.Chapter 8

(y/n)= your name

(l/n) = last name

The bandages were finally off. Shouta no longer had an excuse to eat dinner with (y/n). So, where were they now? He figured, he'd just go back to how things were before USJ. Somehow, that left him feeling empty. Ymada's words from a few days ago echoed in his head 'you've got it bad.' The words repeated on a loop as he started up his rice cooker. He should start to hear (y/n)'s stereo soon. She hadn't yet turned it on, but it was only a matter of time. Maybe he'd go on patrol tonight. It's been a while, and he's feeling up to it again. He's about finished with dinner prep when there's a knock at his door. Answering it, he sees (y/n) on the other side. "(l/n). What's going on?" She seemed a bit confused and hurt "Ah, yeah. I was about to ask you that. Are you not coming to dinner?" Behind him, she spied his rice cooker going, could smell the aroma of a meal that was just about done. Oh. Duh. He's healed now. "Ah! That's right, you're all better! You don't need me to cook for you anymore. Sorry. I was being silly. Enjoy your meal!" her cheeks were bright pink, and she kept her head down as she attempted to hurry back into her own apartment. "(y/n), wait!" he heard himself call. She paused with her hand on the doorknob, as she turned to face him again "Would…you like to have dinner with me?"

After that night, there were no more missed dinners between the two. Meals were always either in one home or the other, and they always shared the workload. Cooking side by side, sometimes in (y/n)'s warm apartment where she would dance around him like a graceful lunatic, and sometimes in his calm living space where they simply reveled in the comfort of each other's quiet company. One thing (y/n) learned about two and a half months into her stay at the apartment complex was that Aizawa had friends other than her. It came as quite the shock. Kayama was flirty and rambunctious, but she always gave plenty of warning before she would visit. Yamada, however, did not inform Shota of his visits and did not apologize for butting in on plans that were already in progress.

Yamada knocked on Aizawa's door. When there was no answer, he knocked again, louder this time. The third time, he yelled as well "AY! Open up buddy, it's me!" at that, the door a little further down the hall was opened, and Yamada began cleaning his glasses because he actually could not believe what he was seeing. There was (l/n). She was standing there, barefoot, with an apron draped over her clothes, and hovering behind her, was Shouta. Hair pulled up in a high ponytail, Carbon fiber scarf forgone. He looked presentable (well at least for Shouta) in a knit green sweater. The whole scene just seemed so… domestic. Not at all a scene he'd ever imagine seeing his old high school buddy in. "Umm. Present Mic? Are you looking for Shouta?" what the hell? He'd been best friends with the guy for years, and Aizawa still refused to let him say his first name. what made this girl so special?

Dumbly, the blonde nodded and (y/n) gave him a sort of half smile "Would you like to join us for dinner?" again, he nodded without a word, and began to walk into the girl's apartment. Before he got all the way inside, Aizawa stopped him "Don't touch the cat." That's the only thing he said before he followed (y/n) back into the kitchen. Don't touch the cat? Why the hell not? As he though this, he locked eyes with a big ass cat. They stared each other down. That's a big bitch. Yamada thought. What's up with the no touching thing? Morbid curiosity alone drove him to approach and stick his hand out to pet the top of the feline's head. Without warning, the little monster turned and bit him. Hard. "AHH! It bit me!" The volume of his voice had the cat skirting off into another room, presumably it's owner's bedroom, where it would not emerge again until both men had disappeared from the home. "Yamada! What did I just say about the cat!" "Awww poor Mochi~" (y/n) cooed. Poor Mochi? Poor Yamada's hand! Why would that girl keep such an eldritch beast in her home? Before he had any more time to ponder it, music began to flow throughout the home as the guest rounded on the kitchen entrance. There, he saw Aizawa silently peeling potatoes into the sink while (l/n) shook a box of macaroni near his head like it was a maraca. Was this... a normal interaction for them?

Yamada rounded on Shouta when (y/n) wasn't paying attention. "Okay, who are you and what did you do with my best friend?" The man in question simply continued to peel potatoes, but looked over with a withering look "Hah?" "The guy I grew up with would be in that other apartment right now, sulking, and mumbling about how loud his annoying neighbor is being. Are you haunted? I'm going to have to dip a scalding fork into your blood to see if you're actually a body snatcher!" A bag of frozen peas was suddenly tossed at the back of his head "Not with my silverware, you're not!" (y/n) huffed, in a semi-joking tone that drew out a laugh from Aizawa. "Now if you're gonna to eat, you're gonna help. Nuke those peas." Grumbling, he did as he was told. About two minutes later, a song he actually enjoyed started to filter into the room.

(y/n) took her wooden spoon out from the macaroni she was currently stirring and began to sing into it like it was a microphone. She held her hand out to Aizawa. He took it with a small grin, and twirled her, before she turned it on him, and had him do a spin before he returned to his spuds. This girl really must be something else if she can get Aizawa to come out of his shell a little. He wondered briefly, if she had some sort of persuasion quirk, before he decided, ah what the hell. He'd join.

This was one of those golden moments. Shouta thought. As he watched Yamada and (y/n) dance around the kitchen, singing into the same wooden spoon. A moment that doesn't seem like very much while you're in it, but once you look back on it, it has a sort of warm glow surrounding it that just makes you feel fond. Fond of the moment. Fond of the people in it. Fond of the little things in the background. The smell of frozen peas, and starchy macaroni is always going to make him happy now. In that one moment, for that one night, Aizawa found himself content.