Work Text:
Tanaka nervously thumbs the stiff collar of his work uniform. It’s his first day—and a late night shift to boot—as a store clerk at the local Lawson. The convenience store is a fifteen-minute bike ride from his high school, which makes it the ideal place for a part-time job. Tanaka considers himself lucky; he really only got the position thanks to a referral from his senior of two years back—Nishikawa-senpai, who encouraged him to join the high school road racing club. Tanaka never made it to the main team, but he still joins the club’s practices in the early morning on his trusty road bike.
“Relax, man!” A solid pat on his back snaps him out of his reverie.
“K-Kuranaga-san!”
Kuranaga Tetsuya, his senior co-worker, snorts at his stuttering.
“You’re a smart kid, Tanaka. Really, your only fault is your case of nerves.”
Tanaka blushes, pulling at his collar again. “It’s—I just, it’s my first official day after the training period. I’m scared that I’ll mess up.” He shrugs, willing the last ebbs of tension away from his shoulders.
Kuranaga-san chuckles. “Eh, everyone gets the first-time jitters. This is technically your first, official day manning the register alone, so you’re allowed to make some mistakes.” The senior store clerk flashes Tanaka a reassuring grin, before checking his wristwatch.
“All right, it’s time for your shift to officially start!” The taller teen claps his hands. “Don’t worry too much, late-night shifts are slow; I’m gonna be at the backroom in order to organize our stock shipments, so if you run into any problems, you know where to find me.” Kuranaga-san gives Tanaka one last hearty pat on the back, before disappearing into the storage room.
Tanaka directs his gaze to the large electronic clock mounted on the store’s wall.
[10:00 P.M.]
He stifles a small sigh. Just four more hours to go.
Kuranaga-san hadn’t been exaggerating, per se, when he said that the late-night shift was slow. Aside from a couple businessmen visiting the store for a canned beer or boxed dinners on their way back home, the past three hours had been mostly uneventful.
Tanaka just wishes that this would have been the case for the rest of his shift.
The lone customer who entered the store a little around ten minutes ago had been standing in front of the Dairy section for quite a while. This probably wouldn’t have unnerved Tanaka, if said customer wasn’t a grown adult wearing an All Might onesie , at a convenience store at 1:30 A.M no less, looking for milk .
Who needed milk at this hour?! Couldn’t it have waited until the morning?
His eyes nervously flicker over the figure in question.
Tanaka never really followed the hero scene as enthusiastically as some of his fellow classmates, but given how much concurrent society revolved around quirks, news about heroes—ranging from heroic achievements to their latest merch—always made it to the forefront of the media. As such, it was common knowledge at this point that this particular All Might onesie was a limited edition set that sold out in a span of two hours since its release in major department stores. In short: you’d either have to be a diehard All Might fan or someone with a lot of cash to dole out to get your hands on this sleepwear.
Tanaka feels like crying. He prays silently to whatever deity exists that All Might Onesie wasn’t going to cause a scene.
It is 1:55 A.M.
Tanaka officially feels like death.
All Might Onesie is still in front of the Dairy section, and quite honestly, Tanaka has no idea what he should do. Actually, he does have an idea, but it’s a battle of nerves to step out from behind the counter to approach this stranger. The stranger in the limited edition All Might onesie.
Do it, you wimp! You can’t stand here when your shift is almost over! God, this was why you couldn’t make it to the racing team.
A bead of sweat trickles down the back of his neck.
Remember, Tanaka Yusuke, the pay. Do it for the pay.
Taking a deep breath, Tanaka squares his shoulders and cautiously approaches the customer.
“Uhm, excuse me? Is there anything I could help you with?” He asks meekly.
All Might Onesie is unresponsive. God, Tanaka thinks, he’s not paid enough for this.
Up this close, however, the newbie store clerk can see green curls peek out from underneath the yellow hoodie.
Green curls, freckles, the All Might Onesie….
Tanaka’s eyes drop to the customer’s feet—
Red sneakers.
Holy shit.
“K-Kuranaga-san!!”
His senior looks at Tanaka with a bemused expression when he bursts through the storage room. “What’s up, kiddo?”
“H-hero Deku! It’s, I can’t— he’s been in front of the Dairy section—”
“What?” Kuranaga-san stares at him with a confused, and slightly concerned, expression. “Hey, you wanna take a breath?”
“It’s Hero Deku, he’s wearing an All Might onesie and he hasn’t been moving since he came into the store and stood in front of the Dairy section for the past thirty-five minutes!!” Tanaka whispers furiously.
The older clerk stares at him silently.
“I, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m not lying, he’s right outside, please—”
Kuranaga-san places a hand on his shoulder.
“Tanaka-kun,” he starts with a serious look on his face, “there’s only a bit left until the end of your shift, so hang in there.”
Tanaka feels like crying for the second time today.
The store’s phone rings, and Tanaka finds himself at a loss. Who would be calling at this hour? Why was this happening to him??
He picks up the phone regardless.
“H-hello?”
“Is there a man wearing an All Might onesie in your store?”
Tanaka isn’t sure what he was expecting, but he’s immediately flustered by the velvet voice at the end of the line.
“Uhm? Yes? W-wait, how did you know—”
The stranger laughs softly, and Tanaka places a hand on his chest to stop his heart from doing backflips.
“You’re a new one, aren’t you?” The voice drawls.
Tanaka squeaks. “...Uhm?”
“Sorry kid, but do me a favour and tap All Might Jr. over there on the shoulder.”
“...eh?”
The unknown caller lets out a sigh, and then—
“Go tap Deku on the shoulder, please.”
The deep voice reverbs down his spine, and Tanaka feels a tickling sensation sweep across his body, little bursts of stars popping in his veins.
Before he knows it, he finds himself moving towards Hero Deku and tapping the man lightly on the shoulder.
Hero Deku starts with a jolt.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry! It’s so late, and gosh, you’re new! You must have been so shocked to see me like this; oh man, you really didn’t deserve this.” The green-haired hero stammers, patting him lightly on the shoulder.
“That’s… That’s all right….” Tanaka manages to eke out a response. Whatever gave him that jolt of energy dissipated into the air, and he feels drained—like his soul had departed his body long ago, leaving behind an empty shell at this point.
“Uhm, I’ll just grab these and be on my way, then.” The hero places two milk cartons on the register.
Tanaka falters.
“Uhm, Hero Deku, sir—”
“J-just Midoriya is fine!”
“With all due respect, Midoriya-san, you don’t have your wallet here.”
Midoriya grins sheepishly. “Oh! That’s not a concern, uhm, this particular location has some cash under my name for emergencies!” The hero rubs the back of his neck. “There should be a small green box in the cabinet below the cash register labelled ‘Midoriya Izuku’.”
Lo and behold, there really was a green box labelled ‘Midoriya Izuku’.
Tanaka has no idea what to make of this development.
“You mean… this isn’t a… a one-time thing?”
The green-haired hero averts his gaze with an awkward laugh. “Uhm, unfortunately so.”
[omake]
“Welcome to Lawson! How may I help you today?”
“This is a convenience store, not a call center.”
“Ooh, that’s cold.”
“Cut the act, kid.” Shinsou places two bottles of Pocari-Sweat on the counter. “Isn’t your newbie initiation over now?”
Kuranaga chuckles. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I got an earful from Izuku last night, you brat. On the illicit use of quirks on civilians, no less.”
“Sorry to hear about that, Shinsou-kun.” The store clerk stuffs the bottles into a plastic bag. “We all know how stringent you are about consent and not using your quirk irresponsibly.”
The purple-haired hero sighs, placing some change into Kuranaga’s outstretched hand. "You have too much fun at my expense. I should report you to Tenya."
The store clerk grins. “By the way, you should let ‘All Might Onesie’ know that tickets for the Hero Mania Con will be open for sale a week from now.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Shinsou waves a hand as he heads for the store’s entrance. “Try not to scare the newbie away, Kuranaga.”