Ruby Red and Caramel
Chapter 2: Chili Garlic Buttered Shrimp

AN: Some scenes also appear in the Todochako series (Peony Pink and Cherry Blossom Tea) - but you don't need to read that one to understand this one hehehe

When the young doctor wakes up at 2 in the morning, bleary-eyed, disoriented, hungry and thirsty like she collapsed in the middle of the Gobi Desert, she instantly evaluates the busy week she has ahead of her. She realizes that she has so many things to do-patients to follow up, paperworks due, journals to critique-that she barely has enough time to perform the most necessary of all the activities of daily living. Again, the thought of quitting her residency whispers to her at the back of her mind, but she shakes it off as she usually does, and allows herself a small sniffle before moving on.

Never mind planning a nice, quiet visit to the cafe across the street. For coffee purposes purely, of course, and to get some studying done. And not just to maybe… definitely stare at the intriguing personification of an explosion who runs the cafe. Who may or may not have had an appearance in her dreams that night. Dreams which are steamy hot and cold-brew cold, loud and brash and red, him cornering her against a wall, carrying her in those arms and throwing her against the-

She bites down on a leftover croque monsieur and gives her forehead a hearty slap. Really, Momo? Two in the morning, disoriented, malnourished, and dehydrated, and your dirty dreams of Bakugou-san are the first things to enter your mind? You've only met him once, Momo, can you please calm down? Surely there are more important… more significant… less thirsty… things that warrant your attention, Momo?

In any case, the lightheaded woman thinks that now is a good time to try to get some work done-once again, she's assigned by the hospital to present in the next clinical-pathological conference in two days. And she hasn't even finished her second run-through of the presentation! Unacceptable, Momo, you're so far behind, you don't have time for your silly dreams involving explosive, ridiculously attractive men in coffee shops!

Honenuki-san, ever calm and rational, has told her time and again to stop taking on so much work. Loosen her standards a little bit. All of her presentations are more than perfect anyway, he tells her, and the hospital should pay her double for the quality of work she gives them. But she can't help herself-discussions and oral presentations are the one thing she's good at. Hopefully, doing well in these things would cover up how nervous she is in performing actual surgeries.

(She doesn't want to say so, but she isn't like him or Todoroki-san, who are confident enough to lead surgeries without a senior consultant watching over them.)

So with that prolonged self-assessment, she sits down, takes a deep breath. Erases her mind free of her insecurities and her worthless day dreams and exhaustion. She opens her laptop and begins to work.

The week passes by in a blur. As expected, she's given a standing ovation in the conference and another nice certificate with her name on it. And as expected, the rest of the time she's scolded by their training officer Dr. Hakamata and their anxious chief resident Amajiki-senpai for not appearing confident enough when she's doing surgeries.

The dark-haired chief even invited her to sit down with him in the safe, private confines of their call room to ask her if anything's wrong. "You're really good at what you're doing, Yaoyorozu," he tells her, as he stubbornly keeps his face next to the wall behind them. "So I don't get why you don't think the same way."

Her self-confidence issues must be something else if Dr. Amajiki Tamaki, of all people, finds the need to call her out on them. Momo, this is a person who has to psych himself into thinking that all his patients' heads are potatoes just so he could be functional enough to open them up. She scolds herself; she really needs to evaluate her life and choices by this point.

"I do my best, Amajiki-senpai," is all she's able to say.

"You need to do more than that." The nervous tremor in his voice is apparent. "As you know, villains are still going around like crazy. Innocent people get attacked out of nowhere everyday, and that's not the worst they can do. You never know when we all have to answer to another mass casualty incident. When that happens, do you think we can leave you to tend to critical patients on your own?"

She knows she has the know-how to do so, but her heart trembles just thinking about making all the decisions on her own. So many bad outcomes may happen even if she does the proper method-what if she misses something vital in the chaos? So before she can stop herself, she shakes her head. Amajiki-senpai sighs.

"... think about your dreams a little more, Yaoyorozu." His tone is stern, but kind at the same time. "For the meantime, I'm giving your tumor case to Todoroki. Endorse the case to him properly."

She doesn't even have the will to protest. She bows, apologizes to the chief, and takes her leave.

And so it happens that Todoroki, still exhausted from the duty that's passed, becomes the first assist to Dr. Fukukado Emi (aka. Dr. Joke, because her quirk has infamously once caused her OR staff to laugh so much they have to be relieved by another team), to perform tumor removal on a patient she's managed for the past week. She doesn't feel too bad about it, and she learned new things just standing in the background and listening to Dr. Fukukado as she performs.

She's so confident, she remembers thinking in admiration, as she watches her carefully scoop out the tumor with a smile in her eyes. I wonder if I'll ever be like that…

She tells herself off for being so weak, and tells herself off for telling herself off. She sees Uraraka give her a concerned look before turning her attention back to the procedure.

When the long procedure is over, Dr. Fukukado leaves them to do the sutures on the patient. Momo patiently holds up the thread as Todoroki stitches up the patient smoothly.

"Great job, Todoroki-san," she says, just to fill the empty air between them. "It looked like a difficult case. You and Dr. Fukukado make a great team."

He makes his usual quiet hum from behind his mask. "You would have done it better than me, Yaoyorozu."

"Don't tease me," she whines, moving her arm accordingly as Todoroki makes another stitch. "Amajiki-senpai doesn't think I'm ready for this. He probably has a good reason to think so."

"Amajiki-senpai doesn't know what he's talking about," the dual-toned doctor says flatly. "All he knows is performing surgeries on potatoes and grapes. He probably thinks you're an onion, Yaoyorozu. An entirely new vegetable he doesn't understand."

It isn't even the best joke, but the deadpan delivery makes it. That earns him a timid giggle from her, and a louder, unrestrained guffaw from Nurse Uraraka, who is doing a recount of all the surgical instruments. "Don't say that about our chief, Todoroki-san! Uraraka-san might not be able to look him in the eye after this," she chides gently.

"Oh-d-don't worry 'bout me, Dr. Yaomomo! I don't think you're an onion…" she stammers in a daze, followed by an embarrassed little squeal when she realizes how non sequitur her answer is. Her cheeks are suddenly noticeably pink and impossibly round, even with the mask on.

"W… well… I certainly hope you don't, Uraraka-san," Momo answers as politely as she can.

The girl nods, and gets back to murmuring numbers over her tray. Across from her, Todoroki noticeably pauses mid-stitch, before shaking his head and continuing his sutures.

Seven hours of surgery is a long time, Momo concludes. The two of them must be so tired to be this distracted. Feeling another pang of guilt for her lack of confidence, she makes up her mind to treat Todoroki to lunch later.

His blood sugar must be at an all-time low, because Todoroki Shouto is still spacing out all throughout endorsements to the ICU team. There's a glazed look in his eyes, which has an even more impenetrable layer of unreadability over them. It's subtle, but there's a zombie-like quality to his gait as they move out into the hallway.

This is my fault, Momo thinks anxiously as she regards her batchmate. I should really get my act together. I can't rely on him or Honenuki-san forever. "I'll treat you to anything you like, Todoroki-san. You can't be sick now-you have that event with Endeavor tonight, right?"

He snaps out of his odd state briefly and allows an annoyed look enter his eyes. Although annoyance isn't the ideal emotion she preferred Todoroki to be wearing, it's definitely better than the lack of expression he has before. "Don't remind me. I'd rather go on perpetual duty for a month than to go to that gala. Maybe I can convince Honenuki to switch duties with me."

She gives an amused little giggle. For the past month, he has been openly dreading the Pro Heroes Gala-one of the biggest, glitziest events in Japan, and a particularly important one for his family. After all, it's held in honor of Endeavor, the present #1 hero and his father. "You shouldn't. If you don't go, I doubt that the situation with him would get any better. And it's just a few hours, right? Speaking of which, have you found someone to come with you yet?"

"No, none at all." Having known him for the past three years, Momo is able to appreciate the most minuscule changes on Todoroki's face when he turns to her. It isn't much, but she knows he's trying to give her his best pleading look. "You can still come with me, Yaoyorozu. There's still time."

She feels absolutely sorry when she says, "I really can't, Todoroki-san… you know I have a report to finish by tonight, and besides, once Endeavor assumes we're together-"

It's already a Sisyphean task in itself to convince the rest of the hospital that she and Todoroki are merely close friends and colleagues with no romantic inclinations for each other. She shudders to think of what would happen if the #1 Hero were to spread the word to the media that she is dating his beloved son, who prematurely ended his pro-hero career in favor of a medical degree, seemingly out of nowhere.

She doesn't want to deal with all the ugly gossip and conspiracy theories, not when she has her own troubles to face.

"We can pretend to have a messy breakup tomorrow," Todoroki offers.

That has been the game plan from the start. A plan that is prone to disastrous misunderstandings with potential repercussions that will definitely extend beyond the hospital. "You know that's not going to work. Your father… well, he's already interested enough with my quirk, and he's… um…"

She doesn't want to remember that little incident. She thinks that there's a permanent empty space in her left arm from making so many Matryoshka dolls the first time she met Endeavor face-to-face.

"An asshole." Todoroki makes another face, bordering on disgust. Momo has an inkling of the circumstances that led him to say so, so perhaps he is actually already being kind with his choice of vocabulary. "It's okay. You're allowed to say so."

"Doesn't mean I will," she says. Profanity is still unladylike, after all. She really wants to change the subject now, before Todoroki gets any more ideas. "By the way, about our next duty-"

"-ponytail. Paging Dr. Ponytail, please go to information."

She freezes mid-step as her brain processes the announcement. Wait, did they really just-

"Paging Dr. Ponytail, to information please."

They did. Wait-he did. Did he? What is he-why would he-would he really dare…?

"I can't believe that man, how improper!"

All sorts of emotions, all of them hot and thrilling, flood through her veins and into her chest.

Suddenly, she's speedwalking in the hallway with her heels clacking angrily with her stride. She barely hears Todoroki behind her, asking her something that she doesn't understand.

When she gets there in the blink of an eye, she stumbles into a strange scene-Awase-san of Orthopedics arguing with a man with a familiar head of blonde hair, a broad, broad back, and a navy blue apron. Patients and hospital staff alike are staring at the scene with obvious discomfort. How unbecoming! This is… unacceptable behavior to show in a place of healing!

As soon as she stops in front of them with a final angry clack of her right heel, they turn to her simultaneously, both of them stunned momentarily by her stance.

Todoroki also makes a stunned little noise behind her, when she puts her hands to her hips and wills away all the default gentleness her demeanor has. "Bakugou-san!"

She thinks she sounds authoritative enough-at least authoritative enough that the argument between the two men comes to a halt. But while Awase continues to stare at her in shock, Bakugou has an absolutely incorrigible smile on his face.

Oh lord, that smile. Momo is stunned that she suddenly wants to wax poetic about his smile, but is instantly unable to. And not just that. His crouch too. His strong arms. His glinting, spice-red eyes. Oh my, she doesn't remember that he looked this good.

Is it because she was sleep-deprived and on the brink of collapse during their last interaction? Is it because a week passed by without seeing him, except in her silly dreams and occasional hypnagogic hallicunations?

She should be angry-her ponytail has never felt so insulted in its life, and the absolute audacity to misuse the paging system of a busy government hospital should exponentially increase her annoyance towards this man-yet she fights the impulse the corners of her mouth suddenly has to curl upward.

And Bakugou obviously notices, if the way his stride got just a little more overbearing.

"See, Headband Fucker? Told you she'd get it." He briefly gives Awase a smug, victory grin before he saunters over closer to her.

Awase doesn't give up, though. He seems to make a concerted effort to keep his natural protect-Yaoyorozu instinct at bay-it's all that keeps him from welding the guy to the floor, it seems, Momo sees that he's already making that face. He gives her a questioning look (a what did you do to get yourself involved with this idiot, Yaoyorozu? look, to be precise) before he spits out, "What kind of a moron would page a good and proper doctor by that nickname?!"

Bakugou ignores him, and trains those ruby-reds to hers. "So, Dr. Ponytail. You ain't on call today, right?"

She catches a whiff of his natural, burning caramel scent, and suddenly it's a little harder to keep her anger stance steady. Don't condone his behavior, Momo. She keeps her voice and her gaze as steady as she can as she answers, "I'm not, but… Why do you ask, Bakugou-san?"

"That's all I need to know."

The heat that suddenly encases her hand catches her by surprise, making her yelp. Oh, the grip on her hand is strong, very strong-it takes all of her presence of mind to hold on to the last dregs of her dignity and to not stumble like a fool behind him.

He stops only once to tell Todoroki, "You can cover for her, right Dr. Blackjack?"

Dr. Blackjack? Thinks Momo within the daze. Kind of old school…

Todoroki must have quietly gestured in the affirmative, because Bakugou bares his teeth in that devilish grin of his. "Fuck yeah. Come on, Dr. Ponytail."

"B-but-Todoroki-san isn't-"

"He says he'll cover for you, all right?! And we're just across the street, you can run through traffic if their dumbasses manage to mess things up while you're not here-"

Momo looks back at Todoroki with what she hopes is a look of utter betrayal. She is surprised that Todoroki would just willingly give up his precious flabbergasted batchmate so easily like that… but then again, this is Todoroki Shouto, who tends to avoid arguments just so he could keep his daily average of 500 spoken words per day.

Her dual-toned colleague processes the look she gives him for a moment, and in response gives her a little wave of a hand. "Honenuki and I got this. Have fun, Yaoyorozu."

Have fun, he says. She wants to give him another look to tell him you're grossly misunderstanding this, Todoroki-san, but she doesn't get a chance to, as in the next millisecond, Bakugou speedwalks her out the door, and into the street.

The NTG Cafe is a little busier than it was the last time Momo passed by. It's good progress, she supposes. She didn't notice how it was doing at all, because it's closed in the early mornings and late nights that Momo walks past it, going to the hospital and back.

The lunch rush is over by the time he drags her in. There are other customers quietly drinking coffee, reading books, and taking photos of elaborate pastries on their plates. Bakugou deposits her in the unoccupied desk she chose last Sunday. "Don't move," he tells her like a threat, before he disappears out back.

So she doesn't.

Excuse me, Momo, this man just insulted you and your hairstyle and your friend's hairstyle inside the sacred hospital grounds, kidnapped you, took you out of your post and made you break the rules, and is now vaguely threatening you with absolutely nothing. Momo, shouldn't you be fuming right now?

Yes, she's fuming. Of course she's fuming. She's absolutely livid. Red-faced, steam coming out of her ears. Insulted beyond-

"Hey, Dr. Yaomomo. Whatcha smilin' about?"

She feels her ponytail twitch a little at the remark. She turns to face a familiar dark-haired barista, smirking at her from the counter behind her.

"Jirou-san!" Her annoyance ebbs away a little bit. "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"

"Good, good. Business isn't as slow as I thought it would be. Who would've thought that Baku-boss could keep his rage in check enough to be a decent server, eh?" Jirou Kyouka's ear-jacks sway in amusement as she regards the doctor. "More importantly, doc, how are you? You didn't visit us at all since last Sunday. I got worried that he actually poisoned your coffee and you died, or something-"

Momo chuckles and shakes her head. "Oh, Jirou-san, work's just been terribly busy, you have no idea… believe me, I wanted to visit you earlier than this, but I barely come home on time as it is…"

Jirou nods sagely. "I guess that's just the neurosurgeon life for ya. I guess I should be amazed that Bakuboss managed to drag you outta there like this, even for a short while."

She hums in contemplation. "He's… very convincing…?"

"Coercive? Overbearing? Dictatorial? Despotic?"

Momo turns to the seat in front of her, and gasps when she sees that it's already occupied by a new character-a man in the same navy blue apron and uniform as Jirou, with a shock of bright, blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, wiggling eyebrows, and a smile that can only be described as…

"Stupid." Jirou sighs. By this time she's made her way to their table and pats Momo on the back apologetically. "Kaminari, don't just butt in our conversation like that. We barely get respectable people in this cafe as it is, 'cause of you and Bakuboss-"

"Whey. You are downright cruel, Jirou." Kaminari gives the girl an odd, empty look, before switching over to one of pure flirtatiousness. He wiggles his eyebrows again and leans over to Momo and holds out his hand. "Don't mind the blatant workplace bullying, doc. Name's Kaminari Denki. Some days I'm a freelance writer. Most days I'm the best barista here, only next to Baku-boss and Jirou."

"I see. Nice to meet you. I'm Yaoyorozu Momo," she says, politely taking his hand. "Out of curiosity, how many of you work here?"

"Just us three."

"Ah." The confused look she gives Kaminari must have been entertaining, because she hears Jirou barely keeping it together behind her. "Well… I work at Hosu Gen as a neurosurgery resident. Thank you for having me here."

A look of enlightenment is suddenly apparent in the blonde's features-his jaw drops momentarily, and then a mischievous grin replaces it. "Oh… so it's you! Man! I gotta tell ya, Dr. Yaomomo, I need to thank you, not the other way around. If Baku-boss didn't spend so much time waiting for you to come back-"

"Jamming Whey-" Jirou begins warningly.

"-and like, watching out for you across the street like an absolute stalker, then he'd have killed me by now-OW, Jirou, did you just try to gouge my eyes out with your ears?!"

"Idiot, Jamming Whey!" Jirou clamps her hand roughly over Kaminari's face, muffling any other incriminating words that spill out. She gives Momo a contrite look, and says, "Pretend you didn't hear that, Yaomomo. Oh my god Kaminari you absolute donut!"

"Mmphmhmph!" says the blonde eloquently. Sparks of electricity emerge from his arms in retaliation, but this doesn't hurt the dark-haired barista. She's able to pull him out of the chair, just as Bakugou comes out of the back, carrying a tray.

"The fuck?" the boss says, giving his employees a deadly glare. "You fuckin' idiots slackin' off again?"

"Sorry, Bakuboss," Jirou says amidst the struggle. "Let me just kill Kaminari quickly at the back, and I'll get back to the counter."

"... 3 minutes."

"More than enough." Jirou drags Kaminari out, as promised, earning them a few stares from the customers in the cafe. Thankfully, none of them leave.

Bakugou doesn't give them a second glance as he puts the tray down and takes the now-vacant seat across her. "All right," he says gruffly, handing her a cutlery set, wrapped in a paper napkin. "Eat."

Momo stares at him incredulously, and then at the food in front of her-chili garlic buttered shrimp. "… excuse me?"

The explosive blonde makes a tch sound-one of his go-to sounds, Momo observes. He grabs her hand and shoves the utensils in her hand.

"Come on. It ain't gonna be good cold," he grumbles, keeping his eyes away from hers suddenly.

"The shells are on," she notes cautiously.

"Yeah they are." He glares at her sternly, as if she did something terrible and force-feeding her delicious-smelling crustaceans is her punishment. He says nothing more, and looks determined to stare her down until she takes a bite to eat.

She is disconcerted at this turn of events, but says nothing. He is certainly an impolite man, but it will certainly be more impolite to refuse his offering. Hasn't this situation happened before, Momo?

She takes the fork and knife and skillfully separates the shells from the flesh, cutting off a small portion of shrimp and a lot of crispy garlic on top. She gives him her best distrusting look and then brings it to her mouth.

She doesn't know what exactly transpires at the first burst of flavor in her mouth, but an undignified moan escapes from her mouth, her ponytail swings around excitedly, and she couldn't stop herself from chewing and swallowing and taking a bite again.

Across from her, Bakugou has that smug little smirk on his face again. "That good, huh, Dr. Ponytail?"

Momo rolls her eyes at him, but doesn't stop eating. And she believes in giving credit where credit is due. "This is amazing, Bakugou-san! The shrimp is marvelously cooked, the butter is indulgent, but just right… the heat from the chili is intense at the first bite, as is the garlic, but by the time I chew and chew, I want more of it! Is it the spices that you used? If I had to guess, Sichuan peppercorns?"

Bakugou raises his eyebrows. "You got it, Brainy. It ain't just your run-of-the-mill Sichuan spice mix, though. It has my own little twist to it."

"I can tell. The heat is… intense."

But not as intense as the gaze that the blonde is giving her then. She momentarily forgets the spices in her mouth when she meets it. "I gotta say, Dr. Ponytail, I'm impressed. Most of the extras tap out at the first bite."

"I have some tolerance for spicy food," she answers before she gives him a withering look. "Also… 'Extras'? Really? Must you be so… acerbic?"

"I'm just saying. 'Sides, I can be as acerbic as I want since I'm the one feeding ya, ain't I?"

She gives a hearty harrumph and sticks her nose as high up in the air as her manners will allow. "I never asked you to feed me like I'm a stray animal you're obliged to care for, Bakugou-san."

She freezes when he leans over close to her. She holds her breath when he raises his hand, and suddenly pokes the tip of her nose with a finger. "Big words for someone who just shelled and polished off half a pound of shrimp in five minutes."

She stares at her plate, filled with nothing but shells and shrimp heads. She feels her face heat up, and she couldn't entirely blame the spices for it. "Oh my-I apologize-my manners-well, it's your fault, if you didn't make it so delicious, I wouldn't have-"

He laughs at her then, something different from his gruff, mocking ones. Momo almost drops her fork at the difference the mirth makes in his demeanor-she couldn't take her eyes off from the crease in his eyes, the genuine upturn of his mouth, the sound of his voice without the layer of sandpaper of it. "God, you're somethin' else, aren't ya, Brainy? It's like I fed a gerbil or something. You barely stopped stuffing your face to breathe!"

She puffs her cheeks. "A gerbil! Well I never, you… you Pomeranian!"

Bakugou stops mid-laugh to glare at her and the source of two distinct guffaws from behind her. "The fuck are you callin' a Pomeranian, haa?! That's it, open up, I'm takin' back all those shrimp from your guts-"

She doesn't stop giggling, even when he leans threateningly towards her and threatens to blow off the faces of his employees with his bare hands-or so he says. Eventually, they calm down, and her eyes naturally fall over his.

"Thank you," she tells him genuinely. "I feel much better now. At least, better than yesterday… which is saying a lot."

"I figured. Your ponytail's not as miserable looking now." He says it nonchalantly, as if it's so natural for him to deduce her moods. Momo remembers Kaminari though- watching out for you across the street like an absolute stalker, he'd declared. Before she knows it, a smirk is making its way up her mouth.

His eyebrows twitch threateningly. "The fuck you lookin' at me like that for?"

"Nothing." She'll press him another time. He'd just fed her, after all. "It's strange for me to admit this, but… this might be the first good thing to happen to me all week."

"Yeah?"

"It's true," she tells him honestly, tilting her head playfully at him. "I thought about quitting maybe ten times a day, every day, this past week."

"How 'bout now?"

"Hm… you cut it off to seven."

He scoffs. "I didn't cook all that fuckin' shrimp for a fuckin'seven outta ten on your misery scale, Dr. Ponytail. You're supposed to tell me that I brought it to negative a hundred and I blew your fuckin' mind and that I'm the best fuckin' thing that happened to you, period."

"Is that so, Nitro?" He's obnoxiously flirting with her and she should be irked, but she isn't. Not at all. Instead, she's smiling too much. She knows it, but she couldn't stop. "You're going to have to spend more time in the kitchen if you want to achieve that."

"Don't get used to it, Ponytail. You get a free pass today 'cause I felt like makin' yer ponytail twitch. That's all."

"... twitch…?!"

Somehow, she feels her ponytail twitch behind her in annoyance, like a sentient being. It has been doing that for a while now, hasn't it? She doesn't know how, but it makes Bakugou guffaw again.

"Yeah. Just like that. How the fuck do you do that?!" He gives her another devilish grin, for good measure. Momo wonders if her poor little heart would ever stop pounding wildly every time she sees that.

"I never asked you to feed me," she repeats lightly, through the wild throbbing of her pulse and the affronted twitch of her ponytail. "… but, I'm grateful. Honestly… thank you, Bakugou-san. I don' t know how you knew that I needed this, but you really cheered me up. I wonder what possessed you to take care of me so well?"

"A fuckin' ghost of a gerbil, probably. Stop talking about it already. It's not a big deal." He pointedly avoids her eyes, she notes, when exhales, stands up from his seat, and gestures with one strong shoulder for her to do the same. "Anyways, that half-and-half Dr BlackJack rip-off's probably shitting himself over there covering for your ass."

"Oh." She glances at her watch-has it already been an hour? "Oh my, of course, I have to go."

She starts to follow him out of the cafe, but stops in her steps. Bakugou raises an eyebrow at her when she turns on her heel and rushes to the counter, where an amused Jirou looks at her in curiosity.

"I'll have these to go," she says, gesturing to the pastries on the display.

"Um," the dark-haired barista says, an unsure look on her face. "Which one?"

"All of them. One of each will do."

She senses Bakugou hulk somewhere behind her. He probably has the same astonished look on Jirou's face.

"Oh… the almond croissants looks good though. I'll have two of those," she tells the stunned barista, fishing out her wallet from her doctor's coat.

Jirou nods numbly and calls out for Kaminari to help her package everything.

Bakugou's mouth is hanging open, an uncharacteristic quiet taking over his entire being. He stares at her incredulously and softly tells her, "What the fuck?"

She shrugs. "I figured it's about time I paid for something, Bakugou-san. Anyways, I owe Todoroki-san and Honenuki-san a croissant for covering for me."

"Uh-huh. And the rest of it?"

She shrugs. "I'm still hungry," she tells him coolly, earning her a mildly impressed raise of the eyebrows. She isn't that hungry, to be honest, but she can manage eating perhaps five of those and she'll be good to go. Her appetite hasn't been this stimulated in a while. "I'll give you a review of all the pastries I'll sample, if you want."

He laughs at her. "Don't bother. I know you're going to tell me orgasmic over and over until I'm sick of it."

"Bakugou-san! You rude-!"

By the time she's smacked him on the arm enough times until he stops guffawing, Jirou and Kaminari hand her the largest box they have, filled to the brim with pastries. She hands them 10,000 yen, doesn't even wait for the change, tells them goodbye and leaves the cafe, Bakugou trailing behind her.

"Yo," he calls out to her suddenly, grabbing the crook of her arm with a searingly hot, strong hand right before she crosses the street.

She stares at him curiously. He moves closer to her, and she smells that distinct sweet, heady scent off of him as nitroglycerin evaporates in the air. She can't stop the expectant smile on her face as she waits for him to speak.

It looks like he isn't sure of what to say, for once. His eyebrows do an odd, uncoordinated movement, as do the corners of his mouth, as his jaw juts out tensely in deep thought. But he manages to spit out, "You… shouldn't… have to wait for me to drag your fuckin' ass back here. Capisce?"

Momo knows the smile on her face is bordering on excessive. She bites her lower lip in an effort to keep it at bay. "Most cafe owners just say come see us again, Bakugou-san."

He makes that tch sound again. He lets go of her arm-instantly making her aware of the absence of warmth-and stuffs them in both pockets. "Whatever. I ain't like most cafe owners."

She giggles. "You really aren't."

She steps forward, boxes in hand, and looks over her shoulder. With a devilish smile of her own, for good measure. "And… I will. See you again, I mean."

She hopes her face isn't as pink and warm as it feels when she makes that bold declaration. Not looking back, she finally crosses the street, clutching the box and hiding her face behind it as much as safety allows.

When she reaches the lobby of the hospital, she allows herself to peek over her shoulder. Just in time, he sees his figure retreating into the cafe, gruff and silent as ever, as if nothing happened.

She makes her way up to the neurosurgeons' callroom again, setting down the comically oversized box of pastries in front of Honenuki, who is sleepily finishing his paperwork. "Yaoyorozu, are you having a party or something?" he asks, astonished.

"No… I just felt like buying."

Honenuki gives her his usual toothy smile. "I guess something good happened?" he asks, a little teasingly.

She hopes she isn't too dreamy when she responds, "I suppose so."

She hands him an almond croissant, and sets aside Todoroki's share. Later, they both tell her that the pastries are so good that they're practically orgasmic.

AN: This chapter took me ridiculously long to write omg... and i am not happy with how it is but i try not to give in to my perfectionist side anymore. i just want to write a romcom come on don't overthink

this was supposed to be part of chapter one but it's so long so i decided to separate it. it's... 5k words wth.

Buuuut I wanted to spend many words about Momo's struggles. I imagine that she might have the same tendency to not believe in herself outside of academics, even if she didn't go to the pro-hero track~ and I imagine practicing neurosurgery in a population with lots of physical mutations and quirks must be exponentially harder than how we do it in real life hehe