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Eijirou pursed his lips and stared at the mess in front of him. He had no idea how his counter turned into such a disaster but the timer showed he only had thirty minutes to produce something good enough to show the judges.
Why was this so stressful? Just earlier in the week, he had held up an entire collapsing building long enough to evacuate the employees! What was so scary about a molten lava cake?
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and added more flour into the mixing bowl.
"What are you doing, idiot?"
Eijirou turned to Bakugou, who had suddenly appeared beside him. "I don’t know! I added the eggs and the bowl exploded!"
"Dump it out and start again." Bakugou began wiping the counter. "I refuse to lose to Shitty Deku and Half and Half!"
"Language, Dynamight!"
Bakugou held up his middle finger to the cameraman. "Fuck off."
Eijirou suppressed a laugh. Normally, he’d call out Bakugou for his bad behavior but he was too stressed out to argue.
Satou walked up to Eijirou’s counter and inspected the broken bowl. "Having trouble, Red Riot?"
"What gave you that idea?" Bakugou glared at Satou. "Should we tell the viewers how much you begged us to join your stupid competition?"
"Dynamight, it’s fine. It’s part of the show. Um, yeah, Sugar Rush. I’ve never made any of these desserts before. It’s harder than I thought it would be!"
Eijirou had seen these shows before and the bakers always made it look so easy to talk and prepare the dessert at the same time.
It was impossible! He cursed under his breath as he managed to dump the entire bag of flour into the bowl.
"I think that’s too much flour, Red Riot."
"Um, yeah." Eijirou scooped as much flour into the bag as he could and eyed the bowl. "Is that okay, Dynamight?"
Bakugou turned away from his creme brûlée and squinted at the bowl. "Weigh it, dumbass!"
"Oh, right." Eijirou retrieved the scale and got the correct measure of the flour. "What’s next?"
"Check the recipe!"
He knew that. Eijirou needed to get a hold of himself. When he agreed to do this competition with Bakugou, he had no idea they’d make it to the finals. They baked in pairs, with one person making something basic with the other making more advanced desserts. While both could communicate, they could not physically assist.
It pleased Eijirou to know he and Bakugou worked so well together. They’d been hero partners and roommates for the last five years and showcasing Bakugou as a good teammate was good publicity.
Eijirou just wished it didn’t involve him burning so many simple desserts.
As he mixed the second batch of batter, Eijirou snuck a glance at his competition. Deku was frowning at what looked like a soufflé and Todoroki was covered in chocolate cake batter. At least Bakugou was confident in his bake.
"I got it!" The batter turned to the right consistency and Eijirou frantically poured it into the mini cake tins.
Satou approached the table again. "Red Riot, we’ve got twenty minutes remaining. Will your lava cakes be done soon enough for me to taste them?"
"I hope so! They’re, uh, supposed to be runny so as long as the outside is done then it should be fine!"
"Dynamight is already decorating his pastry. Do you think he’ll finish in time?"
Eijirou chuckled. "He always finishes in time and everything he makes is delicious."
He pushed the cake tins into the oven with a little too much force but none of them spilled. Sighing, he turned to the glass container of heavy cream and whisk. Making whipped cream was easy but he was exhausted.
"Stop staring at the cream and whip it, dammit!"
"I got this!" Eijirou poured some sugar and cream into a bowl and began to whisk it.
Eijirou loved him. It was something he only dared to say to himself, in the quiet of their shared home, when Bakugou was sleeping on the couch or making them dinner. He pushed everyone to be better, even villains he was supposed to be taking down. His close brushes with death only seemed to make him more resilient, more determined to take more risks and be the best.
In school, everyone thought they’d be together. Everyone assumed they were already together. Maybe in another life, they would have been together. Instead, Bakugou had been clear he only had room for a hero partner and Eijirou refused to give up his friend even for the sake of his heart.
With his strength, the whipped cream was ready in no time. He glanced down the counter to find Bakugou putting the finishing touches on his creme brûlée, torching the top and setting it on the display plate.
The timer went off and Eijirou took out the lava cakes. He turned them out onto plates and put a generous scoop of whipped cream beside each cake, hoping it didn’t melt before the judges had a chance to taste his dish.
The big clock counted down from ten. Eijirou wiped a few drips of chocolate off the plate before the bell rang and he raised his hands to indicate he was done.
Satou, Aizawa, and Present Mic went to Deku and Todoroki’s table first. They tasted their dishes, humming in approval and gave reasonable critique. Bakugou scowled and shifted his weight.
"It’s alright. Ours is definitely better." Eijirou squeezed Bakugou’s arm.
"Of course it is. But the judges had better fucking see that."
"They will. They have to." Eijirou wasn’t sure why this decision was making him more nervous than the last Top Hero Awards.
The judges approached them and Eijirou stammered through his presentation. He watched the judges take a spoonful of the lava cake. Hot chocolate sauce pooled out from the middle and Eijirou silently cheered. Present Mic gave an approving nod as he chewed and Aizawa, deadpan as ever, kept an impassive expression. Satou went in for a second bite, closing his eyes as he processed it.
Eijirou bit his lip as they turned back to him.
"Good balance of the cocoa powder with the rest of the ingredients." Aizawa took another bite of the lava cake.
"I love how gooey the inside is!" Present Mic poked at his cake with his spoon.
Eijirou cheered as the judges moved to Bakugou's dessert. He was so nervous he barely heard what they said. Bakugou seemed pleased with their critique once they left.
"Red Riot and Dynamight, Deku and Shouto, we will head into the deliberation. Whoever wins this round will be crowned Japan's Top Hero Baker Partners!"
The show name was a mouthful but they hadn't come up with a better one since the show's conception. Eijirou sighed as the cameras panned away from them and a crew member led them to a quiet room, keeping him and Bakugou separate from Deku and Todoroki.
It was uncomfortably silent in the room. Eijirou adjusted in his seat.
Bakugou cleared his throat. "You never baked dessert before this."
Eijirou chuckled. "I've put tubes of cookie dough into the oven."
"Yeah, yeah." Bakugou turned and looked at him. "You saved hundred of people from that collapsing building last week but you still came here every day to get humiliated on national television."
"Not humiliated." Eijirou pursed his lips.
"You didn't know how to separate egg yolks from the whites. That's pretty fucking humiliating. But you did it. You're the - the bravest person I know, Eijirou. Whether it's running into the front line or signing us up for some stupid baking competition, you take on the challenge."
Eijirou stared at him, his mouth open. "Um, thanks?"
"I'm terrible at this shit." Bakugou grabbed Eijirou by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
After the initial shock, Eijirou threw himself into the kiss, gripping Bakugou's shoulders just in case this moment wasn't actually real. In the past, they had a few close moments where they almost kissed but one of them had been to injured, tired, drunk, or cowardly to make it happen.
Bakugou threaded his fingers through Eijirou's hair and brought him closer before ending their kiss. "Do you understand now?"
Eijirou nodded. "How long?"
"Too long."
"Me too."
Just as they moved to kiss again, the door swung open. "Oh! Um, Mr. Red Riot and Mr. Dynamight, they're ready to announce the winner."
Eijirou scratched the back of his head, bright red, but Bakugou grabbed his other hand and pulled him up. "Let's go win this thing."
Whether it was making dessert or kissing, Eijirou knew that with Bakugou at his side, it was going to be great.
FIN