Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The thick smoke stretched high into the air, the heat from the massive crater left on the ground still feeling like the center of an oven.

Firefighters quickly arrived on the scene as soon as the chaos had stopped, beginning to put out the fires left behind by the battle. The police were already on the scene, preparing the Iron Maiden to transport the fallen Villain, while a number of Sidekicks aided them to shackle the man, treating the destructive criminal with the utmost caution, even when he was clearly knocked out.

The dreaded Destruction Secretary: Bang Bang Big Elbow, one of Japan's most wanted Villains, had finally been taken down. Helicopters buzzed around the area, the media rushing the scene, and already doing their best to report on the breaking story. The details of what exactly had happened were still vague and all over the place, but from what little was gathered, Bang Bang had tried to use his fire Quirk to commit a heinous act of random mass murder, only to be instantly forced out of a populated area by a single kick, and landing on the rail yard where the rest of the battle took place.

Eyewitnesses reported two green-colored blurs, which made it pretty obvious who had been the ones to act so quickly and expertly in taking down the Villain.

"Eugh..." Kamiji Moe (AKA: Burnin') frowned as she saw the sea of gathered journalists, "Let's take the getaway route."

"Really?" Midoriya Izuku (AKA: Deku) looked down at the woman he carried in his arms, casually stepping out of the burning crater, "That's a new one. Since when do you shy away from the cameras?" he gave a light, teasing chuckle.

It was no surprise that Japan's fastest-rising Hero Team was behind such a speedy take down of one the most feared Villains of the modern era. One of the most promising Sidekicks to have come out of Endeavor's Hero Agency, it came as a bit of a surprise some when he was followed by Burnin', a veteran Sidekick under Endeavor, to join him as Deku bust out on his own.

But Moe just huffed, "Since I noticed she's in the crowd!" she glared into the distance, getting Izuku to raise his head and try to spot whatever it was she was trying so hard to set on fire with her gaze.

When he spotted the bright yellow jumpsuit in the crowd, he could piece it together. "Oniru-san? Since when do you have a problem with her?"

"Since she started making goo-goo eyes at you, that's when!" Moe snarled as quietly as she could bring herself to, not wanting to risk having a reporter with a hearing enhancement Quirk to catch that. "Stupid banana raincoat wearin' bi-"

"Hey, c'mon! There's no need for that!" Izuku interrupted just as they reached the top of the crater, "And Oniru-san's never made any 'goo-goo' eyes at me."

"Oh, she so does! You just don't notice that kinda thing; you're too oblivious!" she lightly jabbed her elbow against his chest, "Now, c'mon. Let's get outta here; getaway route, remember?"

Izuku just sighed, "Yes, ma'am." before his feet left the ground, a short hover quickly turning into flight, and the heroic duo left the scene without giving anyone a chance for an interview.

The flight didn't last for very long, Izuku finding a quiet street to land upon where the media hounds would (hopefully) not think to look for them. There wasn't really a perfect escape route; if he stuck to the sky then it was more difficult for someone to reach them, but they stuck out as a pair of flying objects; walking on foot was sometimes better, and with some prep-work, they could even vanish into the crowd sometimes, but given how they were both in their Hero suits (tattered and charred as they may be), they weren't vanishing anywhere. Better to just try their luck this way, and hope they only have to deal with fans asking for photos and autographs.

"Mrhh..." Moe grunted, "So much for that idea..."

"W-Well, on the bright side, it's only the first day, right?" Izuku tried to find the silver lining, as usual. "We've got two more days off, so what are the odds of another Villains interrupting our dinner again?"

"See, the fact ya just asked that question has already made the odds go way up!" she pouted at him.

"Th-That's not true..."

"Sure it is! Every time ya say 'what are the odds', then you're just making it more likely it'll happen!"

"You're watching way too many sitcoms."

"Nuh-uh! This is straight from my grandma's wealth of knowledge!" she argued while pointing at him, squishing the tip of his nose with her finger, "And I ain't gonna stand here and let you question Grandma Kamiji like this!"

"You aren't exactly standing..."

Moe's expression flattened. "Yeah, well, I didn't ask you to carry me! I could walk all by myself, y'know!"

"So you want me to put you down?"

"...I didn't say that." she quickly answered. "I'm just letting you know, I could walk on my own. If I wanted to."

"I know you could." Izuku gave her a small smile, but she could see through it.

She frowned slightly. She hated it when he tried to hide what he was feeling just so she wouldn't worry. "...I really liked that place, by the way. We should go back there someday."

"Well, we should... b-because we kinda left without paying..."

"...yeah, there's that too, but y'know, life or death Hero stuff; I'm sure they'll understand." she shifted a bit in Izuku's arms, and rested her head on his shoulder. Regulating the temperature of the crackling green flames that she called her hairstyle was one of the very first things she had to learn to do, and she could easily make it so they were no more dangerous than a heated pillow. It had never stopped people from being afraid, and she couldn't exactly blame them. The thought did come to her some days, that if she just slips for a second or two, she might lose control of it. That's the thing about fire; as much as you manage to control it, it only takes one slip up for it to run wild.

Endeavor's agency had over thirty Sidekicks, so it's not like their paths crossed all that much, at first. There was always something to do, always someone closer by to help them out. She'd tease him as the new kid every now and then when they crossed paths, but that was about the extent of their interactions. She didn't really think much about Izuku until that day. A small gang of criminals had gone on a carjacking spree, and they were proving more slippery than she initially thought. Working together with the police, the Endeavor agency managed to set up a trap for them, but one of the criminals had a Quirk that allowed her to boost the potency of any car she drove, and she tried to power through despite being surrounded on all sides. Naturally, that meant trying to run over someone for her escape. And that someone was her.

The car never hit her, obviously, and the criminal didn't get very far before Endeavor stopped her. As for herself, while she prided herself on her agility and expert reflexes... well, a supped-up car bum-rushing you can be a tricky thing to dodge when you aren't expecting it. She avoided a nasty injury at best, because Izuku jumped in to save her. He jumped in, and that's always stuck to her. By the end, he was carrying her, just like he was today. He could've grabbed her arm, or better yet, used that Blackwhip of his to just yank her out of dodge, and not get anywhere near her. But he jumped in.

At first she chalked it up to it being a spur of the moment thing, but over time, she learned that wasn't it. He simply wasn't afraid of her Quirk. Or, no, better yet... he trusted her unconditionally that she could keep it under control.

"...thank you."

Moe blinked, "Hm?"

"You saved my butt back there, when you threw your fire at Bang Bang's eyes."

"Oh-!" Moe stuck out her tongue with a raspberry, "Geez, like ya have to even mention that! We're a team, so we cover our blind spots. It's just what happens."

"I-I know, but... still..."

"...you're upset."

"N-No, I'm-"

"Deku, you're a horrible liar." she jabbed her elbow on his chest again.

"Y-...Yeah... I just wanted this night to be special..."

"It was special."

"Was it, though...?"

Moe stared flatly up at Izuku. "...are you really gonna make me say it?"

"...well..." he added with a subtle, yet sly, smirk. "It might help make me feel less upset...?"

Moe's cheeks puffed slightly with a pout, while they turned a faint hint of pink. "...everym'mentwidyouisspeshul..." she very quickly mumbled.

This brought a much more normal smile to Izuku's face. "Every moment is special with you too."

Moe stuck out her tongue, taking her rightful resting spot on Izuku's shoulder again. "...wait, what time's it?" she quickly reached at one of Izuku's many pouches, pulling out the reinforced phone he carried around with him. "Huh... past midnight already." she shifted in Izuku's arms again, lifting her head up to plant a quick kiss over his lips. "Happy anniversary, Izuku."

Izuku quickly took the opportunity before she settled back into his arms to return her kiss. "Happy anniversary, Moe."

Chapter Text

The early rays of the Sun made their presence known above her closed eyelids. Despite assumptions to the contrary, Moe often wanted to eat the Sun and stop it from waking her up. When working under Endeavor's agency, every Sidekick had to work under his schedule, and that meant already being wide awake and fully dressed at the crack of dawn, every single day.

Moe could do that, of course. She could sleep for four hours, and still be wide awake and attentive for the rest of the day. But just because she could, that didn't mean she liked it. She still did it, of course; working with Izuku wasn't nearly as strict as being Endeavor's Sidekick, but old habits died hard. They were both living out their dreams, and if they wanted to be the best damn Heroes they could be, then they would follow much of the same principles: early to rise, no bed until you've worked your ass off.

But one rare days like these, where they finally took some time off for themselves, Moe just turned off the section of her brain that told her she needed to wake up before sunrise, and allowed herself to be a little lazy and sleep for a few extra hours. Or she would, if it weren't for that rotten Sun.

With a quiet grumble, Moe began stirring awake, quietly cursing herself for not remembering to close the shutters last night. She slowly opened her eyes, noticing her usual pillow had shifted positions. She liked using Izuku's shoulder to rest her head, but right now, she had her head over his pectoral. Izuku was already awake, and had tried to straighten himself up in bed, but only got so far.

"You're gonna kill your spine by lyin' like that..." she mumbled, shifting her head only slightly, enough to glance at his face. Izuku blinked, looking away from his phone to give her that gentle smile he always had in the morning. Seriously, it was like he had a unique smile for every single occasion. She'd often joked about him having a secret smile notebook stashed away somewhere, and he has yet to confirm it, but he hasn't denied it either.

"I-I know, but I was worried I'd wake you up." of course that was his answer.

"Well, the Sun handled that for you, so-" she lifted her head off of him, nudging his side with her hand to get him to find a better posture for himself. With a bit of help from (actual) pillows, he was finally in a position that wasn't coiling his back, and Moe let herself drop back down to rest her head over his chest. "Muuuuuuch better...~"

Izuku blinked, but quickly realized: "So, what, my shoulder isn't good enough anymore?"

"Nope." Moe said. "You've introduced me to a superior pillow, so you got nobody to blame but yourself."

He sighed, but with a gentle chuckle, quickly placing a hand over her wild hair, gently petting the top of her head. His phone buzzed, urging him to look back at the screen with a slight frown on his face.

"Whozzit?"

"It's, uh... it's Hatsume-san. She says 'happy anniversary'."

"I'm surprised she even remembered that." Moe chuckled a bit.

"No, she did... a-after the first twenty one or so messages..."

Moe let out a short hum. "...and these messages... they wouldn't happen to involve anything that'd get in the way of our special day, would they?"

"N-No! Of course not!" Izuku immediately answered, but... "...i-it should only take an hour, a-at max..."

Moe's expression flattened, before she shifted her position, rolling her body so she could rest her chin over Izuku's chest, and stare directly up at his face with a dangerously muted look on hers. "And you told her that even one hour away- which, for Hatsume Mei, that could mean three -from our anniversary would still be too much. Right?"

"..."

"..."

"...n-...not in those exact words..."

"..."

"Y-You're right, I-I'll just tell her it'll have to wait, a-and that today is all about-"

"Izuku." she flatly said, getting him to freeze. "...it's OK."

"But-"

"I mean it." she let a smile return to her face. "If Mei says she needs ya, then I trust it's because she has a good reason for it. It's better to just get it over with." she raised her hand, holding up one pointy and sharp finger. "But that's one hour. Tops."

"D-Deal." he sighed, wrapping his arms around her to hold her close. "Thank you..."

"You're welcome." she chuckled again.

"Hatsume-san won't actually need me until after lunch, so we've still got a whole morning to ourselves." he looked back down at her, "I can make us breakfast."

"Oooh, that'd be-" she stopped, "Ah... crap. With what, though? We didn't get any groceries this week!"

Izuku blinked, his shoulders slumping as he remembered that. "R-Right..." but he quickly got an idea, "Well, I can just head to the convenience store. Won't take more than a few minutes."

"Alright, I'll go with."

"You sure?" he asked, "You can stay here and rest some more, if you want."

"It's fine; I'll still be resting."

"...?"

"Because you're gonna carry me."

"W-..." he blinked, "What, you mean... a-all the way there?"

"Oh, not just till there!" she corrected, "You're gonna carry me from this bed, to the convenience store, into the convenience store, then all the way back, and set me back down on this little slice of heaven." she grinned at him, "I'd say that's a small price to pay for leaving me aaaaaaall aloooone for one full hour, wouldn't you~?"

Well, he brought that one on himself, didn't he. "Fair enough..." his arms changed their position, snaking beneath her to suddenly lift her off the bed and onto his lap, her arms instinctively wrapping around him with a giggle. With one more heave, Izuku got to his feet, and only then realized: "Wait, so... how are you getting dressed like this?"

"...I think you mean, how are you gonna dress me~"

Izuku didn't falter in the slightest, refusing to do so now that he held Moe in his arms. But the blush that made its way onto his cheeks betrayed any attempt at playing it cool. "F-...Fair enough."

------

"Oh! We need that too!" Moe reached out to grab at two bags of extra-spicy potato chips, adding it to the small pile of snacks she was stocking up over her stomach. Trying to carry her as well as a shopping basket would have been pretty awkward for Izuku, so she compromised with him that she would pick the groceries, and hold them for him. They ended up taking a bit longer than planned to actually leave the apartment, so the streets weren't quite as deserted as they expected, but Moe didn't really care. Let the world stare all it wants; if they knew what it was like to be nestled in Izuku's arms, they'd be eating themselves out of jealousy!

"Moe, we were supposed to get stuff for breakfast; all you're getting are snacks."

"Snacks can be breakfast." she quickly said, "It's an American breakfast!"

"I have my doubts about that..."

"It's true!" she argued, "They even have candy for breakfast! I saw it on the internet!"

Izuku sighed, but chuckled quietly, "Alright, alright. I believe you, but I'd still like to be able to cook something for you, you know?"

Moe hummed as she looked around the small convenience store, trying to think of what she would- "Eggs."

"...?"

She pointed over at the right section, "I want eggs."

"But you have eggs every morning; are you sure you don't want something more-"

"I wish for eggs."

"I get that, but-"

"I hunger for eggs!"

"O-OK, OK, eggs it is." Izuku relented as he headed towards the eggs, already listing in his brain what he could do that seemed anniversary-breakfast-worthy with them. "Why do you eat so much eggs anyway?"

Moe blinked, looking up at him. "I never told you?" he just shook his head in response, "Well, growing up with my grandparents, we didn't have a lot of money, so they tried to be as self-sufficient as they could. Grandpa had a small chicken coop, so eggs were on the table pretty much every day, one way or another. You'd think I'd get sick of them eventually, but nope." once they reached the eggs, she reached up to grab a carton of six, "It's still the best way to start the day off for me. They help out with my Quirk, since I need the energy to keep my fire strong; they're tasty and versatile, so I'm never out of options, whether I want something simple or fancy; and... well, I guess in some way, they remind me of my grandparents, so it makes me feel happy, I guess." she looked back up at Izuku, seeing this big smile on his face. Her cheeks quickly reddened, "W-What are you smiling about..."

He chuckled. "S-Sorry, I just wasn't expecting such a cute answer."

"M'notcute..." she quickly grunted as her face grew more red, much to Izuku's further amusement.

"A-Anyway, when was the last time you visited your grandparents?"

She sighed, "Not sure... it was around the start of the year, so... well over six months ago, I'd say."

Izuku hummed in thought, heading towards another section of the store to get some spices. "Well, how about we plan a trip there? Surprise them with a visit!"

Moe blinked, but quickly grinned at the idea, "That'd be great! I bet they'd love that! Though I should warn you, if you're gonna be spending time under the Kamiji household roof, you're gonna see a whole different side of my grandparents than when they come to visit." she let out a light snort. "Prepare yourself for a lot of questions about when you plan on tying the proverbial knot~"

A light squeak left Izuku's throat as a chill rushed up his spine, much to Moe's amusement. "I-...I-I'll make sure to remember that..."

Chapter Text

Half past noon, Moe sipping on her coffee as she stared at the clock on the wall of the coffee shop.

"I should probably get going..." Izuku looked down at his wristwatch, standing up from their booth while quickly finishing up his own beverage. "I'll text you when I get there, OK?"

Moe let out a light snort. "What, you think I'm gonna get worried you got lost on the way to Mei's?" she taunted. "Don't you worry about me; worry about making sure you don't go over those sixty minutes I gave ya~"

"R-Right..." he chuckled, quickly leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "I'll see you soon."

"Don't let Mei talk you into cybernetic eyes." she watched him as he quickly left the coffee shop, letting out a sigh as soon as he was gone. Focusing back on her coffee, now she had to think about what to do for the next hour. Maybe stop by the library; she'd probably find something of interest to read, or something.

However, her planning was put aside for now, Moe's keenly trained Hero intuition picking up the indisputable fact that she was being watched. She didn't have to search for very long, the person doing so not actually trying to be subtle about: a head of light, slightly curly hair, and two curved ram horns poking out from it stared at her from across the coffee shop with two sleepy-looking eyes.

"...oh!" Moe's smile widened, "Hey! Onemu-chan! Long time no see!"

Shinya Onemu, Sidekick to the Pro Hero Ingenium and Moe's old classmate, stood up from her seat to walk over after being acknowledged. "Hello, Kamiji-san. It has been... a while..." the woman paused for a short yawn.

"Well, don't just stand there, have a seat!" Moe invited, motioning to the empty side of the booth. "How long's it been! A year?"

"Just about... nine months, to be more exact..." Onemu answered with another yawn. "That was during the Sable Shamrock Incident..."

"Right, right! Geez, that whole thing was wild... who just steals a piece of the Stonehenge like that, and tries to smuggle it to Japan!"

"The drive of Villains... will lead them to accomplish anything..." Onemu answered. "At least our actions were swift enough... before any harm was done to such a priceless artifact of... History..."

"I still have no idea what the plan for it even was, but..." Moe shrugged, "Some people just have crazy ideas, I guess. Anyway, enough about that!" she grinned at the other woman, "How've you been! Tell me, tell me!"

"There isn't much to tell..." she quietly yawned again. "I take great care... in keeping my life as stable as possible..."

Moe nodded her head. "So ya still live in the same apartment?"

"Correct."

"And ya still have the exact same morning routine?"

"Correct."

"So that means ya still have a big crush on Iida-kun, ri-" Moe was silenced by Onemu reaching over the table, and literally grabbing with her hand over Moe's mouth. Not that it stopped her from having the smuggest grin possible despite it.

"...please mind your words, Kamiji-san..." she released Moe's face, setting back down on her seat, her sleepy look betrayed by the pale-pink blush growing on her cheeks.

Moe couldn't help but snicker at the sight of the cool-and-in-control former class president in a rare state of being anything but. "Hey, I'm just saying, a little instability on that front would do ya good! The longer you wait, the smaller the window of opportunity will get."

"What makes you so confident I even want... such an opportunity..." Onemu quietly sighed. "Just because I harbor... these... feelings... it does not mean I need to act on them..."

Moe raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I guess you don't need to, or anything, but... why wouldn't you? I think you two would make a lovely pair~"

"...it would be... indecent..."

"..." Moe's expression flattened, a small frown beginning to form. "Says who?"

Onemu sighed again, her head bowing lower. "Kamiji-san, he is my boss... the younger brother of my former boss... you know how much... unwanted attention relationships between Sidekicks and... their employers get... add onto that the... noticeable age difference... and-"

"Nah, still don't hear a reason not to do it." Moe shrugged, much to Onemu's slight exasperation.

"The point that I am... trying to make is... it would be more than a 'little instability' that I would need to... contend with..."

"So?" Moe again shrugged her shoulders. "You know how fickle these things are; they'll forget all about it in three months or so. Or maybe...~" she gained a wide grin, leaning forward over the table, "They don't even need to find out~! A secret romance between Hero and Sidekick~!"

Onemu's otherwise-sleepy expression was the one to flatten this time. "Kamiji-san, please... take this seriously..."

"I'm totally serious!" she huffed. "You're the one overthinking things, and making them more complicated! I mean, just take me, for example! I didn't think twice about going out with Izuku, and we're doing great! I took that leap instead of freezing up worrying about it! It does pay off, y'know?"

The smaller woman didn't seem to be fully convinced yet, but the fact she wasn't trying to argue told Moe she was slowly punching past those walls of her. "...how did you two handle it...?"

Moe blinked, but her answer was simple enough. "We had each other. Nothing trickier than that." she grinned at her old friend. "Granted, our situations were a bit different, since we were both Sidekicks and all, but it's not like there's never been cases of a Hero dating or marrying a Sidekick before! Sure, it's the talk of the town at first, but people move on."

A low hum left Onemu, and Moa could feel her defenses softening. "...well, this may indeed be me... worrying over nothing..." another quiet yawn. "...it's not as if... I know for certain Iida-san would-"

"Oh, he would~"

A brief look of disbelief crossed over Onemu's face. "And what makes you so... certain...? Iida-san is... devoted to his duties... studious, and... focused... I have never seen him pay any attention... to matters of romance towards anybody..."

Moe slowly nodded her head, but still grinned smugly. "I could've told you the exact same thing about Izuku, ya know? See, passionate guys like ours, they're deeper than we give them credit at first. You take one look at them, and you think 'damn, this guy's life is strictly Heroics, isn't it', but the truth is, nobody's life is like that! Not without going at least kinda crazy, which I don't think Iida-kun's gotten there yet. You just gotta peel back some layers, and find out more about the person beneath the costume, y'feel me?"

The look on Onemu's face told her she did not, in fact, feel her, the horned Hero looking more confused than Me had ever seen her.

"...l-look..." she tried to simplify things as best she could, "You're never going to know unless you try. That's the short of it. If you're worried about your productivity being compromised in case he rejects you, just think how badly it's going to hurt if he finds someone else first! That'll definitely have an effect on you, no matter what you may think. But if he says yes? Then you'll have one another for support. That's the beauty of relationships: you don't have to go through hardships on your own anymore."

Moe carefully studied Onemu's expression, watching it roll through several different emotions and internal debates in the span of twelve seconds or so. "...I will... think about it..."

Mission success! "That's a good start~"

"I really envy you, Kamiji-san..."

"Huh?"

"In a way, I... think I always have..." Onemu sighed, "Even when we were... students... you were always so confident and sure of yourself... even when it got you into trouble, with teachers... or other students, you... never let that slow you down..."

"Hey now, I'm pretty flattered, but I think you ought to know..." her grin softened into a more earnest smile. "I felt pretty jealous of that smarty head-firmly-set-on-her-shoulders personality of yours too! Everyone trusts you, and that's always a good thing to have no matter what."

"Thank you, Kamiji-san..." a small but genuine smile appeared on Onemu's face. "I wonder... is that also what drew you... towards Midoriya-san...?"

Moe blinked, taking a short moment to think, but ultimately letting out an amused snort. "Weeeelll... Izuku's... complicated!" Onemu tilted her head in confusion. "L-Let's just say... he's a little from column A, and a little from column B~"