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Midnight Coffee Grind

Summary:

TodoBaku Month Day 19: Coffee

Katsuki laughs. "Well, shit. Deku's got a boyfriend?" 

Todoroki rolls his eyes, aiming a weak punch at Katsuki's arm. "Unfortunately. Now I am homeless for the night." 

"Well, that makes two of us."

In which Katsuki Bakugou is locked out of his dorm room, seeks refuge in the coffee shop across campus, and somehow finds a strange comforting presence in Shouto Todoroki.

Notes:

I was gonna do barista tdbk but then i scrapped that idea entirely and wrote this instead

will i live to regret it? who knows !! but i liked this fic either way.

Enjoy <3

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Katsuki hates his roommate. 

 

It was the middle of the night and Katsuki just wanted to lie down after studying eight whole hours for his midterms. He wanted his nice comfy bed and maybe a warm shower. But no. Instead of sleeping soundly like he's supposed to, he's standing outside of his locked dorm room, trying not to kick the door down out of sheer frustration. 

 

He glares at the sock on the doorknob with more intensity than he could ever hope to muster at this godforsaken hour. Katsuki isn't sure if it's the sleep deprivation or whatever but he swears that the mere sight of that sock is mocking him. He's not a dumbass so he knows what that sock means. He wishes he could just vaporize it and maybe vaporize his roommate along with it. Maybe if he kills him, he'll finally get a decent night's sleep. 

 

Yet, the sock remains as an exasperating reminder that Katsuki is inexplicably locked out of the dorm room for who knows how long. Considering how horny Denki gets whenever his purple haired boyfriend comes into town, Katsuki predicts it could literally be the whole night. At least Denki had the decency to text him about Hitoshi visiting. Katsuki was just hoping he had a shrivel of dignity left in him to be considerate of his roommate. 

 

But that would be asking too much of him. 

 

So, now with the rest of the university dorms asleep, Katsuki had very few options. Their dorm doesn't allow sleeping in the common areas after 10PM and their library closed at 9:30. The only other place Katsuki could hang out in was the coffee shop across the street. He figures that's better than sleeping in front of a door that won't open until probably early morning so he just sighs and trudges on to his temporary haven for the night. 

 

He's lucky that the coffee shop was open 24 hours, which is good considering that it was right in front of a university. Katsuki tends to find his way here at least 2-3 times a week. Four if it's exam season. The baristas know him well but he's never been here at this hour. So, he might meet a crop of unfamiliar employees during this night shift. That didn't really matter. As long as they let him stay there and occasionally take naps throughout the night, he would be fine. 

 

Just as he approaches the entrance to the coffee shop, a familiar head of red and white walks in his direction. Katsuki stops in his tracks at the same time he does and he only looks up when he realizes someone is in front of him. 

 

"Oh!" He said, putting his hood down and looking at Katsuki with curious grey and blue eyes. "Good evening, Bakugou." 

 

"Todoroki," Katsuki greets him with a nod. They're classmates in a few courses and have got a few common friends. He wouldn't be surprised if he's here to review for their midterm the next morning. "Here for some late night studying?" 

 

Todoroki scrunched his nose up a little bit, shaking his head no. That piques Katsuki's interest a little bit but before he could ask, Todoroki counters with his own question. "What about you? You're not usually up this late." 

 

"My roommate's boyfriend is in town." 

 

Todoroki's eyes widened for a second. "So you're—" One look at Katsuki and he got it immediately. Katsuki stares at him as he lets out a light chuckle. "What a coincidence. My roommate's boyfriend is also… staying the night." 

 

Katsuki laughs. "Well, shit. Deku's got a boyfriend?" 

 

Todoroki rolls his eyes, aiming a weak punch at Katsuki's arm. "Unfortunately. Now I am homeless for the night." 

 

"Well, that makes two of us." Katsuki smirks a little, opening the door to the coffee shop up with a dramatic flourish. 

 

Todoroki stares at the open door for a moment but Katsuki just gestures for him to go in first with a condescending wink for good measure. Todoroki gives him a half-hearted glare but steps inside anyway, curtsying at him with a mocking little gleam in his eye. Katsuki just flips him off before they both go up to the counter.


"Any new messages from your roommate?" 

 

Katsuki checks his phone, knowing that all he's going to see is disappointment. "Nope. God , I should have brought a blanket." 

 

"That would have required you going into your room, which you're locked out of." 

 

"You're locked out too, halfie!" 

 

"And I don't deny it." Todoroki looks way too smug at the admission that he has been kicked out by his roommate. Katsuki isn't sure what sort of game they're competing in. "We might as well do something productive while we're here." 

 

"I've been studying all night, man. Give my brain cells room to breathe, will you?" 

 

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Todoroki took a sip from his iced black tea. Katsuki glares at him for a second, realizing that apart from their mutual friends and classes, he doesn't know that much about Todoroki. They don't usually choose to talk to each other when they're dragged to parties with their friends. Neither do they look for each other outside of class. This was probably the first real conversation they've ever had. 

 

"Favorite color?" Katsuki isn't sure what compelled him to say this but he blurts it out before he's able to stop it. Todoroki doesn't respond for a few seconds. Katsuki gets it. It's a really dumb question and the fee remaining brain cells he had were not helping the situation. "Never mind. You don't have to answer—" 

 

"Blue." 

 

It was Katsuki's turn now to just stare speechless. It takes him a few seconds before he's able to give a response. "Oh. Cool. Mine's Orange." 

 

Todoroki raises an eyebrow. "Really? That's a bright color, I'm surprised."

 

"What did you think my favorite color was?" 

 

Todoroki gives him a once over. "Black." 

 

"Is it 'cause of my clothes? You're real perceptive, aren't you?" Todoroki snorts, leaning back in his seat to just stare at Katsuki. Katsuki just looks at him pointedly. 

 

"What?" Todoroki asks, confused. 

 

"Your turn." Katsuki says simply, gesturing vaguely. This only makes Todoroki even more confused. 

 

"I don't… understand." 

 

Katsuki rolls his eyes. "God, you're hopeless. Ask me a question. Something dumb or philosophical, it doesn't matter. We're stuck together the whole night, we might as well learn a few things about each other." He goes to take a sip from his coffee, waiting for Todoroki as he seems to think hard about a question he could ask. Katsuki allows himself to stare a bit and he has to admit, his thinking face is kinda cute. 

 

Just as the thought entered his mind, Todoroki perked up and said, "This is like a date!" 

 

Katsuki almost chokes on his coffee. 

 

"I'm sorry, what?" He coughs out, trying not to let the coffee go down the wrong pipe. Todoroki just looks at him, some weird gleam of excitement in his eyes as if he discovered the holy grail. "What makes you say this is a date?" 

 

"Well, we're together in a nice place. We have drinks. We are asking questions to get to know each other more." Todoroki enumerates the obvious and Katsuki tries not to show him how much he's panicking at the moment. He did not sign up to be locked out of his dorm room, get stuck in a coffee shop for the whole night, and somehow land a date with Todoroki at the same time. A man needs to process these things. 

 

Yet it seems his distress is a little more transparent as Todoroki deflates slightly the longer Katsuki goes without speaking. "Ah. I'm sorry. I think I jumped to conclusions." 

 

"No!" Katsuki says, surprising even himself. "It's just uh…" What the hell is he supposed to say? That with all the technicalities in place, yes this was a date? But with all the technicalities in place, did he want this to be a date? It's not that he's been blind to how attractive Todoroki is. He may not have actively sought him out in parties but he would catch himself staring at him every now and then. Sometimes in class, he would look at him and wonder what he's thinking about. They're really small moments but for some reason, they've stayed in Katsuki's mind all this time. Katsuki looks at Todoroki again, at his expectant and curious heterochromatic eyes, and he thinks… okay maybe it wouldn't be so bad. 

 

"Yes," He eventually says and Todoroki tilts his head questioningly. Fuck, that was kinda cute. "It's a date." 

 

Todoroki bounced a little in his seat and it makes Katsuki wonder if he wanted this to be a date the whole time. But he's not given any room to think about that as Todoroki starts asking him questions about his major, the food he likes, and the kind of music he likes to listen to. Todoroki is surprisingly good at keeping up with the conversation and Katsuki is pleasantly surprised that they actually had a lot to talk about after all. 

 

This was nice. Like , really nice. He never thought about giving the kid with the red and white hair the time of day before but as they continue to talk about every topic under the sun, he realizes that he probably should have talked to him sooner. Once he got past the awkwardness of it all, he found that he enjoyed talking to Todoroki. He was blunt, sarcastic, and extremely intelligent but he's also clueless and dumb. It's a duality that Katsuki finds himself finding kind of attractive. 

 

Some time during their latest debate over whether or not soba noodles should be eaten hot or cold, Todoroki gets a text from his roommate. "Ah! It seems Midoriya will be going to his boyfriend's apartment this time."

 

"So your apartment is free now?" Katsuki says, somehow feeling a little disappointed that their time together is cut short. "Good. Now you get to sleep." 

 

"It seems so," Todoroki sends a quick text back before pocketing his phone. "No news from your roommate?" 

 

Katsuki shook his head no. "I would have told you if I did." 

 

"Well, would you like to go back to my place?" Todoroki asks so casually that Katsuki has to stop himself from gaping at him. "We could sleep together." 

 

Katsuki stares at Todoroki in shock, hoping against hope that Todoroki realizes what those choice of words implied. He didn't have to explain it though as Todoroki seemed to have figured it out from Katsuki's face alone. Katsuki watched his whole face turn red with embarrassment and he stuttered as he tried to explain himself. Katsuki finds himself laughing, a good, earnest laugh, and he reaches over the table to take Todoroki's hands to calm him down. 

 

But his words of comfort died in his throat too as their current position now registered in his brain. With Todoroki's still blushing face and their hands intertwined on the table, Katsuki starts to scream internally. It takes a few more seconds for both of them to regain composure, but their hands stayed joined together, neither of them thinking of letting go. 

 

"Um," Todoroki says after clearing his throat. "Would you still like to go back to my apartment? I wouldn't want you to, you know, be sleep deprived before our midterm… yeah." He ducked his head down and Katsuki couldn't help but think that was the cutest thing he's ever seen. 

 

"Sure," Katsuki responded immediately, feeling a little less embarrassed between the two of them. He squeezed Todoroki's hands a bit, smiling reassuringly. "I'll cook breakfast as a thank you." 

 

The way Todoroki's eyes lit up was something he'll remember for days to come.


From: pikachu

Bakubro!! sorry about last night :((

 

From: pikachu

ur not answering ur phone tho dude u okay

 

From: pikachu

bruuuhhh did u find like a hotel or smth to stay at? I'll have hitoshi pay u back

 

From: pikachu

okay hitoshi said he won't pay u back sorry :((

 

To: pikachu

[attached_picture] 

 

From: pikachu

what's this??? 

 

From pikachu:

why r u sending me a picture of a sock on a doorknob???

 

To pikachu:

[attached_selfie]

 

From pikachu:

IS THAT TODOROKI???

 

From: pikachu

wait…. sock….. todoroki…. 

 

From: pikachu

ARE YOU KICKING ME OUT OF OUR ROOM TONIGHT?????

 

To pikachu:

😘🖕

Notes:

Thank you once again for reading <3 You're all fantastic human beings for sticking with me until Day 19 so far !! I hope you have a wonderful day ahead of you uwu Leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed it <3

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