Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters. The "Erasermic Week 2021" prompt list is by EMWeek2k21 of Twitter.

A touch of angst for today, and I want to keep it short because I already have enough going on in everyday life, lmao, I don't need to be sadder.

one day we'll find our happy ending

Day 3: Comfort Places

Chapter Summary: Day 3 - "Comfort Places." He'd always find him on the roof.

The day wasn't a rough one by any means. No villain attacks, no catastrophic meltdown, and only a few students accidentally starting a food fight in the cafeteria. All in all, a good day for all things considered.

Then again, there were perfectly fine days when Shouta drew in on himself, closing himself off from more people than he needed to be. It wasn't enough for the average person to raise concern, but for the people that knew him, it was all they needed to know that Shouta needed someone to stay with him.

So, when Shouta disappeared during his planning period, both Hizashi and Nemuri knew exactly where he had gone to.

Since Midnight had a class at that time, and also wasn't literally married to Shouta, she pushed Hizashi to go after him. With a roll of his eyes and a small complaint about having to work during their shared planning periods, he swept out of the teacher's lounge with both his and Shouta's lunches in hand, heading up to the roof with an overdramatic walk that made Nemuri roll her eyes in return.

Two overdramatic divas could play at each other's games.

Once Hizashi reached the roof's stairwell, the joking nature dropped completely. Concern touched his face, and the loud persona he usually kept on to pump up the people around him drained away.

When his hand touched the roof's door, he sighed and stepped onto the rooftop where old memories laid.

Shouta was there, just as his friends had expected him to be. He leaned against the roof's railing, staring down at the ground below, his head away from Hizashi's direction.

"Hey," Hizashi started. His voice was softer, just enough to let Shouta know he was trying to tease. "The rules say you aren't allowed to be up here, you know. Can't let the students see Eraser breakin' the rules."

"Rules never stopped us before…"

With a slow extension of his arm, Hizashi bumped the meal prep container against Shouta's elbow. "Here, lunch on me today." The smile began to fade from his face as Shouta took the container full of food without a sound. "…You… You okay, Shou?"

"Fine," he murmured. It was a quick reply, one that came when Shouta was reluctant to open up to anyone about what was bothering him. His hands fiddled with the plastic top, moving as if he was going through the motions.

So, it wasn't something that was stopping Shouta from eating. That was a bit of good news. It just meant that the food the underground hero ate would taste like ash in his mouth and that he was only eating because he knew he had to. That was leagues above him turning down food altogether.

Hizashi tucked his free hand into one of his pockets and nodded his head to the space that would bring back the better memories that occupied their minds. "Come on… let's have lunch before the passing period ends and we have to go back to teaching the masses that can't seem to keep out of trouble."

Shouta wordlessly looked to the spot the blonde had gestured to and stepped over to it.

Memories trickled in, ones of bright smiles and blue hair that rivaled the colors of a cloudless day. If Hizashi tried hard enough, he would hear the laughter two of them shared and the grumblings of the third. A picture of the past, something he tried to picture from an outsider's perspective, showed up in his mind's eye: a foggy memory of three teens breaking onto the roof just to eat lunch and live their lives to the fullest.

The two men sat down, leaning against the wall they had rested against so long ago.

With a small smile that was lined with sadness, Hizashi cracked open his meal container, lifting it up in a specific gesture. Shouta's eyes flicked toward the motion. With a sigh, he popped open his own meal, fishing out the chopsticks and eating a bit of rice to show his husband that yes, he could at least stomach something.

Hizashi scooted closer to his partner, nudging up against Shouta as he did numerous times before. It was gentler than his usual energic push, and instead of shuffling away, Shouta leaned his head against Hizashi's shoulder guard.

The blonde held back a tiny laugh as he nabbed a piece of chicken katsu from his meal and lifted it to Shouta's mouth. His partner opened his mouth and ate without complaint.

It wasn't hot outside, though the warmth of spring was enough to cause discomfort. A few clouds littered the sky, doing little to block the heat of the sun. A gust of wind blew through every then and again. With the blooming cherry blossoms across the campus below and the picturesque sky above, it was the definition of a beautiful day.

"…One of my students mentioned something to me… something that made me think of him…"

Hizashi swallowed his food. "Oh? What'd the little listener say?"

Emotionless eyes stared out straight in front of them. "They said something about you and how you encouraged me to be a teacher here. It was nothing gossip that didn't mean any harm at first, but then someone else spoke up about hearing that it was Midnight who convinced me, and then it snowballed until the whole class was curious about what pushed me to be a teacher." Shouta's hair covered his face as he looked down to his crossed legs and half-empty meal container. "So they asked me the moment I stepped in the class. It shouldn't have bothered me."

"But it did."

"Yeah. It did."

Hizashi sighed, taking the food containers out of their hands, closing up the boxes, and setting them aside. "It's okay to be bothered by it, Shou. Even if it's been several years since then, it's not something either of us could forget."

Shouta stayed quiet.

Slowly, the blonde laced his fingers into Shouta's right hand, giving a firm support to the limp fingers.

"…I'm not going to say that I should have died for him to be here instead of me, but I really wish he was here with us to teach. He'd have the students wrapped around his finger." A beat of silence. "I miss him. A lot."

"…I do too." Hizashi gave his partner the sad smile from before, squeezing his hand. "I know it isn't much, Shou, but I think he'd be really proud of you for what you've become."

"He'd be equally proud of you as well, Hizashi. Don't sell yourself short." The tiniest scoff and the ghost of a smile touched Shouta's face. "He'd never let me hear the end of you giving me the final kick-in-the-ass I needed to take this job."

"He'd either be proud of both of us, or making fun of us for sitting up here like a pair of sad sacks that don't know what to do with ourselves."

It must have been the place they were at, because a sprinkle of tease slipped into Shouta's voice. "Isn't that what we are?" he murmured, the corners of his mouth curling up eve-so-slightly.

"Oh no, that's definitely what you are. I've got my whole life together!"

"Sure, you do…"

Their hands squeezed the other's at the same time.

Somewhere below them, the faraway sound of a bell ringing rose up.

Hizashi frowned, letting his free hand drift to the hearing aid in his right ear. "You think Nezu would believe me if I said I thought it was my hearing aid acting up?"

"You know that he knows you would play that excuse."

The blonde huffed out a dramatic sigh. "Not my fault the bell and the general feedback from the aid's mic sound the same."

Black hair ruffled as Shouta shook his head. He pushed against the ground, rising to his feet. "You know they don't. Now, come on. We need to head back to our classrooms before our students see our disappearance as an excuse to misbehave."

Hizashi let out another overdramatic huff, scooping their lunches under his right arm. "It's not fair. Students can play hooky all they want, but we can't." He smiled, channeling the perfect aura of innocence. "What if I wanted to spend just a few more minutes up on the roof with my darling husband, who wasn't feeling all too good?"

Shouta rolled his eyes. "A few minutes would turn into the whole day with you."

"And is that such a bad thing?"

"Yes." The other hero stretched out his arm, an invitation to help his partner up. "Come on, back to the classrooms."

Hizashi raised a brow, staring up at his partner.

Another roll of black eyes. "I'm not going because I have to, I'm going because if I'm not in my classroom, someone will figure out how to set it on fire." He stayed quiet, sighed, and then a murmur that Hizashi's hearing aids barely picked up moved his mouth. "…And because Oboro would want me to. You… helped."

Hizashi's arm grasped Shouta's, and his partner stumbled as Hizashi yanked himself to his feet. "Right then! What are we waiting for?! We've got a ton of little listeners to teach and a whole world to change!" His usual excitement bubbled up in his chest, and Hizashi flashed his brightest smile as he pulled Shouta to his side. "Ready to get back to teaching the fresh faces of a new generation of heroes?!"

"Never." The ghost of the smile stayed on Shouta's lips. "But someone has to… Might as well be us."

And as the two heroes walked towards the door of the roof, the sounds of laughter from three friends drifted along the slow breeze of the wind.

Song Inspo: "Cool Kids" by Echosmith.

I get more unconfident with each new story I write for this week, but it has been my first time writing angst in a while, so HHH I can't win em all. I hope this was enjoyable, and I look forward to working on the next story for this week!

Thank you so much for reading and supporting my work! :D