Todoroki found himself wishing he was more surprised by Bakugo's sudden outburst, but he couldn't muster up the ability to do so- his features staying completely neutral the entire time the man had complained quite loudly that he would rather be anywhere else than in the same room as him. Sure, it wasn't the nicest greeting after years apart- but it's not as if they parted on amicable terms- in fact, they didn't really part on any terms- they simply stopped coexisting when their schooling had come to an end.
In fact, Todoroki hadn't really seen much of Bakugo since their second year of high school – the volatile man doing a job well done of completely avoiding Todoroki for reasons unknown to him. For awhile he thought that it was perhaps because of something he said, but the two scarcely talked as is- no, he could make no sense of what seemed to be Bakugo's random decision to never look twice at Todoroki.
So when Todoroki was asked to partner up with the ticking time bomb, he found himself to be…. Skeptical. Sure, the duo would do well with the task at hand- but would they get along? After all, they would at least have to follow the bare minimum of cooperation if they were to successfully handle the villain they would be chasing after.
And after simply seeing Bakugo, feeling the odd tension in the air between them despite the fact that they were in a room full of people, made Todoroki's concerns grow. But it was too late to back out, he had already previously accepted the job - there was nothing he could do but hope that this mission would go along quickly and without too much trouble- whether that trouble came from the villain or Bakugo however, would remain undetermined.
But what really had Todoroki thinking were the years that had passed between them- how long had it been since the two had caught each other's gaze? Well, it had been quite a while- but he wasn't counting the days, no, after all, after graduation he kept on with his hero work, simply moving forward and finding ways to stay out of the city- the man focusing more on keeping the peace in small towns rather than in crowded alleyways. He preferred it that way- being somewhere quieter, somewhere much more peaceful than the boisterous city, and somewhere where his father couldn't pester him. Though he still had a space within the city, a small apartment in the quieter part of town that he came to whenever he DID find himself returning to the once familiar streets of Musutafu, his preferences remained the same as always.
But life was pretty good, so he seldom found himself complaining, if at all.
Making his way through busy streets, Todoroki found himself off running errands now that his "friendly encounter" with Bakugo was over. the two-toned man entered a small bookstore , the friendly chime of the door signaling the man behind the counter to give his best customer service smile to Todoroki- where as Todoroki merely greeted him with a the nod of his head just before shuffling away- trying desperately to avoid the typical banter between an employee and a potential buyer.
Just as he began skimming through the cookbooks that lined up neatly along the dusted shelves, he hears his ringtone ting-a-ling in his pocket. His response is at first to simply sigh, fishing it out from his back pocket and answering it without yet looking at the caller id, not even bothering to hide the bored tone to his voice
"Hello?"
"Uuh, did I catch you at a bad time?"
Todoroki blinks, then pulls his phone back away from his ear to check out the caller id- the name reading out as Midoriya Izuka.
Whoops.
"Ah no- I was just looking at a book… Did you need something…?"
Midoyia was one of the few people Todoroki had kept in contact with after graduation- not that it was due to anything he had against his other classmates, it was just simply because Midoriya harbored a special place in Todoroki's heart-
-After all, he did consider the green haired man to be one of his closest friends- and that's all they were, friends. Sure, Todoroki's heart once belonged to Midoriya ( not that Midoryia ever found out the truth ), but that was once upon a time and Todoroki never ended up confessing his feelings- not only worried about the possibility of ruining their friendship, but also knowing the Midoryia would never see him in that light- and Todoroki was fine with that- after all, it's not as if he had much of a choice.
"Well I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet up for coffee soon? It feels like it's been awhile since we've had a chance to sit down and talk."
Todoroki nodded to himself at Midoriya's words- after all, the two were constantly being kept busy with their hero work and their own adult lives and sometimes the two just simply did not have time for one another- and sometimes it was even harder to make time.
"I should be free next week… I just got assigned more hero work-"
"Oh? Is that why you're in town?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what kind of villain you're going up against?"
"No, not yet at least… Within the next day or so I'm sure we'll figure it out-"
"'We'll?' are you partnered up with someone?"
Todoroki frowned at Midoryia's question as he slipped out a book from the shelf in front of him, scanning the cover nonchalantly before tucking it under his arm.
"Yes."
"Who? You don't seem too happy…"
"it's not that I'm upset…" Todorki sighed as he approached the register, setting the book down on the counter and pulling out his wallet. "It's just…"
"It's what?" Midoryia insisted, obviously curious.
"It's Bakugo."
"Ka-chan?!" The green haired man exclaimed, Todoroki wincing at the volume.
"Yes. And he didn't seem all that thrilled to see me."
"Well…. Ka-chan is Ka-chan." He laughs sheepishly, and it wasn't exactly the most comforting thing for Todoroki all things considered. And Midoryia seeming to just sense Todoroki's concern, switches gears, putting on a much more positive attitude.
"I-I'm sure it'll be fine…"
"Right…"
But Todoroki had a sneaking suspicion that feigning optimism would do him little good.
"W-well I gotta go!" Midoryia suddenly announces, clearly uncertain of how to carry the conversation on anymore. Todoroki couldn't help but smile and shake his head from side to side. It was just like Midoryia to bail when things got too awkward.
"Alright. I'll be able to give you a proper date on when we can see each other in the next couple days."
"Ah- okay!" There's obvious relief in his tone now that the conversation has been shifted. "I'll see you then, bye!"
"Mmm. Bye."
And with that the phone call ends, Todoroki purchases his book, and he's off to his apartment. He wish he knew what the next week or so would bring him now that Bakugo was in his life again- or at least, was in his life for the time being, but whenever it concerned Bakugo, Todoroki knew better than to try and predict anything.
After all, Bakugo always had something up his sleeve.
