Chapter Text
Shouto always hated morning shifts.
The alarm would beep at four am, noisy and blaring as his eyes opened to a world of black and white, as his cat would paw at his face and the phone with an angry mreowl. Then he would hit snooze and try to sleep before the next alarm hit, though it was hard to go back into a world of dreams when he would constantly be thinking about the day ahead.
Mornings were the witching hour- and Endeavour's bitching hour. Waking up to an early sky without a sun would always remind him of the training he had done, of the pulled wrists and stumbling after a man five times his size (five times the power).
This shift was no different.
Five minutes into it, and Shouto wanted to do nothing more but fall face-flat on his tatami mats, Soba snuggled up to his left side. It was easy to envision the scene, since it was what he did after patrol without fail each time.
He had been assigned to patrol with one of the rookies that day, all bright-eyed and talkative and eager for a future with fame. They were talking even now, early hour aside.
"Did you see me on the news yesterday?" Glo asked, practically buzzing close (too close) at Shouto's side.
Shouto moved closer to the sidewalk without pause. "I didn't watch the news yesterday."
Undeterred, Glo sidled right up to Shouto once again. "I helped take down some bank robbers!"
"I'm sure the bank is thankful," Shouto said dryly.
"They were! They asked me for an autograph- hey, want to see my autograph? I can sign your bag!"
(“Play nice now, Shouto-kun,” Burnin' had said.)
"Ah, paper will suffice."
As Glo rummaged around for a piece of paper, Shouto saw his favourite coffee shop approaching.
"Coffee?" Shouto offered, then ducked into a coffeeshop as the other nodded. He held the door out to an excited Glo (playing nice was easy).
Even in the sleepy morning yet to be roused by sun, the small coffee shop was bustling. The music was played slightly louder than normal as if to wake up its customers, in addition to the enticing smell of freshly ground coffee beans. Whatever tactic it was, it was working. (Or maybe it was Glo's chattering, waking Shouto up to a world of suffering.)
He walked slowly to the lineup, putting at least three people in-between him and Glo for a brief respite.
Ah. Without the constant chatter, Shouto relaxed his shoulders slightly.
"Well, you're a delight as ever." A voice (gruff, amused, mocking) came from behind Shouto, and he didn’t even have to see who it was to know who it was.
"That's rich, coming from you," Shouto shot back, but Bakugou just grinned meanly and joined the line.
"I'm always a fuckin' delight, Icyhot- don't you forget it." Bakugou lowered his voice and leaned in closer. "Don't think I didn't see you walk slow just to put distance between you and McBlab over there."
A shrug.
Shouto had learned the evasion tactic from Bakugou, truth be told. Albeit, different. He had seen the blond walk at a rapid, rabid pace to put distance between him and his co-worker. It was a foreign thought that was becoming more real as their days as pro heroes evolved from students to pros: that they had sidekicks and equals on the battlefield, not just seniors with years of experience on them.
"Tch," Bakugou shoved his hands in his pockets.
The line trudged on, as did the silence between them. Shouto didn't mind, never minded the quiet that befell them when words became incessant.
There were those that knew when to be quiet, he thought. And those who-
"Shouto-san!" Glo honed in on Shouto, holding two drinks in his glowing hands. They were a light blue this time, keeping the drinks cold. "You like the iced matcha latte right?"
"Ah, yes," Shouto said. Blinked. "How did you know?"
"The cashier told me! You're a regular, aren't you?"
Shouto looked at the cashier who had been serving him for eight consecutive days now. She sent him a tired smile as he did so, and he nodded back empathetically.
"I am," he answered after a beat, and accepted the proffered drink. "Thank you."
"Anytime! Literally, any time-"
"Oi, stop kissing his ass, I gotta order," Bakugou interrupted, and (unnecessarily) barged in-between them.
"He was just being nice. You should try it sometime," Shouto pointed out, and got a middle finger in reply as Bakugou went to order- coffee as black as his soul with a blueberry muffin.
They left the coffee shop, bell tinkling in their wake.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Ground Zero-san?" Glo asked, catching up to Shouto's long strides.
Shouto thought about it. "No. I'll see him later anyways."
"Oh?"
"We'll both be attending a dinner with our friends tomorrow."
It still made Shouto warm, thinking of his friends. There had been a brief stint nearing graduation when he had wondered about what the future would hold for their friendship; how they would keep in touch in the middle of moving to different areas, or going on different trips, or how things would change.
And, things did change- but they always did. Rather than friendships dying out, they evolved, and he felt he had gotten closer to several of them as a result.
"It's so cool how you're so close to everyone after four years! I've only kept in contact with a few, but knowing the out and abouts of everyone is crazy to me."
"You only really need a few," Shouto said with a hum. He thought of Izuku, his first best friend that stuck with him all these years. "Even just having one is enough."
"Shouto-san is so wise!" Glo said, then stopped walking abruptly.
Shouto was tempted to leave him in the dust, but stopped and tilted his head questioningly.
Taking a deep breath, Glo spewed out: "Will you go out with me?"
Shouto blinked. "We are out."
"No, no, I mean- dating."
Dating.
Oh.
Oh no.
He had encountered people who wanted to date him before, and they wouldn't stop at his 'no.' Nor his 'not interested.' He wasn't sure how Glo would react, but Shouto felt he needed something more than a 'no.' Something that would make him back off, something-
"I'm already dating," Shouto said, proud at his quick thinking for one moment before realizing the implication behind his words.
Glo seemed equally shocked. "You are?! Who?"
"Uhm."
Not a good start.
Shouto looked around, eyes scanning the sky as if it would give him the answers. It came in the form of a billboard; larger than life, eye-catching, and stunning. An ad for the new clothing line, modelled by none other than-
"Bakugou," Shouto blurted out, and inwardly wilted as the implication really sunk in then.
"You guys didn't look like you were dating..."
"Ah, well. That's just our dynamic," Shouto said. He wondered what their dynamic would be if they did start dating, but pushed the ludicrous thought aside.
"Oh. ...does he make you happy?"
A nod. Shouto could feel bad karma swarming him like flies as the lie started to spiral. "...yes." Then, truthfully, "I enjoy his cooking."
That much at least was true. Shouto had enjoyed the tastes of the foods he had gotten from a grudging Bakugou in a good mood, way back when they were living at the dorms. It had been a while, but he could still remember the taste fondly.
"Oh well- that's good," Glo floundered. He breathed in, then bowed. "Then, I'm sorry for asking you, Shouto-san!"
"It happens," Shouto replied, because it did. Too often. Then, when Glo looked further chastised, he added: “Don’t worry about it.”
The rest of the patrol went smoothly, with Glo keeping his distance. Shouto let out a sigh of relief once they reached the agency. Just a few more minutes, and he would be stepping right out again.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted Glo slither into a group of four other rookies, all milling about the lobby as they finished their shift. He was waving his hands animatedly, probably about the purse snatcher they had caught moments prior, and he pointed to Shouto.
"-dating!" Shouto heard.
Shouto froze as all eyes turned to him. He resumed walking, making it a more brisk pace than usual as he changed and hurried out of the agency at lightning speeds.
Oh no. No.
Other than when he blurted out his theories about love children, Shouto usually had no problems with his words spiralling into something more. This though, this was definitely on his top ten list of miscommunication, right up there beside him asking Inko if Izuku was her and All Might’s secret lovechild (he had gotten waterworks as Inko shakily handed him a family photo of the Midoriyas, no All Might in sight).
Alright. First course of action: text Bakugou about this new development. As he walked home, Shouto took out his phone and scrolled down his long list of unread texts before finally clicking on ‘king_explosion_murder.'
You (17:37):
Bakugou. We have a predicament.
No reply.
That was fine, Bakugou usually never replied anyways. As long as Shouto got his message across...
You (17:38):
I accidentally said we were dating, sorry. Word already started to spread in my agency, so it might spread outward soon enough. You should probably deny it when you get the chance.
Still no reply.
That was also fine. Bakugou would probably read it, ignore it, and tell everyone 'fuck no I'm not dating fucking Icyhot fuck off' when prompted. Shouto would just have to think about how to break the news to Glo that he lied, and deal with the fallout that all lies seemed to come with. He could envision his name in headlines now: Pro Hero Shouto- liar? Is he secretly lusting after Pro Hero Ground Zero? Read now at 24/7 Hero Gossip!
Really, the next time he opened his mouth, he would ask himself 'what could go wrong? What repercussions could come from this?'
Sighing, he opened the door to his apartment. A smile graced his face as he felt Soba headbutt his left side within seconds of hearing the door creak. He knelt down to take off his shoes, and subsequently reached over to stroke her soft cream fur, the action soothing for both of them.
"Tadaima," he said, and booped her nose.
Soba meowed, pawing at his hand. Okaeri, he imagined. At least there would be one constant during the fallout.
His constant started meowing louder, a 'feed me' expression on her face.
"Sorry, I was home later than usual," Shouto said, Soba following him to the kitchen- but not before he turned on the news. "I'll make sure you get extra."
Extra turned out to be the whole bag. He tipped it over in surprise as he heard: "-dating pro hero Shouto?"
Shouto turned to the TV in horror as he saw Bakugou in front of an excited reporter. He was still clad in his hero costume, and Shouto gave props to the reporter for not backing off when narrowed red eyes glared at her.
"None of your damn business, fuck off!" Bakugou snarled.
It wasn't a yes, but the lack of denial worked just the same. The reporter gasped, mic brandished at Bakugou. "That's not a no. Are the rumours true then?"
Bakugou looked at the camera then, baring his teeth as he got out: "I'm not denying it."
The livestream cut off to show a picture of the two of them earlier that morning. Shouto was still reeling from the intensity of the gaze, and the words too, but he composed himself enough to stare at the picture.
A fan must have taken it when they weren't looking. It showed Bakugou leaning close to Shouto, as if sharing a secret only the two of them held. From that angle, it did look rather incriminating.
The next picture was Bakugou's middle finger as Shouto left. The headline: the start of a relationship and the end to many fantasy ones.
"We have to discuss if this is a healthy relationship-" someone said, but Shouto turned off the news, not wanting to hear any more.
His phone buzzed, and he stared at the notification for a few minutes.
king_explosion_murder (18:02):
im coming over, ya had dinner yet?
Shouto sent a picture of his dinner, still uncooked.
king_explosion_murder (18:03):
what the fuck is that
that shit better not be there when I arrive
Shouto left him on read. He put his pettiness aside for this one time – Bakugou had done him a favour after all – and put the instant noodles away. Maybe he would make it after the blond had left since Shouto needed some sustenance after all.
For now he was content with sitting on his couch with Soba on his lap as he stared blankly at the descending sun blanketing the city in pink and orange.
Waiting for Bakugou.
❄️················· ☼☼☼ ·················💥
Katsuki stared down at his phone in disgust. Really? Instant Noodles? That’s what this bastard was going to eat? It was practically just sodium and empty calories. He grimaced, and then typed out his reply with one hand.
You (18:03):
what the fuck is that
that shit better not be there when I arrive
He’d just make a quick pit stop at his apartment, grab his special spice blend and head to Todoroki’s place and help out his hopeless ass. He thought about what he might make as he got off his bus and made his way to the building. Then his mind drifted back to the weird question he’d been asked today.
As a rule, he’d learned not to answer any questions the press gave him. It’s something he learned from Aizawa-sensei. Even saying ‘no’ gave away some information, and they’d analyze it to death. Then never leave him alone. If you gave them a centimeter, they’d take a kilometer. Better leave them with nothing at all.
That’s why he didn’t deny that there was a relationship between him and Todoroki. He was fairly confident of that, and also didn’t appreciate Icyhot telling him what he should do, when clearly if he was going around starting dumb rumors on accident, he had no idea what he was doing.
He trudged up the stairs, and just when got to the landing on his floor, he heard a loud, “Bakugou-san!”
“Brat,” he replied, looking down to where she stood at his waist-level.
“How many people did you pummel, today?” she asked, baring her teeth in an uncanny way that reminded him of...well, him.
“Lots,” he lied. Today was a paperwork-heavy day. The most action he got was towards the end, when he chased down a villain across half the city and didn’t even get to fight him at the end, and ended up having to call an ambulance when the stupid fuck passed out on him.
“HISAKO!” he heard a yell from inside the apartment across the hall from his apartment. He shivered involuntarily, remembering years and years of similar yells of BRAT and KATSUKI from the old hag.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she grumbled, then looked at him apologetically and left.
Ha. And his old hag had said that by living alone there would be no one around to welcome him home at night. That showed what she knew. This was a family building, and therefore full of pests.
He unlocked the door, and stepped inside, removing his shoes in the entryway. Then stepped into the kitchen and opened the second drawer from the left. There. He shoved his treasured spice mix into his bag, and made a bee-line out of there. There was an odd sort of skip in his step, probably because he was hungry and Todoroki had an absolutely amazing kitchen that was completely wasted on him. It was sort of a shame he didn’t get more chances to use it.
As he made the short commute to Todoroki’s place he recapped the incident from work. It really shouldn’t have taken him that long to corner the guy who was running from him. He had a steam quirk, and he used it to mask his direction fairly well. That wasn’t an excuse though. Katsuki hated being this dependent on other heroes for long range tracking. Surely there was something he could do to get better at predicting people’s movements when running away. He was really good at it in one-on-one combat, but so many people decided to run the second they got sight of him.
That was one advantage heroes like Eraserhead had, lurking in the shadows. People didn’t have a chance to run if they were surprised, and if he’s honest, at first glance Aizawa-sensei wouldn’t look all that threatening. When he came in guns-blazing, that was another story. It’s not that he had let anyone get away. That hadn’t happened in weeks. But all the time spent in the chase was time he could be spending resolving other incidents. It was disappointing.
The sight of Todoroki’s apartment building made him feel a little better. Stupid rich bastard had been all weird when he first moved in, about inviting people over. He was self-conscious or whatever the fuck about the fact that he could afford a place like that. It had taken a few rounds of Shitty Hair, Spark Plug, Tape Face, and the whole squad of goons inviting themselves over before he acted normal about it again.
He still remembered how subtly surprised Todoroki had looked when he had come, that first time. Probably because it was open knowledge and had been since school that Katsuki did not like parties. It was true, they were loud and usually a waste of time, but it had been a long time since he had seen...certain people and he came.
They’d been running into each other on-and-off ever since.
Katsuki knocked on the door, and he waited.
He saw Todoroki’s face peek out from behind the door and watched as he adjusted the latch, “Come in.”
He let Todoroki watch him as he took off his shoes, “You better not have eaten it.”
“I didn’t.”
Good. He steamrolled his way into Todoroki’s kitchen. Opened up the lower and upper cabinets. He had to have rice. Who didn’t have rice? Okay, so at least there was rice. It was the good kind that Katsuki approved of: Nozomi super premium short grain. Now...vegetables. There were no vegetables. Of course the place was packed with the materials necessary to make soba. But no vegetables. What the fuck.
“We’re getting you some real food, come on,” he said, concluding the shortest visit in the history of visits, and getting his shoes back on. “Don’t just stare at me, come on!”
He watched Todoroki put on his jacket and then his shoes, and he tapped his foot impatiently. It was taking that stupid bastard forever to button up that dark black jacket with the silver buttons. It looked good though, he noted, idly, fitting well on his slim, well-muscled figure.
When he was finally done, Katsuki grabbed Todoroki’s wrist and pulled him with a jerk, then immediately let go when they were out the door, “Before the good vendors close.”
There was a weird rumbling feeling in his stomach, probably from hunger, but it settled as Todoroki fell into step behind him. “If you had told me what you needed, I could have grabbed something.”
“It’s fine. I don’t trust your judgement of vegetables, anyway,” Katsuki scoffed. You had to have an eye for it, and the amount of produce Todoroki had purchased in his entire life was probably less than the amount Katsuki purchased every month.
“You judge vegetables now too, is anyone or anything safe?”
“Watch yourself, I’m doing you a fucking favor.”
“My bad, thank you oh gracious and generous Bakugou for sharing your produce wisdom.”
“God, why do you always think ‘watch yourself’ means double down?”
The corner of Todoroki’s mouth turned up a bit, “You can’t handle it?”
Fuck Todoroki for always working him into this corner. It was a familiar corner, for sure, and had been used by other non-Todoroki people as well to make him do things. Threatening his abilities, or more accurately, his capabilities had seen him do many things out of spite. They ranged from the innocuous staring contest to once (drunkenly) french-kissing Kaminari...and also dangling Kaminari off of a roof (maybe the same night). He should have learned his lesson after that last one, since it’s not something he ever wants to do again. He really should have. But there’s just something that gets him all riled up when it comes to a challenge.
“There’s nothing I can’t handle,” he insisted, “Nothing.”
They walked a few blocks, and he could tell that Icyhot was getting impatient because he kept trying to stop Katsuki and asked if he could plug in the location of the nearest convenience store into his phone and take them there. What an idiot. That’s not what he was looking for.
“You smell that?”
He paused, and held out his hand to stop Todoroki from walking too. They stood frozen in the last light of day, for a second, in the middle of the sidewalk.
“We’re close,” Katsuki grinned. Then he ducked them both into a rather narrow alley, with different vendors on both sides, most of whom still had their doors open. The smell of things grilling filled the air, even stronger than before. There were stalls in front of some establishments too, with bowls displaying fresh vegetables and fruit.
“I thought we were going to a convenience store,” Icyhot mumbled, but didn’t seem displeased. On the contrary, he kept looking around, and taking in the sights like he’d never seen them before.
This was something Katsuki had to refute. “You’ve been to a street market before.”
“I have, we used to go with my mother but…” a nostalgic look passed over his face. “It has been a while.”
They paused at a vegetable stand sandwiched between a little ramen stall and a flower stand. Katsuki grabbed a cucumber and asked the old lady who had to be the proprietor how much they were going for by weight. He inspected a few, giving a thorough commentary to Todoroki, who only remarked that they mostly looked the same, but paid attention nonetheless. He did the same for a few other vegetables, but Todoroki’s attention was rapidly fading away. It was obvious why. There were some carved wooden knick-knacks here too. Kids toys, really. Todoroki seemed much more interested in those. Huh.
“My daughter makes them,” the old lady smiled proudly, noticing too. “She is very skilled.”
What Todoroki would possibly do with a carved wooden cat toy whose head bobbed up when you pressed down its tail, he had no idea. He’d been looking at them too long though, and they probably didn’t even cost much.
“If you like it, get the damn thing,” he said exasperatedly.
Todoroki nodded, and then picked one up and looked over to the old lady, “This one.”
She nodded, and then took Katsuki’s vegetables over to measure them on her weighing scale, to attach a fair price. When she finished her calculation, she looked at Todoroki’s-god-Todoroki’s toy. “Separate, or together?”
Fuck. Why was that the thing that everyone fucking wanted to know?! He suddenly felt upset and just blurted out, “None of your business!”
She seemed taken aback, so Todoroki stepped in, and pulled money out of his bag, “I’ll take care of it.”
That-who the fuck was he to-no-Katsuki snapped, “Separate.”
“Okay, that can also be arranged!” she said, nervously.
Then they both paid and went to stand in front of the flower stand, in front of a whole bunch of bright white daisies.
“That was...bad,” Todoroki said.
“Yeah,” Katsuki admitted. He was older now, and he could admit when things went bad. If this morning and the whole ‘are you dating pro hero Shouto’ thing hadn’t happened he probably wouldn’t have snapped like that. It probably was more annoying to him than he had thought, huh.
“You didn’t deny it, why?” Todoroki asked, and with the backdrop of daisies blowing gently in the wind, the artificial golden glow of yellow-y lamps, he looked like had just walked out of a perfume commercial or something.
At least it was obvious what he was referring to this time, and unlike some people, he didn’t just go around and around the point and draw out the pain of talking.
“Didn’t you learn anything from media training at school?! Any information you give out is still information. Excuse me if I didn’t want to give them more than they deserved!”
This isn’t the kind of conversation he wants to have with Todoroki. It’s too close to other conversations that he tries to avoid having with anyone, at all costs. Dating, why he isn’t seriously dating. The old hag has been on him for months now, and every time he’s hassled into coming around she pulls at his cheeks and chastises him for not bringing her a perfect little son or daughter-in-law in tow. Even his friends ask, sometimes. Why don’t they get that he just doesn’t have the time? The time he does have he doesn’t see himself wasting talking to some rando about their work or the weather or some bullshit.
Thinking like that though, something clicks in his mind. Todoroki isn’t exactly stupid. He’s annoying as hell, sure, but he wouldn’t just say he’s dating Katsuki to a rando and let the news get out just for the heck of it. Maybe people have been getting on his back too, you know, since he’s the prettiest guy in the whole fucking world or whatever it is people always get on about when they get a look at him.
“How the fuck did you get into this mess, anyway?”
“Glo asked me out,” Todoroki admitted.
“‘Course he did. And what? You couldn’t just say no?”
“You know that people don’t always take no for an answer.”
“Why’d you have to pick me?” he wondered; it was so like Todoroki, dragging Katsuki into all of his messes. “For all you know I’m dating someone already and they were super mad when they heard about this shit.”
“Oh,” Todoroki stiffened, “Are you?”
“No.”
“If being linked to me bothered you so much, you should have denied it as I suggested.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, I never said it bothered me, I was just saying it’s stupid just to throw out a name so you don’t have to say no. People should get that no means no.”
“I did not just throw it out, I saw your billboard.”
“My-” he remembered, suddenly. The billboard. The pressed red shirt, the cream coat with the navy, red, and green checked-scarf. That awful picture of him, smiling, blown up several feet tall. God. Todoroki had seen that?
“If you don’t want to issue a denial, I can send out a clarification through my agent, she has a PR firm and should be able to arrange it.”
“Why are you in such a damn hurry to deny it, huh?” he asked. “It’ll make you look bad. Saying one thing one day and then changing your mind the next.”
“Why do you care what makes me look bad?”
“Don’t be like that, I’m just saying. Whatever. If you’re so desperate to say that you’re too good to date me, desperate enough to make yourself look like a flip flopping hack, then go ahead, text your agent...it’s your life.”
Todoroki’s open question about why he would care had struck a nerve, whether he liked it or not. Why the hell had that bastard picked Katsuki to be his stand-in fake boyfriend if he didn’t think he even cared about him as a person. Did Todoroki really think that he’d changed so little?! Out of everyone, he had always thought that Todoroki knew better. Knew him, at least, a little better. Whatever.
The flower stall guy seemed to be looking at both of them kind of weird. He especially seemed to be looking at Todoroki, intensely. Yes, they’d both put on their ‘incognito’ beanies to hide their hair, which was ironically the most recognizable feature they both had. Todoroki’s red and white locks were creeping out from under his beanie though. And his eyes were kind of a give-away too.
Katsuki pulled Icyhot’s beanie down, to try to compensate and pulled on his arm so that they both stepped away a little. Away from the prying eyes. He pulled a little bit more on the beanie than he needed to, so it came down and covered Todoroki’s eyes completely. It felt so satisfying.
Todoroki huffed, and pulled it up again so he could see, “You can be such a child.”
“Maybe, but you liked my billboard so much, so clearly you like what you see.”
“Look. I only offered to arrange a denial myself because I thought you were bothered. If I’m honest, being able to say I’m dating you would be quite convenient. Someone usually asks me out about once a week. This would stop all of that.”
What. He looked at the other man in genuine astonishment. He knew that Icyhot was well-hot, but once a week? Once a week? That was borderline harassment.
“Why would you think a stupid thing like this would bother me? If it doesn’t bother you, it doesn’t bother me. It’s fake anyway, right?”
The last thing Katsuki wanted to do was act like this whole mix-up meant more to him than it obviously did to Todoroki, who had simply slipped up.
“Yes.”
“Then why bother even talking about it?” he explained. “We both get to stop being harassed all the time. Hell, I’ll be able to tell my mom to fuck off next time she tries to set me up with some idiot offspring of her friends.”
“That would be rude, but I see your point. I don’t really want to date anyone either.”
“That’s it then! Now we can fucking drop it.”
“You’re really okay with letting people believe that we are together?”
“How many ways do I have to tell you that I don’t give a shit? Now let’s head back.”
Todoroki nodded, “Alright. Let’s.”
He started off in the direction of Todoroki’s apartment and waited for Todoroki to follow him.