Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Like Herding Cats

Touya leaned his elbows on the bar, digging his hands into his hair and wondering what exactly he did wrong to get himself into this position. 

“I know just the person, Dabi. I could give them a call right now.” Mr. Compress commented as he toyed with a blue marble, waiting for his time on stage. The last act was just cleaning up.

Shigaraki insisted on calling them League of Villains because he was a nerd and said they needed to have a group name. Like some sort of boyband. Even their group chat was called that. Then to keep to the theme, he had them all use “villain” names despite the fact that Shigaraki and Himiko didn’t use one.

Unfortunately for Touya, it stuck.

“Yeah, we can totally set you up. You’re gonna be alone forever.” Twice slammed his plastic cup down on the bar, ice rattling against the sides. He had been banned from glass cups when he shattered the last one doing that. 

Touya glared at both of them. “Fuck off. I don’t need either of you trying to set me up with someone. For fuck’s sake. You’re starting to sound like Fuyumi. I don't need you nagging at me too.”

Himiko pouted, biting into the celery stalk that came with her drink. “We just want you to be happy, Dabi.”

“I don’t need a partner to be happy. Not everything starts and ends with love.”

“No, but you keep getting with those losers that ask you out while you’re on shift and then you spend the next day bitching about them, so clearly you want something.” Shigaraki spoke up from the end of the bar, sparing him a glance over the edge of his switch’s screen. 

Touya rolled his eyes. “Cause I’m not trying for a relationship with those guys.”

“No, just trying to catch a disease.” Spinner commented as he leaned against Shigaraki’s shoulder, hanging onto his boyfriend before he started his shift. 

Gross.

Touya flipped him off, snatching up Himiko’s empty glass to make her another virgin bloody mary. He didn’t know why she was so obsessed with tomato juice that she was willing to spend this much money on it. It would be cheaper to buy a liter of it at the store.

Himiko waved her celery stalk at him. “Oh! Maybe you should try a dating app?”

“Oh no, dear. The customers here are better than whoever he’d get off an app.” Magne reached over, picking up an order for one of the tables.

“No dating apps. No speed dating. No blind dates. And no setting me up with someone.” Touya narrowed his eyes on his so-called friends, seeing a few look away. Himiko continued to pout, big golden cat-like eyes pleading at him.

Fucking hell. He took a breath. “Fuyumi has been trying to recommend someone. If I get the damn number, will you all leave it alone?”

She grinned wide, her teeth stained red from the tomato juice. “Yes! But you have to give us updates.”

“I’m not asking then.”

“Boo.” Himiko snatched her fresh glass from him, plopping the celery back in her drink.

Touya shooed them away. Shigaraki and Spinner claimed a table in the corner where Himiko retreated, dragging Twice along with her. Mr. Compress took his place on the stage, going through his show for the crowd. Magne went back to work, collecting orders for him and Kurogiri to pour. 

Once they were out of his way, he was able to settle back into his routine, losing himself in the mindless tasks. Pitchers of beer for the tables, mixed drinks for the bar, open and close tabs, collect tips. Rinse, repeat.

A few patrons tried their luck, flirting at him. Touya merely raised a brow, added a snide remark and moved on. It felt. Hollow. It left him stewing on what all the idiots had gone on and on about, taking a random stranger for a few fleeting moments of feeling like he was worth something just didn’t feel…worth it. 

Himiko often prattled on about love, going to great lengths to discuss her newest crush. She was, frankly, obsessed with finding love, and wanted them all to find someone perfect for them. It was nice that she thought he was even capable of it. Touya wasn’t so delusional that he thought he could find love, but well, finding a partner, someone to share the burden with, might not be so bad.

Fuyumi had been hounding him lately, hinting, in between all the times she mentioned her girlfriend, that she knew someone that he might be interested in. His sister had never offered anyone up to suffer the Todorokis, so there must be something special about this one. Maybe he could give it a shot. 

Couldn’t be worse than the guy in front of him who was trying every pick up line he could think of, jumbled together in a drunken slur.

He checked the time. Good, he could catch her before she went to bed. 

To: Fuyumi

Sent: 20:16

Hey. What was the number of the guy you wanted me to talk to?

From: Fuyumi

Sent: 20:20

XXX-XXX-XXXX

Let me know how it goes!

Touya tucked his phone away, deliberately ignoring the look from Kurogiri, and finished out the rest of his shift.

At least he wasn’t closing. He left deep cleaning the bar and kicking the sloshed out to Spinner and Kurogiri. He clocked out and escaped the drunken crowd, and his friends, to start his walk home.

Thankfully, he lived close to his work, only taking a short 20 minutes to reach his apartment. It was a tiny thing with just enough room for him, just the way he liked it. So small in fact, that if Twice or Mr. Compress or any of the others needed to crash, they went somewhere else. Kept his family from being on his doorstep too, now that he was halfway across Japan. 

Was it lonely? Sure.

Was it quiet? Absolutely.

He dealt with enough noise between his family, his friends, and work. If he had to deal with it in his home space, he would go insane.

He showered, dressed for bed and plugged his phone in, only just then remembering the number. 

It was late, probably too late to text the guy. He’ll do it in the morning, if he remembers. 

He dropped onto the bed, stretching out, reaching again for his phone for some last minute doom scrolling when he saw the notifications. 

Nine of them, from the number Fuyumi had given him. Huh. 

He read through them, and the ramblings, spotting the name at the end. Keigo. Fuyumi must have told the guy she gave Touya his number. Guess he decided to take the initiative. Less work for Touya. 

He typed out his response, tacking his name on at the end. Just in case. God knows, Fuyumi hadn’t given him Keigo’s name. 

A brief conversation later, and he scored himself a coffee date. Good for him. 

ONE

Touya yawned, stretching out on his bed and rubbing his eyes. He reached for his phone, clicking the screen on. Roughly 10. Thursday. His date was today. 

It was kinda weird, having a scheduled date after spending so long picking up strangers for a quick drink or something in the moment. 

He had spent the last couple of days thinking about this Keigo. He wondered what he was like. They hadn’t texted again. Touya considered it but tossed the idea aside. Might as well learn all those first date things on an actual first date.

Besides, he preferred in person communication. Half the reason he never tried online dating was because it was too easy to hide behind the mask of the screen and the internet. Less easy when they’re confronted.

He pushed himself out of bed. He should probably get somewhat ready for this date. Should he go all out? He tossed the idea around, looking at his closet of black clothing. Probably not, it was just a coffee date. No need to pull out the entire punk wardrobe. 

He took a shower, dressed in a simple shirt and jeans, and headed out on foot. He had enough time to take a leisurely pace. It was kinda nice out, not bad for a first date. 

Touya was about halfway there, maybe fifteen minutes out when he felt his phone buzz. He looked at his phone. A notification from Keigo.

Just saying he was on his way? He opened the message, finding it to be the opposite. 

Instead, his potential date was cancelling on him for a meeting. Shouldn’t he have known he had a meeting today and not schedule appointments around it? Was this a cop-out to get out of the date? Maybe he thought he should text because Fuyumi told him to?

His sister was stubborn in her own ways after all.

Touya studied the little stickers that Keigo liked to end his messages on. This one was a sad bird. He wasn’t sure what kind, but he was pretty sure it was one of the ones that were kept as pets. He had seen them in the pet store. The stickers were kind of cute. It reminded him of those emoticons that Himiko liked to spam them all with. He wondered why they were all birds so far.

He sent back a message, jokingly saying that Keigo should skip out on the meeting. He knew the other man wouldn’t. A coffee date with a stranger was not worth someone’s livelihood. He reassured Keigo after that it was fine. He didn’t know what kind of person he was texting, but he had a feeling Keigo was a bit anxious, after that first stream of texts. So, no need to be an asshole.

Yet, anyway. He saved his asshole-ish tendencies for his friends, family, and shitty customers. No use scaring off a stranger that was probably Fuyumi’s friend. He’d never hear the end of it if he did.

Except, was he Fuyumi’s friend? His sister never mentioned him before and he was pretty sure she told him all of the teachers she worked with. If Keigo was not a fellow teacher, then who was he?

To: Fuyumi

Sent: 11:55

Hey. Whose number did you give me?

From: Fuyumi

Sent: 12:00

Keigo. He’s a friend of Rumi’s.

Did you text him yet?

Ah fuck. That’s worse. He’d only met his sister’s girlfriend a handful of times and each time had been terrifying. His little sister, who had a quiet, stubborn determination and sly sense of humor, was dating Rumi Usagiyama, who didn’t know the meaning of subtle and was a famed mixed martial artist. 

Touya didn’t pay attention to sports, didn’t care about them in the slightest and only showed up to or watched Natuso’s games. Except when Fuyumi brought a muscled tank of a woman to dinner, he decided he should probably look her up.

Under the stage name Mirko, she was leading the MMA division and taking down opponents hard and fast, with legs that could crush lesser men and women with ease. Hell, he wouldn’t count on anyone to last against her. She had a feral intensity, paired with loud, brash laughter and wide toothy grins. She scared the shit outta Enji though, and that was fucking funny.

Keigo was her friend.

Was he also a martial artist or a fighter of some kind? His texts didn’t come off as intimidating but god knows Usagiyama doesn’t come off as intimidating if you just listed off her appearance. Sort of. If you didn’t include that she was made of pure muscle. 

It wasn’t like Touya could look Keigo up. He didn’t have the man’s last name, and it would be awkward as fuck to ask now. Assuming that Keigo was someone famous enough that he would be searchable.

Touya blew out a breath. Maybe it was for the best that they hadn’t met. He certainly couldn’t deal with that kind of intensity on the regular. 

TWO

Touya woke up on Monday, just after noon. He ended up having to work his and the closing shift, which kept him at the bar until 3 cleaning up after drunks. At least today was his day off. He didn’t have anything planned, nothing he absolutely needed to do. 

Besides maybe housework, but he’d have to see how the day goes.

Otherwise, he might just lounge around in bed. Who was gonna stop him? 

He reached for his phone, ignoring the messages from the idiots. He had one from Natsuo, reminding him of the volleyball game he was coming to see this weekend, and oh, one from Keigo. 

He had wondered if his stranger was going to message him again. He figured the meeting might’ve been a way to nicely ghost him. 

Instead he got a morning text at…4 in the morning? Why in god’s name was Keigo up at 4 in the morning? Touya had finally fallen asleep at that point.

Oh no. Was Keigo a morning person? Touya would not be able to deal with a morning person. Maybe he should have hoped for the ghosting.

He sent a morning greeting back and got up, deciding he should probably hunt down breakfast. Lunch? His first meal of the day.

He didn’t even make it out of his room before his phone buzzed. Looked like Keigo had a free moment.

Apparently the meeting was legit. He could commiserate. Touya, too, could not stand long and pointless meetings. He worked an office job for a hot minute, and wanted to pull his hair out. It was a complete waste of time. Especially when they would then ask him for some sort of paperwork and if he was done yet. 

He would’ve been, if someone hadn’t insisted on unnecessary meetings. 

Keigo messaged him back, criticizing his late wake up. Hey now, he had been going to bed at 4, not getting up.

He sent the message quickly, before he could thinking about it.

To: Keigo

Sent: 12:40

Not all of us get up at dawn, Birdie

The nickname slipped. Shoot. They weren’t really at a stage for nicknames. Would Keigo be upset about it? He wouldn’t use it if he didn’t want to. It wasn’t worth messing with Keigo quite yet. The rest of his friends? Too late for them, they knew what they did to earn their nicknames and he wasn’t changing that. 

Still, his chest tightened when Keigo questioned it. What was Touya supposed to say? That because Keigo texted in short bursts, it felt like a bird chirping to get his attention? That the man apparently had a thousand bird related stickers to display every emotion and woke up at dawn?

He waited, chewing on his lip, food forgotten. He expected Keigo to demand he stop, say it was dumb, to decide it wasn’t worth talking to him anymore. Touya wouldn’t be upset, this was essentially a stranger after all, but he kinda liked texting him. A little.

The weight on his chest was obliterated by the stream of messages that buzzed, one after the other.

Keigo liked it, the nickname. Granted, it wasn’t one of Touya’s finest nicknames but it worked. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, giving Keigo another shot.

To: Birdie

Sent: 12:44

Good

Birdie

:) 

Anyway, you owe me a raincheck

Touya felt a whole lotta stupid, sending a smiley face when Keigo had been sending stickers, but he really didn’t have any other options. He tried not to text often, so it wasn’t like he had favorite emojis or emoticons or anything. Maybe he would look into it, if this went farther. 

He imagined Keigo hopping like his little bird, excited for coffee. Or well, he pictured a bird hopping, hard to imagine Keigo when he still had no idea what he looked like. 

Unfortunately, it looked like that was gonna have to wait a little while longer. 

Keigo had a packed schedule. Apparently the volleyball season was starting. He was wrong about him being a martial artist but sports people came with their own intensity. He’d have to see Keigo in person before he worried about it. At least that gave them a talking point. Touya wasn’t totally lost on volleyball, not with Natsuo around. Didn’t mean he really understood it either. 

Touya checked his own schedule, pulling it up on his phone. Fuck. He forgot that Spinner and Shigaraki were going out of town for a while and he was covering all the weird shifts. 

Looked like it was gonna be a minute before they could see each other. 

Touya followed his brother into the stadium, hunching in his leather blue flame jacket, trying to not bump into anyone. It was both fortunate and unfortunate that Natsuo inherited their father’s build, making him easy to track in a crowd. 

Touya wasn’t short, but with this many people, it would be easy to get lost and he was not in the mood to be separated in a crowd like this. His brother carved a path, unbeknownst to him, as he went on and on about the chances of the matches, who he was looking forward to win, who he figured would probably make it. 

Touya tuned it all out when it became a blur of names. Apparently the season was just underway, with each team fighting for the chance to represent the prefecture in the finals. Where then it would be decided who was Japan’s best.

At the very least, he got food out of it. Natuso deviated to grab them snacks and drinks before they headed to their seats. Good ones, according to his brother. They were right up against the railing on the second level, with a clear view of the court that was set up for several matches to play at once. 

The noise was already a cacophony, which would only get worse as the stadium filled and the games went on. The roar of the crowds on the tv screen were already louder than he wanted to deal with, and now he was in the midst of it all.

Just to the right in front of them, was a team in black and gold uniforms with red wings on the back. It looked like they were warming up for the match, one player tossing the ball into the air and the rest lining up to smack it over the net and into the other half of the court. One of the players was off to the side, staring at his phone before he was heckled by his teammates. He tossed his phone into his bag and ran to join the others. 

“Fukuoka Hawks. Up and coming, they did really well last year with their new player.” Natsuo gestured at the solo player that ran up, taking his turn to hit the ball. “I think they’re favored to win, or place high. They’ve got some stiff competition.”

Touya rolled his eyes. “They’ll make it or they won’t. Are they who we’re here to see?”

“One of them.” 

“Fuck. How many games are you putting me through.”

“All of em.” Natsuo grinned as Touya slumped into his seat. “Don’t worry. I’ll buy you food after this.”

“You better. We’re using his card for all this aren’t we?”

“Yup.” Natsu’s grin widened, eyes sparkling with mischief. Neither one of them cared much for their father, but his money? Well, it was useful when it needed to be.

Touya listened to the slam of the volleyball echo in the gym as a few teams started their warm ups. He dug out his phone, sipping his iced coffee and wishing he could have gotten a proper mocha at a cafe. 

Eventually, one day. 

Keigo hadn’t texted him since Touya had sent the good luck message this morning. Must be busy with work or maybe in his match at this moment. He hadn’t said what time it was. Touya shrugged and scrolled to the group chat, skimming through the posts. Spinner had been sending vacation photos from South Korea. He and Shigaraki were touring through some sort of e-sports museum.

Touya looked up when the crowd roared, jumping to their feet. The team in front of him scored, apparently. Natuso said it was a tough rally. Whatever that meant. 

Curious, he decided to try watching the game.

The lone player from before raced from one end of the end to the other. He leapt into the air just as the ball was tossed to him. He held there, for a moment, as if the red wings embroidered on his back held him aloft. With a swing, the ball slammed into the back half of the court with a crack, blindsiding his opponents. 

The crowd cheered again, stomping feet and clapping. All Touya could see was when the player turned to face his teammates, arms in the air, accepting high fives from them and a “nice kill.” Touya was too far to see the color of his eyes but he could see the lightly tanned skin, sun streaked blond hair, and a wide smile that seemed too big for his face but he was sure it suited him.

From there, Touya couldn’t take his eyes off of him. The player sprinted back and forth, flying into the air again and again, tirelessly. He was so fast that his team could barely keep up with him, let alone their opponents. 

They won by a landslide.

The rest of the games dragged after that. None of them had the speed or the power of that one player. He wished he could remember the name, but Natsuo had dumped so many sports facts on him that it got buried in the pile. 

At least his brother held up his end of the bargain, treating him to fancy barbecue. They went a bit overboard on ordering meat but whatever, their dad barely looked at his credit card statements. 

“Oh, so Fuyumi told me that you got that number from her? What’s he like?”

Touya rolled his eyes, unable to escape anyone who wanted to be knee deep in his dating life. “Fine. Haven’t actually met him yet. We keep trying to meet for coffee but his schedule sucks.”

“Really? Even to meet for like an hour?”

“Yeah, apparently. Guess his schedule is packed. He told me he played volleyball, and said he had a game today. I meant to ask him how it meant.”

Natsuo leaned forward. “Really? With who? Where? There were so many games today. We could’ve seen your boyfriend.”

Touya shrugged. “Dunno. Didn’t ask. Hold on. I’ll see how he did.”

His message received a response almost immediately, guess he finally caught him when he was done for the day. “Huh. Looks like he won.”

“Nice. Hey, figure out who he plays for.”

“Yeah yeah, in a sec.” Touya nodded, responding to Keigo’s question. And maybe a bit more. He hadn’t realized he had written a paragraph about that one player until it was sent. Shit. He shouldn’t be gushing about some other guy to his eventual potential boyfriend.

Oh, but it made Keigo jealous and wasn’t that something. “Hey, who was that one guy in the first match? That up and coming team?”

“Huh?” Natsuo froze, mid bite. “Umm, Fukuoka Hawks. You probably mean the Number 2 player? He’s their wing spiker.”

Touya wasn’t sure what the hell a wing spiker was but he sent along the team name and player number. 

To: Touya

Sent: 18:42

Eksildjgnhv

What exactly was he supposed to do with that? Himiko typed like that sometimes. What the fuck did she call it? A keyboard smash? He texted the bird a couple of times to see if he was okay. He was not, even with four texts claiming otherwise.

“Why did you want to know?”

“Making him jealous.”

“Touya. You did not just use some other guy to make your boyfriend jealous, did you?”

“Not boyfriend and not really. It was kinda accidental. Did make him jealous though.” Touya’s grin turned sharp and Natsuo groaned.

“Unbelievable. This is why you’re single all the time.”

“Shut up. He’s asking about the player now. Oh, he knows him.” Touya read the messages as they came in and…Oh.

Oh.

“What’s that face for?”

Wordlessly, Touya held out his phone to Natsuo. His brother read the messages, blinked, read again.

“What?! You’re dating him?!”

Touya jumped. “Not dating him! Not yet. Holy fuck Natsu. I just ranted on how impressive this guy was. To him. To him! Natsu. Just kill me.”

Natuso cackled, ignoring how every face in the restaurant turned towards him.

“You’re fucking– Oh my god, Touya. You didn’t know it was him?”

“No! How was I supposed to know? I don’t even know his last name, for fuck’s sake. You know I don’t pay attention to sports.”

 “This is so good. I can’t wait to tell ‘Yumi. You have to get me his autograph. I need it, Touya.”

“You tell them anything and you don’t get shit.”

“What no, c’mon. For your favorite brother.”

“Shouto is my favorite now.”

Natsuo snorted. “Fine fine.”

THREE

Touya had never actually looked forward to Golden Week. When he was in school, it just meant more time at home, and once he was an adult, he spent most of it working. It wasn’t like he really had anything to do. Paying for rent and food was more important than a week-long vacation. Not when he didn’t have the money to do anything with it.

Although, now he wished he was on vacation, far far away, instead of dealing with all these fuckers. His so-called friends were crowding the bar. They had caught him texting Keigo recently and had been demanding to learn more about him since.

Mostly because he refused to tell them who he was texting, and since they were all in the bar, it couldn’t be one of them, and he never hid texting his family. Ergo, it was his boyfriend. Not that anyone would listen to him when he said they were not dating. 

Fucking hell, they hadn’t even met yet.

Touya had been holding strong but he made the mistake of throwing them a bone, that they were going on a date Wednesday. Then maybe they could be called boyfriends. Worst mistake of his life.

They all decided that this was the perfect time to coach him through it, so he wouldn’t scare Keigo off.

“Dabi~” Himiko wailed, kneeling on the stool and pushing up on the bar. “You have to smile when you see him. Not like that. A nice smile.” She leaned back, pushing her cheeks up to smile. “Like this!”

“Yeah! And you gotta compliment him, if you wanna keep him around. Bet he’s way outta your league, give up now.”

Touya dried off the cup, trying to ignore Twice’s words. He made the mistake, after finding out who Keigo was, by looking him up. 

Keigo Takami.

Professional volleyball player, model, and Japan’s current number one bachelor. 

Touya was out of his goddamn league. Even Twice’s other personality knew it.

Mr. Compress sipped his drink. “Don’t worry Dabi, you have plenty of charm.”

“When he doesn’t speak,” Shigaraki interjected, Spinner snickering.

“Fuck off, all of you.” Touya flipped off Shigaraki in particular.

“Now now, that’s enough. I’m sure Todoroki will be fine with his date.” Kurogiri walked over, silent as the morning mist. 

“Of course, just flash those pretty blue eyes. Any man would be a goner.” Magne clapped him on the shoulder, having rounded the bar to help with service.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll be sure to shut up and look pretty. Got it.”

“Guys.” Himiko whined. “You’ll be great Dabi. And you’ll tell us all about it!”

Touya shook his head. “Sure, Himiko.”

She squealed in delight and the rest of them finally let him get on with his shift.

Touya arrived at the family manor, feeling a little queasy. Between the train and the car and having to face the entirety of his family, he was over it. His siblings, fine. For the most part. His parents though? Ugh. He’d rather skip this entirely but his mom guilted him into coming. 

Something about spending at least one day of Golden Week together. At least he had a date to look forward to tomorrow.

He could hear his family from the entrance away. Seemed like he was last. Good, hopefully he timed it so that the food would be just about done. He could eat and then escape to home. 

Natsuo perked up when he walked in, apparently needing a sane mind in the mess. 

Which was fair. Shouto could be a riot with his deadpan delivery but otherwise he was comfortable in silence, even and especially when it was awkward for everyone else. Fuyumi either pandered to their parents, or went on and on about her girlfriend. Touya wasn’t sure which one he preferred these days. Maybe he could steer her to talking about the kids in her class. 

Their parents, Enji in particular, often went on about doing what’s best for the family, or asking about their careers. Which was oh so fun when Touya worked a deadend job as a bartender. Rei usually chimed in to ask about their prospective partners, probably trying to see if she’ll ever get grandkids.

Thank god Fuyumi could talk at length about her girlfriend these days, leave the rest of them alone.

Or so he fucking thought, until Natsuo threw his ass under the bus. 

“Touya is dating a famous volleyball player and model.”

Touya shot a glare at Natsuo, who had the biggest shit eating grin on. His brother was supposed to be on his side! See if he got him any fucking autographs now.

Rei’s full attention turned to him, waiting patiently, with gentle, curious eyes. He could refuse her answer and deal with the guilt later…

“Dating is a stretch,” he said after a moment. “We haven’t even gone on a date yet. Schedules keep misaligning.”

“Oh dear, that’s a shame. Will you be able to meet him this week?”

Touya shrugged. “We’re supposed to meet tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Hm, what’s he like?” Rei asked softly. Not pressuring, not like the demands from his friends, so how could he not.

“Well he’s up at dawn, something about getting his morning run in. He’s more of a fitness freak than Natsuo. Which makes sense now that he’s a professional sports player. But then he ends up staying up super late when he texts me after work, so I have no idea when he actually sleeps. His schedule is crammed and now I’m thinking it's all the modeling gigs he does. Which is insane. He texts like a teenage girl and sends these bird images constantly. It’s kinda cute actually but–” He paused, spotting the soft smile on his mother’s face while both Fuyumi and Natsuo looked like they were whispering to each other.

“What?” He snapped.

“Nothing bro. But you’re so whipped.”

“Shut up.”

“...Whipped?” Shouto looked between his siblings.

“I am not. Fuck off.” Touya glared at his middle siblings.

“Language, Touya.” Enji decided then to interrupt.

Which reminded him. He leaned towards his father, a manic grin on his face. “He’s also friends with Usagiyama,” and laughed when his father’s face paled, cackling like a hyena.

Natsou nearly choked on his drink, also laughing at their father’s expense.

Shouto managed a huff, which was as close to laughing as he ever got, before he started coughing.

Touya studied his brother. Shouto’s gaze was blank as usual, once he caught his breath, sipping at his glass of water. Except, his eyes looked a little glassy and his face was flushed. 

“Shouto, are you sick?”

“Hm…maybe? My classmates have been getting sick.”

“And you just what, decided to come to dinner anyway?”

“Fuyumi said it was a family dinner. Besides, I was feeling fine earlier…”

Touya scrubbed his face, and hoped to every god that whatever it was that Shouto had, that he didn’t just dump it all on the family.

When he woke up at 6 in the fucking morning, bones aching, fever frying his brain and leaving him fuzzy and nauseous, he wanted to strangle the brat.

He reached blindly for his phone, texting Keigo, and promptly falling back asleep. 

His phone vibrated against his chest an hour later, waking him up. He sighed, betting it was Keigo. 

Which, yup. They truly had the shittiest luck.

He smiled a bit, seeing that Keigo wanted to help, bring him medicine or something. Wouldn’t that be an image? Volleyball superstar and too damn hot model showing up on the doorstep of his ratty apartment? 

He kind of wanted him to visit. He hated being sick alone, but Keigo was in the middle of the tournament, he wouldn’t let him get sick.

What kind of almost partner would he be if he jeopardized this for him? Instead he texted back, letting him know that he had everything he needed. Truth be told, last time the flu was going around, his sister dumped all kinds of medicine on him. He was very certain he had some canned soup as well.

He’d be fine, as long as he got over this quickly. 

It was nice though, seeing Keigo’s messages, worrying about him. He didn’t have many people that worried about his health. His friends might, if he told them. Thank god he was off today. He wasn’t sure he could actually stop them from invading his apartment otherwise. 

He bit his lip, considering, and sent another message to Keigo, scrolling through his options until he found the perfect one.

To: Birdie

Sent: 7:30

Thanks, Birdie

We’ll meet next time

[STICKER: SadCat]

He felt the warmth spread in his chest that had nothing to do with his fever as he got a couple of stickers back. Of course Keigo had some overjoyed bird ones. He was pretty sure if he let him, Keigo would send him nothing but stickers.

Instead, he sent one of a sleeping cat and curled back under the covers, phone clutched in his hand. 

FOUR

Touya glared as the wind rattled his windows, the rain pounding like hail against his roof. The storm was one strong gust from bursting through the walls. He knew his apartment was shitty but damn, he’d never had to deal with a typhoon like this. At the very least there hadn’t been any leaks, yet.

He was fortunate too, that bartending was in fact, non-essential and therefore the bar was closed. There was no way in hell that he would be trying to go to work in this. He’d tell them to go to hell before he walked in this, he had just gotten over being sick.

Unfortunately, the storm also meant that there was no way he and Keigo were going to get to have that date today. 

Which, really, he saw that coming when the storm first rolled in on Monday. He suggested canceling it when the reports first showed the length and strength of the typhoon, but Keigo had insisted it would be fine. 

He yawned, texting Keigo about the storm, not exactly the raincheck he had wanted. It was frustrating though. Touya had let Keigo’s optimism infect him and had actually gotten up early in order to get ready for the date. As if maybe, just maybe, the storm would suddenly calm into a quiet rainshower.

No luck, for either of them. 

Work, their fucked up schedules, him getting sick, and now this, a raging typhoon that was trying to tear apart Japan. 

What kind of karma had Touya invoked in another life to deserve this? It wasn’t like he was some villain threatening to burn the world. He should be able to get a damn coffee date with an unreasonably hot man.

Texting had been nice though. Keigo responded in bursts between games, he assumed, and always with a plethora of stickers. He was fairly certain that even though they had been talking for weeks now, Keigo had yet to use the same sticker twice.

Which meant that Touya had to go hunting for stickers of his own to use that also weren’t the same, he wouldn’t be outdone by his bird. 

He walked from the window, trying to ignore the way it shook in its frame. His apartment held up this long, it just had to make it through the weekend and everything would be fine. He dropped back onto his bed, propping the pillow up so he could continue his book. Or attempt to, considering he set it aside every time Keigo texted him back.

He was glad at least, that these continuous interruptions to their first date hadn’t deterred Keigo. He was, after all, a model. A very successful, very attractive model, not that Touya didn’t look through all his photoshoots, and definitely not at the very scandalous one that Keigo did a few years ago. 

Nope, not at all.

Keigo was successful, attractive, and had a rising career. He didn’t need to wait for some perfect chance with someone like Touya, a veritable stranger with more baggage than he had actually shared with Keigo yet.

He was not getting into the Todoroki drama through text with someone he hadn’t met yet, no thanks. 

He set his book aside, yawning. Maybe he should try taking a nap, not like he had a whole lot else he could do right now. 

He slept for an hour before getting up to wander around his apartment, picking up and setting down his book, refolding his blanket, poking in his fridge before tossing himself back onto his bed. 

God, he was bored.

He had been locked in his house since the storm arrived on Monday and had little else to do but stare at his shitty walls and flinch every time the wind was particularly harsh. 

He wanted to take a walk, wanted to do something, anything, that would get this nervous energy out of him. 

Instead, here he was, doom scrolling on his phone and hoping that entertainment would just fall into his lap.

From: Birdie 

Sent: 19:22

Hey

Whats your favorite noodle dish?

Touya spent a long moment staring at the message. What? Why? Maybe Keigo was just as bored as he was? He also didn’t seem like someone who liked being stuck inside. Or maybe he did. Maybe it was a well deserved break after practice and games and gigs and whatever else he did that filled his schedule.

Oh, he’s making dinner. Rather late but whatever. Touya couldn’t judge. Wasn’t like he had actually eaten today. Maybe he should.

To: Birdie

Sent: 19:35

This late? Why are you eating now?

Fine

Cold Soba is the best, hands down. The other brother agrees

[STICKER: RamenCat]

Touya studied the sticker, which really was a cat in a traditional ramen bowl with noodles on his head and actually, soba didn’t sound so bad. He climbed off the bed and walked into his kitchen. Surely he had the ingredients. Noodles, check. Soy sauce? Yup. Anything else? Oh, green onions. That’ll do. 

He grabbed a bit of odds and ends and started boiling the water, reading Keigo’s text. Chicken yakisoba? That was fine, he supposed. Regular soba was better.  He shrugged and grinned. Looked like he had a cannibal bird on his hands. 

He added the noodles to the water, stirring absently. 

Aw, Birdie didn’t get it. His grin widened, hidden in the safety of his apartment as he explained the shitty joke to Keigo, laughing to himself. 

It was fun, messing with him. They’d been texting so much that Touya didn’t feel so bad, being a little bit of an asshole. If he couldn’t tease his prospective partner, what would be the point?

He sent several texts back and forth while he finished cooking the noodles and letting them cool down, because apparently his birdie was now several birds in a trenchcoat. With apparently the worst diet humanly possible. How in the world did he survive on basically only chicken? 

He was gonna have to cook for him wasn’t he? Make sure he was actually eating. Maybe sleeping too, if he was staying up late and getting up early. What in the world was his manager doing?

What…what was Touya doing?

He wasn’t Keigo’s partner. He hadn’t even met him yet. He shouldn’t be trying to think of what he could make for loving-wife bentos or keeping him on a proper sleep schedule. Hell, even Keigo’s texts indicated that he wasn’t even sure they were friends. 

Even though Touya texted him constantly, day and night, and he never texted anyone if he could help it. He had looked up and saved stickers to send to him. He always had the birdbrain on his mind. 

Fuck, maybe he was whipped, but what could he do about it? Keigo Takami was incredible, popular, and well beloved. Touya Todoroki was just some guy, on the other side of the screen. 

There wasn’t anything Touya could offer, would be willing to offer, to match up to someone like him.

He looked at the now cold noodles, smiling a bit. Except maybe a home cooked meal, and a place to land at the end of the day. 

They needed to have this damn date first though. 

Next time, for sure. 

FIVE

Touya tugged on his jacket, twisting to try and see how he looked in his tiny bathroom mirror. The first time he had tried this date, way back in the beginning, he had dressed more casual, like an idiot.

He couldn’t just be dressed in just a t-shirt and jeans if he was gonna meet up with Keigo Takami . 

So now he was dressing it up a bit more. It was still a coffee date, he wasn’t going to throw on a suit or something. He also did not have a suit, no matter how much his parents would probably want him too. So, somewhere in the middle.

The idiots had sent him several suggestions of outfits he could wear, suggestions of what they knew was in his wardrobe. While Twice suggested his birthday suit. Touya figured it might be a little early in their relationship before he just showed up naked, thanks.

So, he took a few of their suggestions in mind and in particular, Himiko telling him to dress more like how he normally did. She and Magne agreed that it was bad form to dress up outside of his usual style. His partner should like him for him. Or something.

So, he did his best. He hoped Keigo wasn’t put off by how he dressed. It was a little more on the punk edge. He ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek, nudging the dimple piercing. He considered taking them all out, but well, go big or go home right?

He ran a hand through his hair again, the white strands slightly fluffed out. He considered gel but didn’t want it to be too spiky. He had on his favorite leather jacket with the blue flames embroidered up the sleeves, a gift from his family. A white t-shirt that hung a little low, distressed jeans, and his boots. He spiced it up with further accessories, black and silver rings on his fingers to go with the black nail polish that Himiko painted for him yesterday. He looked at the mirror again, considering some eyeliner, but maybe next time. He angled his phone, snapping a picture.

To: All (League of Villains)

Sent: 10:15

Yes, no?

[IMAGE ATTACHED]

From: Himiko

Sent: 10:15

You look great!

(* ^ ω ^)

From: Twice

Sent: 10:16

You’re gonna knock him dead! Right into the grave, wannabe emo .

From: Shigaraki

Sent: 10:17

Edgelord

Re:To: Shigaraki

Sent: 10:17

Basement Dweller

Re:From: Shigaraki

Sent: 10:18

Discount HotTopic

From: Kurogiri

Sent: 10:19

Enough.

You look very nice Dabi. Good luck on your date.

Touya smiled as all the good luck messages, and one go die from Shigaraki, popped up on his screen. He pocketed his phone, checked for his keys and wallet and started to head out. He needed to leave a little early to make it on time, especially if he was going to be walking there. Sure, he could probably take a train, cut the time down a little, but he was nervous enough. He didn’t need motion sickness on top of all that.

It was nice out at least, clear skies after all that rain the other week. 

A nice day, with no work, no sickness, no act of god that was going to keep them from having this date. 

He should’ve counted for the human element.

Just as he was getting closer to the cafe, he could see the fence around the back of the building, the construction workers milling about, a customer just standing at the doors. It was well past the time for the cafe to be open.

He ran up to the door, seeing the sign for himself.

Impresso Espresso

Closed for Renovations

“Fucking renovations? Seriously?! Fuck.” 

Touya carded a hand through his hair, gripping the strands. They were so damn close. Neither of them had thought to actually check and see if the place was open. Renovations. It had probably been closed for a while. Maybe since they started trying to meet? Wouldn’t that be something? If Touya had actually arrived at the cafe the first time, they might’ve known.

He dropped his hand, blowing out a breath and turning to the stranger next to him. At least there was someone else who could commiserate with him.

Golden blond hair, slicked back in an artfully tousled windswept style with sun streaked highlights and a pair of shades to keep it back. Golden, sun tanned skin with faint freckles dotted under golden brown eyes. Eyes that were sparkling and lined with eyeliner and accented at the corners. The man was so golden that Touya could almost forgive the absolutely hideous jacket. A beige monstrosity with zigzagging lines that made his eyes cross like it was an optical illusion. The rest of the outfit was completed with jeans and a pair of sneakers with wings on them. Red wings, like the Fukuoka Hawks. 

His eyes snapped back to meet golden ones, ones that he had seen across magazine covers and spreads, that he had seen in internet searches for one particular pro-volleyball player.

Fuck, he was hot. Jacket and all.

“Looks like we’re both early. Hey, Birdie.” A smile spread across his lips. They may not be able to have this damn date here, but they actually managed to meet.

“Wait– Touya?!”

Hearing his name, even on a shouted exclamation, sent his heart jackrabbiting in his chest. He wasn’t gonna survive listening to him talk. 

Which, oh shoot. He knew what Keigo looked like for weeks, but Keigo would have had no idea this entire time. Maybe he should have said something before. Little late now.

“In the flesh.”

He expected some sort of comment, hoping that Keigo wasn’t put off by all the jewelry or anything. Instead, the other man just stared, spaced out. 

“Ya good, Keigo?” 

The other man shivered slightly, color rising in his cheeks. 

Touya leaned forward, waving a hand in front of his face, getting Keigo’s attention again. And oh, he had seen that look before. Occasionally on bar patrons, sometimes a stranger on the street. Wasn’t that something. Keigo Takami, hottest model this side of Japan, liked him. 

His grin turned it into a sly smirk. 

The blush increased as Keigo stuttered, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “W-well! Since we’re here, there’s gotta be another cafe right? Rain or shine or construction work.”

“Sure, Birdie. I’m sure there’s something.” Touya fished his phone from his pocket, opening the search engine. There were a few in the area, god forbid the Japanese population become uncaffeinated, for shame. There was an interesting one nearby. “Oh look, there’s one a couple blocks away. C’mon.” He turned on his heel and started walking, letting Keigo follow him like a little duckling. 

ONE ~

The date had started off maybe a little rough. 

He brought a bird to a cat cafe. In retrospect, maybe not his best idea but it’s not like he had a lot of options. He hadn't counted on Keigo having never heard about one before, but the other man seemed excited to try it.  

Then he accidentally made a snide comment on Keigo’s jacket. Well, he had been thinking it and accidentally said it out loud. He hadn’t meant to sound like an ass. Anyone with eyes would be bleeding from them after seeing that jacket. It wasn’t his fault. 

He just, maybe should’ve figured out where his filter went instead of saying the first thing that came to mind. He could tell that Keigo went out of his way to dress up for this date, just as Touya had spent forever digging through his closet for just the right outfit. 

He could play nice. He could absolutely play nice. It was a first date. He could save some of the snarkier comments for later, when he wasn’t so afraid of scaring Keigo off. At least, he only embarrassed himself a little when he admitted that Keigo was hot.

The jacket might have made a solid effort to sear zigzagging lines into his retinas but he hadn’t gone blind yet. 

However, he was treated to a view of Keigo without the jacket after, so it was hard to feel guilty. Keigo had a white shirt on underneath that clung to him like a second skin, showing off broad shoulders and arms corded with muscle and– 

Touya needed to get a grip.

Keigo took off the jacket minutes ago and he still couldn’t get his mind out of the gutter. 

Who could blame him, when his thoughts wandered?

Of course, it was a lost cause when only moments later Keigo had the audacity to call him Kitty and Touya’s brain short-circuited. He didn’t even have a chance to recover when Keigo shot him a wicked grin and a look that said he knew how he affected Touya. Wasn’t a hard guess when Touya’s fairer skin did absolutely nothing to hide the blush that was burning his face at the time.

His brain was barely functional now, even after laughing like a lunatic when he learned that his sister managed to trick her girlfriend into thinking she was normal. 

Like any of them were normal. 

Unfortunately, that scared off the cat that had been hanging out with him. The orange tabby was still fast asleep on Keigo’s lap. Touya wasn’t jealous at all.

Besides, unlike the cat, he was getting a second date. He should probably plan that. Technically speaking, Keigo had planned this one, so they should probably alternate. Maybe? Touya never really dated anyone, he wasn’t sure what the etiquette was, and he sure as fuck was not asking his friends for help. They would never leave him alone.

They had joked about Touya bringing Keigo out to meet his family, let him suffer through it with his friend or something, but, maybe not the best idea. He wanted to keep Keigo around, not sending him running for the hills after being forced to deal with the Todorokis. But hey, with his and Keigo’s luck on scheduling dates, that probably meant he wouldn’t have to see his family for a while. 

Touya leaned back in his chair, drinking his coffee watching Keigo’s fascination with the cat.

“So, two brothers and a sister?” Keigo asked eventually. 

Right. First date, first date questions. Touya could handle this.  

“Yup. Bane of my existence. They’re all younger than me. You?”

“Nope. Just me. You pegged me earlier, only child. No family in the picture either.”

“Shit, sorry.”

Keigo waved his hand. “It’s fine. Been on my own awhile now. So I guess it’s gonna be interesting, joining a big family.”

Touya rolled his eyes. “Interesting is a word. God, Fuyumi is gonna be obnoxious now that we’re dating.”

“Rumi too. She’s been giving me the ‘I told you so’ lecture everytime I came back from a date off this dating app.”

“Yeah, got the same spiel for my other band of lunatics. Congrats you get to be adopted into that group too.”

“Wait, who?”

“Coworkers, friends. I’ll introduce you later.”

Keigo looked a bit bewildered to suddenly gain access to not only the Todoroki’s but also the League. It was gonna be a shit show all around. Touya was looking forward to it.

 “Anyway, you tried a dating app?” He couldn’t believe it. Why in the world was Keigo Takami on a dating app? Surely there was no shortage of people asking for his hand or some shit.

“Well, I had to try something, and the reviews looked okay. I thought it would be fine”

Touya snorted. “Mhmm. I bet that went real well.”

“Shut up. What about you?”

“Oh um.” Touya looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Wasn’t really dating, just I don’t know, hook-ups?” He should be honest with his...boyfriend? They agreed to a second date but that could change any minute. He didn’t want to jeopardize it. “But it wasn’t really working.”

“Huh. I bet you had a lot of options.”

“What, why?”

“Well, you’re insanely pretty. You saw it earlier. I was stunned stupid, like I saw an angel.”

Touya wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to that? How could Keigo just say that with a straight face? Especially with a face that pretty. Touya scoffed. “Mhmm, compared to you? You’re like a golden god. Mere mortals like me wouldn’t dare to compare.”

Keigo frowned, shoulders drooping, his gaze dropping to the tabletop. “Is that how you see me?”

Touya blinked, suddenly floundering. “I mean, I don’t–not always?”

Keigo hesitated, running a hand over the orange cat’s head. Touya could hear it start to purr from across the table. He was still not jealous. “I mean. You know who I am. All those people on the app. They didn’t want to meet Keigo. They wanted Keigo Takami . They wanted the volleyball star, the model, the man with the money. And it’s just….exhausting.”

Touya blew out a breath. Fuck. He had thought the same, hadn’t he? How could he compare to Keigo Takami? It had been on his mind constantly. Ever since he found out exactly who he had been texting. What could he, Touya Todoroki , the unfortunate heir to the Todoroki family, offer? Yeah sure, he had his family’s money and their esteem behind him, but that wasn’t his . He didn’t want it. He refused it. He only tolerated dealing with his father for the sake of the rest of his family, and only suffered it a handful of times a year. 

Keigo worked hard for his career. Touya knew that. No one rose as high as he did, as quickly, without putting in the work. But he wasn’t just that. Touya should know better than anyone that there was more to someone than how they appeared on paper. 

“Sometimes you scare the fuck outta me.” Touya leaned forward on his elbow to prop his chin on his hand.

“Me?” Keigo stilled, lifting his head so their eyes met, his brows furrowed.

“Yeah, you. You’re an Olympic volleyball hopeful. You’re on every damn billboard in the city. What could I offer in terms of a relationship?”

“That’s not–”

“But then I realized, you’re a fucking mess. You admitted to wanting to eat chicken as your only source of protein, you have a thousand bird stickers and every single one of them is different. You text like a teenage girl. I’m pretty sure you put that picture of your coffee on social media. You stay up until almost midnight to return my texts and then you’re up at 4 in the morning. You have the most eye-bleeding taste in fashion–”

“Hey now, the jacket is fashion–” Keigo looked affronted that Touya dared to insult the travesty of fashion that was folded over the back of the chair.

“And yet, I still want that second date. I didn’t care about you being all famous and shit before, and while yeah, it’s a little intimidating, I don’t care about it now. I want to know you , Keigo.” 

Keigo's face lit up like the sun. His mouth spread in that wide, lopsided smile that was too big for his face, yet truly suited him. Golden eyes crinkled at the corners and sparkled at him, shining with the beginning of tears. 

Touya wanted to see him smile forever. He wanted to see what other expressions he could cause on Keigo’s face. Touya wanted to be there for every moment, basking in his light.

“Mrrow.” The cat stretched up to pat a paw against Keigo’s cheek. He sputtered, letting out a wet laugh and stroking a hand down the cat’s back. He sent Touya a softer smile. “I’d like that.”

Touya smiled back and reached over, picking up the cup and taking another sip of the coffee.

He couldn’t wait for next time.