Chapter Text
Tatsumaki was pissed.
A statement that would be considered normal for those familiar with the most powerful Esper on the face of the planet. The young woman of short stature and boundless psychic power was also very well known for her short temper and bad attitude towards those she considered weak.
But unlike usual Tatsumaki wasn’t pissed over some mundane reason like some other hero ignoring her, a day where she wasn’t allowed to shine as the second most powerful hero on the planet, or some monster scum threatening her little sister.
No, Tatsumaki was pissed because she didn’t know how else to feel.
Genos, the Demon Cyborg had saved her life.
For the first time in a long time, Tatsumaki, the Tornado of Terror, had found herself in a battle where she could very well die. Fighting opponents at all sides, losing blood, pushed to her limits, having to rely on an ally to cover her and save her life. Somehow, fighting against the Monster Association, Tatsumaki had found another hero she could trust and count on in a bind. The Demon Cyborg known as Genos.
It really pissed her off, sitting in her hospital bed, covered in bandages, and dressed in hospital pyjamas.
She heard from one of the nurses that her fellow S-Class was a few rooms down, awaiting a doctor to perform repairs on him. Strange how a Cyborg needed a doctor, maybe they mean a mechanic doctor and not a flesh and blood doctor?
Waiting until the Nurses left the room, the Tornado of terror levitated herself towards Genos’ room. She didn’t need a bunch of gabby Nurses scolding her for ‘pushing herself too far’ she knew her own limitations dammit.
She had been feeling weird about the Cyborg ever since he saved her ass, and these feelings if left unchecked could really tamper with her combat ability, to an Esper emotional stability was pretty dam important. Approaching Genos’ room, Tatsumaki used her powers to will the door open. Inside was none other than the limbless Cyborg himself, wrapped up in bandages to make his ‘wounds’ a bit less distressing to the eye. Tatsumaki guessed the nurses did it to save themselves a bit of distress.
“Hey” she greeted, getting Genos’ attention.
“Hello Tornado” Genos greeted back.
“You’re looking good” Genos said, his eyes trained on the esper standing in the doorway of his room.
“Perv” Tatsumaki replied curtly as she approached the Cyborg.
Genos just shook his head with a smirk, he had known the Tornado of Terror for long enough to know she wasn’t one to take a compliment easily. Hell, he was lucky she was even talking to him right now, ever since they fought side by side against the Monster association they had bonded and earned a new level of respect for each other.
And the people Tatsumaki respected…was a very short list.
The only other person to save Tatsumaki’s life was Blast after all.
So, Genos by process of elimination was probably at spot number 2.
“I’m serious, your wounds have healed nicely, you should be up and ready for hero duty within a few days at least” Genos smiled.
“Screw you, I’ll be ready before the end of the day” Tatsumaki used her psychic powers to levitate onto sitting on Genos’ bedside.
“And what about you? Don’t you have a mechanic or some shit to put you back together again?” Tatsumaki asked, poking Genos’ left arm stump with a curious finger.
“The Doctor is working on something right now; with my next upgrade I hope I’ll be even stronger” Genos replied.
“Hmm…Hope, that’s funny, I thought you were pretty dam strong already” Tatsumaki murmured.
“…was that a compliment?” Genos asked with a surprised look.
“Tell anyone I said that, and I’ll crush you like a bug” Tatsumaki glared at him.
Genos smiled and lied back in his bed.
“Why did they even put you in a bed? You can’t really feel that comfortable right? Couldn’t they just put you on a desktop or a table or something?” Tatsumaki asked.
“Why all the questions?” Genos asked.
“Just answer them dumbass” Tatsumaki glared.
“I’m a Cyborg, not a robot, I can still feel pain, feel comfortable, all the things ‘regular’ people feel” Genos replied.
Tatsumaki nodded and kept eyeing certain parts of Genos’ wrecked husk, as if studying the gaping wounds and battle damage to try and find traces of whatever human parts were left. Genos knew she wouldn’t find much, and simply let her indulge her curiosity.
The Cyborg had to admit, after fighting side by side with Tatsumaki against almost certain death, he had softened up on her a bit. He always knew her power, and had always respected it, but her attitude was always a pain in the ass, the way she looked down on everyone else as if they were ants really got on his last nerve.
But after saving her life and her saving his, there was something more there. Yeah, she was still acting defensive, but at least now she was taking note of his existence enough to take an interest in how he worked.
“Do you mind if I ask a question?” Genos asked.
“It depends on the question” Tatsumaki replied.
“Why do you look…well…you know?” Genos asked, taking note to be careful of the subject. Every time he or someone else brought up Tatsumaki’s appearance it would be followed with her making a crater with them.
“Younger than I look?” she asked with a raised brow.
“Yeah”
“I don’t know…Psychic power stunting my growth of some shit, who cares? I own how I look” Tatsumaki replied.
‘Is that why you crush anyone that calls you a child?’ Genos thought. Then again ‘owning her look’ definitely explained that slinky black dress she wore.
“You aren’t put off by the whole ‘I look like a child’ thing…right?” Tatsumaki asked.
“I’m a cyborg…I’ve got no place judging people on how they look” Genos replied.
“Yeah…you are pretty ugly” Tatsumaki said with a dead eyed stare.
“…not the reply I was expecting” Genos said with a monotone voice.
“Just because you helped me out in a bind doesn’t mean I’ll start lying to your face robo-boy” Tatsumaki replied.
“…You’re smiling” Genos stated after a few seconds of silence.
“What…No I’m not” Tatsumaki shook her head away with a blush.
“No, no…you’ve got a lovely smile” Genos said with a small smile of his own.
Tatsumaki’s eyes widened and after a few seconds of silence she levitated closer to the Cyborg’s face with a neutral look on her face. Genos wondered why she was getting so close until she and him were a hair away.
“You tell anyone I smiled…and I’ll fucking kill you” Tatsumaki glared at him.
“Ok” Genos replied in a manner that would make Saitama proud.
Tatsumaki pursed her lips and sat back on the side of Genos’ bed, crossing her legs, and folding her arms. A few moments of somewhat awkward silence passed before Genos heard Tatsumaki murmur something quietly, just loud enough for it to register to Genos but not loud enough for him to understand it.
“Pardon?” Genos asked.
Tatsumaki sighed in a frustrated manner with a visible blush on her face.
“I said…thanks. It’s the reason I came to your room in the first place” the Tornado of Terror said louder this time.
“You’re welcome and thank you for saving my life too” Genos replied, not wanting to put all the thanks in one direction, if not for Tatsumaki he would be dead too.
“It’s no big deal, I wouldn’t be much of a hero if I didn’t save those weaker than me” Tatsumaki shrugged.
“I thought I was ‘pretty strong’?” Genos asked.
“Don’t let it get to your head chrome-dome” Tatsumaki tapped a finger on Genos’ head.
“I’ll try not to” Genos smiled.
Tatsumaki didn’t know what to think anymore, for most of her life the only people on her radar were her sister and the few people strong enough to even be considered close to equals. Blast, King, Silverfang, she had always tried to live her life by what Blast had told her all those years ago. To always count on yourself, never expect anyone to come rushing to your rescue, that those with the power to protect themselves were the only one’s worthy to call themselves ‘hero’.
And with the Hero association there were so many heroes that she wouldn’t even spit in the direction of. People so beneath her in terms of power that they were basically just civilians in colourful clothes, hinderances that got in her way and made things difficult.
But here was this Cyborg, who not too long ago was a weak pissant she could wipe the floor with without even trying. And he had saved her life, when she was weak, he was there to take the hit, to support her in a way she hadn’t been supported before.
She had been told it got so bad for them that even as she lay unconscious and bleeding that Genos, missing all four of his limbs, shielded her with his body and dragged her to safety with his teeth.
What the hell was she to think of that?
Her own moral compass practically forced her to acknowledge this Cyborg that she had been so antagonistic towards in the past.
It…it felt weird.
Tatsumaki thought that talking face to face with the cyborg after their death-defying battle would clear the air, allow her to understand where they stood with each other now. She thought they would clear the air and establish a new equilibrium and get on with their lives or revert to their old tension.
Neither of those happened.
It still felt weird.
“I’ll see ya later” Tatsumaki began floating away, unable to understand where to go from here.
“Leaving already? I thought you wanted to talk?” Genos asked.
“Later, it’s weird trying to talk to a stump” Tatsumaki covered her ass with that excuse.
“Do you mind me asking one more question before you go?” Genos asked.
“I’m single dibshit, don’t worry” she said as she floated out of the room.
…
…
…
‘What did she just say?’ Genos thought with wide eyes.
‘WHY THE FUCK DID I SAY THAT?!?’ Tatsumaki screamed inside her head with wide eyes as she floated back to her room.
Those S-Class meetings would be super fucking awkward now.
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