I had this idea for a kind of typical Baker AU, where Izuku doesn’t know anyone from the hero course
The moment you stepped inside, the world slowed. The interior was warm and sunlit, filled with soft wooden tones and the gentle hum of classical piano. Low hanging copper pendant lights cast golden pools over marble-top counters, the walls a soft oatmeal color, framed with vine plants in handmade clay pots, old recipe pages in elegant frames, and a rotating chalkboard of specials written in careful, cursive script.
Behind the display case was a glass shelf full of pastries; strawberry cream danishes, honey-brushed croissants, plum tarts, and a signature creation: lemon-ginger foxglove biscuits shaped like tiny flowers. Fresh loaves of bread, rosemary sourdoughs, chocolate-studded brioche, sunflower seed rye, rested on wicker-lined racks behind the counter.
The seating area was cozy, with four dark wood booths along the windows and several round tables, each with mismatched chairs and wildflower centerpieces in recycled jam jars. The smell was divine, yeasty, sweet, buttery, and always changing depending on the hour. A small, carefully handwritten sign near the cash register read:
“Please be patient, I’m just one baker, but I’ll make sure you’re treated like royalty.”
A narrow staircase behind the counter led to the upstairs apartment where Izuku lived. The layout was modest but efficient, an open living space with a plush dark green couch, worn leather armchair, and bookshelves overflowing with cookbooks, notebooks, and records. A framed All Might poster, vintage and tasteful, hung above the desk. Near the window, several small herbs grew in a mason jar on a reclaimed wood windowsill, mint, basil and lavender.