Archive of Our Own ^beta

The day Shouto’s worldview crumbles is a mostly unassuming day.

He finishes his shift at his agency without any major incident occurring, goes home after a shower, and gets ready for a fun night of drinks with Midoriya and Bakugou. They’ve made a tradition of it now: bi-weekly drinks at a central location to the three of them, at a tucked-away izakaya where both the staff and patrons keep their visits private from the general public.

The first sign that something is wrong, though, is that Bakugou and Midoriya arrive separately. Despite living the furthest from each other, Midoriya closer to UA, and Bakugou on the other end of the city to be closer to the Dynamight Hero Agency, the two of them always showed up together. Shouto suspects that Bakugou spent more time at Midoriya’s place than not.

Which made sense, considering they were lovers.

This time, though, Midoriya arrives first, waving at Shouto from their table in the corner.

“Midoriya, good evening.”

“Hi Shouto! Did you have work today?”

Shouto nods. “Only this morning,” he confirms. “Is Bakugou not coming today?”

Midoriya pauses. “Ah—?”

“Bakugou. He wasn’t with you?”

Midoriya continues looking at him, nonplussed. There was always the chance that Midoriya hit his head on the last patrol. “Your Kacchan,” Shouto clarifies, just in case.

“My—!” Midoriya’s face reddens. “I know what you meant! He just— He’ll come soon. I think he’s running late. Haha. Why are you still standing? Sit, sit. I already ordered our first round.”

Strange.

-

By the time Bakugou arrives, there’s a pleasant buzz sitting underneath Shouto’s skin. His tolerance, he finds, is average enough when he lets the full effects of the alcohol hit him. It takes more than a few bottles for him to truly feel drunk, and even then, he’s never felt the “black-out” nature of it that Kaminari’s warned him about.

Midoriya, on the other hand, doesn’t get drunk at all. He heard from Kirishima who heard from Kaminari who heard from Jirou who heard from Uraraka who heard from Bakugou who heard from Sensei that Midoriya even once drank Sensei under the table and showed up for work the next day completely fine.

“Maybe it has something to do with having One for All in the past,” Midoriya says, laughing.

Shouto hums. He thinks that Midoriya attributes a lot in his life to having One for All in the past.

Then, Bakugou comes in. More importantly, Bakugou comes in quietly. No shouting, no yelling IZUKU from the other side of the room, no kicking at Shouto’s legs before he takes a seat.

The second sign that something is wrong.

“You’re late,” Shouto comments.

“Couldn’t find parking,” Bakugou says, face half-hidden behind the upturned collar of his sports jacket. “Did you already order?”

He sits in his usual spot next to Midoriya, but neither of them look each other in the eyes. Wrong, Shouto thinks again.

But Shouto is sure that all couples fight sometimes. Kaminari told him that Jirou got mad at him for leaving his socks hanging over the hamper instead of properly inside, and they resolved that within the day. And clearly, things can’t be too wrong if they were still sitting in their usual spots.

Surely, Shouto thinks, there is nothing to worry about.

-

Shouto notices more things as the night progresses.

Unsurprisingly, Bakugou gets drunk sometime between his first beer and his second. Shouto had tried to teach him once, how to burn the alcohol out with the internal fire of his quirk, but Bakugou had refused. Presumably so he could cuddle Midoriya without anyone thinking that he had real and true honest feelings— even though everyone already knows that.

Though, usually by this time, Bakugou would have been draped over Midoriya, practically on his lap, rather than simply curled into him. But neither Bakugou nor Midoriya seem to be willing to address that something is wrong.

Midoriya leans his head back and closes his eyes. “I hate failing students,” he whines.

“If they’re an idiot, then—” Bakugou hiccups, “— they’re an idiot.” He throws back a handful of kaki-pi and chews messily.

“Kacchan,” Midoriya admonishes, but it’s half-hearted at best. “If so many students do poorly, it’s a reflection of their teacher.”

“Or a reflection of their brains,” Bakugou says.

Midoriya snorts into his beer at that, the only indication that the alcohol had affected his senses at all, and suddenly perks up. “Oh, right. Let’s reschedule our next outing, Shouto. Kacchan and I won’t be around.”

Shouto does the mental math. Two weeks from now would put them at— Oh. “Okay,” he responds. “I hope you both enjoy your anniversary.”

Midoriya chokes, breaking out into loud coughs with his head turned towards Bakugou. “What?!”

Some beer-spit lands on Bakugou’s face. He doesn't wipe it off.

“You’ll be going on your anniversary trip, I presume,” Shouto elaborates. “For your fifth anniversary.”

“We aren’t— That’s not—” Midoriya devolves into incomprehensible stammers, waving his hands around. “—No, no, no— I mean— All Might! All Might invited us on a camping trip!”

Sometime during Midoriya’s stuttering, Bakugou’s expression had gone distant, which is a little impressive considering how loud Midoriya is speaking.

“— We’re not dating!” Midoriya shouts.

“Was it a secret?” Shouto asks. That would make sense, considering their public status. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” Though he’s certain everyone already knows.

“No! I mean— Shouto. Kacchan and I aren’t together. We aren’t keeping anything a secret, because we aren’t dating. Ever. At all!”

Shouto frowns. “At all?” Maybe he had gotten drunker than he had thought. Surely, Midoriya isn’t trying to deny their obvious relationship to Shouto’s face.

“No!”

“You and Bakugou... have never dated?”

Midoriya shakes his head frantically.

“And you’ve never kissed?”

“No!” Midoriya says again. “I mean, other than that time when we were three, and Kacchan once kissed my cheek when I was four, but those videos are corrupt now so it’s not like there’s any evidence of that happening, but—”

“And,” Shouto interrupts. Just to be sure, “You’ve never had sex either?”

Midoriya chokes again. More beer-spit on Bakugou. “NO.”

Shouto feels as dazed as Bakugou. “But. Why not?”

“W— What?! I mean—” Midoriya cuts himself off to chug another glass of beer. He drops the mug onto the table with a loud ‘clang’. “We’re moving on,” he says sternly. It must be the voice he uses on his students. Bakugou shivers.

Shouto frowns, thinking.

Midoriya seems convinced about the fact that he and Bakugou had never dated before. But that can’t be right. Shouto remembers the day they had got together back in third year. Bakugou had asked Midoriya out to the training grounds and Midoriya had agreed. They both had come back flushed and sweaty. Midoriya had said, “I’m glad you asked me out.”

All Shouto had done was put the pieces together.

-

The next day, Shouto spends the afternoon calling his friends.

“I wish they were dating,” Kirishima says. “It would make my life a lot easier.”

“It’s impolite to guess at the relationship status of our fellow heroes!” Iida scolds, following up with, “Though I had been wondering the same thing myself.”

“You’d think they’d have figured it out by now,” Uraraka says wistfully.

Everyone else he calls seems to say the same thing.

He even tries Monoma, who doesn’t seem to be able to get past Shouto’s start of I’ve decided to call you because you and Bakugou are friends, and laughs on the other line until he hangs up.

So Shouto is the one with the misconception. But that doesn’t matter. Everyone had clearly agreed that they should. It doesn’t matter if they weren’t dating for the last five years. That doesn’t mean they shouldn't be together for the next five. Or thirty. Or sixty.

Shouto isn’t planning to let this go. He’s been told he’s very tenacious. (“No? I told you you’re fucking annoying,” Touya says. Shouto ignores him.)

Most importantly, Bakugou and Midoriya deserve to be happy. And after years and years of standing by their side, he knows that they’re the happiest when they’re with each other. They’re his best friends, even when they aren’t smart enough to recognize their own feelings.

If Shouto were to plot the way his life has gone versus the way he had thought it would go at sixteen, the lines would not only never intersect; they'd be on different graphs altogether. There's a lot to love about his life now. And as a Best Friend, the least he can do is share the wealth.

-

But first, he needs ideas.

Preferably from other couples. Perfect couples. He needs to know what other things Midoriya and Bakugou have to be doing in order to comfortably be in a relationship. He needs to know what’s missing from their relationship now for them to stay stuck in the “friend zone” for so many years. Especially since, as Shouto understands from the likes of Kaminari, the friend zone is one of the worst places you can possibly be.

(As for Shouto himself, he’s perfectly fine staying in the friend zone. Having friends is one of the best things that has ever happened to him.)

He doesn’t have many people he can go to for a frame of reference of a “perfect couple”. He supposes Kaminari and Jirou were an option, had they not been overseas for a joint case between her agency and Kaminari’s newly established one. Perhaps he needs to find a particularly stable set of parents. His were out of the question for obvious reasons. Midoriya was raised by a single mother. Bakugou’s parents were an option, and also the most helpful, considering Bakugou apparently took after his mother greatly. But Shouto doesn’t have their cell phone numbers, and Bakugou might not give them to him if he asks. He can ask Midoriya for them, but Midoriya would want to know why Shouto needed them, and he wouldn’t rest until he got a satisfactory answer. So that’s out, too.

Was there anyone else? He catalogues the people he knows. Present Mic and Sensei? They were both men, too, which might provide some additional insight. And based on Shouto’s research, the two of them had been long-time friends as well.

But Sensei might mention it to Midoriya, and then Shouto would be back at square one.

Oh, he thinks as another thought comes to him. He almost forgot.

-

“Hello, Natsu-nii,” Shouto says, stepping off the bus.

Natsuo ruffles his hair roughly. “Shouto! You should have called earlier. What made you wanna stop by?”

“I’ve come to conduct an investigation,” Shouto says honestly. He leaves his hair messed up. He likes it when Natsuo teases him like a little brother. It feels like they’re making up for lost time, no matter how old they are now.

“Sure,” Natsuo says, shaking his head with a laugh. “Did you wanna get dinner before the inquisition starts? We have food at home, too. Whatever you want.”

“Will Nezumi-san be there?” Shouto likes Nezumi. She’s nice. A little quiet, but Natsuo seems happy with her. Plus, Natsuo and Nezumi are more than just together; they got married four years ago, delayed while they waited for Touya to finish healing and rehabilitation and a brief prison sentence, and to his knowledge, never once threatened divorce or murder. If Shouto can learn enough from them, then Midoriya and Bakugou will definitely be married in no time.

Natsuo checks the time on his phone and nods. “She should be. I texted her earlier and let her know I’d come get you before I went home.”

“You’re not sure? Do you not track her location?” Should Shouto tell Midoriya to stop tracking Bakugou’s location?

Natsuo raises an eyebrow. “I don’t feel the need to track her location. She’ll tell me if she’s going to be late coming home or going somewhere with her friends.”

Ah, Shouto thinks. So this is about trust. Maybe Bakugou feels slighted by the apparent lack of it. Though, Shouto is pretty sure Bakugou isn’t aware that Midoriya is keeping tabs on him.

Just as Natsuo had suspected, Nezumi is already waiting at the entryway to greet them. The smell of food wafts in from the dining room, already heated up for them.

She smiles when she makes eye contact with him. “Hi there, Shouto. I saw you on the news yesterday. You defeated that villain really quickly!”

Yesterday— ah. Right. A villain with a water-based quirk couldn’t do much against his ice. He doesn’t even think he’d gotten injured during it. “Thank you,” he responds.

Then, she turns to Natsuo. Her ears flicker once as she reaches for Natsuo’s hand in greeting. “And welcome home,” she says softly. Natsuo sneaks a glance at Shouto before he simply grabs her hand back, running his thumb over her knuckles.

“Do you normally kiss when you get home?”

“Ugh, Shouto,” Natsuo says. Nezumi yanks her hand back, face reddening. “You can’t just ask people that.”

“It’s important for me to know,” Shouto insists.

“It’s important for you to mind your business, brat.”

“You sound like Touya.”

“Good to know I’m not the only one you do this to,” Natsuo responds. His cheeks are red now, too.

Hm. Shouto should have suspected that having a third party present in the room would affect how Natsuo and Nezumi would normally act. “Just pretend like I’m not here,” he says. “I can just stand in the corner of the room if that will help.” He smiles in hopes of reassuring them.

“What is wrong with— wait,” Natsuo says, “Is this what your investigation is about?”

“Uh. His what?” Nezumi asks.

Shouto nods.

Natsuo rubs a hand down his face. He inhales for a long time, and exhales for just as long. A calming technique. It was good to know Natsuo still went to therapy. It’s been good for their family .“Okay,” Natsuo says. “Okay. So your investigation is... what, exactly?”

“I want to watch the two of you so I can help Midoriya and Bakugou,” Shouto answers.

“Your friends. Midoriya and Bakugou,” Natsuo comments, which is a little silly. Natsuo’s met them before. Who else could Shouto be talking about?

Shouto nods.

“And how exactly will watching us help?”

“Because they’re not together, and they should be.”

Understanding dawns on Natsuo’s face. “And by watching us...”

“I’ll find out if there’s anything missing in their relationship preventing them from being together,” Shouto says.

“Uh huh. Do they know they’re doing this?”

“I hope to secretly implement my learnings into their daily lives so they can fall into a relationship without realizing.” What does Natsuo take him for? Shouto knows how to be discreet. “They’re both... shy, about this sort of thing.”

“Shy,” Natsuo repeats. He looks like he wants to say something else, before he seemingly thinks better of it and simply holds a hand up. “You know what. Do whatever you want. Let’s just eat before the food gets cold.” He takes Nezumi’s hand again.

Handholding must be an important component of being in a relationship.

-

On the bus ride back to his apartment, Shouto mentally catalogues his list.

Natsuo and Nezumi are always looking at each other. — Midoriya and Bakugou already do this.

They are fans of holding hands, whether he, Todoroki Shouto, is there or not. — Midoriya and Bakugou do this many times when they partner with each other in hero work. He’s unsure if this translates into their personal life. He makes a mental note to check on it.

They spend their free time after work together. — He’s fairly certain that Midoriya and Bakugou already do this.

They decided to live together. — Midoriya and Bakugou could do this, but UA is much farther from Bakugou’s apartment than Midoriya’s to justify it. Perhaps Bakugou can move in with Midoriya instead and fly to the Dynamight Agency every day.

They ask each other about their day. — Midoriya and Bakugou already do this.

They look like they want to kiss each other, but don’t because he, Todoroki Shouto, is there. — Midoriya and Bakugou already do this.

It’s not as fruitful as he had hoped it would be, but he isn’t worried. If they’re already doing everything couples do, then the next step is to simply set them up. That’ll be easy. He’s been reading shoujo manga since he was fifteen.

-

Attempt Number One goes as follows:

“Don’t move,” he tells them after their next get-together. They stand in a quiet corner of the street near the izakaya. No one is around, so Shouto is confident there will be no witnesses to what he’s about to do next.

“Um, okay,” Midoriya says, holding Bakugou, already drunk, to keep him steady on his feet.

Shouto creates an arch of ice, starting at their feet and looping over their heads. Immediately after, he starts heating it slowly, so that the ice can immediately start to melt.

The perfect atmosphere for a romantic kiss in the rain. The first drop of ice lands on Midoriya, who says, “Um?”

“Do you feel anything?” Shouto asks.

“Wet?” Midoriya says.

Shouto frowns, increasing the temperature of his left hand. “What about now?”

Even more drops of melted ice fall on them.

“More wet? Shouto, could you stop, please?” He does look a bit pitiful like this. Shouto cools the ice back down.

“Are you sure you don’t feel something else?” Shouto tries.

“Cold,” Midoriya says.

Bakugou, who hasn’t said a word since all of this started, just opens his mouth and tries to drink the remaining drops.

-

Shouto tries Attempt #2 when they’re changing after a joint mission.

“Bakugou is naked,” Shouto points out. This is when Midoriya needs to reflect on the fact that the love of his life is currently showing an inappropriate amount of skin, and either ‘melt into a puddle’ or ‘feel his ovaries explode’.

Bakugou doesn’t even bother turning around. “No the fuck I’m not.” He’s not; He’s still in a pair of boxers. But that, Shouto’s learned, can just be erotic on its own.

Midoriya gives Shouto a bemused look, pulling off the compression shirt he wears under his hero suit. He doesn’t look any closer to connecting the dots that Shouto needs him to.

Shouto tries again, looking at Bakugou. “Midoriya is getting naked.”

Bakugou throws a wad of clothes at his head.

To block his vision. Because he’s jealous of Shouto seeing Midoriya’s bare pecs, too.

Or not, he realizes when he sees that Bakugou looks completely unaffected by Midoriya, now clad in only a towel.

“Stop being weird,” Bakugou mutters.

-

“Do you have a childhood best friend?” Love triangles were another effective method to get people to realize their feelings.

Midoriya gives him a blank look. “Uh. Kacchan?”

Shouto shakes his head. “No. Not Bakugou.” It can’t be Bakugou. It needs to be someone who can challenge Bakugou for Midoriya’s hand, and give Bakugou an imperative to confess. “A childhood friend that you really care for, that you want to take care of and protect. And perhaps you drew apart in your younger years, only to reconnect later in life as different people. And they are just as determined to be by your side, no matter who stands in the way.”

Midoriya only looks more confused. “Yes?? Kacchan???”

Shouto sighs. He doesn’t even bother trying to call this Attempt #3.

-

Several more attempts follow, including indirect kisses and attempting to create a situation for Midoriya to kabedon Bakugou, which would have worked if not for a very convenient villain attack right when Midoriya was about to trip over Shouto’s feet and brace himself against the wall Bakugou was leaning against—

— But ultimately, it’s all to no success.

-

They need something more direct, Shouto decides. He had been too subtle.

What they really needed was a declaration from each other.

A declaration of love.

As it stands, Shouto has just graduated from his utensil-making classes, and he’s used his creations as declarations of love already.

The first few had obviously gone to his family.

Rei kisses his cheek when he gifts her the first bowl and chopsticks he makes. They have rough edges, and aren’t as smoothed down as he had hoped for them to be, but she insists that she wouldn’t have wanted anything different.

Touya gets his best set; He’s the one who Shouto has to thank for the classes, anyway. Shouto wouldn’t have realized how to look beyond his goals in life without Touya to show him— indirectly, that is. Touya had given him a dead look when Shouto presented it to him.

“What is this?” Touya had said blankly.

“I made it,” Shouto said, feeling somewhat bashful about it.

“And what am I supposed to do with it?”

“Whatever you want,” Shouto responded. He hoped Touya wouldn’t throw it out, but that was a risk you took when you gave a gift to anyone, he supposed.

Touya clicked his teeth, and placed the bowl on top of his dresser table. He grumbled, “At least bring something to eat in it next time. Fuck am I gonna do with empty dinnerware?”

Fuyumi and Natsuo (and Nezumi by extension) get their own sets, too. Natsuo almost immediately sends him an image of the bowls in use. Shouto sends back a smile emoji.

All to say, if Shouto can use his newfound skills to help his best friends, then that’s what he’s going to do. He makes two new sets, special just for Midoriya and Bakugou. On the tapered end of the chopstick, he carves out a message, reading: “I love you very much” followed by Midoriya and Bakugou’s names, respectively.

Then, he arranges a meeting for them both at Shouto’s apartment in lieu of their usual bi-weekly dinner and drinks.

Everything goes smoothly in the beginning. They eat and drink, though Shouto makes sure to cut Bakugou off after a few sips, before he can get too drunk. Bakugou seems disgruntled by it, but seems to be able to tell Shouto has something planned for later.

When they’re done, Shouto gets the presents from his room, wrapped neatly inside two small boxes.

Midoriya gasps, eyes shining. “Are those for us? Wow!”

Shouto nods. He hands the box for Midoriya to Bakugou and the one for Bakugou to Midoriya. “Don’t open them yet.”

“Why not?” Bakugou says with suspicion. “What did you do to them?”

“Nothing,” Shouto responds. “But I need you to hand them to each other first.”

“Hah?”

“Hand them to each other, and then you can open it,” Shouto explains patiently.

Midoriya says, “So you handed us... the other person’s gift?”

“Yes,” Shouto agrees.

“Um. Okay.” Midoriya holds the box out to Bakugou. “Here you go, Kacchan.”

Bakugou looks into Midoriya’s eyes for a long moment, before he scoffs and throws his box into the air for Midoriya to grab.

Fortunately, there are no casualties in the swapping process.

Shouto watches them carefully as they open the gift. Midoriya gasps again when he lifts the box open and peers inside. “Shouto-kun! These are so pretty. Did you make them?”

“I made them for you both,” Shouto says pointedly. “I put a message in there, too.”

Both of them lift the chopsticks out of the box to get a better look. Then, they both look at each other.

Hope fills Shouto’s chest. Did the message reach them? Maybe now, both of them will realize how they feel about each other and—

Bakugou’s mouth quirks up, even as he rolls his eyes. “Idiot.”

“Aw, Shouto,” Midoriya says, eyes wet. “We love you, too. This is so nice.”

Never mind. Shouto clicks his tongue in displeasure.

-

A few days after his latest failed attempt, Shouto goes to Bakugou's apartment.

“Do you like sex?” Shouto read that sex can be a deal-breaker for relationships, if one party has a fundamentally different view of it than the other.

Bakugou tenses. “Get out of my house.”

“This is an apartment building,” Shouto says. “And I just got here.”

“What the fuck are you saying to me right now? Did you seriously just show up to fucking ask me about my sex life?”

Shouto nods.

“Wh- Are you propositioning me?! I don’t want to fuck you!”

Shouto doesn’t want to fuck Bakugou, either. Besides, based on Shouto’s observations, it’s probably not going to be Bakugou doing the fucking in the first place. Though perhaps there’s another important thing he can check— “Are you having sex with anyone currently?”

“NO.”

That’s good. “How important would you say sex is to a relationship?”

“Did I or did I not tell you to get out of my house?” Bakugou’s steaming. A new unlock of his quirk, Shouto thinks with a smile.

“The faster you answer the question, the faster I will,” he answers.

Bakugou waves at the steam aggressively. “Are you coming out to me or something? You don’t like sex? You only want sex with men?”

“No. I don’t feel strongly about it. Probably,” Shouto answers promptly.

“Then what the fuck are you doing right now?”

Shouto had thought it was obvious. Actually, he’s not exactly sure what the point of contention is right now. “Trying to understand yours and Midoriya’s sexual compatibility.”

“What?”

“If the problem is that you think that Midoriya can’t satisfy you sexually, a website I read recommended that communication is the most important thing.”

“Why the fuck would I—”

“But if the problem is that you think you can’t satisfy Midoriya sexually, then the website recommended that you find ways to explore your own sexual capabilities to advance your skills. That’s why I brought this,” Shouto says, lifting the discrete bag in his hands.

Bakugou pales. The steam starts up again. “What’s in the bag?”

“The saleswoman recommended these to start,” Shouto explains.

“Did you buy sex toys?!”

“Yes,” Shouto says in relief. At least Bakugou is understanding him now.

Bakugou lets out several more expletives, with at least thirteen occurrences of his old “Half-and-Half Bastard” nickname by his count.

Could Bakugou be too vanilla even for this? Well. Shouto can start small. “Even trying something different from your normal position can be considered adventurous. If you tried topping—”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP,” Bakugou says. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” He pauses. “Wait. Did you just fucking assume that I bottom?!”

Shouto considers Bakugou again. “Yes,” he says, covering his ears just in time to prevent premature hearing loss from Bakugou’s screams.

When he’s done, Bakugou grabs him by the collar and pulls his face close to his. “You. Are going to explain what you’ve been doing. Right the fuck now.”

-

When Shouto is done explaining, Bakugou drops his face in his hands. He takes a deep breath in, similar to Natsuo’s own breathing exercises. It’s good that Bakugou is still going to therapy, too.

“Look,” Bakugou starts, calmer than he had been moments ago. He stretches his neck, beginning to rub a kink out on the back of his neck. He starts pulling at the back strands before continuing, “I get what you’re trying to do, and I— fuck. Appreciate it, or whatever the fuck. But cut it out. Izuku already told me he isn’t interested.”

Shouto blinks. That... can’t be right. “You confessed to Midoriya?”

Bakugou collapses onto the couch next to Shouto, leaning his head back over the top. “Over a month ago,” he mutters. “It was bad timing. Eijirou was still in the car, so at first I thought he just felt awkward or some shit.”

And not him? That was Bakugou’s first mistake.

Bakugou clicks his teeth. “Was gonna talk to him after your celebration dinner, but then he left to go talk to Round Face instead, so— so that was that.”

“But he’s not dating Uraraka,” Shouto says. Shouto definitely would have known that by now. There would have been a sign. Uraraka’s private social media account, or a change in Midoriya’s schedule. Uraraka would have said something when Shouto had asked about the state of Midoriya and Bakugou’s relationship.

“Probably still talking about it. Making sure it’ll work. I don’t fucking know. Barely talked to Izuku since.”

“But you went on a camping trip,” Shouto says. According to his research, camping trips were a hotspot for romantic activity.

Bakugou looks at him incredulously. “Yeah, with All Might, idiot. It’s not like we can talk about any of that shit with him there. Not that I’d wanna talk about anything anyways.”

Shouto doesn’t get what All Might being there has to do with anything, but he’s also been told that his sense of timing could use some work.

“Did Midoriya give you a reason?” All in all, Shouto— can’t fathom this. Refuses to. It was one thing for Midoriya and Bakugou to not realize the depths of their own feelings, but it was another thing altogether for Bakugou to know what he felt for Midoriya and for Midoriya to turn him down. It went against everything he’s known about both of them.

Bakugou throws a hand over his eyes. “Nah. It’s whatever. I didn’t think he’d go for me anyways.”

Shouto remembers the apology Bakugou had given in front of everyone, back when they were desperately trying to bring Midoriya home. “What did Midoriya tell you, exactly?”

Bakugou mutters, “‘S like I said. He told me to my face that he wasn’t interested.”

Shouto’s lips press into a thin line. “So you gave up?”

Without looking, Bakugou sends a light explosion into his side. It’s small; barely hot enough for Shouto to feel it. “I didn’t give up,” he sneers. “I just,” he waves his hand around aimlessly in front of him, “decided to let Izuku do whatever the hell he wants. With whoever he wants. Didn’t think it was going to be me.”

“I thought it was going to be you,” Shouto says.

Bakugou huffs. “Yeah. Figured as much from all this bullshit you’ve been up to. That’s why you need to leave it the hell alone.”

Shouto’s not going to do that. There’s either been a— an immensely big misunderstanding between the two of them (very likely) or Midoriya had gotten his head knocked around one too many times in his new suit (equally as likely) — Or it’s just another thing that can be blamed on Midoriya having One for All in the past.

But Shouto was going to get to the bottom of it.

Bakugou doesn’t say anything more for a while. Shouto understands. Bakugou was never one for emotionally vulnerable conversations like this.

Then, Shouto’s stomach growls. “I’m hungry,” he announces.

“So go home,” Bakugou says. His hand is still thrown over his eyes. “I’m not gonna feed you.”

“I would like some ramen,” Shouto says.

“Go home.”

-

After dinner, with his belly full of Bakugou’s homemade ramen, Shouto realizes that he had left his bag of toys at Bakugou’s house.

Shouto hopes that Bakugou can put them to good use, at least until Shouto can figure out what to do about all the new information he learned about Midoriya.

-

Shouto: Hello, Uraraka. Are you dating Midoriya?

Uraraka sends him ten laughing emojis in return.

-

The best step, he realizes, is to go to the source itself.

“It’s Todoroki Shouto,” Shouto says, just as the door opens.

Midoriya smiles. “Shouto. I have a ring camera. I know it’s you.”

“Ah,” Shouto says.

If Bakugou’s apartment could be described as ‘curated’, then the best word to describe Midoriya’s was ‘homey’. It’s not unlike the home Midoriya had shared with his mother up until a few years ago. Shouto had liked it the few times he’d visited. It was much different than the house he’d grown up in.

Midoriya sets down a cup of tea in front of Shouto. It’s the exact brand that Shouto prefers.

“Did you need something, Shouto?”

Shouto nods. “I wanted to know what you look for in a partner.”

“A partner? Hmm,” Midoriya starts. “I would probably want someone strong.”

“Strong,” Shouto repeats. Bakugou is strong.

“Someone who can think ahead, and is creative.”

Bakugou often yells at Midoriya for not thinking ahead enough. His curses and nicknames are certainly creative, as well.

“And probably someone who’s very confident. Someone who shares the same goals as me,” Midoriya finishes.

Confidence is an understatement for Bakugou. And Midoriya and Bakugou had probably had the same goal since birth.

“Bakugou matches all of these things,” Shouto says. “So, why are you not with him?”

Midoriya frowns suddenly. Upset with something. “You... want me to be his hero partner?”

“No?” Why would Shouto be talking about being hero partners now? “I’m talking about as his romantic partner,” he says.

Midoriya’s expression clears. “Aaah, Shouto, is that what this is about?”

Shouto nods.

“And all your— uh, activities, from earlier?”

Ah. “You caught on?”

“You weren’t being very subtle.”

“Oh,” Shouto says.

Midoriya laughs weakly. The flustered stammering from a few weeks ago is gone. Instead, he just looks sad. “I guess it’s not your fault you don’t know, but actually... things between Kacchan and I are... a bit strained at the moment.”

Shouto squints. Maybe Bakugou’s worries did have some merit after all. Uraraka’s message hadn’t been very clear, so there is the chance that— “Because you’re dating Uraraka?”

“What? N- no! That’s not it— I'm not dating anyone!”

Then, why not Bakugou? Shouto wants to ask. None of this is clearing it up for him. But Bakugou had said that Midoriya had turned him down the night of his party for Uraraka, and at least part of that statement has already turned out to be untrue.

Midoriya sighs. “We’re just fighting. I think. I don’t know. Kacchan hasn’t said anything for me to think otherwise.”

Shouto asks, “Did something happen at my party?”

Exasperated, Midoriya says, “Did Kacchan tell you that?”

Shouto thinks for a moment, and then shakes his head. He’s never been a good liar, but Midoriya seems too frustrated to notice, running a hand through his hair.

“I just... I don’t know,” Midoriya says, throwing his hands in the air. “Kacchan just— frustrates me sometimes. I don’t think he understands that there’s more to life than being a hero. I’ve made an entire life beyond heroism that’s just as important to me! I love heroism, but I love teaching, too! But it's like it just goes in one ear and out the other if it’s not about patrol or the suit or— I don't know!”

It’s not that Shouto doesn’t understand. It took him over twenty years to understand there was more to life than your ambitions. But just as he can understand that, he understands Bakugou just as much. “I think that Bakugou wants you to be happy doing what you love,” he says thoughtfully. “And I think Bakugou wants to be the one to make you happy. He knows being a hero is what you love. He knows it’s your dream, and it’s something he can give you.”

“I do love being a hero,” Midoriya says. “And it is my dream, and I’m so, so beyond happy and grateful to Kacchan— and everyone!— for allowing me to achieve that dream again. I can barely put it into words how… how ecstatic I am that I can put on this suit and save people! It feels like you returned a part of me to myself! But it’s like— Like that’s the only part that Kacchan wants to see. And he doesn’t want me without it.”

“Have you talked to Bakugou about this? Has he told you that?”

“Well, no, but— But you know Kacchan. He wouldn’t say something like that to my face.” Shouto watches a myriad of emotions run through Midoriya’s expression. “You know, he asked me to join his agency,” Midoriya admits, voice small. “And I said no. I think Kacchan’s mad at me for it.”

Shouto pauses. Was that— Was that Bakugou’s confession? Was Bakugou stupid? “Did he say anything else to you?”

Izuku purses his lips. “He said. Something about seeing people as special, and I thought— Ugh. I don’t know what I thought.” He drops his head into his hands.

“What about Uraraka?”

Midoriya tilts his head. “Uraraka-san? What about her? I talked to her after your celebration party, but after that...”

Shouto hums. “Did you talk about anything important?"

Midoriya’s face, already red from how intensely he’s been talking, reddens more. He rubs the back of his neck, pulling at the hair on the back of his neck. Just like Bakugou.

Shouto wonders who picked up the habit from who.

“Yeah, we did. She just made me... realize something. About Kacchan.” Midoriya groans. From here, Shouto can see the tears in Midoriya’s eyes. “I guess you aren’t totally wrong about things, Shouto. I do... you know, like Kacchan. Of course I do. Kacchan is my— I can’t imagine life without him. I thought he actually was confessing to me that night. But then Eijirou cleared things up, and then I couldn’t look at him without getting upset that Kacchan still only sees me as anything when I’m a hero. And now Kacchan’s upset, too, and I can pretend around others, you know? I can pretend things are fine when we’re hanging out with you or camping with All Might, but, but Kacchan and I haven’t spent any time alone together in forever.

“I just don't know how we’ll ever get back to how it was before,” Midoriya says, sniffing roughly. “I know we’ve come back from worse, and I know we could just, find a way to move past this whole thing if we could talk about it, but— What if me being a hero is all Kacchan wants to see?” He lets the question sit in the air for a long moment. “Aaah,” he exhales. “Sorry, Shouto. I didn’t mean to dump that all on you.”

“I was the one who asked,” Shouto says. He pats Midoriya on the shoulder in comfort.

Midoriya nods. “Yeah,” he agrees. “But don’t worry about it anymore. I know you wanted us to be together because, because you really care. You’re a really good friend. But you see why it can’t happen, right?”

Shouto nods back slowly. “I see,” he says. He does see. It just doesn’t make any sense.

-

“So they’re both stupid,” Touya says, taking a large bite out of his chicken skewer.

“I thought your doctor said you shouldn’t eat too much dark meat,” Shouto comments.

“Well you’re not my doctor, so I don’t think there’s any fucking problem at all.”

Shouto doesn't think it works like that. “But—”

“Do you want to hear my thoughts about your idiot friends or not?”

“Please don’t call my friends idiots.”

Touya chews obnoxiously, swallowing with a loud gulp. “Listen,” he says. “You need to stop getting involved.”

“Why?”

“It’s just confusing them, and they’re already stupid. As I’ve said.”

Shouto lets the insult slide this time in the name of his mission. “So then what should I do?”

“Just let them figure it out on their own. Or put them in a situation where they’ll be forced to talk to each other.”

Shouto thinks for a moment. “Like a villain attack.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Communication is critical for villain attacks.”

“Not that kind of talking, moron. Lock them in a room and threaten to kill them if they leave.”

Oh. Huh. “That’s not a bad idea,” Shouto says, surprised. Many of Touya’s ideas over the years had been less than subpar. Killing their family, for one. “Simple and efficient.”

“All I do now is watch movies. You pick up on what works.”

Shouto blinks. “I thought you learned it from Hawks—”

“Keep talking, Shouto, and I’ll kill you.”

“You’re not allowed to do that, either,” Shouto says simply.

-

Touya was right; Shouto had been doing this all wrong.

He knows they love each other, true. But he had assumed that the problem was that they didn’t know they loved the other person, when in reality, they don't think that the other person loves them back.

Luckily, the best fix to this is also the simplest one.

He sends a message on his phone and goes to Bakugou’s apartment.

“Now what do you want?” Bakugou grumbles.

Shouto lets himself in, ignoring Bakugou’s Oi! and takes a seat on Bakugou’s couch. It’s quite comfortable. “Be ready.”

Dread flickers in Bakugou’s expression. “Be ready for what?” He eyes Shouto’s hands, but they’re empty this time.

“I told Midoriya there was an emergency at your apartment,” Shouto explains.

Bakugou splutters, “You fucking what?!”

Shouto pulls his phone out of his pocket to show Bakugou a message that reads: big emergency. bakugou apartment. come right now.

“Why would you do that?!”

It takes no time at all before a crash is heard from outside, followed by several loud stomping sounds, then the hinges of Bakugou’s door creaking in a way it probably shouldn’t. Then, the door slams open.

Midoriya— no, Deku— runs into the apartment, fully suited up. He bypasses Shouto completely, opting to grab Bakugou by the shoulders and drag him close with ease. “Kacchan— Kacchan! Are you alright? Shouto texted me and— Is everything okay?”

Bakugou flushes. He looks off to the side. “I’m fine, nerd.”

“I’m glad you both came,” Shouto says.

“This is my apartment,” Bakugou growls.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Kacchan?” Midoriya frets. His hands have dropped to hold Bakugou’s forearms.

“I have something important to tell you both,” Shouto says. “You love each other. Bakugou, Midoriya is not dating Uraraka.”

“Hah?!”

“And Midoriya, I think if you spoke to Bakugou, you would learn his reasoning for why he did what he did.”

“Wait—”

Shouto stands up, ignoring both of their exclamations. “And that’s why I’m here to make sure you talk about it.”

He loops an arm through both of theirs and walks them to Bakugou’s bedroom. They’re dumbfounded enough that neither stops him when he starts pushing them inside the bedroom. He closes the door behind him with a resounding thud. He debates encasing the door with a sheet of ice, but Bakugou would likely get distracted by water stains on my hardwood, you Half-and-Half Bastard!

“I’ll wait out here,” he calls out instead. He’s learned that third parties can sometimes affect things negatively. “Please don’t come out until you’ve both talked in-depth.”

Then, he goes back to Bakguou’s comfortable couch, and waits.

-

Some time later, most of which Shouto spends playing phone games with as many of his friends as will respond, Bakugou and Midoriya emerge from his room flushed and sweaty, just like the day Shouto had thought that they had first gotten together. Their eyes are red, too, as though they’d been crying. Midoriya’s no longer wearing his hero suit, now wearing a large black shirt and sweatpants. And, when Shouto looks closer, he sees a bruise forming on Bakugou’s neck. A hickey, his mind supplies.

They both seem surprised to see him, but Shouto doesn’t know why. He said he’d be here. And it’s not like he would leave before he found out how their conversation ended up.

Midoriya is the one to react first. He grabs Shouto’s hands, and pulls him to his feet. “Shouto, you are the bestest friend ever.”

Shouto preens. “Are you both together now?”

“No thanks to you,” Bakugou grunts, stepping into their vicinity. Into Midoriya’s vicinity, Shouto thinks, pleased.

“Actually,” Shouto corrects, “A lot of thanks to me. You’re welcome. I request to be included no less than twice in your wedding vows, and I would like a role on the wedding stage. If not as best man, then I would like to make a fog machine with my ice. I practiced a lot for Natsuo’s wedding.”

Midoriya immediately starts giggling. Bakugou rolls his eyes, but Shouto can tell he’s amused.

Shouto can’t help himself then. He grabs both of their shoulders and pulls them into a hug. Neither of them are particularly small men, but they fit into his arms easily. One on each shoulder. Midoriya immediately grabs him back. He makes a contented noise against the warmer side of his body, tucking his nose into Shouto’s neck. Bakugou hisses immediately against his cooler side. He tries to scramble out of it until Shouto transfers some of the heat in his body to that side, too. Bakugou relaxes.

After a moment, Shouto says, “Did you enjoy the toys?”

Bakugou freezes. Shouto transfers more heat to his right side.

Deku looks up. “Toys? Did you buy Kacchan a figurine? Which one?”

Painless heat explodes against Shouto’s side as Bakugou tries to escape his hold again. “We were only there for half an hour, asshole!”

Midoriya freezes, too.

“You don’t need to be shy,” Shouto says. “We’re best friends.”

Bakugou screams. “Best friends, your ass—”

“Midoriya said I was your bestest friend ever.”

“Shut up—!”