Work Text:
Magne stood proud at the centre of her hard work, her hands on her hips, smiling with pride. She turned a once-abandoned warehouse into a fully functional baking show set. It had taken weeks of planning and questionable heists, but it was perfect. Four sets of folding tables stretched across the room, each one draped with brightly coloured tablecloths and decorated with an array of different cooking appliances and baking tools. There were mixers, metal bowls stacking in towers, whisks, wooden spoons and other cutlery. At each end of each table sat a large box full of ingredients, each participating couple gave an ingredient list beforehand and Magne made sure each request was graciously provided, mostly by less than legal ways. The ovens and fridges were shoved to the far side of the room, they looked suspiciously brand new. Kurogiri’s portal quirk may or may not have helped with that.
The bright lighting dangled above in the usually dim warehouse, blinding the place in a sheet of white light. The room was decorated with cute decorations, pastel bunting hung across the roof and walls, and balloons in shades of pink and blue rested on tables and the floor. Posters of cakes and other confectionery goods, downloaded from Pinterest and printed with faded colours, were taped up to the walls. Magne was going for a baking aesthetic theme she had seen online before, and she somehow exceeded expectations.
A familiar wisp of purple mist appeared behind her and walked the lucky contestants through Kurogiri’s portal. The contestants she had more or less successfully persuaded to participate in this event. “Welcome, darlings, to the League of Villains’ first-ever bake-off!” She spoke with enthusiasm; she waved her arms as she welcomed them into her decorated warehouse. She had been planning this for days and now the show was about to begin.
Atsuhiro applauded her showmanship.
Kurogiri phased beside her, his posture stiff as he spoke politely. “Please refrain from breaking any appliances, many were stolen thanks to Miss Magne’s hard work. Others were purchased using Master All For One’s generous donation; he was specific about wanting things returned intact.” Kurogiri sounded like he had little faith in that though.
Some of the others turned their heads towards Dabi when Kurogiri said that. Dabi didn’t seem to notice, keeping his usual nonchalant expression. Shigaraki was secretly glad no one was looking at him.
Magne clapped loudly, drawing attention towards herself to break the tension. “Alright, my sweet lovebirds, let’s introduce the teams!” Her arm gestured dramatically, pointing towards the first team. “Firstly, we have team Himiko and Ochaco!”
The girls stepped forward as they waved sweetly. Toga vibrated with excitement, with her sharp, wide smile across her face, she had been excited for this all week. Meanwhile, Ochaco was a little more nervous with her smile but her eyes showed determination to win. The two prepared beforehand, Ochaco’s hair tied in a short ponytail and Toga’s hair tied up in one messy bun. Toga insisted they both wear matching pink aprons that were dotted with tiny red hearts. “Let's win, Ochaco!” Toga said excitedly as she squeezed her girlfriend’s hand. Ochaco squeezed back, her eyes shining with determination. She’d do anything for that smile on her girl’s face.
Magne then grandly gestured towards the next team. “Next up, we have Jin and Atsuhiro!”
Jin stepped forward, giving an exaggerated finger gun pose as his hips were angled like he was posing for a magazine cover. Atsuhiro stood beside him, tying his elegant red apron around his back. He then helped Jin tie his apron, though this one was not matching like Toga and Ochaco. Jin’s was bright yellow with cute cartoon ducks, he picked it himself. Their sleeves were pulled back, showing Jin’s strong forearms and Atsuhiro’s prosthetic that gleamed under the white light. “Let us win, my beloved assistant,” Atsuhiro spoke fondly, finishing tying Jin’s apron.
“We are gonna! No, we are not!” Jin contradicted himself as he threw an arm around his partner, affectionately. Atsuhiro chuckled at his beloved’s endearing quirks.
Magne moved on to introduce the third team. (The team she secretly hoped to win.) “Next we have Dabi and Hawks!”
Hawks waved with his usual easy smile as if he was at a fans meet up, Dabi clicked his tongue and his shoulders slouched, he clearly did not want to be there. Hawks nudged him with his elbow, eyes piercing at his boyfriend. “As long as you follow my lead, this will be as easy as a walk in the park.” He said confidently, holding up the chocolate lava cake recipe he printed out from the internet. He came prepared with measurements and ingredients, Dabi just showed up like he didn’t have a choice to begin with.
“A walk in the park is not exactly easy for me,” Dabi muttered, speaking with little emotion.
“It’s just a saying, babe,” Hawks replied with an affectionate wave of a gloved hand, completely unphased. Dabi huffed again but didn’t argue back. He planned to let Keigo do 90 percent of the work anyway.
Magne clapped her hands together like she was holding back a fangirl squeal before pivoting to the last team. “And lastly, we have team Shuichi and Shigaraki!”
Spinner and Shigaraki both stepped forward and stood side by side awkwardly, trying hard not to embarrass themselves. Shigaraki’s pale hair had been tied up neatly and he was fitted with a plain grey apron, Kurogiri made sure he was properly prepared. Spinner meanwhile wore a bandana to brush his hair out of his face. The others found them amusing, their usual fearless leader and his most loyal partner looked like domestic awkward boyfriends.
The two stayed silent, only nodding in acknowledgement, so Kurogiri took this as his cue to explain the rules. He took his role as judge very seriously as he smoothly stepped forward to speak. “The rules are simple. Each team has two hours to bake and decorate a cake that represents their relationship. You will be evaluated on presentation, creativity, taste and teamwork.”
Kurogiri stared Dabi down when he mentioned teamwork.
“Get ready, set, BAKE!” Magne exclaimed, waving a tablecloth in excitement.
And with that, the League of Villains’ bake-off began!
---
Ochaco started headfirst into the recipe to start preparing the cake batter. She weighed the flour and sugar precisely whilst double-checking every line on the recipe so as not to skip an important step. She soon began to mix the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, her tongue poked out in concentration. However, Toga was far more excited about preparing the red sticky substance that was close to being mistaken for blood as she bounced on her toes, cutting up the fresh strawberries for the gooey centre of the cake. They agreed beforehand that Toga would handle preparing the strawberry syrup and she took the job very seriously until she couldn’t help but eat the leftovers, her face lit up as the sweetness hit her tongue. Soon she was stirring the chopped, red fruit in a pot on the stove. She loved how the thick liquid bubbled and splattered like blood.
“This will be even better with more sugar.” She whispered with a sly smile. She quickly sliced open a brand new bag of sugar with a knife like she was stabbing another person, piercing the paper and tearing it open before tipping most of the contents into the bubbling pot. “Lots of sugar so it will be thick and sweet like blood.”
She mixed the syrup excitedly as the hot liquid splattered onto her pink apron with red blotches. Toga loved the splatter pattern that looked like a gruesome stabbing. She smiled even wider as she lightly tapped Ochaco’s shoulder to get her attention. Ochaco was in the middle of pouring the batter into heart-shaped cake tins.
“Look, Ochaco! It looks like blood! It is so cute!” Toga chirped, pointing to the mess on her apron proudly.
Ochaco jumped out of her concentration before her mouth gasped in panic. “Himi, that liquid is boiling! You have to be careful, especially when adding sugar!” Speaking of sugar, Ochaco spotted the half-empty bag on Toga’s side of the table counter, panic flooded her even more. “HIMIKO HOW MUCH DID YOU-”
She was interrupted by Magne’s excited voice from behind them. “So girls, what are we making over here, hm?”
“A bloody heart cake!” Toga announced excitedly, she was too proud of her idea. “It was my idea.”
Ochaco laughed nervously as she slowly took over from Toga’s syrup, taking the spoon out of her hand. “It is going to be a red velvet with a strawberry syrup filling. It will be one if Himi stops drowning it with the sugar.”
“OOOO that sounds adorable, girls. Good luck!” Magne said excitedly before turning around to harass the nest couple. The moment the tall woman turned around, Toga immediately tipped more sugar in the pot but Ochaco managed to catch her this time.
”HIMI! That’s enough!” Ochaco shouted. She redirected the bag of sugar by activating her quirk out of stress and the sugar floated out of Toga’s hand. The bag flew up to the ceiling, Toga didn’t bother getting it back.
“I want the cake to be as sweet as you!” Toga whined as she watched the bag of sugar drift away. “We are supposed to make a cake that represents our relationship, remember?”
Ochaco’s face lit up red that rivaled the blood-like syrup. She fumbled over her words and her hands cradled her round cheeks. “Y-yes, I know but um… but it has to actually taste good too!”
“The sweeter the better…” Toga mumbled, but the sight of Ochaco’s adorable flushed face pleased her more than the sugar ever could. She leaned in closer, smiling hopelessly smitten as she watched Ochaco trying to regain her composure so she could try to save the overly sweet syrup. Unfortunately, her brain melted just as easily as the sugar.
---
Meanwhile, across the warehouse, Jin and Atsuhiro were working in a perfect rhythm, as perfect as things ever got when Jin was involved, baking their marble cake. The cake’s two-toned colours and flavours of vanilla and chocolate intertwined in a swirl pattern to represent Jin’s split mind and doubling quirk, whilst its elegant look and name paid tribute to Atsuhiro’s refined aesthetic and quirk. The two had spent an entire evening beforehand deciding what cake they were going to make and Atsuhiro had been so particular about this cake being nothing but perfect, just like their loving and chaotic relationship. Jin hasn’t stopped feeling giddy at the idea that his lover had chosen something beautiful to represent him, his quirk, his struggles and identity. Atsuhiro gently reassured him that they deserved nothing less than a cake that perfectly honours them both.
The cake has three layers, already poured evenly into separate tins. Atsuhiro has just finished sliding each cake into the oven and closed the door before setting the timer. He then moved on to preparing the fondant roses that will be decorated on top of the cake. With precise hands, he rolled out the red fondant, sculpting delicate rose petals between his fingertips. The petals took shape into an edible bouquet.
Just beside him, Jin was enthusiastically whisking whipped cream at a frightening speed, his sleeves were rolled up as his forearms tensed. The speed of his mixing sent specks of cream splattering everywhere, the creamy mixture would sit delicately between each cake tier, adding softness to every bite.
Atsuhiro paused mid-sculpt as he couldn’t help but watch Jin, his eyes drifting to the painfully domestic scene of him beating the cream. His broad shoulders and strong biceps tightening his sleeves and the faint smudge of cream on his cheek, It gave Atsuhiro a ripple of warmth through his chest, and frankly he found it distractingly attractive. He could stare all day but alas this is Jin and where Jin went, chaos was sure to follow.
Sure enough, whipped cream suddenly splattered across Atsuhiro’s cheeks and nose, and his internal warmth evaporated. He gasped dramatically, attempting to wipe the white fluffy smear off his face with his flesh hand. His prosthetic was lifted and placed above his heart in a theatrical betrayal. “Jin, you barbarian!”
His voice was sharp and offended in his usual dramatic way. Jin doubled over laughing; it was too easy to draw these dramatic reactions out of him and he lived for them. It was too amusing and Jin couldn’t resist pushing a little further. “Babe,” He wheezed. “You look like that one night where we-”
The moment Atsuhiro knew what stupidity was about to come out of Jin’s mouth, he completely dropped the fondant rose he had been sculpting to lunge forward and slap a hand over Jin’s mouth. “We do NOT talk about that here!” he hissed. His face was flushed completely from ear to ear.
Unfortunately, that was precisely when Kurogiri had just walked by and heard everything. He paused and slowly turned his head. His yellow eyes gave a disappointed look that looked like a glare. Atsuhiro’s eyes widened in horror. “THIS IS NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!” Atsuhiro panicked, his hand was still over Jin’s mouth. He was afraid of what else would come out. “My buffoon of a beloved simply doesn’t know when to be quiet.”
Jin gave a muffled protest against Atsuhiro’s palm. “But it was funny-”
Kurogiri’s mist swirled in a way that looked like he gave an exhausted sigh. He had seen this far too many times before, with their usual nonsense to care. “Please keep your personal activities out of the baking competition.”
Atsuhiro stuttered with mortification at the bartender’s bluntness. Jin snorted laughter against Atsuhiro’s hand, earning him a sharp glare that silenced him immediately.
Once Kurogiri finally moved on to look over another couple, it was when Atsuhiro finally dared to remove his hand away from Jin’s mouth. It wasn’t even a second before Jin leaned in and licked a dollop of cream off Atsuhiro’s cheek. “Did that too…” Jin whispered against Atsuhiro’s ear with a smirk.
Atsuhiro jolted, his cheeks now burning brighter shades of red. He reached for the nearest wooden spoon and swatted him with it playfully. “If you do not behave, you are sleeping on the couch tonight!” Atsuhiro threatened, trying to regain his composure.
Jin straightened instantly, bringing his attention back to whipping the bowl of cream. But every few seconds his eyes flicked back to Atsuhiro adoringly. Atsuhiro was focused on his fondant flowers again but he had a small smile on his face. Totally worth it, Jin thought. Nothing was more precious than a flustered Atsuhiro.
---
Kurogiri drifted silently over to Shigaraki and Spinner’s workstation to observe their teamwork. He found them surprisingly calm and in sync, considering the two have never baked before in their lives. In a warehouse full of chaos, the two of them focused on the task at hand. Shigaraki had printed a basic matcha cake recipe from a baking blog, it lay flat on the table beside them, already smudged with flour fingerprints. Spinner was obeying every order from Tomura keenly. He measured the exact amount of each ingredient perfectly. The flour, sugar and butter all weighed an exact amount before being tipped into a bowl.
Kurogiri observed proudly.
Once all the batter was mixed together into a smooth texture, Shigaraki sifted green matcha powder into the batter, creating a thin layer of green powder. He started to fold the powder into the creamy mixture with a wooden spoon, noticing the way the earthy green colour took over. “It’s green. Like you.” Shigaraki muttered, almost to himself.
Spinner looked away, feeling flustered as the words hit him right in the chest. The matcha cake had been Shigaraki’s idea from the start and now the reason behind it was apparent. It made heat curl up to his face. “That’s… cute.” He whispered, his voice softer than usual.
The sudden compliment caused Shigaraki to immediately disintegrate the wooden spoon in his hand. “FUCK-!” he cursed, as the spoon crumbled to dust, its remains scattered across the surface.
“Here!” Spinner said quickly as he didn’t hesitate to pull out a pair of plastic gloves for his boyfriend, which he had prepared beforehand for something like this to occur. “It’s okay.” He spoke steadily, holding out his hand to slide the gloves on and pressed a spare spoon into Shigaraki’s palm. “Now you can continue like normal.”
Shigaraki stilled at the simple but kind gesture as his face felt warm all of a sudden. Spinner’s hand was still around his own. He masked the vulnerability with a scoff, looking away. “Whatever.” Separating his hand from Spinner’s to continue mixing. But he made no effort to take the gloves off.
Spinner gave him a small smile.
They continued working side by side again, carefully evening out the green batter into baking tins. Spinner tapped the trays lightly against the table to release air bubbles as Shigaraki adjusted the oven settings. The cakes slid into the ovens, starting to bake immediately with no trouble at all. Kurogiri, who had been watching over secretly, hinted at a smile on his misty face, feeling proud of their impeccable teamwork that stood out from the rest.
__
Keigo stood by his counter as he mixed the chocolate mixture with a level of concentration. His gold eyes were sharp, carefully following the recipe exactly. Behind the calm exterior, his red wings twitched instinctively from the stress. His boyfriend was not helping.
Dabi leaned beside him against the desk, awkwardly postured like a cat. He watched Keigo with half-lidded eyes. He was not contributing much, only giving unwanted commentary now and then. “You missed a spot.” Pointing lazily to a spot of chocolate batter that dripped down the side of the bowl.
Keigo immediately glared at him. “Wipe it then! You are not doing anything.” He didn’t appreciate carrying both of them on his back.
Dabi ticked his tongue but didn’t move. “I’m making sure you don’t mess up.”
Keigo ignored him, continuing his mixing before Magne suddenly came observing by, waving excitedly to her favourite team. “Sooo…” she sang, “What type of cake are you making, boys?
Keigo instantly built up his charming smile to the woman. “Chocolate Lava cake,” he explained, picking up a hot pepper. “With a spicy twist.”
Dabi perked up and interrupted suddenly, “That was my idea. Lava needs to burn.”
Keigo chuckled softly. “He has got a point. I like it hot too.” Gazing towards Dabi before giving him a teasing wink. He started grinding down the hot peppers into flakes.
Magne cooed in delight at their playful flirting, she noticed Dabi’s obvious lack of contribution. Her brow raised. “And what are you supposed to be doing, Dabi?”
Keigo halted mid-pepper grinding, slowly turning his head towards Dabi, giving him an exhausted side-eye. He dreaded what his boyfriend was going to say to ruin even their small chance of winning. Dabi answered anyway. “He won’t let me do anything.” He sulked, flatly. “Apparently I will ruin everything.”
“Babe, I gave you an order, you are just choosing to ignore me,” Keigo replied with a tight smile, the tension behind the persona cracking under the surface. “Just because you are being a lazy bird!”
Magne jumped in before things got out of hand, she couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. “Boysss! Teamwork, remember! It doesn’t count if you both don’t work on it!” She encouraged the team she was rooting for to win. She leaned closer between the pair and whispered, “Kurogiri is taking this seriously,” she warned. “I would hate to see my favourite boys fall behind.”
Keigo grumbled before snatching up a cooking timer shaped like an egg and shoving it into Dabi’s hands, giving him oven responsibility. “Fine,” he muttered. “You watch when the cake is ready to come out. An easy job for you.”
Dabi smirked, blinked down at the small device in his hand before looking up to stare at the lit-up oven. “…Yeah,” he murmured. “I can do that.”
It wasn’t much but it was something and Keigo just hoped it was enough.
__
Once all the cakes were out of the oven, the atmosphere in the warehouse shifted. The hard part was supposedly over. Now it was time to decorate! Toga bounced on her feet in excitement as she pulled out the heart-shaped cakes from the oven. Warm steam hit her face, the smell of vanilla and strawberry was intense. “They’re ready! Time to decorate!” She couldn’t help poking the soft, spongy surface of one of the cakes with her finger.
Ochaco’s eyes widened, barely having time to warn her. “HIMI WAIT-!”
Toga hissed sharply, yanking her hand back. “OW OW! It bit me!” She flailed her hands around to help with the burning sensation. A few heads turned at the commotion.
Ochaco sighed but with an exhausted affection as she lovingly held Toga’s hand towards the sink. She turned the tap on and placed Toga’s burnt finger underneath the flowing stream of water. “Himi, you have to be careful!” she murmured.
“Sorry, I got excited,” Toga sulked dramatically. Ochaco couldn’t help but smile fondly at her girlfriend’s excitement for even the small things.
Right on cue, Kurogiri phased beside them, with a first aid kit already at hand as if he had expected this to happen. “Please don’t touch freshly baked surfaces with bare hands!” he scolded as he gently examined Toga’s finger.
Once Kurogiri finished treating the minor burn, Ochaco sighed with relief that Himiko was ok, she transferred the cakes onto cooling racks, fanning them gently until they were fully cooled. After a couple of minutes, the cakes were cooled enough to start decorating. Using the white icing they both prepared earlier whilst the cakes were still baking, she carefully started spreading an even coat around the cakes. Her movements were soft and delicate, aiming for a simple, innocent design so it could contrast with the later violent bloody surprise hidden inside.
As Ochaco piped a swirly design on the border, Toga went overboard with the sugar heart sprinkles and edible glitter over the frosting until it was a dazzling white cake that sparkled from under the ceiling light. Ochaco didn’t intercept her, letting Toga have the final control over the decorations.
The finished cake dazzled like snow. It looked pure but also adorable, with the heart shape made together by two smitten girls who were both proud of the finished result. Toga is mostly excited for the sickly sweet syrup inside. She grinned wickedly, her whole body vibrating in excitement. “Wait until the judges see it splat!!” she whispered gleefully, holding the cake knife close to her chest.
Ochaco silently prayed for mercy so that the syrup didn’t end up on Kurogiri’s suit.
__
Despite the slight mishaps they had already endured, Jin and Atsuhiro’s marble cake stood breathtakingly, looking like something displayed behind a French patisserie window. Layers of chocolate and vanilla stacked elegantly, with soft cream peeking between the tiers. The red fondant roses rested nearby, ready to be placed when the final tier was placed. A cake worthy of Atsuhiro’s refinement. Unfortunately, things don’t normally go this peacefully with the duo.
Atsuhiro smoothed the cream that Jin had prepared earlier across the top tier of the cake with graceful motions. Even taking part in a baking competition, he was performing. Once everything was smoothed, he called over Jin. “Jin darling, could you place the last layer on top?” he asked smoothly.
Jin immediately straightened and gave an exaggerated salute. “You can count on me!” He lifted the top tier with both of his hands carefully, his tongue poked out in concentration. His forearm muscles flexed beneath his rolled sleeves as he leaned slowly towards the cake, trying to align the cake above the cream perfectly. Atsuhiro paused to admire, allowing himself a small smile but it was short-lived as Jin’s foot caught against the leg of the counter, causing the cake to slip out of his hands, crumbling onto the surface.
Atsuhiro reached out, helplessly trying to fix his cake but it was futile as the crumbs fell through his fingers. He gasped, dropping to his knees like he was performing a Shakespearean tragedy. “My art… my masterpiece,” he whispered, staring at the destruction.
The somberness in his voice made Jin instantly panic. “BABE, NO NO IT'S OK. I will fix it! Just don’t cry please! We are definitely not winning now!” Without hesitation, he set his hands out, activating his quirk to make a pair of clones of himself. The brown sludge formed two identical clones, still in Jin’s current messy baking state. “New layer NOW!” He ordered the clones. The two sprang into action before immediately arguing with each other, whilst scrambling for ingredients.
“Move your hands, idiot!”
“Don’t call me an idiot, Idiot!”
“WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!”
One ripped open a bag of flour as the contents spilled everywhere. The other was cracking eggs rapidly, not caring about picking out the shell from the bowl.
Meanwhile, the real Jin crouched down to comfort Atsuhiro, trying to ignore the chaos happening above them. His panicked expression melted into concern. Both hands steady around Atsuhiro’s own elegant hands. He tried not to cry from seeing Atsuhiro so heartbroken.
“Why must all beautiful things come to an end in this cruel world?” Atsuhiro mourned dramatically with one hand pressed over his heart.
Jin hugged him tighter from behind, his heart tugged by affection and guilt. “I swear on our future marriage babe, I will restore your cake.”
Atsuhiro gave a small smile at Jin’s determination even through his despair. “Our cake, Jin.” He corrected softly. “I simply wanted it to be perfect for us but I guess it is my old habit of putting high expectations on a silly competition.” He glanced at the clock hanging on the warehouse wall. They only had 15 minutes remaining and an entire new cake tier was just not possible, even with help from Jin’s quirk.
But through the surrounding chaos of the clones yelling at each other, with flour and cream splattering everywhere, he leaned on Jin and grabbed the piping bag to decorate their imperfect but nonetheless special cake. He laughed quietly. “Then we shall make it beautiful again.”
---
Compared to every couple in the room, Shigaraki and Spinner’s was easily the calmest. There was no shouting, no mess and no tension, just effortless coordination and teamwork. Spinner carefully rotated the cake whilst Shigaraki spread the white cream all over with concentration. Neither of them had ever baked before, the closest thing was instant noodles and yet things were going smoothly for the pair.
Spinner glanced up towards the other teams, observing the surrounding chaos. Toga was covered with strawberry syrup, looking like she stepped right out of a horror movie, poor Ochaco was keeping it all together. Across the room, three Twice clones were currently running around and screaming orders at each other whilst the real Jin was comforting a mourning Atsuhiro and he could feel the tension simmering from where Dabi and Hawks were stationed. He couldn’t help but smile. “We might actually win,” Spinner said hopefully.
Shigaraki glanced up from the cake and gave a small genuine chuckle in agreement. “Yeah…” He carefully sifted a thin, even layer of matcha powder on top of the finished cake, giving the dessert a velvety finish. Spinner arranged a couple of raspberries on top to give the earthy cake a pop of colour against the green, giving it a beautiful contrast.
The cake was nowhere near perfect. It had a slight slant on one side and the icing wasn’t smooth in some areas but it was a cake that clearly had a lot of effort and love put into it. They stepped back to admire their work, now they just hoped it tasted as good as it looked.
“Not bad for our first cake…” Shigaraki grumbled whilst feeling satisfied with the results, his arms folded together.
Spinner’s smile widened. "I think it looks perfect.” He began to tidy things up, wiping loose flour from the counter. Shigaraki joined in cleaning up. But then-
BOOM!!
An explosion shook the entire warehouse, the culprit coming from Dabi’s and Hawk’s station. The boom thundered throughout the room. Bowls and cutlery rattled as a wave of scorching heat spread through the room. Everyone froze and looked towards the source simultaneously.
Dabi stood proudly in front of the oven door that was now melting off the hinges, blasting his blue flames from his hand directly into the oven. The centre of the room was engulfed in flames, heating the contained space in seconds. The workstation was engulfed in flames.
Keigo turned around, facing the wall. He crouched into the fetal position miserably, not wanting to face the dangerous flames, his wings curled around him protectively like a cocoon. “I gave him one job…just one easy job.” He muttered hopelessly.
Shigaraki’s eyes twitched with annoyance, he yelled from across the room. “ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?!”
Dabi ignored him. “Just making sure the cake is hot as lava.”
Meanwhile, Ochaco immediately shielded Toga, throwing herself between Toga and the flames. Toga’s eyes sparked, she got giddy from her girlfriend protecting her. “Ooooo this is so romantic!” She sighed dreamily and always loved being physically close with Ochaco.
“Not the time, Himi!” Ochaco panicked.
Jin clung to Atsuhiro, burying his head into his shoulder, shrinking at a high pitch. Whilst the magician instead attempted to save their half-finished cake, “Save the cake, Jin!” He managed to compress it in time.
The Twice clones were not so fortunate, both damaged by the fire, one immediately melted into brown sludge, the other pointed accusingly at Dabi. “THIS IS YOUR FAU-!” He melted too.
Spinner leapt directly in front of Shigaraki without hesitation, arms around him protectively. “It’s fine, Spinner!” Shigaraki screeched, not wanting to feel inferior, like he needed to be protected. But Spinner was determined not to let a single flame land on Shigaraki’s skin.
Before the fire could spread further, Kurogiri appeared in an instance holding a fire extinguisher he managed to obtain just in case this exact scenario happened, like he knew it would happen. He pulled the pin and blasted the foam that swallowed around Dabi, the counter, the floor and half of the ceiling. Soon all the roaring fire was put out, replaced with just the sound of the fire sizzling out.
Dabi was not amused as foam dripped from his hair and the ends of his piercings. Some even landed in his mouth as he repeatedly spat out the gross taste onto the floor. Hawks remained crouched in the corner, facing the wall. “We are so dead.”
After a couple of seconds, Magne managed to regain her composure with forced enthusiasm. She clapped her hands together loudly, trying to move on from the situation. “Time is up!” She sang out. “Bring your cakes for judging.”
Everyone reacted, just staring in shock with the foam around them.
She inhaled deeply before clapping again, even louder than the last. “NOW, DARLINGS!” pointing towards the judging table. The others slowly began gathering their cakes. Atsuhiro uncompressed his cake, relieved to see it further unharmed.
Dabi dug into the mountain of foam at his workstation to find his brick of a cake. He crouched down and dragged the cake from the oven, casually wiping the residue away. “Here.” He lifted the cake with both hands to show everyone. The once rich and spicy chocolate batter had transformed into a blackened hard brick, wisps of smoke curling around it. It barely resembled food anymore. He placed it proudly on the judging table, without a hint of embarrassment.
The others brought over their cakes beside it, everyone’s eyes drifting toward Dabi’s offering. Atsuhiro covered his mouth in horror. Spinner blinked before whispering to himself. “The fuck…” Even Shigaraki seemed disturbed.
Toga, however, leaned in with genuine curiosity. “Oooo… it’s crunchy,” she whispered, trying to poke it. Keigo hid behind Dabi in embarrassment, burying his face in his hands. Across the table, Kurogiri looked down at the burnt piece and immediately wrote disqualification on his clipboard.
Atsuhiro leaned towards Jin. “Is that even a cake?” He whispered.
Jin cuddled close, both arms wrapped around Atsuhiro from behind, nuzzling softly into his curls. “Just don’t look at it, baby.”
Toga and Ochaco were up first. Kurogiri and Magne gathered around a white, elegant-looking cake that sat in the centre of the table. Toga looked like she would burst with excitement any second, whilst Ochaco was sweating from nerves, like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
The cake was smoothed with white buttercream, with tiny piped swirls that decorated the top and bottom edges. The edible glitter made the cake sparkle under the lights. “It is quite… simple.” Kurogiri examined the plain design in a serious tone.
Magne gave a friendlier approach, giving a warmer smile. “It looks lovely!” She said, “Very professional-looking. I love the glitter!”
Ochaco let out a sigh of relief that she had been holding. Maybe they still had a chance of winning. Then she just remembered what happened next as her eyes widened. “Himiko, wait!!” But it was too late.
Toga grinned manically from ear to ear, whipping out a kitchen knife from behind her back. “Now for the best part”
SPLAT!
Toga plunged the knife straight into the centre of the heart cake. Instantly, thick strawberry syrup erupted from the inside and exploded everywhere in a violent splat. The syrup splattered across the judging table and onto Toga’s cheeks and dotted Ochaco’s apron. The other participants’ cakes got caught in the fire too but worst of all, some landed directly across Kurogiri’s freshly pressed waistcoat. Ochaco straightened, eyes widened. “…Oh no,” she whispered.
Kurogiri didn’t react, he just slowly sharpened his already sharp gaze and addressed Toga in a stern tone. “Miss Toga…”
Toga gave a cheerful grin, completely unbothered by what she just did. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Just like real blood!” She said excitedly, clapping her hands together. “I wanted everyone to get splattered!”
Meanwhile, Magne seemed delighted with the gimmick as she gasped in delight. “OH MY, I LOVE IT!!” Inspecting the centre of the cake. “What a fun surprise!”
Kurogiri quietly wiped away the splats on his suit with a handkerchief he acquired from his inside waistcoat pocket. “I unfortunately cannot taste, so all my critique will therefore focus on presentation and Magne will handle the taste.” He gave the cake one final glance. “I say it is certainly… violent.”
“Thank you! That was exactly what we were going for!” Toga smiled proudly.
“We?” Ochaco whispered to herself, tilting her face in confusion.
Magne cut herself a piece of the cake and took a generous bite. The sponge was delightfully soft but she was immediately hit by the overpowering sweetness of the syrup, eyes watering and her mouth twitching into a smile, trying not to spit it out. She swallowed. “Oh!” Another swallow. “That is… definitely sweet.” She didn’t want to upset Toga’s feelings.
“Is it good?” Toga asked, leaning forward with hope in her eyes.
Magne answered far too quickly. “YES!”
Ochaco could see through the tall woman, seeing the small tear forming in her eye. Toga however, believed every word as she cheered with joy, “We are going to win, Ochaco!”
Ochaco smiled at her, unable to ruin her girlfriend’s excitement. Before Toga held up a slice of their sweet cake to her mouth. “Here! Try it!”
Ochaco accepted the bite and her face lit up with the sweet taste. Having a sweet tooth to actually enjoyed their cake. “So yummy!”
Kurogiri quietly finished writing the score on his clipboard. Presentation 7/10. Creativity: 8/10. Taste: 3/10 as he watched Magne drinking her third glass of water by the sink. Teamwork: 9/10 as he looked at the girls happily feeding pieces of their cake to each other, both enjoying their hard work. Overall: 6/10. After he was satisfied, he glared towards the next cake. “Next contestants.”
Atsuhiro and Jin were called up next, neither of them looked ready to be judged. Their cake was not the masterpiece Atsuhiro had envisioned, what remained of the cake was half complete but saved as much as possible so it was not a complete failure. Soft cream smoothed evenly across the cake, hiding the uneven sides. Well attempted, there was one side that leaned in a way that made Atsuhiro’s eye twitch when he looked at it too long. Fondant roses he had made earlier rested delicately on top. Even damaged, the cake still had charm, like a performance that had a stumble but carried on anyway. The show must go on. Atsuhiro stood beside it stiffly, looking down at his hands clenched together in front of him, like one harsh comment would break him completely. Jin was standing behind him protectively, an arm wrapped loosely around Atsuhiro’s waist and staring the judges down. Kurogiri scored them down immediately for the possessiveness and intimidation of the judging panel.
Magne gave them a small sympathetic smile. “It’s a shame what happened. It looks lovely, Atsuhiro.” She leaned closer to admire the roses. “The flowers are gorgeous.”
Atsuhiro straightened instantly from the praise, his face softened with a mixture of gratitude, pride and heartbreak. “Thank you, my dear,” he replied with a small bow.
Kurogiri was not so kind, observing the visible flaws. “Its structure is unstable and it leans to one side.” He spoke in a cold, direct voice. ”The cake is not complete.”
Atsuhiro swallowed the sting of hurt before it showed on his face. Jin's glare sharpened and his jaw tightened as he stared down at the smoky man. Kurogiri was completely unaffected as he continued writing.
Magne quickly stepped in before Jin started an argument with the judge. She cut herself a piece of the cake. The inside revealed the two-tone flavours of the cake, making a beautiful pattern of vanilla and chocolate swirled together inside the sponge. It looked elegant and chaotic, just like the couple who made it. She lifted a generous forkful to her mouth and took a bite. Her face brightened immediately when she tasted it. “Oh, this is delicious.” She took another bite. “The cream especially is so soft and creamy and it pairs beautifully with the moist sponge of the cake.”
Most of Atsuhiro’s hurt melted away from the praise. He turned his head towards Jin and looked at him warmly, he did amazing on the cream even through the panic. Jin’s eyes widened at the praise too, he wasn’t expecting to actually do something right for once. A shy but pleased smile tugged at his lips.
“See? You did wonderfully.” Atsuhiro praised softly, reaching up to stroke Jin’s arm.
Jin held him tighter, his face blushing. “We both did. We pulled through. We have definitely failed!”
Kurogiri finished writing the scores. Presentation: 6/10. Creativity: 7/10. Taste: 9/10. Teamwork: 7/10. He paused as he looked at the way Jin and Atsuhiro had begun intimately feeding each other bites of their cake. Overall: 7/10. He looked away, having seen enough of those two PDA for one evening. They were as sickly sweet as Toga and Ochaco’s cake. He turned to the next contestants, Dabi and Hawks.
Their cake was, well, barely a cake. Just a solid brick of burned chocolate sat on the judging table like a lump of volcanic rock, hard enough to break a window. Dabi stood beside the cake, hands stuffed in his pockets like this was a normal result. Keigo eventually managed to shuffle his feet beside him, his wings drooped low in embarrassment.
Atsuhiro stared at it with disgust. “It looks like charcoal,” he said with judgement. “Kind of like the man who burned it.” Everyone around them covered their mouths in laughter, most notably Toga and Jin. Even Ochaco, despite looking fearful for her own safety mocking a dangerous villain, failed to keep the small laughter in.
Dabi scoffed at the insult. “It’s rustic.”
Kurogiri tapped the top of the cake with a tablespoon and it made a sharp clink sound. The cake didn’t dent or crack in any way.
“Well, at least it kept its shape,” Magne said, trying with all her heart to compliment it, clearly struggling.
Keigo dragged his hands down his face exaggeratedly. “Don’t sugarcoat it. I am already suffering.”
“It is inedible,” Kurogiri said flatly. He wrote disqualification on his clipboard.
“You don’t know that.” Dabi was determined to prove him wrong. He reached for the brick and tried to break a piece off with his fingers. Nothing happened. He tried again and again but the burnt cake didn’t budge. As a last resort, he lifted the edge of the cake and attempted to bite it.
Keigo’s eyes widened. “Dabi, don’t-”
CRACK
Dabi froze and looked down. The cake was still intact. His jaw however, was not.
There was silence before Keigo couldn’t help but laugh at Dabi embarrassing himself trying to prove something. “Maybe don’t do that with your delicate features, Dabs.”
Dabi lowered the cake back on the table, his other hand held to his jaw as it started to ache. “I think I cracked something,” his voice strained. Magne immediately hurried to get her first aid kit to examine the damage. Keigo watched, despite laughing at him softly, he was also concerned about his boyfriend. He hovered close around him whilst Magne checked him over. He placed his hand on Dabi’s back for comfort.
Kurogiri decided to move on to the last team as there was nothing left to say about the charcoal brick. Spinner and Tomura’s green cake miraculously came out really well compared to everything else on the table. The only normal-looking dessert in the room. Soft matcha layers with cream spread between each one, the raspberries had been arranged in a neat circle. It was not flawless but compared to the overly sweet crime scene, damaged marble cake and Dabi’s brick, it looked like a masterpiece.
“This looks… impressive.” Kurogiri, for once, gave a compliment instead of being immediately critical.
Spinner let out a breath he had been holding for the past several minutes. He looked toward Tomura to see his reaction. Their leader just smirked like he knew this would happen and would deny ever being nervous.
Magne cut a slice and lifted a forkful of cream and cake to her mouth. Her eyes lit up immediately the moment she tasted it. “Oh my! This is absolutely delicious!” she exclaimed, already eating another bite to give more praise. “The matcha is strong but not bitter, the cream softens it and the raspberries give the cake the perfect amount of sweetness.”
Spinner smiled brightly, his cheeks flushing with pride. He looked to his side to Tomura to see his reaction, he looked down at their cake with satisfaction. His smirk softened into something more genuine.
Kurogiri nodded, agreeing with Magne. “Excellent taste, a good attempt at presentation, especially considering your lack of baking experience and your coordination was consistent from start to finish.” He wrote on his clipboard, Presentation: 9/10. Creativity: 8/10. Taste: 9/10. Teamwork: 10/10, the only perfect score he had given the entire competition. Overall: 9/10.
Dabi muttered from farther down the table, still holding his jaw in place. “Obvious favouritism."
Atsuhiro looked like he was about to compress the arsonist and leave him on a very high shelf.
---
“And the winners areeeeee…” Magne announced, drawing out the suspense. “TOMURA AND SHUICHI!!” her voice echoing off the warehouse walls, followed by clapping and cheering from the others and one bitter scoff from Dabi.
The two awkward young men just stared, at a loss for words. Tomura’s smug confidence was replaced by brief genuine surprise. Spinner awkwardly gave Tomura a side hug before letting go, in case Tomura was not in a close-contact mood. He didn’t let Spinner leave his side, bringing his arms around him, patting Spinner on the back awkwardly. “Don’t make it weird,” Tomura muttered. Spinner saw his smile and smiled back.
Toga suddenly came darting over to congratulate them with excitement. “Congratulations, you two! I want to try your cake!”
Ochaco followed close behind, also intrigued by the matcha cake that won. “It does look really good.”
Soon the competition dissolved away and turned into something warmer. The couples started trading bites of each other’s cakes, arguing over whose was better. Jin took one bite of Toga and Ochaco’s bloody heart cake and immediately tried to mask the extremely sweet taste that nearly knocked the soul out of him, to not upset her. “MMM!” he said loudly, his eyes watering. “So sweet! So good! Tastes like shit!”
Atsuhiro, however, was not as generous. After one tiny bite, he gave a snobbish monologue as to why their cake could permanently destroy taste buds. “This is a crime against confectionery!”
Ochaco whistled sheepishly, pretending to accidentally reach out and brush her fingertips against Atsuhiro’s apron. Her quirk activated and he started to float away to stop him from critiquing their cake any further. Their cake might have been dangerously sweet but they loved their cake and Toga was happy and that’s all that mattered.
“Miss Uraraka!” he said sharply. ”Put me down this instant!” He held on to Jin’s arm tightly.
Ochaco just gave a cheeky smile. “Maybe after you stop insulting our cake.”
Toga smiled and laughed so brightly at the silly antics as she watched Atsuhiro float away, whilst Jin was playing hero to Atsuhiro’s current dilemma, not letting him float away. “Don’t worry, babe, I have got you!” He anchored him around the waist.
Meanwhile, Spinner and Tomura celebrated their win in their quiet way. After more congratulations and allowing Magne to take a picture of them beside their cake, they retreated to a quiet corner of the warehouse, playing handheld games together. Tomura chose a cosy, slow game for once instead of a more competitive game, a plate of matcha cake sat between them.
In another corner of the warehouse stood Dabi and Keigo, the others seemed to gloss over them completely, removed from the laughter and cake-swapping. They stood beside their failed cake, no one dared to try it after what happened with Dabi’s jaw. Keigo glanced to his side to see Dabi almost sulking. His jaw was slowly healing, as nothing serious was damaged but his pride had clearly taken the bigger hit. Keigo started to feel bad. Their cake had been a disaster that was entirely Dabi’s fault and yet he had tried in his own arsonist way. “Hey…” he said softly. “Thank you for trying. Even if we failed miserably.”
“You laughed at me earlier.” Dabi sulked, his gaze fixed ahead.
“It was kinda funny, babe,” Keigo smirked, leaning in.
Dabi huffed, then muttered. “We will do better next time…”
The hero’s face lit up with delight at hearing Dabi admit he failed. “Wait, are you actually admitting you messed up?”
“Shut up,” Dabi muttered, looking away quickly, trying to hide his reddening cheeks. Keigo still saw the tips of his ears turn red,
Keigo smiled warmly, he reached for Dabi’s hand and held on gently. Their fingers laced together, hidden from most of the room by the angle of Keigo’s wing. “I will get us an actual edible cake for us to share later,” Keigo promised whilst winking playfully.
The Great Villain Bake Off was somehow a success.