Work Text:
Kirishima Eijiro had made it a point to ensure that Tamaki Amijiki never went hungry. When he started his internship at FatGum’s agency, he hadn’t expected to grow as close to Tamaki as he did, but his crush grew the longer he was around him. The anxious young man had awakened something in him to the point where he approached the idea of sharing meals with him, even asking him out onto a date. Tamaki had been flattered at first, but Mirio had encouraged it, opening their relationship so Tamaki could have two outgoing and supportive partners.
Kirishima grinned, opening up the package of meat and setting it onto the warmed pan. He had studied the best ways to go about cooking this particular cut and with the amount of butter he had on hand, mixed with the herbs and spices he had put on the meat before wrapping it up for the evening so the dry seasonings could marinate their way into the carefully cut flesh, he had to say he was outdoing himself this time with his attention to detail.
Kirishima turned down the heat, grinning to himself as he lowered the meat down onto the pan and listened to the sound of the sear on the side against the metal that made his heart jump. He had picked this specifically for Amijiki, with his quirk in mind, because he wanted him to be as strong as he could be. With the amount of ways his quirk could be used, Kirishima felt it was a waste to keep it limited to just animals.
Kirishima had returned the previous day, grinning from ear to ear with his pointed teeth showing as he told Amijiki that he had just returned from the market, even if he left out the other stops he had made along the way. It hadn’t been too hard to convince the guards to let him have what he wanted when he showed up at the prison, explaining what he planned to use it for and what he needed. He was almost beside himself at the list of inmates at the prison, all powerful quirk users that were locked up for their villainous acts and crimes against humanity. It looked like a menu of all the best cuts of meat that he could pick from at a top of the line steakhouse before being served his choice later that evening. The choices were just as extensive considering all of the villains that had broken free the years before, in the time of Shigaraki’s reign, had been pulled back into the belly of the beast and the heightened security made it even more difficult for them to escape, as well as for news to leak out of the guards taking extra cuts of money for their pound of flesh. Kirishima held the pound of thigh muscle, excited to learn just whose powers would be unlocked when Tamaki consumed it.
Kirishima did his best to conceal the real reason why he made his way to the prisons, though he wasn’t entirely sure that Tamaki would be all too upset if he found out. Eijiro was dutiful to feed him before his nightly patrols, even if Tamaki stated he didn’t have to. Suneater was always sure to take snacks along with him, but it was on the second month of cooking him his special weekly meals, for his Saturday night patrols, that he finally asked.
“Say, Ei?” Amijiki asked, his shoulders carrying the tension his voice refused to give away. “Have you been doing something to what I’m eating?”
Kirishima had thought this day would come, but he had expected it to come later on. He didn’t want to answer the question now. Amijiki had been receiving so much praise at his agency partnered with Fatgum that he was due up for some more recognition within the hero ranks. Now he was doubting himself, though that was hardly out of the normal, and Kirishima shook his head.
“What do you mean?” he asked, his voice as cool and level as it always was, with a hint of playfulness. “You know I like cooking you dinner at least one night a week so my handsome man can have a night out full up and ready to take down whatever may come by. Why do you ask?”
Tamaki opened his mouth to say something, then closed it just as quickly, as if to think over his words or at least reconsider the line of questioning. “I--- lately, and it seems to only be on Saturdays after you cook, I feel weird after I eat. I don’t know if it’s something in what you’re cooking, but it’s different and I wanted to know if you added something to it.”
Kirishima shook his head. He wasn’t technically lying. He hadn’t added anything to Amijiki’s food that he wouldn’t add normally. But the ingredients themselves he was using were what was different. He had heard about Tamaki’s daring rescue a few weeks back where he had grown stronger than he had ever been before, and he was able to lift a whole car to save the person trapped under it. The week before that, he had been able to snatch back some hostages away from the villain inside a bank, stealing them away without a second thought. The boosts only lasted for a short while, as Kirishima was only able to get about a pound of flesh each time he went, but the results were staggering when it meant that Tamaki would be getting the recognition and raises he deserved so the two of them could be close to the same level.
Kirishima’s reasoning though, was entirely selfish. He didn’t want Tamaki to be left behind or overshadowed by other heroes, even if his quirk was so unique that seeing it used in any capacity, from his clam shell shield to his hooves when he galloped to get people out of harm’s way, or his tentacles of restraint, he tended to be the center of attention. Kirishima just didn’t want him to stop being the center of attention, when he had so much more potential. Kirishima thought of his own rise and how he was climbing the ranks of fame quickly thanks to high profile team ups and cases that put him in the limelight. Tamaki, on the other hand, was more apt to shy away from anything too flashy… So Kirishima felt he was justified in ensuring that his partner kept the fame and recognition that he felt he deserved.
Kirishima leaned in toward where Tamaki sat at the dinner table, kissing the top of his head as he returned to the kitchen. “No, nothing out of the usual. You do like it right?”
Tamaki nodded and cut himself another piece.
---
A month passed before the conversation came up again. Kirishima stood there as he washed the dishes when Tamaki came up behind him. He circled his arms around Tamaki’s waist. Their arrangement had Tamaki moving between their apartments for now, but Kirishima enjoyed the extra amount of space it afforded, letting him have a work out room, that Mirio often borrowed instead of making the way to they gym. So when he stiffened at Tamaki’s touch, he pulled back from Kirishima.
“Why did you freeze like that?” he asked softly. “Not like I’m going to do anything weird.”
Eijiro shook his head, brushing his hair out of his eyes from where it had fallen over his forehead. He hadn’t bothered to spike it up on his day off, but today was when he paid attention to his partner and didn’t bother with much else beyond that.
“It’s nothing.” Eijiro laughed it off, running the plate under the warm water as he washed away the blood of yet another criminal that he had cut up for him, taking home enough for the both of them to enjoy, if he hadn’t been full from his lunch earlier in the day. “Just wasn’t expecting it.”
“You’re acting weird,” Amijiki stated, turning Eijiro around to look at him as the redhead scratched the back of his head.
“No weirder than usual, I can tell you that. Why do you think I’m acting weird?” He looked over to the fridge where the remains of the stead sat in the container in the fridge, as well as some leftover pork chops from the night before. Eijiro already had plans to cook the leftovers in the same sauce. Pork for him, and human for Amijiki. “I can’t help it that all I think about is you and how I want to cook for you. Is that weird for your boyfriend to care like that?”
“I suppose not,” Tamaki replied, growing more flustered despite initiating the conversation. “The last few months, ever since I’ve been having those weird happenings with my quirk, you’ve been off. Not in a bad way, but you seem to be watching me like I’m under a microscope. I just want to know if something is going on.”
Kirishima shook his head, lying to himself and Amijiki as he spoke. “Nothing is out of the ordinary. I just want to help you get over your weird stomach sensitivity so you can be the hero I know you are. You’re the one who showed me that I can face my fears about not being good enough, so it’s only natural for me to want to help you by keeping you fueled for your next flex. Gotta have you be as manly as me, for sure.” Kirishima flexed for effect and Tamaki laughed, anxiety seeming to melt off his body as soon as the choral sound of Eijiro’s laugh rang out through the air.
“I don’t know why I was worried.” Tamaki leaned in and Kirishima tried to stop him to remind him he would get wet if he got too close. “I have to change anyway,” he said, leaning up to kiss Kirishima now that he had surpassed him in height.
“You’re always worried about something. It’s part of your charm and part of why I love you. Why else would I want to stick around?” Kirishima flashed a toothy grin and Amijiki broke out into laughter, a more common appearance as he had gotten older.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right.”
---
Tamaki’s accomplishments became harder to explain away the longer Kirishima’s ruse went on. He could try to explain it away further, but he was growing desperate as Tamaki’s popularity shot past his own. Kirishima salted the piece of flesh, hitting it with a tenderizing mallet as he worked out his frustration. He didn’t expect Tamaki to make it into the top twenty, but there he stood, face beaming with pride as Kirishima’s picture had him sitting further down, far closer to 100 than 1. Kirishima sighed, then cut the meat into thin strips, looking over to the regular everyday pork in the freezer before taking the food in front of him and sliding it off the cutting board and into the garbage disposal.
It was all too easy to imagine a villain in the garbage disposal as he flicked the switch and watched the point of flesh disappear down the drain. It was all too easy to warm some water to thaw out the pork in the freezer and pretend he hadn’t been at the prison earlier that day picking out the piece that would enhance Tamaki to climbing further up the charts. As Kirishima finished making dinner and Tamaki came down to the kitchen, Kirishima had trouble hiding the pain behind his eyes as he felt like Tamaki was leaving him behind as he stood right in front of him.
---
Kirishima rushed to the hospital after seeing the news. He wasn’t on Tamaki’s latest emergency contact list, so when the call came in from Mirio, he wasn’t sure what to expect once he got there. He ran down the hallway, heading to the nurse’s station as he looked through the ER. His breath shook as he waited in line, looking for Mirio to show him where to go. He couldn’t see the tall blonde anywhere, so by the time it was his turn at the nurse’s station, he was thinking about everything all at once, swallowing before pulling up as much as he could to compose himself.
“Is Tamaki Amijiki here?” he asked hurriedly, and the nurse called back to his ER room, only to have Mirio come back out.
“Ei, you’re here! Yes. Yes he’s with us.” Mirio waved him back as the nurse showed him where to go, and Kirishima followed closely behind him.
As soon as he saw Tamaki, he rushed to his side, holding himself together now that he seemingly was stable thanks to the doctor’s quick actions.
“What happened?” Kirishima asked, reaching for Tamaki’s hand as Mirio’s arm laced around his side.
“We got separated. He took on more than he could handle and they managed to knock him unconscious before I got them away from him. He seems to be okay now, but he has a concussion that we’ll have to wait for some of the better quirk healers come help with. They managed to heal up a lot of the more concerning injuries.” Kirishima nodded at Mirio’s explanation, leaning back into his touch. “He said your meals always made him feel so much stronger because of the love you put into them. With his quirk malfunctioning, I think it was a matter of him not having enough of his usual snacks to keep him going,” Mirio explained, running a hand through Kirishima’s hair.
Kirishima shook his head. “He was weak because of me.”
“Nonsense,” Mirio refuted, pulling Kirishima into a strong hug. “You do everything you can for him. You know that. I know that. Everyone who knows you two knows that. So don’t beat yourself up over it. These things happen.” Mirio slackened his grip on Kirishima.
The guilt surged through Kirishima as he came to the conclusion that not feeding Tamaki something stronger, something human, something with a quirk to absorb had been his fault. By letting those important cuts of meat get washed down the garbage disposal, he had put Tamaki in danger.
“I should cook for him more often,” Kirishima stated as he focused on the floor. He brought his hand back to Tamaki’s and squeezed. He could make his way to the prisons and pick up enough to be able to keep him fueled with different quirks every day he had duty, Kirishima reasoned with himself as he formulated his plan. If Tamaki spent his time full from Kirishima’s less than ethical meals, he wouldn’t get hurt and Kirishima wouldn’t have to worry. Mirio wouldn’t have to worry. A frown graced his face. But Tamaki would also grow stronger, making it harder to deny him the higher spots higher up on the leaderboard as more heroes would retire and he could take their place in society.
“No,” Kirishima said with a twinkle in his eyes. “I have to do this for him.” He’s nothing if I can’t help him.