Gift for: PeterChan

Gift from: ????

Title: Everyone Wants to be a Superhero

Pairing: markson, Ninja! Yugbam and implied JJP

Words: (boy if I though the first one was a monster) 26,302

Pg-13 for language

Warnings: just some good natured fighting/poorly written fight scenes, childish insults and typos


Note: HIIIIII!  So sorry this took so long, as you can probably guess I'm not your original gifted!  But look on the bright side,  if your first one had sent in a gift you wouldn't have gotten this 26,000 word gift randomly in the month of March! Hopefully you'll love this just as much if not more than I do.  For real, some parts of this are my prides and joys. Really, this is the longest fan fiction I have written to date and honestly I cannot thank you enough for inspiring me. Honestly, though, I don't feel like it's finished.  I wanted to put an epilogue but with the deadline I decided not to. When I upload this later to my personal account,  then I will add it (so hopefully you'll look for it there). So thank you and happy super late holidays...happy st.patricks day?

Everyone Wants to be a Superhero

 

“Zero.”

“What? No way. What about her?”

“Two.”

“Nice--ooh! How about him?”

“Five, definitely a five.”

“Seriously? That's really high for students!”

“Are you kidding me? Im Jaebum is freaking scary. Plus, he's in hero class 4-A. Of course he’s a five. He's pure fire power.”

“Mr.Wang…”

The three boys, whom were lounging in the main hallway during break, jumped at the sound of the deep voice behind them. The aforementioned boy turned around with a sheepish smile. He ran a hand through his bangs out of habit (from trying to seem innocent). Yet despite the many times they had been caught in a similar situation, his two accomplices tried to run, but we're held back by an invisible force (per norm).

“Hello Principal Lee…” Jackson Wang, a common source of entertainment for the students at Fight School, chuckled guiltily.

“And what exactly would my rate at the moment be, Mr.Wang?” the principal frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, voice dripping with displeasure.

“I'd say about an eight point five…” Jackson shrunk back from the imposing figure, “You know, I kind-of need to start heading to class, it's on the other side of school.” Jackson spoke quickly while backing away slowly.

“That sounds phenomenal.” The principal smiled soullessly, “Oh, and please take Mr.Bhuwakul and Mr.Choi with you.”

The principal dropped his arms and the force holding the two boys dissipated, leaving them stumbling to gain control of their bodies again. Jackson nodded eagerly before grabbing both boys by the arms and dragging them down the hallway.

“Oh my god. I would have peed my pants if he hadn't frozen me,” Kunpimook gasped as he caught pace with Jackson. The boy laughed at the absurdity of the situation, fixing imaginary fly-aways in his dirty blond hair and speed-walking in stride with Jackson’s run.

Youngjae had a bit more trouble with Jackson dragging him but eventually righted himself and slowed the other two to a walk, “I can’t believe I didn't hear him coming.”

“All the noise from the hall probably messed with your bat-ears Jae,” Jackson snickered while Kunpimook cackled at the analogy.

“I don't have bat-ears!” Youngjae squawked and covered his ears with his hands, pouting at the other boys before speed-walking ahead of them in discontent.

Jackson and Kunpimook rolled their eyes at the Enhanced Hearing Quirk before falling back in line with him. The trio pushed through the crowded main hall to the west wing of the school where the majority of their Quirk Classes were. This area of the school was commonly known as the Strategy Hall. The upstairs half of the west wing was the Sidekick Hall. The majority of Youngjae’s classes were upstairs while Jackson and Kunpimook shared Analytics’ Studies on the ground floor.

Jackson and BamBam (as Kunpimook so cleverly nicknamed himself) are known as Analytics. Analytics are a category of the less-than flashy quirks, or superpowers as some would say. They tended to a more strategic type of quirk rather than powerful quirk, but no less dangerous.  They have their own strengths that they use to pick apart others’ and the use them against them. Analytics, however, must not be confused with Sidekicks. Sidekicks are grouped as minimal Power Quirks, meaning they have quirks that are somewhat power oriented but lack the force to be called a hero. Yet, Analytic mental capacities make up for what they lack in force. For example, Jackson has the quirk known as “Rater,” a very high level quirk of its own.  With his quirk, Jackson can rate the abilities of other people at a glance. This rate encompasses everything about the person: their quirk, intelligence, strategy, control, etc., and scales it between 0 - 10, with ten being the most dangerous. Along with his mental abilities, he has an innate sense of strategy including how to ramp up one’s abilities. And since his quirk is mostly mental, Jackson, unlike most of the Analytics in the school, learned ways to defend himself physically to make up for the power gap. This makes Jackson one of the most powerful Analytics of the school, not that he really knows (or shows it).

The three boys ended up being late to their classes, despite their attempts to run from the principal (not to mention, walking Youngjae to the stairs might have added to their travel time). Jackson and BamBam entered their classroom in the middle of their teacher giving the morning announcements. BamBam silently went to his seat after apologizing to the teacher, but she held Jackson back.

“Mr.Wang, I would have hoped that you would be a better role model for the other students...” Mrs. Kwon, a rather terrifying mixture of eagle-sight and an innate sense of strategy, raised an eyebrow at the blonde and frowned.

“Sorry Mrs.Kwon, I guess punctuality isn't part of my quirk,” Jackson smirked shamelessly, shrugging his shoulders.

Mrs.Kwon sighed and massaged her temple with two perfectly manicured fingers, “Please take your seat so that I can start class.”

Jackson winked before sliding over to his seat (which had been moved to the front so that he didn't get distracted by rating his classmates) and plopping down in it after tossing his bag on his desk. He slumped down in his seat and stretched his legs out under the desk, crossing them at the ankles.  Mrs.Kwon sighed again at her brightest (yet stupidest) student's posture before closing the classroom door and walking back to her desk.

“Now,” Mrs.Kwon spoke with a contrarily cheery tone, “I have some very exciting news. As you know, in the real world many Analytic-type quirks pair with a Power-derived quirk. At the end of the semester the Hero Team Alliance School is sponsoring a competition for entry into their advanced program. The competition is not required, however should you want to, you must have a partner. Now, as Analytic students, is highly unlikely for you to get far on your own, so over the next few months we will be teaming up with Power Class every few days or so-”

The students were shocked by this information. Whispers burst throughout the room as they turned to each other excited about the news. Jackson sat up straighter in his seat, intrigued by the information. The Analytic Class had never teamed up with the Power Classes before, probably not since the last time the competing was held at Fight School. Yet, it definitely made sense. Out in the cities, heroes and even villains would find themselves a Sidekick or Analytic to aid them in their endeavors. Providing a place for them to meet and learn together was practically the purpose of the Fight School (as well as really hoping they all end up heroes in the end…).

“Quiet, quiet!” Mrs.Kwon smacked her desk a few times to gain their attention again, “Like I was saying, we will team up with the Power Class so that you may gain experience based learning as well as find a partner for the competition. It will start next Thursday.  Meet in the courtyard during this class period.” Mrs.Kwon informed before changing to a more serious tone, “But let me give you some advice ahead of time: Take this time to get to know all of the power Class students, however, don't go shopping for the most powerful.  In order to be a good team, you must be emotionally connected as well as having complimenting quirks. Each student has something to offer to another, no matter how strong they think they are.”

Mrs.Kwon’s eyes scanned across the room, taking in all the students’ expressions. Her eyes fell to Jackson who held her gaze for a moment before she looked away.

“Now! Back to class!” Mrs.Kwon clapped once before turning to the board on the front wall of the classroom.

‘Emotionally connected, huh…’ Jackson wondered to himself, ‘Wonder how that’ll end up.’

----------

The lunchroom was bustling with conversation as Jackson found his usual table by the wall of windows. By now, all of the students had been informed of the impending competition and it seemed to be the sole topic of conversation--for the whole school.

“So, are you going to do it?” BamBam asked as he sat next to Jackson, dropping his tray on the tabletop in front of himself.

“How did I know you were going to ask that?” Jackson rolled his eyes and nudged the younger boy in the side with the elbow jokingly, “But I don’t know. It would be awesome but it would depend on who my partner is.”

“Does it matter?” BamBam snorted before attacking his lunch tray, “I mean, really? Fighting and finally getting to use our quirks to do something! It’s friggin’ awesome!” BamBam exclaimed through a mouthful of noodles.

“It’s not that simple…” Jackson sighed and shook his head at the younger blond.

“You do know that if you win, you’re pretty much stuck with your partner for the rest of your lives, right?” Youngjae deadpanned, making his appearance at the table.

“Yeah, whatever,” BamBam grumbled as Youngjae took the seat across from him.

“You need to be strategic about it, right Jackson?” Youngjae countered, asking the elder student for affirmation.

“Yeah, like Mrs.Kwon said ‘be strategic about it.’ Like, imagine me teaming up with the Ice Prince Jinyoung. He’d freeze me solid before I even got a word out.” Jackson shuddered at the thought.

“If Jaebum didn’t burn you to a crisp first,” Youngjae muttered darkly.

“But, man, wouldn't it be great to team up with him? He’s the strongest kid in the Power Class! Even Jackson hasn’t seen anyone stronger than him!” BamBam pressed.

“Do you honestly think he’d team up with you?” Youngjae scoffed, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

“You’d be better off with someone else, trust me.” Jackson nodded, “You need to partner up with someone whose quick compliments yours by either working with it or safeguarding your weaker points.”

“Which is a lot, considering all you can do is speak computers,” Youngjae added while pointing his chopsticks at the Techno Quirk.

“Haha, Batman,” BamBam growled with a clearly unamused expression on his face.

Youngjae was about to defend himself (and his ears) when a loud clatter broke through the sounds if the cafeteria. Everyone in the room went quiet when they saw were the noise came from. Students started to climb on top of seats and tables to watch the situation unfold. Some student even used flying-ability quirks to float over the other students. Youngjae, BamBam, and Jackson found that they would have to join them in order to find out what was happening.

“What's going on? I can't see anything.” Youngjae stood up beside their table, trying to get a clear view, “All I can do is hear what's happening!”

“Yeah, well so can the rest of us,” BamBam snapped as he climbed on top of the table, “Hey, who's that red haired kid?”

“Who?” Jackson asked before climbing up after BamBam, searching the sea of students for the aforementioned ‘kid.’

“Man, things are about to throw down,” BamBam joked, ignoring Youngjae’s pathetic whining about being left in the dark.

Jackson looked above the heads and caught a glimpse of the student's red hair before someone else moving and cover his view. He snorted angrily, curious about what was happening, all the while cursing his own height. He almost gave up until he heard Jaebum speak again and he shifted to find a viewpoint.

“Are you out of your mind!? Watch where the hell you're going, freaking pleeb.” Im Jaebum hollered, angrily wiping food from his white uniform shirt.

Standing in front of him and presumably the culprit of the incident was a soft-red haired student in a similar uniform save for the black jacket he wore over his shirt. The boy just stared at Jaebum, body tense but not making any attempt to ameliorate the situation.

“Are you just going to stand there?!” Jaebum growled as his neck turn red and smoke started rising from his jacket sleeves.

The student looked over Jaebum, seemingly trying to hold himself back, before turning around to walk away. There were a few students who couldn't keep their gasps of surprise at bay. No one walked away from Jaebum. Infuriated, Jaebum’s sleeves erupted into flames, burning the fabric and food alike.

“I swear if you don't turn around right now, punk, I'm going to really make your hair red,” Jaebum snarled, voice stressing the ‘really.’

Yet, the student still didn't turn around. Instead he took a deliberate step in the opposite direction.  Jaebum snarled and held up a burning hand, ready to release a fireball on the student. Everyone around them gasped and shrieked, some quickly ducking out of the way or hiding behind bags or tables. However, Jaebum’s fire would never make its mark.  A figure pushed through the crowd and grabbed Jaebum’s arm. Hissing sound sounded as steam rose off Jaebum’s hand. Soon the fire was put out and Jaebum grumbled angrily as he was met with the beautiful and stone-cold face of the Ice Prince, Park Jinyoung.

“Save it for class Jaebum. Weakling like him aren't worth your time,” the boy sighed, not letting go of his friend's arm.

Jaebum grunted to appease the Ice Quirk and let Jinyoung drag him to their table.

With the situation under control, the students began to file back to their tables and continue to eat their lunch. Jackson and BamBam dropped down from the Tae and gave Youngjae confused shrugs when he asked what had happened. Youngjae grunted unhappily and plopped down in his seat before chowing down on his food. BamBam followed the older boy and began eating his lunch, eventually bringing up a test that he had to take later in the day and groaning about how Jackson was a terrible friend for not warning him before he decided to take that class. Jackson rolled his eyes, barely paying attention to the other's grumbling. He too sat down, but instead his mind wandered off to the boy from earlier.

‘He must have been really confident or really stupid...probably both’ Jackson consider as his eyes lazily wandered over to the windows, just to have a place to look.

His thoughts carried on for a bit, his friends not noticing his uncharacteristically silent demeanor. Then, something passed through the edge of his vision outside the windows. His eyes focused on the object and he nearly recoiled in shock.

“Holy crap…” Jackson whispered to himself.

Sitting beneath a tree in the Lunch Yard (a section of the courtyard portioned off for eating lunch and lavishly decorated with trees and bushes for protection) was the red haired boy. Well, sort of red. Jackson coked his head to the side unconsciously as he studied the boy silently. He looked to be rather tall, but he'd seen taller. His skin was light tan and that dull red hair he'd seen earlier.

Suddenly something else flashed before his eyes. It was something invisible to anyone but Jackson: his quirk. Words and tiny icons sprinted across the surface of his eyes. Abilities, powers and more flooded his sight until all that was left was the ghostly imprint of a number ten, there and gone like the aftereffects of a camera flash.

<><><><><><><><><>

It wasn't until the next day that Jackson would see the red haired student.

‘I should just call him Red,’ Jackson thought as he left his final class for the day.

He didn't share his final class with any of his closest friends, so he was able to break away from the crowd. He really didn't like going back to the dorms yet, preferring to mill around and organize his thoughts. He began thinking about yesterday's events; it seemed to be the only thing in his mind.  From the competition to that boy, his head was swimming. He ended up walking towards the library. He turned into the hall before stopping in shock. Opening the door to the library was Red. Jackson squawked, flapping his arms like a surprised bird, and duck back behind the corner where the two halls connected.  He dropped down to the floor and poked his head around the corner.

“Agent Wang to mission control - target in sight. I repeat. The target is in sight,” Jackson whispered into his wrist as he watched Red close the library door behind him, “The target is moving. I will follow. Wang out.”

Jackson jumped up and sprinted over to the library door. He crouched down and peeked over the bottom edge of the door window before deeming it safe to “infiltrate.” Once he was in the library he immediately scanned the floor. Most of it was filled with tables and chairs for students to sit at and read or work. There was a large, dark oak librarian desk on the wall perpendicular to the entrance.  The librarian's office poked out from the wall and met the desk from behind. On the wall opposite to the door was a single row of long shelves that went from one corner to the next. On the wall perpendicular on the right was a staircase that led to the upper level of the library, which was filled with row upon row of shelves and computers. Not seeing red amongst the few students seated at the tables, Jackson decided that he'd look amongst the first floor shelves. He toiled through the shelves as if he were browsing for books, slowing to peek around corners when he changed shelves.

At one point when Jackson changed shelves, he heard footsteps behind him. Jackson quickly grabbed a random book off the shelf and held it in front of his face, not bothering to open it. He peered over the top of the book to see a level 1, Sidekick student (indicated by the single yellow stripe on her jacket cuff). The girl gave him a weird look before holding out her hand to Jackson with an expectant look on her face. Jackson quirked an eyebrow at the girl before realization struck.

“Ooh...here,” Jackson handed the book to the girl who snatched it from his hand with a huff before stalking away.

Jackson frowned slightly, a little scared of the girl’s reaction. He shook his head and let out a breath. He had a task to do. He continued walking in between the shelves until he came upon the second to last shelf. He heard slight shuffling from the other side and decided that it had to be Red. He carefully took a book off the bottom shelf and laid down to look through the shelf. Luckily, the book be removed did not have another being it, so he could see through to the other side.

‘When snooping, never do it at eye level. They never expect it to come from below,’ Jackson advised himself in his head.

He could see the student’s feet: slightly worn black converse. When he pressed his cheek to the floor and strained his eyes, he saw that it was indeed Red. He was nestled in the corner, sitting on the window sill with books piled beside him. His face was turned down from reading a book. Jackson gaze roamed over the new territory. Red was absolutely breathtaking. His chocolate brown, almond shaped eyes scanned across the page he was reading, slightly pointed teeth chewing on his pink lower lip. Jackson was stuck. No, really. He was stuck. Jackson jerked his head back, shaking the shelf slightly as he pulled his face free from the crevice.

He stood and rubbed his cheekbones soothingly, ‘Oww…’

Jackson quietly placed the book in its slot before walking down the aisle a few steps before removing another book, this time higher up. Unfortunately, there was another book behind it.

‘Whhhyyyyyyy….?’ Jackson thought as he put it back with a frown.

He groaned and hit his head on the shelf in front of him a few times, before cursing and jumpy back.

‘I must not give away my position! Stupid!’ Jackson face palmed with both hands, the dragged them slowly down his face, ‘No time to lose! I must find a new spot! ‘He ended up walking to the end of the bookshelf. Jackson crouched down to get a “better” view. However, when he bent down, his knee hit the side of the wooden shelf, causing a loud noise to ring about the room. Jackson froze. He made sure that no part of his body was visible from the other side of the shelf. All was quiet for a few seconds before he heard the dull thud of a heavy book closing. Jackson panicked and rocked back, doing a backwards roll into a standing position. He sprinted to the other end of the shelf and jumped behind the next one. He flattened himself on the floor and peeked around the edge. He heard Red stand up and walk to the side where Jackson was sitting only moments ago. Presumably finding nothing, Jackson heard Red go back to his place and put a few books on the shelf. Jackson watched as his black converse came into view from around the last shelf. He, once again, jumped up and sprinted down the rows of bookshelves.

Red exited the shelves and walked to the librarian’s desk with a few books in his hands. Jackson watched from behind a shelf as the librarian greeted him and took the books from the boy. Curious to hear the boy’s voice, Jackson crawled away from the shelves and hid behind a table. Luckily, he arrived just in time to hear the librarian say Red’s real name.

“Alright, Mark. Here are your books. They’re due back here in two weeks.”

“Mark,” Jackson whispered aloud, testing the name on his tongue.

Jackson nodded to himself, deciding that the name suited the boy. However, he was so busy snooping on the other student that he didn’t notice that the table he was using as a cover was occupied. He heard someone clear their voice above him and looked up.

“Thank god, you’re a boy,” Jackson grimaced, “Otherwise this would have been so much more awkward.”

The student gave him an indignant look.

Jackson simply looked up at him and held a finger to the boy’s lips, “Shhhh…”

He then crawled to another table.

Mark, by now, had already taken his books from the librarian. He turned his head from one side to another with a skeptical expression on his face. Deeming noting suspicious aspiring around him, Mark turned and walk out of the library. Jackson waited until he had completely vanished from the door before standing up and following the boy, as if he hadn’t just crawled across the library on his hands and knees. He entered the hallway and looked to his left then right, just catching Mark’s red hair exiting the hallway through a door leading to the courtyard.  Jackson waited for Mark to close the door behind himself before following.

----------

Jackson ended up following Mark to the Puissant Building, a dorm for power students and only power students. Mark walked up the steps to the building and disappeared inside, but Jackson knew that he would not be let in. So instead, Jackson camped out in the landscaping in hopes that Mark would come back out. Jackson found himself a spot in the mulch behind a large shrub.

‘I’ll just have to wait him out,’ Jackson thought as he squatted down in the shade.

Twenty minutes later Jackson realized how bad of an idea this was. The mulch was starting to feel prickly and his feet were going numb. The heat was starting to get to him and his black uniform sure wasn’t helping. Not to mention he was bored out of his mind. Mark was never going to come out, and if he did, Jackson would die before he saw “Red” again (ok so maybe he was being just a little dramatic). He was so bored though.  So bored that he started counting leaves on the bush.

“UUUGGGHH.” Jackson groaned and flopped down on his , “What time is it?”

“Almost 4:30,” a voice spoke over the bushes. It had a rather cold and apathetic sound to it.

Jackson looked up to find none other than Park Jinyoung staring down at him from the stairs of the dorm. The black haired boy had an unimpressed look about his face. He seemed tired and unsurprised, as if he was expecting to find Jackson sitting under a bush if front of his dorm.

“Should I ask why you're sitting there, or should I pretend that I never saw you?” Jinyoung asked as if it pained him to do so.

“Uh…” Jackson blinked up at the boy, not sure what to say.

“Ok, well now you've gotten me curious,” Jinyoung smirked and gracefully swooped down to sit on the edge of the top step.

“I'm...waiting? For someone…” Jackson responded.

“Well are you or are you not? You don't sound too sure,” Jinyoung teased.

“No, I mean - I am waiting for someone-”

“-Behind a bush,” Jinyoung interrupted.

“Well yeah, he's not really supposed to know-” Jackson tried to defend himself.

“If this is some sort of romantic ‘ambush’ thing for your boyfriend or something, I’m sorry to tell you, but it looks pretty creepy,” Jinyoung interrupted once again.

“Look, you don't have to be here,” Jackson glared at the Ice Quirk, who was clearly amused by the situation.

“Oh, but if it ruins your plans I do,” Jinyoung smiled.

“Wow and here I thought you were a cold hearted jerk who couldn't hold a conversation with anyone but his boyfriend...or smile, “Jackson replied sarcastically.

Jinyoung’s face hardened into a frown, “Whatever squirt, who are you even waiting for?”

“Uh,” Jackson looked avoided eye contact with the boy.  He still wouldn't put freezing him to the ground past the other’s agenda, “His name is Mark…”

“Mark?” Jinyoung repeated, “Hmm, doesn't ring a bell.”

“Uh, red hair?” Jackson supplied, “Kinda dumped food on Jaebum In the cafeteria yesterday.”

Jinyoung’s eyes lit up at the information, “OH! That kid! Yeah, he left the dorm like an hour ago…”

“An hour!?” Jackson shot up from his hiding spot.

“Yup, I was a little curious about him myself. Seems he went off to run or something.  He was wearing athletic clothes when I saw him leave.” Jinyoung shrugged before standing up and dusting off his pants, “Well this really hasn't been fun, and I don't really ever want to see you again...so...Bye.”

Jinyoung swiftly turned around and entered the dorm. Jackson stood in the bushes for a moment before sinking back down and groaning.

‘An hour. A freaking hour ago. He could be anywhere!’ Jackson whined in his head.

Jackson stood again, frowning. There was no point in waiting any longer. Jackson growled and kicked the bush in front of him.  However, his foot got caught and he ended up tripping over the shrub.

‘Well, so much for that…’

<><><><><><><><><><><>

“Jackson, what are you doing?”

Jackson jumped from his hiding spot behind a potted plant next to the Lunch Yard door. He grabbed the boy behind him, throwing a hand over his mouth.

“Shh!” Jackson looked out into the lunch yard and frowned.

Mark wasn't there anymore.

“Ok. I'm starting to think you need some serious help,” BamBam asserted after he took Jackson’s hand off his mouth, “What have you even been doing for the past week? Ever since Mrs.Kwon announced the tournament you've been off on your own doing who knows what and when I do see you, you're completely distracted by someone else!”

“I've...uh...been busy?” Jackson smiled innocently.

“Go. Sit. Down.” the younger student glared and growled at Jackson, pointing to the cafeteria doors.

Jackson dropped his head and pouted, obediently following BamBam's order. He walked like that the entire way to his table with BamBam at his side gloating.

“Oh, there he his.”

Jackson looked up at the sound of Youngjae’s voice, surprised to hear the words weren't directed at him. He really shouldn't have looked up, though. Standing next to Youngjae’s chair was Mark, arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his face.

‘Abort. AbORT.ABORT!’ Jackson’s mind shouted louder than it had when he was caught by the principal.

“You,” Mark spoke, pointing a long finger at Jackson, “Come with me.”

Jackson gulped, fear in his eyes. Mark took that as a yes and walked past the boy. Jackson gave his friend one last look that spoke ‘If I'm Not Back In An Hour, Send HELP.’

--------

Mark led him silently to the lunch yard.  Each step they took caused the tension to rise exponentially. Mark eventually stopped at the tree where Jackson had first seen him eat his lunch through the cafeteria windows. The red haired student leaned back against the tree and crossed his arms over his chest. The look he was giving Jackson screamed murder. Jackson smiled cutely at the boy to try attend dispel his displeasure, to no avail.

“Why have you been following me around?” Mark asked, getting straight to the point.

“You saw that, huh?” Jackson replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, “Since when?”

“Last Wednesday.” Mark frowned, “You really didn't think I wouldn't have seen you at least once on the past week?”

“Well, I had hoped you wouldn't,” Jackson explained.

“Well, whatever you thought doesn't really matter. Why were you following me?” Mark’s eyebrows furrowed cutely (to Jackson at least, Red was probably just angry).

“You're different,” Jackson answered as if it were obvious.

“Different.  You followed me...because I'm...different?” Mark repeated slowly, trying to grasp the meaning of Jackson's words, “What do you mean?”

“You bumped into Jaebum last week in the cafeteria and just walked off. That's pretty different to me,” Jackson answered and sat down on the grass, no longer feeling threatened by the pretty boy in front of him.

“So? I didn't want to make it any worse, so I walked,” Mark explained, dropping his disgruntled front.

“You could have taken him,” Jackson added almost nonchalantly.

“What.” Mark froze, eyes trained on the other.

“Don't bother putting up your guards now,” Jackson smirked, “I already ‘rated’ you last time. You're a level ten, Mark. Why do you hide it?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Mark grit out as he pushed off the tree, “And how do you know my name?”

“You're still suppressing my quirk.” Jackson winked, avoiding Red’s question.

Mark gasped, eyes wide, “How the hell do you do that?”

“Well, I would think that most people would realize when their quirk wasn't working. Though if you're referring to how I know about your quirks, that's a longer story.” Jackson smiled along stood, finally feeling had the upper hand, “You can suppress and copy other quirks can't you?”

Mark chewed on his lower lip before sighing, shoulders sagging and his chin tilted down, “Yeah.”

“Hey-hey. Why the long face? That's pretty cool,” Jackson stepped forward and place a hand on the other's shoulder.

“It’s not as cool as you'd think.” Mark pushed his hand away and stepped back, “Just...stop following me around, ok?”

Jackson frowned, like hell he was going to stay away from Mark now, “No way man.”

Mark looked up and gave Jackson a hardened expression, “You don't get that option.”

“Nah, I don't think so,” Jackson shook his head with an infectious smile, “You'll definitely be seeing more of me. After all, don’t we have joint classes tomorrow?”

Mark’s face fell at the mention of the joint class. He took a breath and opened his mouth to say something but then closed it, biting his lip slightly, “Whatever, just don't stalk me.”

With that Mark walked past Jackson, ending the conversation, or so he thought.

“See you tomorrow, Little Red!”

<><><><><><><><><><><>

The next morning all the students met in the courtyard. Teachers walked around with notepads and clipboards, organizing students and sending them off in different directions depending on the color and number of stripes on their uniforms.  Jackson and BamBam had to part ways with Youngjae as Mrs.Kwon sent the two towards the basketball courts. The two met several other students from their class at the courts and mingled for a while before a teacher caught their attention.

“Students! Students!” The teacher, commonly known as Loudron in the Hero world, spoke above the crowd. A few unfortunate students near him had to cover their ears due to the sheer sound of the teacher's voice, “Students from the Power Class please stand on the player’s side of the court in a single file line. Analytic and Sidekicks please do the same on the audience side!”

“That's us.” Jackson grabbed BamBam by the arm and pulled him over to their side.

The students began to file into place and BamBam leaned over to Jackson and whispered, “So how's it looking?”

Jackson eyed over the line of students across from them. His eyes landed on the familiar figures of Jaebum and Jinyoung next to each other. The latter looked up and quirked an eyebrow at him. Jackson gave a noncommittal nod to the boy and continued searching the line after getting a nasty glare from Jaebum.

‘Sheesh, that guy needs to cool down,’ Jackson shuddered.

Jackson smiled when he found Mark at the end of the line.  He raised a hand and waved happily to him, ignore both his hand BamBam's judging looks.

“Everyone's pretty much three's... couple fours and,” Jackson shuddered as his eyes fell on Jaebum again, “Jaebum.”

Loudron began speaking about what they would be doing and rules but Jackson and BamBam ignored the teacher (somehow).

“So, see anyone good?” the Thai boy asked.

"For me or you?” Jackson asked knowingly.

“Oh, just shut up and tell me,” BamBam huffed.

“You need someone strong and solid. Loyal too, lord knows what it takes to stick around you-”

“What?!”

“Nothing.  Anyways, you song have much field power, but would mostly work in cities because...well, you're pretty useless without technology.” Jackson informed, ignoring BamBam's indignant squeak, “I'd saaaay...him. Kim Yugyeom.”

“Wolf boy?” Bam asked, a little unimpressed.

“Hey, what's more loyal than a dog? Plus if things get hairy, he's so tall that you can just hide behind him,” Jack snickered at his own pun.

“I can't believe you,” BamBam rolled his eyes and punched the other on the arm.

“Ay!”

“Ah! Thank you for volunteering Mr. Wang!”

Jackson heard the teacher and turned looking wide eyed at the center of the court. Standing in the middle were two students and the teacher, who was beckoning Jackson over. BamBam tried to hold in in laughter but ended up making gurgling noises in on the back of his throat.  Jackson gave him a death glare before slowly walking out to the center of the court.

“Now we need a volunteer for his partner. Remember, this is just for example sake. You won't be stuck with him!” Loudron added cheerily.

Jackson winced at both the teacher's loud voice and his comment, but held up a hand and spoke up, “Actually, I already have a partner on mind sir.”

The teacher turned to Jackson, eyes bright and motioned for him to continue.

“Mark.” Jackson looked over to the boy who seemed surprised.

Mark glared at him and tried to hide behind the student to his side.

“Aw, come on buddy, pal. Don't get all shy now!” Jackson teased dramatically.

“Come Mr. Tuan, join your friend.”

Mark frowned and slowly walked to his the center, making sure his displeasure was evident on his face.

“Alright, so now these pairs will demonstrate proper battle etiquette.”

Jackson looked at Mark sheepishly, still no idea what was going on. Mark rolled his eyes and whispered to the other, “Were you even paying attention- never mind, don’t answer that. Just follow what I do, ok.”

“This circle will be our makeshift staring platform.  In the real competing you will be on a movable platform that will disappear after your greetings.”  Loudron motioned towards the center circle of the basketball court.

Mark and the other two students walked to the edge of the circle. Jackson catching on quickly, followed Mark. When there were two students on either side of the circle, Loudron made a motion with his arm, palm extended and moving from above his head to his side, elbow rigid. The other students walked forwards to the center line and Mark grabbed Jackson by the edge of his sleeve and dragged him to the same place.

“Bow, idiot,” Mark spoke through closed teeth.

 

Jackson followed the directions. He and Mark bowed to the students across from them and they did the same.

 

“Now, step back to the circle,” Mark whispered.

 

Jackson did so, and he found himself and Mark back on the center circle.

 

“Good! Good! A round of applause for these students!” Loudron praised the group and the students at the edge of the court applauded halfheartedly, “Now, I want everyone to get in groups of four and practice the same thing. There will be no fighting today, just ceremonial practice alight? If I see any fighting you will immediately be sent to Principal Lee’s office.”

 

The students dispersed and formed groups. The two students that Mark and Jackson had practiced with earlier abandoned them for their own friends, leaving Jackson and Mark in a group with BamBam and, to Jackson’s delight, Yugyeom. They continued their practice with the boys, Jackson never failing to tease BamBam and “Wolf Boy” (who turned out to really be a perfect match for BamBam, a fact that Jackson used to his advantage). Throughout the practice, Mark tried to avoid eye contact with Jackson and never responded to any of the boy’s inquires. When Loudron finally called practice done, Mark quickly abandoned Jackson, leaving the boy pouting after him.

 

----------

 

“That was really mean, you know, leaving me after first period.”

 

Mark looked up from his lunch and sighed tiredly, “Go away Jackson. I thought I told you to stop following me around.”

 

“I’m not following you. I’m eating my lunch. Is it a crime for a guy to eat his lunch outside?” Jackson replied snarkily.

 

“Yes, yes it is. “Mark rolled his eyes, not ready to give in just yet.

 

“Well then, we’ll both get arrested, “Jackson said as he plopped down next to Mark, who didn’t move an inch. “You know the saying goes: Friends will bail you out of jail, but best friends will be right there, next to you, in the cell going ‘Hey, let's do that again.’”

 

“Then, I’d be neither,” Mark sighed to mask the smile slowly growing on his face, “Because I’d neither bail you out, or get caught with you, and I would definitely not like to ‘do that again.’”

 

“Ow Mark, that hurts.” Jackson whimpered, holding a hand over his heart. “Kiss it and make it better.”

 

“Ew no!” Mark finally laughed, unable to hold it in.

 

Jackson smiled triumphantly at his accomplish and laughed with Mark.

 

Mark leaned towards Jackson and pushed him away playfully, still laughing, “Get your puppy face away from me, creep.”

 

Jackson laughed harder and fell back onto his back, rolling around until their laughter settled. Jackson looked up at Mark from the ground, smiling widely.

 

The other boy held his gaze for a moment before blushing and looking away,” Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“Like what?” Jackson asked as he sat up.

 

Mark shifted a little to the side and allowed Jackson to lean against the tree next to him, “I don’t know. You just look at me like-”

 

“JACKSON!”

 

The two boys jerked at the shout. Jackson looked over to the doors of the cafeteria to see BamBam, Youngjae and surprisingly, Yugyeom hanging out of the door.

 

“YO! JACKSON!” BamBam shouted and waved when the other blonde looked up.

 

Jackson glared at the boy and discretely (it wasn’t discreet at all) motioned for the boy to go away.

 

“WHAT?” BamBam shouted, obviously confused.

 

“Oh my god, BamBam, he wants us to go away…” Youngjae deadpanned and grabbed the boy, pushing him into Yugyeom. “They were having a moment, you idiot.”

 

Jackson slumped back against the tree, groaning. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and turning his head to face Mark. He was surprised for a moment at how close their faces were, but he didn't move away.

 

“Hey...we should…” Jackson started slowly. He stopped for a moment and bit his lip nervously. He smirked a bit when he noticed Mark’s eyes follow the gesture, “We should-”

 

“Eat,” Mark quickly interrupted with a blush blooming across his cheeks, “We should eat. I totally agree.”

 

Mark quickly scooted over a little and picked up his lunch tray, setting it in his lap before starting to eat quietly.

 

Jackson frowned slightly, looking over the boy’s shoulder, ‘What just happened?’

 

<><><><><><><><><><><>

 

“Jackson, I thought I told you to stop following me around,” Mark sighed as he felt the other boy’s presence behind him.

 

“I'm not following you,” the blonde insisted, “I just so happen to be going to the blog same place as you.”

 

Mark looked to his side as Jackson fell into pace with him. He looked over Jackson’s state of dress: athletic shorts and a tank top that showed off his rather impressive amount of muscle for an Analytic student.

 

“You're going to go on a five mile run?” Mark raised an eyebrow at the other boy.

 

“Yes - wait. Did you say fuse miles? You're running five miles?” Jackson asked incredulously.

 

“Yes, it's Saturday. That's what I do on Saturday mornings,” Mark informed, “Afraid you won't be able to keep up?”

 

“No, it's just that I usually run ten,” Jackson winked back at him before jogging ahead of the red head.

 

‘Thank the great lord that I forced BamBam and Yugyeom together,’ Jackson prayed, happy to have an informant within his arsenal.

 

“You run?” Mark asked in disbelief as he caught up with Jackson.

 

“How do you think I keep up these gods?” Jackson asked, gesturing to his thighs, “Being in shape could be the deciding factor in an in battle, Mark.”

 

“You're ridiculous,” Mark rolled his eyes and started jogging, “Just try to keep up.”

 

“Yes sir,” Jackson saluted and followed the redhead.

 

----------

 

“How...hah...can...hah...how...do? UGH...I'm...hah...I'm dying...haaah,” Jackson panted as he and Mark came to a stop by the basketball courts.

 

“Hah...I'm...heh...pretty impressed,” Mark gulped down large breaths of air, “Jackson.”

 

“I'm not all worthless,” Jackson coughed and follow gestured for Mark’s water bottle.

 

“No way. How does someone that runs ten miles forget a water bottle?” Mark took a sip from his bottle.

 

“I lied...please,” Jackson huffed before collapsing comically on the ground, “W-water…”

 

Mark rolled his eyes at the boy. He closed the cap to his bottle before tossing it onto Jackson’s sweaty back. Jackson jumped in surprise before realizing that Mark had actually given him the water. He quickly found the bottle and started drinking large gulps of water.

 

“Hey - hey!  Don't drink it all!” Mark scolded the blonde.

 

“Sorry not sorry,” Jackson gasped when he finished off the bottle.

 

Mark glared at him and yanked the bottle from Jackson's hands. He crumpled the empty plastic then tossed it was at the nearest trashcan like he was shooting and three-point shot on the basketball court. Jackson laughed when he missed. Mark frowned and briskly turned and started walking away. Jackson scrambled up and followed him.

 

“Why do you always you always do that?” Jackson whined when he caught up with Mark.

 

“Do what?” Mark grumbled.

 

“Leave me.”

 

Mark stopped on his tracks and looked at Jackson, "I don't-”

 

“Yes you do. You always act like this; you're all tough and look excluding at first and then then I have to bring up my game to like a 70 before I can even get. You told smile at me.” Jackson complained with a frown.

 

“You're game? What even, Jackson?  I don't know what you're talking about.” Mark started walking again, but Jackson stopped him.

 

“See, I almost had you when we were running.  Am I annoying to you?” Jackson placed a hand on Mark's chest to stop him from walking away again.

 

“Yes - no. I mean, not most of the time. It's just I me don't like, ugh,” Mark groaned, unable to voice his thoughts.

 

“What you don't like people?” Jackson asked sarcastically.

 

“Yes!”

 

Jackson blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting that.

 

“Well sort of yes,” Mark ducked his head a little in embarrassment before whispering, "It’s kinda an inherited behavior from my quirk…”

 

Jackson raised an eyebrow to prod the boy to continue.

 

“Well...ok. Let’s sit down first,” Mark groaned and pushed his bangs out of his face, cringing slightly at the sweat-soaked feel.

 

The two boys shuffled over to the unoccupied basketball bleachers and sat at the bottom. Mark stayed sitting straight, looking a little uncomfortable and queasy. However, Jackson sat one seat above Mark, leaning back onto the next set of seats behind him and resting his feet on the seat next to Mark. Mark gave the other an unimpressed look before sighing.

 

“Ok, so my quirk, the Copy part not the suppress part, can only work if I touch someone with the deliberate idea that I want to copy their quirk, “Mark explained after a moment of silence.

 

“That makes sense,” Jackson commented, sitting up a bit from his lounging position, “Technically no quirk is invincible. Each one has its limits.”

 

“Yeah, well, mine has its limits,” Mark chuckled humorlessly, “There will always be quirks I can’t copy because I can’t reach them.”

 

“Like flying or speed quirks, right?” Jackson offered.

Mark responded with a solemn nod.

 

“So, you don’t like people because...you don’t like taking their quirks?” Jackson asked slowly. His voice rose up at the end of his question, confirming his confusion.

 

“No, it’s not just that, “ Mark shook his head. “I mean, I can control myself--trust me on that-- but it’s the idea that bothers me. It’s like, with both of my quirks I have the power to take power from others.” Mark stressed, “Seriously, you said it yourself- I can take anyone on without lifting a finger!”

 

“So? ” Jackson sat up completely, dropping his feet to where they should have been, “Doesn’t that make life a little easier?”

 

“No!” Mark groaned and turned to the other, “There’s this whole moral obligation and I just- I don’t like being that person, Jackson. The kind of person that takes power from others. It’s just not right.”

 

Jackson suddenly got up and climbed down the bleacher to sit next to Mark. The red head side eyed the other but did not look at him.

 

“Hey, that’s ok. I mean, really, Mark. There’s not alotta people out there that would that same viewpoint,” Jackson consoled, “Really, it makes me feel better that you're not a crazy, power-hungry, weirdo!”

 

Mark pressed his lips together to refrain from laughing, but in the end he couldn’t hold it in.

 

“Oh! I’m so glad I didn't scare you off!” Mark laughed sarcastically.

 

“Hey, hey. Don’t be like that,” Jackson playfully dismissed the other, “You can’t get rid of me that easy.”

 

“No, I suppose not.” Mark laughed harder.

 

“Nope. We’re destined,” Jackson laughed, throwing an arm around the red head’s thin shoulders, “But hey, maybe that’s a good thing. I could give you some tips.”

 

“You? Tips?” Mark asked, clearly mocking the Analytic student.

 

“Hey, I don't have superior strategic thinking for kicks. We could be a great team in the competition, ya know?” Jackson tapped his temple with a finger twice before pointing it at Mark.

 

“ Ha, as if,” Mark scoffed and threw Jackson’s arm off his shoulders, “You wouldn't be able to keep up with me.”

 

Mark stood up with a smirk and started trotting away from the bench. Jackson shouted indignantly at the boy, but Mark just broke into a run.

 

“Hey! Come on! And I thought we were finally getting along!” Jackson sighed, “HEY! JUST YOU WAIT! I'LL CATCH UP WITH YOU AND WHEN I DO YOU'LL REGRET IT!”

 

Jackson refused to think he heard Mark laugh at him after that.

 

<><><><><><><><><><><>

 

“So do you come here after school every day?” Jackson asked quietly as he rounded the corner of the last bookcase in the library.

 

Mark was sitting in his usual spot reading a book, but when he heard Jackson speak he looked up, “Ok, now you’re officially stalking me.”

 

“What? No,” Jackson joked and walked over to Mark, leaning against the wall leisurely, “So what exactly do read? I mean, I see you in here practically every day…”

 

“Everyday? Jackson, the the last the last time you were in here was like five days ag--you little creep!” Mark had been squinting up at Jackson (honestly, he is too cute when he’s confused), but then realization struck and his eyes blew open wide, “You’ve been hiding in here haven’t you! Oh my gosh, Jackson! You’re still spying on me!?”

 

“What? You think I’d let you catch me after the first time? Hey, a guy can learn,” Jackson defended himself, raising his hands in the ‘I surrender’ position. “Plus I wasn't sure if we're still buddy - buddy or…”

 

Mark looked up at the blonde mock-angrily, “Well, I can’t say I’m not impressed. And yes, unfortunately we are friends now. I gave up on that after you after you attacked me after class Monday.”

 

Jackson just quietly chuckled at the disgruntled red head, they were in a library, of course.

 

“But to answer your question, “ Mark quickly changed the subject, “I’m studying.”

 

“Studying what?” Jackson prodded.

 

“What does it matter?” Mark laughed and shifted away from the other boy’s gaze, “Why are you so curious today?”

 

“Well, I was just thinking-”

 

“That’s dangerous.” Mark spoke under his breath.

 

Jackson gave him an unappreciative smile before continuing, “I was just thinking that whenever we hang out, I do most of the talking, ya know? Like I get it, you’re a quiet person and all, but I want to -like- get to know you better.” Jackson shrugged and sagged against the wall, pulling up one leg to brace the foot against it.

 

Mark looked up at Jackson curiously before smiling devilishly, “Ooh. I get it. You want to get to know me.”

 

“What! NO!” Jackson gasped and got up from the wall, “I mean- I don’t- it’s not just that. I-”

 

“SHHH!” the librarian suddenly appeared scaring the loud boy.

 

Jackson ducked his head and closed his mouth, nodding guiltily. The librarian glared at him one more time before walking off. Jackson turned to Mark who was now on the floor, face red from trying to keep himself from laughing. Jackson growled and lightly kicked the boy. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

 

------------

 

“I can’t believe you, out of all people, got us kicked out of the library,” Jackson grumbled as he and Mark walked across the courtyard.

 

“ME!? You were the one that made me laugh!” Mark fought back, shoving his shoulder against the other.

 

“Oh, come one. I can’t be that funny,” Jackson countered, pushing Mark back.

 

“Oh ho ho ho ho, it’s on buddy!” Mark growled playfully, dropping his books in the grass and holding up his hands in a fake karate stance.

 

“Ooooh, what are you going to do? Suppress me?” Jackson teased with an obscene hand gesture.

 

“Even better, “Mark smirked and pushed a palm towards Jackson.

 

Suddenly, a force washed over Jackson and he found himself on his in the grass. He looked up at a confident Mark with an utterly surprised expression, “What the heck was that!?”

 

“Force field,” Mark replied like it was obvious and walked over to Jackson and held out his hand.

 

Jackson took the offered hand and let Mark pull him up, “Where did you learn to do that?”

 

“New trick, “Mark brushed some dirt off the other’s (and received a suggestive look in the process).

 

“Show me.”

 

-------

 

Jackson and Mark stopped by the latter’s dorm to put away his things before they made their way to the hiking trails that ran through the woods behind the courtyard. These trails were known to students as a secluded area that teachers rarely went to. Not to mention, it was full of trees and hiding spots and was full of little alcoves or clearings to practice quirks (as long as you didn't burn the forest down in the process). Mark led Jackson through the paths until they reached one of these clearings. It was a nice grassy area surrounded by tall trees; it size was similar to about half of a volleyball court and the trees weren't so dense to no one could see through the foliage.  

 

“I'm come here whenever I want to get away for a while,” Mark informed with a content tone.

 

He practically floated into the clearing, bright smile on his face. Jackson trailed behind with a small smile on his own face, except his was for a different reason.

 

‘Man he's so beautiful,’ Jackson thought fondly as he watched Mark inspect around the edge of the clearing.

 

Mark’s hair shone a bright pinkish color in the sunlight and his skin glowed. Jackson couldn't help but stop and admire the power student in front of him. Mark turned towards Jackson and beckoned him closer with a finger and a silly expression. Jackson rolled his eyes and chuckled before slowly walking towards the other boy. When he stood a few feet away Mark held up his hand in a ‘stop there’ gesture.

 

“ Ok, now watch,” Mark commanded as he held both hands out.

 

Suddenly the air around them crackled to life. A high pitch hissing sound pierced the air and white noise fuzzed around. The air around Mark's hands began to glitch and jerk, but then Jackson saw it. Tiny streaks of white electricity fuzzed from Mark’s hands and streaked outwards.

 

“Woah,” Jackson gasped. He felt rooted to the spot, but at the same time wanted to move forward.

 

“That’s Kim Jongdae,” Mark Informed before closing his hand and making the lightning disappeared, "We were practicing sparring yesterday and the little devil thought he'd be clever and use his quirk on me.”

 

“You could have just suppressed him,” Jackson replied.

 

“I could, buuuut,” Mark dragged out the ‘u’ to prompt Jackson to continue the statement.

 

“But you don't like taking power away from people,” Jackson grumbled half - heartedly, “You know, you're too nice for your own good.”

 

Mark shrugged of the compliment and smiled sheepishly, “But hey, I did what you told me to do. I copied his power and used it to nullify his quirk. He still used it, but-”

 

“-It wasn't effective,” Jackson finished with a smile, “Nice. What else you got?”

 

Mark excitedly showed Jackson all the new quirks he had learned and told Jackson how he had been excelling in his classes now rat Jackson was helping him. Mark was so grateful for the other boy’s help and made sure he knew that. Jackson was glad that he could understand Mark so well. He hadn't known it at the time, but he really needed someone like Mark in his life. Someone that would be content just listening to him talk and  the perfect friend...but why wasn't that enough for him?

 

“JACKSON!”

 

Jackson blinked in surprise when a weight suddenly slammed his body, knocking him to the ground.

 

“Oww,” Jackson whined, feeling his head throb from where it had hit the ground.

 

“Ha ha...oops.” Jackson heard Mark chuckle from above him, “Couldn't control that one…”

 

“Ya think?” Jackson groaned and tried to sit up but the weight was still there. He looked down his chest to see Mark braced above him, face inches away from his own, “Well, hello there.”

 

Mark smiled guiltily, but made to attempt to move. If Jackson could have thought anything at the moment, he would have thought that Mark moved closer.

 

“Are you ok?” the redhead asked shifting his weight to one arm while the other massaged over his face and head.

 

Jackson couldn't help the warm blush that spread across his face at the soothing ministrations, “Uh yeah, fine.”

 

Mark frown and gave Jackson a hard look to make sure he was telling the truth. Jackson just smiled to further convince the boy. He lifted his arms and pushed at Mark’s sides a little.

 

“Oh! Sorry!” Mark tried to get up but Jackson grabbed him by the waist, refusing to let the other up, “What?”

 

“You're pretty cute,” Jackson stated, causing Mark to blush.

 

“WELL, I guess that's enough for today, huh?” Mark squeaked and pushed himself up.

 

“Yeah,” Jackson frowned and brushed dirt off himself for the second time that day.

 

“Guess we need to get back to the dorms…” Mark added hesitantly.

 

“It is getting dark,” Jackson sighed, looking up to see an orange sky.

 

“Yeah,” Mark nodded almost dejectedly.

 

Jackson wasn't sure what to do. He didn't really want to leave yet. Spending more and more time with Mark had him realizing something, but he needed more time to figure out what exactly that was. Plus, he still had something to ask the older boy.  But, the sky was getting darker by the minute and they still had a curfew and Jackson hadn't even started on homework (he had been told busy staring at Mark in the library). So, Jackson just wrapped an arm around Mark's shoulders and started walking back towards the path. The two continued like that all the way through the forest and into the courtyard. However, Jackson surprised Mark by turning towards the latter’s dorm instead of his own.

 

“Jackson, what are you doing? You're dorm’s on the other side of the campus,” Mark asked,  stopping them from walking further.

 

“What? I can't walk you to your dorm?” Jackson replied nervously.

 

“I can walk myself. I'm older than you and I'm not a girl,” Mark grumbled, but Jackson knew he wasn't serious.  So, Jackson rolled his eyes and continued walking.

 

When they reached the Power Dorm Jackson let go of Mark.

 

The redhead walked a few steps before turning around and waving slightly, “See you tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah, I might come bother you at lunch again, “ Jackson smiled when Mark snorted at his answer.

 

“You bother me at lunch every day.”

 

“Then it shouldn't be a question,” Jackson winked.

 

Mark shook his head at the boy before turning and walking up the stairs to the dorm. When he reached the door Jackson suddenly shouted his name.  Mark turned around in confusion.

 

“Hey, so I was thinking. I know the competition is still in like two months, but I was wondering if...well, would you like to be my partner? For the competition.” Jackson asked nervously, eyes looking anywhere but Mark.

 

Mark frowned slightly before replying tersely, “I'll think about it.”

 

With that Mark turned swiftly and walked Into the dorm without another word. Jackson stood frozen at the end of the stairs with a dumbfounded expression on his face.  He couldn't believe it.  Really, everything in his mind said that Mark would answer yes. He had analyzed the situation perfectly! Granted, the timing would have been perfect in the clearing, but then he had to open his stupid mouth and make Mark all embarrassed.  Well, maybe his reaction was worth it, but still. He had weighed every option.  He and Mark were friends now. The two of them blended perfectly. Mark's conversation and about his combat class was a testament to that. Mark didn't like many of the other students. Not that he would choose Jackson just because because he was the only guy--wait. Had he even asked Mark if he even wanted to be In the competition?

 

“Hey!”

 

Jackson heard a shout from above him. He took a few steps back as had titled his head up,  looking up as had where the sound came from. Suddenly,  his face was assaulted by the coarse but light weight of a ball of paper.

 

He heard a laugh and looked up to see Mark hanging out of a window.

 

“What the hell are you doing!?” Jackson shouted crossly.

 

“Just open it!” the redhead shouted back.

 

Jackson frowned and looked down to the ground. He turned in a circle to find the wad of paper that had previous greeted his face. He eventually found it, after a couple turns, under a bush. He bent over and grabbed it. Unfolding the paper as he stood, Jackson’s body buzzed in anticipation. He finally unfolded the paper and smoothed it out. Written across it in scrawling, messy, black sharpie was the word ‘yes.’

 

“You big idiot, of course I will!” Mark laughed.

 

“Really? Like, really really?” Jackson shouted back  to make sure that he heard correctly.

 

“Yes!” Mark shouted down.

 

Jackson smiled widely up at the boy and did a happy dance, unable to control himself.

 

“Well, see you tomorrow then,” Mark chirped, waving down at Jackson's blonde hair.

 

“Yeah, tomorrow.” Jackson waved as Mark duck back into the building and closed the window.

 

The redhead waited a moment and waved through the closed window before walking away. Jackson waited a moment in the darkness and looked around to make no one was watching before he fist bumped the air.

 

“WOO!”

 

<><><><><><><><><><><>

 

“Alright students! Today we are going to start actual combat exercises. These will be smaller,  group-tournament level battles going by tournament rules!  That means, stick to the code of conduct and absolutely no excessive harm or death! Find your teams and a seat.” Loudron shouted above the students in the arena, his voice being the only one of the teacher's that could be heard.

 

The students had all arrived at the arena a few minutes before the announcement. The school had boarded them all on buses and trucked them over to the arena on the other side of the woods. Jackson had ridden over with his Analytic Class.  Meaning, BamBam was his bus buddy.

 

“This is so exciting, Jacks,” the boy squealed as they pushed through the crowds to find Youngjae’s class, “Are you and Mark officially partners yet?”

 

“Yes we are, and keep your eyes out for Youngjae or Mark. Better yet, look for Yugyeom.  Mark said he'd be with him.” Jackson commanded, "By the way, you two official yet.”

 

“Officially partners yes, anything else...no.” BamBam grumbled.

 

Jackson raised an eyebrow at the pouting boy, “Not gonna ask.”

 

“What? Like you and Mark aren't an item,” BamBam scoffed.

 

“ We aren't--Oh. I see Youngjae,” Jackson tried to avoid the impending conversation.

 

He failed.

 

“Really? You two flirt too much to not be together, or at least considering it,” BamBam continued.

 

“You know, I think you're just sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Keep the seducing to computers Bam,” Jackson growled as they pushed through a group of Sidekicks to their friend’s side.

 

“is BamBam bothering you about your love life again?” Youngjae asked when they finally reached him.

 

“ What? No, I don't have a love life!” Jackson argued.

 

“ Not with an attitude like that, you don't.” Youngjae deadpanned.

 

“Whatever, what about you?  Got a partner or something? “ Jackson cut back.

 

“ Nah, I'm not participating,” Youngjae shrugged, "I'm actually thinking about transferring to the work - based studies.”

 

“What? Why?” BamBam inquired.

 

“Hero work is too draining-”

 

“-more like you don't like exercising.” Jackson interrupted.

 

“ Plus they could he someone like me in the work force.”  Youngjae continued.

 

“What work force?” BamBam scoffed as he stood up on top of a stadium chair to look above the crowds.

 

“Military...private security…” Youngjae drawled as if his thoughts were obvious.

 

“OK Batman -- OH! Found them!” BamBam hopped down from the seat and grabbed the other boys by their arms and dragged them through the crowds. “Yugyeom! Hey! Yug!”

 

The three boys found Mark and Yugyeom waiting in the back of the stands, away from all the crowds.

 

“Oh, thank you for choosing a place away from all of the noise,” Youngjae sighed and plopped down in an open seat.

 

Jackson quickly shuffled through the row to sit next to Mark, immediately resting his arm on the back of Mark’s seat. BamBam gave Jackson his ‘And you said there was nothing going on’ look before sitting next to his own partner. The group waited and chatted amongst themselves (really it was just Jackson and BamBam) while the other students found their groups. When all of the students settled, teachers began sifting through the stands, passing out the pre-decided mock-tournament roster. Jackson’s group all huddled around the paper when they received it. They were set to be the fifth group competing.

 

“How’s the competition looking?” Youngjae asked when he looked over the group they were set to battle.

 

“First glance,” Jackson drawled, “Two hero/sidekick groups and one analytic. Strategy...well, we’ve got me --OW!”

 

Mark smacked the blonde on the top of his head and raised an eyebrow at the boy’s pout, “Stop bragging.”

 

“Ok,ok. So we have two analysts. I’ll do my work on the field, buuut we can give this,” Jackson waved the sheet in front of his face, “ to BamBam who can use his special technology powers to hack into the school system and find out more about them.”

 

“I shall not let you down, master,” BamBam dramatically bowed and took the paper. He whipped out his phone and started typing, “This should only take a sec-oh, here we are. Park Chanyeol: phoenix morph, class 3B. Partner is Byun Baekhyun: sidekick class 4C. Power over light...so he’ll blind us at most, but if you want the lights to turn on and off,he’d be able to help…”

 

That last comment had the team laughing.

 

“Do Kyungsoo, ooh class 4A with Mark. Earthshaker?”

 

“He makes earthquakes,” Mark supplied, “No one lets him use his quirk in the school.”

 

“So he’ll probably be hyped up about using it out here,” Jackson added, “Do you know his range?”

 

“No,” Mark shook his head.

 

“We’ll have to give him  wide berth until we figure that out, none of us can fly, but I’m pretty sure their Phoenix morph can.” Jackson nodded for BamBam to continue.

 

“His partner is Kim Jongin, sidekick 2A, teleportation.” BamBam groaned at the revelation of the boy’s power.

 

“He’ll be tough to keep up with, even if he’s only a Class 2, he’s still an A.” Jackson Sighed.

 

“Last one is Huang Zitao: Analytic, time control class-”

 

“He’s up at the top with me,” Jackson interrupted, “Dang, how’d they get that kid?”

 

“What can he do?” Yugyeom leaned over BamBam’s shoulder to see the student’s file.

 

“He has the ability to stop time. It gives him an edge on decision making. However, he can't move or necessarily predict what’s going to happen. He has to deduce it all himself, which he’s pretty good at.” Jackson informed.

 

“Ok, so how do we get around him?” Youngjae asked.

 

“I haven’t tried to analyze him before, so we’ll have to stand back and watch for a little while.” Jackson nodded.

 

“So, start on the defensive?” Yugyeom spoke up.

 

“Exactly,” Jackson confirmed, looking to each of his teammates to see if they agreed.

 

“I can do that,” Mark noded and put a hand in the middle of their huddle, “We got this.”

 

-----------

 

“WE DON’T GOT THIS!” BamBam screeched as he dodged another fireball from Chanyeol, who had morphed into a phoenix and was now flying over the field.

 

“CHANYEOL! DON’T BURN THE PLACE DOWN!” Jackson heard Tao yell at his teammate.

 

‘Boy, this sure isn’t going to plan,’ Jackson thought, shaking his head.

 

They had all started the battle alright. Afterall, the rules were relatively simple. The two opposing teams which consisted of four or five players (only 4v4 or 5v5 until the finals) were to fight on the set battleground, and had to knock all of the opposing team’s players off the field. The battle field would be picked at random. There were five different stages: forest, mountain, city, swamp, and desert. Each one had it's advantages and disadvantages for Jackson’s team and their opponents.  They just so happened to get their most strategic stage: the forest. On land visibility would be limited,  so Chanyeol’s flying ability would be an advantage for the other team, but the abundance of wood might end up dangerous for everyone should the phoenix burn something. However, Tao might not be able to deduce accurately due to the limited sight distance. Yet, Youngjae’s enhance hearing would be able to pick out where snapping twig or crumbling leaf. Yugyeom's wolf morph felt right at home in the woods and his lupus instincts would make up for the fact that his partner was utterly useless. Jackson still wasn't sure whether or not the terrain would aid them or hurt them on account of the Earthshaker. Falling trees would be bad...very bad. As for Mark and Jackson,  well, they weren't really handicapped by the stage. Sure the visibility might make things difficult, but It was the same for the other team. The only player Jackson was really worried about was Jongin, the teleporter.  He would easily be able to skip past Youngjae’s hearing.

 

“Bob and weave, Bam!” Jackson shouted jokingly as Yugyeom's wolf form had enough of his partner's screaming and grabbed the boy’s shirt In his not,  pulling him onto his back. The large, russet-brown wolf expertly jumped back into the trees and away from sight.

 

They were evenly matched in the power department (well, maybe not necessarily level wise, they still had Mark as a trump card). They had immediately went on the defensive. Youngjae served as as locator, while Yugyeom's wolf form would search the forest. Jackson and Mark paired together to try and get some In tell on the other team, but they never ventured far from Youngjae.  But it seemed nothing would go to plan.

 

Chanyeol used the element of surprise on BamBam,  who was no match to the phoenix’s power. That cause his over protective lap dog to abandon his pistol in order to save his master. Mark and Jackson had to fall BSc to make sure Youngjae was covered while Yugyeom was off being a knight is furry armor.

 

“Jackson,  duck!”

 

Jackson did as Mark commanded. The redhead vaulted over his back and redirected a fireball with a force field. Chanyeol flew over them, cawing like a demon straight from hell.

 

“We need to get cover,” Jackson informed,  eyes to the sky.

 

“I could Tse him down with Chen’s trick,” Mark implored.

 

“ No, we need to keep your powers on the down-low, especially this early in the game,” Jackson refused, “Come on the,  let's grab Youngjae and think of something else.”

 

The two boy’s ducked into the woods and returned to their home base. They found Youngjae but Yugyeom and BamBam were no where insight.

 

“Youngjae, have you seen Yugyeom and BamBam?” Jackson rushed to ask.

 

“No.Weren’t they supposed to be at the front?” Youngjae answered with confusion.

 

“Yeah, but that was until Chanyeol went beserk,” Mark informed with a scoff.

 

“Ok. New plan, with or without the other two.” Jackson clapped in an official gesture.

 

“We need to find-” Youngjae tried to say, but he was interrupted by canonfire and the voice of Loudron.

 

“OH! AND BAEKHYUN AND KUNPIMOOK TAKE A TUMBLE OFF THE STAGE! SUICIDE MISSION OR PLAIN ACCIDENT? WHAT ARE THOSE ANALYSTS THINKING?”

 

The trio stopped for a moment to comprehend the announcement.

 

“Found BamBam,” Jackson offered.

 

“No dip Sherlock, “Mark scoffed and rolled his eyes before hitting the boy on the back of the ead.

 

“OOH! AND KIM  YUGYEOM PITCHES KIM JONGIN OFF THE STAGE IN A FIT OF RAGE! BOY IS HE HOLDING UP THE TEAM! BUT WAIT! LOOK’S LIKE HE’S ABOUT TO GET CORNERED AT THE NORTH END? IS IT A TRAP OR HAS HIS TEAM ABANDONED HIM!?”

 

“New plan, get to Yugyeom and just go for it, element of surprise,” Jackson growled, nodding at his teammates.

 

The trio sprinted towards the north end of the field, weaving in between trees as silently as possible.  Jackson ordered Mark to go around the edge, so that he’d come out the furthest north. Youngjae got to work figuring out the positions of the other team with his hearing. He quickly relayed the information to the older boys. JMark nodded and sprinted off to get to his position. Jackson told Youngjae to stay towards the south while he would go east. They would back Yugyeom up from behind and sneak up on the group. Mark’s target was Chanyeol, while Jackson fought Tao and Youngjae would take Kyungsoo. Jackson and Youngjae  split up and quickly approached the fight.

 

Jackson slipped through the trees quietly. He may have lied about running ten miles a week to Mar, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t run. He slowed down when he heard the sounds of the fight. Quietly, he passed through the trees and hid, eyes watching for his teammates’ signals. He could see the edge now. There was a clean line of steel cutting off the the simulated forest. On the other side stands filled with students sat watching. BamBam, a disgruntled Baekhyun and slightly injured Jongin sat on benches closer to the stage, waiting or the fight to end.

 

‘Two down, three to go,’ Jackson counted.

 

He looked around and saw only two of the three. Yugyeom was indeed cornered. Tao and Kyungsoo stood to the south, blocking off any escape for Yugyeom.  Jackson looked up through the trees for any sign of the firebird in the sky, but found none. A light flashed in his eye and he looked to the north end of the field, behind the battling trio. Mark crouched in a tree, fifteen feet off the ground, his red hair standing out amongst the leaves. The boy silently pointed away from him, signaling that Youngjae was in position. Jackson nodded and raised his hand like he was punching the air.

 

‘It’s go time,’ Jackson smiled before bursting out of the trees and screaming like a madman.

 

He took the group by surprise, immediately calling their attention to himself. Yugyeom took the chance to slip into a more offensive position, no longer trapped by their opponents. He jumped over the distracted boys, russet wolf flying through the air. He landed safely on the other side, a good distance away from the group. Suddenly Tao fell back, ordering Kyungsoo to cover his back.

 

“He’s used his quirk!” Jackson announced, suddenly changing the direction of his sprint, “Fire at will!”

 

Tao’s eyes were quick to follow Jackson’s form, leaving his friend wide open. Youngjae took advantage of this. Vaulting himself over Yugyeom’s giant wolf form, he jumped out of his hiding spot and sprinted straight for Kyungsoo. However, he wasn’t fast enough. Kyungsoo saw the boy coming and immediately went on the counter. Lucky for Youngjae, his enhanced hearing allowed him to predict the trajectory of the Earthshaker’s attack. Youngjae leaped to his left right before a loud groaning and rumbling sound tore  out of the stage, large, jagged rocks piercing through the eah where Youngjae was once standing. The boy landed on his feet before falling into a roll to wear off the momentum of his jump. Kyungsoo’s body followed him, quickly unleashing another attack. This time Yugyeom used the opportunity to jump at Kyungsoo’s open back. However, Tao shifted back and blocked the boy with  his staff.

 

“You gotta be quicker than that! He’s fast!” Jackson hollered over the fight.

 

“Shut up, Wang!” Tao whipped his head towards Jackson and anarled.

 

“Come at me bro,” Jackson taunted.

 

“I’m not falling for your tricks,” Tao glared at Jackson before turning his head to look over his shoulder.

 

“What tricks?” Jackson laughed when a loud shout suddenly pierced the air.

 

Both boys looked up to what seemed to be Mark clinging to a very distressed Chanyeol in bird form. The bird shook and jerked, trying to dislodge the boy from his feathers when suddenly he froze up, plummeting to the ground. Mark jumped off the bird and into the trees before he hit the ground. Chanyeol gained control of himself and ended up flapping harshly to soft his descent, however no amount of flapping would keep him from hitting the ground. The bird fell through the trees and out of sight for a moment before a lanky boy fell out of the trees, where the bird had fallen. The human Chanyeol hit the ground with a dull thud and a loud groan. Mark came sprinting out of the trees, quickly lifting the boy by his shirt and dragging him to the edge of the stage where he was unceremoniously pushed off.

 

“ANOTHER FOR TEAM WANG! MARK TUAN HAS JUST ELIMINATED PARK CHANYEOL!”

 

“Dammit! Chanyeol!” Tao shouted angrily, watching helplessly as his teammate was pushed out of sight.

 

With the remaining duo distracted Youngjae and Yugyeom leaped into action. The wolf boy lead an attack against Kyungsoo, his muzzle getting close enough to snap at the boy’s shoulder.

 

“Yugyeom! Back!” Youngjae warned right before rocks rippled from the ground.

 

Youngjae, now the closest to Kyungsoo, quickly rushed towards the Earthshaker aiming a well timed punch to the boy’s cheek. Kyungsoo was thrown off balance, his quirk controlled earthquake spiraling out of control, wrecking the arena and knocking down trees. Tao jumped away to dodge a falling trunk. Leaving both boys open. Yugyeom leaped towards Kyungsoo, who had fallen to the ground, and grabbed him by the leg. With a large flick of his furry head, he whipped Kyungsoo off the side of the stage, leaving the boy to spiral down into the padding under the stage. Jackson, and now Mark, advanced on Tao, cutting off his escape. The Time User fought back with impressive staff fighting, however he found himself blasted with a force field, knocking him to the ground. Another flew at him, pushing him off the ground and into the air, over the side of the stage.

 

“AND THAT’S IT FOLKS! TEAM WANG HAS WON THE GAME!”

 

-------

 

“WOOHOO! THE INDESTRUCTIBLE, UNDEFEATABLE! TEAM WANG!!!  WOOOOO!!!”

 

“Alright BamBam, I think that’s enough soda for you,” Yugyeom sighed as he took the rootbeer out of the excited boy’s hand.

 

The five of them were hanging out in an empty classroom after their successful battle. BamBam and Yugyeom were seated next to each other, well Yugyeom was sitting and BamBam was dancing like a crazy person, near the window. Youngjae and Jackson sat on the floor, chowing down on the snacks that they brought and Mark sat in a desk behind them, feet resting on the chair to the left.

 

“You gotta admit, though. We were pretty awesome,” Jackson spoke through a mouthful of potato chips.

 

“Ew,” Mark screwed up his face at the image of the messy Analytic, “Chew your food Jackson.”

 

Jackson, in return, chewed and swallowed his food before sticking his tongue out at the red head. Mark rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

 

“No, Jackson’s right,” BamBam eagerly replied, “I’m Yug was all like ‘grr’ rowrowrow’ and did you see those jumps like wow!”

 

Yugyeom couldn’t help but blush at BamBam’s incongruous imitation of himself. BamBam kept chattering and sneakily stole his root beer back, taking a sip before talking again.

 

“Really, like if we could do five man teams in the actual tournament we would kill it.” BamBam hastily jerked his arm away from Yugyeom’s purposeful hand, sloshing a little liquid over the top of the bottle.

 

“Five man team?” Youngjae asked in disbelief, “More like Youngjae scoffed.

 

“Well, I didn’t see you get rid of anyone,” BamBam challenged.

 

“Really? Did you not see me help your boyfriend defeat that freaky kid? Did you not see me punch him in the face?” Youngjae stood up and stepped into BamBam’s space.

 

“We’re not dating!” BamBam growled.

 

“Uh Bam?”

 

“Not now, Yug!” Both boys quieted the concerned wolf.

 

Jackson grimaced at the noise coming from the two younger boys. He picked himself off the ground, grabbing two drinks and a package of oreo cookies brofe sliding over to Mark. He tapped the boy’s legs with the drink, gaining his attention. Mark looked away from the squabbling trio and up to Jackson's face. He silently dropped his feet to the ground, allowing Jackson to sit in the chair next to him. Jackson, however, grabbed the desk and the chair and scooted them loudly across the floor until they were next to Mark’s. He set a drink on Mark’s desk and the other on his, dropping the package of cookies in between them. Mark chuckled silently, not knowing what else to do in the situation.

 

“Do they always fight like that?” Mark asked and opened the bottle.

 

“Yes, I’m surprised Youngjae can handle all the noise,” Jackson chuckled and nudged Mark’s shoulder with the back of his hand.

 

“They sure are noisy…” Mark spoke over the top of his drink.

 

Jackson eyed Mark for a second, mind blocking out the arguments behind him. His gaze roamed over the boy's face, his almond eyes, strawberry blond hair,  cupid’s bow lips. The boy was picture perfect.

 

“Hey, you want to go somewhere more quiet?” Jackson’s eyes flicked back to Mark’s.

 

“Is It OK to leave them alone?” Mark’s eyes flicked over to the trio.

 

Yugyeom was holding BamBam back by his shoulders, his back pressed to the shorter boy's chest, while Youngjae restrained himself from jumping the boy.

 

“You know, I think they'll be fine,” Jackson rolled his eyes and grabbed a handful of oreo before standing up.

 

He jerked his head towards the door and Mark caught the message. The redhead grabbed his drink and pushed away from the desk, following Jackson as they silently slipped out of the classroom.

 

“So where did you have in mind?” Mark asked once they had made it safely to the hallway.

 

“Just around,” Jackson answered vaguely.

 

He grabbed Mark’s sleeve as he turned down the hall and towards the stairs. Mark followed obediently. He did not see any problem with following the slightly shorter boy. Jackson led them down the stairs and out of the exterior doors at the bottom of the stairwell. They exited out at the westernmost side of the school. Jackson turned to walk to the front of the school and Mark followed.

 

The two boys walked shoulder to shoulder. It wasn't purposeful. It just seemed as if an invisible force was drawing the boy's closer and closer. Jackson gazed up at the night sky, silently gazing at the stars as he walked. Surely it was a stupid Idea.  Afterall, there were millions and billions and trillions of stars out there. And with him staring up at the sky, he surely wouldn't be able to see where he was going. But It seemed that force was working upon home again. He looked up at the stars and couldn't help but compare them with the boy next to him. They were so far away, shining brilliantly in the distance, some faded,  some large, some small. Each one was captivating,  breathtaking. And each one was more than the eye could see.  Light years away,  balls of dangerous burning gas and plasma. They weren't so unattainable, after all,  man had telescopes and rocket ships.  But never had any of them gotten so close. The risk was always there. The risk to get burnt, decimated, vaporized within the mass. Jackson stopped for a moment and thought, well, he wouldn't mind taking the risk.

 

Mark was worth it. A conundrum all on on his own. A paradox of power and weakness. A shining star when he wanted and massive ball of fire when he was needed. Mark was the complexities of of the galaxy wrapped into one boy. The unattainable attained. The dangerous discovery.  The beauty full of wonder and adventure. Jackson wouldn't hesitate to jump into a rocket ship to research the milky way in Mark's eyes.

 

The boys walked until they reached the fountain in front of the center of the school. It was a large round accessory with four tiers, each depicting a class in the school: hero, sidekick, work - base,  and Analytic.  Atop the first tier sat the school emblem, water rushing from the arcs of the a crest. Jackson padded over to the edge of the fountain,  seating himself on the bottom tier. He swiftly removed his shoes and socks, then placed the woolen fabric inside his shoes and tossing them to the side. He rolled up his pant legs and swung his legs over the side, plopping his feet into the water with a quiet splash. Mark smiled and did the same, albeit more carefully. Jackson swirled his feet in the cool water for a moment before looking up at Mark.

 

“Are you happy that we're a team?” the blonde whispered.

 

“ Of course I am,” Mark answered without hesitation.

 

Jackson removed his hands from his lap and placed them a little ways on either side side of his hips.

 

“ Because, you know, if we win this competition we're stuck with each other for almost least four more years.” Jackson looked back to the water.

 

Mark was silent for a moment and Jackson felt the boy’s gaze upon his face. Then, Mark spoke in the most serious and soothing tone that Jackson had ever heard.

 

“I wouldn't want it any other way, Jackson.”

 

And them Jackson felt a hand atop his own, and he couldn't help but think:

 

‘The risk was worth it.’

 

<><><><><><><><><><>

 

As the days flew by, Mark and Jackson spent exponentially more time together as the tournament drew near. They only practiced with each other in the group classes and spent even more time after school practicing. Mark kept researching new techniques and quirks in the library (which he reluctantly told Jackson after a lot of persuading and pouting from the blonde) and Jackson spent any free time, when not with Mark, studying strategies and battle formations. The two we’re trying their hardest to get prepared...really.

 

Jackson liked to think that they weren’t putting all of their focus on the competition so that they could ignore each other.  Quite a paradox, right? They spent so much time together but they ignored the wavering lines of their friendship. It wasn’t a bad omen, per se, except there was something formulating between the two of them and they didn’t seem to want to know what-- but maybe that was just Mark. After that night when they held hands by the fountain, leaning on each other’s bodies until it got too cold to stay out, Jackson knew his feelings were true. He gave up on denying himsellf ages ago, but conviently failed to go much deeper.Now though, he knew  he liked the redheaded, pointy-toothed, unexpected hero, and there was no stopping it. He just hoped Mark felt the same.

 

<><><><><><><><><><>

 

Exams were finally over and classes done for the summer break, but the school was still bustling with students. The only ones remaining in the school by now were the ones who had signed up for the tournament. They were all packing up their things from their dorms in preparation for their parents to take them home. However, the students wouldn’t be going home just yet. They would be sent off in buses to the airport and then to the States, where the tournament was set to play. Once there, the students would be checked into a fancy hotel in the heart of Los Angeles,close to the stadiums. (A/N lol had to note here that they’re pretty much using the olympic stadium...this is their olympics)  But that was in the future, well,more like tomorrow.

 

“Yug, did you see my dufflebag?”

 

“It’s under your suitcase, Bam.”

 

“Mark, have you seen my dufflebag?”

 

“No Jackson, keep the hell up with your own stuff.”

 

“But-”

 

The four boys were outside the Analytic Dorm, helping their friends with their belongings. Yugyeom and Mark had already sent off their luggage with their parents and reserved their seats on the bus, leaving their belongings to take to the tournament underneath the bus. Jackson was still moving things from his dorm to his parent’s car. Mark didn’t hesitate to scold him for being a procrastinator.

 

“Jackson, there’s still some boxes up in your room, but I don't know if they’re yours or BamBam’s,” Jackson’s sister yelled as she passed by them, large cardboard box in her hands.

 

“They’re not mine! I got all mine,” BamBam broke from his conversation with his parents and Yugyeom t reply to Jackson’s sister.

 

“I got ‘em!” Jackson yelled back, grabbing Mark to help him.

 

The two boys entered the dorm and jogged up the stairs to Jackson’s floor. They weaved through the small crowd of students and movers on the floor to room 852. The door was left open and unlocked, having only two boxes left sitting on a striped bed. Jackson entered the room first, waiting for Mark to enter before closing the door. Mark gave Jackson a confused look but moved to the bed nonetheless. Jackson took a deep breath and leaned against the back of the door. Mark had reached for one of the boxes, but thought otherwise when he saw Jackson stalling.

 

“What’s up?” Mark asked, leaning back against on of the built-in desks.

 

“I just,” Jackson started, leaning his head back on the door, “This is it, ya know? Like, after this, and if we don't win, there's not much more left for us.”

 

“What are you talking about Jackson?” Mark stood up and walked across the room. He placed his hands on either side of Jackson’s shoulders, “Even if we don't win, we will still have eachother. Plus, it’s a scholarship program, they can't tell us we can't go to H.A.S. We’ll just apply like normal people.” Mark reassures with a smile.

 

“Really? You'd still want to be a team even if we failed?” Jackson asked, looking up at Mark with puppy eyes.

 

“Yes, Jackson.”

 

“Like even if I totally and utterly failed?”

 

“Even if you're an utter failure,” Mark nodded.

 

“Like I mess up so bad that your arm gets cut off and lose a chunk of your leg and I get my hair singed off and end up looking like some sort of crusty monk?”

 

Mark blinked at the boy and blinked before suddenly pulling back and punching (lightly) him in the stomach.

 

“You Idiot, stop fishing for compliments,” Mark snorted.

 

Jackson feigned pain with a pitiful whine and doubled over, forehead coming to rest on Mark’s shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry Jackson. We’re going to blow them out of the water,” Mark chuckled.

 

“Hah, I don’t doubt that Mr.Ten” Jackson remarked snidely into Mark’s shoulder.

 

“Hey, you know you're just as good as me.” Mark raised his arms and enclosed Jackson into a hug.

 

“But we’ll never know.” Jackson shifted his body so that his chest was flush with Mark’s.

 

“What?” Mark asked, trying to turn his head to look at Jackson's face, but the other stayed pressed into him.

 

“Rate don't work on the rater,” Jackson replied simply.

 

“Wait,” Mark pushed the other off him, but left his hands on Jackson's shoulders, “You can tell what everyone else's rate is but not your own?”

 

“There's limits to everything--and don't ask about looking in the mirror, I've tried and btw mirrors actually pose more danger than you would think,” Jackson answered bitterly.

 

“Wow…” Mark blinked at Jackson for a moment before something sparked in his eyes, “Well, it's just too bad that you don't know anyone with the Copy quirk.”

 

Jackson looked up at Mark's wicked smile, “You little - don't you dare-”

 

“Oops,” Mark interrupted with a maniacal smile.

 

“You just copied me!” Jackson shouted indignantly, “I'm worthless now! Go on, go to the tournament alone. I'm no longer needed!” Jackson dramatically twirled around Mark and fell on the bed beside the boxes.

 

“Aw come on, I can only use one at a time. I still need you to use it constantly,” Mark rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed, sitting down beside the boy and placing his hand on his thigh, “Plus you’re awesome.”

 

Jackson shifted and pressed his face into the body mattress with a defiant grunt.

 

“Jackson~” Mark whined cutely and laid down on top of the boy, joking into his ear “Come on, you know I love you.”

 

“You love me?” Jackson’s voice was muffled by the mattress, but Mark could hear the serious tone.

 

“Jackson, I-”

 

“What's taking you guys long--oh, nevermind.” BamBam stopped at the door, eyes looking over the two boys lying rather intimately on the bed, “Uh, sorry to interrupt...that...but the bus is leaving in like half an hour and you still need to get all your stuff so…”

 

“Bam, just close the door.” Yugyeom poked his head over the boy’s shoulder and reached around him to grab the handle, “We’ll be waiting on the bus guys.”

 

“Thanks,” Mark looked over his In shoulder, not bothering to get off Jackson.  He waved to the younger boys as they closed the door, only rolling off Jackson when the door was completely shut.

 

“Come on, we better get this stuff down to your parents” Mark sighed and grabbed a box before exiting the room.

 

Jackson stayed on the bed for a moment. He rolled over onto his back and rubbed at his eyes .

 

‘You sure are a smart one Jackson,’ he told himself sarcastically.

 

------------

 

After Jackson had finally packed all of his belongings into his parents car and told them and his siblings goodbye, he boarded the bus, quickly finding Mark,BamBam and Yugyeom amongst the students in the back. He sat down next to Mark and repared himself for the long trip to the airport (read: headphones to block out BamBam and a blanket to share with Mark, he didn’t need a pillow because he had Mark).

 

Once they arrived at the airport, the  teachers quickly ushered the students off the buses and throh security. They were led to a special wing of the airport mt for transporting large groups like the military or even masses of students. Once everyone was cleared through security, they were allowed to board. Jackson immediately found a seat next to Mark and snuggled up to the boy, ready for a long nap.

 

“Do you sleep this much at school?” Mark chuckled as Jackson nudged his face under Mark's arm.

 

“Yes and no,” Jackson mumbled through Mark’s shirt, “Now stop moving so I can sleep.”

 

“Clingy,” Mark teased, but he still let the boy lean on him.

 

---------------

The plane landed at eight p.m. California time. The students were shoved off the plane and loaded onto buses, which would take them to their hotel. Each team shared one room with two beds. With all of the students participating, the Fight School students easily rented out the entire hotel. The tournament was scheduled to start the day after the next, leaving the students some time to sightsee after they arranged all their items in their hotel rooms.

 

“Did you know that I live here?” Mark asked while he and Jackson were unpacking.

 

“In this hotel?” Jackson looked up from his suitcase with a goofy smile.

 

“No you idiot. LA, I live in LA,” Mark threw a pillow at the laughing boy.

 

“So did your parents come to school on move out week?” Jackson tossed the pillow back on Mark’s bed.

 

“No, I shipped all my stuff over here, but I had to promise that I would go out with the at least three times a week during the tournament.” Mark placed his final shirt in the hotel dresser before knocking his suitcase off his bed and flopping down where it had been.

 

“They sound pretty confident in you,” Jackson smiled and abandoned his mess to lay down next to Mark.

 

“Us,” Mark corrected, staring at the ceiling.

 

“Hm?” Jackson turned his head to look at the redhead’s profile.

 

“They’re confident in us,” Mark corrected with a smile.

 

Jackson was taken aback for a moment. He was totally blindsided by the overall effect that Mark had on him. One smile from the boy sent his heart racing, a glance would make a smile break onto his face, a touch would send a fresh wave of heat through his body.

 

‘This guy is going to be the death of me,’ Jackson thought, still mesmerized by the boy beside him.

 

“Well,” Jackson suddenly spoke aloud, “Since you’re native, then how about you be my personal tour guide?”

 

“Not tonight,” Mark dismissed and rolled over so that his back was facing Jackson.

 

“Whyyyy?” Jackson whined and scooted closer to Mark, effectively spooning the boy.

 

“Too tired,” Mark mumbled, pressing back into Jackson’s warmth.

 

Jackson just sighed and surrendered to the boy He shifted a little closer to Mark (not that there was any space in between them already) and looked over the boy’s face. Mar had his eyes closed in a feigned sleep. His mouth was parted slightly, letting little puffs of air pass through his lips. Jackson raised a hand and ran it through Mark’s bangs, exposing his closed eyes. Mark’s eyelids fluttered open, the pupils looking up at Jackson through his eyelashes. Jackson Only smiled softly before dropping his arm to Mark’s waist. He hugged the redhead with a short, tight squeeze and cuddled up to him like a koala.

 

“You know you have your own bed right?” Mark whispered, though everything in his voice negated his question.

 

“Yeah, but it’s covered up right now,” Jackson replied easily.

 

“We should get up and change,” Mark offered, but he had already closed his eyes.

 

“We should,” Jackson agreed slowly, however he never moved to stand.

 

They laid like that for a while, enjoying the warmth from each other’s bodies.  Jackson felt every breath Mark took underneath his arm and Mark felt Jackson’s on his back. Jackson wasn't sure if Mark was awake or not, but sleep didn't seem to be coming his way. Jackson sighed and pushed his face into Mark's curly red hair.

 

“What are we, Mark?” Jackson whispered softly.

 

Mark didn't move or respond.

 

Jackson sighed again, “You know I really like you, like a lot.”

 

Soon, the even breathing of Mark led Jackson to sleep. With his conscience eased, Jackson fell into a deep sleep with dreams of the red haired boy beside him.

 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

 

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.

 

<><><><><><><><><>

 

Mark and Jackson ended up doing extremely well in the competition, better than even themselves expected. It seemed with their newfound closure that they were finally able to focus on the task at hand. Plus, having someone who you connected on emotional, physical, and mental levels was helpful. They were the team that everyone was talking about. Their fast paced fighting style and irrefutable strategy and teamwork landed them on the headlines of local and international newspapers, though Mark never let the fame get too far in Jackson’s head. They surged through the ranks like none other, but it was about time for a good break.

 

The two boys fought their way through the tiers of the tournament now finding them in the middle of the battle. Unfortunately, BamBam and Yugyeom had already been knocked out of the competition, but it was one less team that Mark and Jackson had to worry about. And since their friends and many others had been eliminated, the stages were cut down to two in the stadium.

 

Mark and Jackson’s waiting room routine had changed significantly from that first battle. Instead of being that nervous Jackson, the blonde boy was practically hopping in his seat, excited for the upcoming battle. Mark just watched his boyfriend (he really loved the sound of that) and casually placed placed a placed a hand on Jackson’s knee to cease the jittering.

 

 “Do you remember the battle plan?” Jackson asked Mark, excited smile flashing across his lips.

 

“Yes, avoid direct hits and disable the Analytic,” Mark repeated Jackson’s words from the previous night.

 

“Good,” Jackson nodded, “If we have any luck we might get the desert stage. It's not ideal, but it will hurt them more than us.”

Mark nodded in agreement and s his hand from Jackson’s knee to his shoulders, pulling him close.

 

They sat in silence (if you don't count the tapping of Jackson’s foot) as they waited for the green light. When the light flashed green, Jackson jumped up, pulling Mark by the hand. They walked to the door and squeezed their entwined hands.

 

“We got this. Semifinals are just around the corner,” Jackson reminded himself.

 

“We got this,” Mark repeated before briefly kissing Jackson on the cheek, “Let's go.”

 

They walked to the stage and met their competition in the middle. After completing their bows, the boys readied themselves for the fight. The hologrammed di blinked above the stage. On Jackson and Mark's side, the northern end, fell on forest.

 

‘Sweet,’ Jackson though, making a low-key fist pump.

Jackson looked to the other side and the di fell on dessert. Jackson smiled wildly and not-so-subtly bumped shoulders with mark while chanting ‘We got ‘em, we got ‘em we got ‘em,’ in his head. Their two competitors looked very dismayed by the results and Jackson’s excited body language. Then, the bell rang. Mark immediately made a run for the Analytic, swinging a punch towards the girl. She easily dodged the punch, dropping underneath Mark’s arms and aiming a sweeping kick to Mark’s legs. Markk barely had enough time to jump before the female hero decided to join the fight.

 

“Mark! In the sand!” Jackson reminded, quickly running there himself.

 

Mark nodded, although he doubted Jackson could see it. He ducked under a punch from the Hero and vaulted himself backwards, back flipping away from the center stage. Mark sprinted to the sand dune. He reached Jackson and look back to see if they were followed.

 

“Why aren't they following us?” Mark turned to Jackson in confusion.

 

“The sand pretty much neutralizes their quirks,” Jackson answered with a smirk, “Analytic Chick is a human seismograph. She feels vibrations in the ground. The sand doesn't transmit vibrations like hard ground. And blondy over there is a Golem. She hasn't done it yet but she can morph into a rock monster. Thing is a though,  her weight stays the same no mater what. Every punch around kick is like it's coming from around brick wall, but she can't step into the sand.”

 

“Because she's too heavy,” Mark quickly picked up quickly.

 

“Yup,” Jackson nodded.

 

The boy’s stood in place, bodies tense as they waited for their opponents’ next move. However, the were a little surprised when he two girls simply stayed put.

 

“So, are they going to follow us?” Mark asked, brow furrowing as he whispered the question to Jackson.

 

Jackson bit his lip and shrugged helplessly, “You know, I don’t really think I thought of what would happen after we go in the sand…”

 

Mark gave Jackson an incredulous look, hands coming up in a ‘what’ gesture. Jackson shrugged it off and looked back up to the centerstage.

 

“Hey, my job is difficult ok?” Jackson stressed.

 

“Jackson, they’re gone.” Mark interrupted, still looking towards the other side.

 

“What?” Jackson whipped his head to the forest end of the field.

 

Suddenly they heard a loud crackling noise and a loud thud. Trees swayed within the forest on the other side of the field.

 

Jackson turned to Mark with panic in his eyes,“That’s not good.”

 

Just as the words left his mouth, a dark object flew over the field going straight for them. Jackson’s eyes widened and he scrambled away from the object’s trajectory.

 

“MOVE!” Jackson shouted as he dove away from the tree that had been thrown at them.

 

Mark sprinted towards the center stage but had to double back to avoid another tree missile.

 

“How the hell are they doing this!?” MArk shouted as he slid past a sand dune.

 

“Golem has super strength!” JAckson replied, dodging another piece of tree, “We’ve only got a few options to counter!”

 

“Spit it out then!” Mark growled, flinching when a tree hit the sand a few feet from them.

 

“They don’t know where we are, so we either wait for them to run out of trees or attack while they’re blind, but as soon as we step on solid ground, the Analytic will know where we are.” Jackson explained as he brushed sand from his side.

 

“Unless we mask ourselves,” MArk offered.

 

“Know any flying quirks?” Jackson asked as he took off his shoe and shook sand out of it.

 

“Really? You do realize that you’re just going to get more sand in them?” Mark deadpanned.

 

“It’s uncomfortable. Sue m-” Jackson was unable to finish his statement because MArk suddenly tackled him, their momentum rolling them a few feet.

 

“You know, you’re going to get yourself killed because you have an inability to pay attention,” Mark huffed.

 

Mark hovered over Jackson in the sand. Jackson turned his head to where he was once standing to see an upended tree now poking out of the sand. Jackson turned back to  look up at Mark and smiled.

 

“I freaking love you,” Jackson sighed sincerely.

 

“Not the time, Jackson.” MArk shook his head and got up, brushing sand off of himself (which landed on a sputtering Jackson), “Our ‘safe zone’ is quickly becoming an ‘unsafe zone,’” Mark continued.

 

“That’s it!” Jackson jumped up from the sand with a shout, “Please tell me you at least have some sort of wind or telekinesis quirk copied in that beautiful head of yours!”

 

“Galestorm from Fei in Class D,” Mark nodded.

 

“Sweet,” Jackson fist pumped, “I need you to use it to blow this sand to the other side of the stage.”

 

“What?” Mark gave Jackson a concerned look.

 

“It’s simple--where’s my shoe?” Jackson interrupted himself and looked around in the sand, “Oh there. Anyways! It’s pretty simple. You blow sand onto the solid stage. The sand will absorb most of the vibrations from our feet and we get in while the enemy is blind.”

 

“Ok, I see now…” Mark nodded, “You might want to get behind me. I don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

 

Jackson gave Mark a wary look but obeyed. Standing behind MArk, he watched as sand began to lift from the ground, billowing up as more sand slowly filtered into the vortex. The wind got harsher and began ripping at their hair and clothes. Mark’s body tense in front of him and he shifted his body to a more balanced position.

 

“I just want you to know this is extremely difficult,” Mark growled over the wind, “I can’t hold much longer.”

 

“Then let it go. Can you do it multiple times?” Jackson shoute back.

 

“We’ll see!” Mark replied as he let go of the galestorm.

 

The vortex of sand and wind spun wildly out of control, zigzagging across the ground and picking up sand. It swirled over the metal center stage before exploding on the other side, sending sand raining down.

 

Jackson peaked over Mark’s shoulder and nodded once, “Impressive.”

 

Mark turned his head to glare at Jackson.

 

“Do it again,” Jackson smiled, sending an air kiss to the redhead.

 

Mark rolled his eyes and turned back to his task. He tried again, this time gaining much more control over the galestorm. He released the vortex and sent it flying to the other side. This time the storm hit its Mark. Sand washed over the trees in a wave of tan.

 

“Woo!” Jackson cheered behind Mark, “One more time babe!”

 

“Ugh, I don’t know if I can,” Mark panted.

 

“Come on, just one more,” Jackson pleaded, “It’ll be just enough to mask us, plus they’re probably figuring out what’s happening as we speak.”

 

Just as Jackson said, a tree came flying over the stage. Mark sighed and grabbed Jackson by the shirt, pulling him closer to the center stage.

 

“She’s got terrible aim,” Mark grumbled as he got back into his stance, “Last time Jackson, I swear if this doesn't work I’m going to murder you.”

 

“Duly noted,” Jackson laughed.

 

Mark focused once more, calling forth a larger galestorm. The vortex whipped up sand into its body as it grew bigger and bigger until it reached the side of the center stage itself. Visibility was decreasing more and more as sand floated into the air.

“Here we go!” Mark shouted over the wind and pushed the storm towards the forest stage.

 

The vortex hit its mark perfectly. Sand broke from the wind as it snapped against trees. The miniscule grains fell in a cloud of tan, blanketing the stage.

 

“Better go now!” Jackson shouted, grabbing Mark’s hand and pulling him into the sand cloud.

The boys raced through the sparse forest to find their opponents. Their only beacon was a large shadow that Jackson could only assume was the Golem Quirk. It was too short and wide to be a tree, and if the fact that it was moving provided any evidence, then yes, he would say it was the Golem.

 

Jackson slowed down when they got close enough to identify the duo, “Mark, the rest is up to you.”

 

“Got it,” Mark nodded, “Wind won’t work on her will it?”

 

“Nope, too heavy. You’d need some super strength to move her,” Jackson informed his partner.

 

“Mind becoming a distraction?” Mark spoke after a pause in the conversation.

 

Jackson turned to the other and smirked, “Isn’t that what I do best?”

 

Mark quickly relayed his plan to Jackson. the blonde fine tuned it a bit before setting off to do his job. Jackson ran in a wide arc around their competition. He weaved his way to situate himself in front of them, in clear sight. The lack of trees due to the Golem’s angry rampage aided in that matter. It wasn’t long until they spotted him. The first one to see him was the Analytic. The thin, brunette gasped and pointed him out to her companion. The Golem swooped her partner up and placed the girl upon her massive shoulder. The Golem herself must have been at least twelve feet tall, if not more. She was wide and looked to be made of boulders stacked atop each other; one for a calf, another for a thigh, two for her torso, two to make up her upper arm and forearm, and one for her head. The Golem made no sound except for the thundering of her stone feet hitting the ground as she ran for Jackson. Luckily for Jackson, with all that weight came slow speed. Jackson easily dodged around the girl, never coming close enough for her to touch him. Jackson laughed giddily and taunted the girl every time she missed him. he kept an eye out for Mark, who was supposed to sneak up onto the distracted Golem and Copy her strength. Jackson ended up leading the girl and her partner closer to the edge of the stage where the trees were less scarce. He dodged around on of her granite hands, causing her to crash against a tree instead. The Golem tipped to the side before catching herself on another tree, however, the sharp movement had caused her charge to topple off her shoulder.

 

“MARK!” Jackson shouted, “NOW WOULD BE GREAT!”

 

Mark swooped out of the trees and closed in on the Golem, who was heaving herself up, oblivious to the fact that she lost her partner. All it took for Mark to Copy her quirk was a quick tap to the back of her leg before he retreated back to a safe distance. Mark wasted no time, however, in activating the newly acquired quirk. Jackson could tell when he activated it by how his stick-figured boyfriend began to sink a little into the layer of sand on the ground.

 

“Alright!” Jackson cheered animatedly from several feet away, “Go get ‘em!”

 

“Not helpful!” Mark shouted as he took a slow step towards the Golem, who had righted herself.

 

The image of the two heros was rather frightening to Jackson. He could only imagine what the audience saw. A large rock monster over twice the size of her opponent locked into battle with a skinny, red haired kid. The odds seemed exponentially stacked against them, but Jackson knew better.

 

Mark’s speed was extremely crippled by the heavyweight quirk. He could not dodge as easily as before, but with the weight of the quirk he was able to withstand a majority of the attacks. All he had to do was find a way to get the Golem off the stage. The two exchanged a few blows before MArk decided to  go for broke. The redhead stepped underneath the Golem’s arms and into her immediate space. Mark utilized his added strength and placed a flying kick on her stomach (or where it should have been). The girl went flying back as she crashed against the remaining trees, still not off the stage. Mark trudged over to the fallen girl and summoned all of his strength to push the girl once more, sending her skidding off the sand and over over the edge of the stage.

 

Mark panted and fell down,completely drained of energy. Jackson cheered and sprinted over to Mark as the canon fire rang.

 

“ But...hah...the...Analytic?” Mark gasped through choked breaths.

 

“ I tossed her off while you were fighting the mountain,” Jackson smirked, “See. I can do work too.”

 

Mark huffed and leaned into Jackson’s chest, “I am not walking off this stage, so you better carry me.”

 

<><><><><><><><><><><>

 

    Mark and Jackson sat in their hotel room next to each other on Mark’s bed (Jackson still hadn’t cleaned his off).  Jackson had a notebook in his lap and pen in hand.

 

    “Alright, so strategy,” Jackson started clicking the pen dramatically.

 

    “Uh huh,” Mark nodded hesitantly, “Which is?”

   

    “Just roll with me here,” Jackson pointed the pen at Mark's face, “So, what do we know about Jaebum and Jinyoung?”

 

Jackson wrote the names at the top of the paper and then drew a line between them, running running down to the bottom of the page.He position his pen underneath the “Jaebum” column and proceed to narrate as he wrote, “Crazy...over...sensitive...hot...head.”

 

Mark snorted laughter at the statement.

 

Jackson moved to the “Jinyoung” column also wrote, “Ice Queen.”

 

Mark laughed at his boyfriend’s comments, “Alright, so how is this going to help us?”

 

“Please babe,” Jackson held up husband hand to silence a giggling Mark, “It’s all part of the the process.”

 

Mark laughed louder all Jackson’s serious expression. Jackson, displeased, then tossed the notebook onto his bed and pounced on Mark. Jackson pressed the redhead into the mattress, relentlessly tickling the older’s sides.

 

“Alright! Alright! Stop, please!” Mark shouted in between large burst of laughter, hands swatting at Jackson’s shoulders.

 

Jackson complied and rolled off the boy and lied at Mark’s side. He reached over and patted Mark’s leg briefly to get his attention.

 

“Really though,” Jackson sighed, “We need to focus…”

 

“Wow, who are you and what did you do with JAckson Wang?” Mark joked as he sat up to look at Jackson.

 

“Hey, I’ll have you know I can be very serious when something is important enough,” Jackson glared at the older.

 

“Like when?” Mark challenged.

 

“Like when your safety is on the line,” Jackson replied, voice heavy with implications of just how much he worried for the other.

 

Mark froze, blinking in surprise at Jackson’s statement. Tjhen, a heartfelt smile spread across his lips, “Well, I think that’s pretty important.”

 

Mark scooted off the bed to retrieve Jackson’s notebook. When he returned, he cuddled up to Jackson’s side, passing him the notebook and pen.

 

“So, from what I know about Jaebum and from what you’ve already said, is that he’s easily triggered.” Mark thought back to the time he had spent in the same classes with Jaebum.

 

“I don’t even need my quirk to see that,” Jackson scoffed but wrote it down anyways, “His quirk has a weak point though. It’s not just a Fire Body Quirk, it’s more like a human torch--or better yet-- Human Volcano. When he gets too riled up, he’ll pretty much explode which obviously is very dangerous, deadly even.”

 

“But he’s rated a five?” Mark asked.

 

“Five at the beginning of the year, or at least last I checked…” Jackson replied, eyes on his paper as he jotted down more notes.

 

Mark squirmed next to Jackson, pushing his head underneath the other boy’s arm to see what he was writing, “Do people change rates often?”

 

“Not usually, but some things can trigger peak rates for a short time I call it ‘Momma Bear Syndrome,’” Jackson stopped writing and looked down at Mark, “What are you doing?”

 

“Cuddling,” Mark relied and snatched the pen away from JAckson, “Jaebum is good at close combat. The teachers never let use his quirk with the other kids.”

 

“Alright, write that down,” Jackson tapped the top of Mark’s he with his chin.

 

Jackson leaned back against the headboard and thought back to Jaebum’’s rate, “Jaebum can be just as dangerous to himself as others, so getting him to that explosion point is bad all around, however, his power has a limit. If he uses too much or loses steam he won’t be able to fight back.”

 

“So...how do we use this to our advantage?” Mark pressed the back of his head onto Jackson’s shoulder.

 

Jackson shifted his body to accommodate the clingy boy, moving his notebook time his other hand and wrapping his arm around Mark's waist.

 

“Don't speed the process,” Jackson quipped, squeezing Mark lightly, “Onto Jinyoung.”

 

“He's Jaebum’s rock,” Mark offered, “He cools Jaebum off when he gets too riled up. Like that time in the cafeteria.”

 

“Ok. Good,” Jackson nodded and wrote down what Mark said, “He's most definitely smarter than Jaebum,  not as deadly though.”

 

“Jinyoung is quick and light on his feet. His fighting style is more defense oriented,” Mark added.

 

“I don't think he's got much of a limit. As long as weather and stage are in his favor, it will be a tough battle. He can manipulate the air temperature and pressure around him, so I wouldn't get too close.” Jackson explained.

 

“ Which means?” Mark drawled.

 

“ Jinyoung is the head man, which may work for them, but it leaves Jaebum vulnerable.  If we separate the two so that Jinyoung can't keep Jaebum in check, the whole dynamic of their team would be thrown off. Separation wouldn't be too bad as long as we stay on our feet. You would have to take out Jinyoung,” Jackson explained.

 

“I don’t know about that,” Mark interrupted, “That would leave you with Jaebum. I know you're strong Jackson, but you can’t expect to match his power. One wrong move and he’ll kill you.”

 

“Well, I don’t plan on getting killed,” Jackson tried to reassure Mark.

 

“No one does,” Mark glared back at the smirking blonde.

 

“Ok, so I’ll be extra careful. Come on, Mark. I’ll be fine,” Jackson persuaded.

 

“Hey, I care about your safety just as much as you do mine,” Mark sighed and rested his head on Jackson’s stomach, “I don’t want you to get hurt either.”

 

Jackson looked down at the forlorn boy and sighed. He rested his arm across Mark’s chest in a slight hug, dropping his notebook to the side. Jackson took his other hand and ran  it through Mark’s strawberry locks, briefly twisting the strands every now and then.

 

“So much pressure,” Mark murmured, eyes closed in enjoyment of Jackson’s ministrations.

 

“We’ll be fine,” Jackson whispered adding an ‘I hope’ in his head.

“But now we need to talk about stages,
“ Jackson changed the subject with a cheery tone, leaning over to grab his notebook once again and knocking Mark’s head from his lap.

 

“Ugh,” Mark groaned and rolled to the side, pressing his face into the mattress.

 

“Hey now, we need all the preparation we can get!” Jackson argued, poking the other in the side with displeasure.

 

“Noooo!” Mark whined through the blankets squirming as Jackson assaulted his sides.

 

Jackson laughed giddily as he scratched at Mark’s sides. The redhead tossed and turned to escape Jackson’s deft fingers, giggling along.

 

“Maaaark,” Jackson whined back, “Focus!”

 

Jackson stopped his assault for a moment, hands resting on Mark’s side.

 

“Alright, alright,” Mark conceded breathlessly. He jerked onto his back next to Jackson. He straightened out his clothes and ran a hand through his hair, patting it down afterwards. Snuggling down into the bed, he ignored Jackson’s crooked brow and told Jackson to continue.

 

“So, stages-”

<><><><><><><><>

 

Jackson and Mark stood in the infamous waiting room. They stood at the door to their future in nervous silence, waiting for their fate to play out.

 

“Are you ready for this?” Mark grabbed Jackson’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

 

“Ready as I'll ever be,” Jackson replied, squeezing Mark’s hand back.

 

“ Jackson, I just want you to know that no matter what the outcome is, we’ll still be together, we're still going to be the best team out there, I'll still be proud of us--especially you,” Mark spoke sincerely,  eyes never wavering from Jackson's.

 

Jackson nodded wordlessly, a nervous smile on his lips. Then the doors opened, green light blinking on. The two boys wordlessly walked through the doors, hand in hand, onto the stage.

 

Mark and Jackson reached the inner circle at the same moment as Jaebum and Jinyoung. They gazed across to each other with guarded looks. Jinyoung having his normal icy stare and Jaebum’s angry glare. The two teams walked to the center and bowed to each other, before turning around and walking back to the edge. They waited patiently for the bell and stage transformation.

 

“ WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE FINAL BATTLE OF THE HERO ALLIANCE SCHOLARSHIP TOURNAMENT! YOUR FINALISTS ON THE NORTH END ARE IM JAEBUM AND PARK JINYOUNG. ON THE SOUTH END IS MARK TUAN AND JACKSON WANG! BOTH OF THESES TEAMS HAVE MADE RECORD BREAKING RUNS IN THE COMPETITION! LET’S SEE HOW THIS PLAYS OUT! AND NOW FOR THE STAGE!”  

 

The announcer made his speech, signaling the di roll. Above either side of the stage, hologram randomizers rolled through the list of stages. The hologram on the north end rolled until a stop on the City Stage. Everyone waited in suspense silence as the other hologram slowed, landing finally onto-

 

“OH AND LOOK AT THAT! IT SEEMS LIKE BOTH SIDES OF THE STAGES HAVE LANDED ON CITYSCAPE! INTERESTING INDEED!”

 

Mark tensed at the reveal, looking over to Jackson to gauge the boy’s reaction. Jackson remained collected, thousands of outcomes immediately running through his head.

 

‘City provides cover.’

 

‘Lots of things in the way.’

 

‘Easy sneak attacks.’

 

‘Limited sight distance.’

 

‘Rough terrain to fall on.’

 

‘Ow, I really hate concrete.’

 

The the bell rang and all hell broke loose.

 

“Go Mark! You know what to do!” Jackson shouted immediately sprinting for Jaebum.

 

Jaebum, however, didn’t let Jackson get close. The sleeves of Jaebum’s jacket immediately erupted into flames. He whipped his arms in Jackson’s direction, sending a wall of fire towards the blonde. Jackson leaped to the side, crashing behind the corner of a building before the flames could hit him.  Jackson poked his head out from the wall seconds later. Flames still rolled on the ground and off the concrete wall like magma.

Jackson turned towards Jaebum and shouted, “That all you got Jaeburnt!?”

 

Jackson laughed  and darted back behind the building as Jaebum sent another wave of fire towards him. This time decimating the corner where Jackson had stood, taunting the other. Jackson, as according to his plan, wasted no time in finding a way around Jaebum. He was glad that the whole setup was a cityscape for once. The grid patterned street corners would really limit the berth of Jaebum’s attacks.  Jackson ran around the drab looking building, almost coming to a full circle. Then he quickly sprinted to another building across from the first.  He checked the doors, finding that they opened. However, Jaebum heard him and turned around, finding Jackson with his hands on the handles to the doors.  

 

“Hey, hot head! Ready to fight?” Jackson teased the boy and slipped inside the building.

 

He searched around the interior and found that it was furnished like a restaurant. Grabbing a couple chairs, Jackson braced them under the door before tossing a table into the mix just before Jaebum reached the door.

 

Jackson stood behind the blockade and raised a finger towards Jaebum, “Ha!”

 

Jaebum boiled at the mimicking. The Volcanic quirk swung both of his arms towards the doors in a pushing motion. Fire and magma sprung from his palms and arms, bursting the doors, melting glass and metal, burning wood.

 

“Oops,” Jackson shrunk back from the door.

 

“You little punk,” Jaebum growled as he stepped through the still burning doorway, “You think some chairs are going to stop me?”

 

“Nope,” Jackson answered almost reverently, “But this might help.”

 

Jaebum gave him a confused look, before suddenly an alarm broke through the building. Soon enough, sprinklers accompanied the shrill sound and the entire room was doused with water.  However, Jackson’s plan only seemed to succeed in annoying Jaebum. The brunet clenched his jaw and brought a hand up to wipe his wet hair from his forehead.

 

“You are so going to burn for that, Wang.”

 

------

“Go Mark! You know what to do!”

 

Mark sprung into action at Jackson’s words.  He jumped back to the southern side of the field, trying to engage Jinyoung into a battle with him. Jinyoung watched with a guarded expression, keeping his partner in his peripheral vision. However, Jackson had started luring Jaebum off into unknown territory.

 

“Jaebum, you prick! Don’t let them separate us!” Jinyoung shouted to his partner but  was ignored.

 

Jinyoung cursed under his breath as Jackson pulled Jaebum out of sight. He frowned and looked up at Mark, “Alright then, let’s get this over with.”

 

“Gladly,” Mark replied with a smirk, shifting into  a fighting stance, fists held up and ready.

 

Jinyoung mimicked the position and rolled his shoulders. Suddenly, the temperature around the black haired boy started dropping and frost formed on the platform underneath him.

 

“Let’s dance, Tuan!’ Jinyoung snarled before running forward, ice forming around his fists.

 

Mark ran towards Jinyoung, meeting the boy in the middle. Jinyoung threw the first punch, but Mark ducked underneath it and countered with a kick. Jinyoung jumped back, pivoting on one foot to maneuver himself around Mark’s back. However, Mark followed him, but Jinyoung didn’t let it phase him. Instead the raven haired boy pushed his palm towards Mark, shooting a sharp icicle towards Mark. Mark rolled to the side and behind a building to avoid the attack. Jinyoung followed, throwing more ice at the redhead.  Mark eventually found that he couldn’t dodge them all. A single icicle nicked him off the shoulder.

 

“Damn,” Mark cursed as Jinyoung closed in.

 

“Are you going to run like your partner?” Jinyoung scoffed, the icy air around him covering the wall of the building and the ground with ice.

 

“No,” Mark challenged, “I had something else in mind.”

 

Suddenly, a bright light encircled Mark. Fire ripped from the spot and Jinyoung jumped back in shock. Then, breaking from the light and flying straight up, a phoenix emerged from the flames, causing a shockwave of fire to blow past Jinyoung’s ice field. Mark, now using Chanyeol’s phoenix morph, flew over the building and around to Jinyoung. Jinyoung ducked behind another building, sending a line of icicles blindly into the air.  Mark swooped down across from Jinyoung, landing in his own form.

 

“Cheap trick!” Jinyoung shouted angrily at the boy, “Just try and block this!”

 

Jinyoung pushed his palm out at Mark, sending a wave of ice across the ground that quickly quadrupled in size, forming large peaks of ice. Mark crossed his arms in front of his chest and jumped over the spikes, fire propelling from his feet and bright, fiery-orange wings forming over his arms. He grabbed onto the ledge of a window, hoisting himself up. Mark swung his elbow at the glass, wincing at the it broke and cut through his sleeve. Mark pushed his body through the cracked glass and rolled onto the floor inside the building. He sprinted through the floor to find the stairs or an elevator, knowing that Jinyoung would be on him soon. He made it to the elevator, but stopped short. Ice was quickly creeping out from underneath the doors. So, Mark turned and made his way to the stairs, however, before he could make it a large boom shook the building. Mark panicked at held onto the closest object, the frame of a window. Th ebuilding quit shaking and he looked out the window to see smoke rising from the north end of the field and a fiery building fall, setting off a domino effect on.

 

“Jackson!” Mark couldn’t help but cry in shock.

 

The elevator dinged opened and Mark prepared himself for the incoming fight.

 

--------

 

“You are so going to burn for that, Wang.”

 

Jackson laughed guiltily before turning around and running away.

 

“WANG! GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT!” Jaebum hollered after him, unleashing whip after whip of fire.

 

“Not until you calm down,MR.!” Jackson shuted back, as he tipped chairs and tables ovr behind him.

 

He found his way into the kitchen of the restaurant and hid behind a counter. Jaebum followed shortly after, arms ablaze. the smoke from his arms set off the alarm again and the sprinklers kicked in, however this time they couldn’t squelch Jaebum’s fire.  Jaebum just seemed to get more angry and his flames grew bigger.

 

“Come on out Jackson,” Jaebum spoke slowly as he walked through the kitchen, “Come on out and play.”

 

Jackson waited until Jaebum had strayed far enough away from the door before grabbing the closest thing to him:

 

‘A knife? Naw, I can’t kill him,’ Jackson stared at the knife in question.

 

“There you are!” Jaebum shouted and raised a fist.

 

“No time to think!”  Jackson shouted and lobbed the knife at Jaebum before jumping over the counter and making a break for the exit.

 

Jackson booked it out of the building, leaping through the hole in the wall  where the door used to be, and out into the street.  He quickly looked over his shoulder to see if Jaebum followed. When he didn’t Jackson freaked out a little.

 

‘Holy crap, I didn’t kill him did i?’

 

Suddenly, a large fireball burst from the restaurant roof, setting the whole building aflame. Then, another followed, this on sending debri and magma across the entire street, hitting a much larger building and letting out a large “BOOM.” The ground shook with the explosion. The taller building was struck down by the fire and sent toppling over onto the next. Jackson’s eyes widened at destruction and briefly wondered how people could be watching this happen.

 

“I think Jaebum just jumped up in the scales,” Jackson committed to no one in particular, “I should probably run.”

 

Jackson nodded to himself before sprinting to the southern end of the field, not stopping to even wonder if Jaebum had made it out of the chaos. When he made it to the middle platform, he stopped to catch his breath. He turned to look at the northern field. Nearly half of the buildings had been decimated and JAebum was nowhere to be seen. He turned to the southern time just in time to see Mark and Jinyoung break out into the main street, battling it out.

 

“MARK!” Jackson shouted, “I think we need a new plan!”

 

Mark turned slightly from his battle with Jinyoung to see Jackson standing in front of the wreckage. However, his attention was immediately diverted by Jinyoung. Jackson watched helplessly as his partner grappled with Jinyoung. He had no place in a battle of power quirks.

 

‘Why did I even join this battle?’ Jackson asked himself, rubbing his temples, ‘Nevermind, new battle plan…’

 

Jackson watched as Mark threw a rather powerful punch at Jinyoung, flames bursting off the boy’s shield of ice. Jinyoung was pushed back a few feet. The atmosphere was tense as both boys halted to catch their breath. Mark’s chest puffed as he raised a hand to wipe blood from his lip.  Jiyoung eyed him from afar, body tense and ready to attack. The, a loud boom broke their sares and an object followed by a trail of fire blast past them, colliding into the side of a building behind Jinyoung. Mark’s eyes widened when he saw what the object really was.

 

“JACKSON!” Mark lurched towards his partner, millions of thoughts and worries clouding his head, but a blast of ice stopped him in his tracks.

 

“You’re not going anywhere! I’m not done with you yet,” Jinyoung panted.

 

Mark glared at Jinyoung, glancing over his shoulder where he could see Jackson, still on fire. Mark could hear Jaebum behind him, slowly advancing. But Mark was livid, and an angry Mark is a dangerous Mark.

 

With quick and small movements, Mark swiftly turned around, sending a wave of water (copied from that Suho kid in his defense class) crashing over Jaebum and sending the boy far, far, away. He turned back around quickly, holding up a hand right before Jinyoung could react. The raven haired boy tried to counter with his quirk, but nothing came.

 

“What the hell?” Jinyoung cursed and pushed his palm at Mark again and again, no ice sprouting from his hand.

 

“You’re done,” Mark growled.

 

Mark pushed his fist towards Jinyoung, then jerked it to the side. Jinyoung’s body followed the movement and flew off the side of the stage. Canon fire rang and signaled the end of the battle, but Mark paid no attention to the noise. He rushed towards Jackson, running the fastest he had ever run in his life.

 

“Jackson, no, no. Jackson,” Mark chanted the boy’s name as he fell at the side of the rubble surrounding his partner.

 

Mark brushed away the debris from Jackson’s body and turned the boy over. Mark cupped Jackson’s face in his hands, gently wiping the boy’s hair from his forehead.

 

“, Jackson. Please don’t be dead,” Mark cursed as he checked over Jackson’s body.

Jackson’s shirt nearly burnt off. Shreds of it were hanging off his neck and left shoulder. It looked like the brunt of the blow his his right side. Angry red burns marred the skin of his right side and arm. Luckily, it seemed to only touch his torso. However, he had multiple cuts and blemishes from crashing into the stage set. He was bleeding through his burns and cut. Mark used Suho’s quirk on a smaller level, summoning water to his palm to wash over Jackson’s burnt side. He could hear the medical team somewhere behind him, but too afraid to look back. Then, Jackson’s head moved. The blonde boy blinked wearily, groaning when he completely opened his eyes.

 

“Jackson!” Mark ducked closer to the boy’s face in surprise.

 

“Did we win?” Jackson coughed, eyes unfocused.

 

“What?” Mark blinked, not processing what the boy asked.

 

“Did we win?” Jackson asked again, this time with a wide smile and eyes trained on Mark.

 

“Wha-are you? I don't-” Mark stuttered to respond, “You could be freaking dying right now and you ask if we won!?”

 

“Uh...yeah?” Jackson replied as he tried to sit up.

 

By this time the medical team had found them and we setting up a stretcher for the boy, not that Mark was paying attention.

 

“You-” Mark couldn’t finish his sentence as he had practically tackled Jackson and littered the boy’s face with kisses.

 

“Ah! Mark, my-OW!” Jackson winced (although he quite enjoyed Mark’s affections).

 

“Crap sorry,” Mark apologized and jumped off of Jackson.

 

The medical team interrupted the boys, then. They asked Mark to wait underneath the stadium while they took care of Jackson. Mark really didn’t want to leave the other, but he complied, knowing it would be for the best. The medical team hoisted Jackson onto the stretcher and allowed him one last remark t Mark before they rolled him to the Medic rom. Mark was escorted by another team member to the Medic room a little later and checked over for any serious injuries. He was quickly dismissed with only a few bandages and an ice pack for his jaw and left to roam free until the congratulatory service later that afternoon.

 

-------------

 

Jackson felt very groggy when he woke up. He tried to open his eyes, but a harsh light kept him from doing so. He groaned in confusion and pain as he closed his eyes again, trying to lift an arm and cover his face.

 

“You probably shouldn't move that arm,” a voice, that that he instantly recognized as Mark,  spoke.

 

Jackson turned his head to the side of the voice and opened his eyes slightly, “Mark?”

 

“Hey,” Mark smiled and leaned closer to Jackson, placing his hand on the boy's cheek and it gently with his thumb.

 

Jackson gave the redhead a small smile, lifting his good arm and making a grabby hand towards Mark. Mark chuckled and leaned closer to Jackson. When Mark got close enough, Jackson grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him into a one-armed hug. Mark nuzzled his face into Jackson’s neck. Jackson held onto the other boy for a long time. He was glad that the fights were over. Here Mark was, with him and uninjured--well, mostly uninjured. Mark had only came out of the fight with a couple scraps and a purple bruise blossoming on his left jaw. Jackson held Mark close, reveling in the feeling of his boyfriend so close and safe in his arms...arm. Mark turned his head at some point and kissed Jackson cheek. The redhead leaned back slightly and tapped his forehead against Jackson’s.

 

“You feeling ok?” Mark whispered.

 

“My arm’s stiff and I can’t really feel my back, but honestly I think I’m floating right now,” Jackson whispered back, giggling slightly at the end of his sentence.

 

“That’s probably because you’re on painkillers right now…” Mark cringed, maybe he should find a medical assistant.

 

“Am I?” Jackson asked, bumping their foreheads, “Do I still kisses if I’m on drugs?”

 

“Oh my god, Jackson,” Mark sighed and sat back, running his hand across his face, “Yes. I will give you a kiss.”

 

Mark leaned down and pecked Jackson on the lips once. Jackson closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, chasing Mark's lips when they separated. Mark scooted closer and kissed Jackson again. The boys pressed their lips together in a desperate kiss, communicating all of their worries and relief. Their kiss soon became more passionate, but not rushed or violent. The boys languidly brushed their lips together, noses brushing occasionally. The kiss was rather simple, yet deeper than either boy could he imagined. It showcased their love and compatibility for each other with raw emotion and desperate need for each other.

 

“So we did win, right?” Jackson asked with a greasy smile once they separated.

 

“Yes, Jackson. We won,” Mark sighed and ran his hand through Jackson’s hair.

 

“Did I lose an arm?”

 

“No Jackson.”

 

“ Good...hey Mark?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Do you still love me--OW! Mark-stop Don’t hit me-”

 

“Then stop asking stupid questions like that,” Mark huffed in reply.

 

Jackson gave Mark a knowing look before patting the mattress beside him, beckoning Mark to join him.

 

“Is there enough room?” Mark gave the cot as wary glance.

 

“ Yes, just get up here so I can go back to sleep,” Jackson chuckled lightly.

 

Mark gave the blonde one more conceded look before complying and draping himself next to join Jackson on the medical cot, “This is surprisingly comfortable.”

 

“Now it's even better,” Jackson commented while rolling onto his good side and snuggling up to Mark.

 

Mark gently wrapped an arm around Jackson's shoulders,  letting his boyfriend rest his head on Mark's arm. Mark massaged gently at Jackson’s neck, lulling the boy to sleep.

 

“Mark,” Jackson's groggy voice drifted up from Mark's shoulder.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I think I'm in love with you,” Jackson whispered innocently.

 

Mark smiled and squeezed Jackson lightly, by love yin too, Jackson.”

 

-------

 

Jackson took a deep breath as he stood behind the last door he would ever walk through in the competition. He closed his eyes and exhaled. He’d been through alot in the past few months. He’d made it through his last year of school. Made a new friend-turned boyfriend, won an elite competition and nearly had his arm seared off for it all. He didn’t mind though. Now that it was all over, he was ready to take the next step on his journey.

 

“You’re looking much better.”

 

Jackson opened his eyes to see Mark standing beside him. The redhead had cleaned himself up, much like Jackson had moments ago. The Healer Quirk nurse had done wonders on Mark’s jaw. The deep purple color had faded and his natural, pale complexion was back, but the real wonders were in what she did to Jackson. His arm was still wrapped up and his back still ached with every move he made, but the burns were mostly healed and replaced with fresh, new-pink skin. At least he could move it now.

 

“I feel much better.” Jackson bumped shoulders with Mark.

 

“Your arm ok?” Mark asked, eying Jackson's now sleeveless shirt.

 

“Yup, keeping it wrapped just in case,” Jackson shook said arm for emphasis.

 

Mark laughed quietly at the actin. He threw an arm around Jackson’s good side and pulled him closer, “This is it then. When  those doors open we will officially be stuck together for the rest of our lives.”

 

Jackson chuckled at Mark’s word choice, “Are you proposing to me Mr.Tuan?”

 

“Hypothetically,” Mark joked after pretending to think about Jackson’s question.

 

“Well then, I would have to hypothetically accept,” Jackson continued, knocking his head against Mark’s.

 

“Let’s graduate college first, though,” Mark teased,helping Jackson up and wrapping an arm around Jackson’s good side, “So, let’s go get our trophy.”

 

Mark pulled Jackson through the double doors with a hop in his step. Jackson couldn’t have been more excited, except --for one thought.

 

‘I already have my trophy and he’s standing right next to me…’

-----------------