Chapter Text
Midoriya trudges up the 3 flights of stairs to his apartment, barely getting his boots off before diving face first onto the couch.
“I’m home.” His announced, voice muffled in the cushions.
Todoroki doesn’t reply. Instead, he moves from his place at the kitchen table, grabbing something out of the fridge and placing it in the microwave. Three minutes later, a steaming bowl of rice and vegetables is placed on the coffee table in front of Midoriya.
Sitting up to make room for Todoroki on the couch, Midoriya reaches for the food, only to withdraw his hands when the bowl is too hot.
“You would think after facing off that villain today, you’d be able to handle eating your dinner,” Todoroki comments, reaching out his right hand to use ice to cool the bowl.
Midoriya grins sheepishly. “Thanks for the meal, Todoroki. Did you cook?”
Deeming the bowl properly chilled, Todoroki hands Midoriya his dinner. “Just from the cornershop today,” choosing to ignore the way Midoriya inhales his food.
“You know, for top tier heroes, you think we’d be better about the everyday life things like cooking meals,” Midoriya says, between bites.
Todoroki gave a low chuckle, “I’m pretty sure we’re half of that store’s business every week. We can’t stop now, it’s our public duty to support civilians.”
“There’s an idea. We can be Shouto and Deku, Convenience Store Heroes, fighting crime and buying bentos, one neighborhood at the time. Endeavor already hates me, what more damage can seeing his beloved son’s face on every prepackaged meal do?” Midoriya grins at Todoroki, eyes crinkling he smiles wide, one fist pumped into the air, as the other cradled his bowl. The perfect mock pose for all the future commercials.
Todoroki smiles, “Go shower, Midoriya. We can plan ways to anger my father later when you smell less like villians and mass media.” With a gentle shove, he sends Midoriya down the hallway to their shared bathroom.
“Hai. Thanks for dinner again Todoroki! I’ll get it next time.”
Todoroki stands up, collecting the remnants of dinner, moving to the kitchen to toss Midoriya’s bowl and wooden chopsticks into in the trash. One positive thing about convenience store dinners, he thinks, as he hears the shower water start running, is that there’s never any cleanup.
Settling onto the couch, he looks out the window into the rest of the city. Todoroki and Midoriya had decided to be live together after graduation, each working on becoming a solo hero. With all of the attention Class 1-A had received in their four years at Yuuei, and their roles in defeating the Villains Alliance, it was a much more feasible goal than one would think.
While Deku and Shouto were never an official crime-fighting partnership, one had the knack of showing up if the other was fighting. Each time, it was the same routine, they’d work together to take down the villain and Todoroki would disappear quickly after the battle, leaving Midoriya to talk to the police. Meanwhile, Todoroki would return to the apartment and make dinner (usually takeout) as Midoriya handled the press. This made Deku the more popular hero by far, but Shouto’s ratings barely suffered for his anti-social behavior, his powerful and flashy quirk only augmented by the ‘mysterious hero’ narrative the media liked to spin.
All of this was fine for Todoroki. He was content with the routine, not having to talk to people he didn’t want to, but not owing Midoriya for always forcing him into the spotlight either.
Footsteps drew Todoroki out of his reverie, as Midoriya, hair still slightly damp, settled back into the couch. “That was some fight today huh?” He asked, his tone conversational as he turned on the tv. The volume was also set low enough that neither man could hear the words clearly, but it provided a nice background hum as the two watched the news play back shots of their fight. Midoriya’s fingers itched to take notes on how to improve their technique, but he instead opted to stretch his sore muscles, hoping Todoroki would not notice.
“I haven’t seen a villain of that caliber since we disbanded the Alliance,” he continued to chatter, as he felt two hands pull him back closer to the other man on the couch, positioning Mirodiya sideways on the couch so that his back was easily accessible. Todoroki always noticed.
“It’s a bit soon for them to have regrouped so quickly, do you think we failed to truly take their organization apart?” Todoroki asks, placing his left hand on Midoriya’s back, gently channeling heat onto overworked muscle.
Midoriya relaxed into the heat, leaning slightly backwards knowing Todoroki’s would prop him up. “After capturing Shigaraki, and Stain’s death, I don’t see how someone else could bring the villains together. It was probably just a new person who just happened to have such a strong quirk.” He bit back a moan as Todoroki moved his hand down to his side, he had taken a hard hit there earlier today. “You know, Todoroki, if you ever get sick of being a Convenience Store Hero, you could always go into Spas. I’m pretty sure without these massages I wouldn’t be able to hold it together.”
“Without these massages, maybe you would learn to stop overextending yourself,” Todoroki scolded gently, continuing to move his hand around Midoriya’s body, targeting places where the man had taken damage. “Aizawa-senseii warned you on the first day of class not to destroy your body and even after four years you never learned.”
Midoriya hums in agreement, too relaxed to put up a fight. Feeling the hand draw away as his treatment finished, he shifted even closer on the couch, leaning his head on Todoroki’s shoulder.
“Should we tell the police to begin investigating the underground again?” Midoriya hears, more from the rumblings of Todoroki’s chest than anything.
“Hmm? Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s do that tomorrow.” Midoriya’s eyes drifted close, his breath slowing down as he feels the heat from Todoroki’s massage flow through his body.
“Are you worried?”
“With you here”, slurred Midoriya, tilting his head to give Todoroki another grin, “I don’t ever have to worry”. With that, he drifted asleep, curled against his partner as the television hummed on.
Todoroki smiled to himself, looking down at the tangle of dark green hair, and the small drop of drool already threatening to leave Midoriya’s mouth. He sits and lets the news program finish out, before sliding out from under the smaller man, and cradling him bridal style into his arm.
“With you here, I’m not worried either.”
Turning off the television, Todoroki carried Midoriya down the hall to their bed. This too, was a part of his routine.