Hot Cocoa
Their shower experience was different this time. Firstly, Aizawa tended to the wound on Hizashi's face. He carefully removed the gauze pad and checked it over with a critical eye, tilting the blond's head in several directions to get a better look. "Seems okay," he said at last as he opened a water-resistant band-aid. "Will scar though."
Hizashi sighed and woefully signed, 'My beautiful, beautiful face will never be the same, but at least we'll match.' He raised his hand to cup Aizawa's right cheek so he could run his thumb across his scar. 'If only you'd given it to me…'
An uncertain feeling welled in his stomach. Aizawa wasn't sure he liked the idea of leaving a cruel mark like that on Hizashi's body, especially on his face. It was a paradoxical thought, really, considering in three days he'd have to hurt him, but he didn't dwell on that. In the fight, if he had any thoughts like that, he'd hesitate.
If he hesitated, he'd die.
Shouta carefully placed the band-aid over the wound, ensuring no water would reach it. "I'll be the one who helped treat it."
Hizashi was surprised, but then smiled at him lovingly - the hero wished he could remember that look forever. 'That doesn't sound like a bad idea. You're sure it won't get' – Hizashi used a sign he didn't know – '?'
With the context, he guessed he'd said infected, and he nodded. "It won't get infected, but tomorrow you should let it air out." Aizawa was the scar expert.
'Hey, how do you know sign language anyway?' The blond questioned from the blue.
"I took it at UA as an elective subject," he said as he scratched the back of his head. "I've always been a visual learner, and I thought it'd help me be a hero. Communication is essential in all forms."
The blond nodded, clearly content with the answer, and tugged silently at his shirt – they were both ready for a shower.
Aizawa let him remove his shirt before he removed the blond's. The love mark Shouta had been trying to leave on Hizashi's neck was gone, no doubt healed along with his other bruises, but it wasn't such a loss now the blond had another mark to remember him by – one he could look at and remember how Aizawa had tried to heal him.
Their fight was inevitable. Eraserhead could see that now. Hizashi wasn't going to give up on being a villain, as he'd hoped, and as much as he loved him, Shouta Aizawa was still a hero. A memory surfaced of Present Mic sadistically snapping bones in a hallway, and his face must've grown disturbed, for Hizashi's hands gently cupped his coarse cheeks. They locked eyes – black and green – and Aizawa relaxed.
As much as he loved Hizashi, as much as he wanted to save him and to be saved, his job was to save the world from this unstoppable villain he adored. He'd sacrifice himself for the chance to save them both though, and if he couldn't stop Hizashi's brilliant mind and incredible Quirk, Nemuri would in his stead.
Unbeknownst to Present Mic, no matter what option came to be, he'd be imprisoned. That would be the final betrayal, his petty revenge for all the times the villain had betrayed him in the past.
'You're still wearing it?'
Aizawa tilted his head and glanced down at the silver necklace he wore. "Haven't taken it off."
Hizashi fiddled with the small H, but didn't remove it. H for Hero. 'I'm glad.'
"You sure it isn't a tracker?"
Hizashi took Aizawa's hand and curled their pinkies together in a silent promise.
They were soon naked, and he watched intently as Hizashi removed his hearing-aids, setting them aside to clean later. His chest swelled at the sight of the defenceless man. How easy would it be to tie him up and arrest him right then? Perhaps not as easy as it should've been. Even if he did use his Quirk on the blond, he'd have to blink sometime, and in that one second, he'd lose everything.
Three days to live their third option. He wasn't going to waste them.
Aizawa was the one lost in thought this time. A soft hand pressed against his back, halting all brain functionality for a good three seconds, until he was guided into the hot shower. The water felt amazing. At the Capsule Hotel it'd always been a few degrees below just-right, but the shower here was perfect, and they both had the same temperature preference.
Last time they'd showered together, they hadn't interacted much, but now he planned to make the most of this chance. He signed to Hizashi, 'I wash your back?'
The blond looked uncertain about it, but nodded, and Aizawa lightly massaged soap into his skin. Hizashi leaned into his touches. He was impressed to feel some muscle as his hands glided over his supple body; the blond wasn't as strong as him, but he wasn't weak by any means, especially for someone who was a long-ranged fighter.
In their fight, it would be wise for Hizashi to keep as much distance between them as possible, or else he'd lose to Aizawa's hand-to-hand techniques. He was almost (almost) looking forward to seeing what Present Mic would do.
He finished washing his back and offered to wash his long hair too, but Hizashi shook his head and signed, 'I'll wash you.' Aizawa nodded and the villain's lithe hands were on him, tracing every muscle and scar. The darkhaired man closed his eyes and wished again that they'd met far sooner than this.
Two boys outside a burning building, one with long black hair and one with short blond hair, both lost amongst the chaos of firefighters and families. That boy with glasses had been bawling, yet he'd clamped his mouth so tightly with his hand he must've left bruises. Shouta had seen him, had felt his anguish, but had been too deep in his own despair to reach out a hand and bridge the chasm between them. He'd regretted that moment, so much so that one day later he'd made up his mind to join the hero course.
He'd become Eraserhead and had vowed to never be that weak again.
He felt Hizashi's lips press against his shoulder blade, and he turned around, only to have a bottle of shampoo pressed into his palm. 'Fine', relented the blond, 'you can wash my hair, but I'm going to be very controlling over how much' – a sign he didn't know – 'you use. Too much and it'll be oily.' Oh, he must've signed 'shampoo'.
He nodded and Hizashi showed him the perfect amount, before Aizawa affectionately rubbed it into his blond hair. It smelled nice, leaps above his own cheap stuff, but Hizashi was happy to return the favour and wash his hair for him too.
He could've gotten used to this.
-x-
They sat on the couch together, watching some cheap movie with CGI so bad Hizashi painfully cackled every time it came on screen, even as he busily towel-dried Shouta's hair. He didn't bother to sign much, just tapped twice on the hero's shoulder and eagerly pointed at the horrible alien designs, or the obvious green-screen effects, or the obvious typos in the subtitles. Aizawa didn't seem pleased by how much Hizashi was hurting his throat by laughing, but he didn't reprimand him or demand they put on something less 'funny'.
Hizashi succeeded in his small hair-drying quest, and cuddled against the hero's chest to watch the movie. It was nice – so stupidly nice. Even Boots was curled up at their feet, already asleep.
This was sweet, and perfect, and if he'd died with Giran he would've never known this moment.
Three days of this was preferable to nothing. A lifetime would've been nicer, but they'd been beyond the point of no return before they'd even met.
Some two-dimensional character on the screen had their head blown off, and although it was supposed to be a dramatic moment, Hizashi laughed. The effects were so bad! Even Aizawa exhaled beneath him, an act – he was beginning to learn – akin to a laugh when it came from the tired man. Hizashi tapped twice on his shoulder to make sure he knew just how hilarious it was, and the barista tapped him twice on the back to signal his understanding.
The movie eventually finished, just as Aizawa was beginning to doze beneath him, and Hizashi nuzzled against his neck. "Sho?" he whispered. The quiet sound didn't grate his throat as much as it would've earlier.
Aizawa stirred and a hand ran through his long blond hair. "Zashi," he said back.
Hizashi couldn't keep himself from smiling as he pulled away and took his hand in his. Those tired eyes looked him over – clearly the man would've had no qualms sleeping right there, but the villain still tugged him to his feet so they could move to the bed.
They didn't disturb Boots as they turned off the lights and left her to catnap. Hizashi sat on the end of the bed and removed one of his hearing-aids.
"Both," said Aizawa succinctly, his voice oozing with exhaustion.
Hizashi rolled his eyes, 'You'd sleep through it if I snored. My Quirk might-'
Aizawa sat beside him and stopped him from signing by holding his hands. "If it isn't loud enough to wake me, then it isn't loud enough to be dangerous. Zashi … your Quirk is … incredible." The villain's body went rigid. "You control it better than you give yourself credit for, especially without any formal training." Hizashi shook his head and tried to pull his hands away, to sign at him how wrong he was, but Aizawa didn't let him. "You could've been a great hero."
No, the night had been so perfect, why was he ruining it? He tried to speak, but Aizawa pulled him into a firm kiss to stop him.
Dangerous. Murderous. Unstoppable. Destructive. Broken. Villainous.
Annoying.
But Eraserhead hadn't lied when he'd used the word 'Incredible'.
Aizawa pulled away and moved Hizashi's hair behind his ear, but didn't touch the device without his consent. "Both off?" A shuddering breath wracked through him, but he forced himself to weakly nod. That calloused yet gentle hand carefully removed his remaining hearing-aid and the world grew far. He pressed their foreheads together, but Hizashi couldn't relax, even as they laid down on the bed.
Fingers brushed through his long hair, and he couldn't keep himself from inhaling Aizawa's warm scent. As much as he hated the vulnerability, the trust, the vibration of their heartbeats together, he was quickly lulled to sleep.
-x-
In the morning, Hizashi was still asleep in his arms. He was snoring very quietly – impossibly quietly - and Aizawa's mouth twitched a little. The blond had once mentioned he'd had complete control over his voice's volume, meaning he could make it earsplittingly loud or…
Did Hizashi subconsciously lower his volume while he slept? Damn, the man was an amazing disaster.
He glanced at the clock to find it was just before 5am, but he reminded himself he'd taken the day off. Sleeping in with his lover in his arms didn't sound like such a bad idea, until Hizashi began to stir. In response, Aizawa held him closer.
The blond grunted and looked at his face sleepily with those large green eyes, "Sho?" His voice sounded dramatically better than it had just hours before.
"Sleep in," he murmured as he pressed his face against blond hair. Hizashi smelt so nice.
"Can't hear you, moron," said the blond, a bit of gravel returning to his voice. He tried to pull away, but the hero held him tightly with one arm and grabbed one of his hearing-aids with the other. Hizashi rolled his eyes but put it in so he could hear his boyfriend.
"Spend today in bed," Aizawa said without letting him go.
Hizashi sighed heavily, "What if we get hungry?"
"Delivery."
"Someone will have to answer the door to get it."
"Spend most of today in bed."
Hizashi sighed again, and gently pushed him. "Let me up."
Aizawa relented, and the blond left the room. Although he was disappointed by the disappearance of his lover, he wasn't going to pass up the chance to sleep in, and at least the bed was still warm. He closed his eyes, but opened them again when the door re-opened. Hizashi returned with Boots, his glasses and a book in hand, and Aizawa was surprised when he crawled back into bed.
The cat snuggled at their feet, purring happily at being allowed on the bed, while Hizashi re-slotted himself in Shouta's arms. "Most of today," conceded Hizashi as he opened the book, "but I'm still going to be productive."
Aizawa grunted and pressed his face against the villain's side. A hand made its way into his black hair, gently running through the untangled locks and effectively leading him back to sleep.
When he next awoke, it was midday, and Hizashi was still reading in his arms. The blond noticed his stirring and traced his finger over Aizawa's scar, "Can I make a request, barista?"
"My day off," Aizawa murmured, but opened a tired eye.
Hizashi was smiling gently. "Fine, do you like hot cocoa?"
"For breakfast?"
"If you want."
Aizawa grunted in answer, but felt Hizashi lean down and kiss him on the forehead before he got out of bed. Boots, however, was quick to take his place, and the hero was happy to give the cat all the affection she deserved until the blond returned with hot chocolate and a plate of biscuits.
"Wow Boots," accused the blond, his voice still low and gravelly, although far better than before, "crawl into my grave, why don't ya?" He set the tray down on the bedside table as he gently moved the cat from his spot. Boots just purred as she was placed back at their feet, and Hizashi offered Aizawa one of the drinks. "I made yours with dark chocolate, so I hope it's bitter enough. Still, I image you're the better-"
The hero reached up and lazily covered Hizashi's mouth with his hand. "Rest."
Traitorous lips kissed his palm, and he pulled it away as he sat up to drink his hot cocoa. "It's okay," said the blond quietly. "It doesn't hurt, just feels like I'm recovering from a cold. I promise I'll stop talking if it hurts."
Aizawa grunted and sipped the drink. Too much milk and not enough cocoa, but the warmth and gesture were appreciated. He glanced at the book Hizashi had been reading, unsettled to find it was about chemical warfare. "Inspiration?"
Hizashi shrugged as he sipped his own drink. "Maybe," he said far too casually. "I'd tell you more about it, but you'll find out soon enough." He reached over and picked up his wallet, the one Aizawa had recovered from Giran's, and the blond pulled out his loyalty card. "One more stamp, and then next time I'll get a free drink?"
Eraserhead picked a biscuit from the plate and nibbled it without even caring what flavour it was. "No, next visit."
Hizashi tilted his head and grinned chaotically, "So only nine orders?"
"Tenth visit."
"Whose idea was that?"
"Boss - liked collecting loyalty cards and hated when they took them after they were completely stamped. Thought if they got the freebie on the tenth stamp they could keep the card." He ate another biscuit from the platter.
Hizashi put it back in his wallet. "I think I will keep it afterwards."
"You better redeem it before the fight," he said, suddenly wishing they'd never broached the subject. Aizawa found himself imagining his life without the ray of sunshine. A world of work, of colourless days, of a hole that could never be filled.
Even so, whatever option came to be, he would never regret loving Hizashi Yamada, even if it cost him everything. This day was worth it. Hizashi was worth it.
Eraserhead was his bridge, and Hizashi was going to burn him, but even a burning bridge could still be crossed.