Chapter Text
He always found himself entranced by Shouto's hands. Izuku knew it was rude to stare like he did, but he just couldn't help himself. There was something about those slightly calloused, yet incredibly precise and tender hands that always managed to completely entrance him.
"Um... Deku?"
His head snapped up as he was pulled back into reality. Here was Shouto, calling him by his silly nickname, holding out the frappuccino he had just carefully prepared.
"A-ah, thanks!" Izuku took the cup from his outstretched hand, and Shouto gave him just the slightest of smiles before turning to continue making the other coffee orders.
How Izuku was lucky enough to have Shouto working at the Starbucks just across from the campus bookstore he worked at, he had no idea. But he did know that he was incredibly grateful that he had the privilege to stop by every day during his break.
“So what was that all about?” Izuku’s best friend, Ochako, said with a grin as they exited the store. She always joined him on these regular Starbucks trips and constantly teased him about his mild infatuation with the silent barista.
Well, he thought it was mild. Ochako, however, insisted it was getting out of hand.
“It was nothing, Uraraka,” Izuku replied, swirling the straw around in his drink. “Just… He’s so cool, right?"
Ochako shrugged as she stabbed her own straw into the drink and tossed the wrapper in a nearby trashcan. “I guess so. But I think he’d be cooler if we actually knew something other than his name and where he works. Maybe you could find out by, I dunno… Asking him on a date?"
“Oh, come on! I know things about him!"
“Right, from that class you took last semester?"
Izuku had decided to go outside of his comfort zone and try an advanced chemistry course the previous semester, which is where he had first spotted Shouto. Since he hadn’t declared his major yet, Izuku wanted to try a variety of subjects before settling on one specific topic for the rest of his years at school; however, it turned out that he really wasn’t too great at the course, and he just barely passed. Shouto had always gotten some of the highest marks throughout the year, and had even begun to act as a tutor of sorts for Izuku around their finals.
Well, he wasn’t his tutor, really—a few students decided to approach some of their peers with the best grades, Shouto included, to form a study group. Although Izuku insisted he had joined for the sake of his grade, a certain presence in the group may have influenced his decision to become a permanent member of the group.
Despite feeling like he hadn't really absorbed any new information from the class, Izuku had learned one major thing: he was inexplicably attracted to the handsome, solemn Shouto Todoroki, and he could do nothing to shake his feelings off. Ochako had set him up on a few dates to try and help, but they always resulted in failure.
"Deku, you do know that if you asked him out on a date, he'd probably say yes," Ochako said, derailing his train of thought. "Even though he doesn't stare at you with that same weird intensity you have when you look at him, he does seem to have some interest in you. And I'm not even going to bother the 'accidental extras'."
"That's something you just made up and you know it!" Izuku laughed around his straw, cheeks stretching into a broad smile at the thought.
At least once a week for the past two months, Shouto would give Izuku something "extra" as part of his regular coffee order--or so Ochako insisted. He himself, however, refused to believe something so silly.
"It is not made up! Did you notice the extra whipped cream he gave you today? Look at how it pokes out of the lid--"
"It's a normal amount of whipped cream! I mean, look, your drink has the same amount--"
"That's because Kacchan prepared it, though."
Katsuki Bakugou--or Kacchan, as Izuku had dubbed him during their childhood--was one of the other baristas at the Starbucks. He and Izuku had grown up in the same neighborhood and been an odd duo of sorts, with Izuku always acting as Katsuki's shadow even as the latter tried to push him away. When they reached junior high, though, Katsuki's family moved away and the two lost contact. Currently, he attended the same university as Izuku and Ochako, happened to be the latter's "friend with benefits", and worked at the same Starbucks at Izuku's crush; as luck would have it, he also was Shouto's very own roommate.
"I can't believe he insists on going out of his way to make your coffee for you."
"It's sweet, right? I mean, I know it makes people wait longer since he's supposed to work at the register, which is terrible... But it's a nice way to show that he cares."
"Yeah, I guess. Too bad you had to stop ordering your scones though."
If there was one thing Izuku had learned quickly in the past three years of being friends with Ochako, it was that she adored sweets--especially scones. Any time he'd offer to take her somewhere that offered the confection there was no way she would leave without buying at least one. That was, until she started seeing Katsuki.
He had a tendency to make foods... a little crisper than most preferred, and as a result most of the customers didn’t ask for their snacks to get heated up unless Shouto was the one doing it. Unfortunately for Ochako, Katsuki insisted on preparing all of her order for her due to their relationship--and unfortunately for Izuku, this meant that Katsuki was always ready to torment him when the two of them walked in.
As a result, the pair had to walk to the other store of the same chain on campus, just for Ochako's favorite snack. Izuku didn't mind accompanying her all the way to the other shop, since it gave them plenty of time to talk.
“Did he have to put my nickname again?” Izuku mumbled, brushing the side of the cup with his thumb, tracing Katsuki’s unmistakably blocky script.
“I think Deku is a cute name. Like I said, it really has that kind of ‘go-for-it’ feel, y’know?”
“Still, it was embarrassing to hear Todoroki call me that. As if it wasn’t bad enough the first time...”
“I can always talk to him about it if you want me to. He’d probably listen to me.”
In their childhood, Katsuki made the brilliant discovery that Izuku’s name could also be read as “Deku”. Ever since that day, he insisted on using this name at every given opportunity--possibly as revenge for being appointed the nickname "Kacchan".
“I dunno, Uraraka. D’you think he would?”
Ochako grinned as she pushed the door for their alternate Starbucks. “I know so. He might not seem like it, but Bakugou can be pretty... Obedient, I guess.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to know what you mean.” Izuku stepped behind the last person in line, a forlorn young man with dark rings under his eyes and a mess of indigo hair that likely hadn’t been near a brush in weeks. “But if you think it could help, I’d be incredibly grateful.”
She bumped her shoulder against his. “It’s the least I could do. You’re my best friend, Deku."
He remembered how nervous he was at orientation, going to a big school rather far from his little home town and feeling lost among the strangers. Everyone else had seemed to make friends so quickly, but he could barely work up the nerve to even say hello to anyone. Or at least, until he met Ochako.
She’d looked almost at ease in the bustling environment, despite clearly being new herself with a t-shirt proudly proclaiming her to be a fellow first year and an oversized duffel bag carrying nearly all of her belongings. As soon as her eyes met Izuku’s, he suddenly felt a wave of calmness, and she grinned as she walked over to introduce herself. They became fast friends, and Ochako later admitted that she was so eager to greet Izuku since he’d looked “as terrified as I’d felt”. They’d had plenty in common, and remained close throughout the rest of their schooling.
“I still don’t really know how you manage to... Stay with him, Uraraka,” he admitted as they waited in line, his eyes lazily scanning over the plenty of students rushing to finish writing their essays and completing various other assignments. “You two just don’t seem to match each other at all.”
Ochako shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee. “Maybe not, but he makes me laugh. And he can be really sweet.”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know if we’re talking about the same Bakugou. The one with blond hair, an eternally angry expression, who describes everything as ‘shitty’?”
She snorted, shoulders bouncing with infectious laughter. “The one and only. But seriously, he’s done pretty sweet things before!”
“Like what?”
“Like... Giving me extra caramel in my frappes. Which, hey, doesn’t someone else we know do something similar--“
“We’re not going to talk about Todoroki again.”
“Come on! It’s so much fun, though!”
“I still don’t get why you’re so invested in my love life... Oh, I think you have to order.”
Izuku let his mind wander once more as Ochako ordered her blueberry scone, thinking back to today’s interaction with Shouto.
He’d smiled at Izuku while handing him his order, and his fingers felt warm when their hands brushed. Izuku briefly wondered what it’d feel like to hold those hands, before getting flustered because of such a silly thought.
Shouto was always nice to him, but he worried it’s because he felt like Izuku was incompetent. During their group tutoring sessions, Shouto would ask the group if anyone had questions, but Izuku never felt like he had the courage to speak up; regardless, after everyone split off into groups to work on problems together, Shouto would always directly ask him if he needed help with anything. He was glad that he always got answers to his questions, but felt embarassed that Shouto felt the need to approach him since he usually needed extra help.
Despite how friendly he always was, Shouto seemed to think of Izuku as being “below” him. At least, that’s how he felt.
Besides, maybe Shouto was out of his league--double-major, one of the best students on campus, an excellent Starbucks barista, incredibly handsome, and overall perfect. How could Izuku ever reach him?
“Let’s go, Deku,” Ochako said as she tugged on his sleeve, holding both her drink and her bagged scone in the other hand. “If you don’t stop daydreaming we’re going to be late!”
“A-ah, sorry!”
“I’m kidding, you know I don’t mind when you get lost in your thoughts. You come up some of your best ideas while you’re zoned out like that.”
Izuku smiled at his friend's words. He never understood how she could compliment him on the silliest things, like daydreaming in public, and still manage to make him feel good about himself. “I can’t say you’re wrong.”
“Am I ever?” Ochako winked at him and grinned as they started their walk to the other side of campus to get back to their job at their university’s main bookstore. There, they stocked everything from overpriced textbooks to school hoodies to the latest terrible young adult trilogies; in short, it was everything a student could possible need.
Izuku had started working at the shop just last year, a few months after Ochako had. She worked doing all sorts of jobs, like moving crates, stocking inventory, and ringing up customers. Generally, he stayed working at the help desk, pointing people in whichever direction they needed to go in and taking requests for books they didn’t have in the store. It wasn’t a bad job at all, and the pay was decent enough that he could support himself pretty well.
“So. When are you going to ask Todoroki out?”
Izuku groaned, tossing his now-empty drink into a trash can as they passed. “Seriously, can we talk about anything not related to cute baristas that make me feel vaguely sweaty in their presence?”
“The only other thing we could talk about is work, which I don’t want to even think about right now. We’re getting some new books in today, and I don’t want to imagine how many Iida’s going to have me move...”
“Well, who else could he get to do it? You’re pretty much the strongest and most efficient--besides, he is our friend.”
“Okay, yeah, but him being our friend doesn’t mean I’ll enjoy it.”
“Still, he’s our manager, so we have to do whatever he tells us.”
“We don’t have to--hey! Are you trying to change to the topic?!”
“Of course not. So, as we were saying, the boxes--“
“Midoriya, seriously, hear me out.” Ochako stopped walking and turned to Izuku with a sigh. “You’ve have a crush on this guy for so long. The worst thing that could happen if you ask him out is that he says no--there are other places to get coffee.”
“Yeah, but...” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, brushing the short hairs there. “He’s still Bakugou’s roommate. And that’s still the place he works at. Won’t he feel bad if you stop visiting him at work?”
“Well, maybe, but... I could always order my coffee from there, and then we can go to the other Starbucks for my scone and your drink.”
Izuku sighed, then slowly nodded. “Okay, sure. Yeah, why not? Rejection can’t be so bad.”
Ochako grinned broadly at him and tousled his wild mop of hair. “That’s the spirit! Now you just have to ask him out!”
He laughed nervously as they continued walking. “Maybe next time we see him? I have to take this slowly, y’know... Ease my way into it...”
Ochako held the door to the bookstore open for Izuku as he walked in, and he inhaled the familiar scent of books. Even if he worked here almost every day, he could never get sick of the way the pages smelled, so musky and comforting.
“Whatever you say. I’m just happy you’re finally gonna go for it,” Ochako murmured, setting her coffee and treat down at the help desk. “Mind if I finish here? We still have a few minutes until we’re officially working again.”
“Of course not--but only if you share a piece!”
She whined in protest as he ripped off a portion of the scone and popped it in his mouth, humming in delight as the sweet melted on his tongue. “If you like them so much, you should just get your own.”
“It tastes better when I take it from you, though.” He laughed as she playfully shoved his shoulder with an overly-dramatic groan.
“Ah, Midoriya, Uraraka! I’m glad to see you two back in such a timely manner,” Tenya Iida, their sweater-clad manager, said as walked out from between rows of books and noticed the pair.
Tenya had become friends with Ochako and Izuku a few weeks after orientation, and the three spent a lot of time together--which was initially because Tenya was Izuku’s roommate, though their friendship evolved and grown stronger over the course of the past three years. He was incredibly detail-oriented, and kept his side of the room neat, even ocasionally tidying up bits of Izuku’s room if it became too cluttered. While Izuku knew others might have been annoyed by someone who craved tidiness and moved their things without always asking, he was actually grateful to Tenya; if it wasn’t for his organization skills, Izuku knew he probably would have had a difficult time keeping track of his belongings. And besides, Tenya was so friendly and willing to lend a hand, he was the ideal person to share a room with.
“Hey Iida, want to finish Uraraka’s scone with me?” Izuku tore off another piece of her treat, and Ochako let out a helpless wail.
Tenya laughed and waved his hand. “That’s alright, I’ll leave you to it. But I was wondering if you could--“
“Help with the boxes from the new shipment? I’ll be there in a minute.” Ochako defensively pulled her food back towards herself, making and “I’m watching you” gesture at Izuku.
“Oh, actually, we already got those in. I was actually hoping you and Midoriya could help stock some of the books.”
Izuku nodded and grinned at Tenya. “Sure thing! We’d love to.”
Tenya waved at them again, and walked off again looking at the clipboard he was holding, checking something off on the list and muttering to himself.
“Iida’s really hardworking, huh?” Ochako remarked, eating the last bit of her scone. “It makes me feel kinda motivated to push myself more.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I really admire him,” Izuku sighed, resting his chin in his hand.
Ochako stretched with a yawn, then decisively cracked her knuckles. “Okay! Let’s stock those books!”
As she turned to leave and find the first box, though, her cell phone chimed softly, and she reached into her pocket to see the message.
“Ah, it’s from Bakugou. He’s asking me on a date tonight.”
“Oh, sounds like fun! What’re you going to say?”
Ochako paused, then looked up at Izuku with a devious grin. “I’m gonna ask if Todoroki’s also free. Maybe set up a double date?”
“Wait, what? For tonight?”
“Why not? You already agreed you’d ask him out!”
“I know, but tonight’s... Tonight’s so soon!” Izuku sighed as wrung his hands. “I don’t know...”
Ochako gently rested a hand on his forearm, giving him a supportive smile. “It’ll be a double date. At least you know I’ll be there with you.”
“Well, yeah, but Bakugou will also be there--“
“--and I’ll be distracting him. This is a great chance to go on a date with Todoroki and know that you’ll have me as backup. If there’s ever a lull in conversation, or something awkward happens, I’ll be able to help you out.”
Izuku bit his lip. “... Okay, yeah. Ask if he’s free.”
Ochako grinned excitedly and began to type away on his phone. “Perfect! This date’s going to be amazing!”
Somehow, Izuku wasn't sure if he could share the sentiment.