Chapter 5
"Are the blood tests back from that staple yet?"
"Not yet. Forensics is backed up with other cases."
"Seriously?! But our case is about a serial killer!"
"The others got there first, I guess."
Shouto watched as Midoriya sighed and shook his head in frustration. He fiddled with his sling and struggling to get it adjusted to the right height. They were both waiting at a bus stop just after getting coffee.
"We have to get those results right away or the killer could strike again!" Midoriya said, still struggling with the sling.
Shouto blinked at him as he held their coffees. It had been nearly three weeks since Midoriya's release from the hospital, and while the pain had been much better, his patience was running thinner and thinner every day. He was itching to get back out there, but the doctor said it could be another three weeks of recovery along with therapy afterward.
It was going to be a long road to get him back to where he was, but Midoriya wasn't letting any of that stop his involvement with police work. While he was forbidden to be active in the line of duty, he could still help out with the case.
Which meant a lot of coffee runs and a lot of talking.
"It's coming up on his rotation to kill another officer," Midoriya said, his left hand fidgeting with the sling again. "If we don't stop him, they could kill someone we know! One of our friends!"
Shouto winced and placed down their coffees on the bench at the stop. He gently pushed Midoriya to sit down next to them and he knelt down in front of him.
"Let me," Shouto offered, lifting up his hands.
"O-Oh, uh… okay," Midoriya said, his cheeks turning red.
Shouto ignored his fluttering heart as he gingerly started tugging on the straps of the sling, pulling it tighter so that Midoriya's hand was elevated and flushed against his chest. Shouto's fingers barely grazed Midoriya's collarbone that stuck out past his t-shirt, but the touch burned.
Shouto swallowed again and pulled back his hands, looking up at Midoriya quizzically.
"Is… Is that better?" he asked.
Midoriya startled as if pulled out of a trance, and he nodded frantically.
"Yes! Thank you, Todoroki!" Midoriya said, relaxing against the bench.
"Mmn," Shouto hummed, feeling the tips of his fingers. They were tingling.
"Ah, the bus here!" Midoriya said, hopping off the bench.
Shouto avoided his partner's eyes as he grabbed their coffees and hurried up onto the bus after him. They sat next to each other snugly, Shouto feeling Midoriya's arm brush against his on every bump in the road.
Shouto breathed out, his chest feeling tight. Ever since their trip to the hospital, he's been feeling out of it, especially around Midoriya. His heart, instead of feeling like a lead weight inside of his chest, now felt like flowers that were gently blowing in the breeze. It was an odd feeling and Shouto wasn't sure how to respond to it.
He had never felt this way before. But, then again, it was rare that he felt anything other than anger or apathy.
So in a sense, all of these new fluttery feelings were… new.
"Todoroki? You okay?"
A bump in the road jostled the bus, making Shouto lean into Midoriya's side. He quickly readjusted himself and sat up straight, offering Midoriya a simple nod and quiet hum as a response. Midoriya was looking at him in concern but said nothing else as he sipped at his coffee, and Shouto leaned forward in his seat and prayed for the bus to hurry up.
A few agonizing moments later, they were at the police station. They hopped off of the bus and went inside, Shouto keeping an eye out for Aizawa. They weren't technically supposed to be there, so it would probably be bad if they were caught.
"I'm sure I've got some more notes at my desk that we can use," Midoriya said.
Shouto nodded and pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
"I'll go check the lab to see if forensics is done," Shouto said.
Midoriya nodded and smiled at him. "Meet up when we're done?"
"Sure."
While Midoriya walked over to his desk and started to sift through the stacks of papers there, Shouto turned and headed to the side of the precinct where the lab pick-up station was. It was tucked away in a small corner of the room, and Shouto often avoided it. He hoped and prayed the reason for the avoidance wouldn't be there when he—
"Oh, well would you lookie here?"
Shouto's face immediately pulled into a grimace.
Monoma was standing behind the counter of the lab, smirking maniacally at him with a stack of papers in his hands.
Of course, it had to be Monoma at the lab desk today. He couldn't go one day in this office without someone trying to ruin his life.
"The prodigy is here! Well, what brings you to the dusty corner of the labs at 10 o'clock on a Thursday morning?" Monoma asked. "Sorry, but I don't have any burning buildings for you to run into today!"
Shouto huffed out an annoyed breath and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"I'm here to ask about the staple sample that Midoriya and I found at the factory," Shouto said.
"Oh, is that so?" Monoma asked, his eyes widening to frightening levels. "Perhaps you should beg your daddy to get you the samples instead of me, hm?"
Shouto's eye twitched. "I don't want to cause trouble. I'm just trying to work on the case."
"Ah, but you haven't solved it, yet? I thought you were a genius! At least, that was what your father claimed so heavily to all of us the day you were introduced!" Monoma pushed.
Shouto felt his anger kindle deep within his heart. Those beautiful flowers inside of his chest were starting to singe.
"I just want to know about the DNA tests," Shouto said, trying to remain calm. "Midoriya and I are—"
"Oh, right. Midoriya, of course," Monoma teased. "He seems to be the only one who can tolerate your pretentious attitude."
Shouto swallowed and averted his eyes. His hands turned into fists in his pockets and he felt his shoulders hunch just slightly. He had no words to deny Monoma's accusations. They were all true, after all.
"Aha! Soon enough, you'll push him away, too!" Monoma continued, looking like he was about to go mad. "And then you'll be all al—ouch!"
A hand smacked Monoma on the back of his head hard, making him drop all of his papers and reached up to clutch his wound.
Shouto glanced up at his yelp and saw Kendo standing next to Monoma with her arms folded across her chest.
"Must you be this way all the time?" she scolded, looking disgusted with him. Monoma whimpered in reply, staring up at her with tears in his eyes. Kendo rolled her eyes and faced Shouto, her hand on her hip. "Sorry about him. What can we help you with?"
The embers in Shouto's chest died down and he relaxed. He felt like he could breathe again. He would have to send Kendo a thank you card for all her hard work. She really had to put up with a lot.
"I'm here about the staple that Midoriya and I found at the factory," Shouto said.
Kendo put a hand to her chin. "Staple…" She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Then, her mind shifted into clarity and she opened her eyes and snapped her fingers. "Oh, right! That bloody surgical staple you guys found."
"Yes, that's the one," Shouto said. "Have you found out anything about the blood that was on it?"
Kendo frowned and shook her head softly. "Sorry. We haven't gotten to it yet."
Shouto blinked at her quietly. "You haven't gotten to it yet?" he echoed, and Kendo nodded in response. "But… it's almost been three weeks."
Kendo sighed sympathetically. "I know. But we're so backed up here that we haven't been able to even look at the staple yet."
The embers sparked again. "But this could lead us to the serial killer!"
"Yeah, and so can a lot of this other stuff," Kendo said, gesturing towards the piles of other samples that they had yet to get to. "You and Midoriya are not the only ones working on that case."
Shouto frowned, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Is there any way I could convince you to move ours up sooner?"
Monoma scoffed. "What, are you going to pay us off with your father's money?"
Kendo elbowed him in the stomach, making him sputter and double over and clutch at his gut. She straightened and folded her arms across her chest and sighed, shaking her head at Shouto.
"I mean, I'll try my best to move things along, but we need another lab tech to move things forward," she said. "It's the best I can give you for now. Sorry."
Shouto paused and held in a sigh. Well, at least it wasn't nothing.
"Okay," Shouto said with a nod. He bowed his head gratefully towards her. "Thank you, Kendo-san."
Kendo blinked, looking a little shocked. Even Monoma paused in his blubbering to look at him with a look of disgust.
"Uh, yeah. Sure thing, Todoroki," Kendo said.
Shouto gave one more nod and turned back towards the rest of the precinct, his feet about to take him back to Midoriya's desk, but he froze, his feet stuttering to a stop.
Bakugou was at Midoriya's desk, his arm thrown over his partner's neck. His face was twisted up in rage as always, but Midoriya was laughing and smiling at him, saying something that Shouto couldn't hear.
Something ugly twisted inside Shouto's stomach. The fire in his chest bloomed once again, but it felt different this time. It wasn't necessarily anger, but he couldn't quite put a finger on what was wrong with him.
He just hated the sight displayed right in front of him.
"Jealous, are we?"
Shouto startled, whipping his head back to see Monoma sneering at him again. He was still hunched over slightly, his hand touching his store stomach, but he still had the strength to keep pushing buttons. It seemed Kendo had walked back into the lab to work on more, leaving this miscreant to run the lab counter by himself.
"Jealous?" Shouto echoed.
Monoma nodded towards Midoriya and Bakugou. "Of course! It's written all over your face." He stood up straight and smiled scarily. "It seems you do have a heart underneath all that ice!"
Shouto glared at him and huffed, choosing to ignore the idiot. He moved forward to Midoriya's desk, watching as Bakugou still held onto his partner.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya chuckled.
"Shut it, Nerd! You're cooking tonight, got it?" Bakugou said.
Shouto felt his lip twitch. That was right. They lived together. How could he forget?
"I said fine! I was going to make some chicken!" Midoriya said.
"No, idiot!" Bakugou yelled. "Beef! Shitty Hair and I want beef!"
"Chicken is better for you, though," Midoriya said.
"What do you know?"
The feeling inside Shouto's heart was quickly starting to grow. If he didn't stop it now then he was afraid that it would spiral into something even more ugly.
He wouldn't be like his father. He wouldn't be like his father.
"Ahem," Shouto cleared his throat loud enough for them to hear, and Midoriya looked up and smiled at him.
"Oh, Todoroki!" Midoriya greeted, pulling himself from Bakugou's grip. "What did forensics say? Did they find a match in the system?"
Shouto frowned at the painful reminder. "They haven't gotten to it, yet."
Midoriya's smile vanished. "What?"
"Tch. Assholes are probably slackin' off," Bakugou growled. Then, he peered at Shouto and his lip twitched slightly. "Or maybe it's 'cause they saw your name on it."
Shouto frowned at him. Perhaps he should look into changing his family name into something else. Tanaka seemed fitting. And he wouldn't have to change his initials, either.
"Kacchan," Midoriya admonished with a wince on his face. He sighed and turned back to Shouto. "Did they say why?"
Shouto shrugged one shoulder. "There are other samples ahead of us."
"But… ours is pretty urgent."
"That's what I told them, but they didn't see it that way."
Midoriya sighed and groaned, running his good hand down his face. Then he looked up at Shouto with a dopey, tired smile.
"Well, I've still got my notes we can go over. And we can do some research at hospitals to see if they've stitched up anyone suspicious lately," Midoriya said. "Want to go back to my place for the evening? I have to make dinner anyways."
"Hah?! You're inviting him for dinner?!" Bakugou shouted.
"Okay," Shouto found himself saying.
"What?!"
"Cool!" Midoriya said, ignoring Bakugou's protests. "Then let me get my stuff and we can go interview—"
"You two are not supposed to be working."
Midoriya's mouth snapped shut at the sound of Lieutenant Aizawa's voice looming from behind. Both he and Shouto turned to face him, standing tall and giving him attention.
Their boss was blinking at them disinterestedly, a coffee in one hand.
"We're just… getting some paperwork," Midoriya squeaked.
"That's work," Aizawa emphasized.
"I got cleared to work last week," Shouto said.
"Maybe by your doctors, but not by me," Aizawa said. "Think of this as punishment for running into a burning building while ignoring safety personnel."
Shouto and Midoriya winced, both avoiding eye contact with anyone.
"Just go home and rest, for crying out loud. Don't you two know how to have fun?" Aizawa asked.
Shouto and Midoriya hesitated and then glanced at each other silently. Aizawa groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Why do I always get the troublesome bunch?" he whispered under his breath. He dropped his hand to his side and nodded towards the door. "Get what you need and leave. And don't come back for another week. Understand?"
"Yes, sir," both Shouto and Midoriya answered.
"Good. Now get out of my sight."
The two of them were practically kicked out onto the street, Midoriya holding on to his notebooks and files under one arm. He sighed and shook his head as they started down to the bus stop again.
"Well, there goes that," Midoriya said. "I guess… we're banned from doing any work on this, huh?"
"Lieutenant Aizawa did say this was punishment for our actions," Shouto added, rubbing the back of his head.
Midoriya smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Well… If you want, we can go back to my place for a bit. A-And you can stay for dinner! I haven't taken back that offer!"
Shouto paused, looking down at Midoriya, noting that his cheeks reddened at the offer. He smiled in response and nodded.
"Sure," Shouto said. "Let's go."
Shouto wasn't sure how he could have forgotten about the loft, but memories of that party came flooding back as soon as he entered through the door. He remembered talking with Kirishima one minute, and the next thing he knew, he was naked in Midoriya's bed.
How mortifying.
Why did he agree to come back here?
"Ah, well, make yourself at home! You've been here before, so you know where everything is," Midoriya said, scratching his cheek.
Shouto rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. "Sorry. Our first meeting wasn't the best."
"Eh? A-Ah!" Midoriya's mind suddenly caught up with him and he blushed all the way down to his collarbones. He waved his hand in the air and shook his head. "No, no! It's fine! It wasn't your fault anyway, right? I mean, it wasn't your fault that you threw up on yourself and—"
"Yeah, I know," Shouto interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest. He took a deep breath and let the memory slide from his mind. "I'll make us some lunch if you'd like."
Midoriya looked as if he went through emotional whiplash as his embarrassed face quickly turned into a concerned frown.
"Oh, Todoroki! You don't need to do that!" Midoriya said. "You're the guest. I can make us something."
Shouto stared down at Midoriya's cast and then back to his eyes. Midoriya followed the movement and slumped, sighing heavily.
"You're not going to let me play host, are you?" Midoriya asked.
"Not until you've healed completely," Shouto answered, moving to the pantry to look inside. Noodles… noodles… Ah, so Midoriya did have soba noodles. Hm… "Is soba okay for lunch?"
"Ooh I haven't had that in a while," Midoriya said. "That sounds great, Todoroki! Thank you!"
"Mmn," Shouto hummed, grabbing the necessary ingredients. He only knew the simplest way to make them, so he hoped Midoriya would like it. He suddenly felt self-conscious about it all, his hands fidgeting as he tried to formulate a plan. He cleared his throat again and looked up at Midoriya. "So, besides hosting parties… What do you normally do on your days off?"
"Well… before we were kicked out, I happened to grab some more files on the case," Midoriya said, lifting them up to wave at Shouto.
Shouto's eyes widened, pausing in his cooking. "How did you get those?"
Midoriya smiled and walked over to their large dining room table, plopping down and resting the files on top. He smiled and leaned on his hand.
"I snagged them from Kacchan."
Shouto almost dropped all of the dried soba noodles onto the floor. He turned his head away from Midoriya and focused on the water on the stove, trying not to let his emotions show.
"He gave them to you?" Shouto asked, jaw tight.
"Yeah! Or, rather, he's letting me borrow them," Midoriya explained. "I was surprised he lent them to me, actually. It was probably out of pity."
Shouto stirred in the noodles once the water was boiling. "I'm guessing you two are close."
"Ah, we grew up together."
Shouto could've fallen through the floor right there. Of course, they were good friends. And here Shouto was, just a partner at work. Not even a friend.
"Well. I guess that was nice of him," Shouto said, and Midoriya hummed.
"I guess," Midoriya said with a shrug. "There's not much here, but we can at least try to compile everything."
Shouto took a deep breath and decided to ignore the knot in his chest. "Okay."
"Oh! And after lunch, we can watch something!" Midoriya said. "There's this new anime that just came out but I haven't been able to watch any of it because of work and hospital visits. So now that I've got free time, maybe we can watch a few episodes?"
Shouto turned around from the stove to look at Midoriya, his chest fluttering wildly. He noted the sparkles in Midoriya's green eyes, the excitement making his body buzz. He was practically a kid.
The knot in Shouto's chest loosened just a fraction.
"Yeah. That sounds good."
After eating, going over notes, and binging almost eight episodes of the anime Midoriya suggested, Shouto felt himself finally relax.
It was the first time in years that Shouto's been able to take his mind off of work, and it was all thanks to Midoriya. It was amazing how easily Shouto could let himself lean into the couch cushions, pressed up against Midoriya's side, and watch TV for nearly 5 hours.
His mother had always told him that taking a break every so often was good for the soul. Shouto couldn't really find anything he liked to do, so he just did what came naturally—work.
But, on this Thursday afternoon, Shouto found himself dozing on a couch while Midoriya cooked dinner, and he had never felt more at peace. It was something he could get used to.
After an unintentional nap, Shouto pushed himself up from Midoriya's comfy couch and made his way over to the kitchen, rubbing the scar over his left eye. Midoriya looked up from his chopping and smiled at him.
"Ah, good evening! I hope I didn't wake you," Midoriya apologized.
Shouto shook his head. "It's fine. Can I help?"
Midoriya's smile turned a bit sheepish as both he and Shouto eyed the uneven slices of carrots on the cutting board.
"Maybe cutting vegetables with one hand isn't a good idea," Midoriya said.
Shouto gestured for him to hand over the knife. "I'll do it."
Midoriya handed it over easily and turned back to the giant pot on the stove. He added some other ingredients to the already bubbling concoction.
"What are we having?" Shouto asked as he gingerly chopped up another carrot.
"Ah, a stew!" Midoriya said. "It's really easy to make and tasty over rice."
"That's a pretty western dish, isn't it?" Shouto asked.
Midoriya smiled and nodded. "My stepdad worked in America for a while, so he ended up bringing back a lot of different recipes for my mom to make."
"I see," Shouto said. He glanced around the loft and then swallowed his bitterness to prepare himself for his next question. "Do Kirishima and Bakugou like it?"
"Hm… I think so," Midoriya said. "But they put me on dinner duty tonight, so it's not their choice!"
Shouto smiled and nodded, returning to the veggies on the cutting board.
It was quiet for a moment, the only sounds of chopping and sizzling filling the room as the clock ticked noisily on the kitchen wall.
"That's odd…" Midoriya said, something strained in his voice. "Kacchan and Kirishima should've gotten off their shifts an hour ago."
Shouto peered up at the clock, seeing that it was close to seven in the evening.
His first thought was a little relief. He would get to spend more time with Midoriya without Bakugou interrupting with his loud mouth.
But as he looked over to Midoriya, he could see the concern on his friend's face. He swallowed down his pride and pettiness, forcing his tight jaw to move in order to give Midoriya some comfort.
"Maybe they're getting a drink?" Shouto offered.
Midoriya shook his head. "Kacchan doesn't drink."
Shouto frowned, pondering it for a moment. "Then… perhaps they found something new in the case? Or they were called to an emergency?" he suggested. "Sometimes things get out of hand and other officers need backup."
Midoriya hesitated, obviously not appeased, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah. You're probably right."
Shouto's stomach suddenly squirmed as he turned back to finish the last carrot. That bitterness he had felt from earlier had soured into a deeper, cutting feeling. Something didn't feel quite right.
"Well… the rice is done," Midoriya said after a few moments. "Should we go ahead and eat?"
Shouto tried to smile and he nodded, giving Midoriya a plate. He helped Midoriya make up his plate and they sat down at the dining room table quietly.
"Let's eat!" Midoriya said, trying to be cheerful.
Shouto nodded once. "Sounds good."
They dug into their meals heartily, and Shouto melted at the taste. It was amazing and it was somewhat familiar…
"Eat up, Shouto! I'm sure you're tired from training all day."
Shouto swallowed down the food past the lump his throat, his eyes tearing up a bit. How long had it been since he tasted his mother's cooking?
"Todoroki? You okay?" Midoriya asked, pulling Shouto back to reality.
He looked at his partner across the table, seeing the concern in his eyes, and he nodded at him. "Yeah. I'm fine."
They ate in relative silence, chatting amicably about dumb things that Shouto's never had the privilege to talk about. It was always silent at his Father's dinner table, and when he spoke, everyone would be respectful and would listen to what he had to say.
But not with Midoriya. He was kind, and inviting, and… and so, so much like Shouto's mother.
"Well, we've still got an episode or two left. Wanna finish watching?" Midoriya asked once they've finished.
Shouto nodded, feeling excited about it—excited? When did he ever get excited about something?
After cleaning up the kitchen, they both plopped down on the couch, Midoriya's knee gently bonking against Shouto's, and Midoriya grabbed the remote to set up the next episode.
It was amazing what one conversation and a near-death experience does to a friendship. Shouto wanted more. He wanted to have more of this.
It was almost unsettling. Was he allowed to feel this happy?
Midoriya was about to press play when the front door to the loft burst open.
"Midoriya! Midoriya, you here?!"
Shouto and Midoriya jumped at the sound and snapped their heads to the door, seeing a frazzled-looking Kirishima walk in. He was still in his uniform, his limbs shaking and his eyes wet with tears.
"Kirishima?" Midoriya called. He hopped up from the couch and made his way to his roommate's side. "Hey, what's wrong? What's going on?"
"Bakugou," Kirishima said, grabbing ahold of Midoriya's shoulders. "Please tell me he's been here."
"Kacchan?" Midoriya echoed.
By this point, Shouto had hurried over to both of them, looking between Midoriya and Kirishima.
"He hasn't been here all day," Midoriya said. He gave a brief look of concern to Shouto and then back to Kirishima. "I thought he's been with you this whole time."
"H-He was, but he said he had to go look into something and that we'd meet up later," Kirishima said, his chest starting to stutter from sobs wracking his body. "I haven't seen him for hours! And no one can get in contact with him!"
Midoriya and Shouto both jumped, their breaths hitching. They glanced at each other with furrowed brows.
"You don't think…" Midoriya asked, his lip trembling.
Shouto shook his head, unsure of what to say. "I… Midoriya, I—"
Suddenly, Shouto's phone rang, cutting off his sentence. He shoved his hand into his pocket and yanked it out, seeing Aizawa's name flashing on the screen. He quickly answered.
"Lieutenant Aizawa?" Shouto answered.
"I know I told you not to come in for another week," Aizawa said. "But I think you and the problem child should come down to the station. Now."
"What's going on?" Shouto asked, looking over to see two sets of worried eyes staring back at him.
Aizawa sighed on the other line.
"Bakugou is missing," Aizawa said. "And we believe the fire serial killer has him.
