Off in the night, while you live it up, I'm off to sleep. Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat. I hope it's gonna make you notice someone like me. -Kings of Leon
April soon gave way to May and with it came warmer weather and slightly longer days.
Uraraka took advantage of the change by switching up her workout routine to include more outdoor runs in the park. She had found a gym to train at a few blocks from her apartment and the park she did her evening runs at was conveniently located between the gym and her apartment, so after work most evenings, she'd go to the gym first and then finish up with a short run at the park. On her days off, she got started a little earlier and took the longer route around the park, which was what she was doing on this particular day.
As dusk began to set in, she made her way back to the park entrance to a locker she had rented to store her gym bag while she ran. She retrieved it, slung it over her shoulder, and fished inside for her phone to check the time.
6:37 p.m.
No wonder she was hungry.
She pulled up her contacts and scrolled down to "T" where she had listed all of her favorite restaurants for takeout by putting that and then the type of food they offered. She glanced through her options before settling on Chinese takeout. Her thumb pressed the call button and she held the phone to her ear as she started making her way in the direction of where she had parked her car.
Five minutes later, she parked outside of the restaurant and walked in. She knew her order probably wouldn't be ready just yet, but that was fine. It wasn't as if she was in any particular rush. Her only plan for the evening was to go home and eat her dinner on the couch while she watched whatever movie she found on Netflix.
"Oh hey, Uravity!" the restaurant's hostess greeted her as she entered, proving what Ochako already knew: that she came here far too much. "I don't think the kitchen has finished with your order just yet, but if you want to have a seat, I'll go check on it."
"No problem, I'm not in any rush."
Uraraka found herself a seat just inside the restaurant waiting area as the girl bustled off. She really didn't mind waiting. The restaurant seemed rather busy tonight and it was a perfect opportunity for people watching. Her eyes fell first on an elderly couple sitting close to the window and she couldn't help but smile as she watched the husband reach out and take his wife's hand across the table as they waited for their food. At the next table over, a young family with two children sat eating and talking. The youngest child was dressed head to toe in Deku merchandise and her smile grew even bigger. She'd have to tell him when she saw him at work the next day.
Her eyes slid over the next few tables. Another family, a couple without children, a group of men in suits appearing to have a business discussion, Bakugo on a date…
Wait, what?
Her eyes had already slid over to the next table before her brain really registered what she had seen and her eyes snapped back to the table in question.
His back was to her, but the hair and the set of his shoulders were unmistakable. Her mouth went dry and she suddenly felt numb.
She could see the face of his date from here and was shocked to realize she knew her. In fact, she was the first person Uraraka saw every morning when she came to work, the receptionist of the Todoroki agency. Oh, what was her name? Kimiko. That was it.
Her eyes left the other girl and focused back on Bakugo. She couldn't see his face, but as the other girl smiled and talked about something or other, she could imagine him watching her with adoration and looking at Kimiko the same way he had looked at her when she wore that dress to the engagement party so long ago.
She knew it was over for them back then. She knew it and she'd accepted it, but why did it still hurt so much to see him here?
Was it that he hadn't even bothered to tell her he had a date? She knew it was none of her business who he dated and that he probably went on dates all the time that she didn't know about, but it was different knowing something was probably true and seeing it firsthand.
Was it that she knew the girl he was with and that she was going to have to see her every day at work as long as they were all at the Todoroki agency? It wasn't hard to see what Bakugo saw in the other woman. Kimiko was gorgeous and put together, practically the opposite of Ochako in every way. She was the kind of woman who probably did yoga every morning, baked things from scratch, and never left the house without her makeup and hair looking flawless. Meanwhile, Uraraka was here in her sweaty workout clothes waiting for her takeout dinner so she could go home to her cluttered apartment. The kind of girl who would never measure up to the perfect Kimikos of the world.
She tore her eyes away from them, looking resolutely in the opposite direction as she struggled to get her emotions in check. So what if he was dating the receptionist? It was none of her business if they dated, if they got married and one day had perfect little children, something she'd never have.
Bakugo was her friend and if he was happy, she should be happy for him. But that was much easier said than done when she felt like she did now.
She was spared having to see much more by the arrival of the hostess with her takeout bag and she quickly paid and left, only letting the tears fall when she was safely in her car.
Inside the restaurant, Bakugo sat up straight in his seat, hoping that he at least looked the part of being polite. They'd been here for about half an hour or so now, and he felt like he knew way too much about her already. She had three brothers, she was the baby, she liked red but also pink, she only drank decaf coffee, her parents were divorced, she liked the smell of babies...and more.
In fact, he was pretty sure he'd gotten no words in since they sat down and gave the waiter their order of drinks.
Why had he come to this again?
Because she'd given him a cupcake and looked so hopeful when she asked him out to dinner. And he felt guilty, because she was really nice at work and not too bad to look at, all thoughts considered. Plus, he'd never even been asked out by a girl before. He'd either done the asking or it never happened. He had to give her props for bravery.
But nothing about this felt right. He kept looking at her face, and the face of another would slip in and out of its place. Thoughts of what life would have been like if things had gone differently a few years ago kept racing through his mind intermittently throughout her conversation. And it was that, her conversation. He wasn't talking, that was for sure.
Kimiko took a deep breath and a sip of her water. She looked winded and embarrassed. "I-I'm so sorry, Bakugo. I haven't stopped talking. You must think me rude."
He blinked, snapping his attention back to her. "Not at all. It's fine."
"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?"
He blinked again, struggling to fix his gaze on her for too long. "There's not much to know, really. I guess I like spicy food."
She smiled a little less enthusiastically. "This isn't going well, is it?"
He started. "I-no, you're fine. It's fine. I'm sorry, my head is just all over the place these days."
She gave him a knowing look. "Is it a woman?"
His eyes went wide with shock. "What? No, of course not. I'm just busy."
"Mhm. Sounds like a woman to me. Is it Uravity?"
"Tch!" He hissed, his hand coming up to hide his cheeks. "Fuck no. We're partners."
"But she's a pretty partner isn't she?"
He looked at her for a long moment. "I'm sorry."
She looked resigned, but still wore a soft smile. "Don't be. We don't always get to choose who we love."
"I didn't say anything about love." He countered.
She sighed, chuckled, and shook her head. "You didn't have to."
The next morning, Uraraka arrived twenty minutes late for work the next morning, though she considered it a victory that she'd made it at all. After the events of the previous evening, she'd fallen asleep without remembering to set her alarm. She'd only woken up ten minutes before she was supposed to be at work because her neighbor's yappy dog had been barking at something.
She was relieved to see her partner wasn't at his desk as she exited the elevator and made her way to her own cubicle. She might have thought he'd called in to stay in bed with Kimiko had she not already seen the receptionist at her desk on the way in, looking just as perfect as ever.
"Good morning, Ochako!" Tsuyu greeted her as she passed her desk. "Todoroki was looking for you earlier."
Uraraka froze. "He was?"
Shit. Of all the days to be late.
"Perhaps that will encourage you to be on time from now on," came Iida's voice from the next cubicle over.
Uraraka didn't respond, she simply turned on her heel, changing directions to head for Todoroki's office instead of her desk. The door was open when she got there and then she knew why Bakugo hadn't been at his desk. His back was to her as it had been at the restaurant the night before, but Todoroki had already spotted her in the doorway.
"Good morning, Uraraka. Come in." He motioned for her to have a seat in the other chair opposite his desk. "As I was just telling Bakugo," he began as she took a seat, and if it had been anyone else saying it, Uraraka would have thought it was a dig at her tardiness, but he said it in such a monotone way that it was clearly just a statement of fact for him. "The Magome police force have requested backup from several hero agencies, us included. There's been a recent surge in gang activity there and they don't have the pro hero numbers that the major cities do to deal with it. They've gotten their base of operations narrowed down to a few possible locations and they'd like to bring in pros to help them strike simultaneously at all potential locations so they don't have advance warning. It's unclear what quirks the members may have, so there's no telling what you may be walking into if you choose to accept the assignment. They've offered to cover all of your travel costs including food, hotel, and transportation. Do you accept?"
Bakugo paused to think for a second. It wasn't a big deal to be borrowed by another agency to help out. Considering his rank, as well as Uraraka and her top notch rescue ability, they were valuable allies to have. It was also nice that everything would basically be paid for.
But this also meant that he and Round-face would be in the same hotel, away from home, together. Things had been going well between them for a good while now, though. Perhaps it wouldn't be much different from their daily routine together here at home?
"I'm game, Icy Hot. You were right to come to me." Bakugo said haughtily, a smirk forming on his lips.
Todoroki nodded once, then his gaze slid over to Uraraka, waiting for her answer.
"I'm in, too," she agreed after a moment's hesitation. Her first instinct had been to say no, that she didn't want to go if Bakugo was going. She wasn't sure she was emotionally capable of handling this assignment if he was involved. Anyone else, no problem, but having to travel with him after her realization the night before would be torture. Still, she agreed, because what kind of hero would she have been if she declined to help someone in need?
"Glad to hear it. You can both take the rest of the day to pack and see to whatever you need to take care of before you leave. Momo and I will be covering your patrol shift while you're gone. We'll have a car pick you up here to take you in the morning," Todoroki said.
Bakugo grunted to acknowledge he heard as he and Uraraka exited the office space and entered the hallway. He didn't know what or how, but he could somehow tell just by her walk that something was up with her. Maybe she was a little concerned about going on a trip for work with it being just the two of them?
That makes two of us, Round-face, he thought.
The next morning came in the blink of an eye, and Bakugo carried his luggage with him to work with ease. He travelled pretty lightly, considering he didn't plan to do much for recreation on this trip. His case was basically an oversized backpack, so carrying it was a simple task. He entered the building to grab anything he might need from his desk and to confirm with Todoroki that he was present and on time.
After her tardiness the previous day, Uraraka had made it her mission to be on time that morning and had actually arrived a full ten minutes early, something she rarely did.
Iida always arrived a minimum of fifteen minutes early and had been the only one there when she arrived, but several of their coworkers had trickled in since then and she stood in their shared office space talking to Deku and telling him about the little boy she'd seen dressed in his merchandise when the elevator doors opened and Bakugo entered.
Her heart gave a traitorous thump when she saw him and she quickly tore her eyes away from him and focused on Deku who was grinning like a kid at Christmas over what she'd told him.
"Really? That's great! Maybe he'll be a pro hero too one day!" he said, thinking back to his time as a child when he wanted nothing more than to be like his hero All Might. Most days it still didn't even feel real that he, a once quirkless kid, had somehow made it to the number one hero spot. He glanced over at Bakugo as he entered. "Good morning, Kacchan!"
Bakugo glanced at Uraraka before glaring at Deku. Seeing them in such proximity to each other always rubbed him the wrong way, even if it was innocent. Plus, the damn nerd was always just so damn cheerful. It was exhausting.
"Fuck you, Deku." he grumbled before grabbing some files from his desk on the other side of the cubicle. When he finished, he came back around. "Icy Hot said the car is ready for us, cheeks. We should go."
"Oh, okay." she said, activating her quirk on the suitcases at her feet to make them easier to carry. "Bye, Deku!" she said as she headed toward the elevator.
Deku seemed completely unaffected by Bakugo's greeting and simply waved as they boarded the elevator. "Good luck in Magome!"
"LIKE WE NEED FUCKING LUCK!" yelled Bakugo before the doors closed. He looked at Uraraka and noticed her floating luggage. "I could've helped you carry one. I only have one bag." He gestured to said object.
"I've got it," she said, keeping her hand on the handles of both of her suitcases to keep them from floating too high.
There it was, that weird vibe again. It confused him but also irritated him. He was just trying to be nice. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she said simply.
The elevator doors slid open and she stepped out into the lobby, headed past the reception desk and to the front door when she heard a female voice greet them, "Good morning, Ground Zero and Uravity! Have a good trip!"
Uraraka turned just in time to see Kimiko wink at Bakugo as she said it. Actually wink at him. She turned sharply back around, not pausing in her step until she reached the curb where the car waited for them and deactivated her quirk while their driver helped her put her suitcases into the trunk.
Bakugo gave a brief wave to Kimiko as he followed Uraraka out the door. Uraraka was so not fine. If he knew a damn thing about women, whenever they said they were fine, it usually meant they were the fucking opposite of fine. He loaded his own pack into the trunk and slid into the vehicle after she did. He could feel the cold vibes emanating from her body. Her posture was stiff, like she was holding herself too tightly.
"Something's fucking wrong with you." he said as the driver hit the gas gently to ease them into traffic. "Are you really gonna sit there and pout about something and not tell me what it is?"
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then looked back out of the window, sighing. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?"
Fucking women. Women, women, women! He cursed under his breath and crossed his arms. "Fucking-FINE!" He felt like a toddler for his tone, but it was just so aggravating. She was acting like she was mad at him but he couldn't think of anything he'd said to her to cause it. He leaned against his car door, remaining silent but seething.
This only lasted about two hours. He couldn't take it anymore. "Is it a fucking guy?" he asked out of the blue, arms flailing. "I can't think of anything I've done to you recently that warrants you acting like this towards me! I haven't said anything insulting to you, at least no more than usual, lately. If you're gonna give me the silent treatment I deserve a fucking explanation and the only one I can think of is it's gotta be some new asshole in your life that's got you moody and shit!"
Uraraka jumped, startled by his sudden outburst, finally looking at him for the first time since they got in the car. She thought about denying it, but it was a decent excuse and technically she was having guy problems. Or rather timing problems with her feelings over a certain guy in particular. "Something like that," she said evasively.
He glowered at her. "That's the best you got for me, hm? Really? Two fucking hours of sil-fuck! You know what? I don't even care. You think YOU'RE giving ME the silent treatment? NO! Fuck you, I'M GIVING IT TO YOU!" he yelled, leaning back against the door away from her again.
He did care, though. More than he should have. She was seeing someone else now? He hadn't heard anything from anyone about it. But why would she be seeing someone who made her act like this? Was he stupid-attractive? Incredibly smart? Was he a good kisser?
Thinking this made him want to vomit. I'm all those things, too! He thought. But she'd probably never give him the time of day. And that was clear now more than ever, since she had apparently moved on with someone new from home.
From the front seat, the driver glanced into his rearview mirror to see the two in the back seat, resolutely staring out of opposite windows as if they were toddlers throwing a tantrum rather than professional heroes. If this was the best Magome could hope for, he wasn't sure this was going to turn out so well.