Category: Friendship Fluff
Characters: Tsuyu Asui, Fumikage Tokoyami
Requested By: AnAnonymousMouse (Ao3)
Tsuyu's eyes watered at the sharp stinging sensation burning in her left arm- and then it was over. The nurse flashed her a pleased smile as she swiftly retracted the syringe and put a cotton ball over the small bleeding puncture wound in the frog girl's arm. She also applied an adhesive bandage over it to fix it in place, and then patted Tsuyu's thigh appreciatively.
"There you are, sweetie. You're such a trooper! You didn't even flinch," the medical professional praised. Though sitting through a flu shot is really no big feat, Tsuyu's cheeks still flooded with a flattered blush. "All right, honey. Your arm may be sore for a few days," she warned. Tsuyu kindly thanked the nurse for her service before hopping up from the small stool so that Momo could take her place. Tsuyu meandered over to the sofas in the common room to sit down, flinching when her already sore arm brushed against the rigid side of the couch. She wasn't kidding when she said it would be sore, she frowned and edged away from the arm of the sofa to avoid another flare of pain.
The students of U.A.'s Class 1-A were currently in their dormitory cycling through getting their annual flu shots. U.A. spared no expense on their students' health and safety, and so the vaccinations were complimentary. They had arranged for the nursing staff to pay house calls to all the dormitories after class that day to administer the shots, and so here they were, in the midst of the process.
"All right, honey, it may sting a little-"
"Just get on with it, will ya? I ain't got all day! It's just a damn flu shot!" Katsuki protested loudly from the impromptu nurses' station assembled in the dormitory's kitchen. The nurse knitted her eyebrows but obediently plunged the needle into the meat of the fiery boy's upper arm, and Tsuyu raised an eyebrow when Katsuki jumped at the unexpected sting.
"What is it, Baku-bro? Hurt more than you thought?" Denki teased from the other end of the table. He then jumped a good four inches off the seat of the chair and yelped loudly when the nurse stuck him while he was distracted. "Owww," he whined and looked at her, clearly feeling betrayed. The nurse chuckled sweetly and applied an All Might bandage to the area, which made Denki grin wide. "Look, guys! She gave me a super special Band-Aid!" he cried as he jaunted over to the sofas, pointing excitedly at the blue-and-yellow bandage.
"Is that because you were a big baby?" Kyoka teased and smothered her giggles with her hand. Denki made a voice and mocked her words with a high-pitch, wheedling voice before flopping down beside Tsuyu.
"I think it's very nice, Kaminari," Tsuyu offered kindly. Denki threw his nose in the air with a haughty huff.
"Why, thank you, Tsu. I thought so too."
"I want an All Might Band-Aid," Izuku pouted and looked down at his arm, where a very plain brown bandage rested. Ochako tutted comfortingly and whipped out a permanent marker to scribble a charming rendition of All Might onto his bandage. Izuku raised his eyebrows and stared intently at the doodle, then blushed the color of a tomato.
"All right…" Recovery Girl, who was overseeing the operation, tutted as she walked around the back of the sofa, checking off their names on a clipboard. She then suddenly frowned. "Wait a second… Where is Fumikage Tokoyami?" A confused ripple of whispers fluttered through the group of students as they looked around the room. Sure enough, their feathered friend was nowhere to be seen.
"Now that's strange," Momo wondered aloud. "He was very much aware that we were getting flu shots today. Did he forget and opt for extra training this afternoon?"
"Nah, I saw him when we were walking home," Eijirou said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Besides, Mr. Aizawa said that all extra training requests would be denied because of the flu shots."
"Where could he have gone?" Ochako frowned deeply as she fidgeted beside Izuku. It was quite obvious that Fumikage was not in the room with them, so Tsuyu elected to rise from the couch and head off for the bedrooms. "Where ya goin', Tsu?"
"To find him, of course," she quipped matter-of-factly. "Perhaps he just forgot and is in his room. I'll go get him." The other students exchanged perplexed glances before shrugging and leaving Tsuyu to it. The green-haired girl mounted the steps to the appropriate floor and tromped over to his door. She knocked a few times and called "Tokoyami? Are you in there? We're getting flu shots today!" She pouted confoundedly when there was no answer. She knocked once more and repeated herself louder; he had a habit of putting on headphones to listen to music, so perhaps he simply couldn't hear her. Again, silence was her only answer. Her hand fell to the doorknob to give it an experimental twist. The metal knob yielded to her turning.
"Tokoyami, I'm coming in!" she announced before swinging the door open. Darkness fled with the oncoming of the light flooding from the fluorescent lights of the hallway. Thick black curtains on the windows kept the room cast in gloom, however. Tsuyu squinted as her eyes struggled to pierce the thick layer of darkness shrouding the bedroom. "Tokoyami…?" she called softly and took a few hesitant steps into the room. She raised her eyebrows when Dark Shadow suddenly slithered out from underneath the bed to blink his ruby-red eyes at her. "Oh! Hello, Dark Shadow."
"He's hiding under the bed," the bird-like apparition informed her pointedly. The thick black rug that covered the wood floor muffled her footsteps as she walked over to the bed. She got down on her hands and knees to peer through the small gap between it and the floor, and Fumikage's wide eyes stared back at her. His red irises were shrunk down, swimming in a white sea.
"Why are you hiding under the bed, Tokoyami?" Tsuyu asked curiously. If she could see the skin beneath his raven feathers, she imagined a heated blush would've overtaken it; with a grunt, he looked down at the floor. Tsuyu watched as he wriggled his shoulders sullenly but refused to comment. "… Are you afraid to get the flu shot?"
"No!" he protested immediately, looking back at her with a savage glare. Tsuyu blinked slowly.
"Well, why else would you be hiding?"
"I- I- godammit- I was… dusting."
"Underneath the bed?"
"Erm… Yes."
"It's still very dusty down here," she remarked as she swept a finger over the floor to find it coated in a thick layer of the gray-white fluffy powder. Fumikage growled unappreciatively at her astute observation. "You weren't dusting, were you?"
"Okay, fine, I don't want to get the flu shot!" he whined loudly. Tsuyu's legs and back were beginning to cramp from how she was crouching on the floor, so she flopped down on her belly and rested her head on her arms to stare blankly at the flustered boy. He clicked his beak angrily a few times. "It's stupid, I know, but I don't like needles! Wh-when I heard we had to get flu shots, I got all hot and sweaty and panicked…" Tsuyu thought back to a few days before when they had been given the announcement. She dimly recalled Fumikage rushing out of the classroom to the boys' restroom as soon as they were dismissed. "S-so today… I quickly snuck up here in the chaos in hopes that my absence may go unnoticed."
"Well, Recovery Girl noticed." He growled angrily again. The wooden slats of the bed groaned as he restlessly shifted against them. "Tokoyami," she frowned, and he whined quietly, already knowing what she was going to say, "you have to go get your flu shot."
"I don't want to," he stubbornly insisted. Tsuyu could not help but giggle; his stubbornness was reminiscent of a grumpy toddler's. As she covered her chuckle with a hand, he stared at her wild-eyed. She gasped when his red eyes suddenly flooded with tears. "It's pathetic, I know," he sniffled and angrily wiped at his feathered face with the backs of his hands. "I just… I can't…" His words fumbled as the emotion thickened his throat. His tears sparkled in the low light as they rolled down his dark cheeks and puddled on the dusty floor. Tsuyu crooned and hurriedly tutted in denial, stretching her arm out under the bed to grab his hand.
"No, Tokoyami, I'm not laughing because I think you're pathetic!" she interjected. "I'm sorry. It was insensitive of me. I just, well… I thought it was actually kind of adorable."
"A-adorable?!" he spluttered bashfully, and Tsuyu nodded with a bright smile.
"Yeah! Why would I think it was pathetic? Everybody has something they're scared of. For example, I'm afraid of salespeople." Fumikage looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Seriously! They're shady, always trying to sell you something, and usually, it's useless or at least not worth the price they're asking." He slowly blinked before releasing a couple of deep chuckles.
"I do believe you made that up."
"Maybe I did, but you can't prove it," she shrugged nonchalantly. Fumikage chuckled again, then released a small sigh.
"I do suppose… I should go out there…" he admitted with much chagrin. Tsuyu scooted away from the bed to allow him room to climb out. Dust rained from his dark clothes as he sat up on his knees, so Tsuyu reached out to brush the clumps of cottony particles from his shoulders. "Thank you for coming to find me, Tsu." Though it was clear he was not thrilled to have to get the vaccination, he did at least seem grateful that Tsuyu had cared enough to acknowledge his feelings. As they stood, Tsuyu offered him her hand.
"I know you're scared, so how about I hold your hand until it's over?" she suggested. It was purely a kind gesture, but Fumikage fluttered his fingers anxiously and whirled around. She blinked as he hunched his shoulders up to the tufty feathers at the back of his head. He muttered something she could not hear to Dark Shadow, presumably to make him cease his quiet chortling. Then, blowing air out of his beak, he whirled around and thrust his hand into Tsuyu's.
"Yes, that would be suitable." He seemed poise, but he squeezed her fingers very tightly, and his arm was rigid. Tsuyu smiled reassuringly before leading him from the room and back downstairs.
When they came down the landing, the other students hopped up to begin loudly questioning them. Fumikage bristled and huddled close behind Tsuyu, using her small frame to hide his slightly bigger bulk. Tsuyu calmly dismissed their inquiries to tote the dark-feathered boy over to the nurse's station. He took one look at the chair at the nurse who was waiting with a capped syringe and attempted to spin on his heel and run back upstairs. Tsuyu held fast on his hand, making his arm jerk back. With gentle words and coaxes, she eased him down into the chair. His back was straight as a rod, and he nervously eyed the syringe as the nurse uncapped it.
"Tokoyami, look at me," Tsuyu quipped. When he refused to do so, she stubbornly grabbed him by the beak and turned his face toward hers.
"Tsu-" he protested, his voice a bit distorted by her grip on the hard carapace. Tsuyu released his beak and flashed him a big smile.
"After this, do you want to go get bubble tea?"
"Ooh!" Ochako quipped, bouncing over to hang on Tsuyu's arm. "Yes! Let's all go get bubble tea! Tokoyami, you have got to try the blackberry tea with strawberry popping pearls! It's so yummy!"
"Bah!" Katsuki scoffed from his seat at the sofas. Though he had his eyes trained on his phone, he was apparently very much listening to the conversation. "You think Feathers is going to go for that fruity girly shit? Nah, man. A plain ol' milk tea'll suit him just fine."
"Sorry, Baku-bro, I don't think Tokoyami is as basic as you!" Denki teased. He scampered away as Katsuki swatted at him, attempting to grab ahold of a few of his golden blond hairs. "The watermelon tea is very good, though," he pondered as he trotted over, tapping his pursed lips with the pad of his index finger.
Fumikage fidgeted uncomfortably in the seat, clearly still unsettled by the vaccination. Before he could say anything, the nurse suddenly piped up beside him.
"All right, sweetie! You're done!" she smiled as she stuck a Hawks-themed bandage to his arm. The bird boy's mouth fell open, and he glanced down to gawk at the bandage.
"I… What? I didn't even feel it!"
"Yes, well, Miss Asui here did a stellar job of distracting you. You have an excellent friend here," the nurse said while gathering her things. Fumikage snapped his mouth shut and side-eyed Tsuyu bashfully. The frog girl beamed triumphantly and squeezed his hand, which she was still holding.
"So, bubble tea?" The boy grumbled something unintelligible as he scratched the back of his neck.
"… The blackberry tea does sound interesting."
"Yay!" The class cheered in unison. The mood instantly soured as Mr. Aizawa sauntered into the room, hands-in-pockets. He looked like he was about to rain on their parade. He stared at them levelly for a moment before pulling his wallet out of his pocket.
"They'd better have coffee flavor."
"Woohoo! Class field trip!" Mina squealed as she dashed out of the door. The students shuffled out of the dormitory while Mr. Aizawa sighed a class' worth of approved outing slips. As Tsuyu toddled along, someone tugged lightly on the pleats of her skirt; she turned around with raised eyebrows to see Fumikage staring sullenly at her.
"Thank you, Tsu, for not making fun of me…" he mumbled. Tsuyu gave him a friendly grin.
"I would never! Now come on. The bubble tea shop has some of those coin gacha games. There's on with a little raven plush; I betcha between all twenty of us we can win one!" His eyes widened at the idea of a tiny bird plushie reminiscent of his black-feathered likeness. Tsuyu grabbed his hand and led him out the door, leaving all fears and inhibitions behind. "Besides, friends are there to support each other, right?" she said after a minute, and Fumikage looked at her in surprise. "I'm glad to be with you in your time of need." He blinked, then chuckle amiably.
"Yes. I'm very grateful, Tsu. Very grateful."