His Hero

Promise

Exhausted was not a strong enough word to describe how Shoto felt the next morning. Sleep had evaded the hero who tossed and turned until the sun was nearly up. A tired mind played through his interaction with Kirishima and Bakugo on loop. Looking for any signs he may have missed, anything the sturdy hero said that could prove him wrong. No matter how many times he analyzed things he always came to the same heart wrenching possibilities – either something was very wrong in Bakugo and Kirishima's relationship, or Bakugo had moved on from their friendship and no longer wanted anything to do with him.

But if the latter was true, why would he be here now?

Shoto continued to wrestle with his thoughts as he trudged in to work. Holding his second cup of coffee in one hand and stifling a yawn with the other. Without sparing a glance at the overzealous secretary behind the desk he took the elevator to the fourth floor and meeting room. Nodding an acknowledgment to a few of the other pros already in the room, Shoto plopped into his seat and laid his head down with a sigh.

With a quick glance at the clock revealing he still had another twenty minutes before the debriefing began, the hero closed his tired eyes. The relentless bouncing of his leg was the only indication that he hadn't fallen asleep.

The weight that had settled in his chest yesterday grew heavier with each passing second. This debrief was going to be a difficult hour for him. It was bad enough that he would have to recap another failed mission against Reality Check. Now that he had gotten a second dose of her quirk, he would also be expected to offer a more in-depth analysis of how it worked and possible counter measures.

To top it off he still had a huge dislike for public speaking and there were at least 20 pros involved in this mission that would attend the briefing in addition to Bakugo and Kirishima. Wiping clammy hands on his pants he tried to reign in his thoughts and focus on reciting the mission facts to himself, only to be lost in a memory from the end of his second year at UA. One that brought a smile to his face despite the situation.

---

"But Katuski" Shoto whined from his spot on the floor, surrounded by papers haphazardly thrown about the normally tidy room "I don't wanna talk in front of everyone." Puffing out his cheeks and sticking out his lower lip he glared at the blond who sat criss cross on his bed. They were supposed to be working on a final presentation about their plans after graduation. After all they only had one more year before they would be real heroes out in the real world. The plans weren't the problem though.

Katsuki shook his head and smiled. "IcyHot, you have to do it. It's a huge fucking part of your grade. Who else is going to be there to challenge me if you fail?"

The fire and ice hero in training hung his head and groaned. The rest of his class always assumed that his calm and cool demeanor meant that their public speaking projects were a breeze, but Katsuki knew the truth. Shoto was terrified to speak in front of a crowd. He had learned firsthand when Shoto nearly had a panic attack during the first debriefing the pair gave as work study students for Endeavor. Katsuki took charge of their debriefs from that point forward and no one seemed to question it. Everyone knew the blond liked to talk.

"It's just the class. Why are you so worried about speaking in front of those extras?" Katsuki questioned. A soft gaze overtaking his normally sharp features as he looked over his papers at Shoto. "Just pretend you're talking to me."

Looking up at the blond, Shoto noticed how the warm afternoon sunlight filtering through the window gave his sun kissed skin a soft glow, making him look almost angelic. His heart pounded against his ribs when roaming blue and grey eyes caught how tightly the black tank top clung his muscular frame, leaving nothing to the imagination. Spikey blond hair that always looked so damn soft swayed with a tilt of the head while curious crimson eyes studied him. Shoto wasn't sure what to make of the fluttering he felt in his chest, one that seemed to happen every time he was lucky enough to witness the softer side of Katsuki. He did know that trying to focus with 20 Katsuki's in front of him would undeniably be worse than just speaking to his class.