Touch Starved Boys || My Hero Academia Imagines

~Little Fluffball~ Todoroki x Bakugou

The cat sat on its hind legs and tapped one of its front paws on the man's leg.  Shouto could only find it adorable how the cat seemed to have the ability to think like a human.  It would be an excellent addition to their family.  He couldn't wait for his boyfriend to come home to tell him about it.  "You're a peculiar one, little one.  I know you two will get along nicely."  His hands scratched behind the sand-colored ears standing at attention.

At the gesture, the wound-up feline couldn't help relaxing against the man's fingers, triangle ears flattening against its giant, furry head and body.

"You must love cuddles too, don't you?"  Shouto gathered the ball into his arms to bury his face in the precious fur.  "Wow, you even smell like him too."

The cat pawed at Shouto's ear before nipping at the lobe, eliciting a petal of laughter from the man.  "Alright, maybe I should have dinner and we can go to bed to wait for him."  The man cradled the cat and towed it into the kitchen, setting it on the counter.  The man began reaching for a plate and a small bowl.  "I can't really cook, the only thing I know how to do is boil noodles."

There's a hard crackling of plastic suddenly.  To Shouto's surprise, the cat had the bag of soba noodles in its mouth by the edge of the package.  The man pat it on its head.  "How did you know I needed this?  You're so smart."

The cat rolled it eyes.  It's given up at this point.

As Shouto went about cooking his meal and turned the stove on, the cat shrieked and almost slipped off the counter pushing its paw out to lower the dial.  "MEOWW?!"

"Oh, I guess I did set it too high."  The man noticed the mistake and gave the cat another well-deserved scratch behind the ears.  "Well done.  If Bakugou were here, he would've yelled at me for almost burning the house down."

After preparing his meal and setting the table for himself, Shouto sat at the table to eat his dinner while the cat sprawled itself onto the bed in the room, closing its eyes and trying to drift off to sleep on its own as Shouto finished his dinner, showered, and came back out in his sleep clothes.

"What a tiring day," the man sighed again, his muscles still a dull ache from the hot shower.  Winding down, the stress of the day finally weighed down on him.  Admittedly, he's still worried about the whereabouts of his boyfriend.  It wasn't like him to be out terribly late considering his strict sleep schedule.

But when Shouto lifted his eyes to the mattress where the fluffy lump lay fast asleep on Bakugou's side of the bed, he couldn't help but smile again.  Usually, he would talk to Bakugou about his day at bedtime, whispering to each other into the darkness.  Perhaps this cat could be the substitute he needed for now.

He climbed onto the bed and softly stroked the cat again, amused how his motions won't wake it up.  "What a champ sleeper," he cooed, gazing out the window.  "I'm worried that you won't get to meet your other dad today.  It's strange for him to be out this late.  I even called his phone, but he won't pick up."  He looked down at the mass of blond fur, listening to its deep breathing and feeling the rise and fall of its soft body.  "I'm really hoping you two get along.  Maybe not at first, since you're too similar to each other, but I know Bakugou's actually a huge softy.  He's secretly a sucker for cute things.  Maybe he'll think of you as his child."  Shouto's chuckle barely resounded in fatigued.  "No, he's probably not the type to be an obsessed pet dad."  He glanced out the window at the night sky again, his eyelids drooping.  "I hope he's safe."

A wet muscle tickled Shouto's palm, stunning him awake, only to see the cat's tongue lick him gently and purr while its eyes were still shut.

The man stroked his finger over the cat's pink nose.  "You're good at comforting, that's good."  Shouto's body finally wanted to give in.  He turned around and collapsed with a groan, his head nestled onto the cat's body.  "Let's see if you're good at being a pillow too."  His words garbled together in rising slumber.  He just barely missed the way the cat tensed at the sudden heavy weight.  "Good night, Kat-chan."

The cat only gave a final mumble in response.  "Meow..."

Bonus:

The first thing Shouto noticed when he woke up was his pillow being tougher than he remembered.  The cat pillow was much squishier.  He stirred to find a better position.

"Oi, wake up, you're crushing my ribs."

Shouto pried his eyes open to meet the face of his - currently annoyed - boyfriend.  "Bakugou?"  He shot up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.  "When did you get home?  Where'd you go?"  His speech was still garbled, tongue falling over itself as his groggy mind couldn't speak fast enough for his thoughts.  "Where's the cat?"

"YOU DUMBASS, I WAS THE CAT THE WHOLE DAMN TIME!  I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU NEVER CONNECTED THE DOTS!"