Work Text:
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Why not.”
“There is no way I am letting you go on a date with a girl unsupervised, Shouto. Let alone one that I haven’t approved. So no. There is no way you can go to the arcade with that Uraraka girl, even though you’re saying that it's just as friends. Which I certainly don’t believe. Guys can’t just be friends with girls.”
Todoroki turns and storms out, leaving his father behind him staring in confusion.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later in the dorms, Todoroki stares at Midoriya for a while, deep in planning. Midoriya stares back, face slowly turning red.
He should probably get that checked out. Most people’s faces don’t spontaneously turn red like that.
“Um Shouto…Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Go on a date with me.”
Midoriya squeaks.
“Sorry what?”
“Go on a date with me. My dad won’t let me hang out with girls because he doesn’t want me dating without his permission. So I think that if I go on a date with the son of his enemy-”
“I’m not All Might's son.”
“-He’ll have to get over his stupid rules and give me freedom.”
“Shouto, that just sounds like a good way to get him to crack down on you more. Won’t he see this as proof that you can’t make good decisions.”
Todoroki shrugs.
“Maybe, but the look on his face when we get caught by the paparazzi will be priceless.”
“Paparazzi?”
“Come on. Please Izuku.”
Midoriya looks at Todoroki before shaking his head.
“Fine Shouto, but you’re paying.”
“Of course! I have my dad’s credit card after all.”
Midoriya lets out a long-suffering sigh.
“Alright so what are we doing for this horrify-your-father date? And when?” Midoriya bounces his leg in what is clearly excitement in Todoroki’s view. It definitely can’t be in agitation, no.
“Take him to a club,” Kaminari yells from across the room. “One of those seedy ones that would really offend dear old dad!”
“Shut up, that’s a stupid idea. Half-and-half needs to take him somewhere with more visibility than that if he wants the fucking paparazzi to find them,” Bakugou snaps from another corner of the room.
Since when is this a group project to figure out where he’s going to take Midoriya on this date-but-not-a-date. Admittedly, he hadn’t really thought that far ahead, mainly wanting to get his father back for the refusal to allow him to go have fun with Uraraka when she’d wanted someone to go to the arcade with her.
Speaking of Uraraka, she throws her opinion into the fray next. “Take him to the arcade for the hilarious factor.”
She has a devious smile on her face, and Todoroki can see the gears turning in her head on the best way to make Endeavor pay for ruining her fun. She had been quite upset being denied the opportunity to go have fun for such a sexist reason.
The ways to get back at him have gotten more and more outrageous since then, culminating in the idea of fake dating random boys to upset the old man.
The arcade is a good idea though, plenty visibly and Midoriya would have fun…
He stands abruptly. “Uraraka is right, Midoriya. We simply must go to the arcade right away.”
“Now?” Midoriya squawks.
“Yes.” He holds out his hand towards Midoriya—good practice for the date, because couples hold hands while walking around. “Now.”
Midoriya looks past Todoroki, like he’s expecting someone to swoop in and prevent this from happening. But no one else in the common room seems to have any intent on stepping in, so Midoriya relents.
“Okay…” he agrees, placing his hand in Todoroki’s.
As soon as the contact has been made, Todoroki tugs Midoriya to his feet, dragging him towards the door. The sooner they make their first public appearance as a couple, the sooner his dad will find out. There’s no time to waste!
—
The arcade, as it turns out, was the perfect place to go. A few middle schoolers there recognize them from watching footage of the final war, and start chattering eagerly about how cool they are. Todorki takes the opportunity to squeeze Midoriya’s hand, smile, and say, “Yes. My boyfriend is so amazing.”
Midoriya turns red as a tomato, squeaking out something that is probably supposed to be a response but does not resemble any words in the Japanese language.
The middle schoolers ask for a picture, which they grant, and which draws attention from others in the arcade. Most aren’t so direct in their approach, giving Todoroki and Midoriya time to enjoy themselves and play a variety of games, but they’re definitely taking pictures. Hopefully, they’ll post them on social media, and word will spread fast.
In the meantime, Todoroki is going to play as many games as possible because he wants to put his dad’s credit card to good use, and maybe he can even exchange his tickets for a prize for Midoriya!
Right at the end of the arcade trip, he makes sure to get a large stuffed All Might bear for Midoriya.
“Here you go. Now do you think you can walk me home?”
“Am I going to be safe? Your dad isn’t going to attack me or anything is he?”
“He won’t if he wants to protect his reputation. Besides, I can take care of you.”
Finally getting to his house, Todoroki pauses for a moment, hesitating to head in.
“What you said goes for you too. I’ll take care of you too. We can do this. Now let’s see how mad he can get.”
Midoriya grabs Todoroki’s hand, returning the gesture from earlier as they walk up to the door together. They don’t even get a chance to put a hand on it, when it swings open.
“SHOUTO!”
The boys glance at each other as they stand their ground.
“Hello father.”
“What do you think you are doing?”
“Well, you said that I couldn't go to the arcade with Uraraka. I'm just following your instructions. If you didn't want me to go with my boyfriend, you should have clarified that.”
“I didn’t think that was something that needed to be stated. After all, my concern was unfounded dating rumors. If I had known you had someone already, we could have had a press release. Now while I think you could’ve done better, I suppose there is something to be said for getting All Might’s successor on our side. Now come along, we have much to discuss before the news articles begin to come out.”
Glancing at each other, the two boys follow Endeavor inside.
Well that clearly didn’t work. Maybe I need to escalate further.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“FUCK NO!”
“Come on. It’s not that big of an ask.”
“You’re asking me to go on a date with you and Deku. Why would I do that?”
“I’ll buy you that limited edition All Might figure that you have been eyeing.”
“…Deal.”
There is a certain amount of squabbling over where they are going that will satisfy all of them this time. The arcade had clearly been inadequate for upsetting his father. They needed something far more dramatic this time.
They find themselves sitting in the dorms throwing around ideas on how to best upset Endeavor.
“I say it needs to be something super romantic and cozy,” Ashido offers.
“No, it needs to be something controversial, like an All Might merch drop,” Kaminari fires back.
“There is that small pride celebration in the park, would that do perhaps?” Yaoyorozu says, examining her nails dramatically.
“I still think for maximum impact Todoroki needs to take the entire class on a date at once,” Tenya says seriously. Midoriya giggles at his words and nods.
“I think it would work!” Midoriya says with another laugh.
Todoroki frowns, rubbing his chin as he considers it. “If this does not work, we can try that next. But Bakugou has a reputation, I can’t see why he won’t be disappointed this time.”
“Take them to the new All Might movie, then be found buying Bakugou and Izuku expensive All Might figurines. That’s sure to fix it,” Uraraka says.
Todoroki nods. “That is what we will do. Maximum impact.”
The paparazzi find them as soon as they enter the shop, Midoriya having beelined immediately towards the figures leaving him and Bakugou alone. Todoroki nearly falls over in shock as Bakugou drapes himself over Todoroki with a smirk.
“I’m going to earn that figure fair and square, half-and-half,” Bakugou says into his ear. Todoroki’s face flames.
The contact between them certainly draws attention, with whispers following them as they make their way over to where Midoriya is muttering to himself about the pros and cons of various figurines.
“Are they really that different?” Todoroki wonders aloud.
Upon hearing this, Midoriya turns around, a box in each hand, and immediately launches into an explanation about the difference between poses, manufacturers, and rarity of the figures he’s been examining. Todoroki hangs on to every word, nodding along with wide eyes. Even Bakugou deigns to listen in, though he does so with a scowl and makes sure to interject with his own opinions more often than not.
In the end, Todoroki determines to buy them each multiple figures. It’s his dad’s money, after all, and the way their eyes light up makes it more than worth it.
—
“Why did you not tell me you have TWO boyfriends?!” Endeavor demands.
Todoroki shrugs. “You didn’t ask.”
Endeavor’s hands curl into fists at his sides. He looks ready to quite literally burst into flames. Midoriya remains silent, half-hidden behind Todoroki, while Bakugou stands at his side with a bored expression. Both boys are still holding bags with the All Might figures, which have All Might’s logo printed on the outside, and because they went to see the movie beforehand, all three of them are wearing All Might merch as well.
After a long, tense, moment of silence, Endeavor takes a breath. Through gritted teeth, he asks, “Shouto, do you have any other…romantic partners?”
“Why?” Bakugou asks, picking at his fingernails. “How many would it take to really piss you off? Are the two of us not enough? Should I also mention I think you’re an asshole and All Might is wayyy better than you?”
Endeavor seethes, a vein pulsing in his forehead. “Shouto.”
“Yes?” Todoroki replies, the epitome of innocence.
“Get these two out of my sight immediately. I do not want you ‘dating’ either of these hoodlums for a single second longer.”
“But father,” he says seriously, “I love them. And I will not let you take that away from me.”
With that, he turns away, taking both Midoriya and Bakugou with him. Bakugou flips off Endeavor on the way out.