Izuku Midoriya sat down at the small table, eager for the upcoming meal. It was a monthly tradition for the group to eat at his mother's bar. Usually, Izuku wound up footing the bill, but he didn't mind. He adored his mother's recipes and would gladly pay double what was owed for a taste of home cooking again.
"Should I even bother with menus?" Mina, one of his mother's girls, came over to the table, her golden eyes shining with mischief.
"I'm good, thanks. I'd just like to hear the meals of the day," Midoriya grinned, glancing at the others. His fingers drummed on the table.
Uraraka shook her head. "I already know what I want! I could die for some of your mom's mac-and-cheese right now!" She smiled happily, her eyes closing in bliss.
"You get that every time," Bakugou grumbled, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, like you aren't going to get the lasagna," Uraraka pointed out, smirking.
Bakugou looked away. "Auntie's lasagna is the best," he conceded after a moment, and Uraraka crowed at him.
"Please, settle down. We don't want to cause any ruckus in this fine establishment," Iida chided, pushing his glasses up his nose. He turned to Mina. "I'd like a menu, please."
Mina sighed, shaking her head good-naturedly. "One menu, coming up." She swept back into the kitchen.
"Why is Raccoon Eyes taking our order instead of Auntie, anyways?" Bakugou questioned, his red eyes on Midoriya.
"She told me she was going to be busy today. She didn't say what she'd be doing," Midoriya shrugged. His mother was a very kind, yet mysterious woman, even to him. The "brothel" she ran under disguise as an average bar in Central City was actually a front for gathering intelligence for elusive customers. Only a handful of people knew the true business underfoot, and most of them were inhabiting the bar currently. Still, Midoriya was clueless to who most of her customers were and what she did when she wasn't running the bar. He worried about her incessantly, but she always insisted she could take care of herself.
He felt Uraraka's questioning eyes on him, but he ignored her look to turn back to Mina, who was quickly returning to the table.
Mina thrusted a flimsy menu into Iida's hands before switching her gaze to Midoriya, putting a hand on her popped hip.
"How 'ya been, anyways? You haven't been around lately, and the girls have noticed," Mina raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her face.
Midoriya smiled, a small blush on his face. "I've been busy with work. Trying to get that promotion."
"It seems like 'ya always trying for a promotion. Will you ever be satisfied?" Mina teased as she placed forks down on the sticky table. Midoriya saw Iida frown and wipe his fork discreetly on his coat, and he had to stifle a chuckle.
"Not until he is Fuhrer," Uraraka piped up, a hint of pride in her tone.
Mina rolled her eyes, very familiar with the sentiment Uraraka expressed. "Yeah, yeah, he will be Fuhrer when I become the… Queen of Drachma!"
"Finally, peace between our two countries," Midoriya joked, and Mina chortled.
"Alright, so the meals of the day are the baked fish, the shepherd's pie, and the potato soup…"
As she chatted on, Midoriya smiled fondly. He remembered that potato soup well. His mother would always make it for Kacchan and him on the cold, blistering days of winter in the East. The young boys would come inside from a snowball fight, and Inko would gently scold them for tracking in clumps of snow on the newly cleaned wooden floors. They would toss their coats and mittens haphazardly by the roaring hearth and run to the table, their rumbling stomachs calling for food. Then, Inko would dole out large ladles of steaming soup into their mugs along with a large slice of crusty bread, and Midoriya would cry out as he burned his tongue on the hot food every time. Kacchan would be too invested in his own bowl to make fun of his friend. After their bellies were full of creamy potato soup, they would fall asleep on the rug in front of the fire.
Midoriya's smile grew rueful. Why couldn't things be as simple as they were back then? Before Midoriya's father left (that rat bastard) and his and Kacchan's relationship grew icy… before Midoriya even knew what electricity alchemy was… everything seemed alright.
He chanced a look at Bakugou, wondering if he, too, went down memory lane at the mention of their beloved soup. Bakugou seemed unfazed as he snarked something to Iida. Midoriya sighed wistfully and looked up to meet Uraraka's worried gaze. She tilted her head, and Midoriya shook his head. Her expression seemed neutral, but her mouth turned down into a very slight frown.
Midoriya turned back to Mina, who was waiting for his order.
"So? What'll it be, Izuku?"
"I'll have the soup."
Even though those days were long gone… and even though Bakugou always claimed he was only in his division because he wanted to keep an eye on him as competition for Fuhrer, Midoriya knew he had in him a trustworthy and capable companion. One doesn't go through learning alchemy, the Ishvalan War, and trying to overthrow the current Fuhrer together and come out with the same relationship on the other side, he mused.
Now, he just had to keep moving forward. First, he would achieve Colonel. Then, Brigadier General. Eventually, he and his team would rise up, reveal the injustices of their current system, and implement a democracy.
He looked down at his freshly-delivered potato soup and then at his friends, all digging into their own meals.
They would certainly be victorious. They just had to take it one day at a time, one soup at a time.