[ Tadano Itsuki has been spending much of his life trying to do the right thing. He's always been a little shy, a little more quiet than many of his peers, and maybe he's always had a little trouble with saying "no," but he's never just bent over backwards when it's really mattered. He knows how to fight, and he knows what's right and what's wrong. He knows when others are wrong and when he should confront them over it, rather than let them push him around.
So meeting Narumiya Mei was... an adventure.
He's admired him since they met, but has always been aware of the fact that he's a bit of a diva, that he's not used to people telling him no - except for Harada-san, but he's not here to do that anymore - and that has never been more obvious than the days where they get into arguments. They're not explosive by any means, not like with the villain that Mei seems to personally know, but they aren't exactly quiet either. When Mei is wrong, or Itsuki has been pushed too far, he's not spineless. It leads to Mei being angry and prideful when he's been called out on something especially serious.
But their fights, the frustration that he often feels during these times, Itsuki would never, ever leave Mei to a fight alone, during or after.
Being a little more resilient than the infuriating genius in front of him, Itsuki is banged up with scrapes and bruises that he's mostly ignoring. Even if he wasn't, though, he'd still be standing in the doorway with the first aid kit in his broad hands, looking in on Mei quietly at the threshold, concern in the pinch of his brows above tired eyes. ]
[ narumiya mei is rarely the kind of person who takes no for an answer.
this accounts for almost any situation in his life. when he was younger, he was spoiled rotten, the golden child of his family and the most popular kid in his high school. but then, people around him started getting superpowers, and narumiya mei, who never had anything super heroic in his life, was not getting left out.
he studied and trained and tinkered until he manufactured them for himself, a man in a suit who can fly and shoot lasers and do all kinds of other things--all because he wanted to be the best. mei became a hero because he wanted recognition, but also because he didn't want to be left alone when everyone around him rose up to greater heights. he scratched and clawed and yanked himself up there, too.
so, being paired with someone who has natural powers on their team was irritating. being paired with someone who mei felt was way under his level was even worse. he's been nothing but the worst senpai, the most embarrassing, annoying, no good senpai, and he doesn't care. itsuki was going to learn whether he liked it or not, that it was mei's way or the highway.
but, itsuki didn't fold when push came to shove. and it did sometimes, to mei shoving him and snapping at him to leave him alone, broody and angry and annoyed. sometimes their fights turned into yelling matches like today, when mei had done something stupid and reckless and he'd recognized it as such--challenging miyuki face to face was no good way to end his day.
he's beat to all hell currently and his suit is mangled. it's not like he can't fix it--he can. he'll make it better. mei's own health has moved to the wayside, his throbbing arm and aching body, the blood trickling from his still split lip just afterthoughts of better and stronger. he'd left midfight with itsuki because of it, snapping at him to leave him alone if he knew what was good for him, but when he hears his voice at the door--tired, quiet, shy--he doesn't immediately force him to leave.
instead, he grunts, a noise of recognition. ] Go away. [ it certainly has less heat than usual--he's back here licking his wounds. ]
slowly makes icons as they are needed i s2g this is the worst
[ If he were a smarter man, maybe Itsuki wouldn't care quite so much about Mei as he does. He already knows that he's in way over his head when it comes to the other hero, but he's here anyways, stubborn and stupid in a way that his parents would probably disapprove of. They didn't see much merit in a fight, told him as much, but they also told him that if he was going to fight, it ought to be for something he believed in. Something good and right.
In spite of all their fights, of the way that they butt heads, of how much Mei disrespects him and treats him, Itsuki still believes that he's something to fight for. While he's the one with powers, with the strength and ability to get up again and again and again no matter how many times he's hit, Mei is the one that he admires and the person that he wants recognition from. So he'll fight to get that recognition, and he'll fight to get Mei where he wants to be, even if they fight more frequently than is probably considered appropriate for teammates. It's just that Narumiya Mei holds others to such a high standard, but no one more than himself.
So even if he finds himself so frequently exhausted and frustrated, pushed around and used as a gofer rather than an equal, he'll fight for him.
And he'll tend to him, when he needs it, even if he doesn't want it. ]
No. [ He said it before the fight with Miyuki - he didn't get there in time to step into the fray, was in the midst of his own fight nearly across town before he'd booked it to Mei's side - and he says it again, now. This time, though, it's softer, his voice lower to accommodate for the quiet of the darkened room. But regardless of anything tentative in him, any shyness that carries over from the privacy of the two of them alone to the millions of eyes watching him on national television during interviews, he steps in and approaches him on silent feet with the response.
After all, if Mei truly wanted him to leave, he would have snapped or not said anything at all. A cold shoulder is just as effective an answer as a shout, after all.
Carefully, Itsuki sets the kit down next to Mei and moves around to stand in front of him. His fingers twitch, like he wants to reach out, but then curl into tight fists at his sides before he drops down into an easy crouch in front of him, looking up into his face, eyes searching it.
Let me help, he wants to say.
He bites his lip instead, reaching to touch two fingers to Mei's knee, tentative but there. ]
[ mei's sulk is bad enough that he's shut down masa-san, even if he could tell he was judging him for doing so. the real masa-san...would have judged him also, but he might have yanked him out of this sulk he was in, might have told him he was a fucking moron for challenging miyuki but might have slid a milkshake across the table, too. this hero business isn't just about saving people or personal power, and he learned that the hard way when his former mentor died in a fight. saving someone. mei had brought him back to life, sort of, but there's nothing that makes you feel more like icarus than turning to your partner and realizing he's gone, and it's your fault.
there's a lot of things that mei is. he's arrogant and obnoxious, he's smart and powerful. but the inside of his chest feels hollow most days, because for as full of himself as he acts, mei hates himself, and events like this don't make it better. the worst part is that he knows that he's terrible. that no one who's been around him has stayed long--not masa, not kazuya--and now he's taken that as an opportunity to push people away.
itsuki's trying. mei knows that. he knows that, objectively, he's acting like an asshole. that he deserves a better partner, but mei wants--he wants to be the best. and if itsuki is the one he takes with him there, not masa-san, not kazuya, then he's going to take him there, even if it takes them both clawing and scratching the entire way there.
once he says no, mei rolls his eyes and pulls his protective facemask back over his face, settling in with the welder again to fix his suit, but it feels halfhearted. a part of him wants to give in and just collapse on him, maybe start crying out of frustration or sadness or anger or a mix of all three, but narumiya mei is nothing if not prideful, and there's no way he'll show that kind of emotion on purpose. he keeps working, sparks flying even as itsuki comes close, and it's only when he crouches in front of him that he flicks off the flame and shoves the mask back up.
he wants to say something, some kind of comeback, kick him out, get masa-san started back up to carry him out by the scruff of the neck, but something tight constricts in mei's throat and all he gets is a -- ] Tch. [ noise as he turns his head away. there's still blood dripping down his split lip. ]
You're so nosy. [ he says, but it's got half the fight it usually does. it's the closest to an allowance he'll ever get. ]
[ The absence of Harada-san is enough of an indication of just how bad Mei is feeling right now, how much of a sulk is going on right now. Back when he first started spending more time here, Itsuki can easily recall the first thing that the AI said to him. "Take care of him where I can't." Seven words and they had so much impact on him, were so telling of what he was getting himself into. Maybe he should have backed out then, joined a heroes guild or something, but... but he couldn't just leave Mei after that, could he?
Besides, Narumiya Mei was exactly why he had wanted to be a hero.
There were no illusions about what kind of person he was, though. No idol worship that could possibly have pulled the wool over his eyes. He knows what kind of person Mei is, and yet Itsuki stays, despite all attempts to push him away. Maybe he's always been a little bit of a pushover at his core, but there's something sturdier that makes him, especially in the face of a Mei-sized sulk. So he's not planning on going anywhere, no matter what. And if that means that they fight, that maybe Mei will come to hate him, well, then that's what's going to happen. But he's going to fight for Mei, to do everything he can for him.
Like, now.
He should probably not get in between Mei and his work, but Itsuki has been through worse things than a welding torch and an upset, heroic genius. Sometimes, though, he sort of wishes he'd take the torch to him - maybe it'd hurt less than the harder days. ]
Someone has to be. [ Someone has to care, is what it sounds like in his soft voice, and Itsuki only has a moment of pause before he takes Mei's chin in his fingers and turns him to look at him. His thumb sweeps over the blood, smearing it just as much as he's cleaning it away. ]
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I only have one goddamn icon but i doN'T CARE
So meeting Narumiya Mei was... an adventure.
He's admired him since they met, but has always been aware of the fact that he's a bit of a diva, that he's not used to people telling him no - except for Harada-san, but he's not here to do that anymore - and that has never been more obvious than the days where they get into arguments. They're not explosive by any means, not like with the villain that Mei seems to personally know, but they aren't exactly quiet either. When Mei is wrong, or Itsuki has been pushed too far, he's not spineless. It leads to Mei being angry and prideful when he's been called out on something especially serious.
But their fights, the frustration that he often feels during these times, Itsuki would never, ever leave Mei to a fight alone, during or after.
Being a little more resilient than the infuriating genius in front of him, Itsuki is banged up with scrapes and bruises that he's mostly ignoring. Even if he wasn't, though, he'd still be standing in the doorway with the first aid kit in his broad hands, looking in on Mei quietly at the threshold, concern in the pinch of his brows above tired eyes. ]
Mei-san.
THE THIRST IS REAL
this accounts for almost any situation in his life. when he was younger, he was spoiled rotten, the golden child of his family and the most popular kid in his high school. but then, people around him started getting superpowers, and narumiya mei, who never had anything super heroic in his life, was not getting left out.
he studied and trained and tinkered until he manufactured them for himself, a man in a suit who can fly and shoot lasers and do all kinds of other things--all because he wanted to be the best. mei became a hero because he wanted recognition, but also because he didn't want to be left alone when everyone around him rose up to greater heights. he scratched and clawed and yanked himself up there, too.
so, being paired with someone who has natural powers on their team was irritating. being paired with someone who mei felt was way under his level was even worse. he's been nothing but the worst senpai, the most embarrassing, annoying, no good senpai, and he doesn't care. itsuki was going to learn whether he liked it or not, that it was mei's way or the highway.
but, itsuki didn't fold when push came to shove. and it did sometimes, to mei shoving him and snapping at him to leave him alone, broody and angry and annoyed. sometimes their fights turned into yelling matches like today, when mei had done something stupid and reckless and he'd recognized it as such--challenging miyuki face to face was no good way to end his day.
he's beat to all hell currently and his suit is mangled. it's not like he can't fix it--he can. he'll make it better. mei's own health has moved to the wayside, his throbbing arm and aching body, the blood trickling from his still split lip just afterthoughts of better and stronger. he'd left midfight with itsuki because of it, snapping at him to leave him alone if he knew what was good for him, but when he hears his voice at the door--tired, quiet, shy--he doesn't immediately force him to leave.
instead, he grunts, a noise of recognition. ] Go away. [ it certainly has less heat than usual--he's back here licking his wounds. ]
slowly makes icons as they are needed i s2g this is the worst
In spite of all their fights, of the way that they butt heads, of how much Mei disrespects him and treats him, Itsuki still believes that he's something to fight for. While he's the one with powers, with the strength and ability to get up again and again and again no matter how many times he's hit, Mei is the one that he admires and the person that he wants recognition from. So he'll fight to get that recognition, and he'll fight to get Mei where he wants to be, even if they fight more frequently than is probably considered appropriate for teammates. It's just that Narumiya Mei holds others to such a high standard, but no one more than himself.
So even if he finds himself so frequently exhausted and frustrated, pushed around and used as a gofer rather than an equal, he'll fight for him.
And he'll tend to him, when he needs it, even if he doesn't want it. ]
No. [ He said it before the fight with Miyuki - he didn't get there in time to step into the fray, was in the midst of his own fight nearly across town before he'd booked it to Mei's side - and he says it again, now. This time, though, it's softer, his voice lower to accommodate for the quiet of the darkened room. But regardless of anything tentative in him, any shyness that carries over from the privacy of the two of them alone to the millions of eyes watching him on national television during interviews, he steps in and approaches him on silent feet with the response.
After all, if Mei truly wanted him to leave, he would have snapped or not said anything at all. A cold shoulder is just as effective an answer as a shout, after all.
Carefully, Itsuki sets the kit down next to Mei and moves around to stand in front of him. His fingers twitch, like he wants to reach out, but then curl into tight fists at his sides before he drops down into an easy crouch in front of him, looking up into his face, eyes searching it.
Let me help, he wants to say.
He bites his lip instead, reaching to touch two fingers to Mei's knee, tentative but there. ]
itsumei hell has ruined us
there's a lot of things that mei is. he's arrogant and obnoxious, he's smart and powerful. but the inside of his chest feels hollow most days, because for as full of himself as he acts, mei hates himself, and events like this don't make it better. the worst part is that he knows that he's terrible. that no one who's been around him has stayed long--not masa, not kazuya--and now he's taken that as an opportunity to push people away.
itsuki's trying. mei knows that. he knows that, objectively, he's acting like an asshole. that he deserves a better partner, but mei wants--he wants to be the best. and if itsuki is the one he takes with him there, not masa-san, not kazuya, then he's going to take him there, even if it takes them both clawing and scratching the entire way there.
once he says no, mei rolls his eyes and pulls his protective facemask back over his face, settling in with the welder again to fix his suit, but it feels halfhearted. a part of him wants to give in and just collapse on him, maybe start crying out of frustration or sadness or anger or a mix of all three, but narumiya mei is nothing if not prideful, and there's no way he'll show that kind of emotion on purpose. he keeps working, sparks flying even as itsuki comes close, and it's only when he crouches in front of him that he flicks off the flame and shoves the mask back up.
he wants to say something, some kind of comeback, kick him out, get masa-san started back up to carry him out by the scruff of the neck, but something tight constricts in mei's throat and all he gets is a -- ] Tch. [ noise as he turns his head away. there's still blood dripping down his split lip. ]
You're so nosy. [ he says, but it's got half the fight it usually does. it's the closest to an allowance he'll ever get. ]
p much yeah
Besides, Narumiya Mei was exactly why he had wanted to be a hero.
There were no illusions about what kind of person he was, though. No idol worship that could possibly have pulled the wool over his eyes. He knows what kind of person Mei is, and yet Itsuki stays, despite all attempts to push him away. Maybe he's always been a little bit of a pushover at his core, but there's something sturdier that makes him, especially in the face of a Mei-sized sulk. So he's not planning on going anywhere, no matter what. And if that means that they fight, that maybe Mei will come to hate him, well, then that's what's going to happen. But he's going to fight for Mei, to do everything he can for him.
Like, now.
He should probably not get in between Mei and his work, but Itsuki has been through worse things than a welding torch and an upset, heroic genius. Sometimes, though, he sort of wishes he'd take the torch to him - maybe it'd hurt less than the harder days. ]
Someone has to be. [ Someone has to care, is what it sounds like in his soft voice, and Itsuki only has a moment of pause before he takes Mei's chin in his fingers and turns him to look at him. His thumb sweeps over the blood, smearing it just as much as he's cleaning it away. ]