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Tooru was very used to what he was, yes he was human but he was also known as a hero where he lived. Not as cool as the heroes from the comic books, Tooru was a hero for the everyday things - he even helped someone harvest some vegetable once -, if someone needed him, he would be there along with his very cute sidekick, Tadashi.
Ever since they had both graduated high school and decided that they were not going to attend university in Tokyo like the rest of the boys - aside from Shouyou that decided that he wanted to be Karasuno's couch as soon as he graduated and nobody opposed it (not even the principal) - and would instead stay in Miyagi and start something together.
They had named it 'T&T - Tadashi & Tooru, jack of all trades', obviously because of their names - and also opposed to Tooru idea of calling it YO - Yamaguchi and Oikawa at your services -, every living being could identify them on the streets if they happened to pass by, Tooru's choice of an uniform was very flashy just like his very existence.
"We got a request," Tadashi said hanging up the phone and fixing the buttons of his magenta overalls, Tooru turned to stare at him, waiting for details. "It was Hinata though, he said that Natsu's pet cat got stuck in a tall tree by jumping from the roof of one of their neighbors' house and it can't get back down because said tree has no lower branches and it looks scared of going back to the roof and not even him can reach it."
"Damn it, Hinata," Tooru exclaimed and picked the keys for his car. "Let's go before the cat decides to have a heartattack on top of the tree."
"Yes, yes," Tadashi said and ran after Tooru who threw the keys at him. "Wait, why do I have to drive?"
"Because I don't want to leave the car at the mechanic for a month again," he said and Tadashi rolled his eyes but did as said. "Yama-chan, you're the best."
"Blablabla, let's go." he drove off towards Shouyou's residence.
It ended up as soon as Tooru and Tadashi got there, the cat had already jumped from the tree straight to Shouyou's arms and were now happily wiggling its tail around.
"Sorry, I tried calling back but you didn't answer." he explained and Tooru hit his head on the tree many times until he could see stars.
"I thought you had my cellphone number?" Tadashi questioned with his eyes narrowed and Shouyou gulped before kneeling and petting the cat as distraction. "It's okay, you don't have to remember we also have our mobile number on the business card."
"I'm sorry," he whispered and Tadashi laughed, patting his head just like Shouyou was doing to the cat and reassuring the boy that it was really okay, Tooru was even playing with the orange with white pet lying on the grass in front of the Hinata's house - it had run away from him. "Can I make it up to you guys with lunch?"
"Did someone say food?" Tooru appeared from behind Shouyou and the orange haired boy brought a hand to his heart, startled.
"Don't sneak up on people," Tadashi scolded him with a slap. "Not everyone is used to this."
"Sorry," he said not sounding or looking sorry at all. "It won't happen again, I promise Shou-chan."
The victim nodded his head with a frown at the unwanted nickname he received from Tooru - he would, most likely, always flinch at the sound of it coming out of Tooru's mouth - and looked at his wristwatch.
"It's almost lunch time now," he said and Tooru's stomach made a sound, Tadashi facepalmed and hit the back of Tooru's head out of habit. "Let's go to that ramen place you like before it gets too crowded."
"Yeah, let's go, Yama-chan is driving." Tooru sped up and jumped into the passenger's seat and Tadashi watched as Shouyou complained that he had to go at the back, looking like he was Tadashi and Tooru's son - he admitted looking, a little, like a kid.
"Okay so I have this really silly question," Shouyou started when the bowls were finally in front of them, Tooru instantly dug in and Tadashi carefully picked his chopsticks and listened to Shouyou's words with attention. "Why do the kids and the elders call you heroes? Like, nothing personal, but I don't see anything heroic about you," Tadashi pursued his lips and took a few seconds to think before Shouyou added. "At least, Oikawa-san doesn't look like the type. But what kind of superpower do they claim that you have to be called heroes of our city or like, neighborhood in your case?"
"Hey," Tooru complained with his mouth full and made a mess, being forced to resort on using a napkin. "Daf's rood."
"Manners please, the lady over there is glaring at you," Tadashi scolded and Shouyou stifled a laugh. "And don't you dare turn to stick your tongue out at her."
"Geez, Oikawa-san is the same as ever," Shouyou pointed out and Tooru glared at him, mumbling something before stuffing his mouth with more noodles. "Where were we, Yamaguchi?" he said addressing the question and earning another glare from Tooru.
"Ahh, the superpower thing." Tadashi laughed for a while and rubbed the back of his head, Shouyou pointed at his food to say it would get cold if he didn't eat faster, therefore Tadashi postponed the response for some minutes.
"We have the power of justice," Tooru suddenly said with a hint of pride in his voice and one of his fists closed, Shouyou and Tadashi turned to stare at him while they ate and had to cover their mouths to not spill the food over themselves. "And the love to help those who are in need."
"Oh my God," Shouyou said with the napkin in front of his face. "That sounds so fake, but sure, you're like, super corny, so I guess it's expected?"
"Hush," Tooru snapped. "I just won't hit you because you're paying."
"Charming, I wonder if anyone would actually want to be with you after they realize the looks are just the trap to lure the prey," and Tadashi felt Shouyou's eyes on him when those words were said, it sounded like they were directed at him and all he could do was look away while coughing to hide a blush that creeped up all the way from his neck, coloring his cheeks with a lovely shade of red. "They might be the real heroes, not you."
"Aurgh, okay, if anyone ever liked me, they would have said and I would probably had been dumped after a week if I ever accepted the confession," Tooru pinched the bridge of his nose with a I-know-this-too-well kind of voice. "It happened once during middle school and all we did was hold hands, gaaah, just by thinking about it is making me angry."
"Sorry," Shouyou muttered, his stare fixed on his half eaten bowl of ramen. "I didn't mean to bring something like that up."
"Uhm?" Tooru hummed and looked into Shouyou's sorry eyes with rare naivety coming from someone like him. "Ah, don't fret, I kind of have these weird mood swings, it's good because if I'm angry, the next minute I'm not anymore, the opposite happens rarely. Sometimes I just think about things like that to remind myself to learn from what went wrong. Which in this is case is to just ignore confessions from people that only know you from the outside but are not willing to accept who you really are."
Flabbergasted, Shouyou clapped his hands silently but audible enough for Tooru to knowledge it and give him a shy and faint smile.
Once they were done eating, Shouyou said he had practice - "Being a coach is harder than I imagined", he said before running off towards Karasuno High -, Tooru and Tadashi were left to go back to their workplace, a small office near a grocery store and among a few residences downtown - it was easy to spot because of the signboard -, both awfully quiet.
"Do you think that someone would ever like me for real?" Tooru asked Tadashi after debating if he should ask something like that or not for what looked like hours. "I mean-"
"Of course!" Tadashi exclaimed aggressively and Tooru's eyes were fixed on him, the outburst was a surprise, Tadashi was the always calm and rational one. "If I'm here with you not only today but every single day of the week, there is a reason to it and if I didn't like you for who you are, I wouldn't be here at all."
"Yama-chan," Tooru said tear eyed and Tadashi stared at him like he was a being from another planet, he sniffed before hugging Tadashi as tight as he could. "Thank you, I like you too."
"Wait what? I didn't-"
"You didn't?" Tooru pouted and his hold on him got loose with his lower lip sticking out, it was, if it could be described, an ugly sight according to Tadashi but Tooru looked so sincerely scared that he was joking about what he said, that all his mind told him to do was to nod his head to assure Tooru that he was being totally honest.
"Yes," he finally managed to speak up. "I kinda, perhaps, maybe, might actually like you." Tadashi added embarrassed and gazing outside from the window, Tooru was still awfully close and the younger boy had to take a few deep breaths before looking up to be able to see his face, Tooru smiled down at him and pecked his lips very briefly, Tadashi was so startled that he stumbled back and had to sit down on his armchair.
"Are you ok?" asked Tooru from his standing position and Tadashi finally snapped out of his trance but remained in silence, so Tooru made his way to his own seat and started to go through some papers - they were just a few ads that were left at their mailbox, not really work.
"To-to me," Tadashi finally regained his voice and promptly started talking again. "To me you're the real hero."
Tooru's gaze was on him in no time after he heard his words and his smile was so so bright, that Tadashi felt like it could keep him warm for the rest of his life (as long as Tooru remained there with him).