Time to work

Jiro twirled the loose ends of her sweater, humming silently to herself. It wasn't a sweet, melodic tune that most people preferred to hum. No, it was the melody of a pop song, a dance one in particular. Normally Jiro wasn't a big fan of that kind of music…but it was the song that he danced with her.

When the realization hit her she slapped her cheeks. Oh no, not me too…

"Jiro? Jiro!" Jiro gasped, slamming her locker shut to spun around and find Ochaco standing there. She blinked at her, confused and looking worried. "Are you alright? I just called your name five times now!" Jiro felt her face getting heated. Oh no. This was bad.

"I-ah, I'm fine!" Her hands moved so quickly to try and gather her things. "Just- you know, thinking about stuff?" The question mark behind her own statement made it that much less believable. Uraraka raised one eyebrow, obviously skeptical. Jiro sighed, banging her forehead against the lockers. A few of their coworkers gave her odd looks like she was crazy, and to be honest, Jiro wasn't so sure she could convince them that they were wrong. "My mind has just been…preoccupied lately."

"With what?" Ochaco asked innocently. Jiro groaned, wishing she didn't have to say it out loud.

"…There's this guy…."

"WHAT? Really?" It was Ochaco's turn to get started at like she was going insane while Jiro did all she could to hush her. "Really?" Uraraka whispered, the concern in her voice replaced with excitement. Jiro was sure that her cheeks were bright red.

Jiro earnestly did all she could to calm her friend down. "Sh, sh! Don't get ahead of yourself, it's really nothing like that right now!" Uraraka calmed down, but there was so much excitement in her face that Jiro knew she had to give an explanation now. "O-Okay, so…I met this guy at the music shop a while ago. He and I started talking, and it was really easy to talk to him, you know? I usually don't like talking to strangers but he was so…easy to talk to."

"A while ago?" Uraraka interrupted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"B-Because I didn't know if there was anything to say!" Jiro whispered. "Just-let me finish the whole story. We were talking, and I offered to show him some good bands if we were able to meet up again- stop smiling- and he agreed. Since then we've been meeting, er, almost every day now. Just last night he wanted to try a karaoke bar and I got the song stuck in my head. But…yeah, t-things have been going pretty good." Jiro couldn't help but smile and turn a little red at the memories. They were just innocent hangouts, walking around town and going to her apartment to play video games but...It was the most fun she'd had in a long time.

"I thought you seemed a bit lighter on your feet lately!" Uraraka squealed. "Jiro! That's so sweet!" Her friend rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, getting all flustered like only Jiro could. "Do you think he likes you? I mean, you're just hanging out right now, right? Not dating yet?"

"Yeah. I mean, he's a little strange to be honest. I like him, but I don't know if it's a good idea to date him right now." Uraraka tilted her head to the unspoken question, 'strange how?' "I don't know…I mean, he didn't give me his number, and we always go to my house to hang out." Jiro's happiness faded as she thought about that. "He's a pretty open guy but he doesn't tell me a lot…" Jiro suddenly went pale. "Oh gosh, you don't think he's married do you?"

"No! No, Jiro, there is no way!" Uraraka quickly shut that idea down. "There must be other reasons he'd do stuff like that. You've only known him for a bit, maybe that's just part of his personality. M-Maybe he doesn't have a phone." Jiro seemed to muse over it a bit, but Uraraka could see in her eyes that it wasn't the first time the question had come to her. They had known a few awkward people in their lives but most of the time they could figure out reasons to why they were awkward. Like their friend Aoyama who worked at their favourite theatre, was pretty awkward because he didn't understand people well. Sometimes Jiro was awkward because she was so focused in her own thoughts she didn't really think about what she was doing until afterwards.

"I know, but…He is a little weird sometimes." Jiro sighed. She'd tried to ignore it, but once she was being asked, all the things she had tried to ignore came rushing back. "He asks the most obvious questions ever. Like, one time we were crossing the street and he asked me what the traffic lights are for."

Uraraka laughed incredulously, leaning against the lockers behind her. "Ha! That's weird!"

"Yeah! And once we went to grab coffee he was staring at the coffee machine like he wanted to take it apart and scrap it for parts or something!"

"Wow!" Uraraka laughed. "That…that sounds familiar…"

"Or this one time," Jiro joked, "We were walking by a park. He started getting so excited about the kids, calling them 'little humans' and all that. And it wasn't just them, he calls everyone 'humans.' Even me!" she laughed, able to relax more now that she'd been able to get it all out. It was good to have people she was able to just talk to things about! What she didn't realize was that while Jiro was now relaxed, Uraraka had frozen with an odd realization.

"…Bakugou."

"Huh?"

"Bakugou," Uraraka repeated. "That sounds exactly like Bakugou."

"What, really?"

"Yeah! He still asks me 'what a president is' and calls Midoriya 'that weak human' under his breath. I mean, your friend sounds like he's a lot friendlier, but those quirks sound exactly like the stuff that Bakugou does. All the time!"

"Huh." Jiro paused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "You know, Kirishima did mention that he came here traveling with a few friends of his. Maybe he and Bakugou are from the same place?" Uraraka had considered more than once that Bakugou was from a different country. But she'd never been able to get him to say yes or no to that. He always just said. 'I'm here now. What does it matter where I used to be?'

"Maybe, but that's got to be a strange place. Little humans?"

"Mm…Yeah, I guess so." Both women paused, puzzled over the two strange men in their lives.

Finally when their thoughts brought them nowhere, Uraraka turned the situation around with a big smile. "Either way, I'm so happy for you Jiro! I hope everything works out."

Jiro laughed, cheeks red once again. "Y-yeah thanks."

"Oh! If things go well with you, I can host a get-together at my house. He can meet everyone there!" After a pause she added, "Or if you want, just bring him over to meet me and Bakugou. If they really are from the same country, I'm sure Bakugou would love to meet him."

"Sounds good. I'll mention it to Kirishima. He seems like a friendly guy so…it might be good for me to prove that I have more friends other than just Kaminari and Momo." Momo had run into them one time when she was walking out of a bookstore and insisted by sending 20 odd texts to hear the whole story. Kaminari had resulted in the worst time they spent together. He and the Tetsu guy had come over, uninvited, to play video games with her when she had been hanging out with Kirishima. Tetsu ended up taking all of Kirishima's attention while Kaminai kept wiggling his eyebrows at her playfully. Then, afterwards, when Kaminari and Tetsu left, Jiro had to hide her phone from Kirishima when Kaminari sent a million texts asking who Kirishima was. What was worse Kirishima seemed to not know what a phone was and got super curious every time it lit up.

The two girls laughed, chatting away as they headed to the door. But when they did, Jiro realized Uraraka hadn't changed out of her uniform. "What's up? Aren't you done for the day?"

It was Uraraka's turn for her happiness to fade. "Ah, no, unfortunately I need to take some extra shifts." Immediately Jiro sobered.

Ochaco sighed. She'd lost her job at the bar a few days ago now, and the reminder had been weighing on her ever since. She needed to get another job soon, before the next deadline. If it took her any longer, she wouldn't be able to pay off in time. Luckily when she heard the situation, thirteen had been able to help Uraraka get a few extra shifts in the firehouse, but they weren't enough to pay off what was needed. Because of that, every spare minute Uraraka had was spent with her rushing around town trying to find a job. She hated it. Chasing want ads, getting ready for interviews, having to find an explanation as to why she had quit her last job…'well sir, my friend who I really don't know that well who is staying with me decided to beat up this drunk who had been bothering me and I helped, which caused a lot of damage to the bar. So, when do I start?'

She opted for instead saying that the bar was too far from her house.

"Oh man," Jiro frowned, remembering the story Uraraka had told her and Momo when they had come to visit. "I'm sorry. That's really…is there anything I can do?" Ochaco shrugged, the weight of the problem still burdening her thoughts. "I…I know you don't want to do it, but I'm sure that Yaoyorozu or Midoriya would be willing to loan you some money. They both have high paying jobs but they don't use a lot of the money, and since it's a time thing they both trust you enough to know you'll pay them back when you can." Uraraka nodded, but it was an option she didn't want to take. Yes she had considered it a…number of times. But she didn't want to become the person who relied on her friends for her wellbeing. Yet, sometimes it was necessary, but she didn't want it to get to that point.

"Thanks, but I really don't want it to come to that point. I'll…keep it in mind though. Thanks." Jiro smiled, but when Uraraka smiled back, they both knew it was fake

…

The metal bin full of old containers and papers was kicked to the ground without a care in the wold. Bakugou grumbled at the damage that he hoped would resolve some of his anger, but all it did was make the tension in his shoulders rise. He wanted to fight something. Or better yet, he wanted the source of his anger to go away.

Which, in a way, meant that the source actually had to be closer. For the past few human days Uraraka had barely spent any time at the house. In the morning she was always rushing out to that job she still had to do but in the afternoon she didn't get back till late, usually carrying papers that held facts about her and wearing clothes with bolder colours and harsher fabrics than the ones she normally wore. She would mumble stuff about job searching when Bakugou yelled at her, then barely managed to eat food before she fell asleep. He hadn't even told her about that annoying human's visit. He'd hoped that not knowing about it would calm her down. But still, every day she was working even harder than she had before.

Bakugou scowled. If she didn't have to go to that stupid 'bar' place anymore, didn't that mean she should be at her house more often? How come she was away even more now?

Since confronting her at the house didn't seem to be an option, Bakugou decided he'd find her in the city and confront her there. Despite taking a few walks through the city to see if he could catch her scent or hear her voice, there was no sign of her. He'd never been to the second place where she worked, so he had no idea how to look. While giving the metal can another kick before strolling away from it, Bakugou wondered if his day could get any worse.

"Bakugou!"

Of course it could.

There was no hiding the snarl behind Bakugou's face when the most annoying human in the entire world rushed over to him. "Ah, hi! I just saw you and thought I'd see how you were doing." Midoriya, or the weakling human as Bakugou liked to call him, smiled all friendly and such. "It's been a while. Everything going okay at the house?"

"That's none of your f##$$%g business Deku!" Bakugou snarled back. Midoriya blinked, not sure what Deku meant. Bakugou knew that if earth was connected to other planets then they would recognize it as a word for useless beings. But Midoriya remained blissfully ignorant. "What do you care to hear about what's going on in Uraraka and my life?"

"Well, she's my best friend for one thing," Midoriya responded. "And you're the person living with her." After taking a few cautious steps back Midoriya asked, "I hear she's been having trouble with money lately…" he sighed and looked down at the sidewalk. "I know she lost her job recently." A stab of something Bakugou couldn't recognize as guilt went through his heart. "She says she's okay, but I know that house means a lot to her. If she can't keep it for some reason…" He shook his head. "If it gets really bad, I hope she knows that she can come to me. I want to help her…"

He did not notice Bakugou's face filling with rage. His tail twitched, and he barely restrained himself from letting it reach out and stab the human in the chest. In part, Bakugou wasn't even sure WHY he hated him so much. There was just something about him that was…off. But the man was obviously 100% human. There was no question of that. But whenever the man was around Bakugou's nerves stood on end. And he hated that.

Bakugou already hated the fact that this human was opening up to him. Now, for some reason beyond his understanding, the human thought he was able to look after his human? Like that weakling even had the right to claim that he could take care of her? As if Bakugou couldn't keep watch over his own guard? The nerve of this weak little… "Oi, I can take care of her just fine!" Bakugou growled at him. Midoriya blinked up at him, surprised and confused altogether.

"Really? How?" When Bakugou said nothing Midoriya offered, "I'm sure she'd feel a lot better if she could find a way to pay for the house..."

"I can do that," Bakugou insisted.

"That would be great!" Midoriya exclaimed, smiling at the idea. Bakugou snarled. He hadn't wanted to make HIM smile. "I'm sure, if anyone, she'd be most comfortable with you helping her. Since you are living there anyway…" Midoriya started mumbling again, another trait that Bakugou decided he hated. "But…You don't have a job do you? I mean, Uraraka said you usually work on that ship at home." It infuriated Bakugou that Uraraka apparently told the weakling about his project. "Hey, I could help you get a job!" Midoriya sent Bakugou a smile that made him want to punch him. "I know just the place!"

….

"You're joking."

"Nope!"

"Midoriya," Todoroki hissed. "This is…not even possible."

Bakugou just wanted to know when it was okay to punch both of them in the face.

Midoriya had brought Bakugou to a large building swarming with many people wearing similar blue uniforms with gold badges. They'd run into the annoying Todoroki human and another female with hair sticking out from the back of her head. She had introduced herself as Yaoyorozu, but Bakugou didn't bother trying to remember the name. At the moment, Todoroki and Midoriya seemed to be engaged in a heated debate. "What exactly do you think you're going to do? He can't work as an officer!" Officer? No way was Bakugou becoming some kind of human cop.

"I know that!" Midoriya insisted. "But right now all we know about Bakugou is that he's really strong. He could easily work as a guard or security, maybe even as a first responder to dangerous situations." Bakugou didn't really understand what that meant, but working in dangerous situations was up Bakugou's alley. Another way to see what human's considered dangerous before he conquered them. To Bakugou Midoriya said, "That way you can get money to help Uraraka keep the house."

Yaoyorozu's eyes widened. She'd heard about the issue with Uraraka losing her job…But Bakugou was going to help? In secret? The thought made her wonder if Uraraka had been lying when she said Bakugou didn't know what sweet meant. Todoroki on the other hand stiffened, turning to stare at Bakugou in surprise. Was he serious? That was what…Bakugou on the other hand, turned to give Midoriya an odd look. "What's money?"

Bakugou didn't notice that unlike Uraraka, Midoriya showed no confusion at Bakugou's strange questions. "That's money, our currency. It can be used in exchange for goods and services. I'll make sure that they give it to you in cash so that you can spend it whenever you want." If it was what she needed to keep the house, then that was fine. Not bothering to explain to Momo, Midoriya headed towards the desk. "Wait here Bakugou. I know one of the agents here. I'll go talk to him, see what I can do." With a smile, Midoriya headed off, leaving Momo, Bakugou and Todoroki staring after him.

Well, only for a moment. "I'll be right back," Todoroki told Momo before hurrying after Midoriya. So then it was Momo and Bakugou left alone.

Momo awkwardly glanced up at Bakugou who glared after the two with clear annoyance on his face. "So…You are helping Uraraka keep her house?" Bakugou huffed, refusing to acknowledge her any more than that. "I'm sure she'll be very happy with that," Momo tried to assure him. "Especially since she's said you two have been having problems…"

"Eh?" Bakugou snarled at the human. "What's that supposed to mean?" Momo's hands immediately flew to her lips, only then realizing that perhaps it was something she shouldn't talk about. It was easy for her to keep track of legal secrets she needed to keep, but social secrets she mixed up often.

"J-Just that, well…Jiro told me about how you and Uraraka were…struggling with communication." That was the nicest way Yaoyorozu could put the fact that Bakugou had destroyed a memorable artifact without even asking Uraraka. "I know Uraraka didn't know what to do at first…but she hasn't said anything about that in a long time! I'm sure it was just nervousness with a new situation!" Bakugou said nothing. If he'd had this conversation with a human when their argument occurred, he wouldn't have raised an eyebrow. But at the moment, Bakugou felt his heart get heavy at the idea. His human was bothered by him? Why? He was greater than any human who could possibly be in her life! She ought to be thanking him for gracing her with his presence! But in reality…she was bothered? Fear, he was fine with before. Anger, he could have dealt with once. But now, just the idea that he was bothering her seemed to shake him to his core.

When Bakugou said nothing, Momo wondered if she should speak up. "Um…" She started, catching his attention again. He'd forgotten she was there. "You two aren't dating, are you?"

Bakugou blinked in confusion. "What's that mean?"

Momo recoiled, surprised. She'd been to many different countries, but in none of them did people not recognize what dating meant! Even if their culture did not participate in it, they usually understood it. "Dating? Romantically involved? Lovers?"

"Eh? Of course not. Why would I want that?" Uraraka could barely keep a house, how useful would she be in taking over the planet? From his definition of lovers being the contract between two people in order to gain strength, the idea of having a human lover seemed ridiculous. Sure, Uraraka seemed to be more powerful than a majority of humans, but that would do him nothing in universal conquest. Besides, she was…just a guide.

"Well if you like her,"

"What does like have to do with it?" Bakugou interrupted, visibly confused.

"How can you be lovers if you don't love one another?" Momo asked. The question caught him completely off-guard. Mostly because he had no idea what the connection between the two was.

"…What?"

"Like her. Don't you know what being lovers mean?" Bakugou said nothing. Momo didn't want to assume that he really didn't know, but it seemed like there was no other option. Maybe it was a language difference and he was simply confusing the word. "It means that you are in a romantic relationship with someone you are in love with." Someone you love? Bakugou remembered Uraraka explaining what being in was like. He had yet to understand how it made someone strong. But connecting the two terms made sense…Though it made even less sense why the previous human had been in love with the green-haired human then.

"Well, if you aren't lovers, then it's fine," Momo assured him. "I-I was just thinking that…well, if you were interested in her, that you were trying to do something nice to her so that she may like you." Oh. So this strategy would not only get her to stay at the house more often but also make her like him? Perfect.

Over at the police desk, Tokoyami had been extremely hesitant with Midoriya's request. "You do realize it takes years of schooling before someone can become a police officer, right?"

"I know," Midoriya nodded. "I'm not asking to make him a specific police officer. Just give him a job watching prisoners, taking some in, maybe those security jobs that people are called to for celebrities and politicians. He's strong enough to do it, and I think it would be beneficial for you guys." Tokoyami, again, was very hesitant. Not only was he especially suspicious of the man in general because of the case around the apartment building and people recognizing him around town, but because according to all the places he has looked, Bakugou didn't exist up to a few weeks ago.

However, Tokoyami owed Midoriya a huge favour when he was able to bring in the best detectives from around the world to help their city deal with a suspicious case in downtown and was able to get their town's police force a number of the latest gadgets and technology. He did not trust Bakugou, but he did trust Midoriya. They had only worked on a few cases together when Midoriya was still training, but he knew the man only acted when he was sure it was for the best. If this was the favour he wanted… "We don't have any of his files," Tokoyami told them skeptically.

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Midoriya insisted. "I'll bring them over."

Tokoyami frowned. "Why do you have them?"

"I don't. But, ah, Uraraka mentioned that she thought Bakugou may be international. If all his files and such were lost in the explosion, I can recover them at my work." Todoroki scowled, turning away from them in obvious frustration. Tokoyami raised an eyebrow, but Midoriya didn't pay attention.

"..That doesn't explain why we can't find any records of him on the computer," Tokoyami said.

"Old system?" Midoriya suggested. "Probably just a fluke. I was able to find stuff on him when I searched for him back at the station."

"Oh?" Tokoyami raised both eyebrows. Midoriya was a top member of national security. Of course he would have Bakugou's files. The situations around the stranger still nagged at Tokoyami though…"Could you send me those files? We can't find any of them, not even the apartment he used to live in. With the case…"

"Don't worry about that," Midoriya insisted. "I found those files long ago. He's rather unfriendly, but nothing suspicious about him. People probably didn't see him at the apartment because he stayed in his room all the time. His files should clear that all up in no time!" Midoriya's smile was as bright as the sun. But Tokoyami, a officer who had been working with the force for some time now, was able to see through the brightness. Midoriya was a kind soul who stood for justice and doing the right thing.

However, he was a terrible liar.

"Midoriya, may I speak to you for a second."

"Alright. But Tokoyami, about that…"

"I'll see if I can find something for him. Perhaps he can be a security guard for prisoners until we can get him some proper training." As Todoroki dragged him away, Tokoyami puzzled to himself. He didn't believe Midoriya. He knew he was hiding something. Was Bakugou under some kind of protective services situation? A witness to a case? Either way, it didn't clear the man's odd behaviour around town and his relation to the case. Sure, he'd find him a job at the police office.

It would give him the perfect opportunity to learn more about him.

Todoroki dragged Midoriya over to an unoccupied room and slammed the door behind him. Once he was sure they were not being eavesdropped on, Todoroki turned on him with an anger that few had seen in him. "Midoriya. This is a bad idea."

"What?" Midoriya countered, showing a confidence very few saw him with. "Trying to help the man living with my best friend? Indirectly helping her?" Todoroki hissed. How could he possibly explain the whole story to someone like Midoriya?

"Look at Bakugou. Does he look like someone who is really interested in helping Uraraka?"

"We can't always think like that," Midoriya insisted. "He may be good. You heard him, he doesn't even know what money is. All he wants to do is help Uraraka."

"Why? Why would he want to help her so suddenly?" Todoroki shook his head, frustrated that Midoriya wasn't seeing the bigger picture. "Midoriya, I'm a detective. I've seen cases like this where the unsub will do nice things for their victims before taking advantage of them when their guard is down. This could just be that step. And considering that Bakugou was found in the wreckage of an exploding building, I'd say that his trustworthiness is questionable." Midoriya said nothing. Todoroki wished he could read his smaller, green-haired friends mind to see what he was thinking. "…Midoriya, the man is dangerous. It is clear from the destruction he caused that the lives of others is clearly not on his mind."

"The destruction that he caused?" Midoriya interrupted. "So he's a terrorist now?" Todoroki said nothing. Midoriya took a step closer, trying to appear comforting to his friend. "Todoroki, I'm a member of National Security. You know what that means. I deal with terrorists and threats to the world all the time. I'll admit, Bakugou isn't trustworthy. But if we don't give him a chance, then what will happen? We'll be right. I'd rather be wrong in this situation. Maybe he really does care for her. If that's so, then I'd rather do what it takes to keep it that way than give Bakugou a reason to become what we are worried about."

"…Midoriya…"

Abruptly, Todoroki stopped. For a moment, Midoriya was confused. Then, a few seconds later, Midoriya understood. A few seconds after that, there was a knock on the door. Todoroki opened it slowly to see Tokoyami standing in the doorway, holding a few papers. "I was able to get Bakugou a position as a guard to our prisons. If you can get him to sign the documents and get his files in order, He can start working in two days."

Midoriya brightened. "Perfect! I'll go do that now!" Ignoring Todoroki's obvious glare, Midoriya slipped past him, thanking Tokoyami as he did. Midoriya returned to the area he had left Momo and Katsuki in, finding them deep in conversation. They both looked up at Midoriya's approach, though Bakugou's instantly soured when he saw who it was. Well, hopefully after he heard what news Midoriya had, that sour expression would go away.

Todoroki slowly followed, finding Bakugou and Midoriya deep in discussion. The half red-half white haired man narrowed his eyes at Bakugou, watching his reactions carefully. Todoroki had been taken off-guard when he found out why Bakugou wanted a job. The deep red eyes that Bakugou wore said he hadn't come just to play nice in Uraraka's home. He'd hoped she would listen to his warnings and kick Bakugou out. But now Bakugou was getting a job to help her? Had Todoroki been wrong about…No. No, Todoroki was sure…

"Todoroki?" Todoroki looked down at Momo, her face innocent and caring. It was enough to cool the fire in his system, if only a bit. "Are you alright?"

"…I'll be fine."

(Yeah, for any kids who haven't got jobs yet that are reading this, getting a job usually doesn't work out this way. Stay in school everybody).

So to anyone who is wondering, Jiro and Kirishima is a guilty pleasure ship of mine. I know it's not going to happen but I think its cute. I'm not a big fan of Kaminari and Jiro (Since apparently I am incapable of like the majority of ships I'm actually supposed to ship) but have nothing against it. Also the Tetsu-Tetsu Kaminari ship was one I saw on Tumblr and thought it could be funny, so I just threw it in. We'll see if I actually end up doing anything with them.