…"

"Hm. Do you like fish?" Keigo asked, flipping through the menu once more.

"And why are you asking?" Atsumu responded lightheartedly, trying to sneak a look at whichever item Keigo was considering.

"It's our first date, c'mon! I want you to remember this experience as a good one!"

But Atsumu softened his gaze and smiled, "It's already a good one, Kei," He muttered, before waving his hand in dismissal. "Order whatever you think I'd like. Surprise me! I'm not allergic to anything."

×

"I am definitely allergic to that." Atsumu lied, staring desolately at the raw, pink fish meat that had arrived along with Keigo's teriyaki, a serving of gyoza, and two bowls of ramen.

After they both gave thanks for the meal, Keigo snickered, picking up his chopsticks. Using them, he pinched part of the wasabi before mixing it in with the shoyu that accompanied the fish. "You've never had sashimi before, Atsu?" He hummed, glancing at Atsumu.

"It's raw, Keigo—"

"I've seen you eat worse than uncooked fish," The young Hero blinked, unamused, picking up a single piece of the aforementioned dish and putting it up to Atsumu's scrunched up face. "C'mon, it's not that bad!"

"I don't know, okay, the.. the texture… The mouthfeel, y'know? It— It's raw fish! Like, actual raw fish with no seasonings at all!"

"Yes, Atsu, we've covered that already. It is raw, and it is fresh as hell. Open up."

At the other's resistance, Keigo huffed and retracted his arm, instead opting to dip his sashimi in the soy sauce and try again.

"Say 'ahh,'"

"I— mmh!"

In hindsight, Atsumu should have fully expected Keigo to resort to such vile means. The moment he opened his mouth, a cold slice of salmon found its way in. He glared daggers at the latter, who only grinned and quickly took some sushi for himself.

Atsumu chewed reluctantly, but was insistent on not spitting it out despite the foreign texture; he was a big boy, he could handle it.

And my god was it worth it.

"Holy shit… Kei…" He began, gingerly bringing his fingers to touch his lips as he savored the new, refreshing taste. "I'm in love." He didn't think he'd be professing his love for raw salmon (which, by the way, he'd only tried in that very moment) before his actual romantic partner, but there they were.

"Say no more — told you. I knew you'd like it." Keigo winked, his confidence well-deserved as Atsumu picked up another slice of fish with his own chopsticks and munching the dish away bit by bit to his heart's content.

And so the rest of their lunch date went on, smooth sailing from that point onwards. They both had quite a good time; with cementing that restaurant as 'their place,' and with Atsumu discovering his favorite food.

Not so bad for their first month together.

[saltysaccharin]

so, about saltysaccharin

— ceo of "i ran out of good fics so i did it myself"

• levi / sachi :: he/him

• tomura shigaraki's husband since 09/30/21, 9:41 p.m.

• esfp-t . 4w5 . true neutral . seasian

screams. how to make pretty & organized tumblr blog...... i am trying my best i swear &lt;;/3

ANYWAY welcome to my blog‼️ as i mentioned earlier my name is sachi and i am.... a simp. if that was not clear UEGSH but i am a simp who can write and draw so there's that

this particular acc (blog??) is mostly for fanfic, ocs in said fanfic — but more specifically, i mostly post stuff related to the actual plots i have on ao3 meaning aus and oneshots and snippets of material i scrapped from the og fic and the like. but i'll still probably post other non-ao3 fanfic stuff maybeee

as of creating this post, i only have one bnha cc x oc fanfic published so this might as well be a ryoga blog ffs

main tags ::

textposts — #sachi screeches in the dead of night

writing — #courtesy of saltysaccharin's thumbs

drawing — #courtesy of saltysaccharin's index finger

ao3 spinoff tags ::

elysium — #elysian fields, #atsutomu (also #atsukei but that's not important /j)

oscine — #clade passeri, #shizukei

tumblr series tags ::

tragedy/comedy! — #maskes theatrou