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Izuku is supposed to be picking up takeout on his way to Shinsou's place. And he did, one hand carrying the bag of gyudon, the other holding his phone as he checked the address again. He wasn't sure what Shinsou's apartment building looked like, and this area was unfamiliar to him, farther from the city center (which was a smart move, seeing how expensive housing was the closer to the center you got) and the opposite side of the city as his own place. From the bus stop, sprawling buildings and busy streets gave way to more humble buildings and parks.
He spots what he thinks is the right building, a plain tan complex, discreet and unassuming. As he passes by a particularly large tree next to the entrance, he hears a mewing sound. Izuku slows down, eventually retracing his steps as the sound becomes incessant.
Peering up, he tries to pick out the source of the sound from the leaves and branches. The sun, in its afternoon descent, makes it sort of hard to look up, but Izuku squints and can make out the shape perched not so high up in the tree. The cat stares down at him, looking as small as the sounds it makes.
"Hi," he calls up to it. "Are you stuck up there?" It looks pretty young and skinny, seeing how it hung from the Y shape of a dividing branch quite easily. He frowns.
"Mrow."
Izuku carefully places the bag down next to the trunk of the tree. He could jump up directly to it, but even with 5% of OFA, he would probably startle it or shake the tree enough to risk the cat falling. Wiping his hands, he grabs onto the bark, braces his foot against the base, and starts climbing up. It's not too difficult, but it's been a while since he last climbed a tree. The cat begins to mew more and more, becoming more frantic as Izuku gets closer.
"Don't worry!" He calls up to it, eventually reaching a lower branch. He pulls himself onto it, staying close to the base to not risk it breaking under his weight. After taking a moment to tie his jacket around his waist, he looks up. The cat hangs a couple of branches above him. "I don't wanna hurt you. I'm just here if you wanna come down. You want to, right? It doesn't look comfortable hanging from there." It makes a chattering sound as he reaches towards it, and Izuku pulls back, watching as the cat adjusted its grip onto the branch precariously.
"Be careful," he tells it urgently. He tries to sound softer, making kissy noises towards it. "Here, little kitty. It's gonna be okay."
Suddenly he hears another chattering sound from somewhere else, and the cat squirms around and then drops from the branch. Izuku's eyes widen. "No!" He tries to grab for it, but it lands on his branch and quickly leaps. Looking down, he watches as it lands gracefully into someone's arms.
"What are you doing up there?" Shinsou says, staring up at him. He's wearing a gym t-shirt and joggers, carrying a duffle bag in one hand. The cat curls up against his chest in the other.
Izuku places a hand on the branch he's resting on, aware of his balance. "O-Oh! Hey! Is that yours?"
Shinsou stares down at her, unable to look away, it seems. "She's a common stray around here." Izuku notes the headband he's wearing, yellow and black. "She'll pretend to be stuck in the tree until you give her food."
Izuku blinks, staring at the little devious thing in Shinsou's arms, now looking more comfortable than before. "Really?"
Shinsou nods. Izuku jumps down, but stumbles his landing, bending his knees on impact but standing up too early. "Woah!" He falls forward, only narrowing caught by Shinsou. Izuku makes sure not to crush the cat. "Sorry." He steps back, face flushing.
Shinsou doesn't respond, just adjusts the cat in his arm. He looks sort of unimpressed by him, but that look is quickly dropped. "Is that the food?" Shinsou asks, looking over at the plastic bag near the trunk.
"Uh, yeah."
"You're a little early. I was just coming back from the gym."
Izuku puts a hand behind his head. "Yeah. The buses were running early…"
Shinsou nods, and hiking the duffle bag over his shoulder, turns. "Alright. Let's go inside."
Izuku goes to pick up the bag and then falls alongside Shinsou. "Oh, is she gonna join us?" He looks at the cat's narrow, green eyes. She has white, black, and orange coloring, looking a little scuffed up with some faded pink scratches around her face. He frowns as the cat stares back at him.
They're bright, but the pupils are slits as they stare at him. "I think she won't mind."
Izuku follows behind him through the lobby and to the elevator. "Do you have a name for her?" he asks, as the doors shut.
"I try not to get attached to strays." The way Shinsou cradles her though, almost paternally, says otherwise. Izuku resists the urge to roll his eyes.
Shinsou must have showered at the gym, because Izuku catches wafts of soap and deodorant in the air of the elevator. His hair also isn't standing up all the way, some of it flopping over the edge of his headband. He tries not to stare at how the cat buries her head in the crook of his arm, looking as if she were right at home. Shinsou hasn't changed much since he last saw him, and being fresh out of school, Izuku can't really say he notices any huge changes.
Izuku can only stare at how the cat jumps out of his arms and walks breezily through the living room, disappearing around a corner.
"She seems pretty comfortable," he tells Shinsou, pulling off his shoes.
Shinsou shrugs, dropping his duffle bag into a nearby closet door. "This is the first time I've brought her in here."
He follows behind him, looking around. Seeing a can on the kitchen table, Izuku picks it up, turning it to read the brand. "What's the cat food for, then?" The apartment is sparsely decorated, with its kitchen and living room connected.
"I carry it with me."
After a pause, he says, "'You're telling me there's an underground hero out here fighting crime and feeding stray cats with top-grade cat food in his spare time?"
Shinsou plucks the can from his hands. "...Yeah, and?"
Izuku stares at the headband again, now looking really familiar. "You're so..." Izuku loses the rest of the sentence, and Shinsou looks over at him, giving an amused smile.
"Cat got your tongue?"
Izuku sighs, moving to unbag the food as Shinsou goes into his small kitchen. When he's placing the napkins out as well as the wooden chopsticks, he spots Shinsou placing a small bowl of food and a bowl of water on the ground at the edge between the living room and kitchen.
Shinsou stands back up. "Are you fine with watching a movie while we eat?"
"Sure! What do you have?"
Eventually, they settle on some B-list cheap action film and Izuku takes a seat on the couch with his food as Shinsou sets the movie up. Shinsou sits on the other end of the couch, and Izuku can't help but notice the generous space he's put between them.
It's entertaining enough, but Izuku can't help but glance over at Shinsou, who watches the movie with amusement, slipping out some comments every so often about the acting or the incredulous coincidence of events between bites. It makes Izuku smile as they argue about the realism of explosion physics and the holes in the heist plans the characters make.
About two thirds into the movie, the cat makes a reappearance, jumping on the arm of the couch next to Izuku. He holds back his yelp as she climbs onto the back of the couch, her tail curling to brush his face as she walks past. She jumps down to the cushion between him and Shinsou, flopping onto her side.
Shinsou smiles, reaching out to pet its back. After a couple of moments, she lets out a chatter, quick and loud.
Izuku stares as Shinsou makes the exact same sound back. The cat curls closer to Shinsou. "How are you doing that?"
Shinsou looks at him for a moment, then grins. "With my mouth."
Izuku narrows his eyes, wishing gyudon was the type of food you could throw at someone.
"I've never seen anyone get close to her," Shinsou continues, looking back at the movie. His hand doesn't leave the cat, though, reaching to scratch her head. "Usually, she'll take the food and bolt. But this time she just stayed in my arms."
Izuku crosses his legs onto the couch, fiddling with his chopsticks. "I guess she trusted you enough this time."
On screen, the main character is facing off against the villain, who is monologuing about money and greed. "Or maybe she thought I'd protect her from the stranger in the tree trying to grab her."
There's an explosion, and the main character jumps onto a helicopter that his second in command is flying just by the building. "Or maybe she smelled the food in the bag and thought she'd get a free meal when she jumped down," Izuku responds.
"Well, she got it."
"You should adopt her," Izuku says later, watching how easily the cat curls up to Shinsou. He's placed his bowl onto the small coffee table in front of them, entirely forgoing the ending of the movie to look at the cat. Izuku studies how Shinsou's fingers dance over the cat's back, light touches as she sleeps. So gentle and careful. "It'd be better for her to stay with you, right?"
"Maybe." Shinsou doesn't look away from her. His voice has gotten softer, maybe the dinner and the post-gym exhaustion finally getting to him. "It would be nice. I just need time to get stuff ready for her."
The cat curls onto her back, exposing her white fluffy stomach. Izuku tries to photograph in his mind the look on Shinsou's face, the creeping smile, and the softness in his eyes. "She seems smart," Izuku says, watching him. "It would be nice to have someone to come back to, at the end of the day."
Shinsou looks at him, eyebrows furrowing. "Would you want a pet?"
Izuku waves his hands in front of him, hoping his staring wasn't caught. "Ah, my apartment doesn't allow them. I wish, though."
"That's a shame. You'll have to come visit her, then."
"So you're keeping her?"
"I said that already, didn't I?"
"Ah, will you name her, then?"
"Give me some time." He studies her for a moment, a finger going to play with her ear. "Toshiko?"
Carefully, Izuku reaches over and pets the cat. She doesn't pull away, and he starts to scratch her side. He grins, heart melting as he hears her purr. "Ah, are you a Toshiko? Toshi," he tries out. "It's a cute name. A lovely little Toshi." He coos at her as she reaches to trap his hand between her paws. "Ah, Toshi, don't scratch me, please! Little, lovely Toshi."
Shinsou frowns, one hand rubbing his neck. His cheeks are tinged a little. "Okay, maybe not that. That's too close to my name."
Izuku chuckles, scratching his head. He hopes his heart isn't as loud as he thinks. He doesn't ponder about how it would feel to call Shinsou by his given name. "I guess so. Uhhh...I'm not god at naming things. I can't think of anything cute for her."
"She can just be cat for now," Shinsou murmurs. He puts a hand under his chin, starting to talk to himself and also nod off. "She'll need to get shots and an appointment too, probably. There's a vet office nearby..." He looks over, absolutely catching Izuku's stupid grin he feels on his face as he stares. Shinsou narrows his eyes, a piece of rice stuck to his cheek. "What are you looking at?"
Izuku smiles sheepishly. "Nothing really. I just can't wait to visit again."
Shinsou rolls his eyes, but there's something warm in his voice. "Yeah, me too."