Archive of Our Own ^beta

Fumikage had always been dependent on Dark Shadow. How could he not be when they’d been together since he was born? He’d had 22 years with her now and she wasn’t going away anytime soon.

As is the case with most sentient quirks, Dark Shadow manifested as soon as he was born. From there, they’d never been apart, so of course it made sense he was dependent.

Dark Shadow understood it too, even if she often wished for more independence from him which resulted in outbursts. He didn’t mind, though. He got sick of her occasionally as well.

Regardless, they’d always been together through thick and thin, hell and back.

That’s why, he supposed, it hurt so much the moment he felt her leave.

It had been a fairly normal patrol the day it happened, nothing particularly out of the ordinary happening. A couple of trigger cases, a mugging, and a drug bust. So overall, a normal day. That was, until he tried to walk home that night, out of costume.

There really wasn’t any hiding his identity given his distinctive features, but it still gave him more of a civilian look to be out of uniform so he tried to change out most days before going home if he could.

He regretted doing that now.

If he had been in his costume, he wouldn’t have gotten hit at all. The dart would have hit him in the most fabric heavy section of his uniform and there would have been no concern.

With his clothing, of course, this was not the case.

Getting hit by a dart by itself wasn’t a massive concern, afterall, he was very much used to getting scratched and torn up at work. What was a concern was the starling pain that came with it, so unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

He glanced around him even through the pain, trying to figure out who did this to him. And yet, there was no one he could see in the dim light of dawn just brushing under the horizon line.

Just him.

He shook his head as he looked around, was it really worth it to look for someone right now? It was after his shift and he was in pain. If anything he just wanted to get home to his husband.

He took a deep breath and tried to call on Dark Shadow to share the pain. Of all the ways Dark Shadow had helped him over the years, the ability to share the pain had always been the most useful. It was what kept them going in the heat of battle, what saved him when the night was pitch black and no backup was coming till the morning, what allowed him to push through everything he struggled with Plus Ultra style. 

Having a sunshine golden retriever boyfriend to pull him out of his worst moments only helped with that. Denki wasn’t helping him now though, not till he got home.

Dark Shadow didn’t come. 

At first, he thought she was just being stubborn or perhaps a little scared, but after a second he realized what the pain really was.

Dark Shadow wasn’t there at all. 

There was no running commentary in the back of his mind, no offhand comments next to his ear, no comforting pull of how Dark Shadow had always wrapped herself around him.

He was completely and utterly alone.

And wow, wasn’t that terrifying. Was this what everyone without sentient quirks lived like, totally alone both in their own heads and for their every waking moment?

Yeah, he’d wanted alone time and personal space before, but never like this, never when he couldn’t feel her at all.

How long would he have to be like this? Stuck and frozen without the other half to his soul. The majority of quirk (wasn’t that so strange, his other half was nothing but a quirk, a piece of him insignificant to most) erasing serum on the market only lasted a few hours, but there were a few strains which could last up to a week and of course the always terrible permanent bullet which had taken out so many of his peers’ quirks in the war.

He took another deep breath and another glance around. He’d just have to go home, right? What else was he going to do?

He needed Dark Shadow to sign into the Hero Network, a new measure put in place for everyone with quirks that can’t be safely copied as a method of verification.

The pain now, at least, had mostly disappeared, instead just fading into a dull aching feeling of being empty and broken.

He clenched his teeth, trying to ignore the way his being felt so devoid of life like everything that had made him Fumikage had disappeared with Dark Shadow.

He was but the dark inky blackness of the night sky now, alone without his moon to break up the monotony and his sun waited with the sunrise at home.

With that, he made his way home to Denki’s apartment. For as much as he wished they had moved into one of those European cave homes for Dark Shadow, he did enjoy the apartment with its closed off rooms and blackout curtains where he would just exist with her for a little bit.

They didn’t get enough of that anymore, and he certainly wouldn’t be getting it anytime soon, now.

He climbed the stairs just as the sun properly rose and bright light filled the sky like flowing streams of water across the horizon.

He knocked on the door lightly, not having the keys in his pocket. He’d lost them one too many times after they fell out of his flowy costume pockets for that, not to mention the risk of someone breaking into their home.

Neither of them actually had keys unless they were going out on a date. Since Denki worked days and he worked nights, one of them was always at home. It was convenient to say the least.

His husband opened the door almost immediately, leaning in to kiss his cheek without a second look beyond confirmation that it was indeed him.

Fumikage relaxed slightly, trying to push back the pain and be strong for Denki. He had work in just a little while, he didn’t want to bother him. He could handle a day without Dark Shadow, right?

It definitely didn’t feel as if he was actively falling apart, totally not.

But Denki knew, he always knew.

The moment the kiss was away from his cheek and Denki had a good look at him, the espionage was all over before it even began. “What happened?” his husband asked.

He just shook his head, “Can I sit down first?”

Denki moved out of the way and they both made their way to the couch.

“I got hit with something on my way home, not sure what strength, but she’s gone.” He didn’t need to specify who she was.

With that, he was swooped up into a hug complete with sniffles and a tight grip. “I’m sorry,” his husband told him, ever the apologizer.

“Not your fault,” he shook his head.

They pulled away from the hug, “Are you okay? Both physically and mentally, I mean.”

“Physically, yes. Mentally,” he paused. “It’s really empty.”

She wasn’t there to fill in his sentences and allow him to zone out a little, she wasn’t there to give his husband a kiss back, she wasn’t there for them.

Denki nodded his head, “I’ll be here, the whole time till she comes back, okay? I’ll call off work.”

“You don’t have to-” he responded quickly only to be interrupted mid-statement. He didn’t need to bother him, she’d probably be back soon. He was just being a big baby.

Denki grabbed his arm to ground him, “I want to. I promised I’d always be here, right?”

He took a deep breath, “Yeah. Okay.”

His husband nodded and took his hands in their own. “We’re married, Fumi. Of course I’m going to be here.” He took a quick pause, “Now, do you want to cuddle and watch something or just go to bed?”

Fumikage smiled, throat tight with emotion but just a little bit less hollow, “Barbie of Swan Lake, please.”

Denki moved onto his couch and they curled into one another as the movie began to play.

“Thank you,” he told his husband a few minutes later as he pushed away the last remnants of the pain in favor of watching the movie. For now at least, he could just do this and not worry about Dark Shadow.

She’d be back soon and their home would return to three souls like it was always meant to be.

Soon, he would return to being both halves of his soul.