Ch. 21 Trophy Wife

"Bakugo!" Todoroki called out over the sounds of sirens and traffic. The structure fire was mostly contained now, and all that was really left was some clean up and reports to file.

Bakugo heard Todoroki but ignored him while he surveyed the damage. From the early reports, it was another fight between villains, it appeared, the same as last time.

But this time the fight hadn't been in an abandoned warehouse. Bakugo watched as the police escorted people to ambulances and helped them find blankets to stay warm. Most civilians had fled the scene, and they'd managed to rescue a few who hadn't. People actually lived in this building, but these villain bastards didn't care. Where would they take their war next?

Not everyone had been lucky. They'd found a pile of burned corpses at the back of the building, just left behind and unidentifiable. Civilians? Villains? Who knew? No matter who they were, Bakugo would have preferred to be able to notify families, but there was barely enough left to even do that. Revolting. This had to end before more people were hurt. They had to figure this out and do it fast. 

Todoroki saw Bakugo leaving, so he gave his sidekicks their instructions and dismissed them before running to catch up with him.

"Have a minute?" he asked Bakugo.

"Not really."

Todoroki looked around as they walked and noticed the police were starting to leave. "I think everything is starting to wrap up here. I already told my team to go so they could start on the reports."

"Good for you," Bakugo said, still walking and rolling his eyes at the mention of Todoroki's "team." It was so dumb that he had that many sidekicks, given the amount of missions they went on. Having one or two sort of made sense, but this many? At what point did you stop being the hero when everyone else was doing hero work for you?

"My driver is going to be here soon," Todoroki said, "can you stop for just a second so I can talk to you?"

"Your driver, eh? Wouldn't want to inconvenience you, sir," Bakugo said with exaggerated politeness.

The driver, the sidekicks, the penthouse. Bakugo respected Todoroki's quirk, but hated the rest of the act. It all seemed like an act at least. He couldn't deny that it played well at events though; the press loved Todoroki and the glamorous side of young heroism he represented.

But even though the newspapers were impressed, neither Todoroki nor Bakugo had broken into the true top ranks yet. True, they were still early in their careers, but the older crowd of established heroes was a tough one to break into. It was hard to get team up missions unless you played the game and schmoozed at the parties, something Bakugo felt was completely fake and unnecessary.

"Start talking or leave me alone," Bakugo said while he started taking off his gauntlets and mask. "Unlike you, I don't have a team of people do my work for me."

"You had at least one, if I remember correctly..."

Bakugo shot him a glare and turned to walk away.

"Speaking of that," Todoroki said when he caught up again. "That's what I wanted to say. I wanted to thank you for the other night. And just thank you in general."

Bakugo continued walking, not even glancing over. "Thank me for what?"

"For introducing me to my wife."

"Huh?"

"Well, my future wife. I'm talking about y/n. I've decided that I'm going to marry her."

Bakugo laughed but then saw that Todoroki's expression was anything but joking.

"Oh, you're serious? You go on one date and now you're getting married? Are you on drugs?"

"We've gone on multiple dates."

Bakugo stopped and frowned.

"She's the perfect fit for me. She's gorgeous, she's smart, and I know she'll be able to carry a conversation when we're at events. I also know that she'll be grateful to me for helping her out of her current financial circumstances. She's the last piece of the puzzle."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I'll finally have everything I need to get closer to the top. I already have the agency, public popularity, wealth, but now it will be complete with the wife at home, oh and the kids, of course."

Bakugo shook his head; the words coming out of Todoroki's mouth didn't make any sense. No way this asshole was really talking like that about her, Bakugo thought. As if she were something to add to his collection.

Not when in his mind Bakugo could still feel her pressed against him when they had kissed at his apartment, her hands tugging at his hair, her lips on his...

Unbelievably, Todoroki was still talking.

"And I think the fact that she is quirkless will play good in the press for me."

Bakugo didn't even bother correcting him. It wasn't his place to tell him about her ability, but he also felt a sense of smug satisfaction that she had only shared her secret with him and not this bastard. Seriously, what an idiot. This guy really had no idea who she was at all.

"You're fucking serious right now?" Bakugo asked him.

"Yes."

"I see. You've got it all mapped out, huh? Does she know about this plan of yours?"

"Not yet. I'm going to ease her into it. First I'm going to ask her to move in with me. I've seen where she lives. I did some research into recent police reports, and that building is crawling with criminals. I know she'll jump at the chance to move in with me and get out of there."

"Don't hold your breath."

"I know the two of us are often compared," Todoroki admitted, "so it's understandable that this would make you jealous, but -- "

"Let me stop you right there. Look, I don't have time to stand here and talk about your stupid hopes and dreams, but I know for a fact that it's shitty to get married just to advance your career. Don't drag y/n into your issues. She's more than a trophy for you to brag about."

Todoroki suddenly stood in front of Bakugo, stopping him abruptly.

"I'm not telling you this to brag. Bakugo, I'm telling you this so you'll back off."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. When I saw her at your apartment the other night, I knew I had to make sure that this was clear to you."

Bakugo studied Todoroki's face carefully. "You did, huh?"

"Am I wrong? I apologize if I am off track in assuming that you were interested in pursuing her."

"And if I were?"

Todoroki softly laughed. "I think it's pretty obvious what she thinks of you. When she ran from you crying at my place that night, desperate to get away from you... Well, it was clear to me then, at least, even if it wasn't to you."

Bakugo spit on the ground and mentally counted the number of police officers still on the scene. There were too many still around to kick his ass there in the street, even though he would have liked nothing better right now.

"So we have an understanding?" Todoroki asked, still standing in front of him and blocking him from going forward.

For a long moment, Bakugo didn't speak, letting the tension hang in the air.

"I understand that you're more of a self-centered bastard that I thought."

Bakugo stomped forward and pushed past him, knocking Todoroki in the shoulder as he went by. He didn't apologize or look back. 

When he was far enough away, Bakugo took out his phone and called y/n, but she didn't answer.  She's probably asleep, he thought. Or at work? Didn't she tell him that she was working nights now? He couldn't remember. He also couldn't remember where she said she was working. Maybe she'd never told him. Maybe he'd never asked. 

And anyway, what the fuck was he even going to say? "Hey, y/n? Yeah, I need to tell you that this rich hero you're apparently dating wants to marry you but don't do it." He knew how ridiculous that sounded, even if it was true. 

Bakugo put his phone back in his pocket and took a deep breath. Todoroki was right about one thing at least. She was smart, and he only hoped that she was smart enough to see through that bastard's bullshit.