Work Text:
Enji groans and rolls over in bed.
A sleepy "Morning Enji..." is mumbled into a pillow next to the redhead.
"Morning toshi..."
The heroes lay in bed for a while.
"...You sleeping in?"
"...Day off."
Toshinori raises his head from his pillow, "You're off today?"
Enji glares, "We planned this, remember? We're going to have the day to ourselves."
"....right."
The flame hero narrows his eyes when he sees the blonde looking away.
"What?"
"Um..."
"WHAT?"
"I kind of...have to be somewhere..."
Enji threw the blankets off his body, getting out of bed with an angry groan.
"It just slipped my mind!"
"You promised. You promised me that when we FINALLY got a day off, we'd spend the whole day together."
"I know! But I made the arrangement a week ago and-"
"Cancel it."
"Wha- I can't!"
"Yes you CAN Toshinori. Do you expect me to just sit here alone while you fuck around all day?"
"Well..." Toshinori rubs at the back of his neck and then an idea seems to hit him.
"Why don't you come with me!"
Enji scoffs, "No way. I worked hard for this day off. I intend to spend it at home."
"Come on! We'll have fun! This way we really CAN spend the whole day together! And after we'll come right back here and enjoy a nice night in! What do you say?"
"No."
"Okay, how bout we arm-wrestle for it?"
"HOW ABOUT I BURN YOUR FACE OFF?!"
Toshinori sagged, "Pleeeease??? I promised I'd show up! I can't go back on my word! The symbol of peace is supposed to be a trusted figure in society! Think of the CHILDREN Enji!"
Enji ran a hand over his face. Toshinori really wanted this, and he was sure to look dejected all day if the redhead refused.
"Ugh... just...where do you have to be that's so damn important anyway?"
------------
"I don't know why I agreed to this..."
"Oh come on! Look how cute they are!" Toshinori spreads his arms wide among the many cages of the animal shelter.
"And besides, you get to go somewhere new with me!" Toshinori says, giving enji a nudge.
"You assume too much, Toshinori. You can't just entertain me so easily. It stinks in here and its too loud. Take me home!"
"Relax, Enji. Look around! Everyone's helping! They're all everyday heroes!"
"Ugh..." the redhead can't help but groan at this, he doesn't possess half the positivity and cheer that his boyfriend does.
All around them are cages, big and small, filled with various dogs that bark and yap for attention. Enji feels almost lost among the crowd of rowdy creatures.
"There are so many..."
Toshinori nodded, "and these are just the healthy ones. The dogs that are too sick are made into stew and served for lunch."
"WHAT?!"
"I'm kidding!" Toshinori says with a laugh.
Enji grunted and crossed his arms, "Hmph...I knew that. I was only humoring you."
The blonde smiles and tussles Enji's spiky hair.
"Stop that!" Enji shouts, but toshinori is already moving ahead.
"C'mon, this way."
Toshinori leads them towards the front desk, but before they even reach it, a short woman runs up to greet them.
"Toshi! Good to see you again!" She says, and toshinori smiles, broad and warm, happy to see her.
"Inko! How are you!"
Enji watches as conversation passes easily between them in something like shock, since, as it turned out, the symbol of peace was a pretty lonely guy.
He rarely went out, and he was almost never caught up with friends. What free time toshinori did find was always spent at home devoted to simple pleasures like working out, cooking, or going on walks. Some days he spent glued to his couch, re-watching anime from the 80's until Enji has to nudge him awake and take him to bed.
Enji thinks back on these memories fondly until he gets tired of feeling like a third wheel to his boyfriend and a woman he doesn't even know.
"Toshinori, who is this?"
The short woman steps away from toshinori, fixing her hair before approaching, "You must be Enji! I'm Inko, Izuku Midoriya's mother."
Enji blinks in surprise. When he looked at her now, the resemblance was striking; from her broccoli-green hair to her big emerald eyes, it seemed Midoriya was the spitting image of his mother.
Enji bows, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I've worked with your son. He's a very capable hero."
"Yes, Izuku's told me all about you." Inko said, with a lingering look that unsettled Enji, then she started walking down the hall, prompting the two heroes to follow her.
"Come on, I'll show you where we need help. I've had so much free time since Izuku moved into the dorms, I basically run this place!"
Enji looks to toshinori, "When you said you made an arrangement..."
"I found a stray on one of my patrols last week and brought it here. While I was here I ran into Inko, we started catching up and I promised that I would stop by to help on the weekend."
They pass a door that leads out to a large garden where volunteers can be seen walking happy dogs. Toshinori's head perks up as they pass it, and Inko smiles knowingly to herself.
"We've got plenty of dog walkers today, we need help cleaning up in the back."
"Aw..." Toshinori mumbles sadly.
Enji looks over, "You were really excited to walk dogs?"
"Of course! They're always so happy to see me! The poor things look so lonely in their cages and the walks are very refreshing! And the dogs remember you when you return and this one dog-"
UUUUUGH Enji groaned internally, sorry he asked. He was consistently astounded at how little it took to get his boyfriend going. Toshinori's enthusiasm is, as always, boundless.
Inko leads them to a wash room, soiled kennels and food dishes litter the room next to a water hose and some used towels.
"We've got some new arrivals coming and we really need these cleaned. Think you two can handle it?"
Enji has some choice words on his tongue, but before he can say any of them an arm is thrown around him and he's pulled next to the larger man, who gives Inko a thumbs up.
"LEAVE IT TO US!"
-------
The spray of the water hose on the plastic kennel dulls Enji's mind, he glares and soon his angry eyes begin to roam the small room with all its clutter, landing on toshinori who sits on the floor a few feet away, scrubbing at dog cages.
"Couldn't you finish all this in seconds with your super speed?"
Toshinori looked sheepish, "I actually tried that before, it wasn't very thorough. Besides, I like getting to work with you!"
Enji didn't have a response for that, he just closed his mouth and focused on the cage he was cleaning.
"Is volunteering as awful as you thought it'd be?" Toshinori said in that teasing tone he sometimes used, the overconfident smirk on his face clear in Enji's mind.
"I can do anything you can do. Don't make me out to be the villain because I wanted to enjoy a day off with my boyfriend. Or did you forget that you broke your promise to me?"
The symbol of peace went back to looking sheepish, "...yeah, I guess I did forget my promise, huh?"
Enji grunts.
"I'm sorry. I really did wanna spend the day with you, thanks for coming out with me today."
"...I wasn't about to twiddle my thumbs, waiting for you to return."
Inko pokes her head into the room.
"Hey! We need another dog walker! Toshi? You want to?"
"Oh, um..." he did want to, Enji could see it plainly, and he knew the blonde would refuse just to keep Enji company.
"Go on. I've got this."
Toshinori flashed Enji one of his smiles and dashed out the door. Enji grunts to himself. He really was spending his free time cleaning dog shit... but toshinori was happy, and that made the work easier to do.
----------
Enji stood back, looking at the cages cleaned altogether. He heard footsteps approaching the room and then Inko's voice.
"Hows it going?"
"I'm done here. Do you need help with something else?"
"Sure. You can help me give out treats." Inko says, leading Enji down the hall.
"Toshi is still walking dogs. He always has so much fun with them!"
"How often..."
"All Might used to be the best volunteer here! He hasn't shown up in a few months though..."
It was clear to Enji that the reason toshinori hasn't been volunteering recently is because he's been devoting all his free time to helping Enji build his family's new house and then getting the redhead settled into his apartment.
'Just how many sacrifices does he make for me?'
Inko led Enji to what looked like a long hallway with full-length cages lining both sides, each cage held a dog or pup that was barking for attention, jumping up against the chain link fencing which acted as cage doors.
Inko gives Enji a handful of bone-shaped dog treats.
"Here, just start passing them out."
Enji sticks a treat through the fencing and a dog eats it up quickly. He moves down the hall slowly, dispensing treats next to Inko.
"I've heard about you..."
That captured Enji's attention, it was said in a tone that spoke volumes, and when he turned Inko's eyes were on the excited canines she was feeding.
"From Izuku..."
Enji returned to the dogs in front of him.
"...But also from Toshi."
"And?"
"And I've got my eye on you."
Enji slips another treat through the fence door. He wasn't offended, he had a lot to prove.
"Did you know our boys are dating?"
"Yes. I heard it from toshi."
"So did I! Can you believe Izuku told HIM before he told me!"
Inko laughs, "Izuku really likes shoto. He says he wants him to be happy.. and that involves you. He wants things to get better between you two."
"Izuku is kind. I'm glad Shoto has someone like him."
Talking like this, Enji couldn't help but think of his children. He wonders if they're all as happy as they used to be in his dreams, laughing and eating dinner around a table together.
He pulled out his phone to look at his texts. He's sent shoto three messages in the last two weeks; asking how he's doing and if the house is holding up. No response. He's been debating sending another text, but always decides against it. He sent his family money regularly, so its not like they needed anything from him, and even if something went wrong with the house, they would likely call a professional before going to Enji for help.
Enji sighed, barely paying attention as he gives out dog treats. He wanted to do more. He wanted to prove that he's changed and that he's not a monster anymore, but he knows he'll ruin whatever progress he's made by doing that. His children were FINALLY happy, and he couldn't just show up and throw a wrench into all that.
Enji approached a cage that looked, at first glance, empty. Upon further inspection, he noticed a little lump of fur curled in on a pile of newspapers. It appeared to be a chocolate lab with a mangled left ear.
"This one's shy..." Inko says quietly, sliding open the chain link fencing which acted as a cage door. The pup turned to look at the impending figures standing at the door of his cage, his tiny tail tucking between his little legs and his good ear flattening on his head.
"Go on..." Inko motioned Enji forward, and the redhead steps into the cage. He tries to offer the little dog a treat but the poor pup is already trembling. It backed away, yipping at the redhead.
"It hates me."
"He just doesn't know you yet! You have to give him a chance!" Inko says, "Try leaving the treat on the ground."
Enji lays the treat on the floor and backs away from it. The puppy, very slowly, gets up and moves toward the treat. His sniffs it, and then eats it up, looking at enji expectantly.
"Give him another!"
Enji puts his last treat on the ground and slides it over to the little chocolate lab, who gobbles it up. By now his little tail is wagging and he starts to approach the flame hero, climbing on top of his shoe and looking up at him.
"Should I pick it up?"
Inko nods.
Enji wraps the pup in his big hands and lifts it with the upmost care. The puppy seemed calm in the flame hero's hands, looking up at the hulking man. A small smile crept its way onto Enji's face, it couldn't have been more than a slight upwards quirk of the redheads lips, but it was as unstoppable as the breeze or the coming of night.
"Why not ask Toshi if you two can adopt him?"
Enji's smile fled. "What?" He held the pup close to his chest, as if someone would take the little dog from him.
"No, I couldn't... I didn't even want to come here. I complained the whole time. I couldn't ask toshinori to adopt him just because..."
"You love him already?" Inko said, smiling a knowing smile. "Maybe Toshi will love him too! You won't know unless you try!"
Enji frowned, he felt foolish considering it, but a look down at the little dog in his arms had him mulling over the idea.
"Well?"
"I... I wouldn't know what to say..."
Inko pulls the flame hero out of the cage, "That's okay! I'll help you figure it out!"
The redhead brims with vexation as Inko pulls him down the hall, "You really want to do this? Now?"
"Yep."
"This is ridiculous..."
"That's right. We're doing it anyway."
Enji groans, inside he was staggered by just how similar toshinori and his friend were.
The pair ambles through the shelter until they're met with the unmistakable image of the number one hero's huge back. The symbol of peace was currently chatting it up with another volunteer.
Inko gives Enji a nudge and he hesitantly approaches the larger man.
"Toshinori."
All Might turns, his ocean eyes going big before he grabs the puppy from his boyfriends hands.
"Buster!"
"...What?"
"This is the stray I found last week! I call him buster because he got in a fight! He's a real scrapper!" Toshinori holds the dog in his muscled arms and scratches it behind its good ear, the little dog nuzzling him and his tail wagging madly.
"Why did you have him?"
"Enji was just telling me how much he wanted to adopt him." Inko says, Enji's neck heating when toshinori looks to him with astonishment.
"Whaaat?? Really?!"
"I- well, um... yeah... so...so what do you think?"
"YES! WE HAVE TO ADOPT HIM! IT'S PRACTICALLY FATE AT THIS POINT! HE HAS TO BE OUR FIRST DOG!"
Toshinori raises the pup high above his head and declares, "YOU'RE COMING HOME WITH US BUSTER!!"
Enji looks to the woman beside him and grumbles, "You knew he liked that puppy..."
Inko smiled, "Maybe Toshi mentioned wanting to adopt it last week..."
Enji grunts and watches Toshinori fawn over the pup. The flame hero thought to himself for a second and then pulled out his phone to snap a picture of Toshinori and their new dog. He sends the picture to shoto, captioned:
"Toshi and I adopted a puppy."
---------
The two heroes have both wound down for the evening, Enji has changed into his traditional black kimono while toshinori walks out of the bedroom wearing sweatpants, socks, and a worn all might T-shirt.
It was Enji's turn to cook dinner, he's finishing up the steak and garlic potatoes while toshinori plays with buster in the living room.
"How's dinner coming?"
"Here, try it."
Enji brings Toshinori his plate and the blonde takes a bite of his steak, doing his best not to cringe. The texture of the meat is tough, the flavor lacking, and the potatoes absolutely reeked of garlic.
"Erm- it's really good, Enji!"
The redhead glares, "You hate it."
"N-No! I like it!"
"Don't patronize me Toshinori." Enji huffs, stalking back to the kitchen with the ruined steaks in hand. Toshinori chuckles weakly and joins him.
"The steaks are just a little overcooked, I can fix them." The blonde says, grabbing some beef stock from the overhead cabinets and pouring it over the steaks.
"Of course you can..." the flame hero grumbles.
Toshinori turns to the other man, who's glaring away with his arms crossed.
"Are you upset about something?"
"...Why didn't you tell me you volunteer? "
"Oh... I dunno. It never really came up, plus I didn't think it mattered."
Enji's eyes stay trained on the kitchen floor.
"It matters because you've been giving all your free time to me, and you haven't been able to do what you like."
"Hey... I don't regret that. I mean, sure, I miss volunteering, but I also wanna spend time with you, and that's hard enough as it is. You're so busy you barely sleep."
Enji glares again, "You are every bit as busy as I am. You're always saying you want to spend time together and then you spend your free days walking dogs."
Toshinori rubs the back of his neck, "...What can I say? I just love dogs. It makes me kinda sad to think they're just sitting in a shelter feeling lonely and I'm not doing anything..."
Enji thought to himself for a second.
"Toshinori."
"Yeah?"
"From now on, when you volunteer, you're taking me with you."
"H-Huh???"
"That's right. We're not spending enough time together. Besides..."
Enji returns his gaze to the kitchen floor, "...you're always helping me, and... If you're going to be volunteering and putting in work on your days off, then... I want to be there with you."
There's a moment of silence before two large arms surround Enji and a loving kiss is pressed to his cheek.
"Tch, what's that about?"
"I was just thinking... I want to spend all my days off with you, whether we volunteer or not. I really love you, Enji."
Enji swallowed, "I..." he can feel himself getting hot, his eyes dart away and the words die in his throat. Damn it! He still can't say it! Where's his resolve?!
"...I could spend all my days off with you too."
The blonde smiles, heading for the dinner table.
"Wait!"
Toshinori turns.
"...I love you Toshi."
Once the words leave his lips, a huge weight crashes down on the redheads shoulders. He feels truly vulnerable, naked, even more so than he's ever felt being intimate with the older man. He wants to give himself to toshinori completely... and it terrifies him.
"I mean it. I... I love you Toshinori. So much. I..."
A hand on his cheek stops the flame hero mid-sentence.
"I know, Enji."
Toshinori gives Enji a chaste kiss, and just like the blondes smile, it says a lot without saying anything at all.
"C'mon, let's eat dinner."
--------
The two men dine on excellent steaks and garlic potatoes.
"Mmm, yknow, these potatoes aren't bad at all!"
"Well...don't sound so surprised. I've been practicing." Enji says, feeling a vibration from his phone. He pulled it out to see that shoto had responded to his text;
"That's cool dad."
Enji had no words. Well, he had one.
"SHOTOOOO!!!" Enji burst into flames and roared, frightening the blonde that sat across from him.
"Wah!!" Toshinori jumped, falling off his chair
"W-What is it?! What happened?!"
"Shoto responded! Look!" Enji thrusts his phone towards his boyfriend, the older man inspecting it.
"Oh my god... He called you DAD! I'll get the wine!"