Work Text:
After a tiring day at work, Shouto has decided to drop by Izuku’s today. He’s exhausted, and going to Izuku’s apartment will certainly take longer than if he were to just go straight to his place, but he knows that the cuddle fest he’s about to get from his green-haired boyfriend is definitely worth the extra travel time.
The thing is, people naturally assume that Izuku is the clingy one in their relationship. But while Izuku is a tactile person, Shouto far exceeds him when it comes to wanting physical affection. Often he can be seen with his head buried in the crook of Izuku’s neck, or with his arms wounded around the other boy’s waist. Sometimes, when circumstances don’t allow Shouto to really immerse himself in the warmth of his partner’s touch, he’ll settle for linking their pinkies together, or even just by having their sides pressed together.
Shouto had been hesitant, and even skittish, about the thought of tactile affection given his upbringing and the abuse he’s been put through. He’d come to associate physical contact with burns, and scars, and pain. But after a long time, Izuku had been successful in having him get used to his touches. What started out as playful bumping of shoulders and encouraging pats in the back turned into the comfort of petting his hair and the ticklish nuzzling against his chest.
He couldn’t be happier. The abundance of naps and snuggles is worth being compared to a cat.
And besides, cats are like the coolest and most adorable creatures, so.
Anyway, back to the current situation.
He’s really looking forward to the quality time he’s about to spend with a certain broccoli head. Shouto has everything planned out. He’ll enter the apartment with the duplicate key Izuku gave him months ago, he’ll freshen up while Izuku offers to heat up the leftovers, and he’ll end up dragging up his boyfriend upstairs and demanding he spoon him. Izuku will giggle softly at how whiny Shouto is asking but eventually oblige, tucking them both in the nest of blankets, and wrapping him in his strong arms. Maybe even having Izuku pet his hair if Shouto is being particularly fussy.
He can almost feel the warmth and comfort and safety the whole scene exudes so he begins walking faster, a little too eager despite it now showing through his perpetually poker face.
Which is why when Shouto unlocked the door, he didn’t expect the empty entryway to greet him instead of the usual blur of green crashing into his chest to welcome him home.
Call him needy or whatever, okay, he’s already accepted in himself that he’s touch starved so deal with it. Is it a crime to badly need a big hug after a hard day of hero duty? Even heroes get to be soft too, you know.
Shouto can hear the faint sounds of the television playing so he knows at least that his boyfriend is home. After carefully removing his boots, he places them neatly on the rack and slowly pads his way into the living room.
Whatever he expected to find definitely wasn’t this.
He blinks, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to him now that the high of his envisioned cuddle fest has lost its steam, preventing his brain from fully processing what is happening right in front of him.
All Might, or Yagi-san now as he liked to be called whenever he’s in his true form, is sat cross-legged on the floor reading what looks like a little Deku comic book. Behind him, perched on a short stool, equipped with a pouch full of hair accessories, and wearing a frown that is a tad too serious and concentrated on any kid her age, is an 11-year old Eri trying to figure out how to go about braiding the old man’s blond hair. And, to complete this ridiculous chain of pure sweetness, Izuku is kneeling behind her, inserting little daisy blossoms on her braided hair, all while humming the intro to the All Might cartoon under his breath.
Add all this to the fatigue weighing his body down and it’s enough to overload his system.
Shouto can feel the metaphorical arrow being shot straight into his heart, and good lord, he can now die happy.
Except there’s something missing.
Which is what prompts him to blurt out, “This situation has an alarming lack of cats.”
Right after he said that, he internally berates himself for his lack of tact because now he has a new problem.
Shouto is now on the receiving end of three very warm and very blinding smiles and he’s given no time to properly dodge before the second arrow comes aiming for his chest.
Eri comes running to him first while Izuku starts to clean up the mess they’ve made. “Shouto-san! Look, I braided Mighty-san’s hair and Deku-san put pretty flowers in mine!”
He turns to fully look at the state of Yagi-san’s hair and has to exert all of his effort not to let his amusement show on his face. The older man’s hair is an absolute mess, though he seems to be pulling it off quite well. One half of his fringe is messily braided, while the other side has too many hair clips to count. The rest of his locks are either all tangled up, or sectioned in little partitions held together by colorful elastic bands.
Judging by the embarrassed smile Yagi-san wears, it’s clear he didn’t hide his reaction well enough. “Young Todoroki! How was work?”
“Boring. As usual.” Shouto jokes.
The blond man let out a booming laugh. “That’s right! But boring means there aren’t any disturbances in the city, which is great.”
Smiling, he agrees. “You’re right.”
Just then, arms are engulfing him, pulling him into solid body. The scent of vanilla and lavender assault his senses and he sinks into it on instinct, knowing there’s only one person who smells like that. “Welcome home.”
He can feel the vibrations from Izuku’s chest. Turning around, he adjusts his position so he can properly hold him and sighs in content. He can hear Eri rambling to Yagi-san in the background but rather than annoy him, it soothes him even more. He’s warm, and happy, and secure. “Where are Strawberry and Kiwi?”
As if summoned, something brushes by their legs and Izuku pulls away to look. Shouto quietly whines in protest but relents. Strawberry is playful bumping her small head to Shouto’s leg, meowing loudly, obviously wanting to join their hug. Chuckling, Shouto then proceeds to squat down, just in time to catch the cat when she leaped.
Shouto moves toward the couch with Strawberry in his arms, Izuku plopping down beside him right after. Using Izuku’s shoulder as a pillow, he can feel his eyes drooping but he fights the urge to close it, not until he knows where Kiwi is. “’Zuku, where’s our other kitty?”
Izuku combs his fingers through his hair, which makes Shouto finally close his eyes, and drops a kiss on his temple. “He’s in the bedroom sleeping. Want me to go get him?"
He does, but he also doesn’t want his boyfriend to move away, so he settles for grumbling in annoyance.
A finger pokes Shouto’s cheeks and he reluctantly peels his eyes open. Eri is standing in front of him with a shy smile. “I can go get Kiwi for you, Shouto-san!”
Beside him, Izuku laughs as Eri runs out of the living room to fetch their other cat. “Get some sleep, Shouto.”
“Mhm, nuh—yet . . . ”
Moments later, Eri comes back with Kiwi sleepily following behind. Upon seeing Shouto, he leaps on the couch and settles into his lap with Strawberry, purring softly.
Now that Shouto has his two cats and his boyfriend in the cuddle fest he’s been anticipating, he can feel the pull of sleep getting stronger. Vaguely, he feels Yagi-san ruffling his hair before bidding them a good night and leaving. Then, he feels couch dip on his other side and another warm, but smaller body—Eri, the remaining coherent part of his mind supplies—snuggles into his chest. He hums tiredly, wiggling just a little bit to find the most comfortable position, and relaxes.
“Sweet dreams, love.”
Todoroki Shouto feels a feather light kiss on his forehead before finally, finally, letting his tired body succumb to sleep.