Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʟᴍ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀᴍ ` - ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇᴄʟᴏᴜᴅ & ᴍɪɴᴄᴄɪɴᴏ

There was another long drawn out silence before the man simply said, "very well" and hung up. Even with the call ending, he didn't sound like he expected that conversation was over.



Shoto stayed where he was, his fingers fingers clutching at Bakugo's shirt from behind. "I'm sorry," he finally managed to say, but his voice was raw, like it took a lot of effort to speak. "I didn't mean to cause anyone to worry. I should have handled it."



"If you need the rest of the day, I can get your notes," Midoriya offered.



"No, it's fine. That would be ... dramatic." But even with his calm words, he hadn't moved, until finally he took a deep breath and pushed himself up. It didn't do much other than reveal his face. He looked tired, but fine. "Thank you," he said a little softer, just for Katsuki, as his eyes dropped down. "For coming."
 
Katsuki grumbled, finding himself ticked off by the old man's passive response. He would have fought him if he had to, if it meant Shoto didn't have to deal with him.

"I'll walk Shoto back to our dorms," he told the other two who looked noticeably concerned.

Midoriya and Kirishima nodded and with a concerned look back at Todoroki they left towards the cafeteria, leaving him alone with his boyfriend for the time being.

"You scared the shit out of me," he mumbled.
 
"I'm sorry," he said again. He could tell he'd rattled all three of them. He was a little mad at himself, he hadn't had so many breakdowns since before his teen years. He knew he was stronger than this, and he'd known he was going to have to face his father eventually, he just hadn't expected it to catch him so off guard.

It felt silly not to go back to class, but if he was being honest with himself, he didn't think he could pay attention anyway. "I just ... froze. I used to have bouts like this as a child but ... I didn't expect it to be a problem now."
 
He didn't peel Shoto off of him, but he did inch them away from the main route and towards another area where they could sit on a bench and catch their breath.

"Stop apologizing," he sighed. "He's gonna find you during the week." He couldn't be attached to Shoto at the hip to be there for him all the time but at least they lived together. It was just a matter of when Endeavor found it convenient to go after his son.

"Damn it... the hell did he want with you?" he huffed, trying not to get heated about it.

He turned to Todoroki. "You... still wanna go to class?" College was a bit more lenient than high school. Absences were fine as long as the work was made up.
 
Todoroki's jaw clenched for a moment, but he forced himself to relax out of it. There was no avoiding his father forever, there never was. He hadn't bothered him since college had started, it was only a matter of time before he showed up.

"I don't even know," he admitted. "I didn't make it that far before I ... freaked out."

It could be anything. Literally just lunch - a push from his sister to take an interest in their actual daily lives. Or a check-up to see what progress he was making. There was no way he could know about Todoroki's change in career plans, but he could know that he had a romantic partner. He'd told his mother, side-stepping pronouns, and while he didn't think that she'd actually tell him ...

"Not this one," he answered, setting his school bag on the ground next to their bench. He'd rather be outside. It was a little cool in November, but he didn't mind.

"Do you remember when we first started school, and I wouldn't use my fire?" he asked, and knew it was rhetorical. Bakugo himself had thrown a fit about Shoto only fighting him with half of his power. "My father always wanted me to overtake All Might. Trained me for it, really. I was like you and Midoriya back then - wanting to be number one. But just to spite him. And I wanted to do it without ever using my fire, because I knew it would anger him to show him that I was that good without needing him."

He didn't know why he was saying it, he so rarely opened up, but for some reason he felt the need to explain a little.
 
He remembered that day at the sports festival vividly. He'd been fuming that day, so upset that even Todoroki had looked down on him to think he couldn't take the flames with the ice. Looking back, of course it made him feel dumb.

Bakugo sighed, thumping a hand on top of his boyfriend's head to gently tousle his locks. "Probably don't need me to tell you you don't owe anyone shit," he said. He was terrible at advice but he had a feeling Todoroki wasn't looking for that anyways.

He leaned back, ankle rested on his other thigh, hands shoved into his pockets. He was still sweaty from running all the way over but the wind was pleasantly cool against his heated skin.

Todoroki didn't need to be told that he was that good already, even Bakugo would admit that. "What... are you going to do? If he finds out about us," he said.
 
Todoroki smiled softly when Bakugo's hand dropped on his head. He had such a way of mixing tough and gentle that no one but him could pull off and he kind of loved that.

He leaned next to him, his own legs splayed out comfortably, and rested his head on Bakugo's shoulder. The question was a loaded one, and he sat for it with a moment. "Nothing, I suppose. It won't change anything." He was an adult, he could make his own decisions about his life, his career, who he wanted to spend his life with. "The issue is how ... nasty it's going to get. I wouldn't put it past him to sabotage me, somehow. Or you, honestly."

He thought his voice was really too level for how he really felt about it. It was a lot easier to say he didn't care what his father said or thought or did, but in practice Endeavor had always had a way of burning everything down.
 
"I can do nasty," Bakugo muttered without another thought. He wasn't a stranger to violence, fighting, or just blasting through anything or anyone that was in his way.

He probably had a tough chance against Endeavor if it ever came down to it but he liked to think that he'd at least put up a good fight.

The blond was content to wait out his boyfriend's panic attack, resting his arms on the back of the bench and letting Shoto lean against him for comfort. His hand on the other side of Shoto's head played with the crimson strands idly. "Fuck him," he muttered without any regard as to how Shoto might take it.

"He sounds like an ass. He made your life hell because he couldn't beat All Might himself? Give me a fucking break," he scoffed.
 
He could. Shoto had no doubt in his mind that if anyone could push Endeavor back as hard as he gave it, it'd be Bakugo. He didn't know why he couldn't. Maybe it was some weird biological hardwiring, maybe it was 'childhood trauma' as Mina was always saying, or maybe it was just because as much as he could win physical fights, the other types just weren't his style. Could he win, Shoto didn't know, but he'd give him a hell of a fight.

He made your life hell. He reached with his right hand for his scar, his fingers gently touching the marred skin. It didn't hurt anymore, not since he'd been little, but he still knew exactly where it was. "Not just mine."

He thought, briefly, of the future. If Bakugo lost the number one spot to Midoriya, for all his anger, all his stubbornness, he'd never turn out like his father.
 
He turned his face to him, the gesture none-too-gentle with his hand on the other side of Shoto forcibly turning his head over. "I bet," he mumbled, leaning in to kiss just under his eye where it was all scarred. "You look fucking cool, though."

The scar was bad-ass, even to Bakugo's standards who wouldn't dare praise anybody like that. He didn't know enough about Shoto's past to press any further or make any more inflammatory comments.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked, glancing over at Shoto. The area was empty anyways, most of the students gone to take class while the two of them had opted to ditch.
 
He huffed out a laugh, a quick exhale of warm air through his nose, his small smile endearing. He believed him, was the thing. He'd heard someone say once, in the halls at UA, that he'd be a lot more attractive without the scar. Bakugo had always seemed to kind of like it.



"No," he said, but after a moment of sitting there, it was like the panic had taken enough of his walls down that the words came without his entire permission. "My mom did it. The scar. Because I look like him, from this side. She couldn't take anymore. Just kind of ... snapped one day. She's in the hospital, the one down town. That's where I go sometimes, when I'm not with you."
 
"Oh," was all he said. Somehow, that made his blood boil more than ever. Maybe it was because a bully could recognize another, or he just had a soft spot for mothers. His own had shown him a lot of tough love while raising him, one he recognized.

He kissed the side of Shoto's head and mulled over what to say next. He knew he didn't have to say anything. Sometimes a listener was better than someone who pretended they knew all the answers to life, or someone else's problems.

"I'll go with you next time, if you want," he mumbled, then quickly amended his offer. "I mean, I want to. Probably should introduce myself to your mom if I want to... you know, have a future with you someday."
 
Somehow, that 'oh' was all he needed to hear. He didn't need it to become a big deal, or need to be dotted on. He'd just needed to say it, he supposed. It was getting easier to talk to Bakugo than it had been before. He decided he liked it.



"I told her about you last time," he mentioned. "I mean, not in so many words. I just told her that I was seeing someone . She asked me if I was happy and I said I was. I think, I'd really like if you came with me. If you really want to."
 
He paused for a moment to let the thought linger, before he decided that yes, he wanted to. He wasn't good at confronting adults, or even being polite for the sake of being polite, but he'd try for Todoroki's sake. "Yeah," he ruffled his own mess of hair. "It'd be pretty shitty of me if I didn't."

"You feeling a little better?" Bakugo asked, looking Todoroki over to check if he looked okay.
 
Todoroki took a moment to feel himself out before he answered, but he did feel a lot better. Kind of tired but not like he was going to lose control of himself again. He wondered why the panic attacks were starting to show up again, but maybe it was just because things in his life were changing. He'd always liked routine.



He wanted to say thank you again, or maybe apologize again, but he knew it would just cause his boyfriend to roll his eyes or tell him to stop, so he didn't. Instead he checked the time on his watch and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."
 
Bakugo glanced at the way Todoroki checked his watch and snorted. "You got somewhere to be, half-and-half?" The hand that had been rested around Todoroki's shoulders now fell on top of his head, more so out of playfulness than anything else.

"Shit, that reminds me... Left my bag at the gym," he muttered in annoyance. He'd been so caught up making sure that he'd get to Todoroki in time that he'd left all of his stuff at the weight benches. Maybe Kirishima had secured them on his way back. "Been working out more, you noticed?" he grinned, smacking his own hard abs.
 
"Mm," Todoroki hummed, and after a quick glance around to make sure there weren't a lot of people around, he quirked one finger under the hem of Bakugo's tank and pulled it half way up his stomach, pretending to study his abs for quite some time. "Nope, but maybe my mouth would notice the difference."



He said it as deadpanned as he said anything, but his eyes were bright in a way they rarely were as he stood up. He had afternoon classes, but he trusted his friends to get the notes for him. "Want to get lunch with me? I'm thinking soba. We can grab your bag on the way."
 
Bakugo instinctively flexed when Todoroki lifted up the hem of his shirt, trying to tense every muscle of his abs. He really had been working out more with Kirishima, determined to get his muscles as rock-hard as Kirishima's without his hardening quirk. "Are you serious?" he huffed, offended that Todoroki couldn't tell the fruits of his labor. "Look." He got up, and pulled off his tank top then and there. They weren't so far from the gym that a shirtless guy in sweatpants was such a bizarre sight.

He pointed to his abs, grinning from ear-to-ear at how hard-pressed Todoroki would be to not recognize his progress. "Don't talk about lunch, look at my abs!" he argued, though he'd still follow Todoroki.
 
Todoroki hummed again, walking backwards with his hands in his pockets as he shamelessly let his eyes travel down Bakugo's physique. He'd always been in excellent shape, but age had changed their bodies and yeah, he'd definitely put on more muscle mass.



"I don't know," he said cooly. He wondered idly if sweatpants were the male version of lingerie because there was just something about the way they sat low on Katsuki's hips, accentuating the sharp v cut of muscles that ran under the band that made him want to lick him. "Maybe?"
 
Bakugo narrowed his eyes. He should have gotten used to Todoroki's teasing by now but that smug aloofness really threw him off sometimes. "Eh?" he huffed. "I don't know?!" He balled his shirt in one hand, following Todoroki to the cafeteria. Eventually, he had to put on a shirt, but that didn't stop him from flexing his biceps to show off how much wider his shoulders had gotten, and how he'd definitely bulked up. "You're blind if you can't see it. I'm ripped."

And then there was Todoroki, who looked like an angel but was built underneath his clothes. Probably not to the extent that Bakugo was, but damn did Todoroki have a body on him too.
 
"Are you?" Todoroki asked. It'd been awhile since he'd been this much of an asshole, caught somewhere between panic attacks and happiness, but there was always a little thrill with riling Bakugo up for no reason.



He almost didn't go inside, just to keep his boyfriend half naked, but his growling stomach made the decision for him. "I mean of course you're ripped, but you always have been. Are you sure there's anything really that different?" He asked as he punched their meal cards and reluctantly dragged his eyes away from Bakugo's arms to dramatically focus on their lunch options.
 
"What did you say?!" Bakugo blurted out, though the threat was more like annoyance than actual anger. Todoroki had to be used to it by now, being one of the only few who could brush off his regular bouts of aggression like it was nothing.

He ordered himself a bowl of spicy ramen and a set of katsu sandwiches, having increased his calorie count as of late to bulk himself up. Shortly after getting into college, Kirishima had been really into working out so naturally he and Bakugo had made it a regular thing to keep each other motivated. He was away from the dorms for hours when he wasn't in class or with Todoroki and more often came home late too.

Maybe this was Todoroki's way of getting him back for those late nights away. "Feel my shoulders," he grabbed his boyfriend's hand and placed it there.
 
Todoroki ordered himself a plate of cold soba and a drink that was more sugary than he normally liked but he had a vague memory in the back of his head about his mother saying it was good for him after an episode.



He picked a table, purposefully not paying attention to the annoyance rolling off his boyfriend, but by the time Bakugo actually made him touch him, he laughed. It was a soft, quiet noise as he leaned forward, eyes bright again. "Katsu, love, I'm messing with you."
 
"What are you messing with me for?" he huffed. With anyone else, he would have messed with them right back, and he might have done that to Todoroki too, but something about that laugh had his annoyance retreat until he was just complacent.

They were just enjoying their meal in relative bliss when two students, most likely from another class back in high school, approached them with the intent to stir up some trouble.

"Heard there was actually a gay couple at UA University," one of them grinned. "That's disgusting."

The other one chuckled, but the two looked like they were just intending to say some ignorant shit and leave.

"Which one of you is the girl in the relationship?" the other one snickered.

Bakugo's eye twitched, and he dropped his sandwich onto the tray, looking like he was a second away from flipping the table and starting an all-out battle then and there.

"What the hell did you fuck-faces say?" he muttered under his breath. "You wanna say that to my face?" His mouth still stuffed with ramen, Bakugo pushed out of his seat and whirled around, a fire lit in his eyes as he faced the two boys.
 
For all his worry, when it actually happened, Todoroki just felt ... unimpressed. Like he expected something more creative. It was bound to happen eventually and yet it almost wasn't worth his time.



He didn't get up, there was no need - if it escalated Bakugo would put the idiots down before they even got one move in. It was dumb at the very least and suicidal at the most.



The students laughed in what was supposed to be bravado but was obviously nervousness that Bakugo would actually bow up to them, and Todoroki calmly finished his noodles before joining the conversation. "Don't waste your breath, baby. They're just upset they made it all the way to college without anyone touching their dicks but their own right hands."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom