Spinaraki Week 2020 Day 2: Touch

Spinaraki Week 2020 Day 2: Touch

To Soothe This Aching Body

When Shigaraki can’t get into the stasis tank on his own, Ujiko sends someone in to help him get there. Or, Spinner is worried and Shigaraki tries (and fails) to tell him that everything’s fine.

~~~

When Doctor Ujiko said he would be going through “four months of pure hell”, he didn’t really think too much about how realistic the description was gonna be. After all, he had already walked through hell and back at least eleven times by this stage of his life. But as the initial surgery drew to a close, and Ujiko ordered him to stand up while he began preparing the stasis tank for the next part of the ordeal, Tomura found that he couldn’t move.

Technically he could wobble his body back and forth in spite of the extreme pain, but his legs weren’t doing jack. He found this out by trying to leave the surgical table, only to fall off the damn thing and land with his limbs sprawling about like a rag doll. Perfect. Now what?

He couldn’t get up by himself, and Ujiko certainly wasn’t gonna help him stand since the old man’s weight was far more fat than muscle. He was considering trying to crawl his way over until he saw the doctor fiddling with Johnny. Looks like someone else was gonna have to scrape his body off the floor and dump him in the tank. He wondered who the lucky helper was gonna be.

When Ujiko left the room and the black storm of goo cleared up, the helper was revealed to be Spinner. Good, someone who gave a damn about him for being something other than a lab rat. He should say hi, it’s been a long month –or was it two?– and he was happy to see one of his loyal friends for the first time in forever, especially Spinner.

Well “hi” was apparently the wrong greeting because Spinner was freaking out over him as if he was already dead, a freshly murdered corpse just waiting to be discovered. To be fair, he certainly felt like a corpse.

“How did you get on the floor like that? I thought you were supposed to become god-like or something after the surgery! Why are you bleeding out on the floor?!” As the scaled swordsman shouted at him, he was simultaneously hauling ass over towards him, quickly scooping him up in those thick, muscular arms of his.

Judging by the reaction, lightening the mood would probably be good for Spinner’s mental state, so he decided to try that.

“That’s because this is just the first part of the surgery, I gotta wait until everything comes together at the end. This first part also practically tore me limb from limb, rearranged my intestines, and mostly just did an absolute number on my body. So, my legs decided not to work, and now I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.”

Huh, it looked like Spinner was choosing to ignore him in favor of placing him back on the table and cleaning his wounds. Attempting to at least, since he knew there wasn’t much anyone could do at this stage.

Well, if humor didn’t work, he could try explaining how everything was gonna be fine after this was all over. So, he started talking about exactly that: how this was nothing, the pain was worth it, he was gonna get all the power he needed to make sure he could give Spinner and the rest of the league anything and everything, whatever they needed to live as they saw fit. He even added how once he was done, Spinner would never have to suffer again, not if he could help it, and that all of this was for Spinner and the league, all for them.

It was the look of bewilderment in those pretty pink eyes that finally helped him realize that Spinner most likely had no idea what he was saying, and that he probably looked like a babbling lunatic to him. Wow, he really was out of it. Nonetheless, Spinner remained steadfast by his side regardless of his inane rambling, carefully wiping the blood away with gentle hands, touching him with a sort of reverence he’d never experienced before.

Later, Ujiko reentered the room, telling them that everything was ready with an impatient tone. Spinner picked him up and followed the doctor to a room covered in tubes and wires, with the stasis tank standing dead center. The swordsman carried him over, taking great care to mind his wounds. Please, as if he couldn’t handle a little more discomfort. They reached the tank, and Spinner switched from holding him bridal style to safely cradling him in one arm, using his quirk to climb up the glass. Once they reached the top opening, Ujiko gave out the last instructions. 

“Alright, just go ahead and drop him in, then I’ll lower the oxygen mask down and he’ll be all set.”

He braced himself for the drop, knowing he could probably take it even with all the bruising and bleeding, yet the drop never came. Instead, Spinner climbed down into the tank the same way he had climbed up it before. The oxygen mask was subsequently dropped down, and at this point Tomura tried to make a grab for it before having his hands coaxed back down. Having had enough with this coddling, he decided to call Spinner out.

“It’s fine,” he unintentionally whispered, voice hoarse from the month of screaming and the previous babbling. He took the opportunity to look straight at Spinner, despite the headache that came with moving his head, “I got it. I’ve had worse.”

And it once again looked like the wrong thing to say, as Spinner sharply turned towards him with a frustrated expression and shouted, “That doesn’t mean you need to put up with it!”

Oh, Spinner heard him this time. And now his friend was sighing, so he did his best to perk up to let him know he was listening right back.

“Knowing you can handle the pain doesn’t mean you automatically have to,” Spinner softly spoke, returning to the task of adjusting his oxygen mask. “I don’t even know if you’re all there, if you can even think right with everything going on. Shiga– Tomura, y-you keep rambling about how you’re gonna make sure we don’t suffer anymore, but it’s like you can’t see how much you’re suffering right now. Just… you’re doing so much for us, for me, so let me do something for you. Let me ease your suffering, even if it’s probably not by much.”

Oh.

Tomura actually felt a bit warmer after hearing that, a bit less tense and more relaxed. It felt like it was –no wait yes it really was– genuinely nullifying all that bodily pain. He tried to remember the scientific explanation behind what was happening, something about dopamine maybe, but he was too far gone to think about much of anything at this point. Either way, he already concluded that Spinner really was amazing, able to alleviate aches with some heartfelt words and soothing touches.

His train of thoughts halted as he felt Ujiko’s magical mystery solution rise up the tank, soon enough surrounding both him and Spinner, though not enough to prevent the scaled man from coming up for air. Even as the solution filled most of the tank, Spinner refused to let him go, choosing to hold him close as they floated in the solution and he began to go into stasis.

He could feel his heartbeat start to slow down, and he knew that it would only be another minute or so before it would cease to beat altogether. The whole time he was losing his consciousness, he continued to feel clawed fingers tenderly running across his scalp, tangling through his unruly hair. He could also feel the other hand rubbing his back to relax him even further, and the brush of a scaled beak nuzzling into his cheek and the crook of his neck.

As his heartbeat finally came to a stop, he felt a light pressure on his temple. He had just enough time to realize that it was a kiss before falling into the void.

Here is the PLF meeting table:

There is one empty chair as seen next to Re-Destro. Since this scene happens right around the time Shigaraki starts his surgery, and assuming Geten is in the seat Hawks is blocking, that empty chair is Shigaraki’s.

Now you may ask why Shigaraki would want to sit next to Re-Destro of all people? However, the answer of Shigaraki’s placement at the table has nothing to do with Re-Destro, but is instead influenced by where someone else is sitting.

Take a look across the table from Shigaraki’s seat and who do you see?

Spinner.

Sitting directly in the center of Shigaraki’s hypothetical field of vision. Shigaraki chose that seat for the sole purpose of having the excuse to stare at his scaley boyfriend and not pay attention to anything else. Who cares if Re-Destro is acting obnoxious when Shigaraki can just tune him out while admiring Spinner.

TLDR: Shigaraki chose his seat specifically so he could look at Spinner. Spinaraki confirmed.

Spinaraki Week 2020 Day 3: Emptiness + Harmony

Closer Than Close

All For One is a quirk with a massive arsenal, and while discussing what lies after destruction, Shigaraki and Spinner discover that one of those quirks can bring them closer than ever.

~~~

It had been a few weeks after the war’s start in Jakku, and Tomura Shigaraki was still trying to count and mentally catalog the quirks All For One had stolen for his arsenal, quirks that were now his own to wield.

While he knew how most of them worked from seeing his master use them, Doctor Ujiko had mentioned before the surgery that there were at least two dozen quirks that hadn’t been used in over a century. According to him, these quirks were from some of the first generations of quirks, and had been previously taken or given away by All For One to gain the favor of his followers. Once he got his empire, the quirks quickly became useless relics that were left to metaphorically collect dust within the storage unit of his master’s quirk.

Despite the perceived uselessness Ujiko described, as long as they remained stored within him, Shigaraki saw no harm in at least figuring out what the quirks were and how they worked.

For now however, he was taking a break from his investigation at the insistence of Spinner, who had all but dragged him outside for a walk in the field by their newest hideout instead of their usual routine of playing video games until 2:00 in the morning. To be fair, Tomura didn’t really put up much of a fight about the change of plans as he would’ve if someone else had tried to force him outside for fresh air. What as he supposed to do? Deny himself the pleasure of hanging out with his crush?

 Hell no! He was gonna let Spinner take him by the wrist and lead him to the field –where they’ll walk side-by-side and talk about everything and nothing and maybe hold hands? he could dream– and he was gonna enjoy it.  And neither Ujiko insisting that he was straying from his destined path, nor the disappointed voice of his master in his head denying that he even had the emotional capability to feel this way about others, was gonna stop him from doing otherwise.

 ~

 So there they were, walking through the tall grass, kicking at the occasional rock, and badmouthing Re-Destro’s dumbass “survival of the fittest” mentality.

 “I mean, if I remember my science class in high school correctly, natural selection mostly works depending on how suited someone is to the environment. So, what the hell are they gonna do if they end up somewhere that renders their “superior” quirks useless? How strong is Geten in a desert, or Re-Destro if he’s given mandatory therapy sessions?” Spinner sarcastically questioned. Wow, Tomura could listen to that rambling for hours, letting him fill in the empty spaces with chatter. Going outside was a great idea now that he could watch the way the sun reflected iridescently on his scales, and fully brighten his rosy eyes.

 “Absolutely nerfed, all of them,” Spinner concluded, “and honestly I don’t know how they were gonna support a future like that!”

 “Well aren’t you smart, smarter than a CEO apparently.” Tomura slightly smirked in victory at getting Spinner to blush a bit before he kept going. “Mr. Bigman was so gung-ho about his future that when I told him I didn’t need a future myself he blew up! Like he doesn’t know that people have other priorities besides his version of a paradise.”

 “Wait, you told him you didn’t need what?”

 Tomura turned his head to Spinner, and saw that he looked a little concerned. Was it something he said?

 “Well yeah,” Tomura said, deciding to elaborate was the best way to ease his loyal companion’s mind “I never really pictured anything happening after I destroyed the heroes and their messed-up society, maybe I’d die straight afterwards, maybe I’d just wander around for a while. What I do know about what I want for the future is for the league to get what they want, you included. An empty space where the only things that exist are what makes you happy, a world where everything you wish for is right at your fingertips.”

 Satisfied with his own answer, Tomura started to walk again, realizing as he kicked another rock that he could probably start preparing for that paradise now.

 “While we’re on the subject, do you have an idea of what you want? Some more swords? A costume upgrade? If you still wanna meet Stain I can probably plan a jailbreak and grab him. Just make sure you keep him away from me, yeah?”

 Tomura was not expecting to have to spin around in order to see Spinner’s reaction, nor was he expecting Spinner to be standing exactly where he last saw him, a look of apprehension on his face. When he met Tomura’s inquisitive gaze, he startled back a step before quickly blurting out, “Oh! You don’t have to worry about that, I’m fine. My wish isn’t all that important anyway.”

 “Not important? Spinner, my friends’ wishes are just as important as my goal of destruction at this point! You… know that, right?” Tomura headed back to where his loyal lizard was seemingly rooted in place, continuing to try figuring out what was wrong. “Come on, what’s the actual problem? I’ll get you whatever you want, no matter how stupid you think it is.”

 “That’s not the problem!” Spinner exclaimed, taking a second to sigh and gather his thoughts before finally explaining himself, his scales tinged pink once again.

 “It’s… my wish is… I just want to see that dream of a beautiful horizon come true. I wanna see your dream come true, a–and I wanna be there to support you along the way, ease your burden a bit. And yeah, I know you’re probably fine with that, but I’m starting to realize that my wish is… corrupting.”

 Tomura had followed along and was definitely happy that his secret, scaled sweetheart wanted to help him out however he could, but he raised his eyebrows in curiosity at the last part. “Corrupting? How so?” he asked.

 “Well, it used to be just wanting to help with your dream, but then it grew while you were having the surgery. Now it’s more along the lines of… closeness. I wannna stay by your side, even after the war is over. Forever if you’ll let me. I wanna wander with you, if–if that’s your plan after the destruction is finished. I wanna do more of what we’re doing now: just walking and talking about anything and everything. I… I wanna be the one who makes you happy! But I don’t think I can– don’t think I should have that! It’s such a selfish wish to make from you, to force you to fill the void in my hollow shell of a body! Isn’t that crazy? Isn’t that the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard?”

 Of course it was crazy, but Tomura wasn’t gonna tell him that, especially when his wish –if he somehow survived his goal of destroying hero society– was practically the same thing.

 “Come on,” Spinner continued, his breathing starting to pick up as his volume became louder,

“Shoot my wish down! Before it mutates into something even worse!”

 That rapidly shook Tomura out of his thoughts.

 “Something like what?”

 Spinner was visibly shaking now, and while a part of Tomura was starting to get excited at the very real possibility that his crush felt the same way he did, the rest of him was upset to see Spinner in emotional pain, the bleeding heart Tomura had hidden 15 years ago beating harder than ever before.

 “I don’t know but please, please just make me stop! Tomura, shut me up already!”

 Upon hearing Spinner start to hyperventilate, Tomura’s body moved without thinking, stopping only a few inches before he could crash into his crush, and grabbing Spinner by the forearms with both hands in four-fingered grips of habit. As soon as Spinner met his red eyes, Tomura took the moment of undivided attention to make absolutely sure that Spinner wouldn’t give up the dream they unknowingly shared.

 “Like hell am I gonna tell you to stop! It’s your wish, and besides, if it’s growing into what I think it is, then let it! Don’t you dare stop, not when I would grant it in a heartbeat! Not when I want to grant it!”

 He saw the fog of panic lift from Spinner’s eyes, saw how the look on his face slowly switched from dread to awe as he fully processed what Tomura had just said, saw the way the scales on his cheeks turned from green to a pink that matched his big, beautiful eyes. He barely managed to catch how quickly Spinner leaned up and swiftly leaned down himself to press their heads together, simultaneously pressing their bodies just as close as they wrapped their arms around each other.

 And suddenly, Tomura couldn’t see anything. And neither could Spinner.

   But Tenichi could.

 Tenichi could see pale hands with claws for nails and splashes of iridescent scales like symmetrical patchwork, at least up until the arms were covered by a white hoodie with a bright blue polka dot pattern. He could see red combat boots and dark colored jeans. Moving the hands upwards, Tenichi could feel sticky finger pads brush up against even more scales around eyes that, upon observing with a phone’s camera feature, were two roses of pastel pink irises and blood red pupils. With the camera, Tenichi also saw slightly wavy and messy hair, bone white with smatterings of pretty pink.

 Most importantly than the strangely harmonious appearance, Tenichi could see the memories, experiences, and emotions of both his components: Tomura and Spinner –no– Tenko and Shuichi. He could see the denial of self that made up the majority Tenko’s life, from his birth family to his master. He could see the intense bullying that left Shuichi numb to the pressure to become a productive member of a society that didn’t care about his well-being. He saw their respective forms of emptiness, and how each one unknowingly filled the other’s void.

And just like that, it was as if neither component had been hollow at all.

 ~

 Later on, when taking the time to look back, it was easy to see why the quirk “Fusion” was never used. What need did All For One have for a quirk that relied on emotional connection when he mostly worked alone to stand at the top, with even his closest associates held at an arm’s length and often left behind once they outlived their usefulness. In that same vein, it was just as easy to realize just how powerful this quirk could be now that its user had been replaced, now that it was in the hands of someone whose success was tied to the bonds he had with his allies. However, for the time Tomura and Spinner remained fused, all these musings were nonexistent.

 Tenichi took him time trying out his newly-born body, practicing two separate fighting styles. The whole time he messed around in the field, he let his thoughts run as wild as he body was, with some gems including “I have to show this to everyone but how do I even start explaining this to the league?” and “I bet I can take on all the remaining heroes like this, maybe even take care of all the personal grudges to as a side quest!”

 As Tenichi lay on the grass, outwardly quiet and inwardly tossing around several trains of thought, wrapping his arms around himself in a singular yet simultaneously all-encompassing hug, the one thought that most clearly summarized what both of his halves felt was how good it was to finally feel whole.

 How neither of them needed to worry about being hollow ever again.

Spinner’s speech to Toga automatically went to #1 in my top favorite moments from the manga. Thank you, Horikoshi, for proving that ✨The League of Family✨ is valid 💖

C’mon AFO, you’re distracting him!

Spinaraki Week 2020 Day 5: Free Day

A Shelter (From Pigs on the Wing)

A Spinaraki song-fic based on the second part of the song “Pigs on the Wing”.

~~~

You know that I care what happens to you

 The second Re-Destro said that he had money, therefore confirming that Mr. Compress would get his precious sushi, Tomura Shigaraki immediately tuned everything out in order to focus on staying up on his feet. Once he was sure he wasn’t going to pass out now that the fighting was over, Shigaraki took the chance to look up at the edge of the crater he had created mere moments ago. It was now crowded with members of the MLA that had managed to escape the decay, and more were arriving by the minute, there was even a van parked up close by. And next to that van was Spinner, his look of awe clearly visible even from a distance.

 In an instant, Shigaraki’s adrenaline spiked up once again, and with that burst of energy he stumbled towards the van, barely keeping himself from crumpling to the ground. Just as the mangled man lost the ability to go any further and started to fall, he was caught and carefully lowered down by scaled and muscled arms, the grip adjusting to hold his broken body gently while mindful of his injuries.

 While Shigaraki struggled to keep his crimson eyes open, still possessing that boyish spark Spinner had come to treasure seeing, the swordsman grabbed a handful of his scarf and tried to stop the blood from pouring out from what remained of Shigaraki’s left hand. His fixation on providing some damage control was broken by the voice below him, now raspier than ever and barely audible, asking him a single question:

“Is everyone alright?”

It took a moment to process what was asked, but Spinner was quick to assure him. “Yeah, we’re okay. I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Spinner said, lightly squeezing Shigaraki’s left hand as he did so.

It wasn’t enough for his leader however, as he shakily moved his free hand to brush his long fingers against both the cut on Spinner’s left side and the bruise on his right cheek before letting it fall back down and warily asking, “Are you okay too?”

 Touched by the concern, Spinner softly smiled, readjusting his hold as he stood up and started making his way towards the MLA medics swarming the scene.

 “Yes Shigaraki, I’m alright, I promise. Just a couple of flesh wounds. Go ahead and rest up, I can take it from here.”

 With that promise of his priceless league, and his precious Spinner, surviving this mess of a battle safe and sound, Shigaraki finally let his eyes fall shut.

 ~

 And I know that you care for me too

 The smell of sterilization was what jolted Shigaraki awake, panicking that he somehow ended up in Ujiko’s lab and was already being experimented on without his consent. However, the feeling passed as quickly as it come once he forced his heavy eyes open and saw a layout that looked nothing like Ujiko’s hospital. It was a bit brighter, no bloody instruments abandoned mid-surgery and lying around waiting to be cleaned off in the doctor’s downtime. The was a fluffy pillow under his head, a soft blanket over his torso… and his favorite human lizard resting his head on the mattress.

 Spinner was gently holding Shigaraki’s now bandaged left hand as he slept, his face relaxed yet slightly creased in a worry that had followed him into sleep. But as much as he wanted to wake him up to destroy that worried expression and start celebrating their shared victory, Shigaraki had completely run out of energy from the month and a half of fighting a giant and an army back to back. So, with little energy to spare before passing out yet again, he rubbed his remaining fingers along the scaled hand clutching it, hopefully broadcasting his steadfast refusal to leave Spinner behind into the swordsman’s subconscious.

 ~

 So I don’t feel alone

 Even after Shigaraki was allowed out of bed, Spinner stayed glued to his side, making it his job to support Shigaraki in any way he required, and even when he wasn’t technically needed at all. Bringing him food, making sure he too breaks between meetings, and sometimes acting as an extra pillar when the cane wasn’t enough to do the job.

 He also tagged along to every session of occupational therapy Shigaraki was reluctantly forced to go to, encouraging him every time he made even the smallest bit of progress on regaining the function of his battered limbs.

 A year or so ago, Shigaraki would probably have killed anyone who refused to leave him be for this long, but now he found a sense of comfort in the fact that his sweet, self-appointed cheerleader never left him alone for long, becoming a steady constant in the strange new world of the PLF.

 ~

 Or the weight of the stone

 The meetings between the lieutenants of the PLF discussed more and more serious topics as time went on. What were the specifics of their invasion plan? Who was stationed where? What strategies would be used to most efficiently complete their takeover?

 With each meeting came more arguing, and with more arguing came a larger burden of stress that was dumped onto Tomura as he tried to figure out the best course of action. On top of these meetings, Tomura was also getting debriefed on his upcoming surgery by Dr. Ujiko, adding even more stress with the prospect of having to not only suffer through hell for months on end, but having to leave the league behind at the same time.

 Luckily, Spinner had gotten better at noticing the signs that Tomura was becoming too tense, the small tremors of his body and the twitching of his hands as he mentally restrained himself from reaching up to dig into his own neck giving his inner turmoil away. Every time it looked like it was getting to be too much for his dearest friend, he’d reach out and squeeze the boney hand with his own sticky ones. It always warmed his heart to see the tension bleed out of Tomura, and watch as his shoulders shrugged off the weight of the thoughts holding him down.

 ~

 Now that I’ve found somewhere safe to bury my bone

 Today had been long, and both Tomura and Spinner were excited to cast off their responsibilities and reward themselves by playing the video games they had recently bought with the PLF’s money. In a matter of minutes, they had turned Tomura’s executive suite into a paradise of junk food and new releases, buried within the pile of pillows and blankets that served as their make-shift fort, though it resembled more of a comfy nest than a strategic fortress.

 The villains turned gamers started off with some competitive games, but soon moved on to multiplayers, the entire time slowly inching their way closer to each other. By the fourth game, Tomura was leaning on Spinner as if he was the only thing keeping him upright. Spinner himself was more than happy to lean right back and enjoy the contact of his scales to Tomura’s scarred skin. They just kept playing within the relative safety of their pillow fort.

 ~

 And any fool knows a dog needs a home

 After a few hours, Spinner felt Tomura’s weight fully press into his side, and looked over to see that he had dozed off. Taking a moment to pry the controller out of Tomura’s grip, Spinner reorganized the blankets and pillows and began to tuck his beloved warrior king into bed.

 He placed the head that thought up brilliant plans in the span of seconds onto the pillows, rearranged the arms and legs that propelled its owner ever-forward into a more comfortable position, and changed the bandages on the hands that could destroy with a single touch, yet simultaneously reached out to abandoned societal garbage like himself and treated him like treasure.

 Spinner finished by pulling the blankets up to Tomura’s chest, stopping to brush some of his pale hair away from his beautifully blemished face, and slowly made his way off the bed to put away the disks and console…

 A shelter

 …before a bandaged hand stopped him in his tracks with a tug on his shirt. Turning around, Spinner could see slivers of red gazing sleepily back at him, beckoning him to come back. Climbing back onto the bed, the scaled swordsman maneuvered his way beneath the covers, quickly snuggling into Tomura’s arms at his silent insistence. As if Spinner could deny anything from Tomura, the same way Tomura wouldn’t deny anything for Spinner.

 A declaration of war was already underway, there were thousands of people they didn’t know surrounding them on all sides, and the heroes could potentially discover and attack their new base at any moment. But despite all of that, here, settled within each other’s arms, it felt as though no enemy could come close to reaching them.

 From pigs on the wing

~~~

Thank you to everyone who read this and my other works for Spinaraki Week 2020. I really do adore this ship, and the chance to both celebrate it and contribute to its growth was enough of a motivation to push me into writing fanfiction of any kind for the first time!

If you have the chance, I’d also check out the song this last fic was inspired by, as I personally think it’s a very sweet love song that captures the feeling of “the world sucks but I’ll be fine as long as you’re here with me” that I always associate with the interactions between Shigaraki and Spinner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMBI9aApoik

Thank you all again, I can’t wait for the next Spinaraki Week!