Chapter Text
it was the weekend, finally managing to finish all your work for school before it got too late to feel bad for not having anything done. that meant you could freely stay up late playing games, and maybe even spend sunday training.
you booted up your computer, instantly faced with the gray interface of discord. a few notifications from servers and the private messages with your friends. you first checked class 1-a’s personal chat.
deku!: does anyone want to go on call?
denki (lighting emoji): yeah what r we playing
deku: oh not for games, for studying!
denki: wtf is wrong with you
deku: sorry hehe ^^
you smiled at the messages between your friends, seeing that deku, uraraka, and momo were all in a call together, appropriately titled ‘study stream!!’. you debated in popping in to say hi, but you were positive they were deep into work.
denki, kirishima, and jiro were all playing minecraft. you would join but... not a minecraft type of night, you wanted some fps action. you eyed the pm waiting to be read at the top of the screen.
ten: hey u wanna play today
:or whenever ur off school i mean
you grinned, eyes lighting up and fingers instantly typing away.
y/n: ofc ten-kun!!!! is apex fine? i’m feeling very grind to diamond tn
before you could even click out of the tab to open up the actual game, ten was already typing back. a simple ‘yeah’, his status changing from blank to apex legends.
grabbing your headphones with a working mic, you placed them over your ears and plugged it into the jack, starting up the game and joining the call your friend started. as always, he was quiet, only the sound of shuffling around and the wire of (what you presumed) his own headphones hitting against something.
“hiii, ten-kun!” you said softly, close to the mic.
“hi, you.” his wasn’t ear-rumbling deep or anything, but it definitely gave away that he was older than you. however, he had that signature gravelly and groggy tone that assured you he wasn’t twice your age or anything. for as long as you’ve known him, he hasn’t indulged you in much personal information.
you always wondered what he looked like.
“jeez ten-kun, are you seriously rich or something?” you gasped at the new skin he had equipped, it was just released in a bundle that was not so affordable, to say the least.
“what?” he muttered, a light laugh to his voice.
“you bought both of us the battle pass, you buy the whole item shop whenever it refreshes, and you buy me skins too! you’re loaded dude!” you readied up and waited, happy to be playing with ten. he’s really good at games and isn’t afraid to play comp, unlike some of your classmates or other online friends.
“it’s called a job, when are you going to get one?” he teased.
“i’m still in high school! plus, we’re going to some big training place, so maybe heroes will come observe or something, then i’ll get one.”
mentioning that you were still young and in school never put ten off, at first being a sort of warning to the stranger you met online that you were underage. now it was clear that he didn’t care if you were 16, he didn’t have any bad intentions. he just liked playing with you, you were ‘surprisingly good’, that’s all it was.
“really? where to this time?” ten asked, spamming voice lines.
“why don’t we drop hot spot?”
“no, i meant where are you going, with the school? idiot.” he sighed, dropping hot spot anyway.
“oh,” you giggled. “some place called usj or something? usg? i’m not really sure, i didn’t pay attention.”
ten tapped at his keyboard, satisfying smooth clicks of each cap, but his character wasn’t moving. you ran up to him and punched him, sending him off the small cliff he stood on.
“why the hell did you do that? i can’t climb back up.” he groaned, and you only laughed as you looked down at him. the two of you continued to play for a couple hours, racking up competitive points and nearly finished the battle pass.
“-and then aizawa literally embarrassed me in front of the class, it was so fucked up.” you were telling ten about the situation you were in yesterday in class, where aizawa basically exposed your failing assignment for the class to see.
“i would hate to have him as a teacher,” (so he is a student? maybe a senior?) “is he coming on your little field trip too?”
“hey! not some little field trip, and yes. all might too, which i’m admittedly kinda excited for too.” ten hummed, and you pictured him nodding. you wondered who his favorite hero was, he always avoided the question.
more typing without anything happening onscreen, it’s been happening a few times.
“ten-kun, is your keyboard broken?”
he was silent for a while, all noises halted. “yeah. sometimes it just stops working so i have to spam.”
“you buy me all these things but can’t buy a new keyboard?” you teased, and he laughed sarcastically.
when the day to go to the training area came, you were excitedly texting your friend on the bus ride there.
i’m really excited!! hope it goes well, we can talk with the others maybe after!
ten: ofc. lowkey wish i could see u, but i’m stuck at home today
;(((
you did want to see him, to see exactly who the funny cool guy was behind the screen. it was cheesy, but you really did want to meet him. even your other friends, most of them mutuals through ten. you all met through another game you all played, teamed up together after one random match and all became regular playing buddies, they were fun and understanding and you even trusted them.
so when villains attacked that day, you confided in ten the next time you were online, which was too many days too long.
“i-i’m sorry... i shouldn’t really talk about it much but... i’m sure you’ve seen it on the news.”
“yeah,” ten sighed. “i did, are you alright? did you get hurt?”
“just a few scrapes and bruises... my teacher got seriously hurt though, but i was luckier than some of my other classmates.”
“if i was there, i would’ve protected you... and your friends.”
you sniffed, smiling and curled up in your blanket tighter. “thank you, ten-kun. i bet you would, with your mysterious quirk.”
he chuckled. “sure would. ahh, it sucks that we really can’t meet up now.”
“yeah, i would really like to meet you and the others. even a video chat would be cool, i don’t know.” you felt a bit guilty always prying ten for his appearance, but a few of your other mutuals have already dropped their personal instagrams and even sent pictures of themselves. all except ten.
“aren’t you on like- probation now? especially being in ua?”
you pouted, even though he couldn’t see. he avoided your question again. “yeah. for a while, just to be safe.”
“figured that much, be careful, y/n. i don’t want you getting hurt or anything.”
“okay, ten-kun...” you whispered softly, eyes fluttering closed to the sound of his voice. the occasional typing and soft whirr of a fan in the background was strangely comforting, his occasional sniff or even soft curse at the game he was playing.
it was comforting, just hearing him be there with you. so comforting you fell asleep on the phone with him.
ten-kun the anticipation is killing me!! send us a picture of your new outfit!!!
rokiroki: yeah ten-kun~~~
ten: kill yourself
ten: not u y/n
your smile lit up at the mirror picture that was suddenly sent to the group chat, gasping and instantly clicking on the attachment to inspect closer. an all black outfit, camera angled down so his face didn’t show up. ten-kun was pretty lanky, bony pale hands and shoes that looked huge on him because of his thin ankles.
the picture in your mind became a bit clear.
“ten-kuuooooh shit!” you were about to tell ten the news, nearly dropping your juice all over your desk.
“what?” he sounded like he was angry at you.
“w-what? i’m sorry ten-kun, is this a bad time?”
“oh... no, my bad, i wasn’t talking to you... uh, what’s up?”
you let out a relieved sigh, calming your erratic heart and started to inform your friend about what was happening. the sports festival was going to be held, how you wanted to do your best and how...
“you want me to come watch you, is that it, y/n?” ten gave a quick laugh through his nose. you were surprised how quick he was able to catch on to you.
“i mean, if you want, you know... free to the public, and we can finally meet! bring your friends too!”
“that’s a terrible idea. bunch of neets coming to a high school to watch teenagers? i think we’d get arrested just for being near the school.” ten sighed, his chair creaking, so you assumed he was leaning back in his seat to stretch.
so maybe he wasn’t quite your age.
“did you ever do a festival?”
“nah. i’m sure you’ll do good though, win for me, y/n.”
and with that in mind, you didn’t exactly drop out of the festival, nor did you make a huge name for yourself. but ten had all sorts of questions he wanted answered by you.
ten: holy shit why do they have that kid chained up like that
y/n: idk ;( they’re kinda humiliating him at this point
ten: that’s actually fucked
: especially broadcasting it everywhere. they’re making themselves look bad
y/n: who? bakugo?
ten: nahhh
: the heroes. seems unheroic to me to lock ur student up for no reason.
you tucked your phone away when all might started to hand out medals, looking at bakugo worriedly as he stood up there to be probably ridiculed. you didn’t know the full story as to why he was acting like that, but it had to be for a reason.
“t-there has to be a reason, why the fuck would this happen?!” you paced around your dorm, panicking to your best-online-friend about bakugo being kidnapped.
“calm down y/n.”
“dude, he was just here yesterday, and now he’s been taken by some fucking villains or some shit-“
“don’t cry, y/n. it’ll be alright. the heroes will find him, surely.” ten was more hushed and quiet than usual, he wasn’t on his computer, that much you could tell. you sniffled on your line anyway.
“i think i’m gonna join my friends on the rescue mission, that’s doing what’s right, right?”
silence.
“right, ten-kun?”
“don’t come.” there was some ruckus in the background, his mic occasionally going on mute and back on.
“what?”
“don’t risk your life just because they want to do something stupid.” a knock at his door and a distant ‘yeah yeah, i’ll be right there’. “anyway. i have to go- don’t do anything stupid, y/n. i don’t want you to get hurt.”
“o-okay, ten...” your lip quivered and heart sank when he ended the call, wishing he was able to stay on the phone longer to comfort you. your classmate was just kidnapped, you really needed his reassurance! well, you also had your very concerned real-life friends but... ten was different, you knew he was. he always had good advice and stories and opinions on things- not the company-approved 'the heroes will take care of it!' talk your friends always gave you. even though... that’s what he just said...
you stared down at your phone with wide eyes, finding it suddenly hard to breathe. ten had been inactive for what felt like forever, but he was suddenly back, in the server like nothing happened. like he hadn't been offline for weeks on end and no activity, no messages to you.
ten: new season came out lets queue
y/n: where have u been!!!!!!!!! :0000
ten: oh lol
ten: doing big boy things you wouldnt understand little girl
rokiroki: lul
OFAxAFO: dont be mean to little y/n-chyannnn!!
you joined the call anyway, your calling out to ten overshadowed by the shouting of the other three people in the call, arguing about which skin was hotter or which character was nerfed this season. you became quiet and just played with them, waiting for the next opportunity to talk to ten patiently.
and so your chance came when ten pretended to get off the game just to put you and him in a private call.
“i missed you, ten-kun! where have you been? we were without a dps for so long.” you cuddled up in your bed, hugging the spare pillow close to your chest. ten chuckled, he had a whole new demeanor to him.
“missed me? what do you mean, missed me?”
“you know... just missed playing with you and stuff. w-without you i actually got my work done at school, haha.” your small laugh fell short, it was true. you used to spend so much time talking with the guy, but now it felt weird. you didn’t want it to be weird. you wanted ten to miss you as much as you missed him.
“you sure that’s it? didn’t miss me in any other way?”
your breath hitched, finger stopped scrolling through your social media, and that unmistakable feeling in the pit of your stomach.
“h-how can i miss you like that if i’ve never seen you in person, or know your name...”
“you tell me,” he was in a really intense teasing mood, apparently.
“i just missed your voice,” there was no point trying to hide it. “like talking with you, and stuff.”
“it was pretty boring not talking to you while i was out. my coworkers just aren’t like you.”
you smiled, burying your face into the pillow.
“i bet... so, a-about what the guys were talking about earlier, the stuff about sending pictures?”
“what about it?”
“h-have you ever done stuff like that?”
“nah,” ten answered smoothly. he huffed, like he just fell back onto a bed. “don’t have any girls in my phone to do that.”
“you have me.”
“what?” ten bursted out laughing, and you felt all the shame and embarrassment rise up to your face. you were stupid for saying that, for thinking that was appropriate to say to some random dude you met online that’s probably was older than you and not interested in high schoolers.
“have you ever done that?” ten was calmed down now, breathing a bit heavier as he waited your response.
“no... not really interested in the people from my class.”
“from your class? are you interested in anyone else?”
“t-ten-kun... that’s...” your face felt like a million degrees. his voice was shooting straight to your stomach, making your thighs rub against each other.
“cmon y/n, you can tell me.” you closed your eyes and imagined that he was whispering directly into your ear, holding you against the wall.
“i think i like you, ten-kun,” you finally spilled. “and even though we’ve never met or anything like that- just this past year of knowing you and playing with you all the time... i think i got some stupid crush on you...”
ten was silent, and you wanted to fall into the floor after your confession. the earlier rush of excitement was quickly fleeting and once again being replaced by shame. he probably thought you were weird or gross, and he’s never going to-
“me too, i think.”