Work Text:
If Keigo had any concept of how upscale the restaurant was when Endeavor had invited him, he would have dressed up more. However, that wasn't to say he hadn't already agonized over what to wear. Keigo had, despite telling himself repeatedly that this was for work, and distinctly not a date. Why else would Endeavor invite him, anyway?
The hostess eyed Keigo doubtfully when he entered, and he can't say that he blamed her. His clothes weren't shabby by any means, but he made the unfortunate decision to wear jeans. Even from a distance, Keigo couldn't fool anyone into believing they were anything but. They were blue and cuffed at the bottom, but at least he wasn't wearing sneakers. His shirt was a short sleeve button down, solid black on the left half, which split into a white monochrome pattern on the right. He looked apt to be interning at a tech company rather than dining at a gourmet restaurant with the Number One Hero. If the hostess recognized him as Hawks, she made no indication.
"Do you have a reservation?" She asked, the question pointed. Keigo just smiled and nodded.
"Yep. Should be under... Todoroki?"
Her smile was tight, disbelieving, but regardless she humored him and clicked through her computer. Realization seemed to dawn on her as an embarrassed flush rose crept up from her neck.
"Your table is right this way," she said, tone almost apologetic as she led him through the restaurant. While no one looked up from their seats or even seemed to notice him, Keigo still felt awkward for underdressing, more so once Endeavor came into sight.
Their table, dimly lit and tucked against a wall of windows, was relatively secluded from the other patrons clustered near the restaurant's center. The hostess left after a moment, and Keigo seated himself across from Endeavor.
Endeavor wasn't dressed elegantly, but he seemed to get the memo more than Keigo had. He wore black slacks and a long-sleeved dark blue pinstriped button-down. He looked good, really good. Keigo tried not to stare long, though probably failed. He ogled Endeavor's face the most, though. Without the flames he used as a pseudo-mask, Keigo was able to relish in his strong features and sharp jawline.
"Did you find the place alright?" Endeavor asked, breaking the spell Keigo found himself trapped under.
Endeavor's gaze seemed to linger on Keigo's shirt. The winged hero couldn't help but feel a new wave of embarrassment, though he opted to not acknowledge it.
"Yeah, it was no problem," Keigo said, fiddling with his ice water. "Sorry for being kinda late." Which was ironic, considering how much he prided himself on his speed. The humor of it wasn't lost on Endeavor, who cracked a smile. Keigo tried to ignore the sense of pride the small accomplishment gave him.
"Don't worry about it. I just got here myself." Endeavor assured.
There was a pause, but not for long.
"So, Endeavor --"
"You don't have to call me that, you know."
"Uh… right. Todoroki," he began again.
"Call me Enji," he insisted, all too sincere.
"Okay. Enji," he conceded, "What's the occasion?"
Endea -- Enji's nose scrunched at the question before he broke into a soft chuckle. Keigo thought it was endearing, more so than he should have. Although he didn't get the joke, Keigo smiled along anyway.
"You're in town. Isn't that reason enough?"
The comment made Keigo's heart flutter and his head spin. Although his thoughts swirled around his mind faster than he could process them, he found himself at a complete loss for words.
"Oh,"
Keigo sounded far less dumbfounded than he actually felt.
They fell into an awkward quiet, though both busied themselves by studying their respective menus.
Eventually, Enji cleared his throat. "The foie gras looks good," he said, breaking the lull.
Keigo hummed in agreement, even though he had no idea what Enji just said. Hero work gave him little free time, and he usually ate takeout from cheap chains on his way home. He didn't know the last time he actually sat down and ate somewhere, even at a place half as fancy. The foreign menu didn't help.
"I might get the, uh..." Golden eyes scanned for something even vaguely familiar. "Chicken osso buco?" It was more of a question than a statement. To be honest, Keigo wasn't even sure he pronounced it right, but Enji didn't correct him.
Thankfully, it wasn't much later that their waitress arrived and introduced herself. "My name is Yuuki, and I'll be your server tonight. Thanks so much for joining us -- do either of you have any questions about the menu?"
Enji disagreed, and Keigo shook his head with the confidence of the chef themself.
"Perfect. What can I get you to drink?" She asked. Keigo blinked, suddenly struck with the realization that he hadn't even looked . Luckily for him, she pivoted to Enji first. Blue eyes glanced idly at the drink menu before Enji ordered a glass of white wine by some brand Keigo had never even heard of.
She turned to him next, and Keigo had never been more thankful that he'd gone second. He felt completely out of his depth, but fake it until you make it, right? "I'll have a glass too." He said, sounding so sure it was as if he'd picked the grapes himself.
"Excellent choice! I'll get that out in just a moment." Yuuki assured, taking their drink menus with her as she disappeared in the direction of what Keigo assumed to be the kitchen. She returned only moments later, pouring their glasses at the table.
"Are either of you ready to order?" She asked, arms folded politely behind her. Keigo glanced up to Enji, uncertain. He gave Keigo a small nod, and that was enough of a go-ahead for him to proceed. Keigo ordered that chicken-whatever he mentioned earlier, whereas Enji got some French-sounding steak dish. No surprise, but Keigo had no idea what it was either.
When Yuuki took their menus and left, they were once again left in an awkward quiet. Enji was the one to break it, this time.
"How's... work been?" He broached.
"It's been good," Keigo said. He took a sip of his water and began to elaborate.
He began explaining how he stopped the sale of stolen artwork after an elaborate theft. It wasn't a high-stakes crime or anything, but the hilarity of errors that ensued in trying to catch the perpetrators made for a fun story. The sellers were outed on pure accident, the police's stakeout was almost ruined, and the detectives posing as buyers were caught. Keigo had burst into the hotel room through the balcony door, having to deviate from the plan once it was clear the detectives were in trouble. He would never forget the look on the thieves' faces when they realized they were trapped.
The story was a fairly long one, especially since Keigo kept going off on small tangents about obscure details. He found himself telling it for a while, even up until their food arrived, but at least Enji seemed interested. He would sip his wine and nod along, prompting Keigo with a question wherever he deemed it fit.
Keigo drew the story to a close when Yuuki brought over their dinner. He didn't know what he expected his food to look like, but he admittedly was pleasantly surprised to find a plate of orzo pasta with chicken and vegetables. He thanked their waitress as she set his plate down, turning back to Enji once she'd left.
"Anyway, that was probably the most exciting thing to happen to me in a while," Keigo said with a soft laugh, already beginning to pick away at his food. Enji cracked another smile. "I don't have any recent stories close to topping that." He admitted.
"Don't tell me that Number One's too busy pushing papers to stop a bad guy now and again?"
Enji snorted, not dignifying him with a response as he started eating.
"C'mon." Keigo insisted between bites. "A story doesn't have to be better, just entertaining."
Enji seemed to think for a few moments. "Do you remember the yakuza group Yamaguchi-gumi?"
Keigo shook his head as he chewed.
"Well, they were Japan's largest yakuza group before they dissolved. All Might gets a lot of credit for making organized crime obsolete, but I used to be on a task force to fight against organized crime. I actually was there when they arrested the leader." He started.
"What? " Keigo asked incredulously. "I don't remember any of this happening."
Enji hummed. "It was about... eighteen years ago?" He estimated.
Keigo did the math for all of a millisecond. He was five when this had happened, no wonder it didn't ring a bell. He opted not to rub that in and allowed Enji to continue without interruption.
It was a story, alright. Not as funny as Keigo's, but entertaining nonetheless. He was purely enraptured, hanging onto each word as Enji explained how they unraveled the global drug and arms smuggling ring, and how the yakuza leader had fled to Hawaii when he caught wind the police were planning on an arrest.
"So, then what happened?" Keigo prompted, dinner long-finished as he sipped his wine.
"Well, they were arrested." Enji deadpanned.
"Duh. You started the story with that. Did they retaliate? Was there a shoot out?"
Enji paused for a moment. "No, not really. Everyone was arrested as soon as they landed."
Keigo rolled his eyes, ever the drama-queen.
Enji huffed, defensive. "I don't know how to tell a story like you do."
"No, your stories are better. You just don't know how to end one." Keigo insisted, finishing his second glass of the night.
When the check came, Enji snatched it up before Keigo could even reach for it.
"Hey!" He squawked. "I can pay for my own food."
"I invited you out," Enji insisted. "My treat."
With a sigh, Keigo relented, knowing it was a battle he wouldn't win.
They walked out of the restaurant together, conversation coming easily. In just a few hours, Keigo had spent more time with Enji than he had in the last few months. He might be slightly buzzed from the wine, but it was Enji he was drunk on.
"I had a great time." Keigo found himself saying when it seemed due time to part.
Enji's expression was uncharacteristically soft. "I did too. Can I... walk you to the station?"
Keigo laughed. "You can, but I was planning on flying back, personally."
Enji's ears went red. Embarrassed is a good look on him, Keigo thought idly.
"Right," Enji said with a soft laugh of his own. "Sorry. Old habits, I guess."
Keigo couldn't wipe the smile off his face if he wanted to.
"Have a goodnight, Enji." He said, the name still unfamiliar on his tongue. Keigo liked it, though. He liked it a lot. However, the intimacy of it wasn't lost on him.
Enji's smile melted Keigo's heart on the spot. "You too, Hawks."
Keigo lifted off the ground, nudging Enji's shoulder once they were at comparable heights. "Call me Keigo," he insisted.
Enji's smile only softened. "Goodnight, Keigo."
Keigo would be lying if he claimed not to be flustered the entire flight back to his temporary apartment. How couldn't he be? Was he overreacting? Misinterpreting things? Overreacting and misinterpreting things?
Before dinner, Keigo was sure, absolutely positive, that meeting with Enji was for work. But... Enji hadn't brought anything up to confirm that. Instead, they swapped stories while Enji paid for his meal. All while insisting Keigo use his given name. And some of Enji's comments... was he flirting?
He thought back to when Enji had asked him to go. It wasn't, "Let's get food while we talk about this case I want help with." No. Enji had asked, "Do you want to go out for dinner?" Go out. Did he mean...?
It made Keigo's head spin. It had to be too good to be true, right? There was no way. Keigo mentally kicked himself. Surely he was reading into this too much.
Upon landing, Keigo noticed unread texts from Enji.
[10:48 PM] Endeavor: Thanks for tonight. Let's do this again before you go back.
[10:48 PM] Endeavor: How about a movie?
[10:49 PM] Endeavor: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/best-date-night-movies-new-this-month
Keigo was glad he was alone in the apartment. Because he absolutely did not stare at his phone for too long, or squeal, or cheer, or fist bump the air, or spend an ungodly amount of time figuring out how to reply. He would deny all of that to his last breath. Regardless, Keigo's stomach did somersaults as his thumbs flew across the keyboard, his face beginning to ache from how wide his smile was. Maybe he could get away with these work trips more often.