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Who would’ve thought that there’d be a snowfall in mid-April?
Hizashi certainly hadn’t.
It was spring, after all. There were two months until the first day of Summer. The last time it had snowed had been back in early January, about a week after the holiday festivities had concluded. He had hoped and prayed for a white Christmas, swearing to himself and the rest of his family that there would be a fresh blanket of snow on the morning of December twenty-fifth. He had rushed to the window before opening his presents, positive that everything would be covered in powder-white. Needless to say, he was sorely disappointed. Not even a single snowflake on the ground. Where was Winter when you needed it?
A few months too late, apparently.
With his elbows propped up against his windowsill, he watched in awe as a blizzard rained down the roofs of the neighborhood. It was still slightly dark out, but the lamp posts around the cul-de-sac illuminated the ghostly flurry and the rest of the shadowy cookie-cutter houses. School had been cancelled for the day, thankfully. There was no way that he or any other students would be able to walk to the academy with how slick the roads were. Plus, no one would be able to concentrate with a snow day. Everyone, both students and teachers alike, would be too focused on the pleasantly surprising weather to teach or learn. A free day off meant no work, no exams. The only thing he had to worry about was how he’d make the most of it. Days like this didn’t come often enough.
Hizashi ran a hand through his messy blonde hair before reaching for his phone on his nightstand, already having a few ideas in mind. He had only just tumbled out of bed and yet he was eager to start his day. Shouta wouldn’t be. He slept in till noon on weekends, sometimes later. Sleeping seemed to be one of his favorite hobbies. Hizashi didn’t understand the appeal, but to each his own, he figured. Tapping on his friend’s contact, he held the phone up to his ear and awaited a response. A few seconds passed. And then a few more. Of course he wasn’t going to answer. Hizashi fully expected the call to go to voicemail until a groggy voice picked up on the other end.
“It’s six in the morning. You better have a good reason for calling.”
There he was. The usual, sunny, optimistic Shouta that he had grown to know and love. It was funny how different their personalities were. Polar opposites, yet they still managed to make their friendship work.
“Heeey, Eraser! There’s no school today! Wanna do somethin’?” he asked, clasping a hand over his mouth upon realizing that he was being a little too loud. He didn’t want to wake up his siblings. He’d never hear the end of their complaining if he did. He loved his younger sister and brother, but they could get extra irritating when they were tired.
There was momentary silence on Shouta’s end before he responded. “Wait, what?” he questioned, clearly dazed.
“Go look outside!”
Pressing his nose up against the window, Hizashi waited. There, across the street from where he lived, was Shouta’s house. It was a little bigger than his own, with navy-blue shutters and a front porch that sagged underneath the weight of the snow. Being close friends with a neighbor certainly had its perks. They were always hanging out at each other’s houses, whether it be for fun or to study for an upcoming exam. The two of them were practically inseparable after being partners in crime for the past two years. It had seemed like they had known each other for an eternity.
For a moment, Hizashi wondered if half-asleep Eraser wasn’t going to comply. He was about to urge him to look outside again when the front door to Shouta’s house creaked open, and the dark-haired hero stepped out wearing only his boxers and a grey sweatshirt. With his phone still pressed up to the side of his face, Hizashi could just barely hear a soft ‘holy shit’ on the other end. “I know, right? Go get dressed and I’ll meet you outside in ten minutes,” he said with a crooked grin, hanging up before Shouta could protest. Knowing him, he was probably planning on going back to bed or procrastinating on finishing up schoolwork. Not today. They were going to go skating, and sledding down the huge hill at the mouth of the neighborhood, and build snowmen, and wreak as much havoc as possible. Sleeping could wait.
He tossed his phone onto his bed and rushed to his closet, searching for something to wear. Most of his clothes weren’t suited for the winter weather. All of his heavy coats and boots had been packed away to make room for t-shirts and summer clothing, none of which would be of any use to him. Not for today, at least. At the very back of his closet was a dark green, slightly-wrinkled sweater that had been carelessly tossed with the rest of his clothes. It wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do. Hizashi slipped it over his head and fumbled to put on a pair of jeans, racing out of his room and down the stairs to the front door.
In the living room, his mother was wide awake and sitting on the couch with her laptop, diligently working to complete a presentation for her job. Hizashi hadn’t expected her to be up so early. “Good morning,” she chirped over her shoulder as he reached for the door knob. He hadn’t been able to sneak out as easily as he had thought. Hizashi blamed it on his excitement and heavy footsteps. Those damn squeaky floorboards had ruined his escape plan. “I’m working from home today. Can’t even get the car out of the driveway with all of that snow. Plus, I’ve heard the commute is going to be awful with all of that traffic. It's bumper-to-bumper from here to downtown,” she hummed, rolling her eyes with a smile. She looked exhausted. Hizashi had seen her spending more time on her projects for the past couple of weeks. He had noticed the bags under her eyes and the strands of grey hair in her blonde ponytail. “So, where are you off to? Isn’t it a little early to be going out?”
“I’m headed off to Shouta’s. Hanging outside in the snow sounded like fun,” he replied with a grin, fidgeting with the collar of his itchy sweater. He was starting to realize why he had shoved it in the back of his closet all those months ago.
Mrs. Yamada raised an eyebrow and slowly shut her laptop. “Uh-huh. You boys have fun and be safe, okay?” She flippantly called out to her son, who was already halfway out the door with blushing cheeks. He had made the mistake of telling her about his innocent crush on his friend not too long ago. She hadn’t been startled about it at all. In fact, it had been expected. It had made sense. The two of them hung out so regularly that each of their houses were considered to be second homes. Hizashi could waltz into Shouta’s kitchen and be greeted with a hug from his mother and a warm meal. He was practically the Aizawa family’s second son. A brother.
That was nice and all, but it wasn’t quite what he wanted. He wanted more than that. Blood may have been thicker than water, but Hizashi would much rather have the latter than have a familial relationship with him.
Desperately trying to rid the flush from his face, Hizashi stepped foot onto the front lawn, watching how his shoes made indents in the snow. The crush that he had on Shouta hadn’t happened right away. He wasn’t a believer in love at first sight. It had happened over time. As they had gotten to know each other, Hizashi had found himself wanting to grow closer to the erasure hero. He had brushed it off as a platonic pining, but in the back of his mind, he knew that it was something else. He had never expressed interest in having a girlfriend or being with a girl romantically. When Shouta had come along, it was as if a revelation had occured. Everything seemed to make sense.
“Hey.”
Looking up, Hizashi was immediately pulled out of his thoughts by the sudden interruption. Shouta was approaching him slowly, treading carefully so that he didn’t slip on the slick sidewalk. He was dressed much warmer than Hizashi was, wearing a black jacket with a knitted scarf and hat. They were easily recognizable as being made by Mrs. Aizawa, who had a knack for sewing and crocheting. If there was one thing that Hizashi appreciated, it was that Shouta wasn’t embarrassed to wear anything that was made by his mom. Any other boy in their class would’ve refused. While many of them were nice, they had strange opinions on what was deemed acceptable. Masculinity was something that they treasured greatly, for some reason.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Hizashi gave his friend a playful nudge. “Hey! I’m glad you decided to join me.”
“I didn’t think I had a choice.”
Shooting Shouta a look of mock exasperation, Hizashi pulled on his arm. “You don’t. Now, c’mon! We’ve got a lot on our agenda.” Before he could thoroughly process his movements, he instinctively reached to grab Shouta’s hand to drag him along.
He had never held hands with him before. For teenage boys, it wasn’t a common thing. He had seen girls hold hands with their friends. Girls shared everything. They slept together in the same bed during sleepovers. They hugged. Hell, they even kissed each other in a non-romantic way. Hizashi had seen many of them walk with their arms around each other's waists at school. Guys had firm boundaries that had to be set in friendships. And for all Hizashi knew, that was the way that it had always been.
He had half-expected Shouta to pull away from him, but he didn’t. He certainly seemed surprised, though. His dark eyes had widened and he had quickly looked away, trying to dodge any awkward eye-contact with Hizashi. “So, uh, where exactly are we going?” He spoke up after a moment, still hand-in-hand with his best friend and classmate.
The voice hero shrugged, exhaling a small, content sigh. He watched, dumbstruck, as his breath turned to misty vapor in front of his eyes. “I dunno. I figured we’d let the adventure come to us instead of finding it ourselves, y’know? Why look for something if we don’t know what we’re looking for in the first place?” He explained, glancing down at their intertwined fingers. It may have been freezing outside, but Shouta’s hand against his own had warmed him up.
Shouta opened his mouth to object and, knowing his personality, probably say something sarcastic. He seemed almost impressed, however. “You’ve got some pretty sound logic. I can’t argue with that,” he said, tilting his head while he studied the blonde walking next to him. Hizashi was quick to see how some people seemed intimidated by Shouta’s reserved personality. He couldn’t possibly relate. Every time he talked with him, he felt so...at peace. Even when they were just doing homework together, he enjoyed being by his side. Hizashi felt that he was still too young to understand the concept of love. But judging by how many romantic-comedy movies he had reluctantly watched with his sister, he was head-over-heels. It frightened him and excited him at the same time.
Of course, he was nervous about his crush somehow getting out to Shouta. Chances were that he didn’t feel the same way. It was rare to come across someone who did. What if this changed things? It could easily ruin their relationship forever, and Hizashi wasn’t sure what he’d do if that happened.
“Hey, you okay?”
Snapping back to reality again, he stopped in his tracks to look at the concerned dark-haired boy beside him. He must have spaced out mid-conversation. “Yeah, I’m good. Why?” he asked with a furrowed gaze, looking up at the snowy sky.
Shouta shook off the dusting of snow that had fallen onto the sleeves of his jacket. “Nothing. You just seemed a little out of it, is all. You’re pretty quiet. Is there something you want to talk about?”
Hizashi quickly shook his head. ‘If only,’ he thought silently to himself. ‘If only we could talk about it.’
Pulling his hand away from Shouta’s, the voice hero crouched down so that his knees were nearly touching the ground. He grabbed a large fistful of snow, packed it together in a ball, and tossed up and down in his palm. “Me, you. Snowball fight,” he challenged as he stood up, that same familiar grin finding its way back onto his lips. “If I win, you have to write my English papers for the rest of the year.”
Shouta crossed his arms. “You know I’m failing that class, right?”
Hizashi paused. He should’ve figured. Shouta was never the academic type. “Good point. If I win, then…”
“If you win, I’ll kiss you.”
Hizashi hadn’t been expecting that. He froze up, his limbs turning to ice and his heart skipping a beat. What Shouta had said was something he had only heard in his dreams. “What? Why?” He choked out in disbelief, taking a step backwards.
Shouta had already scooped up his own snowball, and had cocked his arm, ready to throw. “Why does it matter?” he questioned with the hint of a smirk. He launched his snowball and turned, already running away. “You’re going to lose, anyway.”
It hit Hizashi square in the face, his nose and mouth instantly turning numb from the impact. “Hey, cheater! We didn’t officially start yet!” he laughed, brushing off the snow from his forehead. With his own snowball in hand, the blonde dug his heels into the ground and ran towards Shouta, aiming his weapon accordingly. His snowball fell just a few feet short of him, and he silently cursed at himself for such a lousy throw. It was all fun and games. Surely Shouta hadn't been serious about that kiss. But if he was serious, which Hizashi was determined to figure out, he would need to win. He had to get that kiss.
He was right on Shouta's tail. Just a few more feet, and he'd be close enough to hit him with a subduing blow to the back. Hizashi scooped up another cold handful of snow as he sprinted, eyes narrowed. He was just about to reach out to grab the hood of his jacket when he stepped on a slippery layer of ice directly in front of his target.
Saying that he stumbled was an understatement. He violently tumbled to the ground on top of Shouta with a yelp, the two of them somersaulting over each other before coming to a rolling stop, limbs flying.
He had had his eyes shut for the majority of the fall. He had been too afraid to open them. But when he did, he nearly lost his composure. The slip had left him laying on top of Shouta's chest, their bodies pressed against each other. There was no space in between them. Hizashi could feel Shouta's heart beating against his own.
Shouta opened his eyes with a groan after a moment, reaching to cup his nose. Blood was steadily trickling down his upper lip and chin, leaving crimson droplets in the snow. “Shit, are you okay? I think my elbow may have hit you when we fell. I’m so sorry, I--” Hizashi started, apologizing immensely for hurting him. He was cut off when he felt Shouta’s lips against his own.
They were so soft. Hizashi could taste the metallic blood on his breath, along with those strawberry konpeito candies that he loved to eat. He tasted just how he had imagined. He didn’t want to pull away, but he had forgotten to breathe. Nearly gasping for air, Hizashi felt his face and the tips of his ears turn dangerously pink as he parted.
“Do my eyes deceive me, or is Present Mic blushing?” Shouta asked, his voice turning up at the end of his sentence. He wiped the blood away from his nose, but it didn’t do any good. It continued to dribble down the lower half of his face.
Hizashi tried to come up with some sort of clever, witty excuse. He had nothing. “I’m just...cold. I’m cold. That’s why my face is red.” Rolling off of Shouta and onto the ground, he quickly pushed himself onto his feet. He could feel snow down the back of his sweater and on the inside of his shoes. Two out of many places where snow wasn’t supposed to be. “I thought you said you’d only kiss me if I won. I didn’t win,” he sputtered, hugging his arms close to his body as he shivered.
After a moment of catching his breath, Shouta stood up, snorting at Hizashi’s comment. "I considered it to be a draw."
Everything had happened so fast that neither of them had time to process any of it. The two of them stood in silence before the voice hero spoke up again, attempting to ease the awkwardness. “Shouta? If you had won, what would you have wanted?” he asked, another chill running down his spine.
“I got what I wanted.” He answered quickly, as if already having his response prepared. Taking off his jacket, Shouta wrapped it around his friend’s shoulders with a mischievous light in his eyes. He remained expressionless, but Hizashi could tell exactly what he was thinking. “Now, let’s go back to my place for some hot chocolate. I need to fix this bloody nose.”
The two of them walked in comfortable quiet down the empty, snow-covered streets, both satisfied with the start to their snow-day.
Perhaps those secret feelings had been mutual after all.