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Sleek black and white tiles line the floors of the café, the wall tiles are similar, though smaller in shape, and glossy; the black and white broken up by lightly glittering pale blue pieces.
The primary counter is black, marbled with white and gray tones, while the little round tables scattered through the space are black steel. The light fixtures are all modern, a matte black in tone, and the large windows that look out across the busy shopping center are crystal clear.
Winter Solstice Café is etched along the glass in an elegant scrawl, the letters all light blue, wrapped in a thin line of black.
Planters sit outside the front windows on either side of the door; they’re large hyacinths in dark and light blues, mixed in with a couple leafier things the co-owner of the café who is currently working doesn’t know the name of.
Todoroki Touya owns the place along with his sister, Fuyumi. He’s one year her senior and she still somehow managed to bully him into starting the place up with her six years ago.
Admittedly, he does enjoy it, especially the freedom that he has now that it’s an established shop with regulars. He can sit back and let his employees handle everything without much worrying, as both he and Fuyumi vetted them all and they’re good people, all local college students.
Touya himself is now twenty-seven years old, and he’s pretty content with where he is in life. He’d never gone to college, he’d let Fuyumi go for some business courses and opted to simply trust her with that.
It’s better than what he used to do as a teenager, that’s for damn sure. Back then, he’d been pulled into a gang by a guy he’d thought was his best friend, who then lured him into the world of rapid money-making by selling drugs and stolen goods.
He likely would’ve still been doing something along those lines, if it hadn’t been for the fight he’d gotten into one night when he’d been nineteen. It was a small group, a few bastards after his ‘best friend,’ that decided to send a message by cutting and burning Touya’s face and neck.
They were careful to never do enough harm to potentially kill him, but by the time they’d been done, he’d been soaked in blood and sobbing as he’d called his father to help him because his so-called friend ditched when he found him.
Fortunately, thanks to Todoroki Enji’s connections, considerable guilt from being a shit father, and the man’s substantial wealth, he was able to get Touya the best medical care in the country; along with a solid verbal reaming, of course. The doctors had done all the fancy medical shit they’d been able to, and it helped, sort of.
Touya still feels self-conscious about himself though. The lower half of his face is largely red and purpled, lined in little scars that cover his jaw, a long slice diagonally across both lips, a burn across his lower. The marks on his neck are crisscrossed and mingled with more burns in that darker, purpled off-tone.
He wears a medical mask every single day, themed ones when holidays are around, and he always has on a shirt with a high collar. While he used to love going out in the summer months, now he prefers bundling up with scarves in the winter.
His employees generally start out curious about his mask, or assume that he has allergies, though he never gives a real answer. He simply says it’s none of their business and that if they don’t drop the topic, they can leave.
There has only ever been one employee who didn’t so much as even look interested in his mask, which had his immediate attention.
The guy is young, nineteen, in his first year of college. He’s rough and scowls more often than not, and his hair is wild and pale blonde; as spiky and unruly as Touya’s white locks. The guy’s eyes are a ferocious scarlet, opposite Touya’s own icy turquoise orbs.
He’s confident, smart, quick-witted, and when they get the rare rowdy client, he’s been known to literally carry people out of the café. Usually, flexing his arms under the thin black shirts he always wears is all it takes though. Which Touya finds weirdly disappointing, because it’s hilarious to watch the short, 172cm blonde man carry someone over a head taller than him out like they’re nothing but a whiny toddler.
The blonde man is the only reason Touya came out of where he normally spends his time in the back office, something both his sister and their other employees had immediately noticed. The warning glares he’d given them had been enough to earn their silence on the matter.
It’s really no wonder though, Touya thinks as he looks up from lidding the current customer’s drink, that it only took six short months for him to completely fall for the man beside him, who grumbles under his breath as he pumps an obscene number of syrups into a cup.
“Don’t judge people, Dollface,” Touya says with a chuckle.
“I will judge whoever the fuck I want to, Metalface,” Bakugou Katsuki gripes.
They’re both long used to each other’s nicknames now. Touya’s was earned by his ears full of silver studs and cuffs, and his double bridge piercings; all done in the hopes of drawing attention away from his mask, a simple black one today. Katsuki’s nickname comes from the simple fact that the man is absolutely gorgeous.
They move around each other with practiced ease; long used to shifting around one another in the tight space. There are only the occasional bumps now, and it really says a lot that Touya looks forward to accidental elbow jabs from the guy just to have something.
“What d’you want?” Katsuki says from the register and Touya snorts softly from behind him, washing out the steamer cup more thoroughly than what the rapid rinser can do now that there’s a lull in the day.
“Just a coffee, black,” a raspy tenor voice says; scratchy and rough like sandpaper, and Touya’s whole body tenses as he slowly turns to look over his shoulder.
There stands the man who brought Touya into the world of darkness when they were teens. He’s skinnier now, skin drier and pale blue hair greasy and matted. His cruel, dark red eyes trail over to Touya and his cracked lips pull up into a grin.
“What kind of fucking coffee?” Katsuki grouses, annoyed. “We’ve got over a dozen kinds, for fucks’ sake. Look at the damn menu.”
“What would you recommend, Dabi?” Shimura Tenko says, and Touya’s chest tightens as his breathing picks up.
The steamer cup slides from his hands, the stainless steel crashing loudly into the sink bason of the same material. The sound startles Katsuki, who looks back, brows furrowing with something between concern and confusion in his expression.
“Go away,” Touya says, voice coming out hoarse and uneven as he begins to hyperventilate in earnest.
“Aww, don’t be like that,” Tenko coos condescendingly.
“Get the fuck out,” Katsuki snaps, voice laced with a furious growl. “You’re banned.”
Tenko cocks a brow at the younger man. “On what grounds?”
Katsuki scowls harshly as he plants his hands on the counter and leans a little closer to the man. “This is a private establishment, you’re harassing my boss, you look like you’re carrying at least nine different diseases, and I don’t fucking like you—fuckin’ pick one.”
“Fine, fine,” Tenko says, sneering as his eyes roll before landing back on Touya. “I’ll see you later.”
“No, you won’t,” Katsuki growls out.
Tenko smirks and raises his hands placatingly as he turns and lazily walks out of the café while the blonde glares murderously at his retreating form.
Touya slides to the floor, trapped in a cycle of wheezing and gasping as he tries to calm his heart and lungs. He doesn’t hear Katsuki call out his name, but he does feel when the man tugs his mask off, tossing it up on the counter.
“No!” Touya gasps, slapping his hands over his face, trying to cover the hideous scars.
“Fuckin’ stop that, dumbass,” Katsuki snaps, tugging his hands away. He cups Touya’s cheeks, forcing him to meet his scarlet gaze. “Breathe with me, Touya.”
The shock of hearing his given name from the man is almost enough to get a steady rhythm going with his breaths, though it has his heart swelling and face heating up.
“Good,” Katsuki says softly, thumbs lightly brushing Touya’s cheekbones. “That’s it, you’re fine. That piece of shit is gone.”
Touya huffs a soft laugh, his lips pulling up in a small grin and his eyes crinkling. Katsuki is looking all across his face, and Touya has to squeeze his eyes shut, not wanting to see the man’s expression when he really takes in the scars.
The light touch of lips against his own startles him and Touya’s eyes fly open, his entire body freezing when he gets visual confirmation that Bakugou Katsuki is kissing him; eyes closed, his features smooth and soft.
Bakugou Katsuki is kissing him.
Touya sucks in a sharp breath through his nose and Katsuki suddenly pulls away with a harsh, “Fuck, shit, I’m sorry.”
Before Touya can even formulate a response, the blonde stands up and nearly runs to the staff only door that leads to the hall with their break room, bathroom, and office.
Touya reaches up to touch his lips, blinking dazedly and wondering whether that really happened, or if it was some sort of anxiety induced hallucination.
It doesn’t help that when Katsuki comes back out front, he acts like nothing at all happened. When he sees him, Touya quickly stands and spins around, grabbing his mask and shoving it back onto his face.
The last hour of their shift goes by uneventfully, and when the time comes, they both take on cleaning and closing up like always.
“Do I need to look for another job?” Katsuki says, jaw tight as he wipes down the counter. Touya just gives him a bewildered look and the blonde grits his teeth, not looking over. “Seriously, if you’re gonna fire me for falling for you, just fucking tell me so I can start looking.”
Touya’s entire world axis shifts.
“What?” He chokes out.
“You fuckin’ heard me,” Katsuki snaps, face and ears red. “I can’t have a fucking harassment charge on my record or I’ll get kicked outta nursing school.”
“You… like me?” Touya says, still trying to understand what he’s hearing.
Katsuki growls and slaps the rag down on the counter. “Yes! And I know you hate being fuckin’ touched, and I just—fuck!”
He’s seething, obviously furious with himself, but all Touya can think to say is a confounded, “Why?”
“You fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” Katsuki says, rubbing his face harshly with his hands. “You’re fucking funny as hell, you’re not some dumbass who wastes his days, you act stupid as shit but you’re way too fuckin’ smart for your own good. How the fuck could I not fall in love with you?”
Touya steps closer to him, not daring to touch the man no matter how badly he wants to reach out. Those ruby red eyes slide over to watch him warily, clearly still uncertain about what’s going to happen.
“Katsuki,” Touya says, and the blonde stiffens, his cheeks darkening further as his eyes narrow suspiciously. “I’m… I’m not someone you should want to be around.”
The blonde gives him a confused frown, head tilting and nose scrunching adorably. “Hah?”
“I have PTSD and anxiety, and I’m a…” Touya trails off and swallows. He reaches up with shaky hands to pull his mask off again, squeezing the fabric harshly in his hand. “I’m a fucking monster, and you’re fucking beautiful. It doesn’t make sense for you to love me too.”
He hears Katsuki’s soft breath hitching and averts his gaze, knowing that he’s laid all his cards out for the other to see. He expects disgust, anger, maybe even some form of mockery.
What he does not expect is a whisper of, “Fuck, I want to kiss you again.”
Touya’s eyes widen and snap up to the other man, looking at the way he’s soaking in Touya’s scarred face. He doesn’t look like he’s trying to mask revulsion or pity, he’s looking at Touya like he’s trying to commit the details to memory.
With shaky, uncertain movements, Touya takes another step closer to Katsuki, one hand moving up to cup his smooth jaw, the flawless skin so soft against his fingers.
Katsuki leans into the touch, the tip of his pink tongue darting out to wet his lips; the movement followed by lidded turquoise eyes.
Touya steels himself and leans in to capture Katsuki’s lips in a soft kiss.
Katsuki’s hands fly up to hold him closer, one grabbing his waist while the other slides around the back of his neck. Their kisses stay soft, but grow deeper and longer, and Touya absolutely melts, nothing but a lump of snow at the mercy of a burning sun.