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Shigaraki paced the food court of the mall, supposedly those kids from UA would be going on a shopping spree today, and he needed to get close to the sports festival contestants.
Soon enough, he could jump into action, soon enough he would be able to take on hero killer Stain and…
“Tomura-San, is that you?”
A soft voice broke him from his thoughts as he looked into the eyes of the young girl smiling while walking towards him.
Crap crap crap! He pulled furiously at the hood of his jacket to cover his features, how did she recognize him! This was supposed to be an undercover mission and no one was supposed to know who he was!
“It is you!” The young girl exclaimed as she got closer, “Isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Tomura scratched furiously at his neck, trying to play it cool by taking his hood off “it is me. Do I know you?”
“Oh, well I guess I shouldn’t expect you to remember” the girl laughed sheepishly, placing a hand on her neck “I used to work at the coffee shop you frequented. We’d talk about whatever video games you were playing at the time and you always got iced mochas!”
“Oh yeah”
Tomura thought back on his early days with the league in the bar. Anytime he needed an escape from Toga and Twice’s incessant giggling he’d head to the 24-hour cafe down the street. The simple conversations the two of you would have always relaxed him enough to sleep by the time he left, even with the caffeine in his system.
“I do remember you, you’re the barista that made the shittiest coffee I’ve ever tasted!”
With his words and grin, your jaw hit the floor, before you began to ramble apologies back “I’m so sorry! Was it really that bad? I mean, I know I wasn’t the best, but…”
“Relax,” he smiled, remembering how flustered you used to get by his teasing “it was almost potable.”
“Almost? No wonder I got fired” Your laugh as you confess, shaking your shoulder created a particular warmth in his chest. Those simple days when his worst stressor was trying to drink the horrible concoctions you made him were long gone. How he longed for that simplicity now.
“You got fired?” He retorted “Can’t say I’m surprised though, your coffee did borderline on toxic waste.”
“Okay, okay, it wasn’t that bad. It might have been a little burnt, but I think you’re exaggerating.” You smile and meet his red eyes “Anyway, it’s been forever, what are you doing here?”
Tomura took in your form, despite the years that had passed you still had the same cheerful aura about you. A little more disheveled and mature, sure, but the same peppy spirit lingered no matter the passage of time.
“Oh, I’m just… shopping for a friend”
“Is that so?” You pout playfully “What kind of friend are we talking about? Guys don’t usually shop for just anyone, especially not guys like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!” Shigaraki felt a blush crawl onto his cheeks “and it’s not like that. She’s not… Let’s just talk about you, are you serving crappy coffee to poison people somewhere else now?”
“No actually! I got a new job at a comic book store. It’s a lot better pay and it’s tons of fun.”
Tomura scoffed “So now you’re a full-on nerd huh? Never would’ve picked you to work at a place like that.”
“Coming from a guy that ranted about discrepancies in the Zelda series game by game, I don’t think you have the right to make fun of my career for being nerdy” you chuckle, taking in his form. His hair had grown out and was now a light blue, but his piercing eyes were as prominent as ever, and he still had that nervous habit of touching his neck. You remembered back on those nights at the cafe how you knew he’d settle the check soon, because his hands had finally drawn away from his furious scratching at his neck. It was a dead giveaway but he was surprised every time you knew to give him the tab.
“I’ll have you know I’m plenty good at what I do now.”
“Is that so?” Shigaraki played with the string of his hoodie “I guess I’ll have to stop by some time to test that comic book knowledge of yours.”
“You totally should, I’ll take you down!” You chuckled and crossed your arms over your chest before returning to the conversation, “How are things going for you? Last time we talked you were all stressed out about some organization you were a part of. You always were such a mystery”
Ugh, your innocent smile was killing him. Despite his weird habits, and the fact that he was a villain as proclaimed by national television, you were so far in your mind that you never put two and two together. It always seemed like such a miracle that you lived as long as you had being so oblivious.
“Things have been fine” he tried to keep it vague with you, just like the old days “I’ve just been pretty busy, but you probably don’t want to delve into the specifics”
“I’m always happy to listen to you, you’re really cool” You lean in towards him a little more, watching his body language closely.
Your words brought him to a halt. Cool? “I’m hardly cool, I forgot just how annoyingly optimistic you could be at times.”
“Hey!” You pout “i’m practical. You’re still not as cool as Eraserhead, but you’re pretty cool”. Your teasing words sent a flutter into his stomach.
“Aizawa, no way.” He scoffed “I am plenty cooler than that sleep-deprived teacher.”
“I don’t know Tomura, have you seen his quirk? It’s so cool! Okay, maybe it’s just because we get lots of comics about him, but I’ve grown to have a respect for the man!”
“His quirk is quite formidable, alongside his courage. But I don’t know, he seems kind of cold with his pupils, and is a little too confident in their abilities against villains”
You let out a soft laugh “you speak like you know him, Tomura. Are you into his comics too?”
“Me?” He tried to recover, he couldn’t have you, his only piece of normalcy, realize why he knew so much about the pro-heroes. “Yeah, definitely not. You must’ve been drinking the coffee you made to believe something like that.”
You punch his arm playfully “It isn’t that bad! Oh well, if I happened to have access to the exclusive black cover versions of the new comic that don’t come out until next week, you wouldn’t be interested, right?”
Just as he felt a snarky remark crawl up his throat, he realized what you said, “Wait, are you serious?”
“Yeah, duh! I work at a comic shop, and they always ship the special editions early. We aren’t supposed to sell them but if you happened to see me unboxing the display and one fell off, well, I couldn’t blame you for skimming the pages.”
Dropping his aloof act entirely, Tomura practically beamed at the suggestion, wanting so badly to get his hands on one. Moreso, the idea of you breaking the rules for him brought a new fuel to his fantasies.
“I love this job, not only do I get these perks, but we also do cosplay Wednesdays!”
“Lame” he rolled his eyes teasingly
“I’ll have you know I make a great Midnight cosplayer” you smirked and mimicked a whipping motion
“Sounds ridiculous, a bunch of adults pretending to be phony heroes.” He did believe it was stupid, but some part of his mind did think it would be nice seeing you all dressed up and excited to save the world.
“Fine fine, you can believe that, buzzkill. But you seriously should stop by sometime!” You hand a business card to him and smile “Maybe we could catch up or something?”
“Isn’t that what we are doing right now?” Tomura stared at you, trying to read the new expression on your face. Why would you want to talk with him again after all this time?
“Well, yes. We are catching up right now, but I was thinking maybe I could take you out for a cup of not-burnt coffee?” Your cheeks grew warm as you looked down at the ground, noticing his eyes trailing your figure.
“You think you can make a decent cup now? Has it really been that long since I last saw you?” He teased, smiling while he played with a strand of your hair that fell loose from the band it was tied in.
“No! Well, yes I can actually. I did eventually learn how not to burn the beans. But I meant maybe we could go and get some together?”
Tomura’s cheeks went pink as he realized the implications of your offer, “Do you mean?” He stammered “A date? With me?”
“I mean, only if you wanted to! You totally don’t have to if you don’t and I could’ve read this wrong but I figured I’d…”
Tomura cut your rambling off after a moment of hesitation. Never did he picture himself being anything near romantic with someone, especially someone as gorgeous and innocent as you.
“Yeah, let’s do it. Why not!”
“Great!” You make a small jump, before feeling a buzz from your watch “Ah, break time is almost over. I’ve gotta go, but I hope to see you again Tomura-San!”
“Alright,” Tomura was still trying to compose his thoughts. No way had this really happened. No way when he had came to kill heroes did he end up with a date with a girl he had a crush on years ago. “I’ll try to swing by the shop sometime.”
Tomura jumped a little as he felt your hands wrap around his chest, and you hug him closely “I missed you quite a lot! So don’t disappear on me again!”
The hug caught him by surprise, it wasn’t every day someone came to hug a destructive villain who would end their life with a touch. But here you were, warmth wrapped around his body, the familiarity of your scent lingering on his skin. Not sure how to respond, he froze, hands at his sides before relaxing slightly into your embrace.
“Alright!” You pull away “Gotta go!” You run down the hall towards your shop, leaving Tomura with a smile and a wave goodbye.
Watching your figure get surrounded by the numerous others at the crowded shopping center, he couldn’t help but wonder how all these people came to be around without him noticing them. The way you stole his full attention as you happily paced along. The way your smile lit up your face would be permanently ingrained into his mind.
How was it possible that a simple barista managed to take up so much space in the mind of a powerful villain like himself, how did you stir up those feelings he had forgotten long ago?
Looking up at the sunlight creeping through the clouds, he shook his head and smiled.
“What am I getting myself into?!”