Whenever Tenya Iida asked his Tensei about how being a professional hero was like; he expected his older brother to weave grand tales about fighting while on the brink of death and saving people who were seconds away from dying.
Instead, Tensei almost always smiled and ruffled his hair before telling him to prepare for a lot of paperwork. Tenya always figured that his older brother was messing with him since a pro heroes always brag about their exploits.
Now that Tenya was old enough to take up the Ingenium mantle, he understood that Tensei's advice was true. There was indeed a hell of a lot of paperwork involved when it came to hero work. Tenya figured that being the class president back when he was in UA would help him prepare for the more "boring side" of being a hero.
He was wrong.
He thought the paperwork class representatives needed to complete alongside their usual work as students was tiring but being a pro hero proved to be nearly ten times more overwhelming. Tenya even texted his fellow class rep because at one point, he thought he just wasn't up to the task.
Tenya: Is the paperwork troubling you too?
Momo: Yes. All of it is staggering!
Tenya: I don't know whether to be relieved or mortified. If you said it wasn't that bad, then I would have chalked it up to having inefficient practices.
Momo: I feel the same way. Hero work really is tiring.
Knowing that one of the smartest colleague he had the pleasure of knowing was also bogged by paperwork did comfort him, but it didn't make the task any less difficult. It came to the point where Tenya had to do his paperwork outside the Idaten office so he could get a change of scenery before he went crazy.
Even though Tenya thought he defied most traits and habits that people with speed enhancing quirks often fell into; he always tried to think before he acted even when if it was a life or death situation, but even he couldn't stay in one place for too long.
Every Friday after his shift was over, Tenya brought any surplus paperwork to an out-of-the-way restaurant to get some peace and quiet. The Hidden Lotus was a type of establishment that began popping up around the same time he graduated - It was a place that wasn't advertised at all to the masses and provided an oasis of privacy for pro heroes. An idea like that would have been crazy to heroes of the past who vied to get as much attention as possible to move up the ranks but things were different now that he was a pro.
Heroes weren't undermining each other to top the popularity polls nor was the public shouldering all the burden on the number one hero. Things were better.
Tenya was a creature of habit and the Hidden Lotus was the place to complete the week's paperwork. He was thankful that the establishment didn't mind heroes coming into the place with their costumes on. His armor was useful for battle, but it was a pain to put on and take off.
Although Tenya was familiar enough with the people out in front; enough to know her name and that she makes quite a pretty penny to keep her lips sealed about what goes on in the restaurant. He always greeted her warmly but when it was the end of the week, he kept the small talk to the minimum
"The katsu was excellent tonight, Ms. Kageyama" Tenya complimented "My respect to the chef"
"Oh please, I'm only like one or two years older than you max! Just call me Namie!" she giggled back "I'm surprised someone as wealthy as you have such…normal tastes. The same goes for Creati whenever she stops by!"
Namie Kageyama was the owner of the Hidden Lotus. She used to work in the hero commission and used those connections to introduce the concept of "safe haven establishments" for heroes to relax outside the public eye. The fact that she started working for the government when the winds of change blew in hero society gave her an advantage. She wasn't much older than the new generation of heroes and often acted like an older sister to her patrons.
Whenever the new heroes of Japan spotted her purple bangs, they knew they could take a load off.
"Ah yes, Momo was the one who recommended me to come here. She always gushes about how much she can order here without anyone who doesn't know how her quirk works judging her."
"And I thank her every day for that! But I shouldn't be distracting you when you have so much paperwork stacked next to you. Here, let me clean the table up so you have more room to work. Must be hell trying to move in that armor you wear!"
Tenya moved aside so that Namie could move his plate and wipe down the table "Thanks for the help. Now it's time for paperwork!"
"Just don't fall asleep again, alright?" Namie snarked
"That only happened once!" Tenya defended himself "Now I make sure to stop as soon as yawn."
For a while, there was a comfortable silence as Tenya was busy going through documents. The bell attached to the door woke everyone from their stupor. There was someone stationed outside to make sure anybody that wasn't allowed to enter the Hidden Lotus didn't accidentally stumble into the oasis of privacy.
"Hey there, Loki" Namie greeted cheerfully
"What up girl?" the voice sounded familiar to Tenya, so he looked up. What he saw was a gorgeous woman in skintight black catsuit, the fur lined hood was down so he could see her fawn colored locks.
Tenya spent most of his life surrounded by women wearing skintight outfits or very little in general so he wasn't taken aback by her appearance, but he did mentally scratch his head. He was sure that he knew this woman…
"What's the special today?"
"We got some fresh made Miso soup for ya." Namie answered "Should probably throw in some Tsukemono to wake you up! All the nightshift heroes love it!"
"So she works at night…" Tenya mumbled in his head "No wonder I haven't seen her on that much…"
To his surprise, the woman sat right across from him "This seat taken?" she joked with a beautiful smile
"The only seat that's taken is the one I'm sitting on." He joked back "Sorry if this sounds a bit too forward but have we met?"
"Bruh! I was about to say the same thing! Why do you think I sat here? You totes look familiar!"
Hearing her speak made Tenya remember who she was "You were a student from Shiketsu, am I correct? I'm friends with Todoroki and Bakugou. You were among the Shiketsu students that they invited to our graduation party."
"The one with the spiked punch?"
Tenya chuckled "Guess I'm right."
"Wait, did you help me round up everyone else who was drunk? Iida, right?"
"You would be correct! I take it that you're Utsushimi, correct?"
Camie tapped her chin before she snapped her fingers when the revelation hit her "I get it! You're not wearing glasses! That's why I didn't recognize you!"
"I wear contact lenses now and my helmet has special eyewear that I could turn off and on when a press of a button depending if I'm wearing my contacts or not."
"That's hype." Camie complimented "Man, that party was wild. It felt weird being responsible! I didn't drink anything cause I was too busy taking pics for the gram!"
"I was a little worried that the only other person that wasn't inebriated was someone I wasn't familiar with, but your help was invaluable!" Tenya praised
Camie leaned back on the cushioned seat and let out a wistful sigh "I was salty AF when I had to do work when I was supposed to be partying but seeing Drunk Bakugou and Seiji was worth it."
"You know people usually think of their high school years as their glory days but I certainly have never been in as many life-threatening situations as I had been when I was a teenager."
Camie let out a snort "Tell me about it! I still have to go the therapy after that time I got kidnapped!"
"Himiko Toga from the League of Villains used your blood to infiltrate the license exams, am I correct?"
"Yeah. That girl made me look like a freak!" Camie momentarily stopped her rant when Namie came back with her order and after a quick "thank you" she resumed her story "But get this - When I woke up I heard her arguing to the rest of the league to let me live after they were done with me."
Tenya hummed in acknowledgement "My friend Ochako, well, Uravity must have seen something in her to do her best to save Toga and I trust her judgment. In the end, Toga was a victim of how society treats quirk induced mental health issues. Ochako has done so much to destroy that stigma."
"I still hate her though." Camie announced candidly "Does that make me a shitty person?"
Tenya stopped filling his paperwork and looked up at the woman across the table "The fact that you're conflicted says a lot. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't blame you for feeling bitter about how Toga is viewed now. At the same time, I would rather not disparage my close friend's efforts in helping marginalized communities."
Camie took a bite of one of the pickles vegetables which seemingly perked her up "Oh man! That really woke me up! Hey, sorry for laying that shit on you thick like that. This is like the second time we've ever met too."
"It's quite alright. I guess you can say I'm used to conversations like this."
Camie quirked an eyebrow "What's the supposed to mean?"
"Just that I've been a close confidant to all my friends back from when we were in UA. A lot of times, people just need someone to talk to." Tenya said with a smile
"Might have to cancel my therapy appointments and just come here regularly…" Camie quipped
Like a flip was switched inside his head, Tenya's demeanor changed "Please do not think of me as a replacement for a licensed therapist. I highly advise you not to do that."
Camie giggled "Relax fam, I was just joking!"
An in instant, the Tenya switch was flipped back, and he relaxed "That's good to hear."
"Dealing with Bakubro as a Class Rep probably was crazy AF!" Camie giggled
Tenya laughed along with her "You don't know the half of it…"
Before they knew it, the two young pro heroes began talking like they were close friends for years. Even after Namie took Camie's long finished plates of food and Tenya's paperwork was done. Both of them simply forgot time was passing.
…That was until a notification buzzed from Camie's cellphone buzzed, getting the nightshift hero out of her stupor. She looked down at the message and gasped
"Shit! There's some villains meeting up near the office!" Camie scrambled to her feet "Catch you later?"
Tenya let out a yawn "I think it's time for me to retire for the night."
Another Friday meant that Tenya survived another week of hero work. It also meant another late night of getting all the paperwork he had left for the week.
"Is this seat taken?" a soft voice roused Tenya from his work. It was Camie once again "Don't worry, I won't trauma dump on you this week if you're scared of that."
Tenya let out a snort "Well I was waiting for someone else, but my parents taught me that a lady always takes priorities." he said sarcastically
"And Bakubro said you're a hardass…" Camie chirped
"He's hardly an unbiased source. I think he still has a grudge because I constantly told him to get his disgusting feet off the desks. You should get your information from Shouto."
Camie rolled her eyes "Only if I find a way to separate her from his fiancé. JK, those two are cute together."
"Are you referring to him and Momo? If so, I would like to take credit for bringing them together." Tenya bragged
Camie clapped her hands "Damn! Matchmaker over here! Still salty that my old high school didn't allow any dating." she grumbled
Tenya's eyes widened in surprise "Are you making a joke…?"
Camie shook her head "Nope! Shiketsu was just like that. In a couple years when me and my friends get big, we're gonna try to use your pro hero influence to get rid of that rule."
Tenya burst into laughter "I'm sorry, was Shiketsu founded in the 1800s? They don't want teens to date?"
"Hey! That's still my high school you're dunking on! You're still a dirty UA student to me!" Camie playfully criticized
"At least my school moved past the twentieth century." Tenya joked back
"Damn, you must have dated a bunch of cute girls with the way you got this over me." Camie suggested while wiggling her eyebrows
"To tell you the truth, I see all my classmates as siblings so the thought of dating anyone never crossed my mind. That along with my duties as a class rep on top of UA's workload made dating pretty difficult."
Camie nodded "Shit, didn't even think about how hard balancing dating and schoolwork would be. Classes were hard enough without worrying about having a boyfriend!"
"I did have a few romances after high school, though. Mostly because I figured that it would uncouth of me to not know how to court a woman." Iida acknowledged
Camie giggled
"What's the funny?"
"Bruh. "How to court a woman?" Who says something like that?!" Camie chuckled "And you said Shiketsu was stuck in the past!" After she finished laughing, Camie tapped on the table "C'mon, you gotta spill."
Iida quirked an eyebrow "Excuse me?"
"You can't talk about dating without giving me the juicy deets!" Camie said like it was the most obvious thing in the world "
Tenya cleared his throat "Ms. Utsushimi, I think we've gotten ahead of ourselves."
"It's Camie." she corrected "Ms. Utsushimi makes you sound like my old teachers."
"Then I suppose it's fair that you refer to me as Tenya. Just to keep things even."
"Duh. It would be weird if you're the only one on a name basis."
"You do bring up a good point, Camie." Iida conceded
Camie smiled in victory "okay back to your story! I'm a sucker for romance."
Iida rubbed the back of his neck "Well considering my family was quite wealthy, it meant that we have quite a few connections with other rich people."
"Is that why you're friends with Brodoroki and Creati?"
"My friendship with those two are actually quite serendipitous. We just happened to be in the same class. Shouto is relatively "new money" and the Yaoyorozu family wealth eclipses everyone else in Japan.
"So you're like, in the middle of the road?"
"In terms of wealth, yes. Thankfully my parents and older brother grounded me. Without them, I could have become a one of those terrible spoiled rotten types."
Camie smirked "Did you date those kinds of girls?"
Iida shook his head "I wouldn't say anything like that. All of them were heiresses to major businesses, but they were all kind."
"Then what was the problem? Were they ugly or something?"
Tenya chuckled while shaking his head "No, they were all gorgeous. It's just that…"
Camie cocked her head forward "Just what? C'mon! Don't make me guess!"
The two were interrupted by Namie placing a breakfast dish in front of Camie
"Sorry for interrupted you two, but It's been fifteen minutes since Ms. Loki sat down and she hasn't ordered anything. I'm not gonna let a hero go on patrol on an empty stomach:
Camie and Tenya were shocked and embarrassed that they were so engrossed in their conversation that they forgot about the outside world.
"Thanks boo!" Camie beamed
"Yes. You have our gratitude, Ms. Namie"
"Just make sure she orders next time before starting storytelling hour, alright Casanova?" Namie snarked
Iida gave her a mock salute before turning back to Camie "Now, where was I?"
"You were at the part where you have no rizz and messed up every relationship." Camie teased
Tenya rolled his eyes "Very funny. In all honesty, being bad at dating would have made things less awkward. I just didn't like the commitment of dating wealthy people. To a lot of them, romance is more of a transaction to make their families look better and to forge strong bonds. Any actual affection was secondary to marketing. I never had any actual time alone with the woman I dated. Everything was planned through PR."
Camie let out a whistle "Damn, that's rough."
"Perhaps Momo was fearing such an outcome as well and that's why she subconsciously ignored her mutual attraction to Todoroki." Tenya wondered aloud "No matter what happens, I'm glad I could at least help one romance flourish." he paused, remembering a few other couples he pushed together "Well, perhaps more than one…"
Camie gave him a pointed look "Sounds like you're giving up."
Iida shook his head "I'm simply rethinking my plans. I realized that I was so caught up in living through a fabled "fairy tale" romance that I seemingly helped lead quite a few of my friends into that I was basically forcing things to happen. I want to fall in love naturally."
Camie huffed in amusement "Damn. Good luck with that, chief"
Tenya leaned back on his seat "Alright, now that I told you about my dating life, it's only fair that you extend the same courtesy."
Camie pretended to think about the request "Nah"
"What do you mean nah?" Tenya parroted
"You don't know what that means? Are you that much of a boomer?" Camie teased
"I know what that means. I'm just confused at your refusal to share about your life. I assumed that we had an unspoken agreement after I opened up my heart to you." Tenya lectured while chopping the air vicariously
"We didn't agree to anything, boo." Camie smirked "You just talked my ear out. I only gave you a lil' push"
Tenya opened his mouth to argue before realizing that Camie was completely correct "He really did go overboard with the explanation.
"Fair enough"
"Besides, I can't measure to that deep shit you just said." Camie conceded
"I'm sure you have some interesting tales to tell about your love live."
Camie quirked an eyebrow "Cause I'm hot?"
"Because you're easy to talk to." Iida argued "In hindsight, I realized I went far too deep into my relationship woes to someone I've met only once."
"Twice" Camie corrected while holding up two of her fingers "We had to round up the drunk guys, remember?"
"You're right" Tenya conceded "Twice"
"I guess I can give you some deets since I went overboard with the TMI last time we met."
"Okay, now it seems like I'm coercing you." Tenya mumbled "Please, if you feel uncomfortable, I won't badger you any longer."
"Bruh. I opened up about being kidnapped to you. You good. It's just that I uh…" Camie shifted in her seat
"Don't tell me you have never dated anyone before this." Iida hypothesized "Because I'm not going to judge you on that."
"Okay, I'm not that much of a loser." Camie scolded as she gave Tenya an annoyed look "It's just that I realized what was going on really young."
Tenya scrunched his face in confusion "I'm sorry but I don't…?"
Camie let out a mirthless chuckle "Once puberty hit every guy suddenly wanted to talk to me. At first, I was stoked since that meant I was cool and everyone wanted to be friends with me but then I realized that…"
Iida nodded, the gears in his head finally turning "Ah…I see"
"Like, don't get me wrong! I'm cool with guys asking me out but the only guys who shot their shot thought I was easy. I guess the rest of the guys got scared because well…" Camie pointed to herself "Look at me"
"It must have been awful. I'm sorry that you went through all that. I know these empty platitudes won't help much but…"
Camie smiled "It's cool boo. I had Inasa, Seiji, and Nagasama as my defense squad. It was almost worth it seeing them scare the shit out of those assholes."
Iida laughed "So that's why you became fast friends with Katsuki and Shouto as well."
"Yup! Those two are on the official "Got My Back" squad!" Camie beamed
"You have good judgment. Both of my former classmates are stalwart heroes underneath their quirks…and I don't mean their powers." Tenya praised
"Not gonna lie, I'm impressed that managed to talk to me considering how most guys act around me." Camie said offhandedly. It was obvious that she was bragging about herself at this point
Tenya rolled his eyes in response and not so subtly chuckled under his breath
"Hey! What's so funny?"
"May I remind you that one of my friends was naked for most of high school?" Tenya pointed out while wagging his finger "In fact most of my lady friends are drop-dead gorgeous and wear outfits to emphasize their beauty."
Camie crossed her arms and looked away indignantly "If they're so much hotter than me, how come you never asked them out." She mumbled, sounding almost offended
Tenya pushed his glasses up "I have not once stated that they are more attractive to you." he corrected in an analytical tone "I merely stated that I have enough experience to not ogle any beautiful woman that I come across."
Instantly Camie perked up "Hah! So you do think I'm hot!"
"Beautiful" Iida replied
"Same thing" Camie said with a wave of her hand "How come you never worked your magic with any of your old classmates then, huh?"
"I can only see those women as my siblings. Granted, it's a feeling that isn't widespread considering how many relationships were forged from those years."
"Alright then- what changed?" Camie questioned "When did you go "Aight, time to look for some babes" huh?"
Tenya tapped his finger to his chin, evidently he was deep in thought "I grew as a person." he said after much deliberation "It may not seem like it now, but I was really uptight and formal when I first entered UA. I've been described as having "a stick up my ass" by others."
"This guy used to be more uptight?!" Camie thought before speaking "Wow, I can't believe it…" she said sarcastically
As if he read her mind, Tenya smiled at her "I know that sounds hard to believe, but I used to be worse."
"I used to be more of an airhead, so I guess it evens out." Camie quipped back
"And although it's petty, seeing the blossoming love between Momo and Shouto and Katsuki and Ochako…something that I helped foster eventually made me yearn for something like that. I resolved to get out of my comfort zone and find true love as well!"
Camie gave him a few golf claps "That's pretty brave! Props!"
Tenya rubbed the back of his neck "I really should have asked my friends for some advice since I didn't have any experience back then. But my pride as a member of the Ingenium family prevented me from doing so."
"People do stupid shit when they wanna find love." Camie assured "I get ya."
"I'm making it seem like all my relationships were terrible. While I may not have found true love, before the flames fizzled out, there were some good times." Tenya acknowledged "The same can be said for you I'm sure."
Camie shook her head "Nah, I just have shit luck with guys."
"Oh. I uh…I'm sorry to hear that." Tenya mumbled
Camie shrugged "Not your fault. Still sucks though."
"I'm sure it does." Tenya responded in an attempt to sound supporting.
"At least I have somebody else to relate to." Camie turned to Namie "how about we get some beers? You know! To have a toast for having crappy dating lives!"
Namie shook her head "Not a chance. It's the start of your shift, Loki."
Camie raised her hands up in surrender "Got me there!"
Iida laughed alongside Namie before he checked a notification on his phone. He quickly texted back
Camie couldn't help but be nosy "What's up?"
"One of my coworkers accidentally left his phone and wallet inside the office and only I have the keys." Tenya answered as he packed up all his things "We'll have to continue this conversation at another time See you next week?"
Camie shot him a dazzling smile and nodded "Same time, same place."
As soon as Tenya took off, Namie shot a pointed look at Camie "Alright Loki, what are you doing?"
Camie tilted her head in confusion "Doing what?"
"You were so focused on Ingenium that you forgot to order." Namie pointed out "And this is only the second time you've talked to him.
"Girl, I don't know what you're yappin about!" Camie barked defensively
"I'm saying you looked a bit too interested in Ingenium's love life." Namie lectured "I mean, you can do a lot worse than him."
Camie clapped her hands "Please. I still have a legion of simps. I can be picky! Besides, what if he turns out to be like, a white knight?"
"Honey I think he is a white knight." Namie responded "Like a literal medieval knight that got transported to modern day Japan and just got used to things here. He's the type to put his jacket over a puddle on the street so you can walk over it."
Camie's face lit up "I could work with that. I do deserve to be treated like a princess!"
"What makes you think that you should get the princess treatment."
"Girl, I'm a woman in the hero field. We all deserve to get treated like royalty." Camie bluntly answered
Namie raised her hands in defeat "Alright, you got me!"
Camie smiled in triumph "Maybe I'll work my magic on him the next time we meet. If I fumble, then I'll just say that you dared me to as a prank." she announced before speeding out the building before Namie could even respond, leaving her money on the table
"Wait! Don't rope me into this crap!" Namie attempted to argue but Camie already made her escape.
Camie made sure to arrive earlier than Iida today. The look on her face made Namie mortified. She really was planning on doing something.
"You sure about this?"
"Flirting? Duh!" Camie said with utter confidence "I'll have eating out of the palm of my hands."
"Didn't he mentions that he's friends with several heroines that are super hot? I know Creati consistently wins the "most attractive heroine" award on every monthly magazine." Namie knew the taunting was mean but Camie roped her into this so this payback.
Camie began to falter "Shit…"
"And he said he only dated people who are rich like him. Something about "keeping the honor of the Ingenium family or whatever." Namie added
"Okay but he did say that he never fell in love doing that!" Camie rebuked "You were there when he said all that shit about how it wasn't what he wanted!"
"I don't think he wants to fall in love via prank either." Namie warned "You two have a pretty cute friendship going on. Don't mess it up trying to be funny
Camie waved off her concerns "What's the worst a little flirting could do? He dealt with Dynamight at his most annoying (his own words by the way) I'm sure he won't mind a beautiful gal rizzing him up!"
"You really seem determined to flirt with him." Namie pointed out "Anything I should look out for?"
"Hey! I already pay for a therapist! I don't need you butting in!" Camie snapped before slapping her hand over her mouth in shock. It was clear that the illusionist hero didn't mean to get angry like that
"Shit…Sorry girl! Didn't mean to get salty like that. Been hanging out with Bakubro too much."
"Maybe I overstepped my boundaries too." Namie admitted "I just don't want anything bad to happen."
Camie nodded "I get you"
"Look, if for whatever reason you want to flirt, just don't go overboard. I won't judge you otherwise."
"Unless he likes being extra." Camie said with a wink
Tenya was surprised when he saw Camie already at the Hidden Lotus before he got there. The speedster had to admit that he was quickly growing fond of his fellow hero. Tenya felt a bit cherished knowing Camie could divulge her deepest thoughts to him and realized that he had none of his usual reservations while talking to her too.
Maybe it was because he knew them all as a Class Representative before Tenya actually became close friends with his classmates, but he always had an aversion to telling them about his woes. The first time he did so, it was after trying to hunt down and murder Stain. To this day, Tenya felt shame about his actions, but it was also the day he realized that Izuku Midoriya and Shouto Todoroki were among his best friends.
But even after that rather unorthodox trust exercise, Tenya didn't open up as much as he should. How could he after he found out what sort of struggles his friends dealt with?
Shouto's life proved to be a dark mirror of his own. Both of them were the part of heroic lineages, but the similarities ended there. Tenya was ashamed to admit it, but he was jealous of Shouto at first. For generations, the Iida family dedicated themselves to Japan, but it took only one Todoroki to become the number two hero in the country.
Tenya felt cheated seeing his family's hard work go unnoticed and never quite hitting the top ten of the hero rankings. His family never cared about any of that though…To them, the wealth and the knowledge that they helped countless people was enough. They had no aspirations for "some dumb popularity contest" as they called it. It still stung to him…
But Tenya would soon realize that Shouto was nothing to be jealous of. His father was an abusive monster and eugenicist who only wanted to sire a child that could become the number one hero since Enji could never do so himself.
The villain Dabi was a failed result of that twisted goal. Dabi was actually Touya Todoroki, Shouto Todoroki…who was driven to madness by his father's abuse.
Tenya often leaned on his older brother Tensei when life felt too overwhelming. Tensei was the rock that broke up the harsh sea of self-doubt. He couldn't imagine having to fight and ultimately put down his older brother like Shouto did.
And Izuku grew up wanting to be a hero but was cursed with being quirkless. All Might realized that Midoriya was a stalwart hero before anyone else did and bequeathed him with One For All. But Izuku had to keep it a secret to keep everyone close to him safe. The pressure of living up to the greatest hero in Japan must have been soul consuming.
Ochako wanted to become a hero to alleviate the burden her parents carried. Tenya came from a rich family so he never knew what it was like growing up wondering if he had to forego dinner because his parents couldn't afford enough food. Not only did Ochako have to deal with the unbearable pressure of succeeding for her parents' sake, but she also had to grapple with the idea that her goal wasn't "heroic" enough.
Helping Ochako realize that her goal was just as heroic as any other motivation was one of his proudest accomplishments.
But it was knowing those struggles that made Tenya wary of opening up to those friends. They had enough to deal with and he knew it. Ironically Camie being more of a stranger made Tenya be more at ease.
His thoughts were interrupted by Camie beckoning him to sit across from her.
"You're here early…" Tenya greeted while sitting down
"Maybe you're just here late?" Camie teased "I'm a nightshift gal, remember?"
"I really hope you weren't spending too much time waiting for me. I'd hate to leave a lady in waiting." Tenya smoothly chuckled
"Nah, I was chattin' with Namie. She just roasted me for being a dateless bum." Camie lamented
Namie was a surprised at Camie's concocted story, but she was curious at what Loki was playing at. Okay, the fact that Camie had bad luck with dating wasn't a lie, but they didn't talk about it. The owner simply shrugged "Hey, you started the conversation. I just told the truth! Not my fault you're a dateless loser"
"If you're going to criticize Ms. Utsushimi for being having bad luck with finding love than you should make fun of me as well!" Tenya admonished
Namie did her best to try to cover up the laughter that was threatening to leave her being "Getting on the bad side of one of UA's Greatest Generation? I don't think that's a smart idea..." she admitted while serving Tenya gyudon with a tall glass of orange juice
"Hey!" Camie loudly interrupted "How come Shiketsu kids aren't lumped in with them? We kicked ass too!" she turned towards Iida "And I told you to call me Camie!"
Tenya bowed his head "My apologise. And if you were to ask me, every hero that was involved during that grueling war against the League of Villains should be honored appropriately. It's a shame that only UA alumni were lionized."
"It's cause you decided to take off that helmet!" Camie said with a wink "Everyone saw how cute you looked. You never should have put it back on"
Tenya nearly choked on the orange juice he was drinking "Excuse me?!"
"And you let Shouto ride you around like that?" Camie's smile widened "you ever wonder why you two are paired together when you do modeling work?"
Iida clenched his eyes shut as the revelation hit him "Good lord…"
Camie giggled "But seriously bro! Take the helmet off in public again! I didn't even know you were trying to grow a beard until we met up like this!"
Tenya rubbed his chin. The facial hair was a suggestion from some of his former classmates. It was embarrassing to admit but he dismissed those ideas until Bakugou urged him to.
"You got a decent face for it, Four Eyes. I tried but 'Chako likes me smooth…"
Tenya always respected Bakugou for being so fashion forward. It was perhaps inevitable considering how both of his parents were designers but Tenya always heeded his styling advice.
"I had to do something to stand out! It feels like all my friends are stealing my hairstyle!" Tenya joked. He did actually think it was odd that so many of his old classmates were adopting an undercut look.
Camie laughed alongside him "maybe you should grow out your hair?" she suggested "Not to like Brodoroki levels where he can put it into a ponytail but just enough to stand out."
"Do you really think I can pull that off?"
Camie rolled her eyes "C'mon! It's easier for hot guys to look good in anything. No offense but like all men have shitty fashion sense. You guys really lucked out with suits and that's carrying you."
Iida wanted to argue but Camie did have a point "Hey! Suits of armor have been in vogue since the Middle Ages!"
Camie clicked her tongue "Yeah, how many other guys rock suits of armor?
Tenya shot her a wink "It makes me stand out. Everyone is stealing my hairstyle, remember?"
Camie tapped her bottom lip in thought "Damn, that makes sense. Maybe I should think of getting some armor…" she thought about it for a moment "Nah! It won't work with my quirk"
"What is your quirk anyway?" Tenya asked "I know it has to deal with illusions via smoke exhalation, but that's all I know."
"That's all I knew what to do in high school but ya girl got some new tricks up her sleeves!" Camie bragged
Iida nodded vigorously "I see! Do tell!"
"I'm so good with my illusions that I can mess with all your senses! If I make an illusion of like, a giant fist punching your ass out, you're gonna actually feel it cause your mind makes it real!" Camie explained
"That's impressive…and a bit terrifying." Tenya praised "Fitting for someone who named herself after the Norse God of trickery and deception"
"It's also a cool pun! Loki and low-key! Get it, since I'm all about being sus!" Camie cooed
"That is a pretty funny pun." Tenya acknowledged "And your quirk is good for dealing with the unsavory criminals who slink about in the darkness"
"You guys are the ones dealing with the crazy guys." Camie argued "Only dumbasses or people with insane quirks do anything in broad daylight."
"Fair"
"But you do have a point with the armor though." Camie circled back to the original topic before pointing to herself "I mean, look at me. You've probably seen a lot of costumes like mine."
"I feel like you're selling yourself short." Tenya assured before cupping his hands in front of his mouth as if he was going to tell "Don't tell anyone you've heard this from me but a lot of us daytime heroes design our costumes to be somewhat merchandise friendly"
Camie processed that fact for a minute before speaking "That explains Inasa's crazy ass costume."
"I'm blessed with a hero suit that's already merchandise ready. I've been compared to Gundam figure multiple times."
Camie chortled "You sure you aren't a robot? If I splash you with water, will you do that hand thing while you reboot?"
Iida smiled "I wish. I still have to exercise quite a bit to lug this heavy suit of armor."
"Abs or no?"
"Excuse me?"
"You got abs or nah?" Camie questioned as if it was a subject that could save lives.
"Of course I do." Tenya answered, his demeanor changing as well, acting almost like Bakugou "I always feel insulted by such a question."
Camie nodded, evidently impressed "Nice. Just needed to know if you were uh…keeping things healthy."
"Thank you for the concern."
Namie couldn't believe what she was hearing in the background "Was Iida gullible enough to buy that lame excuse?" she thought
"I guess I'll pass on the armor if I have to be ripped to be able to move" Camie conceded
"I believe you have a fine hero outfit!" Tenya bellowed. It took him a few moments to realize how loud he was being before he quickly composed himself "I mean, it's something you designed yourself, am I correct?"
Camie shrugged "I mean yeah…but I can't really sell toys looking like this."
"The all black catsuit is both practical and striking!" Tenya praised while waving his hands around "Fitting for a hero that uses a criminal's fears against them!"
Camie quirked an eyebrow "Striking? You talking 'bout my boobs?"
"At the risk of sounding rather crude, those are part of the appeal, yes." Tenya chose his words carefully, as to not offend her
"So you think I'm hot?"
"Yes, I'd say that you're quite fetching?"
"That means "hot", right?"
"Yes it does."
"Damn, weren't you like, reps with Creati? I remember Brodoroki telling me about it. Her admitted that he was a little salty you spent so much alone with her."
Tenya nodded "That's true. Shouto also confided to me that he always assumed that Momo and I were a couple but as you can see, that was far from the truth."
"Like…how? Cause she always tops the "hottest pro hero" lists…" Camie mumbled dejectedly
Tenya was aware of her attitude shift and spoke carefully "While I can't deny that Momo is objectively gorgeous-" He wasn't too keen on Camie's eyebrows furrowing in annoyance "I think I realized early on that we can never be compatible"
Camie's ears suddenly perked up "What's up?"
"We're too similar." Tenya mused "Come to think of it, that's probably why every relationship I pursued failed."
Camie scrunched her face in confusion "That's like, nuts! Doesn't that make you compatible?"
"I think I know that what we want isn't necessarily what we need." Tenya dictated "When you become involved with someone that's too similar to yourself…at first, it's great! You get along, have the same interests but once a problem arises, it begins testing your commitment. Was I truly in love or was I just projecting my feelings onto someone else? It was as if I truly didn't know any of the woman I was dating."
"Damn…that's deep. Got any idea on what to do now?"
Tenya chuckled "Were it so easy…I don't suppose I could ask you for advice?"
Camie snorted "I might be the only person in Japan with shittier luck than you!"
"You shouldn't shoulder the burden on your own. Women have it harder." Tenya said matter-of-factly
"Guess being this hot is a curse!" Camie said with a dramatic gasp as she pretended to faint "But seriously, once you find a lucky lady, holler at a girl so I can be next!"
"With my experience, I know where not to look." Tenya addressed "Funny, I always figured I'd be most happy with a regal, studious, and responsible woman but that's clearly not the case"
"Well do you know what you want now?"
Tenya was silent for what seemed like an eternity before he spoke "Someone that I can talk to…"
Camie slowly nodded "Yeah…same here."
Tenya leaned back on his seat "Maybe I've been looking for a spark in all the wrong places…things like galas and other important events feel much more shallow in hindsight. Perhaps it's better to find love somewhere comforting…somewhere I don't plan on."
"Like where?"
"I know it sounds sort of pathetic, but I've been looking forward to having these chats lately…" Tenya admitted
"It's nice…" Camie agreed "feeling comfortable enough to let my guard down around a guy I haven't known for years."
"I'm flattered…and a bit scared"
"What for?"
"I think I'm developing an attraction towards you, Camie." Tenya decided to rip the bandage off "uh…Sorry for coming across as robotic."
Camie smiled "Nah, it's cute. Usually a guy would try to be smooth and say something lame. I think I like you too."
"Really?" Tenya coughed into his fist to recompose himself "I mean, then I guess it's as good a time as ever to formally ask you out on a date."
"Lit. Where do you want to go?"
Namie, who was content with listening to the two slowly fall in love over the course of a few weeks finally spoke up "There's a really good restaurant where heroes won't get bothered by people. You should try that!"
Camie and Tenya almost jumped out of their seats in shock. They were a little embarrassed to remember that they weren't alone but quickly laughed it off
"How about the Hidden Lotus- next Friday evening?" Tenya suggested
"That would be a fun way to start my shift." Camie beamed
"I hope you're okay with a man wearing a suit of armor on the first date." Tenya joked
"Only if you're okay with gals who wear skintight catsuits on the first date." Camie quipped back
"I'm sorry, was that supposed to be a negative?" Tenya snarked, earning a laugh and a soft slap on the shoulder from Camie
"I gotta bounce now but…" Camie grabbed some of Tenya's paperwork and a pen "Here's my number, cutie!"
Tenya was so euphoric that he didn't even care that Camie scrawled her number on an important battle report. He'd deal with that later.
