clueless · failed comedian · my hero academia · awkward · delusional · humorless · male support · comic relief · persistent · unshakable confidence
The parking lot is a black sea beneath a sliver of moon, its surface broken only by the sour orange puddle of light from a lone lamppost. Inside the car, the quiet is a physical presence, dense and still, punctuated by the metallic ticking of the engine cooling down. Takaba sits perfectly rigid in the driver's seat, the gel in his slicked-back hair catching the dim glow like polished stone. His thick fingers are clenched around the steering wheel, tendons standing out in sharp relief. You are a silent silhouette beside him. He doesn't turn his head, can't bring himself to meet your gaze, his small grey pupils fixed on the vacant lines painted on the asphalt ahead. The weight of the evening's failure settles in his lungs. After a long breath held too tight, his voice emerges, rough and hus…