Once again, Aizawa was nervous before his meeting with Izuku. Nervous twice in one day, must be a record. There was no reason for him to feel nervous. This was his—
Wait, they'd never actually figured out a label for their relationship. This was his future fiancé. This was his 'everything.'
They also hadn't discussed whether, or how, joint patrols would change. It was a sensitive topic. As much as he'd like to be physically close to, even affectionate with, the vigilante, this was still his job. A job that, if he was distracted, could result in life-or-death situations.
(Aizawa acknowledged that there were a lot of things they hadn't discussed, especially given that he was still planning on moving in tomorrow. Schedules, mess, chores. They'd both hinted about taking their relationship in a physical direction, but there were so many ways that could go, and on what timeline. He didn't even know if Izuku had a coffee maker.)
"Hey, Eraserhead. What're you thinking about?"
The voice, voice changer off, startled him from behind. As an underground hero, Aizawa thought he had excellent situational awareness. Even so, Izuku—with no professional training—was able to sneak up on him.
"You," the older man responded honestly. "Good things?"
"Yeah. What's the plan for tonight?" Aizawa often let Izuku call the shots on patrol, even though the hero had taken charge on their date. The vigilante's predilection towards analysis transferred into a sound basis for strategy.
"You circle from the north, I come from the south, basic recon and situation mapping. If there's nothing, meet up halfway, block forty-two. If I get to the meetup and you're not there, I'll give it fifteen minutes before I keep going until I find you. Same goes for you."
"That sounds good." It was a strategy they'd done many times before. Aizawa was pleased; it sounded like Izuku was planning on keeping their patrols unchanged just as he'd been hoping. "See you in an hour or so."
"Not if I see you first."
As the vigilante hopped over rooftops away from Aizawa, the pro hero hid a small smile. This
relationship would work.
Aizawa arrived at the rendez-vous point fifty minutes later, a smug smirk on his face as Izuku showed up after another twelve minutes. "You're slow."
"I stopped to take car keys away from an overly-sleep-deprived office manager and waited until the cab I called came for him. What did you do, old man?" Izuku asked playfully.
"I'll show you old, Deku," Aizawa grumbled, a small smile peeking out from his capture weapon. Without warning, he flung the fabric towards the younger man.
Izuku—no, he was Deku right now—ducked to the right. But Eraserhead followed up with a right- handed cross-jab, hidden under the flowing fabric. Deku took a step back but didn't falter, adjusting his stance to lower his center of gravity.
Aizawa couldn't see it, but he knew the vigilante had a grin under his voice-changer mask. A grin to rival Aizawa's own.
"Do you have a coffee maker?" The pro hero shot out his capture weapon at lightning-fast speeds.
The vigilante rolled to the left. "I own and live above a café. I have four. And an espresso machine."
"I love you." Aizawa paused, his capture weapon gone still. "Fuck, didn't mean to say that." "Because you didn't mean it?"
"Because it seems too early."
"You're moving in tomorrow."
"Yeah."
"I love you too."
"Good."
"Good." Izuku resumed the kick he'd been aiming at Aizawa's head.
They traded blows for a good half hour, more a dance than a fight. The two men stopped sparring only when the older one felt his phone vibrate. He held up a hand to pause the fight before answering the call.
"Eraserhead."
"This is Tsukauchi. I've got an incident—was a domestic violence call, until it spilled out into the street. It's contained, but need someone to come cancel a quirk."
"Where?"
"Just south of the central train station."
"I'll be there in thirty minutes."
"I'll text the address. Thanks."
Aizawa slipped the phone back into his pocket. He was about to mumble an apology for having to cut their joint patrol short when Izuku slipped off his own mask and softly kissed him.
"You're a hero, and I know what I'm getting into. You never need to apologize for saving people." "I'm still sorry."
"You can make it up to me tomorrow. I'll be at the café all day; I'm assuming you'll be coming by after UA gets out?"
"It'll probably be closer to eight, I don't have a lot to pack but I still need to pick up a truck."
"That's fine. I'll keep the storefront unlocked for you." Izuku gave the pro hero a second kiss. "Now go save some people. I've got it covered here."
"I love you." "I know."
"Brat," the pro hero said affectionately, readying his capture weapon to jump across the nearest roof. As he retreated towards the train station, he heard it—the sweetest words, the ones he'd never tire of hearing from his vigilante.
"I love you too."