Work Text:
"You ice skate?"
Aizawa's coworker turned around in her seat, eyes lighting up. In the hallway after class, Aizawa had heard Ashido talk to the neighboring teacher about how they ran into each other at a seasonal ice skating rink in a park not too far from UA. The girls from 1-A got permission to leave campus to go skating together last night and must have seen her there. He could hear Ashido complimenting her skill and her surprise at how none of the students at UA really knew about (L/N)'s knack for skating. She brushed it off as a pastime she enjoyed during the colder months of the year, a simple hobby while she wasn't on patrol.
"Oh yeah! I usually head there and skate until closing after I finish up my work. It's in Naruhata so not super far from here. I ran into your class' girls there last night" She explained as she packed her things. "I'm heading over there now if you would like to join me." She suggested. Aizawa's nose slightly scrunched up at the idea of being around so many people, and as if her quirk was mind reading, the woman smiled, "That area of Naruhata doesn't see a lot of people, the only people at the rink yesterday was me and your girls so don't worry about a crowd." Aizawa hummed in agreement and the two were on their way to the small rink.
The short train ride over was quiet. To be honest, Aizawa had been looking for excuses to get closer to his coworker and as if the stars had aligned, he finished work early and wasn't on patrol tonight. Once the train stopped at the station (L/N) grabbed her bag and walked off with Aizawa, she shuddered at the sudden introduction of the cold air hitting her face. Japan hadn't gotten much snow yet, just some flurries, but it was still too cold for Aizawa's liking. "Ah, it's a lot colder than yesterday. Thankfully we'll warm up when we start skating.
"We?"
"Oh! I thought when I invited you to come along you were going to skate to. Of course, you don't have to, the park has a nice sitting area with tables for people who aren't skating."
"I don't skate" Aizawa responded. He wasn't telling the full truth, Aizawa couldn't skate, or at least he hasn't ever skated before. When (L/N) invited him out, he just accepted without really thinking about it, he just wanted an excuse to get closer with his coworker. Hizashi and Nemuri had invited him to skate in the past but he never went with them. As they walked up, the worker at the skate rental greeted (L/N) by her first name. The man looked Aizawa up and down for a moment before his mouth formed a small "o" in the realization of something, "You brought a friend with you?" (L/N) nodded as the man across the counter handed her a pair of skates. Aizawa shook his head when the man asked him for his shoe size. The two teachers walked over to a table, placed down their things and Aizawa watched as nimble fingers quickly laced up the worn-down rental skates. No one was at the rink as (L/N) stepped onto the smooth ice, easily pushing off and gliding away from the wall. Aizawa was enamored by the way she held herself as she skated around the rink, looking as if she was weightless. Something itched at Aizawa to grab a pair of skates and join her, he glanced over at the skate rental where the rink attendant stood. 'Fuck it' he thought and walked over to the counter. The man handed him a pair of skates before stopping him, "go get her tiger" he winked. Aizawa shifted his weight nervously, did he see him staring at (L/N)? No, the worker must have just been teasing him.
"I can't just invite him, Ed! Barely anyone at the school knows I skate how would I even bring it up with him? I don't even think he likes this kind of stuff anyway." I sighed as I leaned over the counter. "I don't know, just invite him! You talk about him all the time I gotta meet him someday, just bring it up in casual conversation and ask if he wants to join you." I rubbed my eyes before putting my face in my hands. "If I can bring it up to him somehow I'll invite him, but I'm not making any promises." Ed had been nagging me to invite Aizawa to the rink to get closer to him and maybe ask him on a date, I had no idea how I could do that unless Aizawa had a secret skate hobby he was hiding from the world. Before I could respond I heard someone call my name. I looked over my shoulder and saw a group of girls walking towards me, more specifically the girls from class 1-A. "Who are they?" Ed asked. "They're Aizawa's girls." I quickly replied. "Oh! Maybe they'll talk about your skating skills in front of your little crush" My face heated up at the thought and I hit Ed's shoulder. "Edward, do you really think I have that kind of luck?" Edward shrugged as I turned back around and walked towards the girls to greet them. Ashido keeping up a conversation with Ed throughout the night.
I gulped down the nervous lump I had in my throat, I guess I did have that kind of luck. Thank the stars for Ashido talking to me right in front of the door of Class 1-A. Suddenly I could see Edward waving sporadically out of the corner of my eye and I looked up as he began pointing towards my coworker. He was at the table leaned over and I looked past the rink wall to see what he was doing. He was lacing up a pair of skates. Nervousness rose up through my body and I turned to the counter mouthing "HOW?" At Ed who only responded with a shrug. I turned back to Aizawa and skated towards the wall, attempting to act casual, praying that it looked like the cold made my cheeks bright red. "I thought you didn't skate?" I said, leaning over the wall. The man stood up and began walking, or more wobbling, towards me. "I lied, I can't skate, I've never skated before." He said, not looking me in the eye. My heart skipped a beat, I never expected he would admit something like that to me. A small smile appeared on my face as I reached out my hands. "I can help you if you want me to." His eyes met my own before he gently placed his hands into mine. I stepped backward leading him onto the ice and he watched his feet, struggling to balance. "Hey, hey. Watch me okay?" I said and he hesitantly met my gaze again. "You're already pretty light on your feet so I bet you'll get this down in no time. Just don't think about falling and think about where you're gonna go." I slowly began skating backward. "You think I'm light on my feet?" Aizawa smirked. "Of course, you're practically weightless, jumping across lamp posts and buildings, it's amazing, you're amazing." I half-laughed. The both of us were moving at a slow, but decent pace his hands still in mine."Look at you! You're already doing really well!" I exclaimed and his grip relaxed. I took note of how nicely his hands fit around mine, how nice it was to feel the warmth of his hands penetrating through the cold air, and how nice it was to feel him rely on me for support. We rounded the corner and Ed caught my eye once again. He puckered his lips and winked at me. Eyes widening, my face grew hot before I misstepped and began falling backward. Aizawa attempted to help me but didn't take into consideration that he didn't know how to stop on his skates. On instinct, his arms wrapped around my waist tightly and he rotated his body under mine so he would take the impact from the fall. We hit the ground with a thud and his grip around me grew tighter, out bodies pressing together. "Oh my god Shouta, are you okay?" I exclaimed. A small groan escaped his mouth and his eyes opened slightly, his eyes shifting down to meet mine, "Look who's the bad skater now." He teased, the same smirk from earlier appearing on his face again. We both sat up, his hands lingering on my waist for a moment as he let go of me. "I think that's enough skating for me tonight," I said through nervous laughter. I helped him stand and led him back over to our table. Edward brought the two of us cups of hot chocolate to drink while we recovered from the fall. As I sipped the warm beverage Aizawa looked up at me, hesitating before speaking. "You called me Shouta." He said bluntly and the heat returned to my cheeks. I set my drink down on the table and my eyes looked into my cup, embarrassment spreading through my body, "Ah, I guess your name slipped out because I was so flustered. I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries." I apologized. Silence fell over the two of us before a hand slipped into my vision as Aizawa placed his hand on top of mine. I looked up and a small smile bloomed on his face, much softer than his smirk, "No, it was nice. Call me Shouta, (F/N)" he said in a low voice. My chest bubbled with warmth as I returned his smile. "Would you like to try skating again? Maybe this time you won't need to hold onto my hands." I suggested. His thumb rubbed over my knuckles, "I think I need to hold onto your hands a bit longer."
"I think that's a good idea, Shouta."