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One part of Ayame’s routine included checking all the emails sent to the agency during the morning and then summarize them to be presented and discussed over lunch with everyone. It gave them a chance to figure out how to deal with the media, gossip, PR and other things the local authorities would send their way. Each email had to be picked apart and summed up as concisely as possible so as to not bother Bakugou or lose the attention of Ashido and Kaminari, so by the time she was done with them Ayame had a good enough grasp of the contents to be able to give her own opinions in the matter.
This time, however, was unprecedented.
She walked into the kitchen after locking up the main doors, reading her tablet as she sat down next to where Kaminari was downing his third energy drink of the day. “What are ‘Hero Balls’?”
Or, well, where Kaminari was now spitting his third energy drink of the day.
Sero fought to make himself be heard over Ashido’s keening laughter. “What, like a dance? Never heard of that”
“Give me that” Bakugou said, making grabby hands towards the tablet where the email was opened up. He read through it with a frown a bit deeper than his usual one, tilting his head as he quickly reached the bottom. “Huh, no one mentioned this at school”
Ayame carefully snatched back the tablet from Bakugou’s very dangerous hands. “So is it an event? It says we’re expected to be holding one”
“Wha—hold a ball? Us?” Kirishima asked, setting down today’s lunch. Every Friday it was Bakugou’s treat and today’s was from the Thai place around the corner. “I don’t think we’re, uh, the right people for that”
“It says the National Hero Association expects every new agency to hold one within twelve months since they start their activities to introduce themselves to the rest of the heroes in the area, as a sort of ‘debutante ball’ or something” Ayame read out loud. “Seems we’re the only new agency this year so far, or else we would’ve heard this from someone else already”
“Bet this is why Aizawa didn’t want to join an agency, fucking asshole keeping things to himself. I’m gonna kill him” Bakugou muttered curses as he pulled out his phone and aggressively tapped away at it, setting it down on the table as the dial tone echoed through the room. In seconds it was cut short as the person on the other end of the call answered.
“Kacchan?” Deku said, the smile on his face easy to guess through his tone.
“Hey, you’re on speaker” Bakugou greeted him, considerably calmer than he was a second ago.
“Ooh, okay, I’ll behave” He laughed. Chuckles rang around the table as Bakugou’s cheeks tinted pink.
He cleared his throat. “Deku, you ever heard anything about agencies hosting balls?”
“The Hero Balls?” Deku said, ignoring the second round of choking from Kaminari as he said it this time. “Yeah, I’ve tried to sneak into one for years, but it’s heroes and invited guests on—” He gasped halfway through the word, realization sinking in. “Are you guys planning yours?!”
“Uh, I guess we are?” Kirishima chimed in. “We’re just learning of them from an email we got from the NHA”
“Just now? Don’t you guys get told about this at UA?”
“Like I said, I’m gonna kill Aizawa”
“Kacchan” Izuku chastised him. “You don’t have time for rampages; you only have two months left to plan everything!”
“Yeah, why the hell do they send us the reminder so late?” Ashido mumbled between bites of food. “What if we had plans, huh?”
“Well, I can help you guys if you want” Izuku offered. “My schedule’s a bit emptier this time of the year anyway”
“Please” Bakugou sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’ll text you the details. Swing by when you’re free”
“Will do! I’ll see you later then, bye everyone! Bye Kacchan, love you!”
“Love you too” Bakugou muttered, ignoring the wolf whistling that followed and ending the call. “Shut up”
And so the planning frenzy started. Bakugou put himself in charge so as to avoid any of the other idiots fucking anything up, and designated Ayame as his personal assistant while the madness lasted, which was a glorified way of saying she was going to be lugged around the city as they searched for places to cater and decorate the venue they also needed to find. Luckily Bakugou was raised by fashion designers so he had a good eye for decoration, and also was a good enough cook he could plan what to offer almost immediately.
It just so happened that Sero had miscalculated when to pull when shooting his tape last week and had dislocated his shoulder, so he was out of commission from hero work until further notice. It allowed him to take over the desk for Ayame while they were out, and he assured her not to worry about the workload.
“Even with one functional arm I can still get more paperwork done than Denki and Mina together” He waved her off.
And he was wrong. He ended up doing his paperwork plus Denki and Mina’s after they collapsed halfway through it.
Now Ayame was suffering under the sweltering heat of the sun, hands full of bags filled with fabric samples from prospective decorating services.
“Why can’t you just pick one theme and stick to it? Shouldn’t take more than a week to get everything done” She panted, her sneakers doing nothing to prevent how uncomfortable she felt after hours of walking.
“Don’t be stupid, you think I’m gonna show off my agency with anything less than perfect?” He huffed, not showing any sign of discomfort except the slight sweet smell of caramel from his sweat.
Dude was just sweating all day long, it really shouldn’t surprise her he was used to it.
“Let’s check this bakery and then stop for lunch. I’m sick of walking” Bakugou herded her inside the store. He would’ve liked to have Satou do this part but he was busy in a mission in Tokyo and wouldn’t be back for a few weeks.
“Yes please” Ayame drawled as she collapsed on a chair, dropping everything she was carrying as Bakugou approached the register to talk to the cashier.
In a thing of minutes there was a glass of icy cold juice in front of her as Bakugou and the catering director joined her at the table to discuss tasting and availability. She absently listened to them talk about flavors and desserts way out of her paygrade as she cooled down.
Bakugou was critically inspecting the selection of cupcakes he’d chosen as reference, when a clicking sound called their attention. A quick glance to the side let them see a man right outside the store by the window, pointing a camera at them.
Bakugou sighed, ignoring him. “I didn’t expect I’d be getting the paparazzi treatment so soon. I’m not even in the top ten yet”
“Maybe he’s just a fan?” Ayame said, picking up the cupcake Bakugou had just rejected to make short work of it. “Didn’t Deku use to take pic of heroes in his school days?”
“Nah, he’s more into drawing them” He said, picking up a cake he liked and setting it away from Ayame’s hungry little paws. “Do you even want me to buy you lunch?!”
“Yes sir. Sorry, sir. Please buy me a burger, sir”
When Bakugou decided this place was good enough and after setting up all the details, they finally made their way back outside to scour the streets for a good place to eat. They ended up in a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, sitting down at the patio to get some fresh air under the shadow.
“Technically it’s more like a gala than a ball, so we don’t really need to pick a place too big” Ayame pointed out as she swiped through possible venues on her tablet, picking up fries with her other hand. “And you only need to invite local heroes and whoever the NHA sends”
Bakugou hummed, looking through the available places while sipping his drink. “This is so much bullshit for just one night. I trust you and Soy Sauce Face will take care of the guest list? I don’t know half the fuckers who work here”
“You do know them, you just can’t be bothered to learn their names” She deadpanned. She couldn’t believe she used to be scared of this man. “Besides, Ashido-san is much more sociable than me, she must know everyone in the business”
“As long as she doesn’t invite half the damn city I don’t—” The same sound as before interrupted him, his head snapping around to see the same guy as before with his camera pointed at them once again from across the street, poorly half-hiding behind some bushes. “That’s it, I’m gonna beat that fucker to the ground"
“Nope, no, we’re not doing this” Ayame caught his arm and pulled him back down to sit as soon as he stood up to make true on his promise. “What if he’s with the media? You can’t have a scandal right before the gala” She chastised him, using the same tone she used on the kids on her previous job. He complied with an exaggerated pout, crossing his arms and refusing to look at her. What a child. “After this is all over you can go off on the paps all you want, but reign yourself in for now”
He tsked in annoyance. “Whatever, mom”
“You don’t listen to your mom like this”
“Remind me again why I hired you?”
“You didn’t” She said smugly. “Kirishima-san did, specifically because I can stand your bullshit”
He snickered, posture relaxing significantly as he picked back up the tablet. “Damn right. Alright, let’s get this over with”
The days that followed were more or less on the same line, trying out different places and crossing things off the list as they decided who to hire for each thing. Every once in a while they would see either the same guy with the camera as before or new ones taking photos as well. They thought it could’ve been the media just following up the news of the upcoming gala, since they always managed to get their hands on non disclosed news somehow.
Deku was also spending a lot of time at the agency now, usually either in Bakugou’s office looking over the details while the others were busy with hero work, or down by the entrance making Ayame and Sero company.
Which was where they were when Bakugou came stomping in, slamming a magazine down on the desk.
Turns out that Bakugou really didn’t like giving interviews or doing anything outside of strictly saving civilians and beating up villains, so it wasn’t exactly common knowledge he was married, or to whom. The week spent walking around the city with Ayame was the first time in months anyone actually saw him out of costume, and so the paparazzi latched onto him like fish to a specially juicy bait.
The magazine he’d brought in featured a detailed article about Ground Zero’s ‘mystery girl’, and a list of all the stores they’d visited together. A list which, looking upon with an untrained eye, seemed suspiciously like wedding planning. The article included all the pics they’d taken while they were out, from the fabric store to the bakery and even the restaurant they’d had their lunch break at.
The media had somehow gotten it in their air-filled heads that they were together, and that Bakugou had popped the question.
But that wasn’t the most outrageous thing, oh no.
Because despite all the work and how full his schedule was, Bakugou still found time to go out on regular dates with Deku. Dates that were also caught by the same people who had been following him around for news all week. Problem was, since they had first caught sight of him with Ayame, they had assumed Deku was his side piece.
Which had said man in stitches.
“Deku-san, please don’t laugh at my misery” Ayame pleaded, voice muffled as she laid her face down on the desk. She was still embarrassed about the lunch incident and felt this was divine retribution.
Deku was laughing so hard there were tears streaming down his face, and Sero had enough hindsight to use his good arm to shoot his tape towards a chair across the room and pull it closer just in time for Deku to fall back on it, knees weak in mirth.
He gasped for air. “I-I’m so-so-so” He screeched, unable to finish his words.
Bakugou wrapped his arms around his neck and caught him in a noogie. “Shut up already, nerd, this is serious!”
“Yeah, seriously the funniest thing I’ve heard in my life!” Ashido added helpfully, laughing just as hard as Deku and falling on top of him on the chair. She held the magazine to her face as she read the article. “Local hero Ground Zero has been spotted downtown accompanied by an unknown woman, touring several specialty stores in search of what looks like decorative elements and gourmet food. They were seen as well sharing some relaxing time at a cozy restaurant while discussing what sounded like plans of a greater scope. Could this be the next step in the life of the young hero? Because at least here, in Hero Weekly HQ, we’re already hearing wedding bells!” She finished with a cheery shout resuming her cackling as Deku howled along.
While the fluff heads kept laughing while holding each other, Bakugou snatched the magazine and blew it to pieces.
“I’m surprised you’re not upset by this” Kaminari said leaning on the back of the chair while Deku finally managed to start breathing normally again.
He nodded, wiping the tears away. “I know Kacchan is not the kind to do that, and I know better that to trust tabloids” He giggled. “Besides, Kacchan doesn’t even like women”
“I don’t like anyone” Bakugou grumbled, flushing when Deku winked at him.
“I just don’t get it; how can no one know you’re already married?” Ayame asked, planning how she was going to force him to clean up the bits of magazine off the floor. “Has no one seen you two go out before?”
“I keep my ring at home, don’t want it getting scratched in fights” Bakugou shrugged.
“And we usually have our dates outside of town, in the mountains and such” Deku added. “We’ve been going out more locally since Kacchan has been so exhausted from all the planning, and I guess they just caught us now that he’s more present in their radar”
“Oh, the group chat is going nuts, though” Kaminari said, looking at his phone. Sero nodded along as he saw the disaster unfold on his own, occasionally playing some audios consisting of screaming laughter from some of them. Of course everyone from their class knew the truth and managed to put two and two together to know it was all bullshit, but that didn’t mean they’d lose the chance to laugh at Bakugou’s misery. “Todoroki even posted a selfie”
Bakugou blinked, fishing out his phone to check the chat he had blocked. There was a limit as to how many memes per minute he could stand. “It’s just him doing a thumb’s up”
“That’s like his equivalent for a keysmash”
Ayame sighed, going back to her computer to delete one by one the emails from tabloids and gossip shows requesting interviews with Ground Zero. “So, what do we do now?”
Bakugou hummed. “Nothing”
“Nothing?!”
“Yeah, the fuck are we supposed to do?” He said. “It’s not worth my time to even acknowledge these kind of shit”
“We should just ignore it and set them straight at the gala” Deku said. “All this is actually pretty funny”
“My mom has the stupid cover framed. It's how I found out” Bakugou added, showing them the photo of said framed cover his mother had texted him. He turned towards Ayame. “But, you know, if they start bothering you or you’re just uncomfortable with the attention I could like” He waved his hand around, awkwardly trying to find the words. “Do a press conference? Or whatever the fuck one does in this situations”
“Oh, that’s…very considerate sir. Thank you” She said softly, kind of touched he would be so thoughtful about it. “But it’s not necessary, it doesn’t bother me. And nothing can get crazier than your fangirls, if I’m being honest”
“Heh, yeah”
It was a bit annoying, how reporters and paparazzi would approach her on the street when she was walking home or to the store, but she had been trained by Kirishima to handle them by simply saying “no comment” here and there, and also wearing the same jacket every time she went out to make the photos worthless since they’d appear to be taken on the same day.
After Sero had recovered enough to get back to work, and with all the hero duties they still had to uphold, it fell on her and Deku to take care of setting up everything for the gala. They’d spend the day at the chosen venue, helping set up the place and discuss guest lists and seating and just overseeing everything was on schedule.
“So, are you bringing someone as plus one, Ayame-san?”
“Er, not really?” She said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I spend so much time working I don’t really have much of a social life”
“What?! Is Kacchan overworking you?!” He turned to look at her in shock, putting down the flowers he was placing on the table.
“No, of course not!” She waved her hands frantically. “I have plenty of free time, don’t worry about that” She sighed. “It’s just, my previous job was so exhausting that I just never had the energy for anything other than going home to sleep, and I guess I just got used to being on my own”
Deku hummed, going back to the flower arrangement. “Well, even if you don’t bring anyone, the ball would be a good chance to meet new people” He chuckled. “Specially now that everyone will be asking you about the whole mess with Kacchan”
“Ugh, don’t even mention it” She sighed. “Are you really okay with all this? If I had a famous partner and everyone thought he was marrying someone else…” She trailed off. “I don’t know, I guess I’d be a bit pissed about it”
Deku laughed, patting her shoulder “Yeah, that’d be the most common reaction, right? But we’ve known each other our entire lives” He set the bouquet down and moved to the next table, Ayame hot on his heels. “I like to think I know him better than anyone else, even more than his parents. And I know he would never, ever do something like what they’re accusing him of” He turned to her, grinning brightly and showing off those charming freckles of his. “Besides, when we went back home that day, he immediately started making sure I knew it was all fake; you should’ve seen him, he was so scared trying to explain everything and swearing up and down they were just lies”
She nodded slowly, trying to imagine Bakugou as worried as he described, and found she could actually see it—as long as it was in the context of his relationship. At the end of the day, he was still just a man, deeply in love with his husband.
“Everything will be just fine, you’ll see” Deku reassured her.
When the night of the gala finally came, everything went swimmingly thanks to how well organized everything was from the joint effort of the agency. Very few media outlets were actually allowed inside, all of hem thoroughly investigated by Deku to chose the ones who did actual real reporting and not just yellow press. The rest were stationed outside, trying to get pics and words from the crowd of heroes making their way inside.
The place turned out beautiful, with soft cream colored curtains draped everywhere to soften the roughness of the bare walls, matching perfectly with the peach colored flowers spread on the tables and around the room. The tables were spread evenly to leave a big enough empty space in the middle as a dance floor, and a stage was set up on the far end, in front of a glass wall that showcased the illuminated rose garden behind.
The members of the agency were by the entrance, greeting the guests as they arrived. Every time one of their old classmates arrived they would group together, dragging Bakugou in for a selfie that would go immediately to the group chat to let everyone know who was already there. They eventually went their separate ways to enjoy the party. Bakugou made a beeline for Deku, who was making Ayame company at the bar.
Bakugou sighed and wrapped his arms around his husband, burying his face in the mop of green hair to escape the crowd for a second. “I wanna go home already”
Deku ran his hand through Bakugou’s hair, rubbing his back softly. “We just have to stay a few hours, don’t worry”
“Do you want something to drink, boss?” Ayame offered, waving over the bartender. They got a few weird looks from him and other guests but they were expecting it; with the scandal the tabloids were selling, it was really funny to see them all three together so casually.
“Lemonade” Bakugou muttered. Alcohol had never been his thing.
“Oh, make that two, please” Deku added.
As Ashido and Kirishima took care of welcoming everyone with a little speech at the stage, the few members of the press that were allowed in had found where Bakugou was hiding and were encroaching in on them all at once to avoid his escape. Needless to say, they were thrilled all three protagonists of the story were in the same place.
“Ground Zero, could we get some words? What do you have to say about the rumors about your relationship?” A woman asked him, flashing her press badge while holding her phone out as recorder.
“What fucking rumors, you think I got the time for that kinda bullshit?” He said, and everything was made funnier by the fact he was still holding onto Izuku, the supposed lover, while Ayame, the supposed fiancée, was right there sipping her martini.
“Uh, that you’re having an affair with…that man? While planning your wedding to…that woman?” She said, pointing at Deku and Ayame respectively.
Bakugou stared at her for an uncomfortably long time. “This is my husband” He said flatly squeezing Deku harder and making him squeak.
The reported blinked at him, turning around to look at her fellow reporters recording as well. “B-But the photos, you two were seen in various stores that—”
“Use your brain cells for two seconds” Bakugou interrupted her. “Look around you. What does it look like we were shopping for?”
“I’m the secretary and assistant at the agency” Ayame stepped in. Bakugou had been hugging Deku tighter exponentially by the second and she worried he was going to cut all the air supply to his lungs if it kept going. “I was merely doing my job and assisting Ground Zero in the need to plan this very event”
“You guys are good journalists, that’s why you were invited. I’m sure you wouldn’t fall for gossip like that” Deku wheezed out, still not making Bakugou release him. “It’s nothing to worry about, you should go and enjoy the party”
The reporters slowly lowered their phones and recorders, looking at each other before slowly dissipating back into the crowd. Bakugou finally released his husband and Deku breathed in sharply, rubbing his ribs.
“Sorry” Bakugou muttered, nuzzling his cheek as he held his hand in a more casual contact.
“It’s fine” Deku assured him, picking up their drinks from the bartender. “Well, now that that’s taken care of, we should probably join the others”
“Hmm, in a minute, I wanna relax away from those idio—never mind, there’s Aizawa. I’m gonna go kill him real quick”
“Don’t make a mess!” Deku called after him, sipping at his drink and waving as Eraserhead grinned, bolting as he saw his ex-student approach.
“I genuinely thought that was gonna go down very differently” Ayame commented casually as she fixed the folds of her dress.
Deku nodded. “Probably. We actually practiced what to say at home. It’s why he was holding me so tight; it’s his way to keep his hands from exploding”
“Ah” She said simply. “So we could’ve all died huh”
“Aren’t I a gift”
Soon enough a group of heroes Ayame could recognize as Ingenium, Uravity and Shouto came to make small talk and ended up dragging Deku to the dance floor with them after Ayame insisted she was fine staying there for a minute longer.
She took the chance to take a seat at the counter and check her texts, messages from her old coworkers who were watching the ‘red carpet’ on TV and wanted to know what was going on inside.
“Hey, this seat taken?”
Ayame turned to look at the newcomer, shaking her head at the brunette woman who proceeded to sit down and sigh in relief, kicking off her heels to wriggle her toes.
“Thank god, these shoes were killing me” She said, picking up a menu to peruse the list of drinks.
“Yeah, that’s why I only wear these babies” Ayame said, pulling back her skirt to show her beaten up sneakers.
“Lucky you! My boss required we were full formal for this” She sighed, offering her hand in greeting. “Sorry, I’m Yuki, I work at the mayor’s office”
Ayame shook her hand, introducing herself as well. Soon enough they both had her drinks, a nice conversation, and a new number in their phones. Turns out Deku had been right.
Everything was just fine.