pacifisting | dynamight

From:

[ oh no. ]

Kaccha-

[ His voice goes low in warning but it's all for nothing; Bakugou smacks the cart into him and Midoriya goes ass over heels straight into the basket with another yelp. By the time he gets himself together, they're nearly at the end and he's gripping the wire of the cart so tight it bends under his hands. He only notices when they've stopped and he sends Bakugou a baleful look, the chips crushed at his back.

Delicately, he takes them out and puts them in his lap, and it's only Bakugou acting as counterweight that allows him to get out of the cart again and onto wobbly feet, dusting himself off.

His glasses are adjusted back on his nose which hides the attempted glare. What a pity. ]

Happy?

From:

dynamight

[It's fun having Midoriya thrown back in the cart, crushed chips and bent sides be damned. (Maybe the bent sides actually turns him on a little.) His mood dampens, however, when Midoriya gets out again, and he slumps over the handle.]

No.

[He rams Midoriya again, but very gently this time, and then he steers around to disappear down the next aisle. Fine. Get out. Too ashamed to let him push you around in the shopping cart. He sees how it is.

His feet shuffle with the usual irritable air, and he doesn't cast any kind of glance over his shoulder if and when Midoriya decides to follow. Is he being a sore child about this? Yeah. Should he? No. Not at all.]

From:

pacifisting

I- wait, did you want me to stay in there?

[ Oh, now he feels dumb. He should have realized.

Now Bakugou's sulking and a terrible part of Midoriya isn't happy about it, but notes that Bakugou is somehow just as attractive like this, too. It's unfair, the jerk.

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling he grabs furikake off the shelf and jogs to catch up with him, dunking it neatly into the cart from behind Bakugou. It lands with a soft whumph on the rice bag and Midoriya matches his pace to the seafood section. The concern with Bakugou's temperament doesn't go away but he's instantly crouching, exchanging hurried texts with his mother, trying to get her past the exclamations of YOU'RE MAKING HIM DINNER? into actual assistance with the making of said dinner.

He has limited luck, but turns back to Bakugou like he's checking where the other man is, bouncing on the heels of his feet. Three packages of fish later and Midoriya is running through the list on his phone, double checking it. ]

Kacchan, did you want to get anything else?

From:

dynamight

[All Midoriya gets is a grunt. He continues pushing the cart, but shuffles along slow so Midoriya can peruse the aisle on both sides for whatever they might need. He doesn't jump so much as his body goes rigid in preparation when the furikake pops over his shoulder and lands in the cart.

Midoriya gets another grunt and a pair of watchful red eyes. On the damn phone again. He hasn't received any texts himself from their friends, so it can't be them. They'd be teasing him by now if so.

Must be Midoriya's mom.

His eyes drop back to the cart, looking over what they have.] Another fucking bag of chips because you crushed my damn bag, you shithead. [They should really get some other things to snack on, shouldn't they?] Some vegetables, but not for the sushi. [He wouldn't mind chomp on some when he's feeling hungry and not pigging out on chips.]

Ice cream.

From:

pacifisting

Kacchan.

[ You big baby.

Finally, he pockets the phone and eyes the bag of chips sitting sadly in the cart. Yeah, they'll want another one. They're still getting this one because he feels bad and they can still destroy a pack of chips but a second wouldn't hurt. He grabs a few things of bagged vegetables to munch on, and after a moment of consideration in the frozen foods aisle gets a couple sets of Hot Pockets.

Unsurprisingly just getting a few things has turned into the cart half full but it's cheaper than eating out, he reasons. He beelines straight for what he normally gets, which is caramel swirls with brownie chunks and then starts looking for Bakugou's. The store has people in it but they're also in disguise so he doesn't feel too bad coming up behind him, an ice-cream chilled hand curling around his waist without thinking. ]

There's supposed to be a really beautiful waterfall about twenty minutes drive from here. It's not close to the road or anything. I think the guide I saw said something like a two hour hike or so? I don't know how well-worn the trail is but it doesn't really matter since nothing would come close to training. If you wanted to go, that's all.

[ It is a vacation!!! And he wants to treat Bakugou!!! ]

Edited (eat my ass html) Date: 2019-02-06 03:52 am (UTC)

From:

dynamight

[Fine. He'll accept two bags of chips, he guesses, even if he doesn't want to keep tiny shards of busted up chips. Midoriya can have that bag.]

Wha--RAH!

[The cold hand is like five fingers of solid ice. He imagines Todoroki slapping him with anything on the right side.] What the fuck?! Your hand is fucking frigid, don't touch me! [It sounds less angry and more terrified than anything. Bakugou skids two black wheel trails on the floor as he speeds a few feet ahead and out of the way of Midoriya's ice-cold grip. He offers a cat-like glare of offense back.]

I don't give a shit about a waterfall. [He'd like it when he got there, honestly.] But if there's a place to hike, I'm interested. If you can even keep up.

From:

pacifisting

[ Wow, rude!!! He was trying to be nice.

Worse, he giggles instead of apologizing right away but does helpfully tuck his hands under his arms to keep them warm after touching the ice cream. ]

I can keep up! [ Easy, a two hour hike is nothing like trying to clear ten floors of a burning building with people in your arms. It's a hell of a lot less stressful, for one. On the endcap of this aisle, he grabs a container of pancake mix, tossing it into the cart, too. ]

Ah, don't let me forget eggs. I think we can boil any of them we wouldn't use for cooking.

[ And they can have egg in the fried rice leftovers, hell yes. ]

We should go camping properly sometime. I have a friend here who really likes it. Her quirk is basically rapid regeneration for anything plant-based, so she's doing a sidekick job here to learn about what happens after forest fires and how to best combat them. It's really incredible though, she's been using her quirk to increase growth for farming and- [ INSTANTLY SIDE-TRACKED by a pack of super-hero cards, re-releases from when they were kids. Two packs into the cart. The rather full cart. ] ...We only came in here for a few things.

From:

dynamight

[Midoriya can easily keep up, but Bakugou needs to have that reassurance of hounding, of taunting. It keeps things in balance. It keeps his pride from being shaken for the thousandth time.]

Camping ain't fun unless you're able to put your phone down for five seconds, shithead. [He peers at Midoriya, still folded down on the handle of the cart.] Sounds boring. [He's so rude to people, what the hell.] I don't want some other chucklefuck coming along.

...Just the two of us.

[His eyes lower to the stuff piled in the cart. Damn. Every time.] We'll fucking eat it. We'll split it to pay for it or something. [Thinking maybe Midoriya is worried about the price.]

Don't forget eggs.

From:

pacifisting

[ It's normal, it's familiar. Midoriya finds himself relieved at hearing it, as weird as it seems. ]

I'm not gonna need my phone for camping.

[ He gets it, though. Being on the phone all the time isn't what he wants to be doing because his mom is really good at mortifying him, but he also didn't remember how long the rice needs to soak and be washed because more often than not he just gets the kind that is microwaved and doesn't need washing. They cook for each other, sometimes, but not attempted date-night-sushi-time and he doesn't want to fuck that up for him. ]

Just the two of us, Kacchan.

[ It's a promise with a clenched fist and firm nod as he guides them to get in line and then calls just a second as he zips to go get the eggs he'd nearly forgotten. In just a few moments he's back, leaning over the cart to plunk the egg carton down and then turns the 1000 watt smile onto the cashier who looks faintly dazed as he scans. ]

From:

dynamight

Fucking idiot.

[It sounds too endeared. He lets Midoriya run off and instead starts putting things up on the belt, surprisingly organized together, grouping cold things and putting easily breakable things at the very end so they're on top.

He pins Midoriya between him and the cart as he squeezes by back the way they came. Midoriya can charm the socks off the cashier while he dips back and forth near the ends of the lanes to hunt for something.

Ah.

Finally, he comes back with three or four large reusable grocery bags and puts them on the belt, too. The plastic shit will break on their trek back to the hotel, he thinks, and he's too Japanese not to grumble about how not efficient Americans are with waste. In Japanese, of course.

Unfortunately, he gets back when the cashier is making dance eyes at his boyfriend. Yeah, he's fucking real cute, right? With that fluffy head and those freckles, the solid shoulders and tapered waist, ready and willing to talk about hero shit. Bakugou sees you.

His red eyes stay narrow and slanted on the cashier, like a watchful guard dog. Which is why he tries to push Midoriya out of the way by the check out and stand sentinel to pay instead.]

From:

pacifisting

[ He hears that grumbling and rolls his eyes in response, double checking the items going on to the conveyer belt against the haphazard list he'd created. The grocery bags get a side-eye but it's not like they won't use them, especially for beach trips or whatever else. Better than the bags breaking on the way home.

The two card packages Midoriya pockets after they're scanned for them to break into later and for once he doesn't fight Bakugou on the payment; he knows how much was on the receipt and can pay him back later. Sometimes that's the easiest way to win.

Idle chatter with the cashier gets them through til the end when they're hefting up bags of food and Midoriya waves at them cheerfully as he tosses one onto his shoulder and then turns to Bakugou as they exit. ]

Remind me to get those cards out so we can open them when I'm making dinner. I haven't bought a pack in years but they just did a re-release from when we were kids.

[ MORE HERO MERCH!!! ]

From:

dynamight

[Pay him back later, binch? He ain't gonna take it. Midoriya will have to shovel the money in his open mouth while he sleeps.

Two of the heaviest bags get hiked up over each shoulder. He likes the idea of having a work out slipped into something normal. Carting the groceries back to the hotel won't be difficult, but it'll give him enough of a challenge to matter.] You and your fucking cards. You already have everything that's gonna be in there anyway. The originals more importantly. Damn. [But don't get him wrong. He's absolutely going to be perched on the stool opposite chef Midoriya at the kitchen to peel open the cards and have a look.

He likes heroes and hero merchandise just as much even if he pretends like it's a waste of time. Whose hat is he in again? That's right.]

It's a damn shame the fuzzball isn't here to rip them to shreds.

[Guess who misses the dOG.]

From:

pacifisting

Kacchan, you like her!!

[ It's an excited exclamation as they make their way down the sidewalk, with Midoriya double-checking the location and streets they pass along the way to make sure they're going the right direction. He's going to end up trying to keep this dog, he knows it, and it's only going to be half his fault.

Hefting the groceries up onto his shoulder, Midoriya tips his face into the sun while they walk, enjoying it even if the cards are burning a hole into his pocket as he walks.

Back into the hotel and Midoriya juggles the bags to get the keycard out to use but as soon as they're back he's toeing his shoes off and taking the groceries into the obscenely large kitchen, separating items into things for dinner and things for later. His stomach growls audibly. ]

I think the rice is in your bag?

[ A buff human torando is going through the kitchen to find a rice cooker, beware. ]

From:

dynamight

Tch!!

[Midoriya is going to tearfully try to give the dog back before they leave, but Bakugou is going to be the one to intimidate them into letting them take her back to Japan. (And fork over the money for it, too.)]

I'm going, damn. Hold your fucking horses. [Or the Japanese equivalent. He's trying to balance the bags and get out of his stupid boots at the door. His socked feet lead him into the kitchen, and he starts taking things out of the bags so Midoriya can meticulously and mutteringly separate them.] Here. [He slides the bag of rice into a clearing so Midoriya can reach it.

It's amazing how much his skin looks slapped despite only being in the sun for such a short amount of time. The tops of his shoulders, his collar, and the peaks of his cheeks are red. It'll all turn a nice, creamy caramel when it fades into more of a tan, but for now, he's a pale fuck with a tiny bit of sunburn.

For a minute, he watches Midoriya, then he drops the cards on the raised breakfast area on the other side of the kitchen bar where he loops around to go sit.]

From:

pacifisting

[ Midoriya putters around the kitchen with no real order to which he's doing things. Chips are tossed lightly onto the counter so they can munch on them, the fish is settled off to the side and the rice is settled by the sink while he puts other things away. Rather than tearing the string that opens the bag, he simply pulls it apart with a wet rip, carefully spilling rice into a strainer to rinse under water. Before he gets his hands all fishy, he comes over and presses a kiss to a pink shoulder, lingering.

The bridge of his nose is just a little bit pink, but otherwise, he's all freckles. ] Open them while I get everything started?

[ Then he's sliding away before Bakugou can coerce him into kissing or distraction (or realistically: before he decides to try and start something, because the temptation is always there.) Bakugou's right, of course; they have most if not all cards already but he never grew out of being excited at the idea of opening them up. Plunking the rice cooker down, he starts that process, calling over his shoulder: ]

Tell me if there are any good ones. They added in new heroes, too, so maybe we'll get one of those. [ PRY A BAKUGOU OUT OF HIS SCARRED, DEAD HANDS. ]

From:

dynamight

[Midoriya gets a mixture of a growl of displeasure and a whine when pulling away and abandoning Bakugou after teasing him. The skin on his shoulder is hot on the lips, but Bakugou doesn't jerk, so it must not smack quite yet.

He wouldn't have to worry about the stupid ass cards if he could have pulled Midoriya up into his lap on the stool. Alas.

The plastic wrapper crinkles, but splits easily at the spine's seam when he tugs with some of his fingers. The cards are crisp and matte and colorful, lacking the late 90s and early 00s style in favor of something modern and flashy. Carefully, he shifts through them. There's a lot of classics. All Might has been so popular, it's easy to find him.

Bakugou lies them down one at a time in a pile on the right, the ones they've seen plenty of times, the ones not hard to get. The last few are the best in the pack. Decent, he supposes, the first two. He holds one out between two fingers at Midoriya, a Todoroki in traditional wear, but then he falters on the next one and slowly lowers Todoroki to the counter.

After a moment, he lifts the other one out to Midoriya, turning it around. A Nighteye foil.]

From:

pacifisting

[ He can't be kidnapped for cuddling on the stool or for making out when he has food to make. Especially not when he can smell the food and his stomach is protesting angrily at some street food being the only thing he's eaten. After a pause, he pulls the bell peppers out of the fridge and starts slicing them while Bakugou sorts through them. ]

Ahhh, too bad we sent everything out already! I don't think he has one yet.

[ He'll have to send Todoroki a photo, because it's really, really good and he'll just have to save it for when they're together in person again. It's the second one, the pause before it that makes him hesitate. It's such a specific response but he can't imagine what would cause that except -

Oh.

Midoriya's smile freezes on his face and the knife chopping vegetables slows. Of course. That makes...sense. Heroes that are injured in the line of duty always see a spike in merchandising profits, heroes killed in duty see...well, they don't see anything, but their estates often see a large enough bump it takes care of anyone who may need to handle their affairs.

It still aches. Even years later. Maybe Mirio should get this one. ] I'm not sure if he'd love or hate that it's a foil.

[ Nudging the vegetables closer to Bakugou he turns back to the cutting board, stomach twisted in knots. They can't fix the past, but they can grow from it. They can always be better than they were before. ]

From:

dynamight

[The fallen hero's foil joins the stack of others, resting on top, but Bakugou doesn't take his eyes away from Midoriya's face. No one ever knows how great Midoriya's bubbly smile is until it's gone.

Bakugou hates it.

He hates it because it goes against a certain philosophy, hates it because the freckles look sadder for it.] Hey, fuckwad. [His voice is surprisingly gentle. It took a long while, but he finally learned the things he couldn't know that happened then. To Midoriya, to Kirishima. He didn't feel the same impact for Nighteye they did, but... He gets it.] Why you frownin'? Ain't Number One always supposed to be smiling for others...? [AKA, stop looking sad because it just makes Bakugou feel bad, dammit.

Plus, he can't reach Midoriya from here with the counter between them. Getting up and going around draws too much attention. He wants to be able to give comfort without it being obvious.]

From:

pacifisting

Ah...

[ No, he's right. Midoriya can't keep being sad, not about something from years ago. Number One's job is to make other people happy and safe and he can't do that if he's moping. It's like he physically shakes it off; one moment his eyes are a little watery and the next, he's rubbing his eyes and smiling again, nodding. ]

Hold onto that one for me, please. I know someone who I think would like it.

[ It's clear, what Bakugou's doing; Midoriya recognizes the attempt and a part of him wishes that he were more tactile but the rest of him gets it. They're different and handle things differently and that's okay; Bakugou's attempt still worked. ]

From:

dynamight

[Carefully and quietly, Bakugou opens the second pack the same way he opened the first. The more common cards on top, he goes through somewhat fast, having seen them, having expected they would be there. Common, uncommon... He slows down at the rare, peering at the card on top.

Despite himself, he cracks a bit of a smile at one corner of his lips. He puts this card down on the opposite side, alone. The image is of two people in helmeted snorkeling masks. He knows a certain now eleven or twelve year old boy who would like it maybe.

He keeps going, finally at the end with the rarer cards.] Tch! [Give him a damn break! He tries to hide the small bit of comradery under irritation.] This is bullshit. [But when he pulls that card away and sees the one behind it, he balks.] What the fuck?

[He turns the two cards around in his palm and spreads them with his fingers for Midoriya to see.] You think you can fucking slip one in without me, huh, asshole? [They aren't foils, but might as well have been in how ridiculous:

two cards, one glimmering with a fiercely Full Cowled broccoli bastard in heavy-capped red shoes; the other, an exploding damn dandelion, all hard angles and bared teeth, screaming in the heat of battle.]

From:

pacifisting

[ He can't watch Bakugou and chop fish at the same time without risking losing a finger so he listens to the rustle of cards as Bakugou goes through them instead. A glance over reveals him smiling, but Midoriya doesn't dare comment on that because he doesn't want to risk it going away. Instead he focuses on rolling small balls of rice into neat circles, laughing when he sees the cards offered to him. ]

I dunno, Kacchan, they look accurate. You look so fierce! [ He looks gorgeous even on a card. He looks like he could fight and defend anyone and win without really trying, which is also pretty damn accurate. Midoriya loves it.

Coming over with little grains of rice sticking to his hand he offers a freshly made piece of sushi out so Bakugou doesn't have to reach out and take it and risk getting the cards dirtied. It also lets him peek at the cards more closely. Bakugou paid for the groceries so it's only fair he decides what to keep but he's not sure if Bakugou wants to keep the one of himself. ]

Can I convince you to let me have yours? [ BIG PUPPY EYES ]

From:

dynamight

Tch... Shuddap.

[Listen. He might brush this off, but maybe there's some preening in hearing Midoriya compliment him even if he rejects it almost as much as he use to when they were younger. Hell yeah, he looks fierce. He'll kick everyone's ass. He'll kick his dog's ass, he'll kick his own ass!]

Like hell.

[Oh. Nevermind. He's being fed. His lips part so Midoriya can deposit the fishy rice in his mouth, but he's quick to close them over the fingers, probably with more teeth than he should be using. At least the sushi is fresh. God, it's good not being slathered with condiments.

The card hand he lowers to the counter. The other hand takes Midoriya by the wrist--gotcha.

He pulls back to chew, his eyes hopping over Midoriya's scarred hands from one rice to the next. Give him a minute. When he's swallowed, he pulls the hand to himself to vacuum the grains off with his lips.] Maybe if you gimme something. [He abandons the cards, needing both hands to tug Midoriya between his knees as he turns to the side.]

Give me a kiss, and I'll fucking think about it.

From:

pacifisting

[ Midoriya's eyes track the movement and he sucks in a sharp breath through his nose when Bakugou's mouth closes around his fingers. It's not a surprise, but his stomach still flips all the same, like he's doing the equivalent of sliding his hand into an alligator's mouth and is reasonably sure that the alligator won't bite his fingers too bad. Then, Bakugou's not-so-helpfully cleaning rice off of his fingers (his hands were clean!!! Bakugou!!!) but Midoriya can't bring himeslf to complain as he's tugged into the other man's orbit.

One arm drapes over Bakugou's shoulders, careful not to get his shirt dirty as he leans in and presses a quick kiss to the tip of his nose. ]

Technically, after your battle at the hotel, your cards went up in value. [ Another kiss, fleeting, though he darts away if Bakugou tries to deepen it, grinning because he knows he's being a pain. ] Are you saying my kisses worth twenty-three dollars?

From:

dynamight

Ng. Not there, fuckhead. Kiss me like you're supposed to. [Don'T KISS HIS NOSE. STOP TEASING HIM. He's distractedly trying to chase other, better forms of ki--ah. That one. But it's there and gone in a matter of seconds.] Son of a bitch...

[Dammit. Midoriya keeps getting away, and Bakugou doesn't know whether to let it happen so he can get more food, or stop it so he can get more Midoriya Izuku. Ugh. He does try to get more of a kiss, and this only gets Midoriya to flee. He doesn't try nearly as hard as he can to drag Midoriya back.]

I didn't say your kisses were worth fucking twenty-three dollars! [He sounds offended? On Midoriya's behalf. Or maybe because his scruples were questioned. He's a GOOD BOY.] I said I would fucking think about it!

From:

pacifisting

I'm supposed to be making you dinner!

[ They both know that Midoriya's attention span is a mess when distracted and Bakugou is a very big, very loud distraction that he's all too happy to lose himself in. Laughing, he takes the hand Bakugou had teased earlier and presses a quick kiss to his palm before sliding back to finish slicing and arranging the fish onto the balls of rice.

It doesn't take long when he's focused, delicately trying to make sure each slice of fish is the same size as he starts layering and arranging the balls into some sort of pattern with the different types of fish he purchased. ]

Are you saying my kisses are worth more or less than that?