Big thanks to my beta, xSteleAliniax!

Friday was a weird day. It had started out normal enough. Tamaki woke up to his alarm two hours before school started. He took a shower before getting dressed into his UA uniform and shuffling into the kitchen to eat whatever breakfast his mom had prepared before she left to catch the early train for work. He brushed his teeth, double checked the contents of his bag for the day, then slipped on his shoes and headed out the door.

His walk to the station was perfectly normal. He kept his eyes trained to his shoes—if he couldn't see their faces, it was easier to pretend the strangers around him didn't exist, and weren't silently judging him. He chose the emptiest car he could find and tucked himself into the corner away from the other early morning patrons, content to read over his homework until the train arrived at the station near the school.

Everything was perfectly normal until he exited the train station. A brilliant flash of silver caught his eye. He glanced over, and there was Ume. It wasn't strange to see her at the station in the morning. Usually, she was at school before him. He assumed her usual train arrived before his, so unless she was running late, he wasn't likely to see her until he entered the school. So, no. It wasn't weird to see Ume at the train station before school. What was weird was that she was walking towards him and smiling.

Instantly, he felt his cheeks flush and drew his shoulders up to his ears as he glanced around, looking for anyone else she could be headed towards.

Not me, surely. Why would she be smiling like that and walking towards me?

"Good morning, Tamaki," she called once she was within speaking distance, giving him a small wave.

He simply stared at her, feeling his blush creep towards the tips of his pointed ears. He watched as her smile fell, and she stopped a few feet short of him.

Say something, idiot! Don't just stand here. Answer her!

"U-Ume…" he choked out stupidly.

Her lips quirked back up in the tiniest of smiles, and he could see just one little wrinkle disturbing the freckles on her nose.

"Do you mind if we walk together?" she asked, and he shook his head silently. "I must've forgotten to set my alarm last night. I didn't even have time to eat breakfast!"

Tamaki pulled his bag around to his side and fumbled around inside it as they began walking towards UA. He pulled out a protein bar and held it out to Ume, nudging her arm gently when she didn't notice. Her cheeks flushed when she looked down at the proffered snack.

"Oh, no!" she implored, staring up at him with wide eyes. "I couldn't. It's not your fault I was running late!"

"I-I want you to h-have it," Tamaki mumbled, nudging her arm again.

She took the protein bar, turning it in her hands a few times before tearing it open. She glanced back over at him and he thought his heart was going to escape from the cage of his ribs when she gifted him with a full smile.

"You're really sweet."

There was no doubt that he was red from head to toe, and he fought the urge to pull his collar away from his neck.

The rest of their walk was silent. Ume was eating the protein bar—the peanut butter flavor he had presented her with was her favorite, evidently—while Tamaki fought his raging blush and panicking heart.

He had finally managed to wrestle his heart back into its cage and fought his blush back down when they entered the front doors of the school. Tamaki hadn't thought it through, and he wasn't prepared for what ensued.

"Hey, this is new!" Mirio exclaimed, popping out of the floor and in the path of the two.

Ume flinched, retaining some of her dignity, while Tamaki flew a foot into the air and squeaked, loudly.

"Mirio," he gasped, clutching a hand over his newly racing heart.

"Know anyone else that can pop out of the floor?" his blond friend laughed, head thrown back and hands on his hips.

Ume shot Tamaki a confused look, and he grimaced in reply, shrugging his shoulders. Mirio was definitely the kind of person that grew on you eventually, like a really stubborn tumor.

"What I meant was, when did you two start walking to school together?" Mirio demanded, hands still on his hips as his smile grew impossibly wider. "I didn't know that was a thing," he continued, wiggling his eyebrows at them.

"Oh!" Ume exclaimed, waving a hand in front of herself to brush his comment aside. "I just woke up late. I forgot to set an alarm."

Mirio laughed heartily again, one hand clutching his stomach.

"Oh man, you're funny! We've been in session how long now? Kinda wild you would forget an alarm you need every day!" Mirio commented once his laughter had settled down, swiping one finger under his eye to catch a tear that had squeezed out.

"Uh, yeah, wild," Ume repeated quietly, her shoulders hunching a bit as her cheeks lit up in a blush. "I'll see you in class. Thanks for breakfast," she mumbled to Tamaki before heading in the direction of her shoe locker.

Tamaki stared after her for a moment before heading to his own locker, Mirio dogging his footsteps curiously.

"Breakfast? What was she talking about?"

"Nothing, Mirio," Tamaki sighed as he switched out his shoes.

"Aw, c'mon, man!" Mirio whined, fists clenching in front of his chest anxiously. "You gotta tell me!"

Tamaki breathed a harsh sigh out of his nose when he looked up and saw the wide grin on his friend's face. Mirio was making a big deal out of nothing, again. He always did stuff like this, but Tamaki couldn't even find it in himself to be truly frustrated. Mirio had been too much of a good friend over the years.

"It really wasn't anything. She had to take a later train than usual and didn't have time to eat breakfast. I-I gave her a protein bar."

"Hey! Gift giving is a valid love language!" Mirio encouraged, clapping a heavy hand onto Tamaki's shoulder.

"L-love?!" Tamaki squeaked, burying his burning face into his hands.

Mirio threw back his head and laughed boisterously.

Morning classes had been fairly normal, as far as general education classes taught by pro heros went, anyway. But on the way to Lunch Rush, Mirio had pulled Tamaki aside, telling Nejire to go ahead and that they would catch up.

"You should invite Ume tomorrow," he said once they were alone.

"W-why?"

"Because if you don't, I will," the blond had grinned.

"Mirio-" Tamaki groaned, swiping a hand down his face.

"And if I don't, Nejire will."

Tamaki gulped, and the grin on Mirio's face seemed a bit more sinister than usual. Nejire? Inviting Ume to hang out with them on a weekend? No. She would spill some beans for sure!

"O-ok. Ok! Just… tell Nejire I'll do it after school," Tamaki pleaded.

"Oooooh! Gonna walk your girl home again?" Mirio teased, leading them towards the cafeteria.

"Shut up," Tamaki grumbled, shoulders coming up and hair falling forward to hide his burning face.

Now, he sat at their usual lunch table, an assortment of food spread on his tray. He chose takoyaki today—he had decided after yesterday that he needed to add it to his every day diet. Ume joined them again. She was already seated there when he and Mirio sat down, and he was fighting very hard not to blush and jump every time her elbow brushed against his. She was currently in a very heated discussion with Mirio involving some hero training reality show they both enjoyed.

"No way! That guy definitely should have been sent home in the first round!" Ume exclaimed, chopsticks pointed emphatically at Mirio's grinning face.

"Oh man!" Mirio laughed, his lunch forgotten in favor of their conversation. "You're entitled to your opinion, but I'm entitled to tell you that you're wrong!"

Tamaki couldn't help the small smile that made its way to his face when Ume's jaw dropped in shock.

Yeah, Mirio definitely takes some getting used to.

"Well, that's just rude," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting playfully.

"Hey, hey! Mirio, be nice to Ume!" Nejire interjected, bouncing in her seat.

"Tamaki, back me up," Ume urged, turning to him suddenly with wide, pleading eyes. "You think that guy should have been sent home at the beginning, right?"

"I-I don't watch that show," he said apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. She deflated a little and he was quick to continue. "But I'm sure he doesn't deserve to be there, from the way you talk about him."

She grinned widely at him, and Tamaki ignored Mirio's gasp of "Traitor!" from across the table. Because Ume's pink eyes were shining, and her cheeks were rosy behind her freckles. And her nose was wrinkling again. He fought the urge to groan and thump his head down on the lunch table at how cute she was.

"I can't believe you've never watched that show! I have it all saved, you'll have to come over and watch it some time," Ume suggested, turning back to her lunch.

Tamaki didn't miss the way Mirio wiggled his eyebrows at him from across the table.

Afternoon hero training was probably the most interesting part of the day. Present Mic informed them that they would be heading to the gym for one on one combat training. And teams were pre-selected. Tamaki's hands shook as he changed into his hero costume next to Mirio.

"You gonna let her win?" his friend asked quietly as he fastened his long red cape around his shoulders.

"What? N-no!" Tamaki stuttered, looking up with wide eyes from the pocketed vest he had been fastening to his chest.

"Heard," Mirio smirked, nodding seriously. "Don't let her get to you too much. You're Suneater. You got this, man!" he concluded, one hand on Tamaki's shoulder and the other raised in a clenched fist.

Standing across from Ume now, Tamaki wasn't so sure. He had never seen that determined glow in her eyes before, and it was more than a bit intimidating. Don't let her get to him too much? Had Mirio forgotten what her hero costume looked like? The black sleeveless, turtlenecked leotard was cut high on her hips—the pink lines angled in sharp ways that strangely complimented her curvy figure. A gauzy skirt that faded from black to a pale pink started high in the front and dipped below her knees in the back and fluttered behind her. Under the skirt he could see a slim chain dangling, with a black metal device attached to it, it was about a foot long and only a few inches around. He knew it held a tessen, a metal war fan that could be opened with the flick of a wrist. She shifted her black booted feet, and lunged at him.

She was fast, barely giving Tamaki enough time to manifest a large clam shell on his left hand to block her boot as it flew towards his face. Ume bounced back and landed on her feet just a couple of feet from him. He kept the shell up, anticipating another frontal strike. She smirked at him before leaping to the left, rolling quickly to dodge when he brought the shell down to attempt to slam into her.

Soon, Ume had him spinning circles. He was trying to keep her at a distance while simultaneously trying to grab her with the tentacles he had manifested on his right hand. It hadn't taken long after he had brought out the tentacles for her to engage the tessen. She swung it in high arcs over her head before slamming it down onto his tentacles, making him grunt in pain. The edge wasn't sharpened, but it was still heavy.

With an underhanded flick of her wrist, Ume sent the tessen flying towards his face.

I can't block it with the shell, it's what she's expecting.

He dodged to the side, feeling the wind from her weapon ruffle his hair as it passed. As she pulled it back, he let go of the shell manifestation and reached out to grab the chain with a newly manifested second set of tentacles, wrenching back hard and causing Ume to stumble forward before relinquishing her hold.

Gotcha!

As she regained her footing, he made a swipe with the tentacles on his right hand and finally caught her in his grasp. She squirmed pitifully as he tightened his hold, lifting her up into the air.

Now what?

He hadn't thought very far ahead of grabbing her. He could always toss her, or slam her into the ground. But he didn't want to actually hurt her. Surely she knew this was it, there was no escaping from his clutch, now. She would surrender, right? Ume continued to struggle for a moment before going limp.

Tamaki started to lower her to the ground when it happened. His vision washed in a sea of red, and he felt so inexplicably angry. How dare she?! Did she not realize he was Suneater?! And she thought she could beat him?!

The red faded to green. Why did she get to have such a powerful quirk? What made her so special, so deserving? Why did everything seem to come to her so effortlessly? That wasn't fair.

Green to brown. He started trembling, hunkering down and cowering. He couldn't beat such monstrous power. He was afraid.

Tamaki was vaguely aware of Ume struggling again, of her shouting "OVERLOAD!" as she squirmed in his grip.

His vision was swirling in a kaleidoscope of color now, too quickly for him to discern any sort of emotion that might be tied to them. His stomach clenched and he coughed back the bile that rose in his throat. Was he having a heart attack? His chest hurt. He realized his manifested tentacles were acting of their own accord—the ones on his left hand shrinking and then regrowing in rapid succession, while the ones on his right writhed angrily.

Tamaki fell to his knees, gasping in pain, his arms suspended above him by wildly waving tentacles. The swirl of color was blinding, even when he clenched his eyes shut. He fought his quirk and brought his hands to the sides of his head, his tentacles retracting for good as he squeezed. Was his skull splitting open? This was agony.

And then, it wasn't. The churning in his gut faded, along with the spinning hues behind his eyelids. A faint pounding remained in his forehead, and his limbs were trembling.

"That's the match, yo!" Present Mic announced off to the left.

Tamaki slowly opened his eyes and looked up, eyes blinking blearily.

"Ume!" he gasped, seeing her struggling to stand about twenty feet away.

Her silver hair was dull with dirt, and he could see angry bruises on her arms and legs that coincided with the textures of his tentacles. She brought a trembling hand up to wipe at her freckled nose, which was steadily dripping blood. He struggled to his feet and stumbled towards her.

"Ume! I'm sorry! I dropped you! I didn't mean-"

"Sorry! My quirk, it's stronger when I'm touching someone! Are you ok?"

She's worried about me? I just dropped her from fifteen feet in the air and she's worried she hurt me?

Tamaki smiled faintly at her, feeling his eyes burning. She was amazing.

"I'm fine," he croaked.

"You two head to Recovery Girl and then meet us back in the classroom!" Present Mic called, finger wagging in a dramatic pose as usual. "For now, we'll call that a draw, ya dig?!"

As Tamaki and Ume made their way out of the gym, Tamaki saw Mirio toss him a thumbs-up and a hearty wink, which he chose to ignore.

They walked in silence the short distance from the gym to the main school building. Well, Tamaki walked, Ume stumbled.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Tamaki inquired quietly, watching her struggle to walk a straight line.

Her nose was still dripping blood, and her arms were streaked red from where she was continuously wiping at it. Her eyelids looked heavy, and she was incredibly pale behind her freckles.

"Huh?" Her reply came slow as her eyes struggled to focus on him.

"Ume?"

"Oh, 'm fine," she insisted, words slurring strangely "I'sss m' quirk."

Tamaki kept a close eye on the girl as they walked the empty halls to Recovery Girl's office. Good thing, too. As they turned a corner, she slumped against the wall, her knees buckling under her.

"Ume?" Tamaki murmured uncertainly, reaching out and pulling her to his chest to support her.

As he held her close, he realized she was shaking. Not trembling with exhaustion, but the rhythmic shaking that accompanied sobs and tears. Ignoring his racing heart and heated face for once in his life, he brought a hand up under her chin to lift her face to look at him. Dull silver hair fell away to reveal tear tracks carved through the dirt and dried blood on her face. Her pink eyes were almost luminous through her tears. She looked like a mess, and the sight of her still made his breath catch in his throat.

"Stop. 'm ok, 'maki," she whined, pushing weakly at his chest.

The shortening of his name sent his mind spiraling into daydreams that he couldn't afford to entertain at the moment, and he ignored the way his ears burned.

"Come on. We're almost there," Tamaki assured her quietly, keeping an arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulling her in to lean against his side.

Recovery Girl tutted when they entered her office, ushering them in and closing the door behind them.

"They push you kids too hard," she grumbled, motioning to one of the beds. "Quirk backlash is no joke, but what do I know…" her grumbling faded off into incoherent grunts as Tamaki helped Ume sit on the edge of a bed, electing to stand next to her with a hand on her back to keep her from falling back.

At least she wasn't crying now. But he wasn't sure the vacant stare she currently directed at the opposite wall as Recovery Girl poked and prodded at her ribs was any better. Her eyes looked hazy again, and paired with the blank expression on her face, Tamaki was more than a little worried.

"Ume?"

"Don't worry, she'll be fine after some rest," Recovery Girl assured him with a small smile, guiding Ume to lay back onto the bed and covering her with a light blanket. "I assume you've got a headache?" she asked once Ume was settled—the silver-haired girl had seemed to fall asleep immediately.

"Y-yes," he nodded, only then realizing just how horribly his head was pounding.

"Well, lie down and we'll see about helping you, too."

—-

"S-so, are you feeling ok?" Tamaki asked, shoving his hands into his pants pockets as he walked next to Ume.

"A bit tired, but I'll be ok," she replied, flashing him a grin. "Thanks for your help."

Tamaki flushed and hunched his shoulders.

I didn't really do much. Basically dragged her down the hallway. I should have just carried her, that would have made her feel safe.

"Recovery Girl m-mentioned s-something about quirk backlash?"

"It's a bigger problem for people like me, with mental quirks. Mutant quirks and physical quirks," she poked a finger at his arm emphatically, "typically don't have to worry about it. Although, I'm assuming you get really sore sometimes after using your quirk a lot? Probably really hungry, too," she added thoughtfully.

"Yeah."

"Well, it's like that, basically. I used my quirk a lot in that fight against you-"

"But you only used it at the end!" Tamaki interjected.

"Sure, but I used one of my super moves," she shrugged, as if that explained everything.

"I was already feeling your quirk before you used Overload," Tamaki murmured.

"An oversight on my part. I didn't think about the fact that the tentacles are technically part of you, and my quirk is stronger when I'm touching someone. That's… a lot of skin to skin contact for my quirk to transfer through," her voice trailed off to a whisper and he glanced over to see her face turning beet red. "Anything you felt before Overload is what I was feeling at the time," she continued after clearing her throat.

What she was feeling? Wait, is she-

"Are you… are you scared of me, Ume?" Tamaki demanded quietly.

She grimaced, tightening her hold on her bag straps before glancing over at him. He saw the way her blush crept down under her shirt collar and up her ears.

"No, Tamaki. I'm not afraid of you. I… I didn't want to lose to you. If I'm afraid of anything, I'm afraid of people thinking I'm weak," she frowned, and that determined glint was shining in her eyes again.

"Ume, I-"

"I'm afraid of you thinking I'm weak," she clarified before he could finish his sentence.

Me? Why me, of all people?

"Why?" he managed to whisper, his voice coming out sounding a bit strangled.

"Because…" she hesitated, letting out a deep breath before continuing, "because I look up to you."

There it was again. That feeling in his chest that was heavy and light at the same time. He couldn't name the feeling, the closest he had felt to it was when Mirio had told him that he was what made him strong, that he was what made Mirio shine as bright as the sun. It made him feel brave, and he reached out to touch Ume's elbow. He didn't drop his hand when she stopped and turned to look up at him.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I usually don't do much on weekends," she admitted quietly, peering up at him… hopefully?

"Would you, uh… D-do you want to hang out?" he asked in a small voice, fully prepared for her rejection. "Mirio and Nejire would be there, too. We usually just hang out and maybe play some video games and watch movies," he felt the need to clarify.

The smile she gave him was blinding. If Mirio was the sun, then Ume was a supernova. She lit up the dark spaces deep inside of him and loosened that vise in his chest until it was bearable, until it didn't feel like he was going to crack under the pressure.

"That sounds like fun. Here," she said, offering him her phone. "Put your number in and I'll text you later and we can talk more about it then."

This was certainly weird. Tamaki did not give girls his number. Girls did not ask Tamaki for his number. But he accepted the device and typed in his number, leaving the name space blank after a moment's hesitation. When he handed it back she grinned up at him before turning to head towards her train.

"Sorry! I'm going to be late for dinner!" she called as she hurried off, a grin and a wave thrown over her shoulder one last time before she ducked through the doors just before the train took off.

Tamaki stared at his dark phone screen as he swayed with the movement of the train. For once, he wasn't concerned with the possibility of bumping shoulders with another passenger. He nearly jumped out of his seat when his phone dinged. His shoulders slumped when he saw it was just a text from Mirio

M: So? What did she say?

Tamaki was halfway through constructing his reply to Mirio when he got a second text notification from an unknown number. He fumbled his phone for a moment before finally navigating to the new message.

Unknown Number: I'm home! Text again after dinner.

She actually texted me! What do I say? I've never texted a girl before. Well… Nejire doesn't count. Neither does my mom.

T: Ok C:

He settled for something simple, not wanting to let on how excited he was that she had actually texted him, or how relieved he was that she had gotten home safely. He knew she could take care of herself, of course, but it had been a long day and he knew she was tired.

Flipping back to his text stream with Mirio, he finished constructing his reply and sent it, settling back into his seat contentedly.

T: She'll be there.

M: YES! DUDE! I told you she'd say yes!

And it had been such a weird day, that Tamaki didn't even feel a little annoyed by Mirio's overexuberance.

Sorry this was a day late! Yesterday was wild.

xSteleAliniax: Writing them being awkward together is so much fun lol!