Work Text:
Shouto goes about his day feeling like his body has been drawn taut from head to toes. He navigates through his office on autopilot, grabs a file and rounds his desk to put it away, drags his feet across the span of floor between his chair and the locker, and retrieves his gauntlets without registering the cold metal snapping on his wrists.
There is a note on the locker’s door that he elects to ignore, because nobody is here to monitor where he goes when he’s on the job. Well, Burnin’ is the one who schedules his tasks and missions but—there is virtually no one courageous enough to go up against him and to give him orders that weren’t relayed messages from Burnin’ herself.
So Shouto ignores the note nicely asking him to fucking stay put in his desk chair, adjusts his utility belt and heads out. His legs are stiff and his shoulders are starting to ache from all the tension that’s been accumulating during the week that he has, spitefully, ignored as well. He will probably snap in half if he gets any more tense, although he thinks that his itch to scrub off his restlessness will kill him first.
Midoriya has sent him a few texts telling him to be careful and to think before he does anything. Were it only two years ago, Midoriya would have never felt bold enough to sound so dry over text (or even in person, actually), and Shouto honestly doesn’t know whether he likes this new development. Midoriya always finds a way to weave himself into his friends’ problems to reassure them, anyway. Shouto deems it unnecessary, especially with the current matter at hand, but he supposes that it’s in his nature to fuss over friends and their easy-to-fix issues.
“I’m off,” he announces to the secretary at the reception desk.
“Oh, have a good patrol,” she says with a small smile.
Shouto nods, rubbing his fingers in a vain attempt to get rid of excess stress, and walks through the agency’s doors.
His patrol area is simple. He doesn’t always use the same route, to keep monotony at bay, but months of exploring the same streets with their high buildings and trees lining the sidewalks will put him into a sort of routine. Observe the narrow alleys, be on the lookout for thieves, help the elderly and the children cross the road, say hi to the stray cat sitting on the fence, climb to the roof of a shop for vantage point, and continue watching over people who are peacefully walking from one place to another.
It’s mindless work. Patrolling alone isn’t the best activity to put a stop to intrusive thoughts, but at least he doesn’t have to deal with anyone chatting his ear off. And he usually has to catch a villain or a robber while he’s out. It makes a good and easy distraction, to work off tension.
Shouto isn’t really angry. He just feels like being petty—but he will never admit it out loud, because that would prove Katsuki right and Katsuki is insufferable when he thinks he won a fight on the basis that Shouto is simply wrong or stubborn, meaning that it invalidates whatever arguments he presented. Which in turn makes Shouto even more irritated, and act pettier in retaliation. Like Utsushimi says, that’s karma, bitch.
Karma also seems to be on his side today, since he’s offered a very nice opportunity to blast something into oblivion (or rather, to blast ice at whoever is unlucky enough to cross his path, because blasting something is more of Katsuki’s style, and right now Shouto doesn’t want to do anything Katsuki would do). There are screams reaching his ears and he sees the panicked movement of the crowd parting ways to avoid being on the villain’s road to destruction, giving Shouto a clear sight of what is happening. There’s nothing particularly threatening—just the usual villain trying to wreak havoc by unleashing a visually impressive quirk, but not harmful enough to cause worry.
“Please get to safety and follow the instructions of the heroes already on site,” Shouto tells the first relatively calm passerby he sees.
The man blinks at him, probably trying to gauge whether Shouto is suited to the task (which is a bit vexing, he’s been a pro hero for years now), before nodding and grabbing the attention of anyone within shouting range.
Satisfied, Shouto focuses back on the villain. The area has been cleared pretty quickly.
Good. His shoulders desperately need to get rid of that heaviness, and flinging ice right and left will definitely help in that department. And if he sounds like Katsuki in his own damn head, he can’t say he’s surprised.
So, perhaps Shouto didn’t need to go that hard to arrest one average villain, but at least the damage done to the streets and the buildings are easily repairable by melting the ice. The holes in the pavement are another story, though.
“Efficient work as always, Shouto!” the reporter says brightly.
“Thanks,” Shouto replies, brushing off the last trails of frost on his hair. “Is everyone safe?”
“Of course, the other pro heroes managed to keep the crowd calm and at a safe distance thanks to your efforts in subduing the villain! This is another success that will make you climb the ranks.”
Shouto shrugs. “It’s my job. I’m glad no one was hurt.”
He wants to go back to patrol and then grab something to eat for dinner. It’s been a while he hasn’t had chicken nuggets.
“It seems that today a lot of heroes are working hard,” the reporter continues, oblivious to Shouto’s growing impatience. “I was told Red Riot caught two robbers this morning, and Dynamight stopped an explosion earlier this afternoon! That last one is quite ironic, isn’t it?”
Shouto’s eye twitches. Yes, because the thing that is most likely to explode is not the bomb, but Katsuki. And of course Katsuki managed to prevent an explosion, what else did they expect?
“We’re taking our duties very seriously,” Shouto says. Before the reporter says anything else, he adds, “Which is why I have to go back to my patrol. Have a good day.”
Shouto inclines his head and turns around, fleeing the scene and the flash of the cameras.
Patrol is mostly boring for the remainder of the evening, though Shouto took a picture of a cute napping cat and tried to angle his phone right to capture the beauty of the sunset. Katsuki always gets on his case when he comes back to show him pictures because the pictures are “fucking ridiculous, we can’t see anything and you always zoom in too much”. Shouto will show him that he knows perfectly well how to take pictures.
Patrol finished, Shouto heads towards a 7-Eleven to make dinner purchases that will probably make his friends frown with disappointment at his life choices. Everybody needs at some point in the week to have their fix of chicken nuggets, hashbrowns and cheese croquettes. And a strawberry sandwich. Uraraka is the only one who would agree with Shouto’s decisions, even if Katsuki would shoot her a look of betrayal. Just thinking about it makes Shouto snort.
Shouto grabs his strawberry sandwich and a carton of green tea, then makes a beeline for the cashier. He sees in the glass window display at the counter that the food he’s dying to eat is still available, much to his delight and to the customers’ general safety since he’d have done anything to get his hands on all his crispy food. Especially the cheese croquettes. People are looking at him funny, but Shouto is too busy counting the number of people left in line before it’s his turn.
He takes a box of chicken nuggets, two hashbrowns and three cheese croquettes.
“Do you need anything else?” the cashier asks, smiling.
Shouto glances one last time at the glass window. There is curry bread. They aren’t his favorite among the selection.
“I’ll take two pieces of curry bread,” he says.
The cashier rings everything up, hands Shouto his dinner bag and bids him a good evening.
Shouto sits on the bench outside of the konbini to eat. Katsuki would tell him that he looks like some delinquent teenager loitering around, but Shouto still doesn’t have a clear picture of what a teenager loitering around a konbini looks like. He imagines they’d be sitting down in a group and talking loudly, obstructing the entrance and eating junk food. Shouto supposes he’s ticking two of these boxes.
He waves at people who say hi to him, munching on his hashbrown and taking sips of his tea. It’s been a pretty normal day, if he doesn’t think about the frustration that’s been eating at him all day. But the itch has also slowly receded as the day progressed, only leaving him exhausted. Well. Exhausted enough he bought curry bread he’s not going to eat.
He finishes the last of piece of his dinner, slurps in one go the rest of his tea, and heads back to the agency to clean up. Burnin’ gives him an annoyed look when she catches him inside the building.
“At least you didn’t blow anything up today,” she says with a laugh, so she’s probably not as mad as she looks.
“That was only at the beginning of the week,” Shouto retorts with a frown. “I don’t make it a habit of blowing things up.”
“You do when you’re in a bad mood. Don’t lie, I worked with your father for years and he was the same. And you’ve been working here long enough for me to notice that.”
Shouto tries not to sulk, but he most likely fails given Burnin’ bursts out laughing. She claps him on the back.
“Go home, kid, and sort this shit out before society collapses under the bad mood of two of its top heroes.”
Shouto goes home.
He doesn’t announce himself but he lines up his shoes next to Katsuki’s in the genkan. He’s surprised that Katsuki is already home, given how much of a workaholic he is when he’s angry, but there is a high probability he got sent home too.
Shouto deposits the 7-Eleven bag on the dinner table. Katsuki is sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone and looking bored. Hm.
“You’re here early,” Shouto remarks.
“Fucking assholes thought I needed rest, of all fucking things,” Katsuki growls.
“Some rest isn’t so bad.”
“Talk for yourself, you half-assing bastard.”
Katsuki turns around and fixes Shouto with a glare. He doesn’t look angry-angry, though, just his usual brand of disgruntled. Hmm.
“I bought you curry bread.”
Shouto lifts the bag for emphasis. Katsuki stares.
“Did you fucking buy 7-Eleven shit for dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you eat that yesterday?”
“Yes, but I bought something else. The day before that too.”
“Did you even eat some form of fucking vegetables this week?”
“...There is lettuce in sandwiches.”
“Fucking hell, Shouto.”
Katsuki closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, and when he looks back at Shouto he looks properly murderous.
“You’re a grown ass man,” he says.
Shouto shrugs. “That means I can make my own choices.” He then shakes the bag he’s still holding. “Are you going to eat the curry bread or not? If you don’t want it I’ll eat it.”
“Hands off my curry bread, idiot.”
Shouto believes that the curry bread is technically his, because he bought it, but he also bought it for Katsuki, so in a way it’s also Katsuki’s.
Katsuki snatches the bag and takes out the curry bread. They’ve gone cold, since it’s been at least one hour since Shouto bought them. He extends his left hand.
“I can warm them up if you want.”
Katsuki eyes him skeptically. He’s searching for something on his face, scrutinizing and analyzing. Shouto is tired, but he also doesn’t feel as restless as he was this morning, or at the beginning of the week, for that matter. There is something oddly calming in seeing Katsuki deflating just the slightest bit, after they’ve practically been ignoring each other for days on end.
Whatever is showing on his face must please Katsuki, because he huffs and shoves the curry bread on Shouto’s hand.
“No way I’m eating that cold.”
The corner of Shouto’s lips curls upwards at that. Katsuki rolls his eyes.
They have surprisingly never triggered the fire alarm, even when they activate their quirks in bouts of anger and frustration at each other. Shouto is reheating food for Katsuki when they have a functioning microwave of high quality, because this feels like the normal thing to do in this situation.
They sit on the couch, Katsuki eating his curry bread while Shouto switches on the TV to put on the show they were watching together the week before. Katsuki is sitting on Shouto’s left side, pressing their shoulders close and knees almost touching. He doesn't say anything.
Shouto smiles. This is enough.