REMINDER: Lunch with Tensei, 11:00

Tenya pinches the bridge of his nose, groaning softly. “Oh, goddammit…”

It’s not that he doesn’t want to see Tensei. Tenya values his close relationship with his older brother above everything else, and their weekly lunch outings are bright spots in his dull, boring life. But his head still hurts, and he doesn’t feel like changing into something more presentable, and he just knows Tensei is going to have a field day over him getting hungover for the first time since college.

While he knows Tensei won’t be too upset if he cancels, doing so at this stage is a major inconvenience to his older brother. Knowing him, he’s already halfway to their chosen café. It’d be rude to make him go back home.

Tenya sighs. Maybe his nap will have to wait, after all.

“I didn’t think you were capable of getting hungover.”

Tenya groans, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. “It can’t be that obvious, can it?”

Tensei lets out a laugh. “Guess last night must’ve been fun, huh? How much of it do you remember?”

“Please don’t be mean to me today. My cat did enough of that for the both of you.”

“Miso was cranky because you didn’t come home at curfew, huh?”

“I will go home,” Tenya bluffs.

“Uh-huh.” Tensei’s wheelchair comes to a stop at the crosswalk. “You were safe, though, right?”

“Of course. It’s not like I was the one who had to worry about someone putting something in my drink.” Tenya looks both ways after the signal turns, then begins to cross the street. “Really, I was only there for my friend’s sake.”

“Right. And this friend―”

“She does not, and I cannot stress this enough, swing that way,” Tenya interrupts.

The conversation drifts to what Tenya does remember clearly of the previous night’s events. His makeover at the hands of his ex and her current boyfriend. His nervous chatter with girls who sounded sweet as sugar, but looked like they could kick his ass. His enjoyment of Tsukuyomi’s performance, despite having little exposure to the punk scene. 

Inevitably, the conversation turns to the nice young man whose face he can only vaguely remember. Tenya remembers buying more than a few drinks―oh dear, did Sero(?) make it home safely?―but he has zero clue what they even talked about. Music? Work? Oh, God, did he start rambling about his fucking cat?

“Sounds like a sweet guy,” Tensei says as they approach the café. “You get his number?”

Whether he was too drunk or too nervous at the time to ask, Tenya isn’t sure, but he regrets it. Sero did seem quite nice. Even if nothing came of it, he would’ve loved to hear him talk more about film and music and art and… everything.

Tenya lets out a sigh. “No, actually. I didn’t think to ask.”

Somehow, Tenya feels as if they’ve met before.

It probably wasn’t a very notable encounter. Maybe they bumped into each other at one of Yaoyorozu’s holiday parties. Maybe they’ve passed each other on the streets a handful of times. Maybe he’s an old classmate from college. Regardless of where they were or when it may have been, Tenya is certain that he has seen Sero Hanta prior to meeting him at Tartarus.

This is silly, Tenya thinks to himself. Why are you so concerned about whether or not you’ve seen him before? That hardly matters, now.

Except Tenya doesn’t like not knowing the answer to a question, especially if it’s likely within arms’ reach. Of course, as hungover as he is, trying to find that answer is easier said than done. Ugh, why did he allow himself to drink so much?

Tenya shoots a glare at his little tyrant. “Oh, as if you’d do any better. They would’ve eaten you alive.”

“Mrowwr.” Miso steps away from his food bowl, padding over to the bright pink cat tree Ochaco had insisted upon getting when they graduated from temporary guardians to permanent cat parents. He hops up to his favorite perch, curls up into a tight little ball, and closes his one good eye.

“Horrid little creature,” Tenya says fondly, picking up Miso’s empty food bowl.

Hungover or not, Tenya can’t allow himself to slack off too much today. After all, oversleeping had cost him a few precious hours.

Shower first, Tenya decides. Everything else can wait.

One very satisfying shower later, Tenya emerges from his bathroom with a towel around his waist. The smudged makeup is gone. His hair is free of pomade. The thin layer of dried sweat that has been present on his skin since last night is gone. Though he’s still feeling some of the effects of his hangover, his symptoms have eased into something more manageable.

Tenya goes about his morning routine, sans proper lighting to avoid exacerbating his headache. He dresses himself in a t-shirt and a pair of joggers, clothing suitable for running errands and napping off the last dregs of a hangover. He brushes his teeth and combs his hair, not bothering to fuss too much about his appearance. He makes a mental list of the chores he needs to take care of, from buying his groceries to planning out this week’s meals―

There’s a soft ping from his phone. Tenya raises an eyebrow. Surely he hadn’t forgotten something, had he?

Tenya walks over to his nightstand, where his phone is charging upon the solid, wooden surface. The screen is (brightly!) lit, displaying a 100% charged message directly below the current time. His lock screen―a picture of Miso cuddled up with his scraggly-looking teddy bear―is obscured by a single notification.