Something was wrong with Hizashi. He was sluggish. Lethargic. It was extremely unlike him. That was why Shota decided to stay with Class 1-A while Hizashi gave his English lesson.
"Hey, kids! Who is ready to learn all about passive voice?" Hizashi said after he strolled into the room instead of barging in like usual. He promptly walked straight into the podium. "Oh, whoops! Haha!"
After rambling on for about thirty seconds, he stumbled over his own feet.
"Uh, Present Mic, are you okay?" Uraraka asked.
"I was wondering the same thing," Shota added.
"What? Chill out, guys. I'm all good!" he said with a grin that didn't meet his eyes. He stumbled again, attempting to casually lean against the podium for support.
Shota made eye contact with Uraraka. She nodded in understanding.
About a minute later, Hizashi's knees buckled. Uraraka lept out of her seat in an instant to prevent him from crashing to the ground by using her quirk. He was unconscious.
Hizashi woke up to his boyfriend and Recovery Girl glowering down at him.
"What's up, guys?" he said faintly.
"Recovery Girl says you fainted due to exhaustion."
"Well, good morning to you, too."
Shota rolled his eyes. "Can you walk?"
Recovery Girl made sure the two of them got back to Shota's car. On the way home, Shota mentally berated himself. He knew that Hizashi wasn't sleeping well. He should have noticed that he wasn't sleeping at all.
Shota picked up some fast food for dinner. He waited until his blond lover was finished to ask the question.
"How long has it been since you last slept?"
Hizashi remained silent for a moment. Then, he sighed and said, "Four days."
"What the fuck? Why?"
"I...don't worry about it, Sho," he offered a soft, exhausted smile.
"The fact that you don't want to talk about it is making me worry more," Shota replied gruffly. "You usually want to talk about everything."
Shota then took a shower, and Hizashi did after him. As usual, Shota sat down on the toilet lid as Hizashi sat between his knees. Then, Shota gently blow-dried Hizashi's long, golden hair. He hoped that the warmth and rhythmic motions would soothe him enough to tell Shota what was wrong.
"You wanna tell me now?" Shota asked as the blond rested his head on his knee.
"It's fine, Sho," he muttered.
So, that's how it was going to be.
"Whatever. Let's just go to bed. Hopefully, you'll be able to sleep."
They both got up. Obviously, Shota was not going to let this go. He grabbed his capture weapon as the two of them walked into their bedroom. He knew that he had to make Hizashi feel something to get him to open up.
He shoved Hizashi onto the bed and used his capture weapon to restrain him, pinning all four limbs. Next, he climbed on top of him and slipped his hands underneath the quivering blond's shirt.
"Sho?" Hizashi asked softly. "What're you doing?"
Without another word, Shota began tickling the ever-loving hell out of Hizashi. His fingers danced lightly across the other man's abdomen, knowing exactly where and how to touch him.
"Holy shit, Sho! Oh my god, sto- aaaagh!" He was laughing uncontrollably, and Shota used his quirk on him to make sure he felt no need to hold back his laughter.
After about five minutes, he stopped. Hizashi's face was flushed, and he had a dopey grin plastered across his face. He was panting heavily.
Shota released his boyfriend from the confines of his scarf and remained on top of him. He leaned in close to him. He was still letting out soft giggles.
"I think you're enjoying this," Shota said before gently pressing his lips to Hizashi's. The blond man wrapped one arm around Shota and used the other to stroke his hair.
Shota pulled away and laid down on Hizashi. "Are you ready to talk now?"
Hizashi exhaled slowly. "It's.. Oboro. Or...Kurogiri. Or whatever. I've been having this recurring nightmare since we talked to him."
That was two weeks ago. "Go on. What happens?"
"Well, I'm talking to him, and then his eyes glow red like yours. Then, you cry and beg for my help, and I can't do anything." Tears rolled down his face. "I see it every damned time I try to sleep, so I just stopped."
"Aw, Zashi..."
"But...what if that happens? What if they catch you and turn you into one of those things?"
"You're being silly."
"No, I'm not! Villians have shown an interest in your quirk before."
He wiped the tears off of Hizashi's face. "It won't happen. Neither of us would allow it. Besides, it would be too big of a risk if they did. The nomu version of me would be far too dangerous. I could incapacitate their whole crew. They won't take that risk."
His logic seemed to calm Hizashi a bit.
"Okay, now go to sleep, babe. I love you," he kissed Hizashi's forehead.
"But...the nightmare."
"It won't come back. I promise."
"But, how..."
"Trust me," Shota said as he gently squeezed his hand.
He looked Shota in the eyes for a moment, closed his eyes, and relaxed.
Shota was no longer on top of him, but he was watching him closely. He was watching for signs that his Zashi was in the grip of a nightmare.
After a few minutes, Shota felt Hizashi's heartbeat quicken.
"Sho, no!" he whimpered.
Shota knew what to do. Lightly, as not to wake him, he stroked his hair and face.
"Hey, Zashi. Sorry I scared you," Shota whispered.
"Wha...you're okay?"
"Yeah. It was a trick we planned. Don't you remember?"
"So...everything's okay?"
"Yeah. We're safe. We caught the villains. Everything's okay."
Hizashi's luminous green eyes fluttered open.
"You fixed it," he murmured drowsily.
"Maybe I did."
Hizashi smiled. Then, he stretched out his body and happily buried his face in Shota's hair. He was already falling asleep again, his expression etched in contentment.
His nightmares stopped after that.