[The quickness with which Bakugou rises to baiting is nigh on legendary. Either it's with that deadly grin or with the permanent curled lip of .5 seconds from screaming. His face is just...stuck that way.
It's very easy to imagine the smile that Bakugou turns on his phone over the idle tease, all bared teeth and furrows along nose and brow. Part of him can't wait to kiss that spot between the blonde's eyebrows just to feel them smooth back out again, if only for a moment. Maybe while he's holding on to aforementioned headboard.
He's quiet as he rolls himself upright and, rather than going for his door, slides open the balcony door and leaves it cracked as he quietly pads between their rooms to knock on the glass of Bakugou's. Before he hangs up, Bakugou will hear,]
[That's what having a short fuse does for you. Easily set off, like a spark over a powder keg. Oy, it's not stuck. He's got a bad case of RBF. There are rare moments when his expression softens into a calm or blase thing, at least until someone notices and then it screws right back up into his scowl.
But Shouji can get gentler smiles from him, depending on their activity together and what's said. Right now, however? Yeah, that smile's way more ferocious and challenging, revved up to take on this brazen kid. (Yeah, kid. Youngest in the class, right, Shouji?) He knows it's almost a dare not to end up with a cracked headboard, but if his headboard is the price for this bliss, break the fucking thing.
Wait, the hell is Shouji doing? Sounds like a door opening, but not the front door- Oh. He looks over his shoulder at his sliding glass door. Right. Balcony hopping. The phone goes silent and a second later, Bakugou pull his curtains to the side, unlocks the door, and slides it open.]
[For someone that enjoys having an audience, Bakugou is very quick to mean-mug them all to hell and back.
They get away with all of this just because they're all still teenagers, he's sure of it. The faculty have to know that putting a bunch of them in one building and expecting them to police themselves is going to lead to some wild bullshit, up to and including regular rough sex between their most violently repressed and touch-starved. It probably is expected, and as long as they're not wreaking havoc or damaging property or each other, they're free to do as they wish.
The door between them slides open, and one hand slides around Bakugou's waist to settle in the small of his back, another tipped under his chin with his thumb running across the blonde's lower lip. He walks the other backward until they hit something, and his leg rides up between strong thighs to press up into Bakugou's groin just short of rough.]
Sure you can hold on?
[Of course he can, Shouji knows he can, but he likes tweaking those nerves just that little bit when he wants to get rough.]
[Audience are great to have for a bit, but then they get annoying quickly. Fawning and hanging on tick him off. Praise him, acknowledge him, and get out of his face.
Aizawa not going silver yet speaks to either some very good self control or possibly hair dye. Having to deal with problem children like Midoriya and Bakugou, the shenanigans of Kaminari, Sero, Mina, and always Mineta's perverted antics, likely make Aizawa and the rest of their teachers very grateful for the calming presence of students like Shouji, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki. Of course, broken furniture due to rough sex is probably... not something the faculty really want to deal with. But teenagers are teenagers, and hormones are hormones.
Bakugou looks up at Shouji's face the moment that hand slides around his waist, feeling like his door opening just let in an octopus bearing down on him. That large frame and familiar warmth are welcome even as he deliberately bites Shouji's thumb when it goes playing along his lower lip. Bastard.
A leg slots up between his thighs and he closes his legs around them as his back hits the headrest of his bed. The slight hint at roughness gets a pulse straight down his spine into his groin.]
Weren't you gonna be the one holding on?
[Bakugou's smirk ratchets up slightly and he grabs onto Shouji's arms. Then pulls himself up, using those strong limbs like parallel bars so he can bring himself to his boyfriend's face.]
Because I recall making a promise to plow you "next time".
[At the very least, if they did actually end up breaking anything in Bakugou's room, they could surely figure out fixing it themselves. They're clever after all, and Shouji personally would rather fix it himself if he's the one that causes it. Mostly because he simply doesn't want to call someone else in for it. That probably would put a few greys in Aizawa's hair, in a 'straw that broke the camel's back' sort of way.
There is a momentary temptation to hook his thumb into the pocket of Bakugou's cheek when he bites, fishhook him and pin him down while he growls and fights as Shouji's mouth beats a meandering path around his body. He imagines that he could get away with such a brazen move considering the next words out of the blonde's mouth.]
We both can. It's called leverage, Katsuki.
[The smirk behind his mask widens, the soft blue material having been pulled up before making the short trip between their rooms doing little to disguise the cheeky glint in those dark eyes. His arms tighten and tense and lift Bakugou easily, other hands coming to support him by his ass and lift him up just enough to be able to look up into his face.]
[As much as he believes that wholeheartedly... do they really want to ask Yaoyorozu for wood and glue to fix a broken headboard? Especially if she wants to know why they need those materials. She's likely nice enough not to pry, but still, the reality of curiosity isn't to be denied. Bakugou may be a violent bomb, but he's usually pretty anal about taking care of his stuff. Certainly not foolish enough to break his furniture.
Yeah, there's always the risk of Shouji doing something with his thumb whenever Bakugou bites it. From hooking his jaw to shoving into his cheek to even pushing it further towards his throat just to be a stupid sex dumbass. But instead, he's gonna talk bullshit about leverage and mutual satisfaction. What is this logic? Don't hit him with that when he's being aggressive egotistical!]
Oh yeah? And what kinda "leverage" are you gonna suggest, Mezo? [He keeps himself supported on Shouji's arms, but once he feels those other hands move up to rest under his ass and give him the remaining boost, he eases his grip, deliberately "permitting" his boyfriend to pick him. Gets a jolt in the arousal button, being manhandled... but he's supposed to be manhandling this time, dammit!
Bakugou leans forward and bites Shouji's mask, where those curved lips are hiding in plain sight.]
[At least out of the two of them, Bakugou is the one more likely to eventually need to do such a thing, considering that Shouji's bed doesn't have or need a frame. The only thing he might potentially need to fix is his desk and even then, it's not as if he has ever been reckless in his own room. That seems to be reserved for his boyfriend's.
Bakugou knows just how to get the reaction he wants out of him, be it by easing back or needling him or growling what he wants into his ear. They work together beautifully in that way, the push and pull equal in its intensity. His nose brushes across Bakugou's, head tilting enough to throw his hair away from his eyes.]
I'm going to suggest that you see for yourself.
[He could make the blonde see what he can clearly imagine easily enough. Especially as he settles in the middle of his boyfriend's bed and first strips off the shirt he was previously laying around in, then follows it with the mask coming up and over from the back of his head, to be dropped over the edge of the bed and found later. All the while, he keeps a hand flat against Bakugou's chest to keep him from immediately crawling back into his space, twisting in place to look at the headboard in question and then lay himself back, reaching underneath to find the posts to hold onto. Like this, he's stretched out on his back, with plenty of room for his legs to brace.
He gives a satisfied little sound, and smirks as one long leg wraps around the blond, heel against his ass.]
[Yeah, the minimalist lifestyle certainly minimizes the need to replace things that aren't available to be broken. Thanks for only being reckless in his room, Shouji. His wallet will thank you personally. By flying Mach 2 into your damn face. Though, unfortunately, the sight of a reckless boyfriend is practically worth the damn crack in his desk. Or whatever else their rougher unions might end up breaking.
He'd be a pretty pathetic boyfriend if Bakugou didn't spend this much time with Shouji without learning his tells or how to get certain reactions out of him. Between touching sensitive places, saying intimate or dirty things, even postures that he knows will grab Shouji's attention. That little gesture of nose to nose with a toss of his head is infuriatingly charming...]
Then show me.
[Released but barricaded, Bakugou settles in to watch Shouji discard one piece of clothing after another. Unlike the more normal setting of stripping for a shower, this is intimate, arousing, sexual, and personal. Shirt gone, muscular chest and stomach bared to view. Mask stripped over his head to leave his hair falling back into place and the toned lines of his strong neck and scarred jaw available. Shouji won't have any problem feeling Bakugou's pulse pick up the more skin is shown. Look, he finds his boyfriend attractive; piss off. Shit, if that's not a sexual sight, with Shouji lying on his back and gripping at the bed posts, legs skimmed along his bed. Before one of those legs picks up and hooks its long, strong length around his body and clunks a heel on his ass.
That actually kick starts the blonde's brain back to working order. Sorry, he was staring.]
Bastard... you really are a sexy piece of work. [Bakugou leans forward and slides between Shouji's thighs before propping himself over the other boy's body, hand planted to the bed just beside his ear, the other arm reaching back to hook his hand under Shouji's knee and keep his leg around his waist.] My Mezo.
[And leans down to claim his boyfriend's mouth in a heated kiss, having long-since found the best angle and way to hold his head for the most comfortable fit with Shouji's mouth.]
[If Shouji had anything to offer monetarily it would be another thing, but in lieu of having a proper income until he reached pro hero status, he's simply handy, and practical, and capable of fixing things that he broke. He's better at those things than at anything kitchen-related his mother had tried to teach him before he'd gone off to school at least, even if he did manage to take away some small things to be able to take care of himself while away from home. Eventually he would share the bread recipe his mother taught him. Maybe when they actually had the time to use the kitchen for a couple of hours.
He rarely says it out loud, but there's a sort of gratefulness, needless as it may be, that Bakugou finds those small things attractive or charming, when it's only Shouji doing the things that feel right or natural in the moment. He's by and large conducting himself by instinct alone when it comes to the way he touches and behaves. It helps that Bakugou is very good at making his wants known and pushing him in the appropriate directions to be able to get the most out of it, even if they were merely flirting. How verbal the blonde is certainly lends to that.
He's saved from the way the words hit right in the sentimental part of him by the kiss, the ease of it hard won as they figured out how to fit together and not just make it work, but make it feel good and eliminate the self-consciousness with which Shouji had previously approached the act. The longer they were together, the less unsure he was becoming, which is saying something considering how steadfast he tends to be in other ways.
When it breaks so that they can breathe, the hands not still occupied at the head of his boyfriend's bed drag up from the blonde's chest and around the back of his neck, into his hair then lacing together at his nape.
He smiles faintly, looking up into near glowing red eyes and smoothing a third set of hands along the solid planes of Bakugou's thighs.] And whose fault is it for encouraging it?
[No one's going to argue Shouji's a very capable and handy handyman, pun intended and unintended. While their concert hadn't required 1-A to build any stage props or attraction designs like other classes, their experiences together around their dorm had plenty of little moments to showcase talent and abilities not really related to heroics. Like Bakugou and Sato's cooking, Todoroki's decorating, Shouji's repair work (the teachers thank you, Shouji), and other classmates' skills. Bakugou does have the occasional forward-looking thought about cooking with the larger hero at some point in the future, whether it's prep-work for a hotpot dish or making bread that Shouji's gonna have to tell him at some point...
Bakugou pays attention to Shouji while they spend time together, noting the smaller things that are curious, interesting, or attractive. Not everything's wonderful though; he still finds the poncho-like sweater his boyfriend wears when it's cold annoying... Yeah, Bakugou knows it's functional and almost a requirement due to Shouji's Quirk, but it makes a simple discrete embrace NOT simple or discrete. Plus that minimalist lifestyle certainly is easy on the wallet, but means Bakugou doesn't get much a chance to see something random at the store he thinks Shouji might like. Usually means the larger boy gets food-related extras. The kind of way Bakugou says "I give a shit" without actually having to say it.
If these intimate moments don't say it enough. Mouth finding mouth, head angled in the best way, teeth and lips touching for a few seconds before Bakugou slides his tongue into his boyfriend's jaws. He's felt Shouji's nerves ease up little by little the longer they're together and it's a good sensation. The kiss breaks with a slow sound and breath before he dips down and takes the larger boy's lower lip between his teeth, biting lightly enough to hold it as he drags backwards and lazily scrapes the thinnest layer off his flesh. Salty...
Hands lock around the back of his neck and Bakugou presses up against them as he releases Shouji's lips from his bite, letting it jump back against his jaw. Not trying to break the hold on his neck, simply responding to make it obvious he feels it and likes the sensation of being held like that. Shouji's respectful of that area, giving Bakugou time to prepare for the touch via that slide up his chest and through his hair before settling.
Solid thighs harden under the hands wandering his upper legs, cables muscles hardening as he slides his own knee along Shouji's hips, one foot hooking over the top of his boyfriend's lower thigh as Bakugou settles atop him.] Not my fault; it's my own fucking choices.
[While there's nothing that Bakugou does that outright screams the way he feels when it comes to the gestures that they exchange, there's no mistaking the way that he lingers nearby, attempts to make that subtle contact that tends to end up frustratingly un-subtle when the weather no longer permits him going sleeveless. He's at least managed to find ways around that, including sneaking a hand around Bakugou's back to find an unoccupied one to hold. He can't exactly drape the poncho over the top of his boyfriend without it getting suffocating, though it does frequently happen that one of the others will crawl under it to get warm in those instances that they can get away with it. Their comfort around him makes him all the more grateful to be here.
Bakugou exhibits the same level of comfort and ease with him, at least when they're alone, and that, too, is something that he's come to appreciate more than he can really express. He never really knows what he should get, or offer in return, when he's handed something that's obviously a gift. Another one of those disturbingly rare occurrences before this year, if he's honest. If they're alone, the blonde usually gets a quiet 'thank you' and, if they're alone, a kiss for his trouble, even if it's only on top of his head.
He's better at expression the way he feels here, like this. Gentle touches and heated words and Bakugou's name dropping from his lips like quiet oaths, careful fingers making attempts at soothing those traumas the same way the blonde did about his scars. The legs wrapped around his boyfriend cross at the ankles behind him, boxing him in that much more effectively as his arms make a veritable tent over the two of them.]
And what about the choice to take me, hm? [He bites gently on his boyfriend's upper lip in turn, letting it pull back from between broad, straight teeth with very little resistance.] I may have been looking forward to this, Katsuki.
[Eh, let them crawl under Shouji's furry poncho all they want. Bakugou has dignity as a human being, thanks. He'll look away and say nothing when Shouji reaches around his back and cop a hold of his hand mostly hidden from view, but inevitably holds that large hand back in return. And it's not like he doesn't have a far better way of getting under (or in) Shouji's arms when they're together in private. Somehow they're going to have to figure out a way to help the multi-armed hero function better in the winter. Despite his strength, running around with all those arms bared to the snow and ice isn't going to do well for keeping his body heat. Guess he could just wrap himself up in his own generated limbs... but that'd probably be nightmare fuel for the people he's trying to save. (Not that Bakugou would disagree with it. An unconscious civilian is far easier to extricate from a situation than one screaming and clinging to you like an insane koala bear.) Ah well. Heroics.
Ugh, every time Shouji kisses him on top of his head, Bakugou "punches" him in the stomach for being a fucking dork. Doesn't stop him though. Mostly he's content to simply rest in his boyfriend's room and study or read, relaxing in the quiet and severe lack of distractions in Shouji's domicile. Share a meal, a conversation, maybe bitch about something in the rare time Bakugou's willing to bare those more vulnerable, not-perfectly-adjusted emotions. And then there's the Quirk training, little things that test Shouji's reflexes and reaction speed. Bakugou's a nerd despite trying to hide it so much.
A soft breath ghosts from his lips as he feels Shouji's legs knot behind him like that and he takes the time to rest his hands on his boyfriend's thighs and slowly slide them backwards. Feeling over the cables in his thighs, cresting over his kneecaps, down the strong bone of his shins and copping a fondle over his calves, before giving his own shoulders a good stretch backwards so he can reach Shouji's ankles. Not to undo his legs, but just to continue the lazy admiration. (He'll deal with his pants in a few.) Those arms above him tenting their bodies in and giving them a unique privacy only makes everything warmer.]
Maybe that one's your fault. [Bakugou husks as teeth grip at his lip and drag along his skin. He leans forward again, deliberately rubbing his groin against his larger boyfriend's ass, letting him feel his prominent erection rutting at the stretch of cloth covering his rear. Keeping Shouji nestled in his lap isn't too hard as he shifts his knees and brings them to flank either side of the other hero's hips, kneeling comfortably in place.] You better. I'm not letting you leave this room till morning.
[Before retreating his hands along the path they took, intending to get to Shouji's hips at the end of their journey. Those pants are coming off soon.]
[As much as scaring someone unconscious might make his job easier overall when manhandling someone away from a scenario is necessary, he would like to avoid giving anyone any lasting psychological trauma related to the weirdness of his appearance. His costume still had his arms exposed anyway and there was no material that stretched the way he would need it to to facilitate the intense dexterity that he requires. He knows, he's looked.
For all that Bakugou would swing into his gut over those soft gestures, he can't even claim that they've hurt all that much, only giving a quiet 'oof' out of reflex when it comes. It's cute, though he knows better than to voice that opinion unless they're close and alone, in a vulnerable moment where such sentiments are more fitting.
The paths that Bakugou's hands wander down the tightly corded muscle of his legs encourages a subtle move upward, making it possible to slip his pants down from his waist, though he would let the other peel them off in his own time and leave him in naught but the fitted boxer briefs that left almost nothing to the imagination. Likewise the touch that slides back up his thighs is met by hands that run up along the blonde's forearms and wrap loose around his upper arms, gently pulling him forward at the same time that he feels the distinct shape of that heavy hard-on up against his still-clothed backside. His own erection throbs dully with the feeling.]
Not letting me leave? Do you honestly think I'm going to feel like going anywhere after this?
It's only been a couple of minutes since the agency had dropped him off and the stuffy men in suits had left, but sitting here across the table from Shouji feels like an eternity. He can't say the hero was angry or anything like it when he'd opened the door to find them standing on the other side, but Keigo can't say he looked very excited about having a new husband invade his home as a surprise gift, either. He doesn't take the last part personally - he's just grateful it hadn't turned into a big scene. But here they are now, just the two of them, Keigo with his hands folded neatly on the table in front of him, wings tucked close to his back as he lets the other process the situation.
"What do you like to be called?" He prompts finally after a few moments of silence, tilting his head curiously at the larger man. "You can call me Keigo or even tsuma, if you want. I don't mind." There's an easiness to the way he speaks, a welcoming calm that doesn't give away any indication that he's trying hard to understand what's going through Shouji's head without making a scene or being overly demanding with his questions. He'd learned long before he'd started his training to be a 'wife' that being calm when others are stressed can make the situation easier for everyone. And he's sure this? Is definitely a stressful situation for Shouji.
Briefly, he considers offering to start dinner or maybe even just tea, but he doesn't ask just yet. Given their situation, inserting himself into Shouji's routine might not be welcome, and the last thing he wants is for the hero to change his mind and call the other's back to take him away. It wouldn't be the first time, but he doesn't think he's ready for that type of rejection again only a couple months after his last "return". Take it slow, he reminds himself, he just has to take it slow.
Nobody had warned him that they'd gotten him a...gift. Nobody was owning up to having decided that he needed a companion now that most of them had paired off or moved away. He had been watching Keigo closely after he'd been escorted inside by a pair of monosyllabic men that gave only the most perfunctory explanation before leaving the two of them alone. He was caught in limbo, unsure of what the expectation here actually was and whether he should make a pot of tea, or try to ask for his new...partner? to do it.
No, that idea made his skin crawl the moment he thought about it. There's a lot about this that makes him feel strange, and he can't rightly explain any of it without it sounding as if he's shaming the man that had been left with him.
"Usually people just call me Shouji," he offered, feeling deeply strange about the idea of approaching it any more intimately than that. He finally takes a seat across the table from Keigo, carefully folding himself down onto his knees and letting his hands rest on the tabletop, folded one atop the other. To someone observant, he is very tense, and trying hard not to show it. "Maybe you could tell me a bit about yourself," he suggests. It would make it easier to figure out how to navigate around Keigo staying here until he decides what to do if he knows more about the man himself, after all.
That tension is hard to miss. At least, for someone like Keigo it is. Those sharp eyes can see how tight some of those muscles are, the way the other's jaw is set, the small ways his lips and eyes move at the corners. All signs of how someone is feeling that he's learned to understand over time. It makes something twist uncomfortably in his chest - a reminder that he isn't here because Shouji wanted him to be in the first place. But they'll make this work.
"Shouji-san, then," he replies with a gentle smile, eyes flicking curiously to the way those hands are tucked, how the large body is folded at the table. But his eyes flick back up as the other speaks again. There's a couple of seconds where he only blinks owlishly, cocking his head with a soft, curious noise. People never actually ask about him - they don't care to know more about their "wife", only want to mold them into something that fits their needs. It's strange to be met with this kind of response.
Still, the red wings lift just the slightest, and his eyes go upwards with a thoughtful hum as he considers what he can - should - say. "People don't usually want to know that kind of stuff," he admits, reaching up to gently rub at the stubble on his chin. "But I like to eat. I get hungry a lot. It's nice to be able to sit in the sun to keep warm or just nap." Another hum. "I like to snuggle, too. I know some people don't like to, though, Yamamoto-sama didn't." The last man he'd been with who had decided he was too much to deal with, but the way his heart drops at that thought doesn't show. "Superhero movies are some of my favorites, especially the American ones."
He does pause after a moment, reminding himself that he is here for a reason. He straightens slightly before speaking again. "I can cook a lot of things and bake too. My quirk makes cleaning easy, I can reach a lot of different places. I try to do laundry often if I can, so you always have clean clothes. I'll make sure you come home to a clean house and a good meal every day." Despite how rehearsed those words are, he does sound genuinely happy about them. "Taking care of people important to me makes me happy. I hope I can take good care of you, Shouji-san."
Listening to Keigo try to explain little things about himself is...disheartening. It's half things that seem cultivated, and half things that would likely make him undesirable to clientele. Shouji watches him, taking in the little ways that he shifts, where and how his hands move, taking in his tone, hyperaware of all of it the same way he would be with any given stranger.
The chagrin only increases at the insistence that Keigo would cook and clean around the house. He resents how nice it sounds, to be able to have something warm and comforting to come home to, a meal and tea, and someone to talk to.
"There's a space near one of the windows that gets a lot of sun," he offered a touch hesitantly. "I hadn't decided what I wanted to do with it yet so usually it would be where I warm up before going out for training. You can take it." He doesn't know how to address the rest just now, except- "I don't have a lot of movies, but I'm sure we can find some. If you get bored here, you can watch anything you'd like."
Despite the calm way he sits there, posture relaxed, wings sitting at their natural height, and expression soft, Keigo feels... wary. Anxious, almost. There's that little voice in the back of his head that says Shouji, like the others, won't like him and will send him back. But another voice quiets it by reminding him that Shouji isn't turning him away despite how reluctant he seems about this whole situation. He wants this to work, to finally have someone he can take care of and make happy.
He blinks, surprised, at the mention of the sunny spot. He isn't sure what to make of the offer, but after the other finishes speaking, he smiles. Warm and cheerful as the red wings lift a bit higher, the top arcs fluffing slowly in happiness. It's such small things, but to be offered them at all, so quickly, warms something inside of him. "Thank you, Shouji-san," he bows his head briefly in thanks before continuing, "I'd like it if we could stretch together before your training. It's helpful for my back and shoulders." Carrying his wings around all day isn't easy, even if nothing about him is particularly heavy.
His attention shifts from that topic slightly. He knows what little information had been shared about Shouji in the initial request, but not much else. As much as he appreciates the offers to make this a comfortable space for him, he wants to make this experience pleasant for the both of them. "What do you like to do? The request mentioned you enjoy training, but not much else. Do you have something you do to relax?" It's an easy thing to lean forward, perching one elbow on the table to tilt his head against his hand as he watches the other. The curiosity in his expression is clear.
They're wary of each other for utterly different reasons. Keigo wants to be accepted here, to avoid being sent away again, while Shouji is so unused to having sharing his space with anyone else and now, here was someone sitting at his table, polite as can be, trying to appeal even while answering his questions as honestly as it seems like he can. At least when he makes that honestly very easy compromise, it seems like Keigo not only brightens up, he drops a little bit of that formality. While his speech is very casual, tone easygoing, there's a scripted feeling to it that rubs Shouji the wrong way so anything else is a blessing.
At first it sounds like Keigo is only offering to stretch with him to try and ingratiate himself, but a glance at his wings makes it more obvious that, yeah, it would probably get a bit uncomfortable to hold his wings tucked upright all the time without some appropriate exercises done to help the effort.
"I can show you the routine that I run through. Not all of it will be useful to you, but having a wide range of exercises will only be beneficial." That seems satisfying to him, until the question is turned back on him and he's once more made aware that, right, this had been arranged for him, but he hadn't realized that when that had happened, they didn't seem to give away any information about him. Perhaps he should be grateful for that... "I...hm. I've always been relatively...I guess you could say unattached to material possessions-" which explains the relatively sparse furnishings and lack of any real decoration outside of the purely utilitarian, "-and I do spend a lot of time away from home in general in the course of my duties. You would be spending a lot of time alone here. I'm sorry."
"Other than that, I spend a fair amount of time meditating. Occasionally I'll be out with friends... Probably the ones that thought that I could use some company," he notes, regarding Keigo with a slightly exasperated look.
It's strange how easily Shouji gives into such a simple request. Keigo isn't used to it. It makes him brighten still as he nods. "I look forward to learning. Maybe I can show you a few things I do, too."
He listens intently as Shouji speaks, briefly letting his attention sweep the room before returning to the hero. And he nods along, listening, as the younger man continues speaking. "I'm used to it," he reassures with a flap of his hand. He'd been with a couple of businessmen who were often away on trips, working long hours. "I'm sure I can keep busy, I'm creative."
He's quiet for a moment as he considers the last of those words, gently scratching at his chin in thought. "Do you already have a partner?" He wonders, but there's no judgement in the question. Just another curiosity. Some hero's keep some things close to their chest, and it wouldn't surprise him if Shouji did have someone his friends didn't know about. Not that he gets the impression that Shouji is the sort of person to take him in if he did have a partner. But it's important to ask, he thinks. "Or someone you are interested in?"
Keigo may be dismissive of the idea of being left to his own devices before now, but Shouji immediately sits upright, hands curling into fists on the tabletop. How miserable, to be left alone for long hours repeatedly... And that had likely been in places much less barren than this. He might have said something about it, if not for the question that comes, and the assumption that it carries. The outrage just sort of runs out of him, and he settles back down again.
"Ah...no. I. It's never been something that I've seriously considered," he admits quietly. Sure, there had been plenty of crushes, thoughts in the wee hours what it might be like to be with one friend or another, but that was all it ever amounted to. Plenty of affection, and no romance to show for it. And he was happy to have the friendship, after the first half of his life being what it was, but that doesn't stop him from wondering what it might be like to actually have more.
"How long have you been...in this business?" Shouji asks hesitantly, somewhat dreading the answer.
When Shouji sits up like that, Keigo wonders if he's said something wrong. He's seen his other husbands do similar before, but the aftermath isn't always as peaceful as it is here. There's been yelling before, arguing, one of his more explosive husbands had even been known to throw or knock things over after such abrupt changes. But not Shouji. He's not sure if he should be relieved to see the other so in control or worried.
It isn't something he focuses on when Shouji seems to relax enough to respond to his questions. There a couple short nods, and a soft hum of understanding. "A lot of people don't. That's where people like me come in, right?" Someone who people turn to when they realize it's too late and they want something serious or they can't find it on their own. Or don't want to take the effort to find someone on their own. A last hope is how he likes to think of people like him.
The question makes him pause, though, blinking curiously. "Ah..." His gaze goes up thoughtfully, considering the question. He isn't supposed to answer that - it could make him unappealing as a 'wife' if Shouji knew how long he'd been doing this. Still, he doesn't want to lie. He's never been good at being anything but honest and himself.
"They took me in when I was eight. I helped take care of the others, cooked and cleaned, stuff like that until I was older. I've been a wife for about three years now." He explains, gently rubbing at the side of the blond hair. "Or well, a potential wife." A soft huff of a sound leaves him, something that might be a laugh.
Shouji's body language has always been fairly open, to make up for how long he'd spent with his face covered. He still doesn't show it often out in public, his costume being mostly unchanged since its initial design was finalized and his usual choice in daytime wear generally including his mask. It only comes off when he makes it home for the day, more often than not. The way that he reacts to things is more visible in his mannerisms than his expression, but he is also just as quick to calm and assess how best to approach a given interaction. He listens to Keigo with solemn interest, head at the slightest tilt, brow furrowed but otherwise no more tense than he had been.
"You were...trained up into this?" he asks with earnest concern. That felt wrong to him, but he's not really in a position to judge what sort of circumstance might lead to something like that being necessary. Does it count as human trafficking if the person within the transaction is willing? Is Keigo willing?
Shouji continues to turn over these questions and others when Keigo speaks up again, almost missing it and having to take a moment to key back in to the actual conversation.
"There aren't exactly weekends for heroes," he points out. "Being on-call unless you're out for medical leave is pretty much the norm unless you're still working under someone at an agency and even then in high traffic places that's not a guarantee. The closest I have to actual time off is...well, this."
Ah, he usually doesn't get into this conversation so early on with people about how he ended up here. He knows it comes with a lot of questions.
Keigo lifts one hand, waving it as if to try and dismiss the worrisome thoughts he's sure must be coming to mind. He knows plenty of companies that provide brides do awful things to them, find them in such questionable and terrible ways.
"In a way," he starts with a shake of the head. "Things were hard when I was a kid. My mom wanted me to use my quirk for bad things so we could have money and food. I didn't want to do that kind of stuff." His eyes lower to the table thoughtfully, considering his words. "When I met the owner of the company, he told me people would pay good money to marry someone like me when I got older - nice wings and a useful quirk. So we made an agreement, if he took care of my mom, I'd go with him and make a lot of money as a bride for his company."
"He agreed. So I grew up with the brides in training or the ones waiting to find homes. I helped take care of them, and when I was old enough, they had me train as a bride to keep my end of the deal. They told me I could find another way to repay them if I didn't want to become a bride, but I learned I liked taking care of people and giving them more time for themselves. So here I am."
He lifts one shoulder in a lazy shrug before he leans forward to perch both elbows on the table again, studying Shouji. He doesn't seem concerned about what he's said. Even if he hadn't understood the weight of his decision as a kid, he does now. What he's more concerned about now is Shouji.
"We'll have to make the most of our time together, then," he chirps happily, tilting his head with a warm smile. "Let's get dinner. My treat." Not that he has much money, but what he does have, he's happy to spend on Shouji. "We can go out or if you don't want to deal with what it means if we're seen together, we can order in. I'm not picky."
It's just an unfortunate reality, but it's one that he hopes makes sense and doesn't hurt Keigo to know. It's just the way things are there, after all. And just the same way, he wants to know the situation that Keigo is coming from, so that he can navigate within the appropriate context. He wants to be able to work with him one way or another.
There's an idea forming in the back of Shouji's mind as he listens, that he might try to keep Keigo long enough that they outlast the time before a decision needs to be made, they agree, and he uses what limited authority and money he has to let Keigo decide on his own whether to go out and make a life for himself. It's such a movie idea, but one that appeals to him for the agency that it would offer.
With his hands folded together on the table in front of him, he merely listens, quiet and thoughtful. Then, "I make more than enough to support us both, but if you'd like, you can pick the place. I generally prefer seafood, but I'm not necessarily picky."
A breath, as he debates on how much to offer, before he looks down at the tabletop again. "I know how it feels, to grow up in the kinds of circumstances that lead you to desperate alternatives. I got very lucky that I was able to apply to U.A. and be trained into a hero. They saw my potential as a search and rescue specialist. And...being a heteromorph in the climate at the time, it made it doubly important that I stay in the program. And it's been worthwhile, I think. I care deeply about the work that I do, even if it's hard. At the very least, it's afforded me some comfort, so, let me treat you."
@blastedass
Date: 2023-07-03 01:48 am (UTC)From:[The quickness with which Bakugou rises to baiting is nigh on legendary. Either it's with that deadly grin or with the permanent curled lip of .5 seconds from screaming. His face is just...stuck that way.
It's very easy to imagine the smile that Bakugou turns on his phone over the idle tease, all bared teeth and furrows along nose and brow. Part of him can't wait to kiss that spot between the blonde's eyebrows just to feel them smooth back out again, if only for a moment. Maybe while he's holding on to aforementioned headboard.
He's quiet as he rolls himself upright and, rather than going for his door, slides open the balcony door and leaves it cracked as he quietly pads between their rooms to knock on the glass of Bakugou's. Before he hangs up, Bakugou will hear,]
Don't worry, I'll be gentle on it.
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Date: 2023-07-03 03:40 pm (UTC)From:But Shouji can get gentler smiles from him, depending on their activity together and what's said. Right now, however? Yeah, that smile's way more ferocious and challenging, revved up to take on this brazen kid. (Yeah, kid. Youngest in the class, right, Shouji?) He knows it's almost a dare not to end up with a cracked headboard, but if his headboard is the price for this bliss, break the fucking thing.
Wait, the hell is Shouji doing? Sounds like a door opening, but not the front door- Oh. He looks over his shoulder at his sliding glass door. Right. Balcony hopping. The phone goes silent and a second later, Bakugou pull his curtains to the side, unlocks the door, and slides it open.]
Challenge accepted.
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Date: 2023-07-03 08:53 pm (UTC)From:They get away with all of this just because they're all still teenagers, he's sure of it. The faculty have to know that putting a bunch of them in one building and expecting them to police themselves is going to lead to some wild bullshit, up to and including regular rough sex between their most violently repressed and touch-starved. It probably is expected, and as long as they're not wreaking havoc or damaging property or each other, they're free to do as they wish.
The door between them slides open, and one hand slides around Bakugou's waist to settle in the small of his back, another tipped under his chin with his thumb running across the blonde's lower lip. He walks the other backward until they hit something, and his leg rides up between strong thighs to press up into Bakugou's groin just short of rough.]
Sure you can hold on?
[Of course he can, Shouji knows he can, but he likes tweaking those nerves just that little bit when he wants to get rough.]
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Date: 2023-07-05 12:12 am (UTC)From:Aizawa not going silver yet speaks to either some very good self control or possibly hair dye. Having to deal with problem children like Midoriya and Bakugou, the shenanigans of Kaminari, Sero, Mina, and always Mineta's perverted antics, likely make Aizawa and the rest of their teachers very grateful for the calming presence of students like Shouji, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki. Of course, broken furniture due to rough sex is probably... not something the faculty really want to deal with. But teenagers are teenagers, and hormones are hormones.
Bakugou looks up at Shouji's face the moment that hand slides around his waist, feeling like his door opening just let in an octopus bearing down on him. That large frame and familiar warmth are welcome even as he deliberately bites Shouji's thumb when it goes playing along his lower lip. Bastard.
A leg slots up between his thighs and he closes his legs around them as his back hits the headrest of his bed. The slight hint at roughness gets a pulse straight down his spine into his groin.]
Weren't you gonna be the one holding on?
[Bakugou's smirk ratchets up slightly and he grabs onto Shouji's arms. Then pulls himself up, using those strong limbs like parallel bars so he can bring himself to his boyfriend's face.]
Because I recall making a promise to plow you "next time".
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Date: 2023-07-05 02:25 am (UTC)From:There is a momentary temptation to hook his thumb into the pocket of Bakugou's cheek when he bites, fishhook him and pin him down while he growls and fights as Shouji's mouth beats a meandering path around his body. He imagines that he could get away with such a brazen move considering the next words out of the blonde's mouth.]
We both can. It's called leverage, Katsuki.
[The smirk behind his mask widens, the soft blue material having been pulled up before making the short trip between their rooms doing little to disguise the cheeky glint in those dark eyes. His arms tighten and tense and lift Bakugou easily, other hands coming to support him by his ass and lift him up just enough to be able to look up into his face.]
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Date: 2023-07-05 11:45 pm (UTC)From:Yeah, there's always the risk of Shouji doing something with his thumb whenever Bakugou bites it. From hooking his jaw to shoving into his cheek to even pushing it further towards his throat just to be a stupid sex dumbass. But instead, he's gonna talk bullshit about leverage and mutual satisfaction. What is this logic? Don't hit him with that when he's being aggressive egotistical!]
Oh yeah? And what kinda "leverage" are you gonna suggest, Mezo? [He keeps himself supported on Shouji's arms, but once he feels those other hands move up to rest under his ass and give him the remaining boost, he eases his grip, deliberately "permitting" his boyfriend to pick him. Gets a jolt in the arousal button, being manhandled... but he's supposed to be manhandling this time, dammit!
Bakugou leans forward and bites Shouji's mask, where those curved lips are hiding in plain sight.]
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Date: 2023-07-06 12:25 am (UTC)From:Bakugou knows just how to get the reaction he wants out of him, be it by easing back or needling him or growling what he wants into his ear. They work together beautifully in that way, the push and pull equal in its intensity. His nose brushes across Bakugou's, head tilting enough to throw his hair away from his eyes.]
I'm going to suggest that you see for yourself.
[He could make the blonde see what he can clearly imagine easily enough. Especially as he settles in the middle of his boyfriend's bed and first strips off the shirt he was previously laying around in, then follows it with the mask coming up and over from the back of his head, to be dropped over the edge of the bed and found later. All the while, he keeps a hand flat against Bakugou's chest to keep him from immediately crawling back into his space, twisting in place to look at the headboard in question and then lay himself back, reaching underneath to find the posts to hold onto. Like this, he's stretched out on his back, with plenty of room for his legs to brace.
He gives a satisfied little sound, and smirks as one long leg wraps around the blond, heel against his ass.]
Yeah, this'll work.
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Date: 2023-07-06 11:54 pm (UTC)From:He'd be a pretty pathetic boyfriend if Bakugou didn't spend this much time with Shouji without learning his tells or how to get certain reactions out of him. Between touching sensitive places, saying intimate or dirty things, even postures that he knows will grab Shouji's attention. That little gesture of nose to nose with a toss of his head is infuriatingly charming...]
Then show me.
[Released but barricaded, Bakugou settles in to watch Shouji discard one piece of clothing after another. Unlike the more normal setting of stripping for a shower, this is intimate, arousing, sexual, and personal. Shirt gone, muscular chest and stomach bared to view. Mask stripped over his head to leave his hair falling back into place and the toned lines of his strong neck and scarred jaw available. Shouji won't have any problem feeling Bakugou's pulse pick up the more skin is shown. Look, he finds his boyfriend attractive; piss off. Shit, if that's not a sexual sight, with Shouji lying on his back and gripping at the bed posts, legs skimmed along his bed. Before one of those legs picks up and hooks its long, strong length around his body and clunks a heel on his ass.
That actually kick starts the blonde's brain back to working order. Sorry, he was staring.]
Bastard... you really are a sexy piece of work. [Bakugou leans forward and slides between Shouji's thighs before propping himself over the other boy's body, hand planted to the bed just beside his ear, the other arm reaching back to hook his hand under Shouji's knee and keep his leg around his waist.] My Mezo.
[And leans down to claim his boyfriend's mouth in a heated kiss, having long-since found the best angle and way to hold his head for the most comfortable fit with Shouji's mouth.]
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Date: 2023-07-07 06:14 am (UTC)From:He rarely says it out loud, but there's a sort of gratefulness, needless as it may be, that Bakugou finds those small things attractive or charming, when it's only Shouji doing the things that feel right or natural in the moment. He's by and large conducting himself by instinct alone when it comes to the way he touches and behaves. It helps that Bakugou is very good at making his wants known and pushing him in the appropriate directions to be able to get the most out of it, even if they were merely flirting. How verbal the blonde is certainly lends to that.
He's saved from the way the words hit right in the sentimental part of him by the kiss, the ease of it hard won as they figured out how to fit together and not just make it work, but make it feel good and eliminate the self-consciousness with which Shouji had previously approached the act. The longer they were together, the less unsure he was becoming, which is saying something considering how steadfast he tends to be in other ways.
When it breaks so that they can breathe, the hands not still occupied at the head of his boyfriend's bed drag up from the blonde's chest and around the back of his neck, into his hair then lacing together at his nape.
He smiles faintly, looking up into near glowing red eyes and smoothing a third set of hands along the solid planes of Bakugou's thighs.] And whose fault is it for encouraging it?
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Date: 2023-07-08 09:46 pm (UTC)From:Bakugou pays attention to Shouji while they spend time together, noting the smaller things that are curious, interesting, or attractive. Not everything's wonderful though; he still finds the poncho-like sweater his boyfriend wears when it's cold annoying... Yeah, Bakugou knows it's functional and almost a requirement due to Shouji's Quirk, but it makes a simple discrete embrace NOT simple or discrete. Plus that minimalist lifestyle certainly is easy on the wallet, but means Bakugou doesn't get much a chance to see something random at the store he thinks Shouji might like. Usually means the larger boy gets food-related extras. The kind of way Bakugou says "I give a shit" without actually having to say it.
If these intimate moments don't say it enough. Mouth finding mouth, head angled in the best way, teeth and lips touching for a few seconds before Bakugou slides his tongue into his boyfriend's jaws. He's felt Shouji's nerves ease up little by little the longer they're together and it's a good sensation. The kiss breaks with a slow sound and breath before he dips down and takes the larger boy's lower lip between his teeth, biting lightly enough to hold it as he drags backwards and lazily scrapes the thinnest layer off his flesh. Salty...
Hands lock around the back of his neck and Bakugou presses up against them as he releases Shouji's lips from his bite, letting it jump back against his jaw. Not trying to break the hold on his neck, simply responding to make it obvious he feels it and likes the sensation of being held like that. Shouji's respectful of that area, giving Bakugou time to prepare for the touch via that slide up his chest and through his hair before settling.
Solid thighs harden under the hands wandering his upper legs, cables muscles hardening as he slides his own knee along Shouji's hips, one foot hooking over the top of his boyfriend's lower thigh as Bakugou settles atop him.] Not my fault; it's my own fucking choices.
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Date: 2023-07-09 07:24 am (UTC)From:Bakugou exhibits the same level of comfort and ease with him, at least when they're alone, and that, too, is something that he's come to appreciate more than he can really express. He never really knows what he should get, or offer in return, when he's handed something that's obviously a gift. Another one of those disturbingly rare occurrences before this year, if he's honest. If they're alone, the blonde usually gets a quiet 'thank you' and, if they're alone, a kiss for his trouble, even if it's only on top of his head.
He's better at expression the way he feels here, like this. Gentle touches and heated words and Bakugou's name dropping from his lips like quiet oaths, careful fingers making attempts at soothing those traumas the same way the blonde did about his scars. The legs wrapped around his boyfriend cross at the ankles behind him, boxing him in that much more effectively as his arms make a veritable tent over the two of them.]
And what about the choice to take me, hm? [He bites gently on his boyfriend's upper lip in turn, letting it pull back from between broad, straight teeth with very little resistance.] I may have been looking forward to this, Katsuki.
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Date: 2023-07-09 07:10 pm (UTC)From:Ugh, every time Shouji kisses him on top of his head, Bakugou "punches" him in the stomach for being a fucking dork. Doesn't stop him though. Mostly he's content to simply rest in his boyfriend's room and study or read, relaxing in the quiet and severe lack of distractions in Shouji's domicile. Share a meal, a conversation, maybe bitch about something in the rare time Bakugou's willing to bare those more vulnerable, not-perfectly-adjusted emotions. And then there's the Quirk training, little things that test Shouji's reflexes and reaction speed. Bakugou's a nerd despite trying to hide it so much.
A soft breath ghosts from his lips as he feels Shouji's legs knot behind him like that and he takes the time to rest his hands on his boyfriend's thighs and slowly slide them backwards. Feeling over the cables in his thighs, cresting over his kneecaps, down the strong bone of his shins and copping a fondle over his calves, before giving his own shoulders a good stretch backwards so he can reach Shouji's ankles. Not to undo his legs, but just to continue the lazy admiration. (He'll deal with his pants in a few.) Those arms above him tenting their bodies in and giving them a unique privacy only makes everything warmer.]
Maybe that one's your fault. [Bakugou husks as teeth grip at his lip and drag along his skin. He leans forward again, deliberately rubbing his groin against his larger boyfriend's ass, letting him feel his prominent erection rutting at the stretch of cloth covering his rear. Keeping Shouji nestled in his lap isn't too hard as he shifts his knees and brings them to flank either side of the other hero's hips, kneeling comfortably in place.] You better. I'm not letting you leave this room till morning.
[Before retreating his hands along the path they took, intending to get to Shouji's hips at the end of their journey. Those pants are coming off soon.]
no subject
Date: 2023-07-09 09:08 pm (UTC)From:For all that Bakugou would swing into his gut over those soft gestures, he can't even claim that they've hurt all that much, only giving a quiet 'oof' out of reflex when it comes. It's cute, though he knows better than to voice that opinion unless they're close and alone, in a vulnerable moment where such sentiments are more fitting.
The paths that Bakugou's hands wander down the tightly corded muscle of his legs encourages a subtle move upward, making it possible to slip his pants down from his waist, though he would let the other peel them off in his own time and leave him in naught but the fitted boxer briefs that left almost nothing to the imagination. Likewise the touch that slides back up his thighs is met by hands that run up along the blonde's forearms and wrap loose around his upper arms, gently pulling him forward at the same time that he feels the distinct shape of that heavy hard-on up against his still-clothed backside. His own erection throbs dully with the feeling.]
Not letting me leave? Do you honestly think I'm going to feel like going anywhere after this?
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Date: 2024-01-15 11:11 pm (UTC)From:"What do you like to be called?" He prompts finally after a few moments of silence, tilting his head curiously at the larger man. "You can call me Keigo or even tsuma, if you want. I don't mind." There's an easiness to the way he speaks, a welcoming calm that doesn't give away any indication that he's trying hard to understand what's going through Shouji's head without making a scene or being overly demanding with his questions. He'd learned long before he'd started his training to be a 'wife' that being calm when others are stressed can make the situation easier for everyone. And he's sure this? Is definitely a stressful situation for Shouji.
Briefly, he considers offering to start dinner or maybe even just tea, but he doesn't ask just yet. Given their situation, inserting himself into Shouji's routine might not be welcome, and the last thing he wants is for the hero to change his mind and call the other's back to take him away. It wouldn't be the first time, but he doesn't think he's ready for that type of rejection again only a couple months after his last "return". Take it slow, he reminds himself, he just has to take it slow.
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Date: 2024-01-19 01:34 am (UTC)From:No, that idea made his skin crawl the moment he thought about it. There's a lot about this that makes him feel strange, and he can't rightly explain any of it without it sounding as if he's shaming the man that had been left with him.
"Usually people just call me Shouji," he offered, feeling deeply strange about the idea of approaching it any more intimately than that. He finally takes a seat across the table from Keigo, carefully folding himself down onto his knees and letting his hands rest on the tabletop, folded one atop the other. To someone observant, he is very tense, and trying hard not to show it. "Maybe you could tell me a bit about yourself," he suggests. It would make it easier to figure out how to navigate around Keigo staying here until he decides what to do if he knows more about the man himself, after all.
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Date: 2024-01-21 02:31 am (UTC)From:"Shouji-san, then," he replies with a gentle smile, eyes flicking curiously to the way those hands are tucked, how the large body is folded at the table. But his eyes flick back up as the other speaks again. There's a couple of seconds where he only blinks owlishly, cocking his head with a soft, curious noise. People never actually ask about him - they don't care to know more about their "wife", only want to mold them into something that fits their needs. It's strange to be met with this kind of response.
Still, the red wings lift just the slightest, and his eyes go upwards with a thoughtful hum as he considers what he can - should - say. "People don't usually want to know that kind of stuff," he admits, reaching up to gently rub at the stubble on his chin. "But I like to eat. I get hungry a lot. It's nice to be able to sit in the sun to keep warm or just nap." Another hum. "I like to snuggle, too. I know some people don't like to, though, Yamamoto-sama didn't." The last man he'd been with who had decided he was too much to deal with, but the way his heart drops at that thought doesn't show. "Superhero movies are some of my favorites, especially the American ones."
He does pause after a moment, reminding himself that he is here for a reason. He straightens slightly before speaking again. "I can cook a lot of things and bake too. My quirk makes cleaning easy, I can reach a lot of different places. I try to do laundry often if I can, so you always have clean clothes. I'll make sure you come home to a clean house and a good meal every day." Despite how rehearsed those words are, he does sound genuinely happy about them. "Taking care of people important to me makes me happy. I hope I can take good care of you, Shouji-san."
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Date: 2024-01-24 05:35 pm (UTC)From:The chagrin only increases at the insistence that Keigo would cook and clean around the house. He resents how nice it sounds, to be able to have something warm and comforting to come home to, a meal and tea, and someone to talk to.
"There's a space near one of the windows that gets a lot of sun," he offered a touch hesitantly. "I hadn't decided what I wanted to do with it yet so usually it would be where I warm up before going out for training. You can take it." He doesn't know how to address the rest just now, except- "I don't have a lot of movies, but I'm sure we can find some. If you get bored here, you can watch anything you'd like."
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Date: 2024-01-25 10:00 pm (UTC)From:He blinks, surprised, at the mention of the sunny spot. He isn't sure what to make of the offer, but after the other finishes speaking, he smiles. Warm and cheerful as the red wings lift a bit higher, the top arcs fluffing slowly in happiness. It's such small things, but to be offered them at all, so quickly, warms something inside of him. "Thank you, Shouji-san," he bows his head briefly in thanks before continuing, "I'd like it if we could stretch together before your training. It's helpful for my back and shoulders." Carrying his wings around all day isn't easy, even if nothing about him is particularly heavy.
His attention shifts from that topic slightly. He knows what little information had been shared about Shouji in the initial request, but not much else. As much as he appreciates the offers to make this a comfortable space for him, he wants to make this experience pleasant for the both of them. "What do you like to do? The request mentioned you enjoy training, but not much else. Do you have something you do to relax?" It's an easy thing to lean forward, perching one elbow on the table to tilt his head against his hand as he watches the other. The curiosity in his expression is clear.
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Date: 2024-01-26 10:04 pm (UTC)From:At first it sounds like Keigo is only offering to stretch with him to try and ingratiate himself, but a glance at his wings makes it more obvious that, yeah, it would probably get a bit uncomfortable to hold his wings tucked upright all the time without some appropriate exercises done to help the effort.
"I can show you the routine that I run through. Not all of it will be useful to you, but having a wide range of exercises will only be beneficial." That seems satisfying to him, until the question is turned back on him and he's once more made aware that, right, this had been arranged for him, but he hadn't realized that when that had happened, they didn't seem to give away any information about him. Perhaps he should be grateful for that... "I...hm. I've always been relatively...I guess you could say unattached to material possessions-" which explains the relatively sparse furnishings and lack of any real decoration outside of the purely utilitarian, "-and I do spend a lot of time away from home in general in the course of my duties. You would be spending a lot of time alone here. I'm sorry."
"Other than that, I spend a fair amount of time meditating. Occasionally I'll be out with friends... Probably the ones that thought that I could use some company," he notes, regarding Keigo with a slightly exasperated look.
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Date: 2024-01-27 12:46 am (UTC)From:He listens intently as Shouji speaks, briefly letting his attention sweep the room before returning to the hero. And he nods along, listening, as the younger man continues speaking. "I'm used to it," he reassures with a flap of his hand. He'd been with a couple of businessmen who were often away on trips, working long hours. "I'm sure I can keep busy, I'm creative."
He's quiet for a moment as he considers the last of those words, gently scratching at his chin in thought. "Do you already have a partner?" He wonders, but there's no judgement in the question. Just another curiosity. Some hero's keep some things close to their chest, and it wouldn't surprise him if Shouji did have someone his friends didn't know about. Not that he gets the impression that Shouji is the sort of person to take him in if he did have a partner. But it's important to ask, he thinks. "Or someone you are interested in?"
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Date: 2024-01-28 08:44 pm (UTC)From:"Ah...no. I. It's never been something that I've seriously considered," he admits quietly. Sure, there had been plenty of crushes, thoughts in the wee hours what it might be like to be with one friend or another, but that was all it ever amounted to. Plenty of affection, and no romance to show for it. And he was happy to have the friendship, after the first half of his life being what it was, but that doesn't stop him from wondering what it might be like to actually have more.
"How long have you been...in this business?" Shouji asks hesitantly, somewhat dreading the answer.
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Date: 2024-01-29 12:11 am (UTC)From:It isn't something he focuses on when Shouji seems to relax enough to respond to his questions. There a couple short nods, and a soft hum of understanding. "A lot of people don't. That's where people like me come in, right?" Someone who people turn to when they realize it's too late and they want something serious or they can't find it on their own. Or don't want to take the effort to find someone on their own. A last hope is how he likes to think of people like him.
The question makes him pause, though, blinking curiously. "Ah..." His gaze goes up thoughtfully, considering the question. He isn't supposed to answer that - it could make him unappealing as a 'wife' if Shouji knew how long he'd been doing this. Still, he doesn't want to lie. He's never been good at being anything but honest and himself.
"They took me in when I was eight. I helped take care of the others, cooked and cleaned, stuff like that until I was older. I've been a wife for about three years now." He explains, gently rubbing at the side of the blond hair. "Or well, a potential wife." A soft huff of a sound leaves him, something that might be a laugh.
"Will you have a day off soon?"
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Date: 2024-01-30 03:17 pm (UTC)From:"You were...trained up into this?" he asks with earnest concern. That felt wrong to him, but he's not really in a position to judge what sort of circumstance might lead to something like that being necessary. Does it count as human trafficking if the person within the transaction is willing? Is Keigo willing?
Shouji continues to turn over these questions and others when Keigo speaks up again, almost missing it and having to take a moment to key back in to the actual conversation.
"There aren't exactly weekends for heroes," he points out. "Being on-call unless you're out for medical leave is pretty much the norm unless you're still working under someone at an agency and even then in high traffic places that's not a guarantee. The closest I have to actual time off is...well, this."
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Date: 2024-02-01 01:17 am (UTC)From:Keigo lifts one hand, waving it as if to try and dismiss the worrisome thoughts he's sure must be coming to mind. He knows plenty of companies that provide brides do awful things to them, find them in such questionable and terrible ways.
"In a way," he starts with a shake of the head. "Things were hard when I was a kid. My mom wanted me to use my quirk for bad things so we could have money and food. I didn't want to do that kind of stuff." His eyes lower to the table thoughtfully, considering his words. "When I met the owner of the company, he told me people would pay good money to marry someone like me when I got older - nice wings and a useful quirk. So we made an agreement, if he took care of my mom, I'd go with him and make a lot of money as a bride for his company."
"He agreed. So I grew up with the brides in training or the ones waiting to find homes. I helped take care of them, and when I was old enough, they had me train as a bride to keep my end of the deal. They told me I could find another way to repay them if I didn't want to become a bride, but I learned I liked taking care of people and giving them more time for themselves. So here I am."
He lifts one shoulder in a lazy shrug before he leans forward to perch both elbows on the table again, studying Shouji. He doesn't seem concerned about what he's said. Even if he hadn't understood the weight of his decision as a kid, he does now. What he's more concerned about now is Shouji.
"We'll have to make the most of our time together, then," he chirps happily, tilting his head with a warm smile. "Let's get dinner. My treat." Not that he has much money, but what he does have, he's happy to spend on Shouji. "We can go out or if you don't want to deal with what it means if we're seen together, we can order in. I'm not picky."
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Date: 2024-02-02 10:30 pm (UTC)From:There's an idea forming in the back of Shouji's mind as he listens, that he might try to keep Keigo long enough that they outlast the time before a decision needs to be made, they agree, and he uses what limited authority and money he has to let Keigo decide on his own whether to go out and make a life for himself. It's such a movie idea, but one that appeals to him for the agency that it would offer.
With his hands folded together on the table in front of him, he merely listens, quiet and thoughtful. Then, "I make more than enough to support us both, but if you'd like, you can pick the place. I generally prefer seafood, but I'm not necessarily picky."
A breath, as he debates on how much to offer, before he looks down at the tabletop again. "I know how it feels, to grow up in the kinds of circumstances that lead you to desperate alternatives. I got very lucky that I was able to apply to U.A. and be trained into a hero. They saw my potential as a search and rescue specialist. And...being a heteromorph in the climate at the time, it made it doubly important that I stay in the program. And it's been worthwhile, I think. I care deeply about the work that I do, even if it's hard. At the very least, it's afforded me some comfort, so, let me treat you."
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