stuck with you.

Mechanic!jeno

Ok that is all thank you

"what made you want to be a hero?"

jeno's soft voice slices through the cool night air, tickling your ears like honey. you sigh. shifting in the grass where the two of you lay, you peek over at the boy with moonlight in his hair and smile, the boy who can make people fall into dreams with a single glance into their eyes. or nightmares, if he so desired.

it's thrilling, looking into that gaze, knowing the power of his quirk. yet you can't bring yourself to turn away.

you wonder if he feels the same.

"is it too boring if i say a hero saved my life once?"

jeno shrugs. "no. that's the point of being a hero, right? to save lives."

you chuckle. "i suppose. that's not my actual answer, though."

"oh?"

turning back towards the night sky, you set your gaze on the glittering stars above. they wink at you, as if they've read all your secrets before you even know them yourself.

"my older brother loved heroes, growing up. he loved watching them fight villains on tv, loved imagining becoming a hero himself. but," you choke up a little, "he's quirkless. it broke my heart to see him give up on that dream... so i thought i'd become a hero for him."

jeno doesn't reply for a while. you don't say anything either, instead tracing the constellations as nighttime washes over your otherwise still bodies.

you weren't used to being emotional, sentimental. with your flashy quirk and flashier personality, everyone in the class knew you as the loud one, the one to make people laugh, the one lift to the atmosphere. so it's really not all that surprising for jeno, the sweet class rep who just happened to find you sneaking out and didn't have the heart to report you, to be taken aback by this part of your personality that you've kept in the shadows since starting school.

"that's really noble of you," he finally whispers after a long time. "i could never be that selfless."

you hum, "i wouldn't call it completely selfless. i mean, hero fame sounds pretty enticing, right?"

he laughs, "for sure."

"what about you then?"

"me?"

"why are you here at this hero school?"

you wait. watch him stare at the sky, as if searching for his answer that probably isn't there. admire his side profile that everyone in the class has a crush on.

"i just think it's cool," he says in the end, grinning. "what's cooler than being a hero?"

"... you're so strange."

"am i wrong?"

your phone was ringing again. it's been a while since you heard it, but the familar tune wrapped around you like an old cardigan, once cherished almost as much as the owner of the contact. blinking your sleep drenched eyes, you scramble to find the device in your sea of blankets, finally pulling it out just as the screen goes dark and the song cuts off. a notification pops up in its stead, probably the voicemail alert. you stare wordlessly until it fades away as well, debating whether to check it for once.

"he's probably drunk," you end up telling yourself, tossing the phone aside and burrowing back into the warmth of your bed. there was no other reason for him to call, considering how the last time you've spoken the both of you were in tears, falling apart at the seams. "it's not like i miss him."

that's a lie, though, and you know it. it's been three months since you saw his face, which meant three months of you spending mornings wondering how his nights were, if his days were better without you. if he had moved on already.

it should be easier to hate him, you think. anything would be better than agonizing over this call that may or may not just be an invention of your sleep deprived brain.

"fuck it," you grumble, tossing the blankets back and grabbing your phone once more. who cares if it didn't make sense for him to call, your heart was already so stupidly broken that nothing could possibly hurt it even more.

on the third ring, he picks up.

you take a breath.

“your time is almost up, you know.”

you whip your head around to see grim reaper! jeno staring down at you, eyebrow cocked like the silver pistol idly spinning around in his hand. there’s only one bullet in there— at least, that’s what he told you before— and you have a feeling it’s the one meant to pierce your skin.

“and? you’ve been saying that for the past three years,” you scoff, swirling your paintbrush around in crimson red. “i’m not scared of you anymore. actually, i don’t think i ever was.”

“three years i’ve let you get away with things,” he sighs, bending down besides you to examine the huge white canvas that has been slowly filling over time. “how are you not sick of this yet?”

you shrug, nonchalant. “i told you, once i commit to something i never stop until it’s completed. this just happened to be my most arduous task yet.”

jeno purses his lips, reaching out to touch the warm, wet surface. “awfully gruesome, too. if i didn’t know anything better, i’d say you were doing this just to attract my attention.”

"well, that might’ve crossed my mind a few times, looking at that pretty face of yours,” you admit, and he rolls his eyes. “but no, you’ll never be enough of a reason to go around making sure those that killed my best friend would properly pay for what they did.”

“are you satisfied, though?” he asks after a moment, eyes softer than you’d ever seen them. “you’re going to end up like me.”

the last, tiny piece of your heart that you locked far away so many years ago, twinges ever so slightly, and you wince. “does it matter what happens to me? i don’t care anymore.”

*click*

hey jeno. it's me. oh my god this is so awkward, let me try again.

hey jeno, what are you up to? thinking of me, hopefully? urgh, nevermind, i'll leave the cheesy stuff to you.

i hope this tape finds you well. it's your birthday, after all. i mean, it was when i gave it to you, but i did tell you not to open it until later. not sure how long that later is, but since it's you, i'm guessing you couldn't wait and played it immediately.

wait just kidding, you probably don't have a cassette player. joke's on me, i forgot. this is still a cute tape though, right? i decorated it with all my adorable stickers i was saving, you're that worth it. don't go losing this thing now.

“welcome to phoenix hotel and resorts,” bellhop! jeno greets you with a blinding smile, “is this your first staying with us?”

you pause. not many people back at home ever looked at you that way, let alone offered you grins like they were desserts. it was refreshing, like the lingering scent of hibiscus and the crystal fountain bubbling in the hotel atrium.

clicking your heels and summoning a sweet smile, you stick out a gloved hand. “i believe so. would you mind showing me to my suite, pretty boy?”

you savor the spread of pink across his cheeks as he offers you his arm in return, which you curl your fingers around victoriously. after a trip down the pristine hallway, he swiftly unlocks the double ivory doors at the very end, revealing your chambers for the next two weeks. a lonely place, much like your life, but you had some ideas how to spill a little more color in it.