#it's very unlikely that this woman on her best day was still pro-yelling-at-children-like-that

[inklingofadream]

Just randomly remembered an incident in 5th grade where a sub mentioned she'd spent her summer in, like, the Caribbean. Somewhere that was extremely exotic to 10-year-olds. And I was like "oooh, jealous!" because... that's not the Best way to interact with a stranger but it one I'd seen modeled. Like that's a common response to someone talking about a cool vacation. Also, again, 10,

And she SNAPPED at me that no! she worked hard! to earn that vacation!!!11!!!

I would love to hear her side of that. Like... was there some serious personal life stuff that made her overreact? Did she really hate substitute teaching and was already in a bad mood? What was her logic behind yelling at ten-year-old me

Because I stand by my logic from then, once I'd calmed down enough to think about it- it doesn't matter if she worked hard for her vacation. I was ten. I could be the hardest-working ten-year-old on Earth, and it is still quite unlikely that a vacation would manifest itself. A vacation you bled to earn and a vacation handed to you on a silver platter are both equally unobtainable to a child who cannot buy plane tickets.

Like I get being annoyed if a peer said what I said, I acknowledge that that's a response you save for friends, not strangers... But I've done stuff teaching summer art classes for a few days, and while that's obviously a big leap from regular school subbing* not once was I tempted to raise my voice in anger. What is the end goal of yelling at a child, exactly? What was going on in her life that led her to that?

*(in some ways harder, since I was the one lesson planning and there were Many things that could go wrong and result in stains/injuries if my gang of 4-15 year old kids was supervised too lightly, but easier because literally every kid I've ever met would rather play with rhinestones than learn math and even the kids who were obnoxious I had to deal with for One week)

[shoutaaizawas]

↳ pro!hero bakugou katsuki x reader → heal

summary: you’re bakugou’s best friend and work partner and you’ve been in love with him for years. after his girlfriend cheats on him you’re left to pick up the pieces.  tags/warnings:  hurt/comfort, fluff, angst with a happy ending, very minor injury (blood), cheating (not by bakugou or reader), unrequited love (spoiler but not really) word count: 3,804  a/n:  this was my first time writing any x reader. hope you guys enjoy it!

You loved Bakugou Katsuki. That was a fact that you had accepted a long time ago and you were now at peace with that. You had gone to school with him and once you both graduated you worked at the same agency. Your quirks were a good match so you had been working together ever since. When he started his own agency he took you with him.  

The thing is, you never told Bakugou that you loved him. He was always so focused you assumed that he wouldn’t want a relationship and frankly despite all the things you had accomplished you were self-conscious and it was hard to think Bakugou would ever settle for someone like you.

A few years ago Bakugou started dating. You could still remember the hurt that burned in your chest as you tried to play it off and tease him like everything was normal. You spent most nights crying yourself to sleep a few weeks after that day.

She was a civilian, who in your opinion was very unlikable. You knew it was petty and you should be more mature but there was something about her that felt off. You figured it was your jealousy. You recalled the time she had ended up in some trouble, you had been able to pull her to safety only. Not only did she not thank you but she gave you an attitude. You figured she didn’t like you because you spent so much time with Bakugou in and out of work. You could understand that to some degree but it didn’t hurt to pretend to be nice.

It was so much easier loving Bakugou from a distance when he was single, you could tell yourself that he would never date anyone or marry them and that being his best friend was the most anyone would ever have. If you could talk to him, joke with him, look after him from his side as a friend you were content.

With him dating the dull ache of unrequited love turned into a dagger in her chest, burning pain only intensified by any movement. You wondered if you should try dating around. Maybe you could find someone who liked you that you could fall in love with and forget about Bakugou. You never got around to it, every time you seriously considered it you thought it’d be unfair to whoever you dated. They deserved someone who truly loved them, not someone trying to put a bandage on a broken heart.

Last week you had caught Bakugou red-handed, a small velvet box in his pocket. Your heart dropped, you thought you had hit rock bottom but it turns out you could always go deeper.

“Is that what I think it is?” You asked, trying to play it off as teasing. You prayed he couldn’t hear the crack in your voice.

“Shut up, it’s none of your business.” He growled back but you knew it was just because he was embarrassed.

“I’m surprised I never saw you as the marriage type.” You tried to say in a nonchalant tone.

“We’re getting old. We have to settle down eventually.” He said. The words stung, you knew he meant them aimed towards himself but you couldn’t help the bile that rose in your throat. I would have settled down with you but now I can’t look at another man without comparing everything about them to you. Who could ever come close to the Bakugou Katsuki.

“Bakugou we’re twenty-six, we just barely became adults if we’re being honest.” You joked.

“Well, I don’t want to be an old parent.” He said, eyes scanning the streets for any trouble. Your heart dropped a little more.

You wondered if you were strong enough to stand by and watch the love of your life get married and have children with another woman. You wondered how long it would be until you had to find an excuse to move away.

“I’m gonna head home since patrol is over.” You said trying to keep your voice steady.

“You aren’t going back to the agency?” He asked giving you an odd look, sensing something off. You knew each other too well.

“No, I have plans later I need to get home fast. I’ll get my paperwork done tomorrow, boss.” You lied about the plans, you needed to get away fast.

It doesn’t get rid of the suspicious look on his face but he doesn’t question you further and you quickly make your exit, barely able to keep it together until you get out of sight. You duck into an alley as tears stream down your face.

You haven’t seen Bakugou today. That concerns you, he never misses work for anything. You can’t count how many times you’ve had to drag him home and force him into bed after he comes into work with a high fever. You make sure things are covered at the agency before heading over to his apartment. Your heart beats quick, he hasn’t replied to your texts. It’s hard to keep the worst-case scenario out of your head.

Knocking on the door to his apartment you get no reply. Pressing your ear to the door you can hear a commotion, fear grips you, and you almost kick the door down before your rational sense tells you to use the key he gave you.

Bakugou’s apartment is a war zone. Furniture is turned over, glass smashed across the ground. You can smell the familiar lingering scent of his quirk. You would have thought he had been robbed if it weren’t from the sound coming from the bedroom.

Opening the door to his bedroom it’s even worse in here somehow. Bakugou is currently smashing picture frames against the wall. It’s distressing to see him so upset and not have a clue what’s going on.

“Bakugou!” You shout hoping to get his attention but he’s blinded by his anger. You let out a huff of frustration before moving closer to him, grabbing his arm as he goes to slam the already mangled frame again.

You’re startled but not shocked as he turns around in the blink of an eye and grabs onto your bicep, fingers digging in you can feel your skin under his hand start to burn.

“Bakugou! Snap out of it!” You shout again. Recognition crosses his face and he looks a little more coherent. You’re waiting for him to say something but he drops to the ground like dead weight, his hands pressing into his palms. You kneel, careful of the glass on the ground.

“Bakugou? What happened?” You ask in a softer voice. He takes so long to reply that you wonder if he will answer.

“She cheated.” You can barely make out the words through his covered face.

“What?” You ask.

“She was cheating on me!” He yelled pulling his hands away, the anger returning. “She was cheating on me for months like it was some game. When I confronted her about it she didn’t even try to defend herself. She wasn’t even upset.”

“Bakugou, I’m so sorry.” Your heart is breaking but not for yourself, this time it’s for the man in front of you that looks broken. You realize that he has cuts all over his body from the damage done to the apartment. “C’mon.” You say holding your hand out to him.

He looks at you confused but takes it. You lead him to his bathroom, sitting him down on the edge of the tub. The first aid kit is under the bathroom sink, you had patched him up here before.

Returning to him you kneel on the ground in front of him. You begin cleaning the cuts that litter his arms, wiping up the blood covering his arms. You look up at him and his eyes look so empty as he stares at the ground past you. Your overwhelmed by the urge to take him in your arms but decide against it. No, you should patch him up first.

You put band-aids on the ones that need them and leave the smaller ones uncovered. You lean up so your eye level with him, he has a cut across his cheek. You’re careful as you dab at it with a cloth, he doesn’t react if it does hurt. You put a band-aid on it before looking him in the eyes, his gaze still on the floor.

It hurts you so much to see him like this, it breaks you. What you would give to have him insulting you about something dumb you did or yelling about how you left your coffee mug on his desk again. Anything other than the painful silence. You lift your hand and softly cup his unharmed cheek, his gaze slowly raises to meet yours. Your thumb gently strokes the skin there hoping that it will soothe him in any way he can be at the moment.

You finally lean forward and embrace him, pressing your face into his shoulder avoiding any of the cuts on him. Your arms circle around his torso and you squeeze him tightly. You wish you could hug him tight enough to put him back together. It takes a moment but he eventually rests his head against your shoulder and he returns the hug. His grip is tight on the back of your shirt and you know he’s trying to pull the broken pieces back together himself. I would do anything for you to make this pain stop, you think.

You don’t know how long you stay there, holding each other tight but eventually you decide you should leave. The last thing he needs is to be stuck in the apartment that he shared with his girlfriend, the one that was currently trashed.

“Let’s go to my place.” You offer. “You can stay as long as you want, you shouldn’t stay here.”

He nods and your stomach drops, normally he would protest even if he agreed with what you wanted to do. It made you feel sick that he gave in so easily. You nod back before standing up and going into his room. You grab a duffel bag and grab his clothes and other things he’ll need while away from his home. By the time you’re done, he’s standing there watching you wordlessly.

“Let’s go.” You say you take his hand in yours. You had known Bakugou for years and worked by his side for most of them, this wasn’t the first time you had held his hand but the conditions were usually different. Normally you were dangling off the edge of a building as he pulled you up or you were dragging him out of harm’s way.

Holding his hand now was different, you could actually take note of what it felt like. His hand was much larger than yours, the callouses on his hand rougher than your own. It was easy to pretend that the circumstances were different, that you were dragging him out of his apartment to your favorite place to grab dinner together instead of taking him home with you to help console him from what had happened.

The car ride is silent, he’s still processing everything that’s happened and you have no words to say. You know that he needs time to think about everything, you refuse to push him to talk. Growing up you had to if you ever wanted him to process his emotions but Bakugou had matured a lot as he grew up and you knew that when he was ready he would talk.

“Here, you can take a shower if you want or you can change into something less torn up.” You say as you press the bag of clothes into his arms. “I’m going to make us lunch.”

“I’m not hungry.” He says. His retort gives you hope that he’s beginning to return to himself and not the empty shell of person who sat on the edge of his tub.

“I doubt you ate breakfast, I know you probably don’t want to eat but I’m making food and you’re going to eat at least a little bit.” You say. He doesn’t argue again, he heads towards your bathroom needing no directions.

You’re glad that you went grocery shopping yesterday. Even more glad that you always make sure to keep the ingredients to make Bakugou’s favorite dish in your fridge in case of emergencies. Or him demanding that you make it for him, as he does at times.

He’s in the shower for a long time. You’re finishing up lunch and you’re about to go check on him when you hear the water stop. You’re plating up the food when he walks into the kitchen wearing a fresh pair of sweat pants and a black shirt. His eyes are red but you don’t comment on it. You shove the bowl of food in his hands.

“Extra spicy, just how you like it.” You tell him as you grab your food. “Let’s sit down.”

You sit down on the couch in your living room eating in silence. Despite his denial of being hungry his food is gone in minutes. You grab his empty bowl from him to take it to the kitchen but before you can get up his hand is grasping your wrist. You look at him and his gaze is on the mark he left on your bicep when you pulled him out of his rage.

“I’m sorry.” His voice is raw and the guilt is clearer than day on his face. He slowly reaches towards your arm, his thumb softly glides at the edge of the minor burn.

“It was an accident.” You tell him in the most genuine tone you can manage, he’s been through enough the last thing he needs is to feel guilty for this. “Besides, I can handle you.” You tease trying to lighten the mood. Your hand covers his own on your arm and you squeeze it to emphasize your point. His hand drops back to his lap after a moment and you leave for the kitchen.

When you return to the living room you see him sitting there, he looks less empty but more annoyed. You figure he’s had enough time to process most of his feelings.

“How did you find out?” You ask, testing the water. If he didn’t reply you’d know he wasn’t ready.

“She left her phone when she left for work, I grabbed it to give it to her before she got out of the building but I saw her notifications.” He said. Pain stings in your chest for him, you can’t imagine how upsetting that would be. “She came back for her phone and I confronted her.”

“What did she have to say?” You ask.

“She acted like she got caught sneaking a cookie before dinner, she barely even cared.” He said, anger returning to his tone. “She’s been with him for six months, she said that she was only ever with me for my money and status. She wanted someone she could brag about.”

“Bakugou,” You said putting a hand on his arm.

“I guess it’s only fair.” He scoffed. “I never loved her either. But I’m still pissed off she made a fool of me.”

“You didn’t love her?” You tried to keep your tone even but it comes out like an exclamation. “Bakugou, you were going to marry her!” You nearly shout. Had you really spend the last year suffering while Bakugou dated someone he didn’t even care about?

“No, it was just convenient.” He answered. “The person I loved, they would never want me. I figured I should just get over it and move on.” His gaze is on the floor.

Your sick again, he didn’t love his girlfriend but he loved someone else. You really couldn’t win, could you?

“Bakugou, why wouldn’t someone want you?” You ask. How could he believe that.

“I’m loud, angry, and rude.” He says. “I’m not good at relationships, I just screw everything up. She deserves someone who will make her happy not burden them with their crappy personality.”

“Don’t say that about yourself!” You scold him. “You’re an amazing man, you’re strong and determined. Even if you don’t show it like other people you care more than most people do about your friends. You would go to the ends of the earth to help them even if you don’t admit it. You’re the best hero I’ve ever seen. You’ve matured so much since we were in high school, you worked on yourself and became a better person. I’ve been by your side for years, don’t you dare say that you aren’t good enough. If anything, anyone you date will never be good enough for you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met, you deserve everything you want in the world.” You take a deep breath after your rant, it takes a moment to realize how much you spilled out.

His eyes are off the floor and he’s staring at you in shock. There’s something in his eyes you don’t recognize but he doesn’t say anything.

“Who’s the lucky lady?” You ask, trying to steel yourself for his answer. Whoever it was you would help him as much as you could to get their affections. It would kill you to watch him fall in love with someone else but more than anything you wanted to see him happy even if it cost you your own happiness.

“It’s you.” He says and the silence is deafening after his words. At first you think you misheard him. You feel dizzy at his admission. This had to be a dream, there was no way. “It’s always been you.”

“I-” You try to speak but there are no words. Your head is spinning, the world falling apart around you in the best of ways.

Bakugou moves slowly, one hand holding your face like it’s delicate glass, the other reaches behind you and pulls you softly to close the distance. He leans in, a breath in between you, you know he’s waiting for you to close the distance. To answer his confession without a word. Once your brain processes it all you lean in a little too excitedly almost knocking your forehead against his.

You move your arms around his shoulders as your lips meet.

With one action the dagger in your chest is suddenly gone and the pain there melts away. You feel like you’re submerged in warmth, laying in a grassy field in gentle sunlight. You kiss him until your lungs can’t take it anymore. As you part you stare into his eyes, they’re filled with so much warmth and love it makes you tear up. You lean back in for another kiss.

“Bakugou-” You say as you pull back.

“Katsuki.” He says. You had used his given name on occasion but it always felt too personal, your heart couldn’t take it.

“Katsuki-” You repeat, it feels right now. A small smile lights up his face, it’s like staring into the sun. “I love you, I’ve loved you since we were kids.”

“Me too.” He replies. You let out a laugh.

“We really wasted a lot of years.” You said, nose brushing against his, arms still around him. It was almost sad the time you could have spent happily together but you’re too excited by the years you’ll get to spend with him going forward.

“We did, I’m not going to waste any more time.” He said before moving in for another kiss.

Bakugou stays at your apartment for two weeks before he mentions moving into a new apartment. With your heart in your throat you offer for him to move in with you, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes.

You help him go through his stuff, tossing anything that was hers but she hadn’t taken or things that remind him of her. You stand at his side as he tosses the ring he bought for her off a bridge even though you told him he should just sell it. He refused, not caring about the money and definitely wanting to avoid the shame of selling an engagement ring.

He didn’t love her, he never did but he still bares the scars of her infidelity. His self-esteem in a relationship was already low but some days it feels even lower when he things about what happened. He knows you would never do the same but regardless you still hold him tighter on those days and you don’t hold back any of your love or admiration for him.

Sometimes he feels embarrassed that it went on so long without him knowing but you reassure him that the only person who should be embarrassed is her. You don’t call him a victim, no he would hate that, but you tell him that he deserves better. You can’t hold back your smile when he says he already has better now that you’re together.

You spend your workdays out on patrol together, your usual banter filling the day as you fight off any villains who dare make a mess in you territory. On your days off you spend time in each other’s arms, basking in the happiness you finally found together or out on dates. Sometimes he drags you hiking even though you hate the bugs and other times you make him go to theme parks and force a pair of mouse ears on him.

It doesn’t take long for Bakugou to propose. Your relationship had been so close for so many years that it becoming romantic didn’t change much. You already knew everything about each other, you knew how to work with each other at your best and your worst. Making it official was a natural step.

Watching him tear up as you walk down the aisle is something burned into your heart and mind and you refuse to let it go as long as you live. Spending the night dancing, eating, and drinking with your closest friends who all were relived you finally got together was an unforgettable time.

You lay beside Bakugou, arms wrapped around each other, legs tangled together. Your head rests on his chest, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat. You hold onto each other as if you would lose each other if you let go. You can’t get rid of the big smile on your face as his hands move lazily through your hair nearly lulling yourself back to sleep.

You love Bakugou Katsuki. That was a fact and you were more than happy to spend the rest of your life at his side not just as a friend or partner but as the love of his life and that made you happier than anything ever could.

[babyboyblasty]

CHAPTER 12:

All the girls had at least one bag in their hand. Momo had eight (some big but most of them medium sized that only contained one or two things each), Mina four, Hagakure two, Jirou one, Uraraka one, Tsuyu two, and Aoyama five. The only one without any bags was Bakugou since he hasn’t bought anything. So far— and he will rather die than admit it out loud— hanging out with his classmates wasn’t the most terrible thing that has happened to him these past three days. He was actually kinda having a good time.

"You should have come with us to get your nails painted too, Bakugou-kun" Hagakure placed an invisible hand on his shoulder where he saw some glittery blue polish.

"Yeah! I think a nice /green/ would look great on you" Uraraka smiled, giving a wink to Tsuyu who shook her head.

“Actually, I think Bakubabe would prefer a firetruck /red/ ” Mina nudged Jirou who gave her friend a knowing look.

"On the contrary, I believe a nice dark color like black or purple would suit Bakugou-san best" Momo suggested, oblivious to what her other friends were hinting at. "Perhaps Bakugou would like to join us on our next trip?" she turned to look at him and he looked back at her then the rest who were waiting for his answer like they were insane.

"But I won't be a girl then" he replied like they'd forgotten. 

"We know that, kero, but Bakugou-chan is fun when he is not yelling," Tsuyu responded, a finger to her cheek.

"You joining us again would be très bien, monsieur" Aoyama smiled over at him, wiggling his fingers in front of his face to show off simplistic french tipped fingernails. 

Bakugou didn't really respond but he did smile a little on the inside. Not that they needed to know that though.

The conversation was dropped to start another one about what they've bought so far, cuticle care (via Aoyama), and what they wanted to do tomorrow in their free day. That somehow turned into Momo recalling a restaurant she visited with her parents where the food was magnificent and that led to Bakugou claiming he can make the best damn breakfast they've ever had and Jirou challenging him to cook breakfast for them tomorrow to prove it. He agreed of course and the girls couldn't wait. They already knew Bakugou was a great cook but challenging him was always fun for both them and for Bakugou since he liked to prove he was the best.

After walking around for a bit, the girls decided that they wanted to go into a store that just recently opened. It was one similar to Victoria Secret that sold lingerie and other intimate clothing that Bakugou didn’t feel comfortable in so the blonde stayed outside on his phone. 

"Is that Bakugou Katsuki I'm seeing? Or do my eyes deceive me" Bakugou could practically hear the smirk and sarcasm dripping from the words. Looking up, he saw Emo Deku 2.0 walking over to where he was standing, the smug bastard. 

"Is that the human vibrator I'm seeing? Or is it just a big pile of dog shit" he countered back, baring his teeth up at the guy. Shindou Yo always rubbed him the wrong way and just the sound of his voice and that dumb way he patronized and looked down at him like he was better was enough to make his blood boil. He thought he’d seen the end of him after their provisional hero license exam when he was a first year and Shindou was a third year, but fate has a funny way of working and Bakugou seems to run into the guy more often than he'd like when he's out doing public service hero work or at internships. 

"No need for insults, Bakugou. I was just surprised to see you, that's all. I heard about what happened over at the agency but I didn't believe it. I mean, you /are/ supposed to be the best, right? So how on earth was I to believe that a small time thug got the upper hand on the Great Explosion Murder God DynaMight?" Shindou tilted his head, looking down at Bakugou with fake curiosity and concern. "I could see I was mistaken though. Maybe you're just not as amazing as they say you are /just/ yet. That's okay though. It took me all three years at Ketsubutsu Academy to fully learn how to be a great hero but I guess some people need more time. It's okay being a late bloomer. Isn't that right, Katsuki?"

Bakugou was positively fuming and it took everything in him not to launch at him right then and there. He wasn't the same explosive boy from his first year that couldn't control his impulses. Besides, making him lose his composure is what that asshole wanted and he won't give him the satisfaction. He won't compromise his perfect record and possibly endanger someone by using his quirk in a public setting. Clenching his fist as hard as he could, he let the sparks threatening to ignite die in his palms.

"What? You've got nothing to say, Katsuki? How very unlike you" the black haired boy teased. It's been two years since Shindou Yo graduated from Ketsubutsu Academy High School and half a year since he's been working as a rookie pro hero. He was assigned to this mall by the agency he works at and imagine his surprise when he saw Bakugou just standing there in the open like that. Really, he just couldn't resist coming over and saying hi. The blonde was always so entertaining. 

"Pro-hero Grand! May we have your autograph?" a small girl and boy ran over to them, each holding a pen and notebook in their hands up to Shindou's face. The man's condescending smile changed into a friendly one at the flip of a switch. "Of course! It'd be an honor" he laughed and gave them both his signature. Bakugou let out a 'tch' sound, crossing his arms over his chest. "Thank you for your support!" he waved them goodbye and the children waved back with a 'thank you', running off back to a woman who they guessed was their mother.

"Does it ever get tiring being a two-faced bitch?" Bakugou growled and Shindou turned back to him, letting out an amused laugh.

"See? There he is. Or should I say she now?" he made a thinking face and laughed when Bakugou audibly growled like a dog. "That's what I like about you, Bakugou. Always so feisty" he cooed before stepping a bit closer. Bakugou kept his ground so they were almost chest to chest, Bakugou glaring up at the guy because of his new height. If he was smaller by one or two inches before, he is now nearly half a foot shorter than the bastard. "You know, this look actually kinda suits you. It makes you look cute when you're angry so really I can't even take you seriously. Not that I did before, but now I get the sudden urge to hug you. Isn't that funny?" he smirked.

"Well take a good long look, perv, because I'll be turning back to normal tomorrow morning," Bakugou spat. Shindou looked genuinely confused for a split second and it made Bakugou get a sinking feeling in his chest.

"Tomorrow morning? Are you sure? Did Eraser tell you that?" the pro hero raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at his lips. 

"What the hell are you getting at?" Bakugou frowned. 

"Oh nothing, don't mind me. If that's what your teacher said then it must be true" he shrugged.

"Is there something you're not telling me? If there is, spit it out already."

"Like I said, it's nothing. Anyway, I must be getting back to work. The streets don't keep themselves safe, you know?" Shindou smiled and turned to leave but Bakugou immediately grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face him and gripping onto the black and gold top piece of his hero costume to pull him down to his eye level.

"Woah there Bakugou. Aren't we moving just a bit too fast?" the older of the two chuckled.

"Listen up, dumbass. I swear if there's something you're not telling me I'll—" he growled out before getting interrupted by a stern voice.

"Bakugou! What is going on here? Let go of him immediately" Iida stepped up to both of them. Midoriya, Todoroki, and the other three standing behind the tall, navy haired male were all ready to intervene if need be, Midoriya and Todoroki more so than the rest.

Bakugou unclenched his hands from Shindou's hero costume with a huff and Shindou smoothed it out with a throaty laugh.

"Thanks for that. Iida Tenya, right? Ingenium's younger brother?" Shindou smiled. 

The class rep nodded and answered 'yes, I am' before putting his hands together. "Pro-hero Grand," Iida gave a deep bow, "I apologize in advance for my classmate's despicable behavior. As class rep it is my responsibility to ensure everyone acts their best in order to better represent the name of U.A. My apologies again, sir!" Iida was practically yelling and it caused a few heads to turn their way in curiosity to what was happening, but they all looked away with a sharp glare from a certain ash blonde that basically told them to mind their own fucking business. "Is everything okay? Was Bakugou bothering you?"

Bakugou could have laughed. Of course they'd think that so he wasn’t even surprised.

"What?" Shindou laughed before the black haired hero began maneuvering the younger so that he had an arm around Bakugou's shoulders and his other hand was holding one of Bakugou's wrists like they were the best of pals. "Oh no, not at all. Bakugou-kun and I were just talking about old times. I was giving him a few words of my experience so far and some advice as a pro hero" the male gave a bright smile. "What you saw just now was a new move Bakugou was demonstrating to me. There is no problem here, right Katsuki?"

"Whatever."

Midoriya's eyes flickered over to Kacchan. Honestly, he doesn't think that that was what happened at all. He thinks Shindou said or did something that made Bakugou react that way. He's known the blonde for a long time now and while his childhood friend might be a hot head, he wasn't the type to start fights without reason. Todoroki, Shoji, and Koda thought the same but didn't say anything. They didn’t get good vibes from Shindou either.

Todoroki didn't like the interaction between those two one bit and Izuku felt the need to go up and pull his Kacchan away from him.

"Well, that's a relief" Iida answered with a bit of hesitance. He was still a bit suspicious but let the matter slide.

"I hope to see you all out in the field in a few years. Work hard" Shindou said his goodbyes to all of them individually before turning to Bakugou. "It was nice bumping into you, Katsuki-chan. And I meant what I said earlier too. You look good" he winked and Bakugou growled. "Take care, guys" he smiled, waving goodbye. 

They all watched the hero go before Iida was turning to Bakugou. "What happened between you two, Bakugou?" he frowned and Bakugou grumbled.

"Nothin' that concerns any of you. Now quit buggin me."

Iida tried not to take offense. After a few years of being classmates, he should be used to the blonde's somewhat hostile way of speaking. “As you wish. Why were you alone? Where are the girls and Aoyama?” he asked.

“In the store” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Almost as if by magic, Bakugou’s group started walking out of the store, some carrying new small bags. 

“Deku-kun! Iida-kun!” Uraraka grinned, going up to them excitedly.

“Uraraka-san. It’s good to see you” Izuku smiled. The rest of them caught up before Iida started lecturing the girls about leaving Bakugou alone.

“I can take care of myself, four eyes!” he yelled but Iida paid no attention to him as he continued talking to the rest about what he saw happening with Bakugou and Shindou earlier to make a point about why we should all be in groups or in pairs at all times. Mina gasped loudly and Momo turned around to look at Bakugou with sympathy.

“Did he do something to you, Bakugou?" the pink girl was stomping over to him, a furious look on her face. "Where is he? I’ll beat him up I swear” Mina frowned, looking around to see if she can spot the black haired hero around. For his sake, he better pray she doesn't. Apparently she thought the same thing Midoriya did.

"Bakugou-kun! I am terribly sorry we left you alone. I should have known better and stayed behind with you. I am so sorry for your troubles" she apologized.

"Hah? Do you think I'm some type of damsel in distress now or something? It's fine, ponytail. Quit apologizing" he grumbled, looking away. “You too, Pinky.”

Momo gave him a soft smile and went in for a hug. She was sure he'd most likely push her off so when he didn't, she was very surprised. He didn't hug back but Momo didn't expect him to and she hugged him a bit tighter, the rest of the girls going in for a group hug as well. The boys were unsure what to do (even though some of them really wanted to join) so they stood to the side and watched how Bakugou started telling them to quit being "sentimental fucks" and let go already. They could tell he didn’t really mind it when he didn't immediately threaten to blow them up though.

Bakugou couldn’t wait until he went back to normal tomorrow.

[ word count: 2318 ]

(the shindou and bakugou inspiration for this chapter was these two pieces of fanart!)

[alphacrone]

title: for better or for worse pairing(s): Zen & Kiki, Zen & Kiki & Mitsuhide tags: au - canon divergence, arranged marriage, manga spoilers summary:

In a world where Zen never meets Shirayuki, he is still expected to marry. Unfortunately, Kiki is the best choice among his suitors.

Or, Zen has many awkward conversations and realizes something about love.

-

Zen Wistalia, second prince of Clarines, was 20 years of age when his brother commanded him to marry. 

It wasn’t that Zen misliked women, or even that he had grand dreams of finding true love. But Zen had never been comfortable in the company of noble ladies, who did not share his interests in sword fighting and horseback riding through the mountains. He loved his mother dearly and looked up to Queen Haki like an older sister, but the only woman who’d ever truly understood him was Kiki and she, unfortunately, was not an option. 

“I don’t understand the issue,” Izana said, only the barest hint of frustration in his tone. “Lady Kiki is one of your closest aides and a dear friend, is she not? That is a better choice than most in our position ever have.” 

Zen clenched his jaw. “She is…” he hedged. 

“Then it is her appearance?” Izana continued, casting his eyes down to the papers on his desk. “She’s grown lovelier since the days of being mistaken for a boy. But perhaps you prefer a brunette, or something else entirely…” 

“Kiki is very beautiful,” Zen snapped, more out of habit than anything. He’d grown very protective of her when she first arrived at the palace, and there had been more than a few hushed comments on her boyish appearance. “That’s not the issue.” 

“Then, my dear brother,” Izana sighed, bringing a few slender fingers to press at his temples. “What is the issue? I thought, of all the acceptable candidates, Kiki would be the best option—no, the only option. You’ve refused marriage interviews with any other lady. Please.” He cast a tired gaze at Zen. “Enlighten me.” 

“She’s in love with Mitsuhide.” 

Zen smacked a hand over his mouth, horrified. He hadn’t meant to tell his brother anything of the sort. 

Izana blinked once. Twice. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. 

“Is that all?” 

“What?” Zen froze, mouth agape. “What do you mean? I couldn’t do that to her or Mitsuhide.” 

“What is it you would be doing to either of them?” Izana asked, idly picking up one of his papers and examining the contents. “It’s not as if they are ever going to marry.” 

Zen pinched the bridge of his nose. “You don’t know that! When Kiki returns to take her father’s place-” 

“Kiki has already proposed to Mitsuhide,” Izana said without looking away from the document, reaching out to grab a pen. “And he has already rejected her.” 

It was said, for many years later, that every soul within a mile radius of the palace heard Zen’s strangled cry that day.

“He did what?! ” Zen slammed his hands down on Izana’s desk, scattering papers everywhere. Izana glared at him. “Why did he- How could he- Why didn’t she tell me?!”

“I didn’t ask,” Izana said drily. “I was quite too busy discussing the logistics of an heir marrying a crown prince with her and Lord Seiran.” 

“Kiki knows about this ?!” Zen slammed his hands down again, knocking over an inkwell. Izana stood swiftly, righting the bottle and tossing a handkerchief onto the spilled ink to soak it up before it could stain his work. 

“Of course she does,” Izana snapped, tossing a few books to the ground, out of harm’s way. “Because, unlike you , she understands her duties to her family and to her country. If you are to ask for her hand in marriage, Lady Kiki Seiran is ready to accept.” 

The blood in his veins turned to ice and Zen’s hands went cold and numb. Kiki, the third friend he’d ever had, the only woman who’d ever treated him as a peer, was willing to marry him. For life! For her whole life, she’d- she’d what? Support him? Work beside him? Dance with him at balls and parties? She did all of those things already, usually with a sword in hand. Perhaps…

But there were other things that came with marriage, things that resulted in heirs . Zen’s face burned at the idea of seeing his friend naked, of doing... things with her. He’d never even kissed a girl before, and now he would have to- he shook his head to rid himself of the thought. 

“This is my ultimatum, Zen,” Izana said, voice heavy with an unleashed sigh.  “Either make Kiki your fiancé, or I will choose another woman for you.” 

Zen buried his face in his hands, too overcome to respond immediately. Finally, after a long, torturous moment of silence, he nodded. “Okay,” Zen whispered. “Alright. I’ll talk to Kiki.” 

Izana tilted back his head, shoulders drooping as if he’d just set down a heavy burden. “Thank you,” he said, and it sounded sincere. “I do think you will find happiness in each other.” 

“Thank you, brother,” Zen said. He thought of his sister-in-law, the way she threw everything she had into her duties, the way her eyes lit up when she caressed the growing roundness of her belly. Haki certainly had not been in love with Izana when they’d said their vows, but every day the two of them worked together to find small joys in their marriage. 

With a tense bow, Zen left the King’s office, hurrying away to his own wing of the palace. He needed to talk to Kiki, then yell at Mitsuhide, then- 

Zen huffed in frustration. Were he a coward, he’d have let his brother choose someone—anyone—else and live with the consequences. But Zen was too bullheaded to let his brother make that decision for him, and so his stubbornness would trump the terror he felt at the idea of asking Kiki to marry him. 

“Zen!” 

That voice...was not one Zen wanted to hear just now. He turned to see Mitsuhide approach and he felt all his earlier anger well up in him. 

“ You ,” he hissed. “You idiot !” 

Mitsuhide stopped in his tracks, hands raised in defense immediately. “What? What did I-”

“You-! Kiki proposed to you?!” Zen jabbed a finger in Mitsuhide’s face. “And you rejected her ?!” 

His aide’s eyes grew wide. “I-I-” He grimaced. “Yes. I did.” 

Zen stared at him until Mitsuhide averted his gaze. He knew the man before him could be thick at times, even downright stupid, but this …

“Don’t bully him, Zen. He’ll cry.” 

Startled, Zen jumped as Kiki approached, face far too placid for someone approaching the man who’d turned her down and the man who was reluctantly planning to propose. Zen frowned. “I think he deserves to cry a little.” 

“You know, I asked King Izana to let me tell you about this,” she said with a sigh. “I assume you’ve just come from speaking with him?” 

“Yeah,” Zen said. “I, uh. I think we need to talk?” Despite himself, Zen felt his face turning pink. Mitsuhide clearly noticed, because the fear in his eyes turned to concern. 

“Is everything okay?” he asked, looking between Zen and Kiki. 

Kiki nodded, still far too stoic. “Zen is going to propose to me, I believe.” 

The silence that fell was staggering. Zen’s face burned like he’d stuck his head in an oven. Mitsuhide’s eyes grew comically large. Kiki, the demon she apparently was, had the gall to smile, just a little. 

“Y-y-you-” Mitsuhide sputtered. “P-p-pro-pro-pose?”

Kiki looked at Zen. “Am I mistaken? The King seemed certain you’d choose me over a stranger.” 

“I…” Zen rubbed at his forehead. “I didn’t imagine Mitsuhide would be here for this conversation.” 

“Really?” Kiki looked genuinely surprised. “I imagined he would be here for every step of our marriage.” 

Despite his better judgement, Zen asked, “ Every step?” 

That, it seemed, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Kiki’s impassive stare turned dark. Mitsuhide doubled over, hyperventilating. The hallway was suspiciously devoid of staff.

“That’s not what I meant!” Zen exclaimed, gripping at his hair. “I just- fuck .” 

“Maybe I should leave the two of you to talk,” Kiki said, slapping Mitsuhide on the back as he struggled for air. 

“No,” Zen groaned. He could feel a headache forming in the base of his skull. “No, you and I need to talk about this.” 

“What is there to discuss?” Kiki asked. “It would be mutually beneficial for us to marry. Your brother and my father approve. We don’t hate each other. It seems logical.” 

“Don’t you find it weird?” Zen asked, his voice shooting up an octave. Next to him, Mitsuhide was still wheezing, so Zen joined Kiki in pounding on the man’s back. “The idea of marrying me ?” 

“Not particularly,” Kiki said with a shrug. “I’ve always known I would probably need to marry for political benefit, not love. Since my love belongs to Mitsuhide, who can’t return it, then I’d rather marry someone I care about than someone I don’t.” 

The sound Mitsuhide made sounded like a cross between a dying cat and breaking steel. Zen sighed and moved to rubbing comforting circles in Mitsuhide’s back. 

“Okay, but what about the...intimate parts of marriage? Heirs will be expected…” 

“Zen.” Kiki cast him an incredulous look. “Did no one prepare you for that when you were younger? Does Mitsuhide need to give you the talk? He can explain how it works.” 

“I know how it works!” Zen protested. “But isn’t it weird, doing it with someone you don’t...love? Love like that?” 

“I have three cousins, all girls,” Kiki said, hand stilling on Mitsuhide’s back. “All of them married much younger than me, all to strangers. They all have children now. As nobles, we are raised with the understanding that we will have to copulate with someone for whom we bear no feelings.” 

Shame and embarrassment stung the back of Zen’s throat. “So you...aren’t scared?” 

Kiki’s gaze softened. “Of course not. It’s you .” 

“ I’m scared,” Zen admitted, pouting a little. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” 

“Aww…” Mitsuhide cooed. Zen smacked the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground. 

“It would take more than sex to do that, Zen,” Kiki said drily. 

Zen looked down at his feet. “You’re right,” he said. “But things will change.” 

“They will,” she agreed. “But then, they always do.” 

Zen swallowed back his worries and smiled, genuinely. Then, unceremoniously shoving Mitsuhide out of the way, he bent down on one knee, reaching out for Kiki’s hand. She gave it to him, returning his smile. 

“Kiki Seiran, would you do me the pleasure of becoming my wife?” 

“Why Prince Zen,” she deadpanned. “I thought you’d never ask.” 

Zen pinched her arm in retaliation, then placed a chaste kiss to the back of her hand.  Kiki turned her grip to haul him back to two feet, and they stood there for a moment, hands clasped in a familiar gesture of comradery.  This was what their relationship was built on: trust, loyalty, and years watching each others’ backs. If it was like this , Zen thought, then maybe marriage wasn’t so scary. 

A loud, watery sniff came from the floor, and both turned to see Mitsuhide watching them with emotional, teary eyes. “You guys ,” he said, then pulled them both into a tight hug. “You’re both- Zen, you’re so grown .”

“Oh, don’t even ,” Zen sniped, trying to wriggle free. “I’m still angry with you. Kiki, did he make you cry? Be honest with me, I’ll put him to work in the stables if he did.” 

Kiki cast a look between the two men. “I did find myself getting a little misty-eyed, now that you mention it.” 

Mitsuhide gasped. “You did not -” Then grunted as Zen pulled him into a chokehold. “ Kiki- help-” 

“Oh, no,” Kiki said. “I consider this a wedding present from my fiancé. I’d like to see how this fight ends.” 

Zen laughed and let Mitsuhide break his grip, then yelped as the older man lifted him off the ground. Kiki hid a smile behind her hand, watching her closest friends wrestle, and Zen felt a weight lift from his chest. 

It wasn’t a storybook romance, this love of theirs; it wasn’t a romance at all. But when Zen was with Kiki and Mitsuhide his world was soft and warm and safe. These were his friends, the people he loved most in the world, and while their dynamics would change and relationships would grow, this —the family he’d found for himself—would be the only love story he’d ever need. 

[drabbles-drabbles-everywhere]

The Scars That Have Been Left Behind

Read on A03

Words: 4076

Chapter Two

“So from what I gathered, the Agaki’s are the last stop for troubled children. If this place doesn’t work out then they’re sent to Kamino ward and from what I’ve heard about the place, it’s not pleasant. Anyways, it looks like they have three other charges. A 14 year old boy, Tokui Hiro, a 17 year old girl Rai Makkiko and a 4 year old girl, Okuda Kumi, who was recently adopted, but seems her parents house is currently without water and electricity due to a villain attack so they couldn’t take her in yet. The police are meeting us there, with a few paramedics, just in case any of them is hurt,” Sachiko, Hizashi’s mom, rattled off as they pulled up to the house. There were three cop cars and one ambulance, all with their lights off for now. “Zashi, try to stay calm. I have no idea what we’ll find, but we both know that it’s not going to be anything good,”

“I know, I’ll do my best, but I’m at least going to scare the shit out of him,” Hizashi muttered, climbing out of the car.

“I can deal with that, but no open threats. We have to think about this like we’re going to court. Which we might have to,” Hizashi nodded as they walked to the door, two police officers following close behind them. Hizashi rolled his shoulders before knocking on the door, pushing his emotions down and putting on his Present Mic persona. It took a few minutes, but the door finally swung open, revealing a young girl, Kumi, if Mic remembered correctly.

“Well hello little listener, can you get your caretakers please?” Hizashi smiled, trying no to flinch at the sight of another muzzle wrapped around the incredibly pale face of the girl. She stared wide-eyed for a second, but nodded slightly before heading deeper into the house, little thumps audible on the stairs as she went.

“What do you want?” a voice yelled from deeper in the house. Mic’s smile faltered, turning into a scowl, before being forced back into a smile as louder, heavier thumps could be heard descending the stairs. The footsteps seemed to falter as a short blonde woman came towards them, followed by a taller man, not as tall as Hizashi, with almost fiery red hair followed after her.

“How can we help you?” Mrs. Agaki asked, forcing a bright smile as she stood in front of Mic and Sachiko.

“Good morning, sorry for bothering you so early in the morning, but I’m afraid this couldn’t wait. I’m Yamada Sachiko, this is Present Mic, officer Hosoi, and officer Komatsu. I’ll be taking over for Morimura Maki, I’m now responsible for Shinsou Hitoshi. One of your wards that ended up in the hospital, found by Pro hero Mrs.Joke, who was thankfully in the area Shinsou was stumbling through, half conscious, covered in bruises, cuts and what appeared to be burn marks, along with a broken arm and sprained ankle. A villain attack was unlikely, based on the fact that the kid was alive and walking around. There was no way any villain would let him get away. That paired with the fact that he is malnourished, and severely underweight for his age group, the logical answer was abuse and neglect. Therefore, we’ve come to do a home visit and talk with the other three children in the house. So if you’d kindly call the children down, Present Mic and Officer Komatsu will talk to them while Officer Hosoi and myself talk with you too. Mic, Komatsu, please take a look at the children's rooms as well,” Sachiko flashed the Agaki’s a kind smile as she walked past them into the house. They both stood there, shell shocked, but keeping their faces neutral as they waved the other three inside, closing the door after them.

“Oh, Mic, remember to pack a bag for Shinsou as well. After talking with the others, you and Komatsu will make the decision if they need to be removed as well,” Mic and Komatsu nodded, waiting expectantly to be lead to where the children’s rooms are.

“They’re upstairs, first door on the left,” Mrs. Agaki supplied. Mic nodded, but made no move to leave, instead holding his hand out towards them, palm up.

“We need to take Kumi’s muzzle off,” the pair hesitated, neither moving to hand the key to the man. “Now!” Mic shouted, startling the two at the anger in his voice, a smile still on his face, though it wasn’t the friendly one he wore earlier. Mr, Agaki fumbled in his pocket, hand shaking as he dropped the key in Hizashi’s hand. “Thank you,” Hizashi spun on his heel, walking towards the stairs, taking two at a time till he reached the landing, eyes automatically flicking to the door, where three pairs of eyes stared back at him, all of them wide open, staring at him in awe.

“You’re Present Mic,” the eldest, Makkiko, whispered as if Mic would disappear if she spoke any louder.

“I am indeed,” he flashed them his signature smirk, striking a pose and holding it for a second. “And this is officer Komatsu. We’re here to talk about Mr. and Mrs. Agaki and how well you children are taken care of. Ah, I also need to pack a bag for Shinsou, if you would kindly show me where his stuff is at.”

“He’s not coming back?” the boy, Hiro, asked, his voice hopeful.

“Shinsou won’t be coming back. In fact, from what I heard a nice couple has agreed to take him in,” the smile that spread across Hiro and Makkiko’s face was a little bittersweet for Hizashi.

“Good, he didn’t deserve to be treated like that,” Makkiko growled.

“I agree. No kid deserves to go through what Shinsou went through. Which reminds me,” Hizashi crouched in front of Kumi, his smile softening as he held up the ket, pinched between his fingers. Kumi hesitated, but eventually turned, moving her light blue hair out of the way, while Hizashi unlocked and removed the awful device. “There we go kid,” Kumi turned back around, a bright smile on her face, even though she rubbed at the irritated cuts on her cheeks and around her jaw. Hizashi couldn’t help the flair of anger, gripping the muzzle harder, hearing the thing crack under the pressure.

“THAnk you,” everyone seemed to flinch at the sound, Kumi’s voice shouting at him before dropping, her eyes going wide in fear. Hizashi just continued to smile, not even flinching at the sound.

“Hey, hey don’t even worry little listener. I used to have control issues with my quirk too. It’s normal at your age,” Kumi seemed taken aback by his response, but merely smiled up at him in response. “Now then, I have a few questions to ask you guys before we have a look around. Please answer honestly and to the best of you ability,” all three kids nodded in understanding, moving back to let the adults in, the three kids sitting on one bed, while Hizashi sat across from them on the other bed and Komatsu looked around the room. The bedroom was bare, nothing hanging on the walls, very few toys were spread around the room. It looked like almost nobody lived in the bedroom, as if it was only there for guests. “How do your caregivers treat you?”

“They ignore us for the most part. Only ever talking to us to scold us or to tell us about the chores that need to be done. We mostly stay in our room, we’re not really allowed to be in many parts of the house. Mainly just our room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. Though they have taken our kitchen privileges away before. It’s lasted a week at the most, a couple hours at least,” Makkiko responded, almost like she was rattling off a recipe.

“They take your kitchen privileges? So you have to wait for them to cook then?” Komatsu asked, quietly jotting down notes as the kids talked.

“No. They don’t cook. Well not for us anyway, Makkiko and I are responsible for making breakfast and dinner for everyone. Makkiko’s in charge of making Kumi’s lunch and after school snack. So if one of us has our privileges taken away we don’t get to eat, and if both of us have it taken away, Kumi doesn’t eat either. So we try to make sure at least one of us is allowed in the kitchen. So we take the blame for each other sometimes, depending on who already isn’t allowed in the kitchen,” Hiro replied, shrugging as if it was normal to not be able to eat after getting in trouble. “Though there are times when they just, ground us from eating. Mainly Shinsou or Kumi, but Makkiko and I always sneak them snacks, if we can that is.” Hizashi was getting more and more angry as they talked. How could anyone treat children like that?

“What else happens when you get in trouble?”

“Well, sometimes we’re just grounded, other times we’re locked in our room. If they’re really angry they hit us. Not as bad as they do to Shinsou though. They’ve had it out for him since he got here. If things are really really bad, you get locked in the closet. I’ve only been in there a few times, same with Hiro and Kumi, but Shinsou was put in there a lot. At least twice a week, sometimes more. He’s terrified of small spaces and the dark because of it. He’d be put in there for the littlest things too. Sometimes with no warning,” Makkiko’s voice dropped and she couldn’t help but fidget, pulling on the sleeve of her shirt. “They don’t like his quirk. He can brainwash someone by getting them to answer a question, and because he’s so young he obviously can’t control it, so he used to do it by accident, until they started muzzling him. Then they just seemed like hurt him for fun. ALways calling him a villain, telling him he wouldn’t amount to anything, that there was no way he’d be a hero with such a villainous quirk.”

“Have they ever hurt you like Shinsou?” Hizashi asked, his hands gripping the material of his pants in a white knuckle grip.

“Sometimes. Especially when we lose control of our quirks. We try to take the blame for most of the things Kumi does, but Shinsou and her get the worst of it,” Hiro whispered. “They’ve broken bones before. Kumi just got her cast of a few days ago from a broken arm Mr.Agaki gave her after she broke a window at school from her quirk. He’s given us burns before, with his quirk. Makkiko has passed out from dehydration within the last month.” The boy fell silent, gaze fixed on the ground.

“I’ve heard enough. Kid’s, please pack your bags. We’re going to take you to the hospital to get checked out and then find you somewhere else to stay. Please pack a bag of Shinosu’s stuff too. Meet us downstairs when you’re done. Komatsu, please stay with them and escort them out when they’re done.” Hizashi flashed them a reassuring smile, before turning on his heel, stalking down the stairs. His whole body was shaking as he tried to contain his anger, he walked through the dining room, shaking his hands out as he approached the kitchen, where his mother still stood, talking to the other police officer, the Agaki’s stood near them, an unknown look on their faces as he approached.

“Sachiko, the children are getting their bags packed as we speak. We should get them checked out at the hospital one they’re done. From what I was informed of there may be some burns and other, older wounds that may need to be checked on. Kumi apparently had a broken arm a few weeks ago and I want to make sure the bone was set right and Makkiko passed out from dehydration at some point recently,” Hizashi listed off, paying no mind to the other adults in the room.

“What? You can’t take them! You have no proof!” Mrs.Agaki screeched, eyes flickering to the children as they came down the stairs, Kumi smiling as she was carried down by Komatsu, the young officer making faces at the little girl as they walked down. Kumi giggled, covering her mouth with her little hands, making a face back at the normally stoic officer.

“We didn’t need any Shinsou was enough proof. Did you really think we’d come here without any?” Hizashi, tilted his head back, a sadistic smirk on his face and furry flashing in his green eyes as he looked at the woman. He smirked even wider as she shivered at his look. “Anyways! We should be on our way, Kids, if you’d kindly follow Komatsu and Mrs. Yamada,” ha paused, pointing to his mother. “We’ll be going now. The three of you are welcome to ride with Sachiko and me, if you want, or you can ride with Komatsu. It’s up to you,” Hizashi spoke, smiling brightly at them and ushering everyone out the door.

“Hey! We’re not done!” Mr.Agaki yelled, grabbing Hizashi’s wrist as he passed. Hizashi could feel his skin heat up at his touch, going from slightly warm to burning in a matter of seconds, but Hizashi didn’t even flinch.

“Please, do give me more evidence against you. It’ll make this so much easier,” Hizashi watched the anger be replaced by shock, realization spreading across his face as he let go. “That’s what I thought,” he growled, before stalking out of the house, glad he had on a short sleeve t-shirt, as his usual leather jacket would be rubbing his burn skin raw.

Once outside MIc dropped into the passenger seat of his mother’s car, his whole body vibrating with adrenaline and his arm burning and painful. The skin red, and already blistering. He groaned at the pain, slamming his head into the dashboard to try to distract himself from it. He could go see the paramedics, but he just wanted to get out of there, and they were going to the hospital anyways.

“Stop that,” his mother scolded, sliding into the seat next to him, after helping the kids put their stuff in the trunk and making sure they were buckled in, before they pulled out of the driveway. “Slamming your head into my dashboard won’t help you any. I swear, somethings never change,” She chuckled, reaching over to smooth his hair down. Hizashi sighed, leaning into the touch, calming down at the familiar sensation.

“I swear I’ll never let anybody hurt him again,” Hizashi growled, sitting up and leaning his head against the cool window instead.

“I know hun and no one ever will. Not with you and Sho by his side.”

“You’re taking Shinsou in?” Makkiko asked, surprise lacing her voice as she sat up straighter.

“Ah, thought you’d be asleep. I guess you’ve caught me. Yes, my partner and I are trying to adopt him. Hopefully it will be before he gets released from the hospital,” Hizashi smiled at her through the rearview mirror. The car lapsed into silence, Makkiko obviously wanted to ask something, but seemed to be hesitating, trying to figure out if it was safe to ask it.

“Present MIc?” She started, voice a little shaky as she did. “Do-Do you think we could see Shinosu? We weren’t supposed to talk to each other, but it was easy for us to communicate since he mostly signs and, well I, kinda see him as a little brother,” the last words were muttered. As if she would get in trouble for such a statement.

“Of course you can!” Hizashi beamed at her. “We’ll get you checked out and then you can come see him. Though I’m not sure if he’ll be awake. But I know he’ll appreciate a familiar when he does wake up,” Makkiko smile brightly at him, before turning to look back out the window. It was nearing 6 in the morning, the sun starting to rise and fill the sky with color.

~~~~

‘What happened to your arm?’ Half an hour later found Hizashi trudging back into the room, arm wrapped, but still painful even with the added burn cream. All the kids had been checked out, Kumi’s arm was fine, though her cast had come off to early. Makkiko was still dehydrated, which they were helping with an iv drip, but she was still allowed to walk around, and Hiro was mostly fine, just a few almost infected burns on his back and upper shoulder. But all in all the kids would be fine, Kumi would be picked up by her new parents with in the hour, but for now all three kids followed Hizashi into Shinsou room, where both the boy and Shouta were awake and enjoying their breakfast.

“Mr.Agaki, he reminds me of a certain temperamental pro hero who also has a fire quirk,” Hizashi replied, slumping in the chair next to the bed. “I swear I’ve never hated someone so much.” Hizashi sighed, running his hand through his hair, breaking up the gel that kept it up. “Sho, do you have any of those-” A small squeeze packet landed in his lap, smacking him in the chest before it fell. “Thanks love,” Hizashi muttered, opening the packet and slurping it down within a few minutes.

“Ugh, I can’t believe you eat those awful things too,” Hizashi’s Mimi gagged, snatching the empty packet from him. “I swear your both children,” she muttered, throwing the packet away and tossing a menu to him. “Order an actual breakfast for yourself and the other kids before I tell your mother,” Hizashi groaned, but grabbed the menu from her, selecting what he wanted and letting kids get whatever they wanted, on the order that they got fresh fruit with it.

“I normally don’t Mimi, but god I needed a pick me up.”

‘There’s nothing wrong with them. It’s just like drinking a few cups of coffee,’ Shouta scowled.

“I’m just poking fun darling. But seriously don’t let Sachiko see you with those. She’ll rip you a new one for sure.”

“Jitsuko, are you letting those boys eat those stupid energy jelly packets again?” Sachiko asked, walking into the room, a nurse following behind her with a tray of food.

“You know our boys Sachi, they’ll do whatever they want,” Sachiko hummed in agreement, draping herself over her wifes back. “My dear, I do believe we should go. It’s early and I’m exhausted,” Jitsuko nodded, quickly saying their goodbyes and leaving the other 6 in the room.

“Is Mrs. Yamada your mom?” Kumi asked, making sure her voice was extra quiet, as to not set off her quirk again.

“She is indeed. A wonderful woman who helped me train my voice quirk. Maybe I could help you, if that’s okay with your family of course.” Hizashi smiled at the little girl, who smiled back before shoving a bite of pancake in her mouth, causing Hizashi to snort with amusement.

‘Voice quirk?’ Shouta asked, smiling at the little girl. Hizashi nodded back, pushing his fruit around his plate. ‘Are you going to introduce me? Or are you gonna continue playing with your food?’

“Right! So, that’s Tokui Hiro, Rai Makkiko, and Okuda Kumi. Kids, this is Aizawa. They were also in the care of the Agaki’s. Makkiko wanted to see Shinsou and I didn’t want to leave the others alone.”

‘Well it’s nice to meet them,’

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Aizawa,” Shouta jumped slightly, he didn’t think any of the kids knew sign, though it made sense now that he thought about it. She smiled, before turning to Shinsou. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried,”

‘I didn’t mean to do it. I slipped up and used my quirk on him. It was an accident.’ Shinsou quickly signed, as if she was blaming him. ‘I’m sorry Kiko,’ Shinsou dropped his head. Absently picking at the skin our his muzzle.

“Stop that, you’re going to make it worse. Besides, I’m not mad at you. Just glad you’re okay and being looked after. A little bird told me you’re getting adopted,” Makkiko smiled, at the surprise, but skeptical look on his face. It quickly turned to a frown, sadness filling his eyes.

‘Who told you that? They’re a liar. Who would want me? A mistake, a villain, a waste of-’

“Enough,” the whole group jumped at Shouta’s rough, scratchy voice. “Sorry,” Shouta cleared his throat, taking a drink of his water. ‘Shinsou, you are none of those things. You’re not a mistake, nor a waste of space, and you definitely aren’t a villain,’ Shouta paused, tilting Shinsou’s face so he would meet his eyes. ‘Do you think I’m a villain?’ Shinsou’s eyes went wide as he fiercely shook his head ‘no’. Well, when I was young, everyone told me I would be nothing more than a villain. That I’d never get into the hero course, so I might as well give up and just become a villain. I believed them too ya know. Why wouldn’t I? After all it was my parents who told me that after all,’ Shinsou’s eyes grew even wider as he listened, after all, none of this was known about the underground hero. ‘I wasn’t going to even apply to Yuuei, but then I met a certain loud blonde, who was being picked on for the muzzle he was forced to wear. They were using their quirks on him and it didn’t sit right with me, so I erased them, and they ran off after seeing me. Even back then I was quite intimidating and the fact my eyes turn red with my quirk helped a lot. Naturally, I asked if he was okay and he just nodded at me. Now even if I didn’t like to talk, I hated the silence and I could tell that this loud blonde loved to talk. So naturally, I picked the lock of his muzzle and he immediately started shouting about how cool my quirk was and that I’d make a great hero. I didn’t believe him, not that day at least, but after seeing him time and time again, he wore me down and I tried out with him. I didn’t make it into the hero course though. It isn’t really a fair test though. But I was accepted into the general studies course. But that same blond wouldn’t let me give up. He helped me train, showing me what they were being taught, and eventually I participated in the sports festival, and came in first, even beating that loud blond. Who didn’t care in the slightest. Afterwards I was transferred to the hero course. Where I made my dreams come true, made a few new friends, and became closer with the love of my life. A crazy, loud blond, who honestly looks like a cockatiel sometimes,’ Shouta snorted at the afronted look on his husbands face.

“I do not look like a cockatiel!” Hizashi squacked, scowling as Shouta laughed.

‘I beg to differ, even Nemuri agrees. Tensi does too, hell even little Tenya does and he’s five!’

“Seriously?!” Hizashi shouted. Shouta just snorted another laugh at him, turning back to Shinsou.

‘You can be whatever you want kid, and we’re going to help you. Makkiko wasn’t lying. We already submitted the paperwork. We’re adopting you kid. If you want that, we won’t force you into anything,’

‘YES!’ Shinsou signed excitedly, but immediately shrunk into himself after. ‘I mean, if you want to and if it’s not a huge bother,’ Shinsou’s hands were slow as he signed, as if they were going to take their offer off the table if he moved to quickly.

“We wouldn’t offer if we weren’t being serious. You agreed, now you’re stuck with us kid,” Hizashi joked, smiling softly at him. “We’ll help you achieve anything and everything you put your heart into and no one will ever, hurt you again. Not on our watch.”

‘Yeah kid, the cockatiel is right. You’re stuck with us and we’ll do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams. No matter what,’ Shouta smiled at him, Shinso offering a small hopeful look, as much as he could behind that godforsaken muzzle.

[junionigiri]

BNHA Rarepair Month - Day 23 - Tattoos

for @bnha-rarepair-month​

Summary: Seeing her interest in tattoos, Tokage brings Uraraka with her to Illusion Ink, where her girlfriend Jirou works as an apprentice. Much to Uraraka's surprise, however, Todoroki Shouto is also there getting inked. (Cafe/Hospital AU part 2)

Relationship(s): Tokage Setsuna/Jirou Kyouka/Uraraka Ochako (SetsuJirouChako); Todoroki Shouto/Uraraka Ochako (TodoChako)

Rating: T

Warnings/Notes: I know I tagged this one as SetsuJirouTodoChako in the other platforms but yeaaaaah. Please enjoy the disaster that is Uraraka Ochako hehehe. Story TBC in the upcoming dates~

Uraraka Ochako sighs as she pulls off her OR scrub suit in the women’s lockers. She doesn’t always feel like shit and that she’s super incompetent at her job, but then again she didn’t always have to assist Dr. Hakamata for three consecutive surgeries. After being yelled at and threatened to be stitched up the ceiling about fifty times, her ego had just about enough bruising.

“I’ve had my share of miserable days, but you make a funeral look like a rave, Uraraka.”

Uraraka looks up from her miserable face reflected in her little mirror inside her little locker to look at the woman who entered. “Oh--Dr Tokage? What’re you doing here?”

The green-haired internist gives her a saw-tooth grin as she saunters in with a sterile set of scrubs. “Cardiac monitoring duties. I ran into a miserable-looking Honenuki on the way here. I’m guessing you both got an acute case of Best Jeans Syndrome.”

“You got that right, doc,” Uraraka says with another despondent sigh, one that she pulls out of the very depths of her being. “I was literally moments away from being torn into shreds and woven into the world’s ugliest quilt… I made so many booboos that…”

Oh sweet fuck Happy Thanksgiving. 

“That I can’t…” Uraraka struggles, as Tokage Setsuna casually starts pulling off her scaly-green dress, showing off an arsenal of tattoos over the smooth skin of her arms, chest, belly, and hips, and the most toned body on a woman she’s ever seen, ever, in her short existence as a disastrous bisexual. When the girl bends over to shimmy out of her shoes, Uraraka had to turn around to stop staring at her toned ass. “Sorry doc, I totally forgot what I was saying--”

Dr. Tokage chuckles. Through the little mirror in her locker, Uraraka sees that her stupid pink cheeks have turned cherry red. She’s probably a few moments away from floating herself into an embarrassed heap in the ceiling, if the doctor didn’t speak in the next second. “It’s fine. People tend to do that when they see all the tats. I regularly get shit over it, like why does a doctor look like a freakin’ Yakuza member, and things like that--”

“Th-that’s not what I w-was thinking at all!” Uraraka stammers, willing herself to look at the green-haired girl again. Thankfully, Dr. Tokage’s already pulling down the scrub top, and the brunette’s heart is spared a heap of extra work load. “I think your tats are amazing! I wish I had about half as many as you do! I just have a small one myself, and it’s not that nice-looking…”

“You think so? I’m sure it ain’t that bad,” says Tokage, with a playful little smirk on her wide mouth. “Care to show me?”

Uraraka blushes up to her hairline and internally beats herself up for even mentioning her tattoo. Because while she’s a little proud of having the courage to get a tattoo in the first place, she isn’t sure that she wants to show her fat ass to Tokage… especially not after she’s given such a lovely a visual treat.

Still, it’d be weird not to show it to her at this point, so she tries not to be too obviously reluctant when she pulls down her pants and shows the skin of the outside of her left thigh, angling her butt outwards so the other girl can see it. Her blush doesn’t die down as Tokage appraises it, bending her face so close over her bottom that she feels her piercing gaze on her.

“That’s such a cute little astronaut, Uraraka!” giggles the doctor, green eyes dilating from slits into interested dark oblongs. “And those cute planet-balloons! Are you into outer space or something?”

“Y… yeah… space is cool,” she says dumbly, making herself internally flinch at how uncool she sounds. Luckily though, Tokage doesn’t seem to mind her silliness, and just gives that melodic laugh again. She tries to recover by adding, “I mean… I want to have another tattoo… maybe like, a half sleeve or something, with all the planets--”

She shows off her bare arm, which contrasts quite markedly against Tokage’s decorated one. She sees that her muscly right arm has various sharp-toothed dinosaurs on it, inked in spectacular detail.

The green-haired girl hums thoughtfully, tapping one scaly finger to her chin. “You serious about that, Uraraka?”

The nurse blinks as she regards Tokage’s daring stare. “Yeah, I’m serious… I guess? I mean, I’ve looked around for artists and stuff, but as for design...”

“Coolness. That’s all I need to hear.” The girl shows off her sharp teeth again and raises both eyebrows. “You’re done with your shift, yeah? You should wait for me. This thing’ll take, like, a second or so--”

“Huh? But--”

“I mean, as long as the patient doesn’t die or anything,” she adds with a chortle and a graceful wave of her inked hand. “I’ll see you at the cafeteria in like, a couple of hours? Hey, maybe I can leave my mouth with you so we can keep talking?”

The young nurse yelps in horror and stammers the most polite no thank you I don’t want to spend the next two hours with your sexy disembodied mouth, and Tokage only cackles in response. In a few moments, the woman disappears into the operating room suites, and Uraraka can only calm her silly pink cheeks down and get dressed. 

*

Clad in her casual clothes (which is just a faded black tank top, joggers, and a pair of sneakers), Uraraka nervously chews on the plastic straw half-dipped in her lukewarm coke when she sees Dr. Tokage amble up to her, clad once more in an emerald-green snakeskin dress and a white coat.

In her doctor-ly regalia, all her tattoos are hidden from plain sight. There’s a certain thrill that comes with knowing how the map of her body looks like, while the rest of the world around her doesn’t. “So good news, the patient’s alive and I get to go home while Ibara-chan takes care of the rest. You ready to go, Uraraka?” she asks, sticking out her forked tongue for good measure.

“I guess?” Uraraka answers uneasily. Wherever Tokage’s taking her, she hopes it’s a place where she can see those lovely dinosaur-studded arms again.

They walk out of the hospital, with Tokage filling the empty air between them with chatter. Uraraka’s amazed by her ability to be able to make a conversation about anything. By the time they reach their destination, the young nurse finds herself up-to-date with all the latest gossip going around the hospital. In particular, one involving Dr. Todoroki and his father, the present number one pro-hero Endeavor, who’s allegedly on a head-hunt for a perfect mate with a perfect quirk so he can arrange a marriage and hopefully produce a grandchild who’d actually agree to being a pro hero, unlike any of his children who avoided heroism like the plague.

Uraraka wrinkles her nose at that. Arranged marriages--aren’t they a thing of the distant past? Or like stupid plot devices in shoujo manga, just an excuse for ordinary MCs to interact with impossibly rich and handsome men? Well, Dr. Todoroki Shouto indeed fits the bill for your standard shoujo or josei hero. He has the wealth, the breeding, and the brooding too. Just enough torment to be interesting, but not overwhelming, like Dr. Tokoyami or Dr. Kuroiro from radiology.

And the looks. Ohh, buddy boy, the looks. That dual-toned hair, those crazy heterochromatic eyes, how very, very pretty his face looks, even with the scar on his face. Not to mention how unfairly muscled his body is, for someone who spends all his time doing neurosurgery and probably not much of anything else. Uraraka’s spent many semiconscious moments inside and outside the OR watching him undress and unglove and unmask, enjoying how his strong arms look while scrubbing down for the next procedure--

Wait, did she really just--with Doctoroki again, of all people--ugh, Uraraka wants to punch herself in the damn face. She hasn’t even finished fantasizing about Dr. Tokage, and here she is moving on to the Hosu Gen’s unofficial image model--who, by the way, doesn’t even have a good reason to interact with her outside the OR.

But even though Uraraka’s notoriously mercurial when it comes to her crushes, Dr. Todoroki’s one of her strong constants. She always comes in danger of losing herself in her thoughts when she thinks of him, for some reason. What a true disaster she’s turning out to be.

She focuses her attention instead on the small place they’ve ended up, called Illusion Inks. The young nurse tilts her head curiously at the entrance and doesn’t move until Tokage does a little come-hither motion with her fingers.

“Come on. Are you backing out or something, Uraraka?” she asks teasingly.

“Um,” she begins uneasily, rubbing her arm self-consciously, “I know I said I wanted a tattoo, but I didn’t mean tonight--”

“No time like the present, babe,” is all the green-haired girl says before she forcibly drags Uraraka by the arm and into the threshold. Damn, the woman’s frickin’ strong, those muscles aren’t just for show.

The inside of the shop is nice and neat and bright. The walls are full of illustrations of varying themes, all of them dream-like: dragons and florals and creatures of the deep blue sea. Uraraka finds herself taken in particular by the galaxy themed ones, showing off clouds of purple and deep red surrounding a sea of stars.

She doesn’t pay attention to the beautiful illustrations for very long, though. Behind the counter is who Uraraka swears is an actual pixie of the dark-elemental type unless proven otherwise--straight, dark hair that falls above her shoulders, dark purple eyes that have just-enough-torment, and smooth beautiful skin riddled with tattoos all over her arms, neck, and chest. Her elongated earlobes are plugged into her phone, and she seems to be strumming on a phantom guitar before she looks up to the two visitors.

She breaks out into a cute grin. “Hey, Setsuna~ My fav crazy internist!”

“Kyouka! My beautiful tattooed angel, I missed you!”

Uraraka watches as they share a kiss that definitely lasts for more than ten seconds. She wonders whether it’s polite to look away or not, and whether it’s normal to suddenly feel so single and miserable upon the sight of two beautiful girls kissing until they thankfully break apart.

The girl called Kyouka then turns to Uraraka and regards her with a curious stare. “So Setsuna, are you going to introduce me, or…?”

“Of course I am,” she says, with some sass. “This here’s Uraraka Ochako, one of the best OR nurses in Hosu Gen, and your next beautiful canvas.”

“Hey. Jirou Kyouka. I’m an apprentice here,” the girl offers, offering out her hand for Uraraka to shake. “If I look familiar, it’s probably ‘cause you see me down the street sometimes trying not to kill my boss and co-worker at NTG Cafe.”

Uraraka gasps. “Oh, you work there? Your cold brew’s amazing. And yeah, I’ve seen your boss maybe once? I’d just like to say, from the bottom of my heart: yikes.”

Jirou laughs heartily at this. “I like this girl. You should ask her out too, Setsuna.”

The green-haired girl hums thoughtfully. “I was getting to that,” she begins, and before Uraraka can even process what they meant, Tokage’s already shrugging off her doctor’s coat, and she’s looking at those wonderful arms again, and all sound reasoning goes out the window. “Anyways, Kyouka, Uraraka here tells me that she wants a galaxy-themed sleeve to match the cute little astronaut she has tattooed on her toned-as-fuck left thigh--”

… she likes my thigh? Uraraka stammers bashfully in her head, before she realizes that Tokage’s already motioning for her to take of her pants right there to show Jirou the astronaut. Blushing, she obliges, hooking her thumb against the garter of her joggers while severely regretting her choice of hot-pink, kitten-print cotton undies that day, to show off her ass and all its unseemly stretchmarks for the second time that evening.

Jirou whistles low and carefully touches her skin and traces the outlines of the astronaut and balloons with her calloused fingertips. “Wow, it’s so cute, Uraraka. You might need to have it retouched, but it’s really well-made. Who’s your artist?”

“Um… he moved away, but Kamakiri-san from Mantis Tattoos did this one--”

“Yikes. Another mess of a human being, that mans is. Totes cray-cray, amirite?” a different, sultry voice calls out from behind them.

Uraraka goes ramrod straight and struggles dumbly to pull her pants up, but instead drops the mess of fabric to the floor. A tangled mess of astonishment and horror finds itself uncoiling inside her chest when she sees just who comes out of the back of the shop, to also stare at the little insignificant artwork on her thigh.

Uraraka thinks that the woman who walks in is the very definition of babe--long, light brown hair that falls over her shoulders, wide brown eyes, full lips with a tasteful hint of rouge, an hourglass figure accentuated by a jet-black bodycon dress that shows off her ample cleavage. Like everyone else in this damn place, all her exposed skin is covered in ink. Most of them are floral and dreamy and absolutely gorgeous, of course, and if she were the only one there, Uraraka would have spent more time appreciating all the details.

Yet, the person next to her just…!!! Makes her want to drop dead right there!!! Makes her want to walk her fat ass back to the ER and ask for a sedative that’ll last her for the next seven years!

Because why in seven hells would Todoroki Shouto, of all people, be standing there with his shirt only half-way on, with his stupid sexy arms and stupid sexy torso and stupid sexy abs on full display, his stupid sexy mouth half-open and curious, and his stupid sexy eyes directed right at her naked, stretchmarky ass?!

Uraraka knows that she should probably pull her stupid pants up and rescue what little dignity she has left. Her little brain goes shit shit shit as it takes her too long to hide her butt and her silly underwear and tattoo.

Thankfully, his stare doesn’t last very long. He makes an awkward noise in his throat, trains those distinct eyes elsewhere, and mutters, “I didn’t see anything, Uraraka.”

Yes you did, you obviously did, Doctorokiiii whyyyy do you exist, she cries in her head. Beside her, she hears Tokage trying to keep her shit together. She somehow manages not to float her ass up the ceiling and into outer space and to straighten up.

She hears the woman laughing next to her. “You didn’t? Too bad, fam, those are the nicest set of gams I’ve ever seen in me life. Cannot. Even.”

When Uraraka dares herself to look at the young doctor again, she sees that he’s already got his shirt back on and that his face is a little pink and he couldn’t look at Uraraka in the eye. She ponders briefly if she needs to leave the OR--maybe ICU has openings or something.

“So… Camie, I hear she wants a galaxy-themed sleeve, so I’m planning to make some designs for her right now,” the dark-haired girl pipes up brightly, interrupting Uraraka’s shame-filled train of thought.

The bombshell named Camie puts a finger to her full lips and makes a show of thinking about it. “This’ll be your biggest project to date, fam. You up to this?”

“Sure am, boss.” Jirou makes a show of flexing her slender arm and all its tattoos. Tokage subsequently swoons theatrically next to her.

“Yass~ then she’s all yours, my sweet child. Although, ya gotta make time for her after closing hours. We’re fully booked for, like, the next hundred years and so~”

“Leave it to me.” Jirou does a lazy salute and gives Uraraka a pure, excited smile, one that momentarily makes the nurse about the terrible misfortunes that had happened to her and her ass just then. All she wants to do now is to spend the rest of the evening with this beautiful pixie, talking about the vast infinity of space, all the undiscovered planets, aliens--

“Hey, Todoroki, lemme see your back!” Tokage says, pulling at the end of his shirt.

“Okay.”

Suddenly, Todoroki’s shirt comes off again, and Uraraka feels the Big Bang emulating in her brain once more. She cannot keep her jaw from opening like Pandora’s box as she takes in the beautiful sight.

Dr. Todoroki Shouto’s back is a fuckin’ masterpiece, and she isn’t talking about the obra maestra of a tattoo that Camie must have been working on before they arrived. Even miniscule movements of his arms and torso--fuck, even when he fucking breathes she sees muscles moving deliciously under his skin. It’s not too bulky either, just lean and well-proportioned and tasteful. Everything the light touches is a kingdom for her eyes to feast on--her fingers itched to touch the cuts--

Oh, and also, the tattoo. There’s saran wrap over it, but Uraraka still sees that it’s so beautiful it’s fearsome. Two dragons, entwined in each other, staring each other down as if they’re preparing for a battle to the death. On the right the dragon is grey and white, with glaciers surrounding it. On the left, a red dragon with hot blue eyes is engulfed in flame. The tattoo isn’t complete yet, and most of the skin on his back is swollen and tender, but Uraraka can tell that once it completely heals, it’ll be the most beautiful back in the history of all backs.

“Hot damn, Todoroki,” Tokage whistles. “Knowing you though, it still screams daddy issues--I mean, really, ice versus fire? You’re still hung up about that mess? But. Hot fucking damn.”

“Sure,” Todoroki says flatly, not deigning himself to remark about the daddy issues thing. Uraraka sees a little annoyed flash in his eyes, however, and she’s sure that he isn’t thinking of Tokage’s super foul remarks.

“Lit, ain’t it? My best work to date, even if I say so myself,” Camie says, proudly strutting around to stare at her handiwork once again. “We gots maybe two sesh’s to go, and his back’s good to go. You like it, Astronaut Sis?”

Uraraka closes her mouth shut and hates herself for the loud sound it makes. “Y-yeah, it’s pretty… um, lit,” she offers weakly.

She tries not to think too hard about the slightly-less-disinterested look that Todoroki gives her before he shrugs on his shirt again. He gives a curt little nod to Camie and says, “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Utsushimi.”

“Sure, TodoBroki. Have fun saving lives and all,” Camie says, puckering her lips for a flying kiss that the dual-toned man ignores blatantly as he turns for the exit.

Uraraka thinks that she’s finally going to be able to catch her breath, but suddenly Todoroki stops at the door and turns his mismatched eyes to her. “Uraraka,” he calls out, making her freeze.

“Y-yes, Doc?” she stammers, her posture suddenly meek and all nurse-like.

There’s that odd look on his face again, and for a second Uraraka worries that he’ll tell her not to spread the word about his huge fucking ass back tattoo, but all he says is, “Show me your tat once you’re done. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Uraraka doesn’t know what she says in response, but he gives her a ghost of a smile before he leaves the premises.

When she deflates, Tokage and Jirou are positively cackling at her, and all she’s able to manage is a whine about how unfair life is. “I can’t believe I just showed Dr. Todoroki Shouto my ass,” she whines into Tokage’s arms, as the lizard girl holds her in mock-comfort.

“And as a direct result of it, he’s in-love with your astronaut ass,” the doctor remarks with a sawtooth grin. “But we can talk about our future foursome later. Right now, please let my beautiful and talented girlfriend draw on your sexy arm, Uraraka!”

Uraraka obliges and follows Jirou out into the back, where they finally talk about her tattoo. But she finds out how much of a struggle it is to keep her thoughts in outer space when most of her mind is occupied by fire and ice.