Chapter Text
The day had been like every other day since Izuku had begun working at his underpaid job. One would think that as a graduate with a degree in Hero Equipment Engineering, someone could get a job where they would be able to support themselves and be able to buy groceries. Well. Unless you were actually the hero wearing the gear, and not just the one repairing it, you would be completely mistaken. That was the situation Izuku was stuck in. Working in a lab, day in and day out, feeling like his fingers were going to fall off just for a paycheck that just made his rent. He could have gotten a roommate to split the bills, but he enjoyed his peace too much for that. Besides, it was dangerous for an unmated Omega to put an ad out that they were searching for someone to move in with them. So Izuku did what he had to do. He worked more hours, never called off, and tried his best so maybe one day he would get a promotion with a wage raise. That day seemed very far away. But he was hopeful.
The greenette was sitting at his station in the freezing lab, a gauntlet in front of him. The piece of equipment was modeled after a grenade. Big and round, with enough room to fit over someone's forearm with their hand free at the end. This was the fourth time that month he had seen the same gauntlet come into the lab. A sheet was hung up in front of him with a list of important information pertaining to the gauntlet.
Equipment: One wrist gauntlet
Color: Grey
Size: Medium
Complaint: "Gauntlet doesn't amplify the blast radius of the explosion given by the hero properly. Radius should be expanded by several feet. Amplification put to maximum."
Hero Name: Dynamight, Bakugo Katsuki
Kacchan. That was what Izuku knew the hero by. Not his pro name or even his given name. No. He knew the individual personally from their childhood, growing up together in a small suburban town outside of Tokyo. They had been close when they were younger, extremely so. But as they grew older, they went down separate paths. Izuku was quirkless and took a large interest in researching everything there was to know about pro-heroes. Kacchan on the other hand... He had been blessed with an amazing quirk. It was found that he sweat a substance that was close to nitroglycerin. Extremely combustible. Not only did he sweat it, but he had the power to make it explode in his palms without suffering the damage that others did from the explosions. This made the teen popular not only among their peers but also in the scouting for students to attend UA High School. A high school designed to train the next generation of pro-heroes. At one point, it had been Izuku's dream to attend UA. To go and become a pro-hero. But when a quirk never manifested, he gave those dreams up. The closest thing he could get to being a pro-hero was doing something for him. It was why he had gone to college to become an engineer, specializing in hero gear.
Izuku turned the gauntlet over in his hands so he could peer inside of it, the protective cushioning inside already removed and set to the side. He wasn't sure why Kacchan wanted his explosion radius increased and the amplification turned up. From what Izuku was able to see on the news when pro-hero Dynamight engaged with a villain, he had plenty of radius and power. But what a hero wanted, they got. It was exactly why he had the gauntlet in the first place. Hands gloved for sanitary reasons, Izuku took the smallest screwdriver in his collection and reached into the gauntlet. Dialing the amplification up was the easy part. All he had to do was turn a screw one way or the other, allowing more or less power. And by instruction, he turned it to the left to give it more. Now he had to move on to the difficult part. He sat his tool down before sticking his hand in further, feeling around for - Bingo. Izuku pulled out the motherboard of the gauntlet. It was small and powerful, controlling almost everything that had to do with the piece of equipment. He sighed, shaking his head. The damn thing was almost fried. Whatever Kacchan had been doing, he had been doing too much of. The motherboard wasn't able to withstand the force of the explosions and was shorting out. That had to be the reason behind the radius issue. Just as he was about to begin unwiring the piece of tech, a little red light came on at his station.
"Midoryia-san, you are needed in my office please." The voice of his boss, Henji, came over the little speaker hanging from the top corner of the station.
Izuku pushed himself away from his station with an irritated huff. He was just starting to get to work. And this gauntlet needed to be done by the end of the day. Stripping his gloves off and applying hand sanitizer, the small Omega left his station. He walked across the lab floor, passing his coworkers as he went. It wasn't unusual for someone to get called to the Boss's office so he wasn't too worried. It could be something as simple as their weekly production review. Getting in trouble didn't even cross his mind. Izuku never did anything that wasn't what he was supposed to be doing. He always got his work done, filed his paperwork on time, and never showed up late. So it wasn't even a thought to him.
A knock of courtesy was given on the oak door before Izuku turned the handle and walked into Henji's office. The man was sitting behind his dark desk, rubbing between his eyes with one hand while the other held his glasses. Must be one of those days.
"Hey, Boss. Wanted to see me?" Izuku walked to one of the chairs that sat in front of the desk, sinking down into it with a sigh.
Henji looked up, placing his glasses back onto his face with a nod, "Yes, Izuku, I did. We have to have a discussion that I don't think you are going to like. Not that I like it anymore."
The tone of the older Beta's voice made Izuku nervous, sitting up some in his seat. "Did... Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble?"
"No no. Nothing like that. You are one of my best workers. See, the thing is..." Henji sorted through some paperwork on his desk like he was trying to stall. With a sigh, his boss looked up and shook his head, "Izuku, I have to cut your hours. Significantly."
Cutting his hours?!
"What?! No- No- Henji, this cannot be happening! I need all the hours that I can get! I am barely making my rent as is. If you cut my hours, I will end up losing my apartment!" Izuku's voice was filled with distress, shaking his head. This couldn't be happening. He had been working overtime just to be able to make ends meet. If that was taken away...
"I know. Izuku, I know. But it is out of my hands. This is coming from the higher-ups. Labor is too high for the work that is being done. Payroll suggests to cut hours of almost all employees to try and balance things out." Henji sighed and shook his head as he rubbed that spot between his eyes once more, "I don't agree, but there is nothing I can do. I myself will be taking a cut too. The entire lab is. As of today, everyone is expected to be in at nine and leave at one. No exceptions."
Nine to one? Izuku was currently working six to six. That was a major cut in his hours. He would ask if this applied to weekends too, but could already assume there wouldn't be working on the weekends. This couldn't be happening.
"How am I supposed to get anything done? It takes me nearly six hours to complete one piece of equipment. And that isn't including the paperwork that has to be done along with it!" Izuku exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.
Henji had a look of sympathy on his face, shaking his head once more. The man clearly felt bad for having to do this, and Izuku knew it wasn't his fault. But he was furious.
"I need you to go home, Izuku. It's already noon and you have worked passed your allotted hours for the day... They are no longer paying overtime either."
Great, That meant that he had just worked for three hours that he wouldn't be getting paid for.
"Henji. I am supposed to have hero Dynamight's gauntlet done today. It has a fried motherboard and needs complete rewiring!" The Omega stared, knowing this wasn't going to go over well with the pro-hero. But all he received was a look of sympathy and a small shake of the head. There was nothing Henji could do. Even if he wanted to. Izuku was utterly fucked. Groaning in frustration, he stood and stormed out of the office. Home. That was where he had to go. At least while he still had a home. There was no way this was going to work. He would have to get a second job, maybe even a third. A million thoughts raced through his mind as he reached his station, snatching his messenger bag off its hook to begin stuffing his items into it. His laptop, headphones, and what was supposed to be his lunch. People glanced at him as he did this. They must not know. He had to have been the first because of how early he arrived. This couldn't be happening.
Izuku made sure to shut everything off at his station before he grabbed the gauntlet and it's corresponding paperwork. Equipment had to be locked up at the end of the day. Something about safety and theft prevention. He walked across the lab to the lockers that were numbered and tagged. The tags were on each piece of equipment and on the paperwork that went with it. Searching for the right one, Izuku punched in his employee code before the locker popped open. The gauntlet went inside and the paperwork slid into a plastic sleeve on the inside of the door. He couldn't help it as he shut the locker door a little too hard, slamming it. Now all eyes were really on him. Damnit. All he could do was leave the lab as quickly as possible, head down as he went. His mind was still racing as he went toward the elevator, wondering how he was going to pay rent this month. Distracted by his own mind, Izuku didn't notice someone coming out of the elevator and ran right into their chest.
"Oh my God! I am so sorry-" He stopped as he looked up into a heterochromic set of eyes, set deeply under a strong brow. His heart skipped a beat.
Pro-hero Shouto held a hand up, shaking his head slightly, "No. Please, don't apologize. It was my fault, I came out of the elevator too fast. Are you okay?" His monotone voice sent a shiver down Izuku's spine. It was as cool and smooth as the ice the hero was able to produce.
Nodding like an idiot, Izuku stuttered out a response, "Y-Yes. I'm f-fine... I didn't see you- I should have been paying attention. I was just... distracted." Blush spread across his pale freckled face that was unable to be hidden.
Something danced in the hero's gaze for a moment. But then it was gone.
"I came to check on a piece of equipment, pro-hero Dynamight's gauntlet." Shouto glanced toward the lab, "Would you happen to know if it is ready to be picked up?"
Are you serious? Izuku shook his head, blushing now in embarrassment. "I-I'm the one working on it. It isn't ready... And won't be until tomorrow at least. I have been sent home early and it needs a complete rewiring of it's motherboard. I'm sorry- I know he won't be very happy about it."
A low chuckle left the alpha, surprising Izuku. Did Shouto just laugh? "Ah. I see. Well... no, he won't be too happy. But realistically, when is he ever happy. The only time I see him smile is when he is eating spicy mapu tofu. And I'm his mate."
Kacchan had a mate?! And it was Shouto-freaking-Todoroki! The information was completely shocking. There was no way... It wasn't unheard of for two alpha's to mate. But it wasn't common. And Izuku always thought that Kacchan would end up with some Omega who was completely obsessed with him. That didn't mean Shouto wasn't obsessed with him, but still. Izuku's eyes wandered and he could see the scarred mating mark on the side of the alpha's neck. Just below his scent gland on the left side. He wondered how long the two had been together, and how long they had been mated for. Was this public information and he just didn't pay attention to it? No. It couldn't be.
"I-um... I will make sure to get it done tomorrow. Please apologize to Kacchan for me." Izuku spoke quickly, not realizing he had said the nickname of his childhood friend rather than his hero name.
Shouto must have caught this, because the alpha's eyebrow raise, "Kacchan?"
Today was not Izuku's day. "I-I'm so sorry- I know hero Dynamight. I mean... I did. We grew up together. We lived in the same neighborhood. I called him Kacchan and he called me-"
"Deku." Shouto finished the sentence for him, "I know you... Well. I know of you. Katsuki speaks about you a lot, actually. The kid he used to play heroes with down by the creek. Said you fell in once and he had to rescue you." A small smile pulled at the corners of the hero's mouth.
Kacchan talked about him? Now his face was burning. What all did Shouto know about him? What had Kacchan said?
"Y-Yeah... That's me." Izuku nodded weakly, trying to muster up a smile of some sorts.
The alpha infront of him's eyes roamed over him. Like he was sizing him up. Looking him over. Was he expecting something better than what the Omega was...? Nodding, Shouto broke the silence once again, "Well. I will Katsuki that Deku will have his gauntlet done tomorrow. And don't worry- I won't let him take any anger out on you." The hero winked before turning, walking down the corridor with his hands in his pockets.
Izuku stood there frozen in place. Completely taken aback. Did he just see what he thought he saw? Was he hallucinating?
Did pro-hero Shouto, Kacchan's mate, just wink at him?