The day of the tournament was filled with chaos. Students were woken up early, taken to breakfast before being tossed into vans that transported them to the arena. The arena was equipped with five decks for seating.The lowest deck was reserved for the competitors (participating and eliminated) while the other four were open for audiences. Underneath the stadium was a labyrinth of rooms and hallways that served as waiting, service, medical, or utility rooms. Due to the sheer size of competitors, the arena floor and the extra field behind the main stadium would be split up into four small-scale stages, eight in total. Each circular stage would be raised slightly off the ground and change terrain according to a randomizer. However, for the actual tournament the stages would be split in half showing two terrains (or one  should the randomizer chance the same terrain twice).

 

Jackson and Mark arrived at the arena focused and ready to go. They put most of their attention on psyching up for the fight (which  meant ignoring whatever emotion was blossoming between the two of them). Eventually, they passed through the opening procedures and found their seats in the first level. All they could do was wait for their turn.

 

Sometime after thirty to forty minutes later a moderator with a clipboard and earpiece came up to them,  telling them that their time was coming. The man led them down to one of the waiting rooms underneath the stadium and told them to sit an wait.

 

“When those doors open, you will walk out on the stage and start when the bell rings,” the mod informed before wishing them luck  and leaving.

 

Mark quietly sat down on one of the comfortable chairs while Jackson started pacing around the small room.

 

“Jackson if yo don't stop moving around I will have to suppress you into a corner,” Mark threatened, Jackson’s motions were making him nervous.

 

“It doesn’t work like that,” Jackson countered and kept walking around.

 

Mark sighed and stood up. He rabbed Jackson and pulled him into a hug.

 

“Jackson, everything will be fine. There’s no way we’d lose,” Mark consoled the boy.

 

Jackson dropped his head onto Mark’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around Mark’s waist, squeezing tightly, “See it’s over confidence like that that get’s people killed.”

 

“Please, Jackson. No one is going to die.” Mark rolled his eyes and patted Jackson on his back.

 

“You never know that…”

 

“Now you’re just being ridiculous Jackson,” Mark sighed and separated slightly from the other boy, “Where’s that super cocky dufus that that was all psyched up about twenty minutes ago?”

 

“I don’t know, maybe he’s still in the stands,” Jackson joked bitterly.

 

Mark grabbed Jackson’s face and smacked his cheeks repeatedly, “Snap out of it moron!”

 

“Alright, alright!” Jackson conceded with a laugh, grabbing Mark’s wrists and pulling them away from his face, “We got this.”

 

“Hell yeah, we got this!” Mark smiled confidently.

 

“Yeah!” Jackson shouted with a fist pump.

 

Suddenly the glass doors on the other side of the room slid open, a green light flickering on above them.

 

“Maybe not,” Jackson faltered.

 

Mark rubbed at his temples in annoyance. Then a glint sparked in his eyes and he smirked. Jackson stepped back a bit, a little concerned for his safety. Mark Grabbed the boy’s sleeve and dragged him to the oors. Once they stood beneath them, Mark swiftly turned and pecke Jackson’s cheek.

 

“Time to fight,” Mark winked before walking up the ramp to the stage leaving Jackson frozen behind him.

 

--------

 

“Nice of you to join me,” Mark commented when Jackson finally joined him on the stage.

 

“What--you! You can't do that right before a match-I- holy crap I'm so distracted now!” Jackson blubbered next to Mark.

 

The other team was already there and giving them funny looks.

 

“Just shut up and I’ll explain later we win,” Mark sighed, eyeing their opponents, “Got anything on them?”

 

“Bell has to ring first, otherwise we’re disqualified remember?” Jackson scoffed.

 

“Alright, Mr.Brainiac,” Mark retorted.

 

“I say we go defensive first,” Jackson whispered.

 

“Alright.”

 

The boys walked to the center platform, a metal disk with a line painted though the middle. They bowed before turning around, back to their initial spots. The stage randomizer spun on a large hologram board to the side of the stage. Suddenly the bell rang and the field burst into life. The male hero on the other team morphed on cue. Quills sprouted from his arms and off the edges of his shoulders and calves and long bone like protrusions from his elbow. He unleashed a line of spikes at Mark and Jackson, causing the two to separate and jump back to avoid the attack. Jackson immediately fell upon his landing. He caught himself before noticing what form the stage had took.

 

“Are you kidding me!?” Jackson shouted angrily.

 

“Jackson stops playing in the mud!” Mark shouted from his position on the opponent's side of the stage, which conveniently morphed into nice and dry mountains, not the quagmire which Jackson found himself landing in.

 

“You think I want to be here?” Jackson growled, eyes catching sight of the opponent hero. He jumped out of the murky water and rolled onto the dry side of the stage to avoid quills. “Why don’t you do something about him!?”

 

Mark quirked an eyebrow at Jackson and waited for the boy to find a place to hide while still in Mark’s line of sight, “Like hell I’m touching him!”

 

“Are you crazy!” Jackson shouted accusingly at the redhead, “You don’t even need to touch him! You’re surrounded by rocks!” He looked over his shoulder and jumped to avoid another spray of quills, “THROW SOMETHING AT HIM!”

 

Mark peeked over his hiding space,watching in amusement as Jackson tried to avoid the hero, “Riiight…”

 

Mark quickly dislodged a rock about the size of his fist and threw it at the Quill Boy, hitting him square in the temple. The boy fell to the side, caught up in the momentum of the hit. The lack of quills on his head offered no protection as he fell on the uneven ground. Jackson Had jumped to a taller rock and watched as the Quill Boy lost his balance and fell from the steep surface. He hit the ground, caught in between two boulders. Jackson peaked over from his standpoint to check if the boy was still conscious.

 

“Oh my god, don’t kill anyone!” Jackson shouted over to Mark.

 

“He’s not dead…” Mark rolled his eyes and hopped from rock to rock to reach his partner.

 

He landed on the same peak as Jackson, however there was so little space that he ended up slipping. Jackson quickly caught the boy around the waist and pulled him back up.

 

“Hopefully.” Mark added, voice quiet as though it were only an afterthought, eyes caught on Jackson’s face. .Mark cleared his head of  his distraction (Jackson) and stepped over to another rock,“We still need to push him off.”

 

“Wait,” Jackson stopped Mark from moving closer, “Where’s the sidekick?”

 

Mark stopped and looked around, but he couldn't see much.

 

“She’s probably waiting for us in the swamp. It’s easy to hide in and we don't know her quirk yet,” Jackson postulated.

 

“But why would she leave her teammate out in the open?”Mark asked, eyes still scanning the field.

 

“I don’t know,” Jackson answered, “Go take care of the quill kid, though I still wouldn’t touch any part of him…” Jackson cringed, “Wasps can still sting when they’re dead.”

 

Mark gave him a questioning look.

 

“He smells bad too,” Jackson shrugged.

 

“Of  all the things you could have done while he was attacking you, you chose to see how bad he smells. Not rate him or anything…” Mark sighed, “What are you?”

 

“Awesome, that’s what I am,”Jackson scoffed, “now go get him I’ll  watch your back.”

 

Mark hopped down from the rock and carefully moved over to the body of their opponent. Jackson stayed on the small peak, keeping his eyes on the swamp. There was a flash of black amongst the green and brown of the stage. Jackson followed the movement, zeroing in on the opponent sidekick. A girl with straight and long black hair and wide eyes peeking out from behind a cyprus tree.

 

“Mark,” Jackson alerted his partner, “I found her.”

 

He used Rate on her while he still has eye contact. She was a three and her quirk nightmare. Stats scrolled past his eyes, but then were suddenly washed over with black.Jackson lost balance and , hands immediately coming up to wipe it away.

 

“Jackson!”

 

Jackson whipped his head to the side where he heard Mark’s cry. He looked up to see Mark on the ground and the Quill boy standing above him.

 

“Mark!” Jackson shouted and jumped up, ready to defend his partner.

 

Mark sprung up and s launched himself at the Quill Boy, taking him by surprise. The Quill Boy jumped back, using defensive techniques to ward off Mark’s attacks. Jackson watched in surprise as Mark, who wouldn’t go near the quill quirk earlier, attack with ferocity. Jackson looked back over to the quagmire to find that the sidekick had disappeared.

 

“Jackson! A little help!”

 

Jackson turned back to the fight beside him and saw, not one but two Mark’s fighting the Quill Boy.

 

“What the hell is going on?” Jackson stepped back in shock.

 

One of the Mark’s noticed him and Sprung away from the Quill Boy, launching a punch at Jackson.

 

“Woah! Mark! What are you doing? Why are there two of you?” Jackson yelped and dodged the Mark doppelganger's attacks.

 

“Two of me? What are you talking about?” came Mark’s reply, but it did not come from Mark’s mouth.

 

‘What?’ Jackson thought as he dodged another attack.

 

He kept an eye on the Mark he was facing, while watching the other. The Mark fighting Quill Boy had sloppy attack techniques that didn’t match the Mark he knew and trained with. the Quill Boy, it seemed, was the superior fighter and he wasn’t even using his quirk.

 

“Mark!” Jackson shouted, ducking past another punch, “What did you do to me before the match?”

 

“What does that have to do with anything right now?!” the real Mark shouted.

 

“Just answer the damn question!” Jackson growled, grabbing his Mark’s fist and turning them around.

“I kissed you!” Mark shouted angrily.

 

Suddenly everyone went quiet. Both Mark’s froze and the audience quit cheering. The only noises that permeated the silence were the sounds of the battles next to them.

 

“Woah really?” Mark No.1 asked, looking between quill boy and Jackson.  

 

Quill boy promptly punched him in the face and then threw him off the side of the stage with almost superhuman strength.

 

“Now that's my Mark,” Jackson smiled and twisted Mark No.2’s arms behind his back and dragged him to the side before pushing him off with with a comical wave.

 

As soon as Mark No.2 hit the ground Jackson was able to see clearly.  Instead of being a bunch of Mark’s,  quill boy and his sidekick lay on the ground rubbing their bruises.

 

“And that's how we roll!” Jackson sang happily, throwing his hand up to high five Mark bit the other boy refused, “Aw come on man.”

 

Mark glared at Jackson and stalked off the stage via a platform leading to underneath the arena. Jackson brushed It off and followed Mark happily. The two boys were escorted to a medical room to check for injuries. Having no serious ones, they were allowed to leave quickly and set free for the rest of the day as the remaining contestants had to fight.

 

The two found themselves sitting in a random Chinese restaurant slurping on noodles. It was a quaint little Mom-and-Pop type of restaurant with tables and red vinyl booths. Jackson looked up from his food to a silent Mark with a questioning stare.

 

“So are we going to talk about that pregame routine or are we going to ignore it like usual?” Jackson asked simply.

 

“I was awake that night,” Mark informed quietly, unable to look Jackson in the eyes.

 

“Ok.”

 

“Ok?” Mark’s eyebrows raised.

 

“Ok. The statement doesn't change even if you're awake,” Jackson explained, slurping noodles as if it helped confirm the statement.

 

“Oh, well, good then,” Mark nodded.

 

“Good.”

 

“Good.”

 

“So are we-” Jackson tried to ask but was cut off by Mark's snort.

 

“God, why is this so awkward. Just come here,”Mark frantically motioned for Jackson to come sit by him in the booth.

 

Jackson obediently followed the gesture, quickly sliding into the booth next to Mark with a wide smile. Mark wasted no time and fisted the front of Jackson’s shirt, pulling the boy close. Mark fit his lips over Jackson’s in a slow and simple kiss. Jackson melted into the kiss instantly. H gently wrapped an arm around Mark’s waist and draped the other over the top of the booth seat. Mark shifted his hand from Jackson’s shirt to the boy’s neck. They separated only moments after their initial contact but it felt as if it were hours. They kept their faces together, basking in each other's warmth. Jackson then leaned forward and pecked Mark’s lips again, grinning into the kiss. Soon, someone cleared their voice behind the boys. Mark jerked away from Jackson, pushing him to the back of the booth. Jackson turned his head with a rosy blush and sheepish smile.

 

A displeased waitress  stood at the end of their table with a water pitcher in her hand, “Do you want more water, or are you two sharing enough?”

 

“Ah, no- I mean, we're good...um, thank you,” Mark stuttered a reply and the waitress shrugged before walking off, muttering under her breath “I don’t get paid enough for this job.”

 

The boys sat in an embarrassed silence as the waitress walked away. Jackson couldn’t help the jubilant giggle that passed by his lips, though. Mark couldn’t help but follothe infectious lugter, a smile full of pure joy stretching across his lips. However, remembering the library moment many months ago, they quickly schooled their features, choosing to settle in the booth next to each other.

 

“So I guess this means we're boyfriends, right?” Jackson asked, biting his lip and giving Mark a suave look.

 

Mark laughed at the expression, “Yes, so put the smoulder away.”

 

Mark covered Jackson’s face with his hand squishing the boyos smiling cheeks between his thumb and pinky. Jackson Mark's palm, causing the boy to shout in disgust and yank it away. Jackson stuck his tongue out teasingly, reaching over Mark to steal some of his leftover food.

 

“I take it back. I don’t want to date you,” Mark grumbled as he wiped his hand on Jackson’s shoulder.

“Too late, babe,” Jackson winked before pecking Mark's cheek.