Jealousy
After that disastrous night, Midoriya and Bakugou’s relationship simply went back to square one, although Izuku was still beating himself up over the fact that he still cared about someone who used him like a cheap whore.
The greenette tried to unwind with friends in his free time, get his mind busy with something other than those intrusive thoughts, which were hard to control when he found himself alone or especially in the company of the reason for his burdens; his hurt feelings, however, didn’t go unnoticed.
“You’ve not been looking very well, Midobro… wanna talk about it?” Kirishima commented in the middle of work.
“No, not really.” Izuku answered dryly.
“It’s Bakugou, isn’t it?”
No answer this time, the freckled one only did his best to hold back his tears.
“Look, I feel like there’s something more between you, so… wanna tell me what happened…? I promise I’ll talk to him and maybe-”
“That won’t work, Kirishima.” The greenette cut off.
“How can you be so sure?” The redhead quirked a curious brow.
Izuku just eyed him with a sarcastic smile. “You really don’t know the outside of all that favoritism, do you?”
The comment caught his coworker off-guard, he didn’t know Midoriya could be so cold. Eijirou cleaned his throat and opened his mouth to try another approach.
“Well… either way, it looks like you need to unwind a bit! Why don’t you show up at my apartment by around ten? We could talk a little and-”
“I don’t want to.” Izuku cut him off once again.
“... But, Midoriya-”
“You’ll bring your friends along again, won’t you?” The greenette asked without taking his eyes off the computer in front of him.
Kirishima fell silent; Midoriya figured his intentions out as it seemed, that wasn’t so hard after all. Shortly after, the boss emerged from behind the door to his office to break that awkward silence.
“Let’s go for lunch, Ei? It’s time.” He invited.
“Oh, sure!” The redhead replied, standing promptly.
With a last glance at his coworker who ignored him completely, Kirishima then followed Bakugou up to their usual restaurant.
On their shared table, the redhead was holding himself back not to bring up the talk he just had with Midoriya, which showed on his face, but it wasn’t like Katsuki would ask… after all, he knew exactly what was going through his friend’s mind. They then talked about work, their next hang out with friends under an uncomfortable atmosphere that was already driving them both to the edge; they pretty much swallowed up the food in a hurry to go back to their duties and get rid of that inconvenient situation.
Eijirou felt like there was something more between his friend and his soulmate, and he had a good guess of what that could be, he only didn’t want to mention it without Katsuki asking him first, after all, he “blew up” every time the redhead brought up the subject and they didn’t need that in a public place.
Back at the office, Bakugou ignored Izuku as usual as Kirishima approached to join him on the desk with an awkward smile.
“You can go for lunch, Midoriya.” He said, sitting down.
The greenette simply smiled tiredly in understanding. “Thanks, Kirishima.”
Leaving in a hurry, Midoriya found an empty table in the cafeteria to enjoy the only quiet moment he had before the “slaughtering”. That was the one moment of his work shift he could actually enjoy, even though it was the job of his dreams. Who would’ve guessed that working with what you like the most could be so stressful? He asked himself every day if it really was worth it.
Not long after, someone was calling up to him. “Hi, Midoriya! Can I join you?”
Izuku looked up to those familiar lime-colored strands and smiled. “Of course, Hagakure!” He agreed excitedly.
The young woman quickly sat down before speaking up to him. “So? How’s life?”
“Oh, it’s going well… I mean, besides work…” He answered slowly.
And there it was again.
“You really don’t seem to like it here, do you, Midoriya?” Hagakure mentioned worriedly.
“Well… I can’t say it’s the job of my dreams anymore…”
“Hm… That much stress won't do you well, have you thought about quitting?”
“Yes, but finding another job in my field is not so easy, as you could figure.”
“I see… You really can’t maintain yourself without a job, can you? But… can’t you spend some time with your parents or with a friend? You know… until you find something.”
Izuku sighed. “I don’t want to live on anyone’s favor.”
Hagakure smiled melancholically. “You really are very generous, huh, Midoriya?”
“Well… I can’t tell…” He laughed embarrassed.
“You need to be careful with that, huh? Too much generosity will make people take advantage of you… even though that’s what I like about you the most.” She said that last part almost inaudibly with a flushed face.
“Hm?” Izuku mumbled, not having heard that correctly.
“Oh, nothing!” Hagakure laughed awkwardly. “You know, I’ve been thinking… when’s your day off?”
“Hm…? Why?” He questioned.
“It’s just that…” The young woman’s face was already profusely red at that point. ”Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”
Izuku eyed her curiously. “You mean, like a date?”
“Not ‘like a date’. A date.” Hagakure smiled shyly.
Surprised, Izuku thought about the pros and cons and wondered if he should accept it. He didn’t know exactly what he felt for Hagakure, even though she was the only person in the whole company who truly treated him well. Kirishima said he would introduce Midoriya to a “friend” who was into him, but he was starting to suspect the redhead’s intentions since that one time they hanged out together and he didn’t understand why Kirishima insisted so much on pushing the freckled one to Bakugou, so Izuku didn’t see a reason to refuse it.
“Saturday’s my day off.” He answered to his coworker’s content, who had to hold herself back not to squeal excitedly. They then started to discuss the plans for the weekend.
Heading back to his desk, Izuku walked confidently with an unfading smile.
“Looks like it was a great lunch!” His coworker mentioned.
“Oh, you noticed?” Midoriya said awkwardly, taking a place by his side.
“How couldn’t I? It’s the first time I see you smiling like that! It even makes me relieved.”
“Well…” Izuku held the back of his neck as he blushed.
Kirishima smiled brightly for a moment, actually happy for his coworker until he realized something and his smile fell. “Hey, Midoriya… by a chance… what happened for-?”
“Deku.”
Izuku sighed tiredly; it was only a matter of time. “Yes, Bakugou?” He questioned monotonously.
“We have a meeting, follow me.” Bakugou ordered as he promptly marched out of there, Izuku had no choice other than following him unwillingly, leaving a worried redhead behind.
They didn’t exchange a single word throughout the way, which had the freckled one feeling uncomfortable at first, until his thoughts gave place to the date he soon would have with Hagakure and he smiled softly. For the first time, Izuku felt like his life was taking a turn for better.
“What gave you that smile on your face?” Bakugou asked sternly.
It was taking him long to take the greenette’s peace of mind away. “Nothing special.”
“You stop that, then. We’ll meet with an important competing company, I expect a minimum of professionality from you.”
Izuku sighed inaudibly. Taking the representative of a partner company to spend the night in a love hotel also didn’t look professional in the slightest, especially after showing up on every magazine and news page, but the greenette decided to put his work on first and not mention the subject.
“Yes, sir.” He said solemnly.
Making it to the meeting room, they both spot a man of wavy black hair which was combed back, that added on to his elegance; by his side, a young woman of golden hair and eyes who giggled like a schoolgirl, just as she turned to the newly-arrived, her piercing gaze met Midoriya’s and it got him feeling uncomfortable; there seemed to be something weird about her that he couldn’t tell exactly what.
For a moment, Izuku wondered if his boss was “drooling” over her and turned to notice that Bakugou looked as uncomfortable as himself. Was it wrong to feel relieved that he wasn’t undressing her with his eyes, as he did with any other woman he crossed paths with?
“It’s been some time, Bakugou.” The man greeted him with a handshake.
The blonde one nodded and looked back at the young lady beside him. “Shimura, I see you hired a new secretary.”
“Oh, yeah…” Shimura smiled towards the blonde woman. “Things weren’t working so well with Todoroki. This is Himiko Toga, she’ll join us at today's meeting.”
“Nice to meet you, mister Bakugou!” Himiko stretched her hand out to Katsuki in a handshake. “Tenko said a lot about you, I only didn’t expect you to be far more interesting than what he told me…”
Her suggestive smile caught Bakugou off-guard, Izuku then decided to cut in and try to easen up the situation.
“Y-you seem to know each other for a long time! I’m Izuku Midoriya by the way, Bakugou’s new secretary. My pleasure!” He said quickly, shaking Himiko’s hand and freeing his boss from that situation.
“Hm… Pleasure’s all mine.” The young woman said to the greenette’s shock.
“Come on, Himiko, behave yourself.” Her boss scolded as he went ahead and shook Izuku’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Midoriya. I’m Tenko Shimura, owner of brand Reborn.”
The greenette’s eyes shone upon hearing that. “Reborn?! My God, you’re among Japan’s greatest brands!”
“Well, we’re not Ichiban, but we give it our best.” Shimura laughed.
Izuku shook his head. “How modest! Your brand equals Ichiban in matters of quality and sales numbers, it was also a precursor on-!”
“A-hem!” Bakugou cleaned his throat with emphasis, cutting off his speech.
“Sorry…” Said the greenette.
“Is okay. I like to see your enthusiasm, kid! Bakugou’s lucky to have an employee who’s that much passionate about work.” Shimura mentioned.
His words caught them both off-guard, Izuku had to think fast to escape that situation. “E-either way, we don’t want to waste more of your time, right? Why don’t we sit down?”
They all followed Izuku’s lead and took their places on the meeting table.
“So…” Shimura grunted as he sat beside Himiko. “We haven't seen each other in a while, Bakugou. How’s your mother?”
The comment seemed to have gotten under his skin.
“I don’t know, why don’t you tell me how your father is?” The blonde man retorted.
Tenko smiled smugly. “Very well, that’s not what we’re here for, right? Let’s talk business…”
It was hard for Izuku to keep up with the meeting, they both seemed to be frienemies for ages and it felt like they were the only two in the room, almost ignoring their secretaries completely, those who didn’t find a chance to speak.
“... As we can see on the graphics…” Bakugou stretched his hand out to Izuku, who caught the message and quickly handed him the document without at least a “thank you”.
The greenette felt uneasy; he didn’t like to be useless, especially at an important meeting, but there was not much to do. Bakugou and Shimura knew what they were saying very well and seemed to know each other like the back of their hands, they really could solve the issue as if it was routine for them.
Looking up at Toga, Izuku saw her undressing him with her eyes, winking at him as she noticed the greenette’s gaze upon her.
He just gulped and decided to keep quiet, although that silent flirt didn’t go unnoticed.
“Do you want to control your secretary, Shimura?” Bakugou ordered sternly.
“Behave yourself, Himiko, we’re in the middle of a meeting.” Shimura scolded the young woman.
“Sorry.” She said with a smile towards the greenette. Her suggestive tone gave out that she didn’t feel the slightest bit of regret.
“I-is alright…” The greenette himself stuttered.
Bakugou cleaned his throat before resuming. “Well, as I was saying…”
The meeting went on for a few more minutes and Izuku didn’t dare to look back up, for he felt Toga’s eyes upon him and he wouldn’t risk another uncomfortable situation like that, even though it wasn’t really his fault.
They finally finished and Izuku had to hold himself back not to sigh in relief as the CEOs bowed at each other. As they left the room, however, Bakugou turned back to his competitors.
“Before we go, Shimura… can I have a word with your secretary?”
His request surprised Izuku who, looking up, noticed that Shimura and Toga seemed to be already expecting that.
“What do you want with my secretary, Bakugou?” Tenko quirked a brow with a tired smile.
“I have something important to tell her.” He answered in a serious tone.
After a moment in which he seemed to be weighing the consequences of his reply in his mind, Shimura spoke. “Alright, just don’t take too much of her time.”
“We won’t be long.” Bakugou headed back into the meeting room with Toga following right behind, she showed about a suggestive smile and Izuku noticed the malice in her eyes.
The greenette could only watch uneasily as they entered the room; he had a bad feeling about that Toga girl, and he couldn’t help but feel like garbage after all he went through with Bakugou.
“Let’s leave them alone, they’ll need privacy.” Shimura smiled peacefully towards him.
Izuku shouldn’t ask, he knew that, but couldn’t hold himself back. “Mister Shimura… uhm…”
“What is it, kid?” He questioned curiously.
“What do you think they… I mean-”
“Are you worried about Bakugou?” Shimura smiled amusedly before Izuku could finish.
“Er… well…” The greenette started sweating heavily. He wanted to have changed subjects at a last minute, but he already gave himself in anyway as it seemed.
“Don’t worry, Midoriya, Bakugou must only want to pass along a message to Himiko.”
“Uhm… ‘a message’?” He mumbled curiously.
“Yes. I know his reputation well, but I also know he’s not crazy to do something like that at his workplace.” The taller one laughed.
“I see…”
Shimura quirked a brow at his sad tone. “That subject seems to make you uncomfortable… If it makes you feel better, I won’t push it.”
Izuku smiled shyly. “Thank you, sir… Well… in that case, I’ll go back to my duties.”
“Knock yourself out.” Shimura smiled in understanding.
With a brief nod at each other, they both said their goodbyes as Izuku headed back to his work space.
Kirishima looked up twice at his coworker when he noticed that the greenette was back.
“Is everything alright, Midoriya?”
“Hm…?”
“You look uneasy.”
“Oh… sure, it’s just…” Izuku paused. “Did you see Shimura’s new secretary?” He asked in a whisper.
“Huh?” Kirishima mumbled alarmed; Midoriya wasn’t one to gossip, something was out of place.
Their train of thought was cut off by the boss stomping in angrily and piercing Izuku with his gaze. He went straight up to the greenette and made a pause that had him concerned, gulping as he waited for someone to break that heavy silence.
“Listen here, Deku… I do not want you near that Himiko Toga girl ever again, understand?” Bakugou said in between his teeth in a morbid tone.
“Oh- erm… why?” Izuku knew he shouldn’t ask, but he found his boss’ request strange.
“Do you understand?” Bakugou repeated slowly and with every letter in a warning.
The greenette nodded slowly and opened his mouth. “Yes, sir.” He answered shakily.
“Eijirou.” The blonde one directed himself to the other secretary who turned his eyes straight to him. “You’ll join me on the meetings with Reborn’s representatives, from now on.”
Kirishima nodded briefly. “Sure.”
With a last glance at the greenette, Bakugou huffed out of there and stormed into his office.
“What was that all about?” Izuku asked his coworker scaredly.
“I was gonna ask you that.” Kirishima sounded as scared as him. “What happened with that Himiko Toga chick?”
Izuku paused shortly to search for the right words. “She is Shimura’s new secretary.”
“I figured.” Kirishima quirked a brow. “What else?”
“I don’t know… she looks kind of weird.”
The redhead widened his eyes in interest as Izuku shook his head.
“I don’t know if I want to gossip about other people…”
“Come on, Midoriya…”
The greenette wetted his lips and resumed his speech. “It’s hard to tell… I felt like there was something weird about her since I got in the room, it was very unsettling, especially with her eyes on me all the time…” Kirishima furrowed his brows as he heard a snort escape Midoriya’s nose; the greenette shook his head before resuming. “It might sound crazy, but I guess she was interested in me.”
“Why would that be crazy?” Kirishima asked him confusedly, Midoriya simply shrugged uncomfortably. The redhead paused with a sigh. “And why do you think she was interested in you?”
“Uh… I just…” The greenette mumbled. “I think it was the way she stared at me.” He added with a shiver. “Forget about that, okay?”
Kirishima wanted to ask some more, but figured it was smarter to go back to work for now and nodded as he turned back to the computer in front of him. Apparently he would have to clear up more questions with Katsuki later.
Finally, they finished their shifts and the mood between Midoriya and Bakugou was dense; they didn’t say a word to one another, there was just an exchange of glares that would make anyone uncomfortable.
After watching Bakugou go down the elevator alongside Kirishima who tried to calm him down, Izuku gathered his belongings and left back home.
“Hey, Midoriya!” He heard a high-pitched voice calling for him at the company’s exit.
“Oh, Hagakure!” He joyfully greeted the young lady who ran up to him as much as her blue pumps let her.
“It’s so nice seeing you here!” She panted. “I thought you drove back home.”
“Oh- no! I always take the subway.” Izuku laughed awkwardly.
“Really? What station?”
“Hanabi.”
“That’s my station!” She mentioned excitedly.
“Really? Would you like to join me, then?”
“That’d be awesome!” She exclaimed as she hopped on Midoriya’s arm, he laughed awkwardly.
Hagakure didn’t let go all throughout the way up to the station, they looked like a couple already. She really was very extroverted and fun as Izuku noticed, she didn’t run out of subjects to keep their conversation going; he figured he could easily get used to her.
Author's Note
I want to see who finds the reference to The Big Bang Theory!
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