Hello, all! Been a while since I posted, but I’m crawling out of my hibernation to share a new fic I’ve posted! It was written for this years TodoDeku Big Bang, and most of the fic is available on AO3 {Here}. The rest will be out soon.
And please be sure to check out the art piece draw by the phenomenal @mambapools! Their art is aboslulte gorgeous and if you aren’t following them already, you should! It was a delight getting to work with you again, this year, Soren!
Most of his life had been spent jumping from one miserable moment to the next. As far as Keith could recall, that was just his lot. There’d been happy moments in his youth with his father, but once he lost him, there was very little to be overjoyed about. There were the moments of levity with Shiro once he made it into the Garrison, the joy of having a mentor who genuinely cared about his growth and development. But those moments were interrupted by his struggles with fitting into the strict regulations the Garrison had and the hazings from people like James Griffin. Once Shiro was gone, he’d been quick to flake out of the Garrison and bail out into the desert alone.
He was alone and it sucked, but he supposed it was better than being misunderstood. Then finding the Blue Lion and joining Team Voltron happened.
It was difficult at first. His newfound teammates were not the easiest sort to get along with. At least, not back then. They were all somewhat unruly and it was only the combination of the high consequences they were facing as well as Shiro and Allura reining them in that had started the changes. Then Shiro went missing and Keith himself was forced to step into the role of leader, foisted in the Black Lion’s cockpit by her stubborn decision. It hadn’t been particularly easy to settle into the role but… He always had one person’s support.
Despite how rocky their relationship had been in the beginning, she quite quickly came to be his most faithful and loyal confidante. She was just as stubborn as he was, unrelenting in the face of his spewing venom, but was also quick to his defense when she felt he was in the right. She was an intelligent woman with a set of skills that complimented his own quite well and, while she could get swept up in her emotions as well, she was typically a lot better at keeping emotions and facts exclusive from one another. He admired that about her as they got older and moved on from their work as Paladins of Voltron.
Even now, with his work with the Blade keeping him far from the rest of Voltron, Pidge was a constant in his life. She was his link with the Garrison to coordinate the Blade movements and garnering further assistance. And, if he was honest, she was his saving grace. It was good to have someone who just got him on the level she did. He felt like breathing was easier around her, like the world was brighter and softer for her being in it.
He loved her more than words could describe, really.
“You ready?” He jolted up and glanced behind him, smiling at the approaching figure. She looked so different outside of her usual lab coat and beige slacks, carefully adjusting the goggles she’d pulled over her glasses. Instead, she was dressed up in his old jacket and some black jeans. It was a more fitting outfit given what they’d be doing.
“Ready when you are,” he mused, tossing a helmet in her direction. She caught it easily and grinned wider as she finagled it on her head. He chuckled as she re hacked the straps before clicking it all together. "You don't need to check that every time, you know. You're the only one I take with me on the hoverbike."
"Yeah, but what if they come loose? Better safe than sorry!"
"I've watched you whip yourself, like, 65 feet in the air with ease during battle with no regard for what could happen to you, but a hover bike helmet is where you draw the line?”
“And do you know what I was always wearing?” She paused a beat before rapping her knuckles against the helmet. “My Paladin helmet!”
He outright laughed and shook his head. “Okay, okay. Point made,” he chuckled, twisting the throttle and bringing the bike to life. It let out one loud, sharp roar before settling into an even purr. It made a part of him miss the days of Voltron, of piloting a Lion through space. He thought back on the lonely child he used to be and wondered how he would have reacted to being told that, someday, he would have a patchwork family he wouldn’t trade for the world. And it was all thanks to following a calling from an intergalactic sentient mecha. He had so much he had gained from his time on the team that he could never thank those giant mechanical cats enough for. “Hey, Katie?”
“Yeah?” she asked with a hum as she mounted behind him.
He glanced back at her over his shoulder, knowing she could see the look in his eyes through the visor. “Thank you, For staying with me,”
She blinked in surprise before smiling at him, her expression softening too. He couldn’t fight back a smile at the sheer warmth in that look alone. “I could say the same to you. Or, well, I guess it would be more ‘thanks for putting up with me’ in my case,” she said.
“I don’t have to put up with you, you know. I like it better when you’re around,” He was getting brazen with his words, he knew, but he couldn’t find that he necessarily cared. Her arms looped around his waist tight, her head coming to rest between his shoulders. “I feel like there’s no limits when I’m with you, like I can just be me and that’s enough. Is that weird?”
“Only if it’s weird that I feel like that too,” she said with a breathless little laugh. Then, because she never liked when things were sappy for too long, she gave his belly a little pinch. “Now show me what this old girl can do! You were bragging about all the work you and your mom put into this baby! Show me what she can do!”
He grinned as he revved the bike up again. There’d be more time to talk after the ride, maybe over dinner.
“You come to my room and wake me up at 4am, to cuddle?” TodoDeku
The only problem with this one? Either of them would fit into either role lmao!
If there was one thing Shoto had been grateful to life at the dorms for, it was that he tended to get ample rest each night. Back home, sleep had been a strange beast to chase along the shadows in his dark room. His childhood home brought no comfort to him and even after starting to work towards putting the past in the past, there was still some lingering unpleasantness there. It was at its worst on nights where Endeavor was working late. The sound of his heavy footfalls would echo down the halls and reawaken every childhood living nightmare Shoto had been subjected to. Those nights he’d be awake and prepared, just in case. But then the dorms had been implemented and he’d left that place behind. So now, even if he did miss getting to share breakfast with Fuyumi to start bonding, he found the peace of the dorms to be a delightful comfort.
Except for tonight. No, tonight the floorboards in front of his door were creaking with weight, alerting him someone was there.
It had become a recent trend, he’d noticed. For the last three weekends in a row, someone would hover just outside his door. Normally they’d linger for about five minutes, as if debating on knocking or not, before they’d scurry away. He swiped his phone up to check the time, letting out a displeased grunt from being near blinded, then huffed. 4:04 AM. It was almost always around this time, too. He wouldn’t have necessarily minded, but it was always Saturday bleeding into Sunday, and he liked getting up early to visit his mother and siblings. With an exhausted groan, he crept out from under his comforter and towards his door. He made sure to keep his movements light to avoid alerting whoever was on the other side.
When he threw his door open, he was greeted with wide, panicked and familiar green eyes. “A-Ah, To-Todoroki-Kun,”
“Midoriya? What are you doing here?” Shoto blinked slowly, taking in the other’s appearance. He looked like he’d been chasing sleep to no avail, the usual bags under his eyes much darker and his hair seeming impossibly more ruffled. He knew that he boyfriend had a propensity for late nights of studying and practice, but normally the weekends were a brief reprieve for him. The idea that something was keeping him awake was just a smidge alarming.
“I-I’m, uh, really sorry,” he stammered out nervously, eyes skirting back towards the elevators. He was already starting to lean back on his heels, intending to bolt. “I didn’t mean to bother you! I’ll, um, uh, just, you know... Head back to my room.”
Shoto reached out and grabbed his arm before he could make his escape, though. “Something must be bothering you to be out here the last few weekends,”
The other paled, freckles standing out more on his cheeks. “Y-You noticed that?”
He nodded before letting his hand slide from the others forearm to his hand, lacing their fingers. “If something is bothering you, you can talk to me,” he said.
Midoriya relaxed a bit at that, his lips turning up in a sad and meek smile. “It’s not… anything major. I just… I really wanted to close to you,” he confessed.
“Close to me?”
The other’s eyes were fixed on the ground but his smile was still in place, giving a near invisible nod. “Y-Yeah, like… Um… C-Cuddling,”
Shoto was pretty sure he was still dreaming as he stared at the other. This… This couldn’t be real, right? “You come to my room and wake me up at 4am, to cuddle?” Another meek nod was his answer. He could tell by the way Midoriya was shifting and avoiding his eye, that there was much more going on than all that. While Shoto himself hadn’t been let in whatever the secret was – yet, anyway, as Midoriya insisted he just needed permission to share it first – he did know there was more going on with his boyfriend than just usual high school troubles. He also knew that it involved All Might and Bakugo, but that was the extent of it.
Perhaps they were both secretly All Might’s love children? It would certainly explain some of the venom Bakugo used to spit so vehemently at the other.
He shook the thoughts away, though, as he had more pressing matters. He could see Midoriya becoming more and more skittish as the silent seconds dragged on. He let out a small hum before leading the other inside. “Okay. As long as you don’t mind that my alarm will be going off early,” he said.
The other perked up and oh how those eyes lit up! That looked a bit more like the usual Midoriya. With that handled, Shoto slipped back under his comforter on his futon. He left it held open in invitation for the green haired male to slip in before him with a word. He expected Midoriya to be a bit more bashful, but he was quick to burrow his face into Shoto’s chest with a small hum, arms wrapping tight around him. How his shoulders slumped the slightest bit as he got himself comfortable didn’t slide past the hot-cold teen’s radar and filled him with a small sense of pride. Midoriya said something but it was muffled in the cotton of his sleep shirt.
“What was that?” Shoto asked, carefully draping the comforter over them.
“Just… Thank you. And sorry,”
“You don’t need to apologize, Midoriya. You’re important to me, so it makes me happy when I can help you,” he said quietly.
He nodded, closing his eyes as he nuzzled him again. Shoto could feel a bit of heat coming to both of his cheeks at the gesture. “I’m thankful for it. That I can just be Midoriya Izuku with you and for you to still like me,” he murmured, words a little slurred with sleep.
SHoto chuckled and kissed the top of his head. “And I’m glad that I can just be Shoto when I’m with you. Now get some rest. You’ve earned it,” he mumbled back, fighting back a yawn as he hunkered under the covers. Midoriya made some small, grumbly noise in response but it was clear he was already starting to doze off. His body was free of tension in Shoto’s arms, which made him smile as he closed his own eyes again.
Little comforts like this, he thought, were another reason dorm living was so soothing.
TodoDeku/ You know I'll do anything for you/ Fake Dating/ Roommates
Why would you make me write this, Anon?
By all accounts, Midoriya Izuku was considered to be a reliable, helpful kind of guy. He would always get flustered when people called attention to it. None of it, he felt, was something he should be praised or congratulated for, if he was honest. He had been raised by his mother to help those in need if he could. Midoriya Inko had been the kind of woman to have a myriad of goodies tucked in her abg to offer to other parents or fussy children while they were out and about. He loved and admired that about her, so he began emulating that as well. He started carrying a small first aid kit in his school bag. As far as he was considered, it was simply the right thing to do.
Sometimes, however, it had gotten him labelled as a nosy busy body.
There had been times where he’d gone meddling in other people’s personal business, seeing them struggling and hurting and feeling a need to help. He couldn’t ignore someone who needed a helping hand, though. It would be wrong to ignore them, to pretend that he couldn’t see they needed someone to reach out to them! Sometimes it was simply a matter of needing someone to talk to, to vent out their feelings where they knew it would never get around. He was always more than happy to offer the sympathetic ear, and seeing the weight lift from their shoulders afterwards was the greatest reward he could be given.
Other times, his worrying was not taken well and ended up with him getting pretty thoroughly throttled. His bleeding heart tendencies had made him an easy target for bullies up until high school. Sometimes they were people who had other things going on and lashed out at him for offering the olive branch. Sometimes they were people who recognized they could use him for some ends. Other times it was just people that thought his actions and beliefs were just an act, people who wanted to get him on the defensive and see how quickly he’d jump from his pedestal. When they couldn’t get a rise out of him, they normally just moved on to pummelling him into the ground. Which then led to Bakugo Katsuki, his childhood friend more commonly called Kacchan, and the rest of their small social circle stepping in to defend him.
Their friends said Izuku was a good person for not fighting back. Kacchan said he was just a weak-willed wimp. Regardless of which was the truth, Izuku didn’t change his view of the world. If someone was in trouble near him, he was going to find a way to help him. Even in circumstances where it didn’t end well, he didn’t regret stepping in to try to help someone.
Which was how he ended up in the situation he was in that night.
Todoroki Shoto had become one of Izuku’s best friends early on in their first year of high school. Todoroki had made a show of not needing or wanting friends, but there had been a forlorn sadness in his eyes as he proclaimed this. Izuku knew immediately that it was a lie and decided to take time to try and open up. The two of them were both in the newspaper club at school so he had started there, volunteering to be his partner on assignments. Todoroki was one of the best with the cameras while Izuku was better at typing up the articles to go along.
At first, things were hostile and tense and difficult. Every attempt to reach out by Izuku was met with a harsh, quick retort or a chilly silence. Izuku was an analytical guy by habit, so he noticed habits about people pretty quickly. When he noticed Todoroki had a fondness for yakult, he would make sure to pick up a bottle to offer him on days where they were sent out on an assignment together. This offering had ultimately what pushed Todoroki over the edge and caused him to lash out, breaking down the troubles he faced at home with his abusive Father, unwell Mother and rocky relationship with his three older siblings. Izuku himself wasn’t exactly sure why Todoroki had thought that he’d be chased off by that, but it hadn’t worked. Instead, Izuku had offered to listen to him about his troubles any time he needed and promised not to breathe a word of it to a soul. He’d seen a brief flash of panic in the others face, as if he hadn’t considered that Izuku could very easily leak his personal family woes to the whole school, but when he heard nothing about it over the next three weeks - or any time after that either - he seemed to realize Izuku was genuine.
And that had changed things between them.
At their next assignment, Todoroki put in the effort to actually work with him. It turned into one of their best stories as they worked together, giving each other suggestions and bouncing ideas off of one another. Working together became a staple for them throughout the rest of their high school experience and, as they got to know each other, Izuku became aware of a crush beginning to blossom. Todoroki was one of few people who didn’t mind Izuku’s habit of rambling on his love of Western superhero comics. He could be himself around Todoroki, completely unbridled, and he had seen Todoroki do the same. He developed a soft spot for Todoroki’s dry wit and the subtleties of his expressions. He was seemingly monotonous but it was honestly more just that it was all little things, specifically if you honed in on his eyes. He was always terrible at keeping his emotions from his eyes.
Now, all these years later, they were as close as two friends could be, and Izuku was happy with that. He kept his silly little crush to himself, knowing that it would go away with time. The two of them had even moved into an apartment not too far from their respective universities at the start of the summer after graduation. For Izuku, it was nice to be living with someone who was reliable and trustworthy, while also getting to have some independence. For Todoroki, it was out of a feeling of necessity. He could have continued living in the family home with his Father and Mother, but it strained him emotionally. Things were complicated between he and his Father, and while he still went by frequently to visit with his Mother, having his own apartment had been better for his mental health. The arrangement was good and ultimately an easy one to adapt to. They wouldn’t see so much of each other that they got sick of one another due to their respective schedules, but they also made time to share meals together when they could.
Tonight, however, Todoroki had asked to meet at a restaurant to have a conversation about something. Which had been a huge red flag to Izuku that something was going on.
“Ah, Todoroki-Kun!” he called as he jogged the rest of the way through the crosswalk. The other glanced up from his phone, hovering by the entrance to the restaurant. It was a nice little tonkatsu place three blocks from their apartment. It wasn’t particularly large or well-known, but it was nice the few times they’d gone before. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, it’s fine. I only just got here myself,” he said, opening the door for him. They greeted the elderly woman at the front who happily took their drink orders once they were settled at their table. Once that was done, Todoroki looked over at him. “How is your research paper coming along?”
“Pretty good, I think. I feel like I need a little bit more research into the actual history of prosthetics to be able to really nail home just how advanced prosthetics technology has become,” he said excitedly. He then paused and cupped his chin as his mind trickled back to what he’d been pondering on his way over. “I also really want to outline how it could improve further if the research and technology was given more funding but maybe that would be loading too much into one paper. And I mean, that second one would be a better argument for once I’m actually working in the field and looking to get my own research efforts off the ground. Then again, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get some main points and drafts ready to have a few presentations to run through once I do reach that point and-! Ah! I’m so sorry, Todoroki-Kun, I was rambling again, wasn’t I?”
“It’s fine, Midoriya. I like listening to you talk about your studies,”
A small smile turned up on his lips at that. Their server returned with their drinks and took their orders before scampering off again. “What about you? You’re doing some part time work as a law clerk for Fuyumi-San’s boyfriend, right?” he prompted. He had remembered that the job had been taken more so he could get experience in his field rather than out of an actual need to work.
Shoto’s eyes flickered with irritation at that question. “Takami, yeah,” he groused. He took the time to stir some lemon juice into his water with the straw, using more force than necessary. “He’s absolutely insufferable.”
“Is he a stickler for things being done a specific way?” he asked, tilting his head curiously. He’d heard that attorneys could be very particular about how this or that got filed or submitted. Though, if he was honest, he suspected it had more to do with Takami-Sama himself, but this seemed more than the dislike Todoroki had expressed up until this point.
Takami and Fuyumi, Todoroki’s older sister, had started dating in the second half of their first year. Even back then, it had been clear to Izuku and the rest of their friends that there was no love forged between he and his sister’s suitor. Part of it was that Todoroki was rather protective of his siblings, but his sister in specific. Fuyumi had stepped up after their mother was institutionalized to try and fill in that role as best as she could, to try and keep the peace and allow her brothers to still have a childhood. Pairing that with the fact she’d had a handful of terrible exes, and Todoroki was typically protective and leary of anyone she brought home.
With Takami, however, Todoroki didn’t seem to like how arrogant he came off. Even now, three years later, he was still suspicious of the guy.
“Not necessarily. He’s just… So casual. There’s been nearly no difference between him at work and him when he's with Fuyumi-Nee. This is a serious business and he’s just all aloof. And what little I’ve seen of him actually engaging in negotiations with other attorneys about cases where he is focusing, he plays a lot of the same games that my old man does. I don’t like it. I don’t like him,” He took a long drink of his water, scowling as he did. “And it’s not like quitting or finding a new job will change things. I’m still gonna have to deal with him.”
“Because he’s your sister’s boyfriend,” he nodded.
“Actually, as of last night… Fuyumi-Nee and Takami are engage,”
Izuku blinked in surprise before studying Todoroki’s face. His brows were pinched together, scowl still in place, gaze fixated on a drop of condensation sliding down the side of the glass. This, he realized, must have been why he’d wanted to meet up and have a small night out. To confide in him about the turmoil that he was in. “You don’t sound thrilled about that,”
“Because I’m not,” he sighed, leaning back a bit. He drummed his fingers along the table for a moment, clearly thinking through his next words carefully. “I don’t like him as a person or for Fuyumi. He’s just… He feels so damn fake. From what I know, he admires our Father. Hell, he went into the legal field because he admires that bastard so much!” He paused to run a hand through his hair, ruffling the red and white split locks. He then dragged his hands down across his face and took another sip of his drink. “I think he only wants to get with my sister so he can be in the family, if I’m honest. But being with him makes Fuyumi so happy and I don’t… I don’t want to take that from her. But I can’t shake this feeling. And going to these family events going forward is going to be unbearable.”
“Isn’t there something you could do to help alleviate it? Make it more tolerable?”
“Well, there is one thing that could help,” he trailed. He looked away from Izuku for a second before looking up and holding his gaze. “If you could come with me to most of these family events going on through the engagement and wedding, it would be a huge help.”
“But… Wouldn’t that be weird? Bringing a friend to such significant gatherings?”He lifted his own glass to take a sip.
“If I say you’re just a friend, yes. But if I tell them you’re my boyfriend,” he said, casually taking a sip of his own drink, “then it’ll be just fine.”
He choked on his drink, sputtering and nearly toppling his drink over as he pounded at his chest frantically. “W-What?!?” he managed to wheeze out after a moment. He could feel his heart beating erratically and his palms sweating. He made sure to be careful as he set his drink back down on the table.
Todoroki tilted his head, face as composed as ever, unfazed by Izuku’s reaction. “What? It would be a good cover,” he retorted. He held his hand up and began ticking off points. “We’ve been friends for years, so we know a lot about one another. Plus, we live together, so that helps, too. From what I understand, friends living together can easily shift from just being friends living together to lo-!”
“Ah! D-Don’t s-say it!” He was certain he looked like a strawberry. His face was absolutely flushed, he had to be! He shook his head a bit before hesitantly meeting Todoroki’s gaze. “Is… Is this the only way? That you’ll be able to cope with everything going on with your sister and Takami-Sama?”
“Yes, I believe so,” he perked up and fell silent as their server returned to give them refills. Once she was gone, he turned his attention back to Izuku. “Besides, you’re a better judge of character than I am. If this man truly is a degenerate risk to Fuyumi… You’ll be able to tell. And then we can break things up before she’s stuck with him.”
“I think you give me too much credit,” Izuku mumbled shyly before taking another sip of his drink. He knew that Todoroki took his opinions to heart, but he didn't think he held it in that high of a regard. He tried to shove down how that realization made his stomach twist giddily. This, he decided, would ultimately be a bad idea. Considering his own feelings for Todoroki, the idea of spending more time with him in a circumstance like that would be detrimental. He couldn’t see it ending in any kind of positive way for either of them, so it would be a bad move.
He felt a bit of guilt, but… He would have to say no.
“So?” Todoroki asked, face as passive as ever, but there was a waver in his mismatched eyes. A brief flash of fear and pleading, a vulnerability that he trusted very few with.
What little resolve Izuku had managed to muster crumbled at the sight. “You know I’ll do anything for you,” he said with a forced puff of laughter, swallowing down the uneasiness trying to crawl it’s way from his stomach up his throat.
Kacchan was right about him being a weak-willed wimp. And he was going to break his own heart while proving it.
Askdjkl that one shot you wrote about Hawks and Fuyumi having baby fever was the cutest thing ever! Do you think you could write one where they tell friends and family they're having a baby?
I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR A BUNCH OF REALLY FLUFFY NONSENSE AND PREGNANCY PUNS ANON BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THIS IS!!!!!
It wasn’t often that Fuyumi and Keigo were the ones to host the family dinners. Despite the fact they had a house just as grand as the Todoroki estate with ample room to entertain her family, since being released from the hospital and tentative amends being made, Rei adored being the one to host. Fuyumi and her brothers never pushed the subject because they knew it stemmed from her wanting to make up for the years the family lost. She’d missed the chance to be a mother to them for a long time - especially with Shoto - so she wanted to do all she could for them as adults. And, while Fuyumi didn’t have any personal experience with that, she could understand that feeling.
And she would have an even better grasp of it soon enough.
She smiled as she looked over the table, making sure for the second time that it was immaculate and the little centerpiece was dead center. It was one she and Keigo had pieced together over the weekend as a cute little nod to why they’d insisted on hosting this time around. It was a little construction paper bird’s nest with a little ceramic egg in the center. Gently cradling the little egg, Keigo had slipped two of his smaller feathers in, but had dyed one of them to be mostly white with little red flecks.
Fuyumi would be lying if she said she hadn’t swooned a little when she saw it.
“Bathroom and sitting room are all immaculate, babe,” Keigo hummed, arms slipping around her from behind and pulling her against him from behind. She giggled and turned to face him proper, eagerly meeting him for a few quick kisses.
“Thank you, love,” she hummed softly, giving his shoulders a small squeeze. “So, just making sure, our headcount for tonight is nine in total, right?”
“Ten. Both of us, both of your parents, your brothers, Natsu’s lady friend, Fumikage, Rumi and Moe,” he said. She nodded to herself, remembering that she’d picked up enough to accommodate that party size. She’d figured that sukiyaki would be a good idea. She’d almost forgotten that Natsuo had said Nezumi would be able to attend. Ever since they’d graduated from college, their work schedules at the hospital were constantly shifting. “I mean, technically there’s eleven but~!” he sing-songed at her.
She giggled and kissed his cheek. “I can tell you’re really excited about telling them,” she mused, glancing to the left slightly, “Given how fluffed up your feathers are getting.”
Her husband’s grin widened and he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. “Can you blame me? We’re going to have a baby! And we can finally tell everyone that matters!”
She giggled and kissed him again quickly, humming at the feel of his hands smoothing along her sides. “If you don’t get those wings under control everyone is going to know something is going on before we start dropping the hints,” she teased.
He huffed softly and nuzzled her again, his wings moving to curl around her as well. “I’m a pro at poker face, babe. Right now I just wanna enjoy this,” he murmured with a contented little sigh.
The two had been trying for a good couple months to get pregnant, deciding they were ready to officially start their family off. They’d met with professionals to discuss all the details regarding Fuyumi going off her birth control and what to expect following it. Fuyumi expected symptoms to be her first indication and to hit early on, as that had been how her mother’s pregnancies had all gone, but they didn’t realize until she took a pregnancy test. That had been three weeks ago and ever since the reveal, she and Keigo had both been on cloud night. Shortly afterwards, she’d worked to schedule the dinner with everyone so they could reveal it all at once.
It was hard given how many people in their lives were Pro Heroes or worked jobs with sporadic schedules but finally the night had arrived.
Fuyumi perked up when she heard a knock at the door, she and Keigo exchanging excited looks. “Show time,” he mused, pressing another kiss to her cheek.
She beamed before heading to the door, smiling brightly at Rei, Shoto and Fumikage on the other side. “Hello,” she preened, stepping aside so they could enter.
“Hello, darling,” Rei hummed, pausing to briefly embrace her daughter once she entered. The four of them settled into casual chatter as they walked to join Keigo in the sitting room. “Thank you both for having us this evening.”
“It’s our pleasure! You deserve a break from having to do all the cooking and clean-up afterwards, sometime,” Keigo agreed, his wings in their usual relaxed stance when he wasn’t on patrol. He and Rei also exchanged quick hugs before he grinned at Shoto and Fumikage. “Having fun now that you’ve both officially broken out of the sidekick slots?” he teased.
While he chatted up the younger two, there was another knock at the door. Natsuo and Nezumi were the next to arrive, followed shortly afterwards by Enji, and finally Rumi and Moe. The last couple arrived with a small bag as well. “Been a while since we’ve all gotten together, so we brought some of the good shit,” Rumi laughed, holding the bag up. Inside were a few bottles of sake with a label she couldn’t place in the moment.
“Thank you, you two,” she said happily. She escorted them to the sitting room where some passionate discussion between Keigo, Natsuo and Fumikage before heading to the kitchen to put the sake away for later. She then got started on cooking, smiling at the sounds of excitable merriment in the other room. The warmth in her home left her stomach fluttering with delight. She gently settled a hand on her abdomen and glanced down. “You’re going to be brought into such a lovely family.” she whispered before perking back up to resume preparing the sukiyaki.
She was almost done setting places and moving the spread of food to the table proper when Keigo poked his head in, still absolutely glowing. “Need any help with anything?” he asked.
“Just finishing up,” she hummed, indicating the place settings. In a matter of seconds, there were feathers skirting to and fro to complete the task. “Keigo!” she giggled.
“What?” he mused, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her in close. He leaned forward to press a few quick pecks to her temple. “I don’t want you having to do anything more than what’s absolutely necessary!”
“I’m not an invalid, Kei,” she mused, looping her arms around his neck and relaxing in his grasp.
Before he could open his mouth to offer any retort, Natsuo’s head poked around the corner. “Smells good; is food ready?” he asked with a sly grin.
Fuyumi blinked before snorting. “You’re such a grubber, Natsu,” she chided playfully as she moved out of Keigo’s grasp.
“But is that a yes?”
She rolled her eyes. She loved her brothers but sometimes they were just so single-minded. “Yes. Go get everyone else,”
The others were quick to follow him in shortly thereafter, their meal laid out before them all and playful banter starting up. “It smells like you’ve prepared this Kansai-style,” Enji commented with a note of pride in his voice.
“Not bad,” Rumi drawled happily, cheekily grinning at the retired Pro, “but not as good as Kanto-style.”
He scowled at that. “Are you daft? Kansai-style is a more traditional approach with a fuller flavor!”
“Certainly explains how you’re filling out your clothes more than you ever did as a Pro, Endie,” she teased back.
As the pair of them continued their back and forth, Rei’s eyes fell to the centerpiece nest. “Oh, did one of your students make that, Fuyumi?” she asked.
“No, we did,” she giggled, setting into her own spot.
“Since we’re expecting,” Keigo said, drawing the word out for emphasis, “we figured we should go the extra mile.”
The Todoroki matriarch smiled at them. “It’s a rather cute little piece, I will say,” Then, without another word, she turned to patiently break up the escalating argument between Enji, Rumi and - probably feeling left out of bullying the old man - Natsuo over the superior style of sukiyaki. Fuyumi and Keigo exchanged looks, silently agreeing that more hints would be needed.
They tried alluding to there being a bun in the oven.
Fuyumi mentioned them needing to repurpose a spare room.
Keigo made some comment about being in a family way.
Fuyumi suggested the idea of little feet pattering about their home’s halls.
But even with all these hints laid out… It seemed no one at the table was picking up on them.
Keigo pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily as they cleared the table together, their guests still settled at the dinner table and chatting amicably amongst themselves while they awaited dessert. According to some website she’d found, in America pudding was associated with being pregnant - for some odd reason she still couldn’t place - and had thought that would be a funny, cute little ribbon on top of the reveal present. “Well that didn’t go as expected,” he mumbled.
“Agreed,” she said, her own disappointment starting to trickle into her voice. She hadn’t really expected any of the men in her family to catch wise to what they were implying, if she was honest. She knew her father and brothers were incredibly intelligent but they weren’t always the best when it came to social cues. She had, however, thought her mother would pick up on it all. “I think we’ll just have to say it outright.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right. I mean, it’s not the most fun way to tell everyone you’re pregnant but it’ll get it out there, right?” he said with a reassuring grin.
She nodded as they picked up the little dishes of pudding, Keigo’s feathers carrying the ones they couldn’t handle themselves.
They reentered the dining room to another small squabble.
“You’re reading too much into things, Nez,” Natsuo said to the young woman beside him, her little mouse ears drooping slightly.
“Agreed,” Enji said with a small huff.
“B-But,” she trailed uncertainly before perking up at their return.
“I believe that Nezumi-San may have a point, actually,” Fumikage cut in, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes cracking open. All attention had switched over to him. “I mean, her arguments are valid and logical. Dismissing it all as a misinterpretation feels ignorant at best.”
Shoto opened his mouth to speak but then perked up when he spotted them returning. “Ah, perfect timing, you two,” he said.
“What’s going on?” she asked as she approached her parents to hand them their pudding.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Rei hummed, taking the little dish and setting it on the table. “Nezumi-Chan thinks you're pregnant because of the little nest decor you two made.”
“That’s not the only reason, though!” Rumi cut in, slapping a hand down on the table.
“Oh, and Mirko is also on her side,” Enji snorted.
“They’ve been making weird comments all night!” she barked back, ears twitching frantically in her irritation.
“Ah, yes,” Shoto chimed flatly, “because being aware of the usage of your living space is strange.”
Fuyumi blinked slowly, her eyes sweeping over to Nezumi. The poor dear looked so flustered by being the one to accidentally cause this little battle. Before she could offer any kind of comforting words to her, though, Keigo blurted, “Oh thank God at least one of you realized what we were doing!”
There was silence for a moment as all eyes turned to Fuyumi herself, most of them stunned but two seeming satisfied and one giddy.
Rei was the first to break the silence. “Fuyumi…? A-Are you..?”
She nodded, feeling the grin split up her face at everything finally coming out. “Yes, Mother. I’m pregnant,” she giggled, happy tears starting to prick at the corners of her eyes.
In a matter of seconds the older woman was scrambling up to embrace her with an excited squeal, nearly barreling the pair of them over. Rumi cackled in manic delight as she flashed Enji a crude hand gesture. Natsuo gave his girlfriend, who looked to be pouting, a quiet and sheepish apology. Moe got up to clap Keigo on the back while Fumikage and Shoto also got up; one to shake his mentor’s hand in congratulations and the other to hug his giddy older sister and mother.
Fuyumi and Keigo exchanged amused looks from the short space between them. They’d chalk the night up to a roaring success.
I’m sorry if I’m bothering you but if my memory serves me right, I think you wrote a short headcanon/ideas based Huwumi AUs, particularly an Anastasia AU. If possible, can you please add some more please??🥺
Anon, you are’t bothering me in the slightest! I am ready to scream about Huwumi at a moments notice! I think I also warn that I LITERALLY have a small army of Huwumi fics/ AUs waiting in the wings! I'll elaborate on a few more down below, so get nice and comfy for me to weave together some stories~!
I’m going to focus on a handful of ideas here, but let me just state that I have a list probably twice as long with even more Huwumi goodies!
Gods AU: Basically in this AU, Gods and Goddesses once walked amongst mortals, directly assisting and guiding humanity from generation to generation. After a hostile takeover about 500 years prior to the start of the story, however, the Demon King rose to power and cast the world into an eternal winter. Fuyumi is a newcomer to one of the more habitable towns and learns that she is actually the reincarnation of the Goddess of Winter, the only daughter of the God of Time and Goddess of Nature. She’s forced to embark on a quest to release her Godly siblings who were sealed away, regain her Holy form and lost memories, as well as to help organize a rebellion to defeat the Demon King. In her travels she is joined by Keigo, the God of the Hunt and Harvest, who she was miraculously able to seal and seems to have some connection to.
Fake Dating AU #1 #2?? Kinda???: This is a prequel of sorts to my TodoDeku Theater Kids AU, but will be able to stand alone perfectly fine on it’s own. After a recent scandal for both professional musician Takami Keigo and movie-star-turned-director-and-producer Todoroki Enji, their respective PR teams come to a conclusion; they need to work together to save their reputations. Keigo is seen as a flighty womanizer while Enji is seen as an emotionless brute, so they decide that the best solution is for Keigo to pretend to date Enji’s only daughter, Fuyumi, and for Enji to be publicly supportive. The plan is for the rouse to only last about half a year or so. However, things get a bit more complicated the more time Keigo and Fuyumi spend getting to know one another for the sake of appearances. Particularly in how deep and genuine their attraction to one another really goes.
Fake Dating AU #2 #3?? Kinda???: No Quirks Modern AU where Rei and Enji have been divorced for a good few years. One night, Enji announces he has a new girlfriend that he would like to introduce the kids to. Fuyumi is adamantly against this and decides to put a stop to this herself by sabotaging the relationship in a rather discreet way. Enter Takami Keigo, a struggling actor, hired by Fuyumi to pose as her boyfriend for these dinners and meet-ups. Her one direction for him? Be as obnoxious and push as many of these buttons as necessary to run her off. Filled to the brim with the expected awkwardness and gradual pining typical in one of these AUs.
Pet Owner AU: No Quirks Modern AU where Fuyumi and her students find an old, miserable cat lost in the rain and decide to take him in. After a few days, Fuyumi finds some missing posters for the aforementioned cat which leads to a phone call and meeting with his eccentric owner, Keigo the firefighter. It’s mostly just cute and soft animal shenanigans while two dorks fall in love. Oh, and Enji the Chief of the Fire Department being very displeased with his daughter dating one of his colleagues.
Veterinarian AU: No Quirks Modern AU that is somewhat similar to the prior one but with some key differences. Fuyumi finds a box of itty bitty baby kittens on her way home from work and takes them with her to look after. After a few days, she notices that they seem to be incredibly sick and takes them to a new local clinic by her work. Here she meets the two “owners” of the place; an old cat named Dr. Grumbles and young veterinarian Dr. Keigo Takami. From there, a romance begins to bloom involving cat pictures and health updates.
Romeo and Juliet AU: The Shakespeare tale with a magical twist! The Takami and Todoroki families were at war with one another for years, leading to countless blood shed. The Emperor of the Land of Yuuei at the time called together the most powerful mages across the land to help alleviate this battle through magical means; locking the respective families and their allies in parallel universes where they can no longer interact with one another. After many generations, however, the magical veil separating them has started to waver, allowing them glimpses into one another’s dimensions. It is through this that only heir to the Takami family, Keigo, and second born heir of the Todoroki family, Fuyumi, first catch glimpses of each other. With the help of a mage, Keigo and a small group of his friends are able to travel to the Todoroki dimension to crash a masquerade being held there and, if lucky, catch a glimpse of the young lady he’d seen. Thus begins a forbidden love story between the two.
Arranged Marriage AU: Following the development of Quirks, a subsection of the government became dedicated to determining the compatibility of people based on Quirk, personality, sexual orientation and family lineage, leading to a majority of the population being in government-sanctioned relationships. The results are determined during adolescence but not revealed until one reaches their early twenties. Thus leading to Todoroki Fuyumi being informed that she has been paired with cocky, haughty Pro Hero Hawks. With this knowledge being made known by both parties, the Commission rushes in to begin meddling and barking orders. With the pair starting off on the wrong foot with a rushed marriage, tense cohabitation and pushy, opinionated relatives, it becomes a question of how willing they both are to put in the work, or if Fuyumi’s greatest fear of living in a marriage like her mother will come to fruition.
Soul Eater AU: The least developed of them all but it’s going to happen. I still haven’t finalized what roles they each have but… I’ll eventually say more about this. Because no I won’t just let the idea of Soul Eater AUs for all of my ships go.
Single Parent AU: Look… You can tell how deep in I am if I have at least one Single Parent AU for a couple… Canon Divergent, but after the death of her best friend, Fuyumi becomes the legal guardian of said friend’s little son. With little time to grieve and constant fires to extinguish in the family home - including her own resentment towards her Father - Fuyumi doesn’t have time for a relationship. She wants to focus instead on being a good mother to her new son, to give him the love and life she knew his blood mother would have wanted him to have. In swoops Hawks, easily smitten after a chance encounter with the only Todoroki daughter, even in the face of her polite indifference. But is his interest in her deep enough to commit to something like fatherhood? And, even if it is, can he prove that he’s willing to commit?
Farmer AU: AU where Takami Keigo is a famous model/ actor who finds himself involved in a huge scandal and in desperate need to escape the city for a good while. His agent calls in a favor with an old contact to help get him somewhere safe and sound. That location? A rural farming community known as Yuuei, working as a new ranch hand for the Todoroki family. Problem number one? Keigo knows nothing about farming, tending crops or caring for farm animals. Problem number two? Todoroki Enji is an incredibly uptight and particular boss. Problem number three? Todoroki Enji’s only daughter, Fuyumi, is an incredibly sweet young miss. And Keigo really wants to impress her.
Hope you were looking for some sappy, sentimental nonsense because THAT’S WHAT’S ON THE MENU!!!! Also this fic was heavily inspired by the song Honey and Milk by Flower Face, with the lyrics being from Hawks’ point of view, so I would highly recommend it.
Minor Trigger Warning: Mentions/ References to Physical and Emotional Abuse
Hawks the Pro Hero had been known for having his large, ritzy penthouse in the heart of Fukuoka. It took up the entirety of the last floor of the complex building, with large double-pane glass ceilings for a ridiculous amount of natural lighting. The building had top notch security cameras on every floor and an elevator that required a special card key to make it work. He’d held a handful of swanky festivities there to grease some palms and rub elbows at the Commission’s insistence, but he knew the place was really meant to be a glorified cage.
The security camera and card key elevator were so they could track his movements. Make sure he wasn’t engaging in any salacious indulgences. Sure, he could fly out through the balcony window, but there were cameras and a barrage of questions waiting for him any time he did. The penthouse was luxurious and he should delight in spending his limited free time there, but something about how impersonal the place was felt draining. Everything had been selected for him by his handlers. Almost nothing in that place was something he had selected to be there himself, as if he was too stupid or too lazy to do it himself. It was stifling to think he was 23 years old and was still monitored like a toddler in their pram. They claimed if he could just buckle down and fully commit to what it was they wanted, there would be no problem.
So, Hawks decided to use that to his advantage. Insist that if they let him keep a “toy” with him, he’d be much better.
Keigo hated having to frame it that way, to try and treat things like they were just something to pass the time and not something he wanted for all of it he had left. But if he didn’t twist things to fit the narrative the Commission had in mind, he wouldn’t be able to have the things he wanted. He learned pretty quick that the only way to win against them was to play their stupid head games the same way they did, and really, he couldn’t put all the blame on himself. After all, this was what they wanted him to be. A perfect little performer, able to flit from side to side on the battlefield to try and gain leverage, try and change the tide as tensions escalated.
But he needed to breathe. He needed something more to keep him motivated now. The idea that he was no longer pushed forward by how useful his handlers considered him had been infuriating for the President. She’d hurled insults and accusations at Hawks, berating him for being made weak and soft, and he’d taken the verbal beatdown without batting an eye. He was used to it from her. She’d said worse things to him, anyway, so there was really no point to getting too ruffled. “I don’t ask for much,” he had drawled, letting his shoulders slump as if relaxed, “so I don’t think this should be too difficult. Give me this one thing and I can promise you’ll get more than what you want.”
Two days later she’d all but tossed the new set of card keys at him, snarling about what an ungrateful little leech he was.
He’d been happy to take the verbal lashing and then the two items to his girlfriend, Todoroki Fuyumi. It had been a chance encounter a few months prior to his promotion to the Number Two slot and collaboration with her father, Endeavor. At the time, he hadn’t even realized who she was, too focused on giving another great performance to really think. It had been some charity event where autographs and pictures were being offered at discounted rates for renovations to a nearby children’s hospital. He hadn’t been expecting much of the event, but he’d seen her amongst the unpaid volunteers and decided to strike up conversation with her. There had been the expected pleasantries - thanking him for his work, thanking him for taking the time out of his day to do this event - and then he expected her to start fluttering her eyelashes and putting the flirt on.
But then she didn’t.
Instead, she got to work, talking to him no different than another organizer, guiding him to his booth and going over how it worked. She milled about and helped with crowd control, managing the excitable young kids with a gentle and experienced hand. It was interesting to watch, watching frosty blue eyes light up at the looks of glee on the children’s faces as they reacted to whatever it was she said. Heeded up offering to help with clean up afterwards to get another conversation in with her, putting in enough charm to exchange numbers. It wasn’t until their second official date that her family name clicked in his mind. The revelation changed nothing for him, though, and he continued to treat her just as well as he’d done before.
Even then, he was already falling for her fast and hard, he could freely admit.
He groaned as he stepped through the threshold of the apartment, toeing off his kicks and swapping them for the house slippers. He could see Fuyumi’s own carefully tucked away, but he’d already known that she’d be in the apartment that night. He headed to the kitchen and smiled at the covered dishes settled on the table, waiting for him. She’d mentioned wanting to leave him a hearty meal for when he got back in, since he would be off the next day and she felt he deserved it. He chuckled as he reheated each little dish before eating, letting his eyes scan the kitchen.
Just a few short weeks ago, the place had been practically untouched, filled with cooking utensils that had never once been touched. Now, however, the rice cooker sat on the counter instead of the shelf above, clearly having been used recently. For the meal he was reheating, in fact. There was a small pastel pink strawberry-shaped kitchen timer on the counter beside it, but it normally sat nestled at the far end of the bottom row of the now-full spice rack. Matching porcelain dishes sat neatly washed in the drying rack by the sink, these ones more ornate with cherry blossoms decorating them in a blue backdrop as opposed to the militant grey ones he had before, and there were a few splotches of tan and green on the small decorative towels hanging off the oven door. The towels were of an apron-clad mother hen mixing something in a bowl, while a small baby chick chirped at her feet.
The towels were incredibly hokey, but he couldn’t help but love them all the same.
He made quick work of his meal, making sure to take the time and utter a quiet thank you before chowing down. Even if she wouldn’t hear him, he wanted to. Home-cooked things were a rarity in his life, both before and after he became a ward of the government, and even reheated a handful of hours later it was better than any restaurant he could name. before taking the time to wash and dry his own dishes. He paused for a moment before also taking the time to put them all away again, figuring it was the least he could do for the delicious meal.
The short trek from the kitchen to the bedroom for the rest of his pre-bed routine reminded him again of how things were different now. The plush leather couch in the living room now had a plush, pastel yellow throw blanket hanging along the back. The old glass and steel coffee table had been instead replaced with a kotatsu, a small bowl of fresh oranges settled in the center, a small stack of papers and a few colored pens on the far left corner. Pictures now hung in the hallway, in stained birch frames with cleaned glass, depicting moments where he felt the most alive, moments of her own with her mother, brothers or friends, her infectious smile even in a photograph filling him with a warmth he’d never known before.
It was strange but invigorating. How little things could break down the metaphorical bars of his cage and turn it into an actual home. He didn’t dread coming back here on the nights that he knew she was going to be here. He moved carefully through the bedroom to the adjacent bathroom, glancing over at the bed in the center of the room. Even in the dark light, he could see her rumpled white and red speckled hair spread across the pillows, glowing like a halo against the dark burgundy covers around her. The dark coloration of the bedding had been the one point he’d been insistent about, simply because he knew it would retain heat better.
Even if he wasn’t there himself, he wanted to make sure that she was always wrapped in a warm embrace of sorts.
Even as he showered, the evidence that he wasn’t alone was there. His black bath towel hung on the rack beside her blue and white striped one. The bright purple loofah hanging off the shower head. The blackberry scented women’s shaving cream, the pink shaver, and the variety of differently scented body scrubs - one for every special time of year, because she had a fixation with being as coordinated as possible - on the shower rack and their affiliated lotions tucked under the sink until the were needed. The drawer now dedicated to her make-ups and hair accessories, her toothbrush and cinnamon toothpaste - cinnamon because mint would be too on the nose, what with her Quirk - poised beside his and her make-up removing wipes resting just beside his shaving cream and razor. The few smudges of mascara or eyeliner at the edge of the sink, implying she’d dropped one of them while getting ready, all sang the song of an apartment shared by more than one individual.
He was hyper aware of it; partially because of honed instinct and partially by choice.
Even in his youth, he was alone. His parents were around, sure, but it was clear that he was only to be dragged out when they needed something from him. To make use of him in some way, as either a punching bag or his Quirk for survival. And even with the Commission, his handlers were not affectionate people. He was kept in his room until it was time to do Quirk training, run exercises, practice application of what he was learning through scene plays… And even then, the most he had ever gotten was a gruff, “Acceptable work.” When he’d been given a bit of freedom upon his entrance into Heroics, it had been a breath of fresh air. To mix and mingle, to have an adoring public, it had all been something new and gifted him something that he had craved. The part of him that yearned for meaningful connections with others had been filled by it.
For the first few weeks, anyway.
Far too quickly, however, he realized that the connections he made were not genuine. Not entirely, anyway. The swarms of fans were swarming to Hawks, to the puppet on the Commission’s strings, and not Keigo himself. The other Pros and sidekicks that pleaded for the chance to work with him only wanted to work with him to bask in the bright glow he cast, to gain some of that light to propel their own careers to those same heights. It was never something born out of interest in him, in who he was under the Pro Hero schtick, in the aspects of him that weren’t created by the Commission for the widest array of appeal.
But things were different now, he thought, as he dabbed at his mouth after brushing his teeth. He stared at his own reflection in the mirror for a beat or two. Just a few months ago, he’d been completely miserable with big, dark circles under his eyes that were normally masked using make-up. After all, dark circles wouldn’t play nicely into his Devil-may-care persona, or so claimed the Commissions President. Even now, the bags were still there, but they weren’t as dark and pronounced. Probably because he slept through the night more times than not since Fuyumi started staying regularly. He flashed a small smile to himself before stepping out into the bedroom proper to slip into some sleep pants.
He perked up immediately when he noticed her form sitting up in bed. He could feel her eyes shifting to watch him as he stood in front of the dresser. “Sorry,” he said quietly, "I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She shook her head while stifling a yawn. “Mmm, don’t worry, you didn’t. I was kinda dozing in and out of it for a while,” He nodded before dropping the towel from his waist to shimmy into some boxers. A small huff came from her at the act. “Make sure to hang that towel back up before you come to bed.”
“Of course I will, babe,” he chuckled, already sending two feathers to handle it as he fished out a pair of sweats. He preferred going shirtless at night as it was more comfortable for his wings. Once he was redressed and the feathers had safely returned, their task complete, he made his way over to the bed.
Fuyumi lifted the covers to him as an invitation while she shimmied back down herself. “Did the mackerel reheat well?” she asked, gently patting at her clavicle once he was sitting on the bed.
He was quick to take her up on the offer, swooping down to nuzzle his face into her, breathing in the scent of apple and honey lingering from her shower gel. His arms looped around her waist and her hands found his hair, carefully shifting through the still damp locks. “Mhm. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal,” he murmured against her skin
“It was my pleasure, you know that,” she giggled, pressing a quick peck to his forehead.
He had come to live for the delicate, tender moments with her. The suggestion for her to start moving her things into his apartment had been his, once they’d hit the ten month mark. He knew he was committed, that he’d sooner die than live a day without her. They hadn’t, however, broached the subject with her Father yet. No one knew that they were together, actually, simply because he wanted to keep her protected and respect that she wanted her privacy. He knew her hesitance to outright tell Endeavor came from an ugly place and so didn’t go chasing those battles with her. He knew how it upset her and he didn’t want to force her to confront things she wasn’t ready to. And so, they decided to take the move a step at a time. First, to add personal touches to make the apartment more homey, more like their space, and they’d tell Endeavor the truth once things were a bit more calm. She spent four to five nights a week at the apartment, and at least 80 percent of her things were already moved over, and for now that was enough for them.
The hand in his hair continued its gentle work while her other slid down to caress along his spine. She had learned early on exactly how to relax him best, and her hand made its way to the base of his wings. She took her time massaging at the muscles at the base of each, her touch firm yet still somehow soft. When she massaged them, they would flare out wide and long, to their full height and width, before slumping lax against the pillow top and trilling chirp-like sounds would emanate from his throat to highlight his approval. He remembered a long time ago when he’d feared those noises would startle her away, but she had never found the few avian characteristics he had to be off-putting.
With his wings put to rest, her hand moved from his back to stroke his cheek instead. He shifted his head a bit to chase her fingers, pressing lazy little kisses along each one as they skimmed past his lips, and a small giggle escaped her. “You’re always so beautiful like this,” she breathed, looking at him with such pure adoration. He never got tired of how she watched him, as if he was so much more than he was, the look something that he couldn't put the word to but was certain he knew. Her touch moved to thumb over the mark at the corner of his eye, cool skin soft and soothing. “So relaxed, at ease. Just… Letting yourself drop the Hero moniker. Just breathing and being completely yourself. You never look quite as pretty as you do in these moments.”
His chest tightened at the words and he felt his heart sputter, practically drowning in how head over heels he was falling all over again, suddenly able to place the look. Because he had seen it before, directed at others but never at himself. Something he knew he had looked at others with before, back when bruises and harsh words held the same weight as a kiss or gentle praise. He took in a shuddering breath and burrowed himself back into her, body shaking as he tried to compose himself. He felt overwhelmed but in such a good way, in a way that he'd never known before, and to finally have a word for it filled him so, so much.
It was unconditional love.
“Eh? Keigo? What is it? Did I say something wrong?” Fuyumi fretted, feeling the dampness from his eyes leaking onto her skin and the hem of her nightgown.
He loved her so much but he hated how she'd been conditioned to assume she was always at fault. “No,” he breathed out in a shaky whisper, a shuddering laugh pairing off with it, “no, no. These are good tears, Fuyumi.” It took a moment before she relaxed again and pulled him in closer. Her lips brushed against his hairline, the hand in his hair resuming its work while the other slid to gently rub soothing circles between his shoulder blades. Once he was settled enough, he tilted his head to press a few fleeting kisses along her clavicle. “Didn’t mean to freak you out. Sorry about that.”
“No, it’s okay. You don’t need to apologize for getting emotional,” she said, reaching out to tilt his head up and press a proper kiss to his lips. He hummed and kissed back, letting himself relax into her arms again.
He flashed her a smile when they pulled away. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Keigo,” she hummed, peppering a few kisses along his face. He smiled and leaned into it, basking in the affection of someone who loved him, warts and all.
Prompts 25. "I know this looks bad, but I swear, it's not."
So many ways this could go~! Hopefully the route I took was a fun one!
Minor Trigger Warning: Mentions of Blood
Momo considered herself to be a rather fortunate woman. She had a financially successful family, a great relationship with her father and was working on things with her mother, a close-knit group of friends she loved dearly, and had started a paid internship just a few weeks back for a designing agency run by The Kayama Nemuri. She knew that she was an incredibly lucky person, that there were those who would kill for the opportunities she had been given, and made sure to wear her gratitude on her sleeve to everyone she knew. She put all her effort and energy into being a good daughter, a good friend, and a good employee, doing whatever she could through action to help emphasize the depth and sincerity of her gratitude. After all, actions were a great indicator of the merit of one's words!
But sadly… Her love life hadn’t seen nearly as many returns as the rest of her life had.
She’d had three relationships in the past and they’d all been… lackluster, to put it mildly. Her first relationship had been a situation where she agreed to date the guy more out of obligation than anything. He had been incredibly nice to her and her then-friends had insisted that meant she at least owed him a chance to prove himself as a boyfriend. The relationship had only lasted three months of her first year of high school and ended so horribly that her father had transferred her to a new school at the conclusion of her first semester.
The school she transferred to was a girls-only boarding school and where she grew into her sexual identity as a pansexual woman. She had a longer relationship with one of her classmates that started in the winter of her second year and ended in the spring of their third year, with her ex immediately jumping to date another of their peers within a week of the break up. It had been painful to watch and, for about a year after, she had avoided relationships for a while.
Her relationship after that had been even worse. She didn’t like to dwell on that ex too much simply because… Well, how incredibly awful it had been. The relationship had felt much more like the two of them getting together because they were afraid of being single in their group of friends. The two of them had nearly no common interests and her ex had always seemed to find her passion for fashion design to be a waste of time, frequently inquiring why she didn’t study something more “practical”. Momo herself, however, thought that her degree plan had been more than practical, considering her minor had been in business.
That relationship lasted ten months and ended when she learned of an affair.
She’d taken a two year break from dating after that, focusing instead on her friend and family and school. All of her friends had rallied around her after that break up, helping to lift her back up, and she had been incredibly grateful for it. They reminded her to never settle for less than she was worth, to wait until someone who deserved her commitment came around.
And then, one day, she met Jirou Kyouka.
Their first meeting had been an impromptu sort of thing. Momo’s dear friend Mina had to take her new puppy, Floofles, to the vet for vaccines and spaying. It was an overnight situation with a designated pick-up time, but Mina had to be at work during the time. She has begged Momo if, since she was free that day, she could pick Floofles up and monitor her until she herself was home. And not one to let a friend in need down, Momo had agreed.
In the lobby of the little vet clinic had sat a young woman in dark colors, with short cut indigo hair, and a snarling mass of hay colored fur in her lap. Momo had been a few minutes early and was urged to take a seat while she waited, causing her to settle into the vacancy next to the stranger and her displeased pet. Upon closer examination she realized that it was a cat, with a front paw that looked to be at an odd angle, which seemed to explain the attitude. “Oh, the poor little dear,” she murmured quietly, not thinking as the words left her mouth.
Dark eyes flickered up to her, the gleam of disinterest fading to a light of interest. Her lips twitched up in a small smile. “Thank you, but he did this to himself,” she hummed, reaching out to set one hand on the cat’s head. He responded by growling audibly and jerking his head out from under her touch. “Leave the patio door open unsupervised for one minute, and he leaps out to chase a bird. Eats shit and ends up hurting his paw.”
The cat let out a displeased hiss at his dirty laundry being aired, but it only resulted in both women laughing. The next few minutes waiting for Floofles had passed in the blink of an eye as she chatted up the cat owner, learning that the cat was named Dynamight and was just a grumpy old man trapped in the body of a young cat. Once Floofles was brought out to her, Momo asked for the other’s number, explaining she wanted to see how Dynamight was doing once his paw got looked at. And while there was genuine care about the cat’s well being involved, there had also been a selfish motivation behind it, too. Her companion seemed to know as much but didn’t draw attention to it as they exchanged numbers.
That was eleven months ago, with she and Jirou’s nine month anniversary as an official couple just on the horizon. And Momo couldn’t help but smile whenever she thought about it. Jirou was unlike her past partners in so many ways. She encouraged and supported Momo’s designing works, they shared a secret love of true crime love documentaries, and she was incredibly laid back. With her, Momo could feel her walls fall down and she felt genuinely secure about it. There was something naturally calming about Jirou’s presence and approach to life - of going with the flow and taking things as they came - that was refreshing and exhilarating. So much of Momo’s own life had been slotted around by activity start and end times, of living up to expectations both real and imagined, that the idea of simply letting things be and dealing with them as they came up was incredibly freeing.
The thought occurred to her as she stepped out of the elevator at Jirou’s apartment complex and started to make her way to her door. Normally, she made sure to reach out before dropping by. Part of it was because she didn’t like just showing up unannounced, but another reason was because of her girlfriend’s erratic work schedule. The other woman did freelance work of some kind - the details were vague and confidential - so her hours tended to shift depending on the needs of her client. Sometimes, she’d be free for a good three or four days, while other times she’d be engrossed in her projects for hours at a time. Things had been pretty quiet from what little she remembered last time they talked about work, though, so she felt things would be fine this one time.
She opened the door to the front door, unsurprised to find it unlocked. Jirou tended to leave the door unlocked in case her neighbor, a bedraggled single father, ever needed to ask for an impromptu baby-sitter. His daughter liked cats and Dynamight, as Momo herself had seen, was surprisingly agreeable with the young girl when she came by. She half expected to see young Eri settled on the couch, a Disney movie playing on the television, while Jirou prepared dinner or worked on something for a client, when she stepped in.
Only to stop just a few steps through the threshold.
A map of the city was spread across the coffee table, two large pillar candles set up at the far corners of the table, while Jirou was kneeling in front of it. She was cutting open what seemed to be a small blood donation bag with some scissors, a small wooden box to her left with what seemed to be crystals inside. After a moment, Jirou reached towards the box and pulled one out, a thin strand of yarn wrapped around the crystal. She released a slow breath. “Okay, Kyouka… This shouldn’t be too hard. You haven’t exactly used this combination before but it should work out fine,” she mumbled to herself, moving the crystal to dangle over the open lip of the bag.
Momo couldn’t help it; she gasped, loud and horrified. She was completely stunned. What was all of this? What purpose did it serve? It all seemed incredibly occult. Jirou had never seemed like the type to have such interests. Hearing her gasp, Jirou jerked to stare at her with a horrified stare of her own. She opened her mouth twice, clearly scrambling to find words to string together, before she clamped it shut with a soft click of her jaw.
They stared at one another for a long moment, eyes wide and their heart beats seeming to echo in the tiny space.
"I know this looks bad, but I swear, it's not!" Jirou yelped, finally cutting through the silence, dropping the blood bag in her hands and letting it hit the ground with a sickening splat sound. Momo felt her whole body shudder with the sound and her stomach flipped uneasily. She shifted her weight back on the heels of her feet while keeping her eyes fixated on Jirou.
“Tch! She’s gonna try and make a break for it if you don’t seal the door off, ya idiot!” For a moment, Momo was befuddled by the new voice she heard. She swore she could hear quiet, cat-like growls between their words, but… That wouldn’t make sense, right? Who does cat impressionations while speaking? Slowly she turned her head in the directions of the voice, her eyes landing on the familiar fluffy form of Dynamight sitting on the kitchen counter. His pupils shrunk to slimmer slits before he curled his lips back, the voice from before sneering, “Oh, looks like she’s starting to put shit together! Get your head back in the fucking game!”
Dynamight… Her cat… Was talking? But then… Talking cats were common of…
Momo whipped around and moved to rush for the apartment door, heart beating erratically in her chest. If this was all really happening, she needed to get out! Before a hex of some kind could be placed on her, or even worse! “Wait, Yaomomo! Please hear me out!” Jirou called out after her.
Just as her hands made to grab for the handle, it shriveled and withered into the door itself like a rotten fruit being reclaimed by its tree. A startled shriek left her as she scrambled backwards, watching with wide eyes as the rest of the door melted into the frame, the seam separating the two disappearing completely. She felt herself drop to her knees and wrap her arms tight around herself. “Oh God,” she breathed shakily, closing her eyes tightly as she heard soft footfalls approaching her. “I promise I won’t tell anyone about this! J-Just please! D-Don’t hu-hurt me! L-Let me go!”
There was a quiet swishing of wind and fabric before she felt herself being lifted slightly. Then, there was a soft and warm hand gently cupping her cheek. “I would never hurt you, Momo. Please… Even if you aren’t sure how to feel about the rest of this, please know that much is the truth,” The other woman’s voice hitched with pain as she spoke, clearly wounded by the suggestion. She peeked her eyes open to see she was floating just a few feet above the ground so that she was able to meet the other’s dark eyes. Those same eyes were pleading and vulnerable.
Momo swallowed thickly before timidly nodding her head. “I’m sorry,” she breathed softly.
“No, I understand. This… Isn’t what you were anticipating to walk into,” Jirou said with a small sigh before glancing over at the sacrificial site set up on her coffee table. “Just let me clean that up real fast, put on some tea and then I’ll explain.” Momo nodded with a bit more certainty before she was carefully floated over and set delicately on the couch.
She sat and watched in quiet bemusement as the other skittered to and fro, using what Momo could only assume was magic to help her. The longer she observed, the more relaxed she gradually became. While she worked at getting the blood cleaned up off the wood paneling, Dynamight actually rummaged through the kitchen cabinets to fish out the kettle and start filling it up. It was a little impressive to watch how he did it with his paws and teeth, though she could still hear the quiet grumbled swears he released as he did. Once all the summoning stuff and blood were cleaned up, Jirou prepared them each a cup of tea and settled into the couch seat a space away from Momo, giving her a good amount of breathing room.
She handed the cup over carefully with one hand. “I went with that citrus one you brought a while back. I remembered that one having a nice little zing to it,” she explained.
“Thank you,” Momo took a quick sip of her own cup, disregarding how it scalded her tongue just a smidge. “So… You’re a witch, I take it.” she said evenly.
Jirou nodded. “Yes, I am,”
“And Dynamight-!”
“Bakugo,”
“Huh?”
“His actual name is Bakugo Katsuki. Dynamight is just his… um.. Common cat name. Easier than explaining the logistics of a familiar,” she explained with a small nervous laugh.
“So he is your familiar,” she mused, taking another sip. The other nodded as she took a sip from her own cup as well, setting it on the coaster on the coffee table when she was done.
Jirou’s hands clutched at her knees, eyes skirting down to stare at them instead. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I’ve wanted to but… I was worried. There’s a lot of paperwork and hoops to jump through to get that kind of clearance. And even then… There’s no guarantee that you’d want to keep that knowledge. And if that happened, your memories would have to be wiped and I couldn’t see you anymore.”
Momo blinked in surprise. “Wait, what?”
“It’s a safety protocol that the higher ups implement to keep the general public safe, as well as those of us in the bureau,” she sighed, lifting her head to peek up at her worriedly. It was clear she was uneasy but was also being transparent. “Though, I suppose I should actually… Well, explain what’s going on here, huh?”
She nodded. “So… Is this related to your work?”
“Yes, actually. See, I’m aligned with what’s called the I.B.O.M.O., which is abbreviated further to I-Boom, and is short for International Bureau of Magical Events. As a representative, I have the ability to travel between this realm - the mortal plane - and the realm of magical creatures - the magical plane. As such, it is my responsibility to keep instances of magical creatures and mortal interactions limited. Part of that is tracking down rogue magicals that come into the mortal plane without the proper permissions and, if they encounter a mortal, wiping memories and issuing out punishments,” she explained, picking her cup back up and taking a sip.
“So what you were doing… Was that related to something like that?” Momo asked with a tilt of her head.
Jirou nodded. “Yes. I was trying to scry. My current assignment is to track down the heir of a noble warlock family who has apparently fled to this plane. He is apparently somewhere in this city but.. Well, since he hails from a high ranking family, his magical skills have been well-honed so trying to find him has been a struggle. I’d been hoping that by combining my scrying technique and a powerful conjuring technique using the bird blood I could… Well… Try to get some idea as to where he might be,” she sighed, letting her shoulders slump. “This is the longest I’ve ever taken on an assignment and it’s.. Well, it’s difficult.”
Momo stared at her before glancing back down at her cup. Her thumb traced along the rim of the cup thoughtfully, an idea turning about in her head. “Could… Could I help you find him?”
“Huh?”
“The fuck can a human like you do to help?” Dynamight - erh, Bakugo? - chimed in, hopping down from the breakfast nook and trotting over. He scrambled up and sat on the table, glaring her down with his ears back and fluffy tail lashing. “If a witch with as many accomplishments as Earlobes is having a hard time, what fucking chance does a mere human like you have?”
“Well, if you have an idea of around when he appeared, I can ask around,” Momo said, tone a little petulant. The sheer lunacy that she was arguing with a cat wasn’t lost on her completely - and she made note to ask Jirou later how, exactly, it was she could hear his voice - but she still felt the need to, as immature as it was. “I have a lot of connections around the city. I might be able to get you a list of suspects, since there is the chance he could do… Um… What is it called? Glamour?”
Jirou giggled a bit. “You’re right. Glamour is the tool magical creatures use to disguise their true forms,” She lightly tapped her chin in thought. “Hmm. That’s not a bad idea, actually. He could be using glamour to disguise his appearance since it’s so unique. Make himself harder to find.” Momo smiled at Jirou’s words, her heart fluttering a bit at the prospect of being about to help her girlfriend. “But… If you’re going to get involved, I’ll need to file the proper paperwork and make a protection charm for you. I want you to be safe. I don’t think the nobleman would harm you but… I don’t know the specifics of why he left the magical plan unannounced. I’d rather air on the side of caution.”
Momo nodded as she took another sip of her tea. A part of her told her she shouldn’t get this invested. It was Jirou’s work and she herself wasn’t a witch. She shouldn’t be getting involved too heavily. But… If she could help her girlfriend, wasn’t it worth it? If it gave her a chance to show how much she appreciated how good Jirou was to her, it had to be worth it.
