Chapter Text
Shinsou slumps down in his couch, tea in hand and tired as fuck. He glances at his phone before placing it on his living room table. It’s a little past 8pm, and he’s already exhausted. He sighs.
Mondays.
Mondays are the bane of Shinsou’s existence. They’re the bane of any teacher’s existence, really, and being a kindergarten teacher makes it all the worse. Sure, he loves his kids and he loves teaching, but Mondays are the days that his screaming, squirming, four-year-old students release all their pent up energy from the weekend. They’re the days with the most outbursts, where kids forget their school behavior and daily, in-class routine, and instead wreak havoc with their uncontrollable quirks.
One of his kids tried to test if farts were flammable today and lit their pants on fire.
Three times, in fact.
Shinsou groans thinking about it. He almost wishes he had hero work to do right now, so he could stop thinking about his class. But Mondays are also his day off from working with Aizawa. On any other day, a day off wouldn’t matter – there’s always the possibility of Aizawa calling him in or asking him to do background research for future work. But on Mondays, his dad knows not to contact him. And no one but his dads ever contact him, so Mondays are typically pretty quiet once he gets home to his apartment.
Given this, he’s surprised to see his phone glow on the living room table. Hizashi, his other dad, has a radio event tonight, and Aizawa should be doing underground hero work – so if one of them is texting him, it must be an emergency. Shinsou panics and grabs his phone.
[from unknown number, 20:14]: hey Koda! Long time no talk
[from unknown number, 20:14]: ik we havent texted in like 5 years?? But i hav an emergency
[from unknown number, 20:14]: i was omw home and there was this box?? on the road
[from unknown number, 20:15]: so i went 2 check it out and !!! there was a kitten inside !!!
[from unknown number, 20:15]: but it was all sad and wet and lonely cuz its raining so i took it home
[from unknown number, 20:15]: + now I have a cat in my apt and i realized..,,, i have never owned a pet ?!? in my life !??!
[from unknown number, 20:15]: i have no idea wat to do but its cold n wet n needs help ASAP
Shinsou stares at the texts. He has no idea who Koda is, but it’s sure as hell not him. He could reply and let the stranger know he has the wrong number, but… what will happen to the cat? If he’s texting some guy he hasn’t talked to in five years, the stranger obviously has no idea what to do. As Shinsou weighs his options, his cat jumps off the floor and into his lap. He stares at Gummi, who stares back at him with his judgmental gaze.
[image attached]
[from unknown number, 20:17]: pls help ;n;
Fuck, that was one cute kitten. It was a small ball of fur with blue-grey eyes. But the wrong number wasn’t kidding – the kitten is dirty and soaked, and has definitely seen better days. Its fur was in clumps, and it’s hard to tell the color of the cat through all the dirt caked onto it. Its eyes were pleading for help. What kind of monster would leave this baby in the hands of an absolute disaster?
[to unknown number, 20:20]: First, make sure you warm it up. Try to dry it off gently. After its dry, get a heating pad and put it on low. Wrap the kitten in towels, then lay it on the pad. It needs to be in a warm, draft-free place for the next few weeks. Once you set up a place for the kitten to rest, you’re going to need food. It’s probably really hungry right now. Since it’s still a kitten, you’re going to need to buy a nursing kit and some kitten formula. I don’t know if you’re planning on keeping it, or bringing it to a shelter, but for the time that it’s in your hands, you’re going to have to check up on it every 2-4 hours to make sure it’s fed. You should also get in contact with a vet, and have a check-up ASAP to make sure it’s healthy.
It’s the longest text Shinsou has ever sent in his life, but he wants to make sure the kitten lives. His phone vibrates almost immediately after sending.
[from unknown number, 20:20]: holy shit u responded
[from unknown number, 20:20]: ur actually an angel omfg
Shinsou stares at the texts and feels himself blush, even though the text isn’t meant for him. He should probably tell the stranger that he’s not Koda, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to put the kitten at risk.
First I’ll make sure the kitten is safe, then I’ll let them know and stop texting, he assures himself as he types out his next text.
[to unknown number, 20:21]: Let me know if you have any questions.
After hitting send, Shinsou starts stroking Gummi, who’s still on his lap, and tries to remember what he was planning on doing with his night before reading these texts. His thoughts are interrupted shortly by another vibration. He takes a sip from his tea as he opens the notification.
[from unknown number, 20:26]: she needs 2 b checked on every 2-4 hours?
[from unknown number, 20:26]: a needy bitch like her daddy ;)
Shinsou chokes. Didn’t this guy say he hasn’t texted “Koda” in five years? Who texts that after five years of silence?
[to unknown number, 20:27]: How do you know it’s a girl?
[from unknown number, 20:27]: i can jst feel it
[from unknown number, 20:28]: ok im gonna do the stuff now
[from unknown number, 20:28]: im def gonna hav questions tho if thats ok
[to unknown number, 20:29]: That’s fine. I’ll be up for a while anyways.
True to his word, the stranger texted him every now and then over the next two hours, asking for advice. He has to go out to buy a lot of the materials he needs, and Shinsou receives a handful of image texts asking for help identifying and choosing the right stuff. Their whole conversation is evidence that Shinsou made the right decision in responding – after all, there’s no way a guy who thought “buy a nursing kit” meant “you’ll be breastfeeding” should be left to his own devices. And the way he said it…
Never thot a kitty wud suckle my teats
The text just affirms Shinsou’s perception of the dude as an actual disaster. Yet these disaster texts make him laugh, and Shinsou realizes he’s laughed more the past two hours of texting a stranger than he has in at least a month, though probably longer. He tries to stop that thought from sinking in.
[image attached]
[from unknown number, 22:51]: ok, her lil home is all set up!
[from unknown number, 22:51]: she’s warm n full of food n cozy now : )
[from unknown number, 22:52]: + i got a vet appt for tmrw!
The photo might be one of the most adorable things Shinsou has seen. The kitten was all wrapped up in a pastel yellow towel dotted with tiny Pikachu faces. After being cleaned and dried, it turns out the kitten has grey fur, with a white patch on its face and some darker grey stripes. Its ears are tiny, barely poking out of the towel wrapped around it. And its eyes no longer look pleading – instead, it looks calm and drowsy. Shinsou feels his heart melt at the sight.
[to unknown number, 22:55]: Cute
He didn’t mean to text it, but sent it on reflex after seeing the kitten. The reply is immediate.
[from unknown number, 22:55]: ik I am ;)
Shinsou rolls his eyes. He starts typing up a reply when he gets another text.
[from unknown number, 22:56]: but rly thank u so much for helping me
[from unknown number, 22:56]: ur the best, Koda!
Right. The stranger thinks he’s flirting with some dude named Koda, not him. He erases his message and sends a different one instead.
[to unknown number, 22:57]: By the way, you have the wrong number. I’m not Koda.
Shinsou hits send and holds his breath. He’s not sure how the stranger will respond – will he be angry at Shinsou for tricking him? He doesn’t get a reply for a few minutes, which is a long wait for the rapid texter on the other end. That probably means this conversation is over. Forever over. The thought hurts a little, and Shinsou’s not sure why.
He gets up from his couch and starts heading to his room to get ready for bed. Gummi trails along, a few steps behind him, only to run into his leg when Shinsou abruptly stops.
Because his phone vibrated.
[from unknown number, 23:10]: oh my god
[from unknown number, 23:10]: so ur a total stranger who doesn’t know who i am
[from unknown number, 23:10]: but u’ve been texting me 4 over 2 hours to help me with my cat????
Shinsou feels a pang of guilt. It was probably a weird thing for him to do, not to mention deceitful.
[to unknown number, 23:11]: I’m sorry. I should have said something sooner.
The reply comes seconds later.
[from unknown number, 23:11]: y r u apologizing ???
[from unknown number, 23:11]: ur an actual angel omfg
[from unknown number, 23:11]: IM the one who shud apologize, i've been bothering u for HOURS w my stupidity
[from unknown number, 23:12]: so yea sry for bothering u :(
Shinsou feels himself blush. No one has called him an angel before, that’s just not who he is.
[to unknown number, 23:12]: You’re not stupid, you’ve just never done this before. And if it was a bother, I wouldn’t have replied.
[to unknown number, 23:12]: I like cats, and I’m grateful you saved this one from the streets. I wanted to make sure it’s going to be okay. So you have nothing to apologize for. Thanks for listening to my advice and taking care of it.
[from unknown number, 23:13]: oh my god
[from unknown number, 23:13]: im
[from unknown number, 23:13]: ur my hero (TToTT)
[from unknown number, 23:14]: rly thank u so so so much for helping me i owe u my LIFE
[to unknown number, 23:14]: It’s really no problem. I’m glad I could help.
Shinsou stares at his phone. This is probably the last text he’ll send the stranger. Then, they’ll never talk again and forget this exchange ever happened. But…Shinsou actually had a lot of fun tonight. He isn’t used to texting people, but their conversation felt natural. And the cat photos were really cute.
I’m doing this for cat photos, Shinsou convinces himself as he types. What’s there to lose?
[to unknown number, 23:15]: If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out.
[from unknown number, 23:15]: wait…. u mean i can keep texting u???
[to unknown number, 23:16]: I mean, if you were texting a guy you haven’t spoken to in five years for advice, I’m guessing you don’t have many people to ask about these things. I get that it’s kind of weird to text a stranger, but we don’t have to share information about ourselves or anything. I can just give cat advice when you need it.
[from unknown number, 23:16]: omg r u srs
[from unknown number, 23:16]: im taking u up on ur offer no taksie-backsies
[from unknown number, 23:16]: is there anything i can do 2 repay u???
[to unknown number, 23:17]: Yeah. Send pictures of your kitten. It’s super cute.
Shinsou should have known the reply he’d get, given the conversation they’d had that night.
[from unknown number, 23:17]: id send u cute pussy pics any day ;)
Shinsou saves the number as “Disaster Cat”, wondering what exactly he signed himself up for.