Will You Go To Prom With Me? Chapter 2: 調理 - ちょうり, a my hero academia/僕のヒーローアカデミア fanfic

The back of the school wasn't the most private of areas. Therefore, anyone who happened to be passing by would have a front-row seat for the heated affection exchanged in the shadows. Unfortunately for the two men making out, their private moment wasn't so.

「調理 | ちょうり」

Kirishima didn't have a clue on what to do. He admitted and accepted his crush on Bakugo—that was one thing, but asking him out to prom was a whole different story. Kirishima knew full well of Bakugo's explosive temperament. He would have to be careful with how he was going to handle this. He needed some assistance, and what better help than the man who knew Bakugo more than anyone else in Class 1-A, who has known him since their childhood?

"Midoriya, you're the only one who can help me..."

He was desperate.

"Oh, Kirishima..."

Midoriya flashed him a devilish, canine-exposed grin.

"I know just what to do."

Kirishima couldn't help but inwardly shiver at the normally all-sunshine-and-rainbows Midoriya's sinister side that probably manifested only when it involved "romance" and "Kacchan" in the same sentence.

「調理 | ちょうり」

Earlier...

Kirishima stressed much importance on the value of manliness, so he certainly needed to attest to that. It was time to man up and prompose to Bakugo within this week—he pledged this so. The red-haired hero just needed some help.

His focus instantaneously fell Midoriya Izuku. Kirishima was on friendly terms with him. (Heck, was thereanyone who wasn't? Who wouldn't fall for his boundless cheerfulness and amicability? Well, Bakugo was a special case...) Other than that, he was friends, in a way, with Bakugo for as long as those two could remember.

Kirishima decided to go to Midoriya's room now, but no one was there. He decidedly went to ask around, but the best response he got that he was somewhere near the academic building. Since it was his only lead, the red-haired hero decided to just follow it. His search led him to an empty part of the academic building devoid of any people. It seemed to be just extra space.

Kirishima was about to give up when heard something interesting from outside that building. He exited, and the sounds become louder and cleared.

It was... kissing?

Kirishima watched from the shadows as two dark forms parted to allow themselves air. He heard their barely audible conversation. Kirishima stalked closer and tried to figure out who they were. He was very much shocked to discern the distinct forest green and white and red hair of his fellow classmates. An almost silent gasp escaped his lips, but it was loud enough for Todoroki to snap his gaze to Kirishima.

Kirishima gasped again, but this time was louder. He pondered on running away from the scene, never imagining to walk in on anyone's private moment before. However, it seemed that his feet were immobilized.

No, it was not fear or embarrassment. There was a thick sheet of permafrost cementing his shoes to the ground. Kirishima didn't notice quick reflexes. He didn't realize how the air Todoroki's enraged aura seemed to drop beyond subzero or how he stomped his feet and sent the ice at him.

"What are you doing here."

Todoroki's voice was as cold, sharp, and biting as the chilly air surrounding him. Midoriya and Kirishima had never seemed him like this since the two-toned hero ranted about Endeavor.

Despite his slight trepidation and panic, Kirishima still managed to find his words.

"I-I was just looking for Midoriya."

The evident frown on Todoroki's face deepened. His growling voice seemed to drop an extra octave.

"What about him, huh?"

Kirishima stayed silent.

"He's MINE!"

It was Midoriya's loud shivering that broke Todoroki out of his rage-induced spell. The green-haired hero was glued in place, squirming and trembling, just staring, not knowing what to do to stop the scene.

He wanted to intervene, yes, but his body didn't move. Maybe it was the terrifying side that Todoroki exhibited that stopped him, but he left himself to simply watch.

Todoroki hastily took his attention away from Kirishima and onto Midoriya. He cupped the green-haired hero's freckled cheeks in his hands, locking gazes with him. His bicolor eyes softened as caring concern replaced the fury ebbing away in them.

"Hey, Zuku..."

Todoroki's concern was overflowing out of him, but Midoriya simply shut his eyes closed, his quivering persisting.

Todoroki, too, was shocked at his behavior. Perhaps, he was so scared that his promposal wouldn't be successful that he didn't want anything to come between the two of them now. Nevertheless, it was no excuse.

"Midoriya?"

The green-haired hero squeezes his eyes tighter, shaking his head in denial.

Todoroki pressed his forehead onto Midoriya's.

"I'm sorry."

Midoriya creaked his eyes open, seemingly having regained his composure.

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have frozen like that."

"No, no, don't apologize, Midoriya. It was my fault that I..."

"No, it's okay. I just had a horrid nightmare about... things recently, and this kinda reminded me of it. No worries—I just don't want to see the people I love fighting with each other."

Midoriya leveled his gaze.

"And before you say anything, love has many forms."

Todoroki raised his hand to seemingly protest, but Midoriya smacked it down.

"I love all my friends, but you, Sho, will always be mine, and I will always be yours. Promise me that you'll understand this. I don't want anything like this to happen again."

"Okay. I promise..."

Todoroki looked like he wanted to relay some afterthoughts, but Midoriya shut up any other possible comments by smashing his lips into his.

Kirishima awkwardly watched everything unfold, the ice freezing in him in place hardly budging despite everything that he tried. His evident struggles didn't go unnoticed by the green-haired hero. As soon as Midoriya parted from Todoroki, he crossed his arms and gave the two-toned hero a pointed look, gesturing over to Kirishima.

"Right, sorry."

A stomp from Todoroki's left foot sent a low trail of flickering flames toward Kirishima, effectively melting away the ice.

"Kirishima... I apologize. I was just—"

"No, it's okay, dude. I know the feeling. Well, I know the person I would like to be like that with, but I don't know how to tell them."

Kirishima moved his gaze to Midoriya, his eyes betraying a hopeful plea.

"I-I want to ask out Bakugo to prom, but I—"

The red-haired hero shook off his anxiety and stared at the green-haired hero, Kirishima's willingness and resolve blazing through his crimson eyes.

"Midoriya, you're the only one who can help me..."

He was desperate.

"Oh, Kirishima..."

Midoriya flashed him a devilish, canine-exposed grin.

"I know just what to do."

「調理 | ちょうり」

Now...

Staring at a piece of paper in which he drafted his plan, Midoriya rested his chin on his fist as he sat on the swivel chair in his dorm. Kirishima sat behind his back on the bed. After a few moments of silence, Midoriya spun around his chair and locked eyes with Kirishima.

"Before I tell you the plan, I wanna ask a question first."
Why do you like Kacchan so much?"

A slight sheen of sweat gathered on Kirishima's forehead, his fingers fidgeting around and he struggled to keep his eyes from leaving Midoriya's analytical stare. The question was out-of-the-blue but understandable for Midoriya to ask, and Kirishima wanted to prove to Midoriya that what he would say—his feelings—was all true by looking at him with determination in his eyes. He decided to speak his heart.

"Well, aside from how manly he is, he's also daring and brave-hearted. I also think I'm one of the few who can see past his explosive facade. There's so much more to Bakugo, and I want to be able to experience that."

"Mhm. I like your answer. It's true. Kacchan buried his cheery attitude under all those layers of ambition. Later, ambition evolved into arrogance and irritability, but the Kacchan I know and love is still somewhere there deep beneath. I endured his rough edges because I wanted to see his soft side again. Recently, it did somewhat surface."

Kirishima's eyes widened.

"Really?"

Midoriya gave a firm nod.

"Mm, yeah, it was when he confronted me, remember that?"

Kirishima's mouth opened to form a silent O.

"Kacchan and I fought in Ground Beta, with me holding back and him going all out. Anticlimactical skip to the end, we came to an understanding—that we were rivals. He also somewhat trusts me more than he did. I was ecstatic. Being rivals with him is probably the best thing you can get out of him. It's also a great honor."

"Woah, that's so cool Midoriya!"

"Mh, and now I think it's your turn to see Kacchan's soft side. I know you can do it."

"I can't be so sure for myself..."

"Well, I'll let you in on a secret."

Kirishima inched closer. He was troubled about what Midoriya would say.

"I won't say why, how, or when, but Kacchan sometimes likes to admit things to me."

Kirishima anxiously continued to listen in silence as Midoriya's voice went beyond borderline whispering.

"Yes, you mustn't share this info without Kacchan's consent, but I'll make an exception for you as long as this stays between us."

Kirishima nodded, not wanting to delay this info any longer.

"Well, Kacchan says the most random things to me. And once upon a time, he told me a few of his crushes."

Kirishima tilted his head curiously.

"Where is this going?"

Midoriya gave a slant smile.

"I'm saying that he's like me—bisexual. Kacchan admitted to having female and male love interests. And I'm saying that you have a good shot."

"Really!?"

Kirishima shot forward and placed his hands on Midoriya's shoulders, his desirous stare boring into the green-haired hero's eyes, looking for any sign of dishonesty or deception in his statement. Kirishima's lips seemed to twitch in anticipation, and Midoriya couldn't help but beam the brightest he did that day. He clapped his hands over Kirishima's shoulders while the other's was still on his. With each's hands on each other's shoulders, the moment seemed to become even more serious.

"Yes! You can do this! As I said before, I know how to catch Kacchan's heart, and that's by cooking!"

...

Kirishima's eyes bugged out.

"We're gonna do what!?"

Midoriya stared at him cooly.

"We're going to cook. Don't you know what the word 'cook' means?"

The red-haired hero raised his hand in protest.

"But I don't know how to cook proper—"

"I'll help you. I know how to cook. My mom's awesome in the kitchen, and she taught me since I was little."

"Why are we even gonna cook! What are we even gonna cook?"

Midoriya gave a light chuckle.

"Kacchan is actually a hardcore foodie. An accurate description of what food to him is, hmm... Food to him is not only fuel and nutrition for him to explode things, but it's also an experience."

Kirishima tapped his index finger on his chin.

"Huh, I didn't think he was like that."

"Mh, it isn't obvious, yeah. However, if you want this to memorable for Bakugo, then we have to cook!"

Kirishima gave in. He was doing this for Bakugo, to show his true affections. To hell with it if he didn't even try to do his best!

"Okay, let's do this. What are we going to make?"

Midoriya clapped his hands together.

"I'm glad you asked!"

Midoriya went ahead and handed Kirishima the piece of paper he was staring at a while ago. The red-haired hero hastily skimmed it over, noting that it was a recipe for curry.

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but Kacchan loves curry. When he visited our house, my mom would always make some, and he awaited it. He would sometimes order it for lunch, but the curry served here apparently doesn't live up to his expectations. Oh, at summer camp too, I remember his extremely disappointed looks at the curry we made. It was certainly far from his liking."

"Hey, everyone tried their best cooking that curry! It was decent."

Midoriya raised a pointed finger at him.

"Not to Kacchan! He seems to have very high expectations because the only recipe he seems to like is my mother's."

Midoriya pointed to the piece of paper Kirishima held in his hand.

"And that is also why we need to do our best and top that so you can blow away Kacchan's expectations."

Kirishima pumped his fist, electrified as he deliberated about the plan. He then realized something vital.

"Hey, wait... Where will we cook? We need to be able to get the food to Bakugo quickly, right?"

Midoriya smirked.

"Leave the venue to me! I promise you we'll be cooking the day after tomorrow!"

「調理 | ちょうり」

Midoriya couldn't keep his habit of muttering. Even if he was in the faculty lounge, sometimes he couldn't shut up.

"...don't want to go out of school grounds..."

"...somewhere near so that we could prompose right after cooking..."

"...any place where we can cook..."

"...advantages and disadvantages of the proximity of..."

"...in the afternoon, so they won't bother many people for the..."

"...should be able to finish when..."

...

"MIDORIYA!"

The green-haired hero looked up to stop his muttering and face Aizawa's extremely annoyed expression.

"UA strongly supports and commends such efforts for all promposals. I will allow it. We happen to have two cooking laboratories in the academic building that you may use. You simply must register in the logbook in the principal's office and grab a pamphlet regarding the facilities. How many of you will be using the lab?"

Midoriya tilted his head.

"It's just the two of us, me and Kirishima."

Aizawa nodded.

"Mh, one other thing. You may use only Kitchen Lab A. B is already in use by..."

「調理 | ちょうり」

Midoriya burst through the double doors of the expansive Kitchen Lab A, a food laboratory situated in the main academic building. Kirishima was trailing somewhere behind the green-haired hero.

"We're here!"

Kirishima's maroon converses squeaked on the polished, white tile floor of the lab the moment he stepped in as he was greeted by immaculate white walls and wide picture windows. His eyes glanced around to see the numerous cooking stations in the vast room. There were five rows of five cooking stations arranged in a perfect square. Each of them consisted of a spacious, pristine stainless steel counter that included a double sink and an installed electric stove, along with an enormous refrigerator, two-stacked microwave ovens, and a tall metal cabinet that probably hid all the other appliances in it.

Midoriya chuckled at the dumbfounded gaze Kirishima didn't know he had.

"Why so surprised? UA literally has a large-scale replica of a city."

Kirishima huffed.

"Hey, I didn't expect there to be other hi-tech kitchen facilities other than the Lunch Rush Cafeteria."

Midoriya brushed him off and stalked forward and plopped the large eco bag he was holding onto the steel counter, the ingredients landing with a resounding thud. He then faced Kirishima with a bright smile.

"I went on some errands and bought everything we need."

Kirishima did a double-take at the large bag.

"That many ingredients!?"

"Uh, no. Well, Japanese curry has quite some ingredients, but I also bought more so I could make some soba for Todoroki because I wanted to give him something in return."

Midoriya tried to hide the slight blush creeping up his cheeks.

"I also may or may not have bought some ingredients to make some katsudon for myself."

Kirishima started unloading the goods out of the bag and onto the counter.

"Dude, take it easy on me. Not as good a cook here. All that's gonna be cooked now?"

Midoriya joined in with the unpacking, organizing the beef, curry powder, and others for the curry and started grouping them in one area.

"Don't worry. You'll be helping me with only the curry. I'm doing the soba and katsudon myself."

Kirishima sighed in relief and then made a fist of determination.

"Okay, then I can do this! I've done this before, and I'll do better now! LET'S DO THIS!"

Kirishima was now all fired up and seemingly ready to cook (or punch something).

"So, first—fix up all the vegetables, right?

Midoriya shook his head.

"No, we have to cut the meat into cubes and then season it first so it has maximum flavor seeping into it. After, then you chop the onions, potatoes, and carrots."

Kirishima nodded diligently.

As Kirishima followed his instructions and tried carefully slicing the beef into cubes, Midoriya proceeded to start on the zaru soba for Todoroki. He grabbed a saucepan and set it beside the pot they were going to use for the curry. He filled it up with water and added a few squares of kombu (Japanese kelp) and let it soak without heat. He then turned to look at Kirishima's progress.

Midoriya grimaced at the inconsistent sizes of the cubed beef. Kirishima was alert enough to catch the green-haired hero's reaction while he finished up with the beef. He gritted his teeth.

"Okay, okay! I know I'm a beginner, and yes I couldn't use a knife properly at camp, not like Bakugo. Oh, god, with his dexterous hands, he sliced everything with precision and speed. I wonder if his hands are also good for s— "

"Okay, I've gone through your fawning of Kacchan's talent, power, prowess, manliness, and now his... knife skills. I don't need to know the specs of what you think of his hands and whatever other body parts you're pondering about. And the size difference is fine. You're gonna stew the meat all together anyway."

Kirishima's blush was almost as red as his hair. Sometimes, he just loved talking about Bakugo and everything about him. He turned away and added salt and pepper to the meat.

Midoriya shook his head and tsked comically.

"Shut up, Midoriya!"

Kirishima's voice wavered somewhere on the way as he imagined Bakugo saying those words, only he would use "Deku" instead. The red-haired hero always found Bakugo's aggressiveness and bellicosity somewhat hot.

Midoriya raised his hands in surrender as he went back to his part of the counter.

"Hey, I didn't say anything else."

Midoriya took some buckwheat flour and placed some in the bowl, adding some warm water afterward. He then gently mixed it well until it was light and crumbly.

"Whatever... I just hope that Bakugo will like what I make for him, let alone accept me."

Kirishima moved on to cutting the vegetables. The few techniques that he knew in cooking was curling his left hand like a paw so it could guide his right hand as he chopped with the knife. He started with dicing the onions.

Midoriya kneaded the dough with vim as he added a splash more water here and a sprinkle more flour there until he was satisfied with the consistency.

"Don't worry. I know Kacchan, and this—you—will definitely catch his heart."

Kirishima moved on to the potatoes, admiring that he was getting the hang of the knife. He wasn't ever going to get close to Bakugo's level, but this was great progress for him. He admittedly forgot to peel the potatoes, but they were washed anyways. Plus, he heard somewhere that there were more nutrients if you left the skin on.

He then looked over to Midoriya, who seemed vivacious as ever. He felt so grateful for this man—this friend.

"Thank you..."

"Mh?"

Midoriya went to turn on the heat for the water in the saucepan, now allowing it to absorb more of the kombu's flavor to make the best dashi stock possible. He then sprinkled a generous amount of katsuobushi (bonito flakes) into the water. This dashi's subtle notes of saltiness were paramount to make the tsuyu sauce that would go with the soba noodles. He also added some oil into the pot for the curry and filled another saucepan with water to cook the noodles in, allowing them to heat up as well.

"What for?"

Kirishima gave the green-haired hero a pointed gaze.

"What do you mean what for! You're literally helping me with everything you can, constantly encouraging my effort. I just— No one has supported me much. You're just such a good friend... to anyone!"

Kirishima though the surge of emotion wouldn't stop, so he decided to distract himself with more cooking. He triumphantly slid the chunks of potatoes next to the pile of diced onions to give himself space on the chopping board to slice some carrots. He decided that he also wouldn't peel them and went straight to cutting them into coins.

"Mh, I like helping people. Also, this is for Kacchan too. Maybe a love life can peel his layers of anger more."

Kirishima chuckled.

"To get that stick out his ass, hm?"

Midoriya pealed equally light laughter.

"Yeah..."

The green-haired hero went back and gave a few final folds to the dough, but it promptly crumbled in his hand.

"Damn, why is soba so hard to make!"

He kneaded the dough again with a splash of water, allowing it to inch closer to the proper consistency once more. He readied a sharp knife and impressively sliced the dough into thin noodle strips.

This time, Kirishima had cut the ingredients more or less evenly. The vegetables were now all chopped up and ready to be added to the pot.

"Can I add the veggies in now?"

Midoriya already put the noodles into the already boiling water of the second saucepan, starting the timer on his phone.

"Yeah, first, do the onions only and let them simmer. Oh, and Todoroki's on his way here."

Slightly startled, Kirishima abruptly dropped all the onions into the pot, resulting in a loud sizzle and splattering oil. Having a high tolerance even without being hardened, Kirishima didn't even mind the few drops of scalding oil that fell on his skin.

"Wha... Why? Is he still mad at me?"

Midoriya shook his head as he checked his phone's messages.

"No, he was just possessive at the time. He's coming 'cause I called him. Soba is best eaten fresh, and the noodles will take only a minute or two to cook."

"Dang, I'm just at the start of making the curry, and you're almost— Wait, what about the sauce for the soba?"

"Hey, soba is naturally fast but hard to cook. Curry takes more time—I'm sure you know. As for the sauce..."

Midoriya grabbed a container filled with a beautiful, golden liquid from the eco bag and showed it to Kirishima. A neatly scribbled label of "Kaeshi" (base for noodle sauces) was taped on the side.

"I just have to mix the kaeshi and the dashi I'm making in the pot over there to make the final sauce. I weighed out the factors of price, taste, and availability, and ended up just buying supermarket kaeshi. I couldn't make it since I'm paranoid that the main ingredient, mirin is still technically a rice wine and therefore alcoholic and may be banned on school grounds."

Kirishima raised a brow at Midoriya's muttering.

"Why so paranoid? Dude, it's actually easy to smuggle alcohol in here. Last year, I brought a few bottles of beer, so mirin shouldn't be a problem, especially when it's just for cooking. Tequila and others are hotter targets."

Midoriya gave him a deadpan stare that hid a sense of vexation underneath.

"That's not the case if your best friend is the class rep and the biggest rulebook out there."

Kirishima broke into a fit of laughter as he imagined Iida waving his hands in absurd gestures when he hypothetically would scold Midoriya. The green-haired hero later joined in the laughter.

It was at the time when Todoroki slipped in through the doors of the lab, letting out an involuntary grumble from his throat when he saw Kirishima and Midoriya happily laughing together.

"Oh, hey, Shouto!"

Midoriya waved him over.

Todoroki stalked forward to their cooking station, glaring at Kirishima the entire time before he arrived in front of Midoriya.

"Is he flirting with you?"

Kirishima pointed at himself, confused. Midoriya scoffed at Todoroki's ominous, growling tone.

"Lighten up, Sho. What did I tell you about this? Kirishima is a friend, and I'll always be yours... unless you're always too grumpy to love me."

Midoriya huffed and looked away.

Todoroki softened in a slight panic, not having wanted to be possessive again after apologizing to Kirishima or be rude to his promise to Midoriya.

Midoriya smirked as he leaned forward to peck his lips, Todoroki leaning into the familiar heat.

Kirishima stood there at the side, hanging around like the glorified third wheel he was.

Midoriya noticed the awkward moment for Kirishima and parted from Todoroki.

"Oops, sorry, Kirishima. You can add the meat now. Oh, and Sho, I'm almost done with your soba."

Todoroki's mouth watered at the mention.

As if on cue, a phone timer alarmed, signaling that it was time to take out the noodles. Midoriya did so promptly, moving the soba into a separate glass bowl. He was about to grab some ice cubes from the freezer, but Todoroki walked forward and placed his right hand on the bowl. Intricate patterns of frost crept about the glass, cooling the soba and abruptly stopping the cooking process to achieve the perfect firmness to the noodles. Midoriya took this opportunity to prepare the sauce. Meanwhile, Kirishima watched as the meat slowly browned in the pot. Any meat was the one thing he knew best, so he at least knew the perfect time to flip the beef cubes so that they wouldn't burn.

"Midoriya, is it okay if I continue without your help? I think I can handle it now. I remember the recipe well enough, so I—"

Midoriya flashed him a smile of approval.

"This is your promposal. Go ahead, Kirishima! Oh, but do you know how to make the curry roux?"

Kirishima pumped his fist.

"Heck, yeah. My arms are very fast, perfect for stirring quickly."

Midoriya nodded and left the red-haired hero to his cooking, meanwhile focusing on his task. He turned off the heat and grabbed the freshly made dashi and the container of kaeshi and expertly mixed them with the perfect proportion to make the tsuyu.

The next thing Todoroki knew, Midoriya approached him with a bowl of amber sauce.

"Your tsuyu dipping sauce, my good sir."

Midoriya tried his best to mimic a waiter from those fancy restaurants.

"I hope you enjoy your fresh soba!"

Todoroki gave the biggest, warm smile he could muster, which wasn't much given that he was drooling at the delicious soba presented to him. He promptly added the sauce, grabbed some chopsticks, and slurped away at the cool soba.

The saltiness was sumptuous; the temperature perfect. Although the noodles were unevenly sliced, this may have been the best soba Todoroki ate, especially when it was made by his lover.
As the two-toned hero ate his noodles, Midoriya watched contentedly at the delight Todoroki got from eating his most favorite food in the world.

Todoroki met Midoriya's gaze as he continued to slurp his soba.

"Maybe it's true. You do love soba more than me!"

Todoroki halted his eating. He took his chopsticks and fed some soba into Midoriya's mouth. The green-haired hero accepted and chewed his carefully crafted noodles, agreeing that it was a delectable dish. Midoriya was wonderfully surprised when Todoroki gave him a (literally) saucy kiss. He then parted to let Midoriya swallow the soba.

"I love this soba because it was made by the person I love the most."

Midoriya blushed. The crimson spread more when Todoroki pulled him down to sit cross-legged on the floor, leaving the bowl of soba on the counter. He decided that this was the perfect time for cuddles.
He grabbed Midoriya and put a hand over his shoulder, pulling him in closer.

Midoriya was slightly surprised at the sudden tug to the floor, but he allowed his head to rest in the crook between Todoroki's neck and left shoulder, his forehead brushing against the soft, fluffy red hair. He inhaled the calming scent of his lover. His left side was deep and smoky, slightly spicy even—at least he could describe it. His right side had a different musk than the left. The best way Midoriya could explain it was the smell of a cold, empty fridge when you opened the door but with hints of what smelled like cold cuts.

Midoriya may have lost track of time just relishing in

Midoriya pouted and snatched the chopsticks from Todoroki to steal another bite of soba from the bowl.

Todoroki hissed comically.

"Hey, that special soba's all mine!"

Midoriya caught on with his joke and huffed, turning away from Todoroki.

"Fine, I'll make my own food then. I have some ingredients for my katsudon."

Todoroki's eyes widened.

"No!"

Midoriya cocked his head in befuddlement.

Todoroki beamed at him.

"Let me cook it for you, Midoriya. I want to return the favor."

「調理 | ちょうり」

Kirishima was almost done with the curry. He hardly noticed the two lovebirds cuddling it away and focused on his cooking. Kirishima had already added the potatoes and carrots and filled the pot with water and other secret ingredients Midoriya doesn't want anyone else to know.

(That includes you! )

(Okay, fine...)

Kirishima added shredded apple and a pack of edamame. He substituted some of the water with miso broth. He also replaced the ketchup for hot sauce.

Because Kirishima knew that it had to be spicy, he added a whole bottle of shichimi togarashi to thy curry. This one was a special blend that had more types of chili in it to add to the heat.

Kirishima was also done with the roux, having mixed the flour and butter vigorously along with the curry powder and Midoriya Inko's secret Japanese blend in a separate pan. The orange curry mixture was ready, so he added it to the large pot. Kirishima was surprised to see Todoroki stand with him at the stove, setting a pan beside his pot of curry.

Todoroki looked unfazed at Kirishima's reaction, instead, turning to face Midoriya.

"Where are the ingredients, Midoriya?"

"In the eco bag."

Todoroki proceeded to unload the pack of pre-cut tonkatsu, the bottle of soy sauce, the carton of eggs, and other stuff and placed them onto the counter space near the stove.

"Don't you have some mirin or sake or..."

Kirishima suppressed a chuckle.

"Ha! Told you so, Midoriya."

Todoroki raised an eyebrow.

"Midoriya thought mirin was technically banned on school grounds."

"Zuku, you should know mirin is one of the few exceptions to that rule."

Todoroki smirked. He wasn't Iida, but he made sure to keep himself updated with the rules. He decided that he would try to be "funny" or whatever to please Midoriya a bit.

"That is if you read the approved update in the rulebook about a special case of rice wine and others for cooking purposes for their restaurant practicums petitioned by the Department of Management against Article XIV, Section 3a about Restricted Items in the Campus."

Todoroki did his best to impersonate Iida's steadfast voice and even exaggeratedly gesticulated here and there to complete the picture.

Kirishima stayed silent, his jaw slightly parted. Midoriya was also quiet before they both lost it and laughed.

"I didn't know you had a sense of humor, Shouto."

Midoriya gave him a thumbs-up of approval.

Kirishima clapped a hand over Todoroki's shoulder, making the two-toned hero slightly troubled.

"Yeah, man! You're making great progress, Todoroki!"

Kirishima's eyes slightly widened at where his hand was, so he hastily took it off. Oddly enough, Todoroki didn't do or say anything to counter. In fact, Kirishima was surprised at his next words.

"Thanks, Kirishima."

The two were awkwardly quiet, doing nothing after that, so Midoriya decided he would break the silence.

"Hey! Aren't you two supposed to be cooking!"

That broke them out of their reverie.

Kirishima immediately got back to stirring the curry, while Todoroki walked over to the fridge and opened the door.

"You know, after that petition, they kept a stock of mirin in all kitchen facilities of UA."

Kirishima paused his stirring.

"HA!"

Then, he resumed, elated as he was about to finish the curry he had worked hard on for Bakugo.

Todoroki waved a brand new bottle of mirin in the air as he walked back to the stove. He used Midoriya's excess dashi and poured it into the hot pan and added the mirin and some soy sauce and sugar afterward. He left the pan to boil.

It was then when the rows of lights above them shut off, along with them basically everything in the room.

The heroes gave a series of slightly surprised gasps.

Todoroki, Midoriya, and Kirishima looked at each other with awkward stares asking each other what to do. The afternoon sunlight shone on their faces, the wide windows being extremely cooperative with their assistance.

"Uh..."

Midoriya looked at the pan in which Todoroki was supposed to cook the katsudon. It was still hot, but it didn't get any warmer.

The stove just had to be electric.

Fortunately, Kirishima now finished his curry and was planning to turn off the heat anyway.

"Dang, I finished just in the nick of—"

"FUCK! DAMNIIIIT!"

The three of them instantaneously jerked their heads to figure out where the sound came from.

A booming voice echoed in the distance. In fact, it seemed to come from right behind one of the walls. Maybe it was someone in Kitchen Lab B? They were adjacent after all. Though, their entrances were far away from each other, situated on opposite sides.

Midoriya's emerald eyes widened as if he recalled something important.

"Uh... Kirishima! You stay here and Todoroki and I will check on the electrical room. Yeah!"

Midoriya's put on a mask of confidence that hid the panic in his voice.

"Okay?"

At that, Midoriya grabbed Todoroki's hand and bolted out the door.

The hallways still had their lights on, but Midoriya didn't need to check to find out. In fact, he also knew what caused the localized brownout in both labs.

"Dangit, Sho! You're the only one in this world who can distract me so much that I forget about my perfect plan."

Todoroki raised an eyebrow.

"What plan?"

"Dang, I forgot to tell you about my plan, Sho."

Midoriya scratched his head before he released a deluge of mutters. Luckily, Todoroki was already very much used to the green-haired hero's impeccable muttering speed of five hundred words per minute, so he was able to take in the juicy details of his plan. As Midoriya explained more and more, Todoroki's eyes widened as much, too.

「調理 | ちょうり」

Midoriya was superior at drafting plans because he always took in all the details.

Heck, was there anyone who wasn't on friendly terms with Midoriya? Who wouldn't fall for his boundless cheerfulness and amicability? Well, Bakugo was a special case...

Indeed, Bakugo was a special case. In public, he would make it obvious. In private, he wasn't exempt from Midoriya's spell.

Bakugo did trust Midoriya a lot more than wanted to. He talked to him behind closed doors but never touched on their past. The only reason why he conversed with Midoriya was that no one else would listen to him as the green-haired hero did. It could be described as almost like an anonymous conversation, or rather a counseling session, but Bakugo knew very well who he was talking to. He was talking to Midoriya, a person who seemingly could sympathize with anyone.

"I won't say why, how, or when, but Kacchan sometimes likes to admit things to me."

This is was the why, how, and when.

"Well, Kacchan says the most random things to me. And once upon a time, he told me a few of his crushes."

It wasn't really random. There was a pattern—if Bakugo was desperate for someone to discuss matters, then he needed to talk with Midoriya. These matters included his private concerns, be it his family issues or his sexuality. In the discussions of being bisexual, he did indeed spill some of his crushes names, and one of those happened to be Kirishima Eijiro. Midoriya couldn't help but smirk when he first heard that.

"It's just the two of us, me and Kirishima."

"Mh, one other thing. You may use only Kitchen Lab A. B is already in use by..."

It was already in use by Bakugo Katsuki. Why? It was because Midoriya approached him two days ago. Bakugo was very much annoyed when he did. A classic "Fuck off, Deku!" was used for emphasis. However, the ash-blonde hero quickly shut up when Midoriya mentioned the name Kirishima Eijiro.

Although Bakugo would never follow Midoriya's elaborate plans, this one involved Kirishima, so he had some incentive to hear him out. The plan was feasible, in fact, easy for Bakugo, and he was planning to do something similar anyway. He would cook something for Kirishima—meat obviously since he knew how much the red-haired hero loved anything meat.

Midoriya urged Bakugo to go after Kirishima before Kirishima did for someone else, or worse before someone else did for Kirishima. That night, Bakugo reserved Kitchen Lab B for the day after tomorrow. He chose Kitchen Lab B because Midoriya told him that he should not choose Kitchen Lab A. Bakugo wasn't given a reason, but he wouldn't question it anyway. Either way, A or B, he would cook the most exquisite meal in the afternoon and prompose to Kirishima when he finished.

It was a wonder (not really) that Bakugo and Kirishima were doing the same thing at the same time. (Yeah, it went all according to Midoriya's plan!)

It was then when the rows of lights above them shut off, along with them basically everything in the room.

Midoriya may or may not have known that a lab reservation included an info pamphlet. He also may or may not have known that the kitchen laboratories' electricity went through a panel before being distributed to either lab. It was, in fact, situated in Kitchen Lab A. So, if there were to be electricity problems that was localized in the labs, one would have to go to Kitchen Lab A to fix it. Maybe that was why Midoriya urged Bakugo to choose Kitchen Lab B. Because if there were to be complete accidental and unplanned electricity problems, then Bakugo would be bound to bump into Kirishima.

It was a perfect plan, one that he kept to himself.

"Dang, I forgot to tell you about my plan, Sho."

In retrospect, he should have told this to Todoroki. Midoriya got too lost in the heat of the plan that he neglected that all Todoroki knew was that he was going to get a free bowl of soba.

If he told him, Midoriya wouldn't have been explaining his plan to Todoroki, but it didn't matter in the end when he finished muttering all the details of his plan, leaving Todoroki with a slack jaw.

"Midoriya, you're an evil genius."

There was no time for other comments because Bakugo would be making his way to Kitchen Lab A soon.

The layout of the laboratories was like this. An extremely gigantic, rectangle room had one set of doors on the east and west side and a perimeter of hallway around it. It was decided, however, that it would be made into two labs instead of one for obvious size reasons.

A wall was erected, dividing the two spaces, resulting in two labs. The only drawback was the long walk for someone if they were to go from Kitchen Lab A to B or vice versa. Midoriya was counting that Bakugo would sort things out first on his side before taking the long walk to their side. Midoriya and Todoroki would take that time to escape.

「調理 | ちょうり」

Midoriya and Todoroki entered through the double doors once again. Inside, Kirishima was already plating the curry, using a stark, black-glazed clay bowl to serve it. He noticed that the orange curry and the black bowl perfectly matched Bakugo's hero costume and hoped that the extra effort for theming would also be appreciated.

Midoriya gave a calm wave and smile.

"Oh, uh, nice! You finished, Kirishima. We couldn't fix the electricity, though."

Kirishima presented the bowl of curry to Midoriya as he walked forward, giving a thumbs up.

"It's okay, Midoriya! I didn't need electricity to finish anyway."

"Oh, right! Todoroki and I have to, uh, leave and report the brownout so that they can deal with it as soon as possible. Yeah. Luckily, it was only in the lab. The rest of the school is fine, so... we'll be going! Good luck with your promposal!"

Kirishima gave a squint but nodded. This promposal was a private moment for him anyway.

Midoriya walked towards the door, followed by Todoroki.

"Sho, why are you bringing that?"

In his left hand, Todoroki carried the pan he was handling a while ago. In his right, he held a carton of eggs with a pack of pre-cut tonkatsu precariously perched on top.

"You know what? I'll just help you."

He grabbed the pack of tonkatsu as he recalled the rule about bringing equipment out of the lab. It was allowed, but only for 24 hours. After that duration, it would have to be returned because there would be an inventory check. If there were to be something missing, those who reserved the lab would be held liable.

It was then when they heard strident cursing and quiet footsteps, signaling that someone was coming, but they were still far away (and had a loud, dirty mouth).

"Don't spill the contents of the pan too much, but we need to run!"

The two scampered away, Todoroki having made a makeshift ice lid on the pan that would keep the contents from spilling.

「調理 | ちょうり」

The door to Kitchen Lab B harshly swung open, revealing the frustrated face of Bakugo.

"Damn! This when I just need to finish the gravy for... Kirishima!"

Red gazes meet. Bakugo's more maroon eyes widen at Kirishima's more scarlet ones. The latter seemed to have been staring at the former after he paused from tidying up the counter space. Both their heartbeats accelerated simultaneously as the silence of the approaching evening took over. The dim sunlight danced over their faces, now hardly giving enough light to illumine Kitchen Lab A despite the wide windows.

"Kirishima..."

Kirishima gulped at Bakugo's raspy tone.

"Yes, Bakugo?"

Bakugo frowned at Kirishima's wavering voice. He didn't want the red-haired hero to be nervous about his presence, so he decided to soften his tone (or rather tried to).

"What are you doing here?"

Now, at least his sound started to lean away from rampaging beast and somewhat towards concerned friend.

"Uhh..."

Kirishima subconsciously tried to hide the bowl of curry on the counter behind his back, but this didn't go unnoticed by Bakugo.

"What's that?"

Bakugo really shouldn't have asked since he would attempt to find out what it was no matter what Kirishima said.

The ash-blond hero maneuvered around to spot a large, black bowl of deliciously orange curry.

"Curry?"

Kirishima pursed his lips in a tight line, but he decided to just go for it in the end.

"Listen, Bakugo..."

Yeah, he was going to do this. Midoriya said that he had a shot; Kirishima was not going to waste it. If Bakugo rejected him, then so be it. If this incident hurdled the status of their friendship in the future, then so be it. Because Kirishima would be damned if he didn't man up to get the answer to his long-awaited question—would Bakugo accept him?

"I made this curry for you as a token. You see, I..."

Bakugo was already staring hard at him, but Kirishima decided to bear it and look right back to show that sincerity in his words.

"I have loved you for a long time, and I obviously still do. I don't know how to explain it, but it goes past your manliness, your power. It—"

Bakugo didn't want Kirishima to explain it. He just wanted to shut him up with a kiss, and so he did.

Bakugo stepped forward, pushing Kirishima into the tall refrigerator behind him until his back pressed into the cool metal. Then, he slowly pressed his lips onto the red-haired hero's.

Kirishima's eyes widened as he felt the warm sensation tingling on his lips. In the dim room, he could only make out Bakugo's blazing eyes as he pressed on further.

After letting Kirishima melt in and get used to the leisurely kiss, Bakugo decided to finally get rough.

Although Kirishima's teeth looked visibly razor-edged, Bakugo's didn't fall far behind. This was evident when he bit hard into Kirishima's lips, teeth sinking into the soft warmth, proving just sharp they were. Kirishima gave a soft moan in response.

Bakugo licked up the trickle of blood with his tongue before it swiftly entered Kirishima's mouth, the red-hair hero just standing there, allowing himself to be dominated. Kirishima was too lost in ecstasy to even care. He just wanted to enjoy the moment, letting his tongue dance along with Bakugo's in a passionate dance in his mouth.

When they parted, both were out of breath, but it seemed that it was worth it to them.

Bakugo stared at Kirishima again.

"Kirishima, how long have you—"

Kirishima didn't need for that sentence to be finished to know the answer.

"I've wanted you since the entrance exams."

Bakugo tsked.

"That fucking long? Well, I guess I can't say much for myself. I've had a crush on you since the USJ incident."

Kirishima's eyes widened.

"And, uh, did you tell anyone about this crush?"

The teensiest speckles of crimson crept up Bakugo's cheeks.

"Well..."

He looked away from Kirishima before he noticed something critical.

"Wait! How did you know I like curry? I never told anyone about that. Except..."

Kirishima's eyes widened again as the pieces started to fall together.

Bakugo didn't let him do any talking, though.

"Did Midoriya tell you to cook this curry for me?"

Kirishima nodded.

"Yeah, he did. In fact, this entire promposal was his plan."

Bakugo snarled, a murderous expression plastered his face. He grabbed a sharp knife from the counter and growled, looking towards the exit doors.

"Where did that shitty Deku go! I'LL KILL HIM!"

Kirishima was quick to react, putting a hand on Bakugo's shoulder.

"Bakugo, put the knife down."

The ash-blond hero gnashed his teeth.

Kirishima's voice evolved into a more admonishing tone.

"Bakugo..."

"Fine!"

Bakugo dropped the knife onto the counter and crossed his arms.

Kirishima smiled brightly.

"Right now, I don't really care. Actually, I'm happy Midoriya set this up because I have you all to myself. I also have the curry I made."

Kirishima smirked as Bakugo's mouth watered. He didn't let himself be the only one hungry, though.

"You think that you're the only one who cooked? I don't have gravy, but I have a giant plate of perfectly cooked wagyu cubes with your name on it!"

「調理 | ちょうり」

By the time Bakugo was back with a plate of sumptuous wagyu, Kirishima was hungry—in more ways than one. The moment the plate was safely on the counter, Kirishima took his turn to give a rough kiss, smashing his lips onto the other's lips.

By that time, the sun had already set, but the electricity was back on. Kirishima had a full, clear view of the handsomeness that was Bakugo. The red-haired hero devoured him before parting because they were both literally hungry.

Kirishima grabbed two pairs of chopsticks, two spoons, two plates, and two bar stools from the storage area in the corner of the lab. They sat in front of each other, the metal counter making a fine table.

Fortunately, the rice Midoriya brought was more than enough for six people, which, in other words, meant that it was just enough for Kirishima and Bakugo.

Before Kirishima could even comment about the ambrosial aroma of the food, Bakugo picked up a wagyu cube with his chopsticks and fed it into Kirishima's open mouth.

The red-haired hero had no choice but to chew, but it wasn't as if he didn't like what happened. After all, his crush, who accepted him, just fed him the most flavorful, meaty thing he'd ever tasted. It was rich, melt-in-your-mouth.

Real wagyu was an exorbitant luxury that Kirishima had never tasted before, but now he had a bite of what he was missing out.

Bakugo smirked.

"Good?"

Kirishima gasped almost as if he was offended.

"Good? Good!? I died and went to heaven!"

Bakugo gave a peal of hearty laughter to that, but Kirishima promptly shut him up with a spoon of his curry.

That spoon was the full package. It had a piece of beef and all the veggies in one bite. Bakugo actually moaned at the explosion of flavors in his mouth. He hadn't tasted this delightful dish for years. Now, it was even better with the seemingly additional heat. The spiciness exploded in his mouth much like his quirk would. In other words, his taste buds were blasted.

Kirishima mirrored Bakugo's smirk a while ago.

"Good?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes before he fed Kirishima another piece of wagyu.

"You fucking betcha!"

They continued into the night like that. They alternately fed each other rice and their respective viands. Their teenage appetites managed to devour all the found in one blissful experience. Kirishima and Bakugo were extremely thankful that their reservation was a whole day one. It meant that they could technically stay here for a few more hours.

However, in the end, they cleaned up so that they could leave. Of course, they had a quick make-out session first. Bakugo and Kirishima were both in it to win it, tongues fighting for dominance as they clashed with each other. The searing warmth of their rough lips comforted each other in the most passionate and most aggressive of ways.

It was then when Todoroki and Midoriya entered the lab, the two-toned hero with a pan in hand.

Midoriya smirked.

"Having fun there?"

Bakugo snarled.

"DEKUUUU!"

「調理 | ちょうり」

Bonus Deleted Scene 1:

With their breakneck dash, they arrived at Midoriya's dorm room in no time

"Sho, I don't have a stove in my dorm. Why did we bring all of this?"

Todoroki waved him off, setting the pan and ingredients on Midoriya's desk. Immediately after, he started removing his school blazer.

Midoriya cocked his head.

"Sho, what are you doing?"

Throwing his blazer to the side, Todoroki ignored him and continued divesting himself.

He slowly unbuttoned his long sleeves, first revealing his flat, muscled chest.

Midoriya was a blushing mess.

"Shooo!"

Todoroki stared nonchalantly at his lover.

"It's unfair that you haven't gotten your katsudon yet."

Without any further explanation, Todoroki continued to strip. His top half was now fully exposed and on display for Midoriya, who was flushing at his lover's fit physique. The image of smooth, taut skin was slowly burning itself into Midoriya's mind.

"Why do you have to be so hot!"

Todoroki chuckled at Midoriya's whiny voice.

"Because cooking requires heat."

Midoriya squinted.

"What?"

Todoroki lied down on the bed, allowing himself to rest in a perfectly supine position,

"Zuku, can you put the pot on me?"

Midoriya looked flabbergasted

"Whaaat!"

"You heard me..."

Midoriya just went with it and placed the pot on the left side of Todoroki's abs. He didn't even care about his evident blush anymore.

Now that the pan was placed, not tilting at all because of how perfectly flat Todorki's abs were, he activated his quirk in that localized area.

"Go ahead."

Flames burst out under the pan, allowing Midoriya to cook. Amazingly, the pan heated up. It was an impressive display of control and temperature management, his right side activating ice now and then to stabilize his body heat.

"This is just... Wow... How did you even know that this would work out? It's not like you've done this before.

Todoroki suddenly fell silent.

"Don't tell me..."

「調理 | ちょうり」

Bonus Deleted Scene 2:

"Hey, Bakugo?"

Bakugo turned all his attention to Kirishima and noticed his slightly flushed face.

"What is it?"

Kirishima twiddled his thumbs.

"Well, I was wondering if I could call you a nickname or something."

Bakugo seemed unfazed.

"Sure."

Kirishima's eyes widened.

"So, I can call you Tsuki or..."

"It's cute. I like it."

Kirishima beamed with joy and pride. However, a moment later, a thought struck him.

"Can I have a nickname?"

Bakugo smiled.

"Sure, Eiji."

Kirishima laughed before his face fell serious.

"Are you sure you're okay with nicknames?"

Bakugo nodded firmly.

"I allow only those I love to call me nicknames, and I only have nicknames for those I love."

The ash-blond hero pecked Kirishima's lips.

"So what does that make Midoriya?"

Bakugo froze.

"Fuck you."

調理 | ちょうり | chouri

noun

-cooking