Darkest Shade of Blue- Tamaki X OC

Chapter One

Hi folks! This is my first time posting on this site. But you can find me on AO3 under the username of BlastTyrant!

I just want to start this off with some warnings. This story will contain discussions of mental health, depictions of mental breakdowns, sex, death, and major bodily injury and trauma. Please be mindful of this as you read. 

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Tamaki sat with his arms folded on the top of his desk, chin propped on his forearms and gazing wistfully towards the window. He knew Nejire was prattling on next to him, but he couldn't find it within himself to focus on what she was saying. Throughout the whole school day he had fought the urge to let his eyes slide one row up and a desk over, where a curtain of iridescent silver hair shimmered in the late afternoon sun, hiding a smattering of freckles across sun-kissed cheeks. He knew it would just distract him, and he couldn't really afford that right now. Not if he wanted to keep up with Mirio.

Now all of the other students were milling about, packing up, chatting aimlessly while he fought to force down the suffocating feelings of inadequacy and anxiety that constantly threatened to swarm his mind and tighten his chest. He allowed himself these short moments at the end of the day, watching her hand glide across her notebook as she finished writing her notes for the day, knowing that one glance at her was enough to loosen the vise grip and slow his racing thoughts. He knew he wasn't close enough for her quirk to be having any effect on him without her actively pushing it out, but the sight of her still calmed him.

A large frame slid into his line of sight, blocking his view. He allowed his tired eyes to slide up to his best friend's face with a dejected sigh. Mirio peered down at him, arms crossed over his broad chest and his trademark grin under a blond head of hair.

"Whatcha lookin' at, buddy?"

Tamaki buried his face into his arms, hoping to hide the blush that flooded his cheeks, though he knew the pink tips of his pointed ears were poking out of his shaggy hair.

A muffled "Nothing" escaped from the indigo haired lump as the periwinkle haired girl next to him turned her blue eyes to Mirio.

"Leave him alone, Togata," Nejire chided softly. "You're blocking his view!"

"His view?" Mirio asked, before catching the hint and glancing over his shoulder at their silver-haired classmate. "Oh! Sorry, Tamaki!" He chuckled, moving to sit in his seat to the left of Tamaki.

Tamaki slowly raised his head until his eyes were visible over the wall of his arms, sneaking another glance at the shimmering iridescent hair a couple of desks away.

"Why don't you go talk to her, Tamaki?" Nejire prodded from his right, her upbeat voice quietly supportive.

Tamaki groaned anxiously, the blush creeping back onto his cheeks as he hid his face again and shook his head furiously.

"Nejire is right! She's really nice!" Mirio spouted encouragingly.

When it became apparent that the indigo-haired boy was beginning to shut down, Mirio smiled mischievously to himself. He could fix this. He wanted to be a hero, right? And he knew Tamaki had always considered him his biggest pillar of support. Sometimes being a hero meant minding other people's business instead of your own! His mind made up, he leaned precariously out of his desk and across the aisle, reaching out to tap a shoulder draped in silver waves.

"Hey, Ume!"

She peered around at him curiously with light pink eyes, obviously not expecting to be interrupted.

"Mirio? What's up?" she asked, a curious smile quirking her mouth as she watched him settle back into his seat, chin propped innocently in his hands.

Tamaki risked another peek at the sound of her voice, the corner of one eye just visible above the crook of his elbow.

"Oh you know, we were wondering if you wanted to go study with us!"

"Us?"

"Yeah! Me, Nejire, and Tamaki!" he explained, motioning down his row of desks to the other two.

Tamaki promptly shuffled his head back down into his arms, surely his ears would melt off if he didn't stop blushing soon.

"We're going to that café down the street! Nothin' gets the old noodle motivated like some sweet treats!" Mirio enthused, poking his forehead rapidly with his pointer finger.

Ume giggled, never tiring of her classmate's antics.

"I have to go see Recovery Girl, but it shouldn't take long. I can meet you guys there?"

Recovery Girl? Was Ume ill? Had she been injured during training earlier?

"Sounds good! We'll save you a seat!" Nejire called from her chair, waving her hands happily before turning to gather her things.

Tamaki heard everyone shuffling around him for a few moments, and the classroom door slide open and shut. He let out a shuddering breath but kept his head down, giving his blush more time to recede.

"Is it safe? Is she gone?" he finally questioned, arms wrapped snuggly around his head and hands clenching at his shoulders.

"All clear, buddy!" Mirio chirped from beside him, rising from his seat and hauling his bag onto his shoulder. "But come on! We better get going if we want to get a booth!"

Reluctantly, Tamaki left the safety of the cage of his own arms and reached down next to his desk to pick up his own bag. He didn't want to risk another glance at her desk, just the thought was enough to cause the heat to rise up his neck again.

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There was a short scuffle over the seating arrangement when the trio reached the café. Mirio quickly rushed ahead to sit in the booth and pulled Nejire down beside him quickly. Tamaki jutted his jaw stubbornly and gripped the strap of his bag until his knuckles were white. Why did his best friend have to drag him into situations like this?

"Mirio. I don't- Nejire, just sit over here so I can sit next to Mirio," he begged quietly.

"No way!" Mirio crowed, latching onto Nejire's arm to prevent her from moving. "You'll never make new friends if you don't try!"

"I don't need new friends," Tamaki grumbled, giving up the fight and plopping down into the booth to scoot close to the window.

"I think Mirio's right, Tamaki!" Nejire quipped from across the booth, blue eyes bright as she peered across at her quiet friend. "Plus, Ume is really nice! She's really easy to be friends with!"

No sooner had Nejire finished lauding the other girl's praises, than Mirio waved frantically at the door, his smile growing wider.

"Ume! Over here!"

Tamaki, panic stricken, could only watch frozen in place as she approached them, smiling widely. Her nose was doing that cute little crinkling thing it did when she was really happy. She plopped her black backpack into the booth next to him before greeting them.

"Hey guys!" She offered them a quick wave before turning away. "I'm just going to grab a snack and I'll be right back!" She called over her shoulder as she walked away.

Tamaki groaned and his head dropped to the table with a thunk, cheeks burning.

"She said hey to me," he mumbled, turning his head to watch her place her order.

Across from him, Mirio chortled and Nejire giggled. Tamaki just groaned again and turned his eyes back to the table top, clenching them shut and bringing his hands up to cover his burning ears.

"They had strawberry mochi!" Ume exclaimed, pushing her bag under the table and taking its place next to Tamaki in the booth. "It's my- Oh. Amajiki, are you ok?"

Tamaki shuddered and just grumbled inaudibly in reply.

"Don't mind Tamaki, he's just shy!" Nejire informed Ume, hiding her grin behind her hand.

"Not helping," Tamaki choked out miserably.

He wondered how long someone had to blush before they would spontaneously combust. There had to be a time limit, right?

"Oh, um. Ok," Ume replied, letting her gaze linger on the indigo-haired boy beside her for a few seconds before looking across to Mirio. "So, what did you guys want to study today?"

Tamaki took advantage of her shift in attention and sat back up, reaching under the table and rifling through his bag to find the correct textbook and notebook.

"We wanted to go over hero laws and regulations!" Mirio replied quickly. "We're supposed to have a test Monday before we start our work studies, right? So, we thought it would be a good idea to go over everything before then!"

Ume nodded in agreement and reached down for her bag, fingers brushing the back of Tamaki's hand. He jerked his hand away quickly, slamming his things down onto the table top. Ume froze and peered over at him curiously.

"S-sorry, Sasaki," Tamaki managed to squeak out, cheeks flushing again.

"It's fine. I think that was my fault actually," she amended softly, pulling out her own school supplies. "Sorry."

The four of them turned to their textbooks and notes after that, their table quiet. Occasionally, someone would ask a question about a certain regulation or the date that a law was passed, but for the most part they studied in silence.

Ume could feel how wound tight the boy next to her was. His emotions crawled under her skin and made their home in her chest until she thought she would suffocate under the weight of his insecurity and frustration.

Should I use my quirk to help him? I know it's technically against the rules, but no one would know.

She focused on Amajiki in her peripherals, noticing the crease in his brow, his hunched shoulders, the way he constantly chewed his bottom lip. Making up her mind, she focused on clearing her mind and reached her quirk out to him. She saw his shoulders relax a bit and his brow smooth over and felt her lips pull up at the corners. Just a little bump to help.

After about an hour, Mirio swept his belongings into his bag and stretched his arms over his head with a loud groan.

"Time for me to hit the road! Gotta get home for dinner!" he informed the group at large, patting his stomach enthusiastically.

"I should probably go, too." Nejire agreed with a yawn and began to pack her things away.

"What about you, Ume?" Mirio questioned.

"My parents are working late," she answered quietly, waving his question off, eyes never leaving her textbook.

Tamaki started to panic. They were leaving him alone with her?! He watched his friends stand to leave with wide eyes, silently begging them to save him. Mirio didn't seem to notice at all, and Nejire just grinned mischievously and wiggled her fingers in farewell. He watched them leave anxiously, before sneaking a glance at the girl next to him. She was still focused on her book, not paying him any attention. This was fine. He could do this, right? They were just studying together. And his friends were right, she was nice.

"Th-thank you," he uttered quietly, staring blankly down at his textbook and ignoring the heat creeping up his neck.

"Hm? For what?"

"For..." He glanced over at her again only to meet her pink eyes and his words caught in his throat. He cleared his throat and tried again. "For earlier. Y-your quirk."

She smiled, it was small and didn't crinkle her nose. She turned back to her book and tucked her hair behind her ear, and- were her cheeks pink under those freckles?

He felt the beginnings of a smile tug at his lips and turned back to his work, not minding his own blush for now.

After another hour, Ume groaned from beside him before pushing her books away and slumping in her seat. Her hands came up to massage her scalp before she pressed her palms into her eyes.

"I'm done. The mochi here is good but the booths make me feel like I'm 90 years old."

Tamaki huffed a laugh, silently agreeing and began packing away his things as the girl next to him did the same. They were both careful not to accidentally brush against each other this time. The duo scooted out of the booth and Tamaki swept their trash off the table and deposited it into a trash can on their way out the door.

Say something, he urged himself silently as they walked down the sidewalk. This is so awkward.

"Recovery Girl," he blurted suddenly.

"What?" Ume asked quizzically, turning to look at him.

"Uhhh. Earlier. You said you had to-" He couldn't finish his sentence, reaching a hand up to rub at the prickling sensation at the back of his neck. "Are you, uh- Are you ok?"

"Oh! That. Yeah, I'm fine! I had to drop off some paperwork, I'm doing my work study with her," Ume replied, looking forward once more.

"I didn't know you could work study at the school," he mumbled, watching his feet.

"My quirk is useful for keeping people calm, it can really help when someone is injured." Ume shrugged. "I wanted to focus on rescue work, but none of the agencies I contacted were interested. I didn't do that well at the Sports Festival, and I don't really have a flashy quirk so..." She trailed off, sounding disappointed.

"I wasn't expecting to get scouted," Tamaki muttered. "I didn't do that well, either."

"You're going to Fat Gum, right?"

Tamaki nodded, wondering how she knew that. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and noticed she was blushing again.

"I think you'll do great, Amajiki," she uttered softly, flashing him a small smile.

"Tamaki," he breathed, turning his face away to hide behind his hair. "Call me Tamaki."

"Ok, Tamaki. Call me Ume."

His chest felt tight, but it wasn't the overwhelming crushing dread he was used to. This felt heavy and light at the same time. He had never liked the sound of his own name as much as he did as they approached the train station.

"Goodnight, Tamaki." Ume smiled at him before heading to her train.

"S-see you tomorrow... Ume."

She turned back with a wider smile, this one crinkled her nose, and she waved before stepping onto her train. He felt a small, tentative smile creep onto his own face as her train departed and he sat down to wait for his.

So, maybe all of Mirio's ideas weren't that bad.