Chapter Twenty-Eight

Strawberry Smoothie

Aizawa awoke with Hizashi in his arms. Today was it, the last day they would spend together.

The blond was already awake and playing with a lock of black hair, but he let go once he noticed his lover stirring. "Hey you," Hizashi said with a playful smile. "Let's do something fun today."

Shouta grunted and pressed their foreheads together. "Sleep is fun." He said it loudly, remembering in his daze that the blond wouldn't have his hearing-aids in.

Hizashi pulled away, only to smack their foreheads back together, snapping Aizawa into consciousness with the shock rather than the pain. "I haven't left the house in two days and I'm stir crazy," grumbled the villain. "And we already spent yesterday in bed. Let's go out – it's my turn to take you on a date."

The barista grunted and closed his eyes, but the gentle touch of hands cupping his face made him open them again. Hizashi was looking at him, but his expression was distant – he was examining him.

"You look good," Hizashi said at last, but he didn't smile when he said it. "You're not perfect, but you're not the lifeless man I met at the coffeeshop anymore."

He wasn't that lifeless man anymore, the one he'd been before he'd met Hizashi Yamada at the coffeeshop that day, but he wasn't certain that was a good thing anymore.

While Eraserhead's scar tilted upwards, helping outline his eye, Hizashi's was tilted down, outlining the subtle roundness of his cheek where the muzzle had torn through flesh. Aizawa couldn't stop himself from eyeing it.

"I love you," he said loudly so the blond would hear.

Hizashi blinked those large emerald eyes at him, and his playful smile returned. "Love you too, you piece of stationary. Come on, date number three." Their third and final date.

He got up, only somewhat begrudgingly, and together they had a brief shower and a full breakfast. When he put the music speaker on for Hizashi to listen to, that same deceptively happy song about sunshine came on, and the blond's throat was healed enough for him to mimic along. Even Aizawa quietly hummed the chorus.

When they sat down to eat, it was time to ruin the domestic mood. "These are the three options for tomorrow," Eraser said as he showed him the images on his phone.

Hizashi took it in one hand and glanced over each one, still chewing a mouthful of rice as he eyed them critically. His thumb flicked over the screen, paused, and then moved in the opposite direction. Another pause and Hizashi put the phone down, "Second one."

Aizawa kept the relief from his appearance. It was the one Mei had said he'd pick, with the columns and lack of hanging lights. He put his phone away and ate his breakfast without qualm, although the atmosphere had grown colder. "Where're we going today?"

"It's a surprise," Hizashi said with a wink. "Eat up though, you'll need your strength."

"I'm already worried."

"My throats all healed too, so expect me to be demanding in the bedroom tonight."

"I'm less worried."

"But first we should figure out how we're dividing everything."

"Dividing?" asked Eraserhead.

"Either you die, or I end up in jail. So, whoever lives and/or isn't arrested can have the apartment, the bank account and Boots," reasoned the blond. It was logical, at least. The cat heard her name and hurried over, purring intensely as she rubbed against their legs. Aizawa picked her up and she batted happily at his chest with her soft paws.

"If I die, I want you to become DJ Yamada again," he said, his voice softer than he'd intended.

Hizashi crinkled his brows, but nodded. "If I'm arrested, I want you to adopt."

His stomach fell. "A kid?"

The blond snorted. "Another cat, for Boots. Don't drag any kids into your disaster zone."

He nodded and gently scratched the cat behind her ear. "Another cat doesn't sound so bad." Aizawa got up to feed her while Hizashi cleaned the kitchen, and they were soon out the door.

-x-

He'd finished his preparations the previous day. Everything was now ready and his equipment and costume had been moved to a temporary storage locker, although he'd still need to scope out the fight location in person to set up his speakers. They'd decide an approximate time for their fight, and Hizashi would slip out in the morning. It wouldn't be too hard – he'd done it before with the intention of never seeing Aizawa again.

Tomorrow, Present Mic wouldn't hold back, but for today they were lovers on their third date.

"Our other two dates have been … out of the ordinary, to say the least, so I figured we should just have the most typical, average date imaginable," Hizashi said as he took Aizawa's hand in his.

"I'm sure everything will be perfectly average. What's first?"

"Shopping first," he said with a smile. "But we won't be doing anything cool like last time. I'll look for clothes for myself, which'll naturally take forever, and I'll drag you around with me and get offended if you even suggest sitting down. I'll probably try on about six different shirts, half of them too small, and I'll make you run and fetch bigger sizes even though you won't know where I got them from. In the end I might buy one or two, but only because I'll feel guilty for taking so much time."

"Sounds painful. Which store?"

"The third cheapest, of course. I want you to think I have standards, but I still don't want to hurt my wallet." He let go of his hand and took his arm instead, "But after that we'll do something nicer, I promise."

Hizashi dragged him into a clothing store and picked out six shirts at random. Aizawa had to stand outside the changerooms and diligently fetch the aforementioned larger sizes whenever asked, but whenever Hizashi moved out of the changeroom, the hero shook his head.

The blond rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to nod and tell me they all look amazing on me."

"They don't," Aizawa said bluntly. What? This was … odd. "You look uncomfortable." The hero walked off and came back with a colourful shirt, looser than the others, although he didn't say anything more as he handed it to him. Hizashi stared at it. Dammit, it was nice … This guy was supposed to have the fashion sense of a brick!

He tried it on and sure enough it fit him well, if a little too loosely. When he stepped out, Aizawa nodded, and Hizashi spied a ghost of a smile on his features. "You look good, although you're still an eyesore."

His face felt unbearably hot. Seriously, how could this tired man make him feel like a shy teenager? "You weren't supposed to make this fun."

"You make it too easy, Sunshine." His chest felt cold at the nickname, and something must've shown on his face. "Sorry," Aizawa said softly. "Wait here."

He disappeared and Hizashi looked at himself in the mirror. His cheeks were still red, his eyes aglow, even beneath his thickly framed glasses. The scar was healing well.

Hizashi Yamada looked good. He'd never neglected his personal health, even in his darkest days, so how could he look better than he had only a month ago? Hizashi inched closer to the mirror and his chest felt numb.

No matter how red his cheeks were, how bright his eyes, the face that stared back at him belonged to a villain.

Right, he wasn't the Trojan Bat, and he wasn't Present Mic. He was those two personas combined, and so much more. He was the super villain Hizashi Yamada. He was…He was the…

"Here." He turned as Shouta reappeared, holding out a shopping bag. "Saw this last time we were here - thought you'd like it."

Hizashi took the bag and pulled out a bright yellow sweater with a black cat on the front. It was a little too big for him, but he imagined that had been intentional. The numbness he'd felt only moments ago vanished, replaced by an addictive warmth, and he shot his boyfriend a grin. "Besides the colour, this is like something you'd wear."

Aizawa rolled his shoulders. "It's comfortable and logical."

"You know this was supposed to be the average part of our date."

"Then, logically, the rest is going to be better."

Hizashi exhaled, "Nemuri was right: you are turning into a sap."

Shouta paused. "When did she say that?"

The blond rolled his eyes. "When you were talking to her in the storeroom. Don't play dumb, Sho, I know you knew I put a mic on you. Oh, and I know you were passing notes too." He stepped back inside the changeroom, speaking loud enough for Aizawa to hear. "What did you tell her that made her cry?"

Eraserhead didn't reply for a time, and Hizashi was about to give up on receiving an answer, when he softly said, "I told her I loved you."

Hizashi paused. So, that was how he'd convinced her not to immediately arrest him. Still, was such a declaration really worth her tears? He stepped out the changeroom and put every outfit other than the one Aizawa had picked out on the return rack. "You really fell hard for me, didn't you?"

"If I hadn't, I wouldn't be willing to do this."

"Not arrest me? Fight me to the death?"

"Go clothes shopping."

Despite everything, Hizashi snorted. He bought the shirt and as soon as they were out the shop he put on the jumper. Aizawa grunted an approval. "Well, thus ends the 'lame' part of our date," declared the blond, "but the next part will be better. Come on, we're doing something fun." Hizashi pulled him along to part two of their date: Bowling. "You ever been bowling before?"

"Yes," he said simply, but didn't expand on it. Hizashi rolled his eyes and dragged him inside so they could swap their shoes and get a lane.

Before Aizawa could suggest anything, Hizashi had already typed their names into the machine: Stationary and Electronic.

"Get it? Cause you're an eraser and I'm a microphone."

"Your brilliance is astounding," quietly murmured Aizawa, and it was funny to gauge just how genuinely he meant it.

Hizashi grinned as he picked up the bowling ball, "Well now you'll get to see my brilliance in action."

-o-

His stance was all wrong, and not in an unintentional way. Hizashi's body was purposefully facing too far left, his placement too extreme, and when he threw the ball it almost instantly landed in the gutter. The blond made a disheartened sound and moved some fringe behind his ear as he turned around. "I thought I'd be better at this," he lied while pursing his lips.

He looked cute when he played dumb, as much as Aizawa hated to admit it. "You still have another shot."

"I do," said the blond with a smile as he picked up a different bowling ball, one clearly too light for him. "Here I go~!" He bowled it straight into the gutter, not even pretending to line up a decent swing. "I'm so bad at this! Your turn, stationary."

He grunted and picked up his ball, surprising himself when he knocked over most the pins. He must've been rusty, to not score a strike. Hizashi whistled, but he rolled his eyes as he picked up the same ball and knocked over the remaining pins for a spare.

"You're good at this," remarked Hizashi as he swayed over to him. "You play before?"

"Nemuri and I used to bowl once a week," he said honestly, noting carefully how the blond ran his hand over his arm. "Before I got too busy, of course."

Hizashi bit his lip, his eyes looking playful beneath his thick lenses, and he even bust out one of his signature grins. "Maybe you can help me~"

Aizawa grinned back. "I can try, but I'm not much of a teacher." He picked up a ball that suited Hizashi's strength and showed him how to properly hold it. The hero led him to the lane and, if his intention hadn't been obvious before, it was when Hizashi pressed back against his crotch.

"How's my stance?" he purred.

Aizawa put his head on his shoulder and cupped his hands to show him the basic stance and the basic line up. The cat jumper felt warm and soft. "Stand like this, a little to the right, and aim for that arrow." His arm swung forward and released the ball. They watched as it rolled down the lane and knocked over half the pins – he'd needed more force.

Hizashi turned just enough to kiss him on the neck, before he whispered in his ear, "I'm gonna rock your world tonight~"

Aizawa shivered at those words, but was still grinning like a fool. "But for now," he said as he pulled away, "I'm going to beat you at bowling."

And he did. Although Hizashi improved miraculously after the first round – claiming repeatedly it was because of his 'expert teacher' – Aizawa was simply better at bowling than him. He'd even attracted some unwanted company in the form of two girls sipping pink strawberry smoothies from beyond the racks. Much to his distaste, their eyes were on him.

He scored a strike and the two cheered. "Wow, you're good at that," called the first as she pulled herself away from her plastic straw. "I bet you play professionally."

"Not interested," he stated immediately, intending for it to mean he wasn't interested in her, but she didn't take the hint.

"Well you'd be really good at it," she continued. "We should play together some time. Here, I'll give you my phone number!"

"No."

"I'll take your phone number," said the unexpected voice of Hizashi. Aizawa glanced over at him and his stomach clenched. He was smiling pleasantly, but the hero noticed the tell in his features that hinted at his possessiveness. Who could even fathom what torments the girl would have in store if the Trojan Bat got her number?

She looked at him and her face twisted. "That moustache makes you look like a gay dad. Gross, no thanks." The girl turned back to Aizawa. "How about we-"

Shouta felt his hair rise off his shoulders and his eyes began to burn, but before he could say anything, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Hizashi standing at his side, smiling devilishly. Aizawa's eyes fell on his scar. The blond leaned close to his ear, "I think it's time we head home, Sho."

"We haven't had dinner yet…"

Hizashi pressed close, his body trembling against him. "Seeing you like this really turns me on~"

His hair fell. Aizawa glanced back at the screen, and gently took the blond's hand in his as he tenderly kissed him on the palm, effectively startling the two girls. One nearly choked on her plastic straw (apparently they weren't only a danger for sea creatures).

"Zashi," he said to him, his voice calm, "that can wait. Let's finish our game and get some dinner. Besides, I have one more bad date idea for us to try."