Chapter Text
By the time 6:30 rolled around, Aizawa was already for this dinner to be over.
All day, Aizawa was left to stew in his own anxieties. He wasn’t required to go to UA today so there was not much he could do to keep his mind occupied. But, he had to admit, the anxiety he was feeling wasn’t the same as usual. If anything, Aizawa would say that this anxiousness was more akin to excitement. It was, of course, completely illogical to be so excited to see Natsuki again when he just saw her yesterday, so Aizawa rationalized that it was anxiety over his friends interacting with his neighbor for a whole evening.
He started off his morning with an intense workout. Aizawa’s spare bedroom was the most furnished room in his apartment. He used it as a small work out space with a bench press, a treadmill, punching bag, yoga mat, and various other small weights and bands spread throughout the room. His hero agency had a nice gym, but Aizawa preferred to work out in in isolation.
He spent two and a half hours going through his various exercises, before deciding that his body wouldn’t be able to take anymore. He took a long shower, massaging his aching muscles in the cool water. Unlike his two friends, Hizashi and Nemuri (who nearly an hour on their skin and hair care), Aizawa didn’t have much of an after-shower routine. However, he found himself lingering in the bathroom after his shower, his mind drifting to the dinner that night, and before he could second-guess himself he pulled out his comb and razor.
Personal care wasn’t a strong suit for Aizawa, he would admit. It mostly came down to the fact that he just didn’t have time, so he would only brush his hair when it got too tangly to comb back with his fingers or shave when his stubble got too itchy. Despite this fact, Aizawa found himself carefully trimming his facial and working a comb through his unkempt hair. He even put some product in his hair. It was a gift from Nemuri that sat unopened in his cabinet until then.
After that, Aizawa did his best to keep his mind preoccupied. He created lesson plans and graded some students’ Heroics essays all while trying to not let his thoughts drift to the woman across the hall. For lunch, he ate a pre-packaged bento with a couple of his juice pouches, and then went right back to work.
Ten minutes before he was scheduled to leave with Natsuki, Aizawa went into his room and looked at his limited wardrobe. Dinners with Hizashi and Nemuri were usually casual. Neither of the two would pester Aizawa much about what he wore unless they were planning to go out somewhere fancy. Since they were only going to eat at Nemuri’s place, he decided on something simple: a black knit sweater, light grey jeans, and his plain black boots.
He got dressed quickly and then sat at his dining table watching as the minutes ticked by on his phone screen. Aizawa’s nervousness was rising with every second, and when his screen finally read 6:30, he almost wished he could cancel. Instead, he forced his body to stand up and go open the door.
Natsuki was already waiting in the hallway, leaning next to her door as she scrolled on her phone. She looked up and smiled. “Hey.”
Aizawa’s breath caught in his throat as he took in the woman before him. He suddenly felt underdressed compared to her simple but elegant champagne colored dress. The dress was tight around her middle but then loosened around her waist so the light fabric flowed around her legs, ending just above her knees. The sleeves of the dress were made of the same loose material as the bottom, though it had slits in it which exposed her bare shoulders. The part of the dress that made Aizawa catch his breath, however, was the low V-neck collar that dipped far enough to show a good portion of Natsuki’s cleavage. Her hair was pulled back in a low bun giving him an unobstructed view of her collarbone and neck.
He forced his gaze away from her chest, as Aizawa grunted out a feeble “Hi.”
Looking at her face wasn’t much better for his now pounding heart. He had never seen Natsuki with makeup on, and if she was attractive before, she was stunning now. Aizawa’s gaze lingered on her dark red lips, but her eyes are what pulled his attention. They were surrounded by a blend of glitter and dark brown eyeshadow with black winged eyeliner to make them appear bigger. She must’ve put on fake eyelashes as well (something he only found out existed last year when him and Hizashi freaked over Nemuri pulling them off out of nowhere), because now they were longer and wispy. Aizawa was entranced by the way the makeup seemed to set her eyes ablaze.
Natsuki caught on to his staring. “Am I overdressed?” she asked, looking down at her dress. “I forgot to ask if we were going out somewhere or staying in, or if there was a certain dress code or if it was a more casual thing, and then I kind of started freaking out because what if we were going somewhere super fancy and I was dressed like a bum, so I decided to overdo just in case, but now that I see what your wearing I think maybe I should’ve done that. Not that you look like a bum or anything! You just look like you’re wearing more comfortable clothes-”
“Natsuki,” Aizawa interrupted. Her rambling helped stop his staring. “What you have on is fine.”
“Really?” she said, still looking insecurely at her outfit.
“Yes,” he told her. “I always am underdressed for these dinners. And I’m sorry I didn’t give you more details about it yesterday.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Natsuki waved him off and picked up a black overcoat and a small clutch from the floor. “I got too excited and left before you could tell me anything. Anyways, where are we going?”
“To Nemuri’s apartment. It’s not exactly a fancy restaurant, but it might as well be,” he said, a little exasperated. Nemuri was the spender of their friend group, using her multiple incomes to make her life outside of hero work as extravagant as possible, whereas he and Hizashi tended to be more frugal. Though, Hizashi had splurged a bit on himself with his car and the absurd amount of leather in his closet.
“Sounds fun!”
“I don’t know if fun is what I’d describe it as.”
Natsuki laughed as they made their way to the stairs at the end of the hallway. “I have a feeling you say that about a lot of things.”
----
Hizashi nervously tapped his leg as he waited for Aizawa and Natsuki to arrive. He was currently sitting on Nemuri’s couch, nursing a glass of wine.
“Stop being so worried,” Nemuri chided, sitting down next to him on the black leather couch. She had a glass of wine as well, though it was her third one. “It’ll be fine. Besides, it was your idea to make him bring her.”
“I know,” Hizashi retorted. “But this is the first time Aizawa has been interested in anyone outside of work. I want everything to go smoothly.”
He didn’t just want things to go smoothly, he needed them too. In order to make sure there weren’t any problems, Hizashi had arrived two hours early to help Nemuri finish cleaning up, order the food, and double check that there weren’t any of the R-rated hero’s “special toys” laying around to scare Natsuki off. He didn’t need to worry though. Nemuri had pre-ordered the food and had a maid come by to clean her large apartment. That left Hizashi to pace around the large open living room for nearly an hour before Nemuri forced a wine glass in his hand and told him to sit down.
“It’s just a dinner, Zashi. Both of us have brought other people before.”
“Yeah, but not Aizawa. You know how he is Nem. He never hangs out with friends other than us, and most of the time we have to force him to go out. The fact that he cares about Natsuki is a huge step for him. And with the shit that he just went through, I don’t want anything to mess up his progress.”
Nemuri huffed into her glass. “I’m not saying that this isn’t a huge step for him. I’m saying that you need to get that stick out of your ass and stop acting like this is a life or death situation. We’re just going to eat and drink and get to know Natsuki a little more.”
“You’re right,” Hizashi conceded. He brought his glass up and drained the contents. He might as well start drinking now to take the edge off.
“Of course I am. I’m always right.”
He chuckled. “Whatever you say.”
Nemuri was about to reply when the doorbell rang, interrupting their conversation. She grinned at Hizashi and stood up, fixing her tight knit dress before walking over to the door, her heels clacking against the hardwood floor. Hizashi stood up as well, moving around the couch to get ready to greet the two newcomers.
“Hello, beautiful!” Nemuri said as she opened the door and ushered Natsuki and Aizawa in. “Holy shit, that dress is gorgeous.”
The two made it past the threshold and walked into the open space of the apartment with Nemuri trailing behind. Natsuki’s face was flushed pink as she said “Thank you. I was excited for the dinner and wanted to dress up.”
Aizawa moved towards Hizashi giving him a clear view of Natsuki’s dress, and he had to agree with Nemuri’s statement. He wasn’t going to humor any romantic thoughts or feelings about the blonde woman, but he had to admit she was very attractive in the dress. Hizashi could appreciate the curves it showed off.
“Great. You’re already drinking,” Aizawa said as he walked up to him, motioning to the empty glass still clutched in his hand.
“Well, hello to you too,” Hizashi smiled, clapping Aizawa on the shoulder while ignoring the jab. He moved around his friend to go say hi to the more important dinner guest. Natsuki was just hanging her black overcoat on the rack next to the door while Nemuri went to grab her a glass of wine. “It’s good to see you again, Natsuki.”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” she said, returning his smile. Hizashi felt Aizawa come up behind him, and he watched as Natsuki’s eyes lit up just a fraction as she looked at his friend. The look only lasted a moment before she moved around the pair and took in the lavish apartment. “Wow. This place is nice.”
Hizashi glanced around at the familiar surroundings. The apartment was more like a penthouse, even if Nemuri didn’t live on the top floor of the high rise. The building was downtown and the large windows provided an excellent view of the city. The sun was just setting, and it bathed the living room and dining room in golden light. The living room had multiple black leather couches and a glass coffee table that faced a large flatscreen. Contemporary art pieces decorated the walls. The long dining table sat next to the windows. The kitchen was just past that with black cabinets, marble counter tops, and sleek stainless-steel appliances (that rarely got used). A mini bar was set to the side and displayed a wide selection of wine and liquor. Hizashi admired the open space and minimalistic decorations, but he much preferred to cozy feeling of his condo.
Nemuri walked away from the mini bar with two wineglasses in hand. “Thank you,” she chirped, handing a glass to Natsuki and shoving one into Aizawa’s. “This one here doesn’t think so.”
Aizawa grunted. “It’s illogical to pay so much for an apartment, even if it looks good.”
“At least my apartment has furniture.”
“Come on, you two,” Huzashi cut in. “Natsuki is going to think all you two do is argue.”
Natsuki giggled. “I already think that, but it’s alright. A little bickering makes things fun.”
Nemuri laughed as well and slung her arm over the other woman. “I think you’ll fit right in.”
A few hours later (and a few wine bottles later), Hizashi had to admit that Nemuri had been right. Dinner passed by in a blur. The food they catered was delicious, though it was much different than the usual greasy pizza or takeout they ordered. Hizashi nerves had gone out the window once he realized that Natsuki had no problem joining in on their conversations. In fact, he quite enjoyed being able to talk about his radio show with a much more knowledgeable person. He was used to Aizawa’s blank stares and Nemuri’s vague nods and uh-huh’s.
For the past thirty minutes, he was telling her about the worst disasters he had to deal with during his show. They had moved over to relax on the black leather couches once they finished eating, and Natsuki was curled up at the end of couch, clutching her stomach as Hizashi recounted one of his more funny stories.
“You should’ve seen the intern’s face when he realized the microphone was still connected,” Hizashi chuckled. “He looked absolutely horrified!”
“Oh, I can picture it,” Natsuki grinned. “Why wouldn’t he make sure it was off before letting one rip in the recording booth?”
“I have no idea!”
They both broke down in a fit of laughter. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Aizawa cross his arms from his position next to Natsuki. He looked annoyed, and an idea popped into Hizashi’s mind. Granted it might not have been a particularly good idea, but he could blame on the alcohol.
He glanced over to Nemuri who was chuckling a bit despite having heard the story already. She must’ve seen the playful gleam in his eye, because she grinned mischievously back at him. They had a silent conversation, a useful skill they had mastered over the years. He motioned to Aizawa’s irritated expression and then at Natsuki who was still laughing breathlessly. Their grumpy friend was usually observant, but with the two glasses of wine coaxed into him and they obvious jealously written on his face, he missed their unspoken talk.
“Shou, can you be a dear and come help me grab desert?” Nemuri asked sweetly, standing up from the couch.
“No,” he said bluntly.
“Oh, come on! I’m a little tipsy from the wine and I don’t want to drop it.
Aizawa glared at her pouted lips. “Then maybe you shouldn’t drink so much.”
“I can help you,” Natsuki offered and moved to stand up as well. Except the blonde had had quite a bit of wine as well, and as she went to stand up, she ended up stumbling a bit.
Aizawa grabbed her arm, and gently moved her back to the couch. “No, I’ll get it.”
Hizashi grinned at his friend. He was never that gentle with anyone, except maybe his students. It was getting clearer and clearer to both him and Nemuri that Shouta actually had feelings for his neighbor. Even though they had thoroughly teased him about it, Hizashi hadn’t really expected his friend’s affection for the woman to be more than platonic.
The two walked over to the kitchen, leaving Hizashi alone with Natsuki. He stood up from the couch, grabbing a throw blanket as he moved over to take Aizawa’s previous position. “You look a bit cold,” he said, throwing the fuzzy fabric over both of their laps.
“Oh,” Natsuki breathed. “Thanks.”
Hizashi glanced over to where Aizawa was eyeing him from the kitchen. He couldn’t help the small smirk that twitched on his lips. “I’m really glad you came to dinner tonight.”
She smiled as her face became even redder, unaware of the glare being sent their way. “I’m really glad you invited me,” she told him. “Honestly, I haven’t really made any friends since I moved back to Japan. It was really nice to get out of my apartment for a bit.”
“We’ll have to do this again sometime.”
“For sure.”
“That was my spot,” Aizawa interrupted as he walked up to them, looking annoyed with two plates of chocolate cake in his hand.
Nemuri walked around him and handed Natsuki a plate before sitting back in her spot on the opposite couch. “It’s fine, Shou. Come sit by me.” She patted the empty space next to her, and then dug into her own piece of desert. She winked sneakily at Hizashi and he had to suppress a grin.
In the many years Hizashi had known Aizawa, he had never seen the former pout, but the expression on his face as he went to sit next to Nemuri was pretty damn close. Hizashi couldn’t believe how both obvious and clueless his friend was being. There was something going on between Natsuki and Aizawa, and his friend was either unable or unwilling to acknowledge it. Being the great friend he is, Hizashi was determined to help Aizawa realize it.
And if Hizashi had to make him a little jealous to do so, then so be it. The game was on.