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Tenya does his absolute best to not immediately look up at the door when the bell chimes, signaling the entrance of new customers. Lately, this one pair has been stopping by, rarely appearing separate from one another. It doesn’t quite make sense to him, but Tenya’s eyes are drawn to the two boys each and every time they’ve come to the coffee shop. He’s never had to chance to serve them, though, and he isn’t certain if that’s due to misfortune or the opposite.
It very well might not be the boys entering this time, if not for the fact that Tenya knows by heart that they come by every Friday afternoon at just about one in the afternoon. Last time he checked the clock, it was a quarter til.
Tenya doesn’t know if it’s okay to think two other guys are overwhelmingly attractive at the same time, but it’s how his brain has been working, so what choice does he have but to accept it?
“Hi, Shinsou-kun!” exclaims a sunny voice, calling out to Tenya’s coworker and the man at the register. Looking up to see the green-haired guy walking up to the counter with a giant smile on his face, Tenya has never wished he was Shinsou more than in this moment.
“Midoriya,” Shinsou smiles with that coy grin that always makes him seem like he knows something you don’t. Tenya gets that feeling more often than not, and it genuinely surprises him how Midoriya never seems phased by it. “What can I get you today?”
“I’ll have a medium caramel latte, and—“ Midoriya points behind himself, and Tenya’s eyes flick to the bored-looking blond with crossed arms, “—he’ll get a large cold brew, thanks!”
“What?” Shinsou asks, grinning even as he punches in the order. “Blasty can’t order for himself?”
Midoriya bashfully rubs the back of his neck, laughing a little. “He lost his voice yesterday! Weird, right?”
“I don’t think I know how to deal with a non-shouty version of him.”
The blond scowls, lightly punching Midoriya in the shoulder as a let’s go, already kind of signal. Midoriya waves his hands placatingly and thanks Shinsou again as the two of them head over to the pick up counter.
When Midoriya laughs loudly at something his friend says, he looks up and accidentally makes eye contact with Tenya.
Tenya’s breath catches for a second as he looks into green eyes from afar, before he realizes himself and vehemently goes back to scrubbing the bar with burning cheeks.
He can’t hear anything the two are saying, and maybe it’s better for that. What if they’re laughing at how obvious Tenya is? At how a total stranger keeps looking for them and losing his composure when he sees them? This is why Tenya believes he’s perfectly happy to never be at the register when those guys are here. This way, he can never make a fool of himself in front of them.
Unfortunately, they’re short staffed today, so Tenya can’t escape to the storeroom and avoid making drinks. Shinsou passes the cups over to Tenya, giving him one of those knowing looks as he returns to take the next order.
At the very least, Tenya knows he’s good at his job. He trained dutifully to prepare all kinds of drinks in order to be a barista that could bring a bit of joy in a cup to all of the customers he served. Now, he easily moves between stations to mix each drink, taking only minutes to produce what he hopes is impressive enough to grab the boys’ attention.
“Midoriya?” he calls, brushing a thumb over the name as he says it. The other cup isn’t labeled with the blond’s name since they’d been under one order, and Tenya feels disappointed that after several weeks, he still hasn’t been able to catch his name.
His heart beats faster as the boy—quite a few inches shorter than Tenya, he notices—walks up to the counter.
“Thank you so much!” Midoriya says, grabbing the cups as soon as they’re placed down, causing the very tips of their fingers to brush.
“Of course!” Tenya responds, proud of himself for suppressing the shake in his voice. He forces himself to make eye contact as he wishes Midoriya a good day, but then his gaze slides over just past his left ear to catch on the blond, watching him with narrowed eyes.
Tenya wills himself to hide how floored he is by the way red eyes seem to flare at him in a mix of curiosity and challenge, and he swallows hard.
Midoriya smiles at him again when he focuses, eyes soft. “See you around, Iida-kun!”
As Midoriya walks away, the blond close by his side, Tenya blinks in awe. Logically, he knows Midoriya had just read his name off his name tag, but he still feels giddy from hearing it in his voice.
“Dude,” Shinsou says, “I can feel your pining from a mile away.”
Tenya whirls around, braced against the counter. Shinsou’s stare narrows in on him like a cat finding it’s prey, and Tenya shrinks back. “What do you mean?”
“The way you just looked at Midoriya? If I didn’t already know the kinda person you are, I definitely would have thought you were going to lean in and plant one on him.”
“He—he’s a stranger!” Tenya exclaims, face feeling hot as he clumsily picks up the next empty cup slid toward him. “I’d never do something like that!”
Shinsou nods. “I know you wouldn’t. But you wanna, don’t you?”
“Of course not! Forgive me for being a curious person, Shinsou-kun, but all I want is to learn our regulars’ preferences so that they have a reason to continue coming here.”
With a loud snort, Shinsou shakes his head. “I wonder just what kind of preference you mean, Iida.”
Tenya splutters, nearly dropping a container of milk at the insinuation. Shinsou, of course, pretends not to notice Tenya’s suffering and puts his kind expression back on at the register. Why in the world did he choose to get a job where both his coworkers and customers constantly put his dignity on the line?
§
The next time Midoriya comes in, he’s shockingly alone. More devastating than that is the fact that it’s Tenya’s shift at the register, and Uraraka has no inkling of his internal plight as she reorders the syrup pumps further down the bar.
Up until now, Tenya has simply been ringing up orders and thinking about the multiple essays he needs to write for his classes before the end of the term. It’s somewhat stressful, yes, but nothing can compare to the nerves that flare up when that friendly smile is directed at him and him only.
“Hi!” he greets, waving. “How are you?”
“I-I’m well, thank you,” Tenya responds, caught off guard by not being the one to say a greeting first. “And you?”
“Could be better,” Midoriya sighs, seeming tired. “Guess that’s why I’m here, though!”
“Of course,” Tenya says, smiling. “What would you like?”
“I’ll just have a hot chocolate for today, thanks.”
Tenya nods, ringing it up. He’s bothered by the fact that the blond isn’t there. He’s never seen one of them without the other, and despite the fact that he’s only ever seen them inside this coffee shop, it seems unnatural. He purses his lips, thinking for a moment before deciding to speak.
“Where’s your friend?” he asks, hoping to sound casual.
Midoriya looks up, curious. “Oh, the angry looking one? He’s sick.” Midoriya pouts, and it’s sickeningly cute. “We always come together, but I wanted him to rest today. I’m getting him soup after this.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Tenya says, finding it endearing that Midoriya is acting as a caretaker.
“It’s just what you do, y’know?” Midoriya shrugs. Tenya nods back, biting his lip before he opens his mouth again.
“Um, I hope this doesn’t seem strange, but out of curiosity... what’s his name? I’ve seen you both here a few times, but it’s always you ordering.” A few times is a massive understatement, but Midoriya doesn’t need to know that.
“Ah, you’re right! Well, hopefully he won’t be mad at me for telling you, but it’s Kacchan.”
Kacchan? That... sounds so childlike. Surely that can’t be his actual name?
“I know it sounds like a nickname, and that’s ‘cause it is. Trust me, though, he’s fine with being called that!” Midoriya’s eyes shine, and Tenya wonders if he’s missing something.
“...If you say so,” he responds, passing Midoriya’s cup down to Uraraka. She gives him a thumbs up and smiles.
Midoriya simply nods, waiting and making idle chat with Uraraka as she makes his hot chocolate. Tenya tries his best not to watch.
After he’s left, Uraraka walks up to Tenya and leans against the counter to face him. “He seems cute.”
Tenya groans. “Uraraka-kun, please don’t—“
“I didn’t even really say anything,” she giggles, “but you’re blushing anyways.”
He covers his face with a hand. “You always do this.”
“It isn’t my fault your tells are so obvious! You’re adorable when you like someone, Iida-kun, but you really aren’t subtle.”
Eyes wide, he responds, “You don’t think he knows, do you?”
“And he admits it, just like that,” Uraraka mumbles to herself, barely audible. “Anyways, I’m pretty sure they both know.”
“Both?! I don’t—“
“Iida-kun, chill, it’s okay. Liking more than one person isn’t a bad thing, okay?” She raises an eyebrow at him when Tenya opens his mouth to protest. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t think that blond guy is hot?”
“That’s not—“
“You can’t lie to me! I know you and I know your types. You’re so weak to pretty faces, buddy.”
Tenya thinks that if his face gets any hotter, it’s going to melt clean off his skeleton. While Shinsou’s words are packed full of insinuations, Uraraka’s are direct and succinct. Tenya really can’t decide which he loathes more.
“Get your mans!” she whisper-cheers, clapping him on the back and walking away happily.
§
At this point, Tenya’s pretty sure that he’s being targeted by the universe. Against all odds, the blond ends up walking into the shop all alone just a few days later, sauntering up to the register with an irked expression on his face.
“Hey, Four-Eyes,” he starts, making Tenya reflexively push up his glasses, “get me an Americano, would you?”
“Uh,” Tenya gapes, “Yes, of course. Size?”
Bakugou's gaze flicks downward, lingering briefly below Tenya's waist before sliding back up to make eye contact. “Large.”
Tenya wants the floor to swallow him whole. “A-and, um, the name is ‘Kacchan’, right?”
“What the—I’m gonna fuckin’ kill Deku.” The blond’s face takes on a pink tint, and Tenya thinks he’s dreaming.
“Was that... incorrect? Midoriya told me—“
“Yeah, yeah, I know exactly what that little green shit told you. Do me a favor and never listen to him again, got it?”
Tenya nods, confused beyond words. “Okay, well, what is your name, then?”
“Might as well ask for my number while you’re at it,” he murmurs, which Tenya chooses to ignore because there’s definitely no way he was just told to ask a cute boy for his phone number.
“It’s Bakugou,” the blond glares, avoiding his gaze. “Bakugou Katsuki.”
“Alright, Bakugou-kun,” Tenya says, hand shaking slightly as he writes the name on a cup. “Will that be all for you?”
“Yeah, for now.”
“For n—“
“Don’t worry about it,” Bakugou says, waving a hand through the air nonchalantly. “I’ll come back for more later.”
Why does that sound so ominous?
§
Tenya is free from the hell of working the register when Midoriya and Bakugou finally reappear as a pair, hand in hand as they enter the mostly empty shop.
It doesn’t immediately strike Tenya as strange, for whatever reason. He knows that they’re friends, presumably very close friends, and friends hold hands plenty. So no, Tenya doesn’t really think much of it.
Not until Bakugou reels Midoriya in by the hand and plants a sweet kiss right on his plush, red lips.
Tenya blinks—and he’s being doing an awful lot of this lately—well aware of the white-knuckled grip he has on the edge of the bar.
So they’re together, huh? That makes sense…
He stares down at the wooden counter, eyes stinging behind his glasses. Why does this realization hurt? Was he ever expecting something to come of his infatuation? He had known the entire time that he didn’t have a chance and yet… he’s disappointed. He hates that he’s disappointed.
Taking in a deep breath, Tenya looks up at them and forces a smile. “Hi, how may I help you today?”
“Could I get a small—” Bakugou stops, discerning something from his expression. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”
“You seem… kinda tense,” Midoriya says, looking at him with furrowed brows. “Is something wrong?”
Unwittingly, Tenya’s eyes flick down to where the two boys’ hands are interlaced, and they’re observant enough to catch it.
“Oh,” he hears, two voices in tandem.
“It isn’t importa—”
“Iida-kun,” Midoriya steps forward, placing his free hand on the counter, “I’m sorry if it seems like we misled you.”
“We know you like us,” Bakugou says, far more bluntly than Tenya can handle. He breaks eye contact, looking down.
“I was obvious, I know,” Tenya replies, voice strained. “But I understand that you can’t—”
“We can’t what? Like you back?” Tenya can tell Bakugou’s eyebrows are raised without even looking at him.
“Of course not,” he laughs, a note of self-pity in his words that he wishes he could hide better. “You have each other, so—”
Tenya flinches as Midoriya’s warm hand covers his own fist, clenched on the countertop.
“You don’t know all the details, Iida-kun.”
He says nothing.
“Will you look up, please?” He can practically see the pout on Midoriya’s face.
A tired—or fond?—sigh. “Come on, Glasses, we aren’t gonna bite.”
Slowly, he looks up, nervously meeting two gazes burning with determination.
“We’ve been wanting to tell you that we think you’re cute, and funny, and kind, and we want to take you on a date.” Midoriya says the words, but Tenya is certain that his mind has only let him comprehend what he wants to hear.
“You… what?”
“Go out with us, Iida,” says Bakugou, lips pursed, pink rising high on his cheeks. “We’ve been trying to get your attention for weeks.”
“But you hardly know me.”
“Yeah, and we want to get to know you. Hence, the date.”
“This… doesn’t make sense.”
Bakugou rolls his eyes, and before he knows it, Tenya has been yanked down by the back of his neck. A warm set of lips presses against one of his burning cheeks, pulling away as fast as it had come.
“Did that get through your head?” Bakugou asks, voice low.
Tenya blinks, dazed.
“Maybe he needs more,” Midoriya murmurs, smiling slightly. He leans over the counter, pressing his own tender kiss to Tenya’s temple.
“Oh,” Tenya says dumbly.
“That’s the winner,” comes Shinsou’s smug voice, stepping out of the back room. Tenya is too shocked to feel embarrassed. “Congrats, boys. You broke Iida.”
Bakugou shrugs, smirking. “I’m not saying we were trying to break him to buy him, but if the shoe fits.”
Midoriya shoves him with his shoulder, laughing. “We aren’t buying him! We just wanna spend time with him. You’re the one who said Iida-kun was cute first, Kacchan.”
“Shut up, nerd,” Bakugou responds, roughly tousling Midoriya’s hair.
Tenya’s hands come up to slide down his face, muffling a piteous noise with them. He mumbles something he knows won’t be heard properly.
“What was that?” Midoriya asks, tilting his head at him.
“I accept,” Tenya whispers, afraid to express what he wants even though it’s right within reach.
“You gonna be confident about it, or what?” Bakugou prods.
He takes a moment to slowly inhale and exhale, then looks up. “I would love to go on a date with you both.”
Tenya feels somewhat dizzy as Midoriya and Bakugou smile at him, but the rush of finally being seen and cared for overpowers the flustered butterflies colliding in his stomach.
§