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Todoroki is sitting, staring at the flame from the candle in front of him. He seems to be completely transfixed, mindlessly swirling the remains of an ice block in the otherwise empty glass, paying absolutely no mind to the couples dancing happily beside him. Tuning back into the world around him, Todoroki pulls out his pocket watch, taps it a few times, and returns it to his chest pocket.
His head snaps up hopefully at the sound of laughter coming down the steps. Two women skip down the steps, grinning, laughing, and holding hands. Todoroki blushes — a little embarrassed by his hopeful optimism, but mostly jealous of the women’s boldness, even though he knows it should be safe here.
After another five minutes, Todoroki checks his watch again. He bounces his leg under the table for a few seconds before finally letting himself give in, pushing his chair back in a sudden movement, readying himself to leave.
A waiter approaches Todoroki’s table, a towel over his arms as he holds a tray with a single drink upon it.
“Bourbon on ice for the gentleman.” He places the glass on the table in front of the still standing Todoroki. Next to the glass, the waiter carefully places a scrap of paper. “You were going to give up that easily?” He nods his head toward the bar.
Todoroki squints at him before picking up the piece of paper. His eyes light up as he reads the single word scribbled down in a familiar scrawl.
“He never changed that old nickname, huh?” Todoroki laughs. The waiter opens his mouth to speak, but Todoroki holds up his hand in a motion for silence. “It was rhetorical.”
Todoroki buttons up his jacket, still holding the piece of paper tightly between his fingers. He looks over to the bar, eyes focusing in on a blond man leaning on the bar, chatting to the barmaid. He grabs the glass, downs the bourbon, and places it back on the waiter’s tray a little too hard.
“Someone special?” The waiter smiles sympathetically at him.
“Isn’t everyone here meeting someone special?” Todoroki hasn’t taken his eyes off the blond man, but he flashes a quick grin for the waiter who didn’t seem to have an answer for his question, instead just looking at his feet and nodding.
Todoroki runs a hand through his hair, fixing his fringe that had fallen in front of his eyes a little, pushing it back so it quiffs slightly over his forehead.
He doesn’t notice the waiter leave; all he can feel is a warmth spreading from his chest up to his neck and face, and his stomach starting to flip. Surely this isn’t from two bourbons, I’m not usually this affected. He sees the man at the bar jump up to sit on a stool. Oh…
“Come on, come on, stop this.” He doesn’t realise he’s speaking out loud until he notices the warm and supportive smiles he’s getting from an older woman and someone who he can only assume to be her girlfriend. He smiles back, huffing an embarrassed and nervous laugh as he does.
“Go on, darling. You look lovely.” The old woman grins brightly at him, and her girlfriend lifts her hand to kiss the palm, her eyes brimming with a love that seems to be older than she is. Todoroki watches them, his heart swelling.
“Thanks.” It doesn’t seem to matter that his voice was barely audible, as the women are once again completely lost in each other. He smiles, then takes a deep breath, straightening out his jacket, and starts to walk towards the bar. He has to stop and maneuver through some dancing couples, getting a little stuck behind a trio all holding hands and swinging around happily a little too close to a table full of glasses. “Sorry...ah, excuse me.”
The androgynous member of the trio notices Todoroki and smiles a very happy, and quite drunk, apology. Instead of moving their partners out of Todoroki’s way, they grab his hands and dance him through the middle of the group, singing along to whatever the band plays as they do.
Todoroki can’t help but notice their hair, somehow shining pink as it catches the light beautifully and falls over their shoulders. Once they’ve successfully danced Todoroki to the other side of the trio, the stranger lets go of his hands and smiles once more at him.
Todoroki speaks up just as they start to turn back to their partners.
“Hey! What’s your name… nickname, I mean?” They spin back around to face Todoroki, wobbling a little on their heel as they do. With another wide grin, they answer:
“Pinky!”
“Nice to meet you, Pinky.” Todoroki smiles to mask the nerves pulsing through his veins. “And your hair is beautiful.”
“Ah!” They jump excitedly on the spot, moving back towards Todoroki and tiptoeing up to give him a kiss on the cheek as thanks, before dancing back to their partners and pulling them both into a big hug.
Todoroki touches his cheek where they kissed him, a burning sensation tingling at his fingertips. He smiles to himself, watching the trio dance as they hug.
“Okay… okay.” He turns back towards the bar, the blond man leaning even further over it, clearly flirting with the barmaid as he eyes up some liquor bottles.
Todoroki clenches his fists by his sides, steeling himself one last time before taking the final steps towards the man at the bar. He doesn’t say anything, instead choosing to slide the scrap paper along the bar until it is almost directly under the man’s shoulder.
Todoroki feels his ribs tensing up as he watches the man. The man’s head drops suddenly, cutting himself off halfway through his conversation with the barmaid. Todoroki holds his breath as the man reads the piece of paper on the bar. The man smiles something close to a smirk as his eyes shoot sideways to look at Todoroki through his fringe, the smirk turning into a beaming grin as he turns to properly face Todoroki — unabashedly moving his gaze over Todoroki as he gives him a once-over.
“Spitzer!” The sound of his nickname coming from the blond man’s mouth, after so long, takes Todoroki aback, and his voice catches in his throat. It takes a moment, but Todoroki gathers himself.
“Kami — uh, Bolt. Hi.”
“Wow, you’ve.... Wow.” Kaminari is grinning, but that doesn’t distract from the light shade of pink his cheeks are turning.
“Ha…” Todoroki runs a hand through the quiff of his hair again, “you too, Bolt.”
They both look at each other with a nervous softness in their eyes, the silence lasting a few long moments, until Kaminari grins again and breaks it, nodding towards the bar.
“I was trying to work out what you drink. The bourbon I sent over was just a guess…. Figured you might be a liquor guy by now.”
“Hm.” Todoroki smiles through a nod. “Yeah, you were right. Some things never change, huh?” Todoroki watches Kaminari ordering another bourbon for him, and something for himself. He laughs through a breath when the barmaid sets Kaminari’s drink down on the varnished wood. “Of course you’re a cocktail guy. And what’s this one called?”
“It’s a Sidecar! It’s my favourite because it’s—”
“Yellow.” Todoroki’s eyes flick up from the drink to make contact with Kaminari’s for a few brief seconds. “Yeah, I remember.”
Kaminari does nothing to stop a wide grin growing across his face.
“My favourite colour, Spitzer? I’m impressed. Wait, don’t remind me, yours is...blue? Dark blue!” Todoroki nods, holding Kaminari’s gaze more confidently now.
They both turn back to the bar, getting comfortable on the stools.
“So… what’s happened since school, Bolt?”
“I uh… worked. And now I’m in the champion baseball team in Japan, so —”
“Shit…”
“— ha. Yeah, a bit wild, isn’t it.”
Todoroki nods slowly, then quirks an eyebrow.
“Wild?” Todoroki smirks as he sees Kaminari’s cheeks flush. “You’re a Mobo, Bolt.” He downs the last of his bourbon, grinning at Kaminari as he sets the glass on the bartop.
“I… uh, how about you, Spitzer? What’s new?” Todoroki motions to the barmaid for another drink, winking at Kaminari to acknowledge the blatant change of subject.
“Oh. Nothing too much. I’m a firefighter, I moved out of Dad’s and took Mum with me —”
“Shit, that’s something. I’m glad. Also…,” he drops the straw out of his mouth, “being a firefighter is cool.”
Todoroki can’t help a smile.
“It’s actually hot.” Kaminari lets out a hoot of laughter.
“This is why I was the funny one in school. Though, that wasn’t too bad. And you’re right. It is pretty damn hot.” Kaminari spoke so casually and quickly that Todoroki doesn’t register what he’d said for a few moments.
“W— wai— what?”
Kaminari just smiles, sipping the last of his cocktail through the straw, not taking his eyes off of Todoroki. When he’s finished, he pulls the tiny umbrella out of the glass and tucks it behind his ear, lacing it through his hair.
“Should we dance? Seeing as that’s what this place is for.” Despite the buzz he’s feeling from the drinks he’s had, Todoroki feels his cheeks grow warm, but answers Kaminari by holding a hand out for him to take. Kaminari’s eyes light up at the gesture, and he grabs Todoroki’s hand without hesitation and lets himself be led to the dancefloor.
Todoroki notices Pinky looking over at them, and when he catches their eye, they give Kaminari a once-over and grin brightly at Todoroki, clapping their hands together with happiness.
The band is playing some American swing that Todoroki doesn’t recognise, but the sight of Kaminari’s smile, along with the booze, makes him feel free enough to let go, and they dance together. Todoroki knows that he’s not a good dancer, but Kaminari is more than happy to lead him, and he’s confident that Kaminari is having as much fun as he is, even through his lack of coordination.
Just as Todoroki thinks he’s fallen into step and is managing to match Kaminari’s moves, he kicks Kaminari’s foot during a particularly upbeat part of the song and makes him stumble. Kaminari falls into Todoroki, and they both laugh as Todoroki catches him by the elbow. Kaminari looks up to smile at Todoroki but looks away and takes a step back, seemingly uncomfortable with how close their faces were. Todoroki opens his mouth as if to protest but is taken off-guard by the song suddenly ending. He looks over towards the band and sees the barmaid whispering to one of the members before walking back to her station behind the bar as the band kick up a new song.
The mood in the whole place changes as a slow musical intro fills the room. All around them, Todoroki and Kaminari watch people take their partners in their arms and dance softly and slowly together. The men both hesitate back a little, but Kaminari takes a step forward and picks up Todoroki’s hands, pulling him close. They’re both a little stiff at first, but as the woman fronting the band starts to sing, they fall into each other’s rhythm, each man holding on to the other a little tighter than they realise.
Without truly noticing, in a moment of calm, Todoroki starts to sing along to the words, thinking how fate decided to play one of the few American songs he loves as he’s dancing with his old flame. Todoroki’s voice is muffled by Kaminari’s hair as he rests his head on Todoroki’s shoulder.
“... until the stars fall from the sky… until the rivers all run dry…”
Kaminari pulls his head back so that he can look at Todoroki, the movement snapping Todoroki’s focus back to the present.
“You’re singing, Spitzer.” Todoroki blushes from his chest up to his hairline and stumbles over trying to speak. “No, please… it was nice. Keep going?” The blush deepens, but Todoroki smiles as Kaminari moves back to rest his head against Todoroki once more.
“... in other words, until the end of time.
I’m gonna stay right here by your side
Do my best to keep you satisfied
Nothing in the world can drive me away
‘Cause everyday you’ll hear me say…”
Todoroki falls silent and lets the band finish the song without him. Not moving his head off Todoroki this time, Kaminari angles so he can look up at Todoroki, a questioning look in his eyes. “I’ve missed you, Kaminari.”
The music stops just as Todoroki finishes speaking and his eyes dart around the room, making sure that no one heard him. “Shit, sorry. Bolt.”
“Don’t worry, Spitzer. No one heard you.” Kaminari gives Todoroki’s waist a squeeze where he’s been holding him. “And I’ve missed you too.”
Todoroki steps back, hands still on Kaminari’s hips, as he looks him up and down. He moves one hand to brush through Kaminari’s hair.
“I like your hair all grown out like this— it suits you.” Todoroki smiles when he notices Kaminari’s blush.
“I wasn’t sure what you would think of it… it’s a lot more me.” He moves his hand to hold Todoroki’s as it hesitates over his cheek. “I cut it all off at one point, and that was… bad.” He laughs nervously, but relaxes at the sight of Todoroki’s soft gaze.
Todoroki leads Kaminari back to the bar, and the barmaid smiles at them as they approach.
“Looks like it went well after all, Bolt?” She winks at Kaminari.
“Ha, yeah. Thanks for the encouragement, Creati.”
“Another cocktail?”
Todoroki interjects just as Kaminari opens his mouth to answer.
“I think we’ll just have some water, thanks. A little under your skills of creation, but I, for one, need to relax a little.” Creati smiles at Todoroki and nods as she fills two glasses for them.
Kaminari mouths a thanks when she places the water in front of him.
“Do you work here to meet someone too?”
“Oh!” Creati smiles brightly at Kaminari’s question. “No, I already have a girlfriend— she’s over there.” She motions towards the stage where the band are playing another upbeat song. “She’s the bassist. Goes by Jack.”
Their conversation is cut short by commotion at the door to the club as everyone’s attention is snapped away from what they were doing. Creati walks over to a large-built man Todoroki can only assume is the bouncer.
“Hey, Might, what’s going on?” Creati tries to look around Might to see who is causing the ruckus.
“Oh, nothing to worry about, Miss. Just some idiots trying to start a fight but they’re—”
In a blur of dirty blond hair, a man ducks under Might’s arm, rushing into the club, heading straight to the closest table and picking up an almost empty glass. He throws the glass at the stage, barely missing the singer, as he hurls racial slurs and spits at her.
Todoroki and Kaminari have been avoiding engaging with the man, not looking in his direction, trusting the doorman to deal with it safely, but as soon as Kaminari hears what the man was shouting, his head whips around to find him. Todoroki grabs Kaminari’s shoulder, gripping tightly.
“Bolt, it’s fine. Just leave it.”
“He’s not doing it directly, but I’m not going to let him say those things. Especially not around you.”
Todoroki doesn’t let go of Kaminari, but moves his hand down to hook around Kaminari’s elbow. Everyone in the club had stopped to watch the intruder and cheer when Might punches him, knocking him down in one hit, and drags him by the collar, back out of the club. The man struggles, swearing and kicking out against Might, and then yells, at no one in particular,
“Fucking Mazakon!” before landing on his face on the concrete outside the club.
When the front door is closed, Todoroki takes Kaminari’s hand and pulls him towards the back door.
“I appreciate it, but… this is already dangerous enough, and I’m not… I’m only half. He wouldn’t have known.”
Denki holds the door open for Todoroki, and they step outside.
“I know, I just… fuck, I hate it.” Todoroki squeezes Denki’s hand.
“Don’t worry, I’ll just forget to turn the hose on if his house is on fire.” They both laugh, standing in the alley behind the club. Denki’s smile falters, and he opens his mouth to speak before thinking better of it, letting out a sigh instead.
Todoroki watches as Kaminari runs a hand through his hair.
“What’s wro—”
“Do you want to come back to mine?” Kaminari speaks so quickly that his words are slurred from more than just the alcohol they’d consumed. Todoroki’s face blames into a bright blush at the proposition, but he glances at the ground before looking back up to Kaminari.
“I shouldn’t tonight, Bolt. But can I meet you again tomorrow? Here?”
Kaminari nods, smiling. He strokes his thumb over Todoroki’s hand before letting go and turning to walk away. “Wait!” Todoroki runs up to Kaminari, grabbing his hand to turn him around. “Can I…”
Flashing a grin and looking deep into Todoroki’s eyes, Kaminari tiptoes up to level himself with Todoroki, and presses a soft but electric kiss to the corner of his lips.
He drops back down off his toes, still grinning, and once again walks away from Todoroki, who hasn’t moved an inch. After a few steps, Kaminari looks over his shoulder at Todoroki, and winks.