#but I give her such a broad headspace range that she just has a lot of mileage as a little

[leos-regression-cove]

I know I've been saying this since I started writing Loki agere content but today I'm just feeling really emotional about Sylvie finally getting to regress and live out a happy childhood with Loki and Mobius as her caregivers who will actually nurture and love her and let her heal.

Letting her finally find peace and comfort in the little things and the cozy places in life she was never allowed to experience while running from the TVA.

She deserves to be cradled in the arms of her caregivers in front of a warm fire covered in blankets while it rains outside with a pacifier in her mouth and to be taught how to swim with water wings on. I want to see her genuinely laugh and squeal with just delight over something and unabashedly enjoy life through innocent eyes. Do you know what I mean?

[froppy-the-frog]

Electric Love- Kaminari Denki x Jiro Kyoka

So, I have never written fanfiction before. But then I read this beautiful fic by shikastemari and honestly I was so inspired by it that I wanted to take a crack at writing my own. Please go read their writing because it’s so good ahhhh. So, my fic shares a similar premise/situation to their fic- Kaminari asking Jiro for help playing guitar for the school festival. 

Note: Listen, we all love Kaminari for the flirtatious, hilarious, friendly loser that he is. The boy does not excel at school, but he does actually possess knowledge regarding the arts (literature, art, etc) and I think we all need to remember that. So, I personally headcannon that while he sucks a school in a traditional classroom environment, he actually really enjoys reading classic literature, has quite a broad vocabulary, and writes down his favorite quotes in the notes app on his phone. I also think he really would enjoy indie rock and pop. Idk he gives off those vibes imo. Jiro prefers rock music I think, but she is listens to a lot of different songs and constantly is recommending songs to people that she thinks they would like. She is very shy but also really enjoys calling Kaminari different nicknames. 

Anyways.

This story takes place sometime before the school festival where they throw that concert. Also, idk if you’re supposed to use character’s last names or their first names, so I did a mix. Also, there may be some spelling errors and grammar errors. Please forgive me if that’s the case. Fic title inspired by this song. 

Word count: 4,948

Part: 1/? Idk I might write a sequel if I feel like it and/or have time

Warnings: fluff, maybe some angst?

Pairings: Jiro Kyoka x Kaminari Denki

Outside sources referenced/used: Practice; The Learn’d Astronomer, Prometheus Unbound, Electric Love

Kaminari Denki had had enough of today. His last class had ended for the day, and honestly it wasn’t a second too soon. Everything today had been an absolute train wreck- between the ungodly amount of homework the teachers has assigned for over the weekend, the absolute bs that had gone down in third period between Bakugou and Midoriya that resulted in a singed classroom and a broken door, and the thunderstorm that had been booming on and off throughout the day, Kaminari was ready to scream into a pillow. Walking out of the main campus building, Kaminari pushed his headphones over his ears, pressing shuffle on his Spotify playlist adequately named ‘jams for when ur ready to lose ur goddamn mind xD’. This was the beginning of the short walk from the main campus building to the dorm building where he lived during the school year. It was overcast. A gust of wind pushing his honeyed blonde hair back, bringing with it the smell of impending. Great, Kaminari thought to himself, another thing ruin today. Kaminari absolutely loathed the rain, or really, any sort of water-electricity and water don’t exactly mix well. His foul mood festered as he quickened his pace, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets, and he felt a few drops of water hit his forehead. Yep, definitely is gonna rain tonight, Kaminari thought to himself. He was so looking forward to bursting into his dorm and falling face first on his bed. Unfortunately, this dream would be a nearly impossible task, at least without being interrupted, as he lived in a dorm building with all of the other students that attended UA. UA, despite being the most prestigious hero-training high school in all of Japan, still had its fair share of the typical shenanigans that teens get into-drama, gossip, flirting, Mariokart tournaments, pranks, impromptu dance-offs, etc. Kaminari normally was totally ready to get insert himself into whatever social situation was going on in the common spaces. He considered himself to be a pretty gregarious, easy-going guy. He really liked hanging out with the other heroes in training. They were great to banter with, and he especially loved playfully flirting with the girls. But tonight, he wanted none of that, only hoping to slip unnoticed into his dorm so he could scream into his pillow. After a few minutes of walking, Kaminari reached the entrance of the dorm buildings. He scanned his ID and the door buzzed, signally it was unlocked so he could enter. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself for whatever was going on in the common areas that laid between him and his final destination, before he entering the common room. Luckily for him, the common areas were actually pretty empty for once, and Kaminari sighed a breath of relief. Everybody must have just gotten back and were probably in their rooms. Elevator or stairs? He quietly asked himself. Hm, less chance of running into anybody else in the stairwell. So with his book bag over his shoulder, he made a beeline through the common room to the stairwell door, opening it, and started his ascent to the third floor. He cast his gaze down at the steps as he climbed so as to avoid eye contact with any other soul he might encounter in that stairwell. He was lost deep in his ruminations, so it wasn’t a surprise that he didn’t register hearing footsteps from another person who was descending the stairs.

“Hey!” A waving hand appeared in his face suddenly, catching Kaminari off-guard. He accidentally took a step back in surprise, missing the stair beneath him, and falling on his ass on the stair landing. 

“Kamimari! Holy shit! are you okay?!” The sound of boots pounded down the steps then Kaminari felt warmth next to his shoulder where somebody was kneeling next to him. 

“Ughhh” Lucky for him, he had landed on his ass and hadn’t hit is head. 

“Holy shit Kaminari, I knew you looked out of it today, but Jesus, this is a lot, even for you.”

 Regaining a bit of his senses, Kaminari sharply snapped back “What the hell do you mean by that?! And what are you doing here in the stairwell leading to the men’s wing, Jiro?” Normally, he wasn’t the type to get super angry, but he had just fell on his ass in front of Jiro, one of his closest friends. His face flushed red, a stark contrast against his honey-colored hair.

“Whoa, chill Denki. This isn’t like you. Listen, I didn’t mean for you fall backwards, I just wanted get your attention, Megawatt. You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, I’m fine” he said, getting up and brushing himself off. Well, so much for avoiding people. 

Jiro stood up from kneeling and took a step back from Kaminari. “Well, anyways, I was in the male’s wing ‘cause I was actually looking for you. You said earlier this week that you needed help with the guitar, right?” she asked earnestly.

“Well, yeah... but right now really isn’t a good time. I’ve had the shittiest day and I don’t think I can handle any more failure...” 

Jiro stopped and blinked, looking upset. “Denki... what happened today? Was it about third period? Really, you didn’t incite that incident, I was only kidding-” She asked earnestly. 

“It’s nothing!” He snapped, his face turning a darked\r shade of vermillion. Jiro looked surprised and hurt by his reaction, and Denki immediately felt bad.  He stiffened, and looked down, softening his tone. “I just...need some time to let off some steam. You know, get into a better headspace, recharge. I want to be left alone right now.”

“Oh, okay... well, if there’s anything I can do to help or you change your mind, you know where I live.” Then she reached out to gently touch his arm, startling him. He looked up, caught off guard by this. His felt his heartbeat quicken, and he prayed that she couldn’t hear it. Jiro added “Stop by. I mean it.” Denki mumbled a quick thanks to her, and not looking up, made his way up another flight of stairs to the third floor.

He flung open the door to the hallway in the men’s wing. He trudged down the hallway, finally arriving at his dorm. His hand went to his pocket to get his key only to hit fabric. SHIT he thought. I must’ve dropped it in the stairwell when I fell. He swiftly spun around to retrace his steps only to turn and bump right into Jiro, knocking both her and himself to the ground. 

“Watch it, Sparky! I mean, Shit... sorry.” Jiro quickly scrambled to her feet, red faced and stammered “Look, I didn’t mean to- listen, so you, uh, dropped your keys and- I uh- just- here” She tossed Denki’s keys onto his lap and quickly ran down the hallways towards the door to the female wing. 

Denki sat there, blinking, just trying to comprehend what had just happened. Shit, that had really just happened. Jiro looked really embarrassed. All she was trying to do was help him out. Denki felt awful for not only having snapped at her in the stairwell but then having knocked her to the floor. His thoughts shifted from anger from the day’s events to determination to fix things with Jiro. Rising to his feet, he unlocked his door, and quickly changed into some more casual clothes. He grabbed the guitar that was propped against the wall and slung it over his shoulder, taking note to also bring the sheet music for the song he was learning. With that, Kaminari headed out of his room and toward the female wing. When he got to Jiro’s room, he hesitated a brief moment before knocking. Does she even want to see me after having been so rude? Only one way to find out. 

Kaminari knocked on the door and waited. “Yeah? Who is it?” An icy, familiar voice from rang out from behind the closed door. “Um, uh, it’s me, you know, Denki Kaminari, your friend.” He heard footsteps, then the door unlatch.

Jiro opened her door enough to stand in the doorframe. “Yeah?” 

“Hey Kyoka, I am here to for some practice. I wanna be ready to impress everybody for the school festival!” He flashed a bright smile at her, and she rolled her eyes. 

“Alright Sparky. C’mon in”. 

Denki walked in, looking around at her décor. Band posters plastered the walls and tons of different music equipment peeking out from every available nook and cranny. “You know Kyoka, I still can’t get over how cool your room is. It really looks like a music store or somethin’” 

Jiro scoffed “Well, it’s just some stuff to help set the vibe. Gotta keep it rockin’” Jiro sat on the edge of her bed, and gestured for kaminari to come over. He plopped himself down on the floor in front of Jiro and took off his jacket. “Alright Mr. Jammingway, let’s start off with some warm-ups” 

“Awww, Kyoka, do I  have to? I wanna get jamming!” 

“Dude, you wrists and fingers are gonna get so sore if you don’t warm up. Besides, even the legends like Jimmie Hendrix and Eric Clapton would warm up before playing. You’re not any better than them, so shut up and get started” 

“Aww okay. I wouldn’t want tendinitis or anything.” 

“Let’s start off with getting you tuned. Your guitar I mean.” Jiro got up and went over to her electric keyboard, and started off with a low E. Kaminari tuned his guitar string to match, and followed suit with the remaining strings. After getting his guitar tuned, he cracked his knuckles and stretched out his digits and rolled his wrists around to loosen them up. He then started on some warm up exercises, practicing picking and strumming. 

Jiro smirked as she sat back down on her bed. “Wow Sparky, you actually listened to me. You have been warming up before you practice” 

Denki stopped and looked up at her, grinning. “’Course, why wouldn’t a listen to a talented rocker such as yourself? I’m not completely obtuse.” 

“You are though most of the time. I swear, there’s lots of cobwebs in the brain of yours” Jiro said followed by a laugh. 

Kaminari frowned. “I’m really not that dumb. I swear. I’m just not so much a math-science-logic sort of guy. I’m more of a Whitman sort of guy”. 

Jiro looked at him, puzzled. “A what?” 

“You know, Walt Whitman, the poet? Here, lemme look up a poem real quick-” Kaminari reached over to his jacket and took his smartphone out of the pocket. He tapped quickly and scooted closer to Jiro and began reading aloud:

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, we ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I was sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

In the mystical moist air, and from time to time,

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars

They sat in silence for a moment before Denki spoke. “That’s probably my favorite poem by him. I really just, I don’t know, I feel like it was almost written about me in a way. But I guess that’s the great thing about poetry-it reminds you that you aren’t alone in your human experience”. 

Jiro was quiet. She hadn’t expected such a deep philosophical sentiment from the same guy who regularly and non-ironically used the word ‘yeet’. 

“Um-“ Jiro started, but Denki interrupted her “Heh, sorry. Let’s get back to practicing. I am having problem with the barre chords. I just can’t seem to get my fingers to do that.” 

Jiro snapped back to reality “Oh, yeah, barre chords are hard. If the song only had barre chords, you could use a capo, but since it has other non-barre chords, unfortunately ya gotta learn them the hard way. So,” She reached over to the wall and unhooked the electric guitar, bringing it down to her lap. “what you’re gonna do is take your pointer finger like this” She put it across all six strings “and then roll it to the side so the bony part is up against the strings. You’ll get a cleaner sound and it won’t hurt as much.” 

She turned to look at Kaminari, who was staring at her, his eyes glistening under the fluorescent light. “Um, so, uh, why don’t you give it a try Denki?” She watched as Denki tried to copy her hand position but it was clear he was struggling. 

“Nah, more like this” she showed him again on her guitar, and watched as he hopelessly tried to copy her hand position. She scooted off the bed and knelt in front of him. She took his hand and moved each of his fingers to the correct placement. She looked up from the neck of his guitar, close enough where he could feel her exhales on his face. His heart thumped loudly in his chest and he prayed she could not hear him. Jiro continued, “…See, like this. Try strumming now.” Blushing, Kaminari strummed downward, and a clean sounding chord rang out.” 

Jiro sat back and smiled. “See? You got it! Try it again, upward stroke this time.” Denki repeated, and let the chord ring out fully. He grinned at Jiro. 

“Thanks Kyoka! You’re a really good teacher.” “Jiro began an attempted at denying it, but Denki cut her off “Jiro, accept a compliment! You’re good at teaching and you’re even better at playing. You really are talented.” 

Jiro stayed quiet for a few moments, then stood up. “Well,” she exhaled. “You seem to be progressing really well. I think that if you keep up with the practicing, you should be ready for the school festival by the time it rolls around. I say let’s call it quits for the evening. She looked out the window over her balcony. Attempting to change the subject to distract herself from blushing, she said “Looks like it stopped raining.” 

Denki put down the guitar and stood up. “Yeah. Hey Kyoka?” She looked at him, and he continued “Wanna go for a walk in the courtyard? I know it’s probably a bit wet out still from the rain, but it’s always really refreshing to be outside after a rainstorm.”

Jiro thought about saying no, until an idea struck her. “Yeah, sure thing. Lemme grab my jacket and shoes real quick.” She grabbed her jacket and slid on her boots, then they both headed for the door. They both reached for the door handle at the same time, accidently touching hands for a split second before yanking their hands back. 

“Oh! Um, sorry” Denki stammered, turning slightly red as he tensed up.

 “It’s all good; don’t worry ‘bout it, Sparky.” She smiled reassuringly at him, and his shoulder relaxed. They walked next to each other, heading towards the stairwell. Descending the stairs then walking through the common area, they headed towards the exit. 

Unlike earlier, there were students from 1-A now sitting on the couches surrounding the TV, watching some sort of rom-com. Ochaco, Tsuyu, Tokoyami, Mina, Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki, and Momo were spread out over the couches. Uraraka turned around when she heard their footsteps and called out to them. 

“Hey Kyoka! Hi Denki!” She grabbed the TV remote and hit pause. “You guys want to watch “A Cinderella Story” with us?” 

Mina chimed in “Tokoyami, Iida, and Todoroki haven’t seen it before, which an absolute crime. Can you believe it?! it’s an absolutely iconic movie that defined a generation”. 

Todoroki’s eyes widened “Its a crime?!” 

Momo laughed. “No Todoroki, figure of speech. And well mina, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but seriously, Jiro, Kaminari, it’s a good movie. We started it only a few minutes ago, so you haven’t missed much. Bakugo, Sero, and Kirishima are in the kitchen working on dinner for everybody.”

Iida added “We extended the invitation to the other students to join us for this screening, but most of them either went home for the weekend or are studying.”

Tsuyu added “We stopped by Jiro’s room to ask you to join us, but it sounded like you guys were practicing for the festival, so we decided not to interrupt, ribbet.”

Denki responded “That was real cool of you guys. Jiro and me are gonna go for a quick walk, but we’ll join you afterwards. Its one of my favorite movies”. 

Mina laughed from the couch. “That’s a surprise, Kaminari. I wouldn’t peg you as the rom-com type”. 

Denki shook his head and grinned “A movie with hot girls, humor, and happy endings? What’s not to love? Anyways, we’ll be back.” 

Uraraka waved and said “Alright, have fun! We’ll see you guys soon!” Denki waved back then he and Jiro headed outside.

When they got outside, they walked for a few minutes, saying nothing. The air was still, and the streetlights softly illuminated the sidewalk, slick with water. Jirou and Kaminari walked closely side by side, unconsciously syncing their strides, only a few inches between their hands that swung loosely at their sides. Kaminari finally broke the silence. “Isn’t it nice out? I don’t like thunderstorms much, but I love the air afterwards. It has a weird feel to it, you know? Its… I don’t know how to describe it. I guess it almost feels like it’s a liminal space of sorts, like between good and bad weather.” 

Jiro looked at him confused. “You don’t like thunderstorms? You literally have an electric quirk. I would’ve thought that you would love them.” 

Denki laughed, and put his hand on the back of his neck. “Aha, yeah, not so much. Water and I don’t exactly mix…” 

“Ah, that makes sense. Well, every time there’s a thunderstorm, it reminds me of you ” Jiro replied. Kaminari felt a hot blush spread across his face and he was grateful for the dim lighting to disguise his embarrassment. Jiro looked away from him quickly as to also disguise the blush that was creeping across her face. Silence once again befell them and the continued walking.

Is now the time to bring this up, Jiro thought to herself. Well, she thought, might as well give it a try. Jiro broke the silence to say “Hey, so I, uh, well, so I came across this song the other day and I think you might like. You like indie rock and that kind of music, right, Jammingway?” 

Kaminari was surprised. “How did you kn-” 

Jiro laughed. “Dude, your Spotify playlists are public. I’m always looking for new songs so I sometimes randomly listen to other people’s playlists. Plus, you give off that sort of vibes. Anyways, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” Denki smiled sheepishly as she continued “so I came across this song that I think you would like. You got your phone on you?” 

“Of course. What kind of teen would I be if I didn’t?” He laughed as he pulled his smartphone out of his jacket pocket, unlocked it, then handed it over to Jiro. She walked over to a nearby bench, brushed off the water, and tapped the bench, inviting Kaminari to come sit next to her. She pulled a pair of earbuds from her pocket, plugged them into his phone’s headphone jack, and then handed Kaminari one earbud. She put the other one in her own ear, then hit play. She closed her eyes, and Kaminari followed suit, listening to the beginning of the song.

“Candy… She’s sweet like candy in my veins…”

He was very aware of how close they were sitting together, how her arm was resting against his, her warm breath on his skin, his knee touching hers.

“Baby, I’m dying for another taste. And every night my mind is running round her, Thunder’s getting louder and louder”

He blushed hearing the lyrics, wondering if she thought this way about him or if it was just the style of music that reminded her of him. If it was the first of the two, would that mean…?

“Baby, you’re like lightning in a bottle! I I can't let you go now that I got it! And all I need is to be struck by your electric love”

The chorus hit, and he got it: it was because it was about electricity. I mean, he thought, that’s kinda a shallow connection to me, but a connection nevertheless. At least she thought about me… 

The song ended, and Jiro turned to look at him expectedly. “So… what do you think? You like it?” 

“Yeah, “he laughed. “That is a great example of the kind of music I like. Guess I have a pretty predictable music taste.” He ran his hand through his hair. 

Jiro frowned “Nah, I just know you, dude. What did you think of the lyrics?” She hoped that he had picked up on the general message so she wouldn’t have to explain it… 

“Yeah, I see why you thought of me. ‘Cause of the thunderstorm metaphor used. I have an electricity quirk. You said earlier thunderstorms remind you of me. It’s a superficial level metaphoric comparison.” He saw her face change under the dim streetlight, and he quickly clarified “Superficial in the sense of like not like ‘uh you’re soooo superficial’ but more like it just being a surface level observation, like not skin deep, you know? Sorry. I do like the song though, and” he took a deep breath and touched her arm gently. “I’m glad that you think of me. You’re a good friend, Kyoka”. 

Jiro’s heart sank. Dammit, she thought to herself, I really am gonna have to explain it. “So, um, I guess like I saw the lyrics as a sort of way to describe how I feel about you. Like how earlier you read that poem to me and said you said you thought it described you. I feel like this song really captures how I feel about… well, how I feel about you.”

Denki took a moment to process what she had just said. Please oh please oh please I hope he picks up on what I’m trying to say she prayed. 

Kaminari’s face broke out into a grin. “So, I think I catch your drift.” He paused, then said “Are you familiar with the work of Percy Bysshe Shelley?” 

Jiro shook her head “I don’t see how this connects Den-“

“Shh, lemme continue, Earbuds. Percy B Shelley, English poet, husband of Mary Shelley who authored ‘Frankenstein’, real cool guy. Anyways, he wrote a play called ‘Prometheus Unbound’ which was like his response to the story ‘Prometheus Bound’ which is like an ancient Greek play… sorry, tangent.  Yeah, so there was this one line I read that I wrote down in my notes…somewhere…” He bit his bottom lip as he scrolled through all of his notes on his phone. “Ah, here it is. It reminded me of how you make me feel” He read out loud:

As in the soft and sweet eclipse,

When soul meets soul on lovers' lips,

High hearts are calm, and brightest eyes are dull;

So when thy shadow falls on me,

Then am I mute and still, by thee

He leaned forward and softly placed his lips against hers for a few seconds. Then, they broke away, saying nothing. Kaminari leaned back and looked up at the sky, smiling to himself. I finally did it, he thought. 

Jiro’s thoughts were racing 100 kilos an hour. THAT JUST HAPPENED OMG what do I do now ahhhhhh. Okay, get it together, Kyoka. She reached out and took his hand. She gave it a light squeeze, and joined Kaminari in looking up at the sky. A few softly glowing specks of light glimmered amongst the dark clouds that filled the void. Jiro leaned her head on Kaminari’s shoulder, and he leaned his towards her in response. Their gazes directed towards the sky, thoughts intertwined, sharing warmth from each other’s touch, they stayed in this seemingly infinite, gentle moment. 

A few tiny drops of water descended from the sky, bringing them both crashing back to earth from the sky. Kaminari turned his head and kissed the top of Jiro’s head. “I think it’s time to head back, Kyoka.” he whispered, making no attempt to get up. 

Jiro rotated her body to face Kaminari, delicately placed her hand on his cheek and pulled him close, meeting her lips with his. “Okay” she softly responded. 

Both of them reluctantly broke apart and stood up, and began leisurely strolling towards the UA dorm building. Suddenly, lightning bolts instantly zagged across the sky above, followed by a deafening boom that echoed through the air. The clouds above broke open, and hard droplets raced to the earth below, aggressively soaking the world in a layer of water. Kaminari grabbed Jiro’s hand and pulled her forward as he ran towards the entrance of the dorm building. He fumbled for his ID, only then realizing he must have dropped it somewhere. 

“Jiro… I can’t find my ID. Do you have yours?” Jiro’s hand instantly went to her pocket and pulled out her ID. She quickly pressed it against the scanner on the wall, the door buzzed, and they were able to quickly enter into the dry, brightly-lit common room. They were dripping wet, but grateful to be out of the storm.

Everyone was still watching the movie in the common room. Tsuyu was the first to notice their return; she picked up the remote that was laid on the coffee table to pause the movie. “Looks like you guys got rained on, ribbet.” 

Jiro didn’t know how to respond, so she was relieved when Kaminari answered for them. “Yeah!” He smirked. “It really just started downpouring out of nowhere, no warning or anything! Guess good ol’ Zeus decided one rainshower today wasn’t enough” He caused a few of the other students to chuckle. 

“Oh, Kaminari” Iida tossed a lanyard at Kaminari. “You dropped your keys and ID here in the lobby. Try to be more responsible next time.” 

“Thanks Iida” Kaminari mumbled, turning a shade of crimson. 

“Well…” Jiro began “I am going to go change into some dry clothes. Be right back.” 

“Oh, Jiro!” Uraraka called out. “Dinner should be done by the time you are back! So don’t forget to bring your appetite! Also, this is a pajama party so wear your pjs!” Jiro smiled and left for her room. 

Kaminari watched her as she left the room, smiling to himself. He heard somebody clear their throat, and he snapped back to reality. “Well, I will probs go change too. Don’t want to catch a cold or anything. That would be pretty tragic. Also, I’ll bring some M&Ms for everybody. Be right back!”. Kaminari smirked as he left the common room and climbed the stairs to the third floor. He couldn’t have asked for that to have gone any better, except minus getting rained on. But Kyoka… she really kissed him, huh. He wanted to talk to her about what had happened outside, but he didn’t want to complicate anything yet. 

Kaminari got to his dorm room and unlocked it, quickly changing into some comfy pj bottoms and a t-shirt, then he grabbed the bag of M&Ms, the lanyard with his ID and keys, and walked towards the female wing. He got to Jiro’s door and knocked, and waited for a response. 

“Yeah?” Her voice rang out from behind the door. 

“It’s me”.

 A minute later, the door opened, and Jiro stood once again in the doorframe, this time, wearing a pair of pajama bottoms with a tank top. “Hey Megawatt, you ready to head back down?” She spied the bag of M&Ms in Kaminari’s hands. “Bruh. M&Ms are actually my favorite candy in the world.” 

Kaminari smiled. “I know. That’s what I was thinking when I got them. You gotta share them with everybody else though too”. 

Jiro pouted “Aww, alright Sparky, I will. I’m not gonna be happy about it but I guess sharing is caring. Let’s go.” 

They walked together towards the stairwell door, and before going through, Jiro stopped suddenly. 

“So, before we go join the rest of the gang, Sparky, um, can we quickly maybe talk about what happened out there? You know, before it started raining...” 

Kaminari responded “I would love to, but I really really want to watch the movie with you and the others, so maybe let’s put a pin in that for now. Don’t worry” he paused, and gently placed a kiss on her check, causing her to cheeks to flush pink. “We’ll talk about it. Tomorrow maybe?” 

Jiro smirked, threw her arms around his neck, and smashed her lips against his before saying. “Alright, whatever you say, Mr. Short-Circuit. Let’s grab some tea or something when we do. You know, make it a date.” 

Kaminari’s brain whirled, but he managed to respond “Yeah. Tomorrow at 1?” 

“Yeah, sounds good. Stop by beforehand though so you can practice guitar more. Ya gotta be able to shred for the festival.” 

“Course.” Kaminari said. “I gotta keep up so I don’t look idiotic next to a hardcore rocker such as yourself”. 

Jiro smirked, opening the door to the stairwell and bounded down the stairs to the floor with the common areas. Kaminari smiled, following her into the common area to join the other students.

[castlestormed]

Substitute

SUMMARY:

When Keith rejects the responsibility and Allura is rejected for it, Lance steps up to the plate.

Or at least, he tries to.

(an exploration of Lance as a potential Black Lion pilot candidate.)

[ bittersweet, genfic, au, canon divergent from s3 ]

CHARACTERS:

Lance, Black Lion

w/ Allura, Keith, Pidge, Hunk

Read elsewhere: [A03] [FFnet]

---

Filling in. That’s what Lance is good at, or so he thinks.

So when Keith rejects the responsibility and Allura is rejected for it, Lance steps up, jabs a thumb to his chest and says, “I’ll do it.”

He’s being totally serious about it too. Shiro’s been missing long enough for his return to have gone from certain to uncertain to questionable bordering on indeterminable. He’s had a lot of time to sink his thoughts into this, a lot of time to think about the consequences of a missing teammate and what that meant for Voltron and their ongoing battle with the Galra empire.

It’s weird how simple it is. The team needs the Black Lion, a leader, a good pilot. He’s not sure about the other two but if there’s one thing he’s confident about, it’s that he’s a damn good pilot.

“Let me try,” he says into the silence because everyone, it seemed, was too preoccupied with staring at him.

“You’re kidding, right?” Pidge pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose and the frames catch a beam of light that momentarily obscures her squinted gaze. “You?”

That hurts a little but Lance brushes it off. Sticks and stones.

“Why not? Keith doesn’t want to step up —”

“That’s not—! It’s not that I—” Keith stutters, uncharacteristically flustered. There’s a good two seconds of him trying to push out words before he folds in on himself and bites out a stilted, “I just… can’t. Won’t. Sorry.”

Lance smothers a spurt of irritation — and pity, though he'd be loathed to admit it. Keith looks... lost. More closed up than usual. If this were about anything else, Lance would have maybe tried to muster up some sympathy. Maybe.

But this was about survival. This was about saving the world.

Keith’s name had rang out the loudest when discussions about who would take over the Black Lion began in earnest. The Red Lion was Voltron’s sword arm and literal right hand, after all. The princess pointed out that the previous Red Paladin — her father — had been something like a second-in-command, and that Keith had been filling a similar role.

Aaaaand as if the universe couldn’t be any more pointed, Keith reluctantly revealed that Shiro himself gave him his blessing (if he was to be believed).

Yet despite all the brightly-lit signs pointing his way, Keith was determined to stay out of the running because… because he didn’t want to? Because he was afraid of admitting that Shiro isn’t around anymore?

Lance doesn’t get this at all.

Thing is… yeah. Shiro isn’t around. There’s no skirting around that, and the motionless Black Lion in its hangar was the most critical sign. Keith was hot-headed, sure, but wasn’t he also sort of military-practical, to a fault?

If I were Keith, he’d said to himself when he was musing over his options, then what I need to do is obvious. The universe needs Voltron. Voltron needs a Black Lion. I can pilot the Black Lion. So ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, I pilot the Black Lion.

It wasn’t even a matter of ego anymore; it was a matter of necessity. It was a matter of the universe’s safety.

If I have a skill that can be useful, I use it.

Not using it? Kind of a dick move. And also kind of a questionable move because why wouldn’t you help people if you had the power to do so?

He didn’t always understand where Keith was coming from but he'd never pegged him as selfish, until now.

“Like I said,” Lance says, turning away from Keith with a roll of his eyes, “he doesn’t wanna do it. And our next best option couldn’t make Black budge at all today.”

The princess’s arms tighten around herself and Lance can identify with the feeling she so openly projects.

“Yes, unfortunately the Black Lion has chosen to reject me,” she says, somehow managing to sound gracefully upset. She hasn’t worn any of her usual dresses since Shiro’s disappearance. In her pink-accented spacesuit, she would have fit right into the team. If anyone truly deserved to pilot the Black Lion, it was her — not Keith.

She turns tired eyes on Lance and gives him an equally tired smile. “I don’t see why you shouldn’t try, Lance.”

Warmth bursts through his chest — until she turns that tired smile on the whole room.

“And if Lance doesn’t work out, I believe the others should attempt it as well. Just in case.”

Hunk makes a startled squeaking noise, Pidge lets out a grumbled Ugh, and just like that, his carefully considered plan of solving everyone’s problem by volunteering to be the responsible one was downsized into a group effort. Nice.

Lance is quick to pick himself up though. This is good. Even if it were Hunk or Pidge and not him, at least they would have a Black Lion again.

Pidge goes first — “To get this over with,” she says tersely — and lasts a minute before tagging out. Her dismissive attitude doesn’t bother Lance. The youngest and smallest member of their team is more useful (and safe) behind the scenes anyway.

Hunk goes next, anxious energy tensing up his shoulders. Hunk has never spoken about wanting to be a pilot but Lance compares his friend’s broad frame to the sturdy bulk of the Black Lion and thinks that maybe Hunk would be the better match if it came down to the two of them. Shiro’s absence had been a blow; maybe Hunk and his big heart was what the team needed right now to fill that void.

(Better than Lance who could get stuck in his own headspace sometimes and went overboard with the jokes when a lighter touch was more appropriate...)

But not that many minutes later, Hunk exits the Black Lion, unsuccessful and somewhat relieved.

“Guess we saved the best for last?” he says with a sheepish grin, and Lance gives him a hi-five for that before taking his turn.

 ---

 It is quiet in the cockpit, so quiet that he can hear the thrumming of the castle from outside. He takes a seat and drums his fingers on the armrests, surveying a dashboard not unlike the one in Blue.

His nerves ramp up as the silence settles around him. Blue's response to him had been instantaneous and intuitive, like picking up a new sport and making the happy discovery that you were naturally adept at it. The Black Lion's continued stillness didn’t bode well.

—but this was the Black Lion after all. The leader of the pack. Of course it wouldn't be that simple. He had to prove himself!

How though?

He coughs into the curve of a hand. “Hey, big guy. It’s Lance — you know, Blue’s pilot?”

There. Friendly but not too friendly; he figures that if this Lion was anything like its missing pilot, it probably wouldn’t appreciate an overly casual approach.

“Normally I’d try to sell you on my good points but I think I’ll just cut to the chase.” He clears his throat. “We, uh, we kind of need you out there. Think you have it in you to give me a shot?”

The silence stretches over his question. Lance swallows his unease. He reaches for the handles on either side of the chair, gingerly curling his fingers around the hand grips. He had hoped that the contact would spark something, build a connection like the one he had with Blue but… nothing. Of course.

Well, the show must go on.

“C’mon,” he says. “I’m not that bad. I can do it; and if I can’t, I’ll figure out how. Just ask Blue! She can totally vouch for what an awesome pilot I am!”

Nothing again. That last part might have been a bit much.

Okay, okay. Maybe a slightly different approach.

This time Lance closes his eyes and reaches with his mind.

Black? Uh, Black Lion. We need you, man. Look, I know I’m no Shiro but I’m here, I’m ready, and I’m… kind of all you’ve got right now. You turned down everyone else--

/ n o t  t r u e /

The response comes so quickly that, at first, Lance isn’t sure if the words come from his own doubts or from the Lion. A sequence of images seem to come into focus all at once in his mind's eye, all with an undercurrent of red and a burst of emotion that he doesn’t immediately recognize. He feels a strong  pull towards them but they move too quickly. He reaches out, grasping in vain — then vertigo clenches around his stomach, quickly replaced by pain as he trips over his own feet and crashes into the metal floor.

Lance lays on the ground for a good minute, gritting his teeth.

Also painful? What Black is trying to say.

“He doesn’t want to do it, okay?” he snaps. “He didn’t even want to try. There’s no talking to him once he’s made up his mind. That’s why I told you — it has to be me.”

His vehement declaration rings strongly (confidently, he thinks, with pride) in his own ears.

But following the pattern of this attempted conversation, it too is swallowed by the stillness of the Black Lion’s cockpit.

Lance bites down resentment as he picks himself up from the ground. It's tempting — so tempting — to kick that stupid chair. He doesn’t, though. Instead he glares at his dark surroundings, like he is staring down the great beast itself.

A guy could take a hint… but seriously?

This whole thing was stupid.

“I don’t even want to be your pilot,” he mutters, and there’s a stir in the air, like a chuckle, which gets on his nerves. “What? I don’t! And guess what, dude? Neither does Keith. But which of us is standing here right now, trying to take responsibility for it?”

(He deserves some credit for showing up and trying, right?)

(He deserves some credit for caring, right?)

“Maybe Keith really is the best guy for the job, but as I’ve told you a million times, he doesn’t want to be here. I am and I do— I mean, I know I just contradicted myself there, saying I didn’t wanna be your pilot, but...”

His gaze drops to the ground as he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. But the quiet now is different from the stillness of before. It gives him some courage to keep going.

He clears his throat again and says, “I figured I could just... fill in, you know? ‘Cause we kinda need you. The universe needs you. And we can’t get you up and running without a pilot, right? So I can do it, until he’s ready. Okay?”

Lance is a little surprised to find that he means it, too. Like, real talk, he can’t imagine himself leading Voltron, de facto or otherwise. Keith, though… Keith could probably do it. When he finally grows a pair and learns how to put his personal shit aside, anyway.

“O-or, Allura,” he adds hastily, uncomfortably aware that he is just babbling now. “I still think it’s weird that you didn’t pick her, but I guess you have your reasons, huh? Just. Yeah. This’ll be a temporary partnership, you and me. Because we need you. And I’m your best bet right now.”

He opens his arms and tries a smile.

“So… partners?” he asks hopefully.

And he waits.

And waits.

And waits.

...it’s excruciating. It’s worse than the first time he ever confessed his feelings to a crush. At least the girl had been nice enough to put him down gently. Today he learns that giant metal lions are not nearly as kind.

Enough time passes that it’s become too tiring to keep up the smile. He drops it, shoves his hands into his pockets, and finds his way out.

 ---

 The whole team looks as tired as Allura when he drags his failure of a self over to them.

“Black’ll come around,” he says, eliciting a few wan smiles. They scatter to do their own thing not long after that.

Lance should have gone straight to his room but he finds himself slowing down and waiting till he is completely alone before retracing his steps. He stares at the Black Lion from the entrance of the hanger. It stares back with blank, dead eyes.

There’s a war going on, he wants to tell it, and you can do something about it. But here you are, sitting on your metal claws, for dumb reasons I can’t understand… kinda like Keith.

Huh. Maybe you two are meant to be.

That wasn’t the point though. He was here so that he could fill that spot — a spot that was necessary but unwanted. That’s what he’s good at, or so he thinks.

But of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

Getting into the Garrison wasn’t. Enduring as a cargo pilot wasn’t. Making it to fighter pilot wasn’t. Leaving Earth and fighting this impossible-sounding war with impossible-sounding technology certainly wasn’t...

So. Not easy? He was used to that.

He reenters the still, metal cockpit, and says, “Let’s try this again.”

[kacchanislife]

HI BITCH I GOT ANOTHER REQUEST! I’ll probably ask one weekly! So like how about when Both bakugo and his s/o and severely injured during the villain attack and they thought That they finished him but he’s is still there and he starts to attack Bakugo but his s/o save and tied to fight him? And bakugo is too hurt to move so he’s just on the ground screaming in despair? THANK YOUUU ILYY MAYBE WE CAN TALK SOMETIME

HELLLOOOO!!!! Is this what it’s like to have a mutual?! I LOVE YOU TOO!! Thank you for your request, as always!

(I’m so sorry, I cried at the ending)

Warnings: cursing, angst, death, blood, the whole schabang

n/a: the italics are flashbacks. Your quirk is a variation of wind manipulation where you can breathe in deeply to create a vortex and you can exhale to create gale force winds. Psionic can either stop time completely or slow down time in her favor, she carries multiple blades on her like Stain. 

You and Bakugou have been partners in Hero work for some time. Your quirks compliment each other, you offset his higher temperament, and well, you’re lovers. Of course you two work together, Bakugou doesn’t trust others won’t make sure you get hurt on the job and you keep his mouth in check. You love him and he loves you and everything is wonderful.

So today was like any other one your usual patrols. The only real difference was the recent slew of crime that’s been running through the area. Bakugou has gotten a new case to share with you about a villain named ‘Psionic’ who is said to be able to pause time. This basically meant they could do anything and everything while they pause time. You had searched the file and found that what they usually did was steal precious gems; the unfortunate thing was when they were caught because there’s a zone on their quirk they would kill whoever was in the way.

You doubt this ‘Psionic’ could hold up against yourself and Bakugou. You were seansoned pro heroes who knew how to fight both close- and far-ranged. You weren’t worried, you were with Ground Zero and he was with Whirlpool, aka you. There really was nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately, you severely underestimated Psionic. You underestimated your strength and your ability and you underestimated how much Bakugou wanted to protect you over defeating the villain. You messed up, you really did.

You come back from your headspace, where you lay on the ground five feet away from Bakugou and both of you are hardly able to move. You feel the tears start to slip down your cheeks. How did you get here again? You struggle to move and to remember all the fast movements that ended up here.

You remember…

Walking alongside Bakugou talking with him amicably about dinner plans, “I was thinking we can do hotpot with Red Riot and Chargebolt tonight? Maybe Pinky too if we can convince her to make the drive out.”

“Maybe,” Bakugou pauses before he speaks again. Trying to form his opinion on the matter. “I fucking hate Pinky though. We’re not inviting her. And Chargebolt better keep his fucking voice done for once! Swear that guy can’t stop talking and it’s shitty.”

You laugh and shoulder-check him softly as you continue to walk down the street. The two of you were patrolling a street that was usually popular but it was nighttime now and no one was around really. Villains don’t do crime in broad daylight if they want to get away with it after all.

Besides the looming threat of a villain hanging over the two of your heads, it’s a very pleasant night with smells so clear and such visibility you could live your whole life outside. A smile crosses your face and blow out a tiny bit of air, watching it swirl in front of you due to your quirk. You feel so content and like nothing can go wrong.

“Hey Ground Zero, you think we’re gonna catch the villain tonight? Or you think they turned themselves in out of fear knowing they’d have to face off against us,” you move faster than him so you’re now facing him while walking backwards, a few steps ahead. You playfully strike an intimidating pose before you freeze.

A groan leaves your lips as you roll over to look as Bakugou wheezes in what you imagine is a very painful way. You struggle to your knees and crawl towards him. You can hear sirens in the distance and you’re so thankful that despite the weeks the two of you are going to be in the hospital for the villain is dead. Pro heroes don’t normally kill villains, it only happens in extreme situations where subduing them wouldn’t be possible. Like tonight.

“Fuck,” Bakugou curses as your apply pressure to the wound in his side. He’s still bleeding, but he’s alive and help is on the way. “I fucking hate that two-bit villain. That bitch is going to rot in hell and I’m glad we’re the ones who placed her there.”

You give a noise of agreement as you continue to staunch his bleeding. You’re glad Psionic is dead too; that was the most frightening experience of your young life and you don’t know if you could’ve faced someone like that alone. “Hey,” Bakugou’s voice reaches your ears again.

Looking down you see him struggle to move and rush to make him stay still. He had taken a lot more damage than you in that fight and you didn’t want him to hurt himself more or…

Or die.

Tears fill your eyes at the mere thought of him dying. You never want anything to befall Bakugou, you love him too much and you wouldn’t live with yourself if he could never get up again. More tears leek from your eyes as the sirens get closer and you don’t catch the rest of what Bakugou says as you get swept up in the events of the night again.

When time resumed for you Bakugou was alread fighting Psionic. You didn’t realize she was a woman as you look at her now fighting against Bakugou with a sword? Yeah, you realize, it’s a sword and she’s using her quirk to deal blow after blow to Bakugou.

Your body is hardly tired after being frozen in time and you start to activate your quirk by breathing in deeply. The air around your starts to become a vortex with the point of origin at your mouth and you turn to face it toward Psionic as Bakugou makes a hasty retreat. He knows the signs of your quirk whether you were using vortex or gale. Which both were the same thing just one you breathed in and one you breathed out.

Psionic is caught off guard and the panic on her face shows as Bakugou lines up his AP Shot. You two know the drill, he fires his explosions to get sucked up into your vortex and right before they can no longer be effective you shut off your quirk and allow the villain trapped in the vortex to take the damage.

You know you’re taking a great risk of being frozen in time again due to the proximity of Psionic, but you doubt she can activate her quirk while she’s so flustered. Besides, you know your vortex is next to freezing and even moving within them is a task in and of itself.

You shut off your quirk to see Psionic burned on her face and neck. Direct hits, but she recovers fast and punches you in the face. You reel backwards for a moment before meeting her blow for blow. Bakugou is struggling to find an opening with how fast Psionic is moving and how fast you have to move to keep up, you’re usually not this slow.

You realize as she stabs you in the shoulder with a small knife that she knew Bakugou wouldn’t attack with the risk of you getting hurt. And you come to terms with the fact that she’s a lot more proficient with her quirk that you thought and a lot smarter too. Psionic slashes you multiple times and it takes all your concentration not to get fatally wounded. You feel yourself pause again.

It was too late before you realized Psionic was still alive. A belt was around your throat choking you and you could see her hair out of the corner of your eye. You couldn’t believe that bitch wasn’t dead after you personally created a hole in her torso. Bakugou’s red eyes catch yours and you can see the tears streaming down his face. He can’t move and he can’t save you from a villain he couldn’t beat.

You twist in Psionic’s grip elbowing her as hard as the strength in your body can muster in her wound. She growls and holds tighter to the belt. The two of you are shifting on the ground as you try to gain the upper hand and throw her off. She’s not budging and your air supply is quickly dwindling.

It doesn’t help your throat was already bruised from her punching you there and one of her knives still buried in your lung. You know it’s your lung because you can’t activate your quirk. Your quirk depends on your lungs and you can’t activate it. The panic was slowing starting to set in.

You can hear Bakugou screaming and crying still unable to move- helpless as you die right in front of him. No, you won’t die until Psionic stops breathing for good. You won’t let her have the chance to hurt anyone else. No chance to hurt Bakugou. Not him. Not him.

The battle rages on as you time back in. Bakugou has multiple gashes and you could see one of his arms were broken. You can’t let him get hurt anymore, you frantically start searching for something you could wrap in your quirk. You see the sword Psionic was using earlier and grab it, she sees you moving and you freeze again.

You grab her hands with the belt as dark spots dance across your vision and throw her over your shoulder. You don’t know how you do it as all your strength is nearly gone from your body, but you turn the tables around. Psionic struggles underneath you as you dig a painful knee into the hole in her torso.

Your hand hovers over the blade embedded in your skin between your ribs and in your lung. You know pulling it will kill you. You’ve already been feeling the uneasy sensation of air leaking into parts of your body it should not be in. You know taking the knife out will collapse your lung and you’ll bleed out instantly.

There’s no way you make it out of this fight alive and you look into Bakugou’s eyes one last time. They widen in realization and he redoubles his efforts to move and do something. God anything.

“(Y/n)! Don’t! Please fucking don’t,” his voice is raw and it’s painful, but you keep staring as your hand grasps the handle.

Time resumes once more and you nearly scream at the sight in front of you. Bakugou has a deep wound on his right side, multiple lacerations on his legs and arms, and he’s bleeding so heavily. He’s losing.

You spot the sword you were trying to grab before you were stopped lying still discarded. Psionic seemed to have more blades on her than you thought, but that worked out in your favor now. You pick up the sword and you feel the unbridled rage settling inside you as you active your quirk once more.

The sword starts to be wrapped in wind you’re blowing on to it. It’s cold to the touch and you turn to find Bakugou coughing up blood on the ground. Psionic is two feet away from you, you’re a terrible hero to not have noticed and to have continuously been caught in her quirk. She has a longer knife than the one she stabbed and slashed you with earlier, you should fear where she’ll stab you with it, but you're too angry to care about your safety.

You can feel your movements slowing down as she speeds toward you. You have to make this count. All the air in your lungs and in the reserves of your suit come bursting out as you aim the sword at her midsection. Psionic reaches you and you feel the hot pain of the knife piercing your skin. You spin the two of you around so your back is facing Bakugou and you release the wind.

The explosion-like force of pent up wind being let go blows the two of you back. You catch a glimpse of the bloody sword sinking into the side of a building and the hole it left behind in Psionic’s stomach before you hit the ground. Everything is painful and the wind was truly knocked out of you. You feel bones crack, but you won and you kept Bakugou from getting killed like he kept you from tonight.

Bakugou is still screaming as you pull out the knife. Psionic is still struggling beneath you even as she bleeds out and is unable to activate her quirk. “Please god no,” his voice breaks your heart, but you’d rather he lives than you. “(Y/n) don’t leave me. I love you. Please!”

Bakugou is begging you to stay alive. There’s so much pain in his beautiful red eyes and you finally force yourself to look away. You raise the bloody knife and drive it home in one of Psionic’s eyes, you aren’t really sure which. You’re vision is doubling, but you no longer hear her grunts and no longer feel her movement.

Checking her pulse you conclude she is really and truly dead this time. You cough vigorously and the pain of the violent movement wracks your body. Blood gushes from your wound and from your mouth. This is it.

You still can’t look Bakugou in the eye as you speak, “You were always a better hero than me. Keep being the best hero, for both of us. I love you.” Your body collapses on top of Psionic’s and the last bit of strength leaves your body as the pain fades.

The sirens are here, but you aren’t. Bakugou screams and cries into the night, cursing his ineptitude and cursing you for leaving him.

He never does truly recover- 

He never patrols with anyone again,

He never forgives emergency services for arriving late,

He never stops wishing he could’ve traded places.

He never forgets you, and 

He never loves anew.

... 

He wishes he was there with you.