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“You’ve got mail!” Bakugou slams the door behind himself. He hates it when Todoroki forgets to pick up his own mail. Especially when it’s more than a letter.
He throws the box addressed to his roommate on the floor, half hoping it would break. It lands with a soft thud.
Bakugou starts unlacing his boots, listening for the familiar soft padding of Todoroki’s feet on the floor. He has such a silent way of moving, it reminds Bakugou of a—
“Wah.”
… a cat.
A cat?!
The white cat squints at him and repeats, “Wah.” Its tail is curling into an elegant ? as it observes Bakugou.
“Excuse me?!”
“There you are!” Todoroki seems to appear out of thin air. He leans down, scratches the cat’s head and picks up the box. “Hey, Bakugou.”
Did he just notice him?!
“Oi. What’s in the box?”
Todoroki rips the box open, throwing it haphazardly on the floor. “Cat bed.”
As if that explains anything. “Why?”
“For… the cat?” Todoroki blinks at him slowly, as if Bakugou was stupid.
“Since when do you have a cat?”
“Princess isn’t mine. She’s Momo’s. We’re pet sitting.”
This is officially the worst day of Bakugou’s life.
“WE?!”
“Yeah. The apartment is too small for you to avoid Princess. Unless you’re allergic.”
“You know damn well I’m not.”
Todoroki smiles a bit as he says, “Then it’s settled.” He turns on his heels and walks away. Princess trots happily after him.
“It’s NOT settled!”
Todoroki pretends not to hear him.
*
After a shower, Bakugou feels a lot more relaxed. He heads to the kitchen to find something for dinner.
Surprisingly, Todoroki’s in the kitchen, chopping something at the counter. Princess is drawing figure eights between his legs, screaming up a storm.
“I don’t appreciate this tone,” Todoroki mumbles, gently pushing the cat away with his left foot.
“Are you making dinner?” Bakugou’s stomach flutters. It’s usually him who whips up something, as his love language is about taking care of people.
“Huh?” Todoroki turns back to face him. “This is for Princess.”
Bakugou’s heart skips a beat as he notices the pink flesh of the fish on the cutting board. “Are you chopping sushi-grade salmon for the cat?”
“Yeah, duh.” Todoroki carelessly waves at the fridge. “We still have leftover fried rice. Help yourself.”
Bakugou thinks, fuck this, and moves to take a slice of salmon to himself. Todoroki’s hand moves faster than light as he slaps his away.
“Shoo!”
“You’re unbelievable!”
He didn’t even shoo at the cat!
*
Bakugou ends up eating the fried rice, grumbling all the way while the cat eats salmon.
“You’re spoiling her.”
“Yaoyorozu exclusively feeds her Norwegian salmon.”
Go figures. “It’s a cat! You think she can tell the difference?”
“I’ve never asked.” Todoroki squats and scratches the cat’s chin. “Can you tell the difference?”
“Mrrp!”
“I think that’s a yes.”
Bakugou rolls his eyes and puts his dishes into the sink. “You don’t speak cat.” He doesn’t, right?
Bakugou’s not so sure when the cat seems to follow Todoroki’s cues to answer him every time he asks. Weirdo.
Bakugou leaves them in the kitchen because he can’t watch Todoroki feed treats to the cat and make kissy noises at it.
He flops down on the couch and turns on the tv. He finds a boring channel to stare at. The only purpose it serves is to drown out the noises from the kitchen. It’s not like he’s interested. But Todoroki and his noises… Bakugou hasn’t been kissed by him. Not since the mistletoe accident. And that has been months ago.
After a while, Todoroki joins him on the couch, curling up on the other end of it. The cat follows him and finds the fluffy bed on the floor. She starts kneading at the soft edge of it immediately.
“Look, Bakugou, she loves it!”
“Pft. Yeah.”
Bakugou knows he shouldn’t ask but curiosity gets the better of him. “How much did you spend on the bed?”
Todoroki makes a noncommittal noise. He is trying to take a picture of the cat, ignoring Bakugou’s question.
“Todoroki.”
“A couple hundred.”
“How much?”
When Todoroki keeps ignoring him and starts ‘pspsps’ing at the cat instead, Bakugou gives up.
“Our lease doesn’t allow pets, Todoroki.”
“I know. Princess will only stay a couple of days.”
And yet you bought her a brand new bed, huh? “Just a couple.”
“Yes.”
“Fine.” Not that he could have said anything else. If only Todoroki wasn’t so fond of the cat…
“Wanna cuddle?”
Bakugou’s heart skips a beat. “Yes,” he breaths out, trying to keep his excitement in check. He looks at Todoroki who stares back at him, blinking slowly.
Oh.
“I was talking to the cat.”
OH.
“But you’re welcome to—”
Bakugou slams a pillow in his face. “FORGET IT!” He stomps right into his room, slamming the door.
Curse the cat, curse Todoroki and curse HIMSELF for admitting wanting to cuddle!
*
Bakugou aggressively declutters the top of his dresser. It’s too early to sleep and he needs to go out to brush his teeth anyway. But right now he wants to avoid Todoroki and his knowing eyes.
He gets half an hour to calm down when a polite knock disturbs his cleaning process.
“Go away.”
Todoroki carefully pops his head in. “I’m going to bed. I’ll have an early shift tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Goodnight.”
Todoroki waits patiently until Bakugou gathers himself and says it back. “Goodnight. Half n half.”
A little bit after tucking himself in, Bakugou feels the bed dip, and he almost gets a heart attack.
“What the fuck—”
There is a soft purring coming from the end of his bed to answer his question. Princess crawls over him, stepping on his kidney in the process, and comes to curl up in the crook of his elbow.
“Oh, wow.”
Her purring gets louder as she starts kneading Bakugou’s blanket.
“Fine, you can stay.” Only because Bakugou will never let Todoroki live this down.
In the morning, Bakugou’s already packing his lunch when Todoroki emerges from his bedroom, yawning. The cat trots next to him, excitedly. Probably expecting her breakfast from him. When Bakugou left her, she was deep asleep on his pillow. Furry asshole.
“Did you sleep well, Princess?”
“Yes, thanks for asking.”
Bakugou blinks at Todoroki who looks back with open shock. “Oh.”
Bakugou smirks at him, a shark smelling blood in the water. “Good to know.”
Todoroki clears his throat and proceeds to ignore Bakugou.
Maybe catsitting isn’t that horrible, Bakugou thinks to himself, smugly filing away the way Todoroki’s blush doesn’t go away for long.