Tatsumaki x Reader

Part 11

     Y/n looked themself over in the mirror. They weren't entirely sure why they felt the need to dress up, since Tatsumaki had seen them in far worse. But for whatever the reason was, there they were.

     After a few more minutes of needless nitpicking, they glanced at a clock.

     2:00.

     Y/n shifted and let out an audible groan. The day had already been going slow enough, and with 3:30 nearing closer it only seemed to slow more. Y/n looked around the room, trying to find anything to distract themself with. Their eyes fell on the console resting in the back corner of their apartment. It had been several months since they had played anything remotely resembling a game.

       They crossed the room and settled down next to the sofa. Switching the console on, a blinding light flashed across their vision before fading to a low dim. Grimacing, Y/n reached for a controller. 

     After a few minutes of warming up, it became clear that they were very rusty compared to when they had played a few months ago. Y/n shrugged it off and began searching for the online fighting tournaments that were often considered the only good part of the game. While waiting in the lobby, Y/n began toying with their watch that was given to them by an old colleague long ago. It was more of a comfort, something they only wore when they felt they really needed it.

     After a few minutes of fighting against the other players, Y/n began to grow bored of the endless amounts of also untalented fighters. It seemed like they all had randomly decided to start playing this game after several months of doing other things. It was only until Y/n reached the last stage that things grew interesting. Standing before them was what appeared to be a women wearing bunny ears. Although rather unassuming in nature, Y/n was aware of how this game worked. Bigger, more stronger looking fighters tending to fall on the weaker side of the scale, while smaller, more weaker looking characters were almost always the strongest and the rarest of the bunch. To get the specific character that they were about to fight, they would have had to level grind for hours, leaving Y/n to assume that their opponent was very skilled in the game.

     All signs were pointing towards this being a serious match, so Y/n sat up straighter and began preparing themself. But before Y/n could even get a punch in, their opponent began attacking. Y/n could tell immediately they were not going to win. They were losing health too much to be able to make up for it, and after about thirty seconds the match was almost decided. 

     It was then that Y/n looked back at the clock.

     3:25.

     Shit. Y/n thought. They scrambled to grab their bag and then bolted out the door. 

     Sprinting through the street, Y/n knew that they were not going to be on time. They cursed at their poor time management skills. Now, Tatsumaki was going to get pissed and think that they were standing her up. 

     Then it occurred to them. What did Tatsumaki think of this meet up? Did she see it as little more than a way to pass time, or did she think of it as something more?     

     Y/n shook the thoughts away. Whatever it was, they were sure that it did not help being severely late. Another glance at their watch confirmed their fears. It was already ten minutes passed the agreed time. They rounded the corner and sprinted toward the park bench. But after a few seconds of frantically looking around, Y/n realized that Tatsumaki was nowhere to be found. 

     Possible explanations ran wild through Y/n's mind. Could she have already left? Or perhaps she never even came in the first place. After a couple of minutes of waiting, Y/n sat dejectedly down next to a nearby swing set. It was then that they realized that the park they had agreed to meet at also had a playground. Y/n studied the swing set, debated how pathetic it would be for a full-fledged adult to be swinging on a swing set built for children. Instead, they plugged their earbuds in and began shuffling one of their favorite playlists. They decided that if a few more minutes went by with no one to show for it, then they would give up and leave.