Unpleasant Encounters
Getting used to his new job was no easy task; even though he quickly adapted to his work schedule, putting up with Bakugou by his side every day proved itself a challenge. It didn’t matter how competent Izuku is in fact, it never seemed to be enough for his boss; Kirishima, on the other hand…
Even though he was actually grateful for his coworker to be making his life easier, Izuku couldn’t help but hold a bit of a grudge over the difference of treatment, not over jealousy, he no longer cared for having the hot-headed blonde’s attention in a long time, he really just wanted a bit more of respect.
Another day has begun, the greenette went on with his usual routine: he bought the latest week’s edition of his favorite magazine and headed over to the coffee shop Uraraka works at to read it in peace. The moment he sat on the counter and placed an order, however, his peace of mind was interrupted as he opened the magazine to find an article in the gossip section that made him at least… disturbed.
“Ugh…” Izuku grumbled in repulsion as he flipped the page impatiently.
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.” His friend pointed out.
Izuku sighed heavily. “No, it's just Bakugou.”
Uraraka paused the preparation of the cappuccino to look at him worriedly. “What did he pull up, this time?”
Her friend flipped back to the previous page to show her the article with a compromising picture of his boss entering a luxury love hotel with the representative of Glamour Cosmetics.
“Who’s that?” The brunette squinted her eyes at the woman in the picture.
“Camie Utsushimi.” Izuku replied disgustedly. “When we had a meeting with her these past few days, I knew this would happen.”
“And why are you so worried? That douchebag is not worth your time, Izuku!” His friend scolded with a quirked brow as she went back to her duties.
“I know! But…” He paused with a sigh. “Each minute I spend with him only makes me remember that unfortunate night, and he even has to make it harder for me… Nothing I do is ever enough and…” Another sigh. “I guess I’ll never be enough.”
Uraraka eyed him pitifully as she placed the cappuccino with the croissant he ordered on the counter.
“Thank you.” The greenette said.
“Look… I know it must be tough on you, with Bakugou being your boss and all that… but you also can’t keep beating yourself up over that, Izuku. You must be feeling cheap and dirty right now, I get it, but you should know that that’s way too far from the truth.” The brunette smiled sweetly. “After all, everyone noticed that he is the manwhore here.”
Izuku snorted in the failed attempt of holding back his laughter, his friend joined him.
“Thank you, Uraraka.” Izuku said with a sweet smile.
“I’m just saying the truth.” She shrugged.
Soon after, Uraraka’s boss was calling her to waiter a table and she told her friend goodbye before leaving.
She was right… about everything, but Izuku still strongly contemplated quitting his job. Working directly for Bakugou must be worse than being enslaved by the Devil itself.
Once at his workplace, the greenette did his duties of the day under a friendly conversation with Kirishima, until his piece of mind was once again ruined by the boss’ arrival, he who smiled at the redhead as a greeting until his face contorted in a frown upon turning to the freckled one by his side; he headed into the office under the same look coming from Deku, as they have been “greeting” each other in the past days.
“I want coffee.” Bakugou announced plainly as he walked past the reception.
“On your desk.” Midoriya answered plainly.
Bakugou halted and glared at him, looking offended. “Are you shitting me?!”
“Huh…?” Izuku mumbled confusedly.
“Do I have to repeat myself? I want my coffee freshly strained!”
“B-but I just-”
“Now go fetch me another one!” Bakugou cut him off as he shut the door to his office behind him.
Kirishima just watched silently and sweated heavily as his coworker unwillingly stood up and went to go get another coffee for mister “majesty”.
Both the secretaries never actually talked about their boss even though Izuku needed to vent; especially given the favoritism and the difference of treatment, Kirishima only defended Bakugou - although he did not deserve it.
Finishing the task, Midoriya slumped on the desk chair beside his coworker and huffed impatiently; the day barely started and he was already nearing his edge, which didn’t go unnoticed.
“The day started off on the wrong foot, as it seems.” The redhead mentioned.
“Tell me about it…” Midoriya replied sarcastically.
“I think you need to destress… Listen, tomorrow is my day off and yours is after tomorrow, right?”
“What do you mean by that…?” His coworker asked suspiciously.
“Nothing!” The redhead laughed. “I just have been talking to some friends about hanging out tomorrow night, and I want to know if you wanna come.”
Izuku froze; the last time he went out with friends, the result was Bakugou, he really wasn’t sure he could trust himself a second time. “I don’t know…”
“Come on, Midoriya! It’ll be fun! Besides, you need to unwind a little.”
Izuku sighed at his insistence, going through the pros and cons in his mind; he wasn’t a fan of noisy places such as dance clubs or bars, and he already had a horrible experience at one of those… but maybe if he tried to hold himself back this time and didn’t go out with any random stranger… besides, spending some time with Kirishima might do him well, he really felt comfortable by his side.
“Where are we going?” He gave in.
Kirishima smiled in understanding and gave him the details.
Friday was probably the worst day of the week for Izuku; since it was his coworker’s day off, enduring Bakugou all by himself was worse than a nightmare, his only comfort was that he would go out with Kirishima and his friends later.
Getting home after a long day, the greenette dressed up quickly and headed to the indicated bar; once there, he scanned the surroundings in search of that familiar red dot and spotted him waving at Izuku from a table he shared with some other people. Waving back, Izuku smiled and went up to him to spot the last person he’d like to see in the middle of the group; his smile automatically fell as he noticed those scarlet orbs piercing through him in spite.
“What are you doing here?” He asked impatiently.
“I invited him.” Eijirou said plainly.
Bakugou glared at him intensely. “What the fuck, Ei-?!”
“Sorry, I didn’t know.” Izuku spoke up over the noise of the place. “Excuse me…”
“Wait, Midobro!” Kirishima soon stood up and laced Izuku’s neck with his arm. “You just got here! Can’t you stay just for one drink?”
Izuku looked from Kirishima to Bakugou and back to Kirishima. “I didn’t know that, well… he would come, you could’ve at least told me.”
His coworker sighed in defeat, looking at each member sitting on the table under that awkward silence.
“I’ll be right back, guys.” He announced as he guided Midoriya up to a corner. “Look, I’m sorry, Midoriya, I know what your relationship with Bakugou’s like, but can’t you let that pass just for tonight?”
Izuku sighed impatiently. “That talk again? I know he might not treat you worse than garbage, but I’m tired of being treated exactly that way!”
“Look… I know he has a tough character, but can’t you give it a chance to get to know him better?”
Izuku frowned in disdain. “I’m not an archeologist to dig for a tiny bit of something good under that huge scumbag…”
“Come on, Midoriya! You’re already here, can’t you stay for a little longer…? For me?”
Izuku hesitated before replying to him. “Fine…” He said to his coworker’s content. “I don’t know why you push it so much, but I’m only doing this because of you, got it?”
“It’s better than nothing! Let’s go back.” The redhead celebrated as he pulled Izuku back to the table.
Once back, Kirishima took the chance to introduce the newcomer to the group. “Guys! Sorry about that; this is Midoriya, he’ll join us tonight.”
Izuku waved awkwardly at his friends’ smiles until they heard an exclamation of protest. “Eijirou!”
Ignoring the hot-headed blonde, the redhead soon pulled the greenette to sit by his side on the table.
“Midoriya, you know Bakugou, these are Kaminari, Sero, Ashido and Jirou.” He pointed at each one of them who waved back.
The mood on the table soon fell heavy again as Bakugou got up with a rumble and left like a spoiled brat; a moment of silence dragged by until Jirou cleaned her throat before opening her mouth to change the subject.
“So, Midoriya, Eijirou said you started to work with him in the past few weeks.”
“Oh… yeah.” The greenette answered slowly.
“And how is it going, so far? I heard Katsuki was impressed with your fashion designs.” Asked the bob cut blackie.
Izuku was already opening his mouth to speak, that was an uncomfortable subject for him, but Kirishima soon cut him off. “Midobro is amazing! Katsuki didn’t promote him over nothing, he’s a damn hard worker!”
“Really? I suppose he must be proud of you, then!” Jirou mentioned.
“Yeah, let’s say they have a special bond.” Kirishima said much to his coworker’s shock, who didn’t have time to speak before someone on the table choked on their drink.
“You good?” Midoriya asked Sero in the middle of his coughing fit.
“Of course.” The black-haired man said breathlessly with light punches to his own chest.
“Oh, why didn’t you tell us before, Ei?!” Ashido said excitedly.
“I was waiting for a chance to tell all of you at once.” The redhead laughed awkwardly.
“Wait, what are you talking about?” Midoriya spoke up.
The table suddenly fell silent, they all seemed to be biting their tongues not to “let out” anything revealing, Kirishima had to think fast to escape that situation.
“Erm… is just that Katsuki has a strong character as you noticed, that’s why we insist so much for him to look for some more friends, loosen up a bit… you seem to be doing him well, Midoriya!”
Unbelieving his words, Izuku simply smiled melancholically. “That’s what you think, huh?” His gloomy tone sent shivers down everyone’s spines.
“You don’t look very happy about that…” Ashido mentioned cynically.
“Sorry, but I don’t know if I can believe that.” Izuku said impatiently.
“Look, I know Katsuki can be cranky, but he also has his reasons to act that way, you know?” Kaminari cut in. “If you be patient, you’ll find the best friend you could ever have!”
“Sure…” Midoriya answered sarcastically.
“You’ll still find that out, Midoriya.” Kirishima commented. “Now let’s just enjoy the moment, what do you wanna drink?”
Izuku paused to think about the choices. “Orange Fanta.”
The redhead raised a brow amusedly; he expected Midoriya not to be the type to drink alcohol, but he may’ve hoped that the greenette would try to loosen up a bit on a trip to the bar with friends.
“Alright, let me go get it for you! Wait here.”
“Thanks, Kirishima.” Said the greenette.
The conversation changed subjects as the redhead stood towards the bar; following his every move with his green eyes, Izuku noticed him freezing midway in surprise. Confused, the greenette followed his gaze to the bar where he spotted Bakugou flirting with a random woman.
The redhead slowly turned to Midoriya to make sure he hadn't seen it, but the pained look on his face gave out that it was too late.
Why did he care? Izuku thought, it wasn’t like it’s his business anymore. This whole time he tried to tell himself he got over it but, deep down, he knew that that was far from the truth.
The talk of the group gradually died out when everyone noticed Midoriya’s gaze upon Katsuki, who cut off his provocative dialogue with the blonde woman as he felt a stinging pain on his chest; he scanned the room with his carmine eyes in search for that damned greenette and spotted him staring with a shadowy look from the table.
“Midoriya…” Kirishima wanted to say something to comfort him, but nothing came to mind.
“Sorry, I’m not feeling well.” Izuku lied as he stood. “I need to go.”
The Succubi could do nothing as the young, freckled man walked through the crowd out of the room without looking behind, which only worsened Bakugou’s breakdown.
His friends ran to aid him as the blonde one fell from the bar’s stool, driving everyone’s attention to him; the eyes of the crowd watched in shock, wondering if the CEO could be having a heart attack right there.
“Someone call an ambulance!” They heard the bartender exclaim desperately.
“Is okay! We'll take it from here!” Kirishima guaranteed.
The redhead and his friends then carried Katsuki out of the bar; Eijirou made sure to walk him into the car and drive straight to his friend’s apartment. The group watched the vehicle drive away worriedly as the crowd dissipated and they all went back into the bar behind them.
Eijirou insisted on going up to Katsuki’s apartment with him, the redhead even made sure to lay him safely in bed as the fit didn’t go away.
“Will you be okay by yourself?” His friend asked worriedly.
“Yes.” Katsuki answered impatiently in the middle of his heavy breathing. “Just leave me alone.”
“Hm…” Eijirou mumbled with something hovering above his mind. “That wasn’t nice, Katsuki.”
“Will you actually give me a moral lesson now?!” The cupid exclaimed with emphasis.
“You know Midoriya is your soulmate, we all noticed, but you keep acting like a kid and want to be right even when you’re wrong.” The redhead shook his head. “You know, the reason for me to try and convince you to accept Midoriya at first was for yourself, you’re my best friend after all and I hate to see you like this… but I must confess that I came to appreciate Midoriya as well… I think you noticed that he may have gotten jealous when he saw you with ‘another one’, he didn’t deserve that.”
“Don’t fuck it, Ei…” Katsuki impatiently covered his eyes with his hand.
“I just want the best for you two. You know, you keep saying you won’t accept him because you think he’ll just use you up and cast you aside like any other human, but that’s not much different from what you’re doing to him.” Kirishima reasoned much to his friend’s surprise, who glared at him furiously. “Good night, Katsuki.”
With that, the redhead finally left the cupid behind with his own thoughts.
Eijirou’s argument made him uneasy, he couldn’t deny that the redhead had a point, but it wasn’t like he’d confess it aloud.
The next morning, his peace of mind had to be interrupted once again when he woke up to spot his friends waiting for him in his living room.
“Oh! You’re awake!” Mina hopped off the couch excitedly.
Katsuki eyed her impatiently. “What are you doing here?”
“We came to check in on you.” Hanta was the first to approach, lacing an arm around the cupid’s neck. “So Ei was right… you finally found your soulmate!”
Katsuki pushed him to let him go. “If that’s why you’re here, then you can leave!”
“Come on, Katsuki! We studied that, right?” Denki spoke up. “‘The cupid who accepts their soulmate feels the effects of the curse no longer’, why are you so worked up about that?”
“Coming from Katsuki, that shouldn’t be big news to anyone.” Kyouka said in monotone.
Katsuki huffed as he held his nose bridge and went up to the front door. “Look, I don’t have patience for that now, so could you please-?!” He cut himself off.
The Incubus was already opening the door with means of sending them off, but was surprised to see Eijirou on the other side with his phone in ear.
“What the fuck, Ei?!” Katsuki exclaimed, annoyed.
Before they could even say anything else, however, the cupid’s phone rang on the living room’s coffee table; impatient, Katsuki went up to answer it in a hurry. “Hello?” He said dryly.
“Hey, Katsubro! I thought of coming over, but then I remembered you always ask for us to call you beforehand, so here I am.” Eijirou said as he walked into the apartment and turned off his phone as Katsuki just kept a deadpan look on his face.
“You’ll still make me do a crime someday…” The cupid grumbled, rubbing his own face.
“We need to talk.” The redhead spoke up.
“I think we already ‘talked’ enough. Can you go, now? I need to get ready for work, you too, Ei-!”
“I’m serious, Katsuki! This is important.” Eijirou cut off his friend in the middle of his speech.
“And what could be so important for you to bother me at a time like this?!” Katsuki shouted.
Eijirou sighed. “Look, I know you don’t wanna trust Midoriya or any other human, but you must’ve noticed that refusing him is bad for you.” The redhead was visibly trying to control his tone. “I didn’t want to push it, but your stubbornness leaves me no choice… besides, if you’re not fast enough, you may lose him to someone else.”
The Succubi widened their eyes at the analysis, only Katsuki scoffed skeptically.
“And who would want a nerd like him?”
Eijirou hesitated. “I didn’t want you to know this way, but… there’s another one.”
Suddenly, Katsuki seemed surprised. “What-?”
“Tooru Hagakure from the fashion design department.” The redhead cut him off again. “She’s been showing interest in Midoriya. If you are to accept him, I suggest you be faster than her.”
As he heard that, the cupid was visibly trying to control the fury growing inside of him.
“Katsuki…?” Eijirou called cautiously.
“Get out.” Katsuki ordered plainly.
“Look, I’m sorry-”
“GET OUT!!!” He yelled loudly and baring his fangs, his friends obeyed immediately, teleporting out of the room.
The Incubus then slumped on the couch and buried his face in his hands, cursing his emotional cupid side which screamed after his soulmate’s affection. He never chose that, if he could, he’d go against that part of the burden of being a cupid, but maybe Eijirou was right… he had to do something about Hagakure, and he had to be quick.
Author's Note
I put a reference to Two and a Half Men in this chapter, I dare u to find it 😎
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