"Tell me more about you… The real you… not the macho mask you wear in class." Katsuki Bakugo demanded, mouth half full of coconut shrimp. He got his fight; his rematch because Todoroki didn't use his flames in the festival. The least he could do was eat what Shoto had made for him.

"I'm not really that complicated… What you see is what you get."

"Then tell me something no one else knows," Katsuki growled. He wasn't picky; he was just trying to start a conversation.

"When I was little," Shoto began, hugging his knees to his chest, "I used to hide under my oldest brother's bed and listen to him play his guitar. It was all I wanted to do when I could get away from training with my father." He gave a heavy sigh and turned his gaze from the other boy to the floor. "I loved my siblings, but sometimes it felt like it was one sided. I can't help but wonder if Toya ran off because of me… Maybe he thought I was enjoying being my father's 'favorite child'. I don't know," Shoto stretched out, running a hand through his hair. He leaned against the alley wall, in quite a bit of pain.

"Fuck that guy, then! Who gives a shit what everyone else thinks?!" Bakugo replied. He wasn't sure who'd won the fight (they were both beat to hell), but his classmate wasn't too bad a cook. He enjoyed the taste; and wondered how Shoto knew to make it spicy. He made a mental note of asking Kirishima about it later.

Shoto laughed. "I guess you have a point." Their conversation continued for hours. The two went back and forth, trading secrets until Katsuki had mostly finished his meal. After he'd had swallowed what was in his mouth, Shoto leaned forward and kissed him softly.

That was where it all started. At the time, Katsuki had flushed red and started yelling, but he didn't pull away or throw the food. Instead, he kept eating, handing the bowl back to Shoto when it was empty; saying, "If you cook like that, you can hang around." That was three days after the sports festival. So much time had passed since then, and they'd become a couple since then. Shoto always remembered to bring something tasty for Katsuki at least once a week.

This time, the couple had chosen to go out to eat. They got special permission to leave campus and walked side by side, with Shoto wrapped around Katsuki's left arm. They got lucky in the sense that there was a sushi place not too far that they'd been wanting to try, so now that they had a day off, they decided now was as good a time as ever.

Katsuki kissed Shoto's forehead as they waited on the edge of the sidewalk for the signal to cross the street. He chuckled to himself, because Shoto was crouched down enough to put his head on his shoulder. It always made him smile when Shoto did that, though he wasn't sure why. Shoto really seemed to do him some good; he and Kirishima both worked to help quell his temper.

Over the months that had passed, Shoto had come to realize that "Bakusquad" was just full of Katsuki's pets, but he didn't seem to mind. He let Bakugo keep them all, as long as he promised the same freedom to him, and that he'd remain Bakugo's favorite. Katsuki was sure that he'd never find anyone else as understanding and trusting. He cherished that.

The warmth of the sunlight washed over the boys, improving their already pleasant moods. Today was going to be a day to remember; something they'd never forget.

They weren't too far from the restaurant when Katsuki grabbed Shoto by the hand. He dragged him down the street in the opposite direction. Shoto went wide eyed, but followed, trusting his lover. He chuckled softly as they walked. "Katsu! What is this? Where're we going?"

"It's a secret, Icyhot! Just trust me! You'll like it!" Katsuki replied with a confident smirk. He'd dragged Shoto to a dance club and paid their way in. Both received wristbands that told the bartender they were too young to drink and they'd have to leave in about an hour and a half, but it was worth it.

Music thumped around them, they danced, laughed and most importantly to Katsuki, Shoto smiled. He liked when Shoto smiled -and he didn't do it very often. They only got one slow dance, and Katsuki felt a bit like a fool, but he got to grind on his lover during the faster songs and it made him happy, so it was very worth it.

As they left, Shoto kissed him softly and snuggled close to him as they walked. Katsuki took each step, proud of what he'd done, with his chest puffed out. From there, they went to dinner. The two managed to make good time getting there, and they were seated less than ten minutes after they walked in the door. Though it was a sushi place, Shoto still had to look to see if they had soba noodles.

"You always eat the same thing," Katsuki says with a soft growl as he takes hold of the top of Shoto's menu. He pulled it down so the other boy would look at him. "Try something else this time. You might like it."

Shoto smiled fondly at the boy across the table from him and nodded. "Y-yeah. Okay. I'll try something else." He'd been working with Kirishima to quell Katsuki's temper, and though they'd made progress, the saying goes that Rome wasn't built in a day. Besides, Shoto loved Katsuki, even when he got a little (or a lot) cranky.

The waitress was kind, but she looked a little malnourished, which Shoto thought was odd because she worked in a restaurant. He was sure Katsuki had noticed, but neither said anything. Shoto didn't want to be rude, and Katsuki probably didn't think it was that important. The blond boy was determined to enjoy a nice meal with his boyfriend before he'd have to go back to school and tutor the "idiots" he called his friends.

To ensure that he'd try something new, Shoto left the decision in Katsuki's hands. The blond grinned and nodded his approval. "That's the spirit… yeah~!" he chuckled softly and took hold of Shoto's hand under the table. When the waitress came back, he placed an order for each of them and turned back to facing his boyfriend, noticing Shoto had been staring. "What?" he asked flatly.

"Nothing… I just…" Shoto looked away, blush creeping across his face. "I like when you take charge. It's comforting… makes me feel safe."

Katsuki had to gather himself before he spoke, but it felt as though his heart had skipped a beat. He wouldn't ever tell anyone, though. "Pffft," he scoffed, "well, yeah! I'm gonna be the number one hero after all… sooner than anyone thinks! I'm gonna sit at the top of that latter where I belong." He realized he'd puffed out his chest again and cleared his throat, relaxing. "You can be number two, if you want… Just don't ever leave my side."

"I think I'd like that," Shoto nodded with a soft smile. That was Katsuki's way of telling him that he wanted to stay close, always. It had taken a while to get the subtle hints down, but he was pretty fluent in Bakugo by now.

"Follow my lead, kid. You'll make it."

Now he was just teasing. Shoto couldn't help but laugh, but he tried to be quiet. They'd gone out of their way to pick a place that Endeavor wouldn't go to, but Shoto was still afraid they'd get caught. He hadn't managed to come out to his family just yet, so he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself; but he also knew that was a risk, considering who he was dating.

There was no telling what might set his time-bomb boyfriend off, but it was a risk he was willing to take. Katsuki had promised to behave for the chance to take him out, so Shoto trusted him. Their food arrived without a problem, and everything looked alright, so they thanked the waitress and ate, mumbling about how good it tasted and what they might want to try next.

Both full and happy, Katsuki paid the check this time and stood slowly, offering an arm to Shoto. The taller boy took hold of him and smiled, but they hadn't taken four steps before Katsuki began to feel dizzy. He blinked and shook his head, hoping to shake it off. Shoto noticed something was wrong and kept an eye on him as they walked. It wasn't until they'd walked out the door that he began feeling dizzy too.

They tried to keep walking. Shoto hoped it was just too much good food making them sleepy, but Katsuki seemed to know better. He growled under his breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them again only made everything worse. Two blocks from the restaurant, Katsuki hit the sidewalk, pulling Shoto down with him. Before they lost consciousness, they saw a pair of black shoes approach them, and heard a familiar, scratchy voice. "Ohhhh… you poor little heroes. You should know better than to wander off on your own. You might get hurt."