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Hinata was done with Komaeda Nagito.
He was also pretty ashamed of himself. As he sat home alone, his mind drifted to the major problem he discovered that very morning. How could he not have noticed? He had known Komaeda for a long time, and they had been dating and living together for more than a year now, but he only just found out? Hinata groaned loudly at his desk and raked fingers through his spiked hair. Of course, now that he had noticed, he could not. Stop. Thinking about it. And he was done.
Done with Komaeda’s fucking shoes.
They were nothing special, a tan color, size thirteen. Komaeda was the politest of the polite, he took off his shoes as soon as he entered any building to switch with slippers, and only put them on right before leaving. All of the formalities seemed to distract Hinata from the bigger issue, but now that he had noticed, he couldn't help but internally cringe every moment he thought of them.
Why? Instead of laces going up the center, two shiny zippers climbed up the sides.
Komaeda’s style was weird, everyone knew this. The ragged coat he refused to get rid of (which was transformed into a stylish throw pillow, after lots of bargaining), the skull chain that still bounced against his leg to this day (Hinata’s amazing idea of making it into a necklace was shot down with no hesitation), and the thin shirt that was probably designer (far too expensive-looking to tamper with, in his opinion). But the shoes? That was where Hinata drew the line.
His thoughts were cut short by the front door opening softly.
“I’m home, Hajime!” Komaeda called. He heard the door click shut, and listened closely for the tell-tale sign that what he had seen that morning wasn't a nightmare.
Zzzzzip. Zzzzzip. Zzzzzzip. Zzzzzzip.
He shuddered at the noise. How the hell had he not noticed before? Hinata sat up straight in his chair. “Nagito, welcome home.” He thought for a moment. Was it worth the possible conflict? The shoes were a beast to society, but Komaeda was a sentimental person. Screw it. “...Would you… bring your shoes here, just for a second?”
A beat. “Um… of course? One moment.” Soft footsteps on the hardwood floor made their way closer, and Hinata felt a kiss on the top of his head. He swiveled to see Komaeda, white hair tied into a small ponytail at his neck, and a confused expression across his face. Hinata took a moment to lovingly appreciate the copper roots that had grown in almost enough to make his front profile look completely healthy, but his gaze was interrupted by the offending shoes. “Here, Hajime. Why’d you need them?” He scooted a few papers across the desk to set them down and leaned against it, still raising an eyebrow at Hinata.
“Just… Nagito, why the hell do you have zippers on your shoes?” Hinata toyed with one of the shoes. To his horror, the zippers were fully functional, not even just a tacky decoration. He peeled the two of them down and played with the tongue of the shoe as he waited for a reply.
But… Komaeda was being awfully quiet? He usually would give a sass filled reply, then talk within an inch of his life to convince Hinata of his clothing's worth (even though they both knew he was just a big sap). He stopped for a moment to cast a glance and- oh my god why are his eyes wet? He’s about to cry? A metallic hand had a vice grip on the shoe that wasn't in Hinata’s possession, and the other was stuffed deep into a pocket.
“N-Nagito?! Are you alright?” Hinata stood up, quick enough to almost cause his chair to tumble, and placed a hand on the metallic one. Komaeda usually felt claustrophobic when he was like this, so he made sure only to give as much physical contact as Komaeda allowed at the moment. His hand wasn't shaken off, so he kept it there firmly.
His voice wavered when he finally spoke. “Ah… how horrible. I’m sorry, Hajime, I didn't realize they were so unsightly. I’m so sorry, I never would have worn them if I had known, but- I-” He choked back a sob. Hinata’s instincts told him to squeeze the man, but he settled for rubbing his thumb against Komaeda’s wrist.
“Hey, hey, Ko, it’s ok, it's not anything like that,” Well, they were awful looking, but that's not the point right now- “I’m just curious why you wear them. They're different from what I’ve seen before.”
Komaeda took a deep breath and laughed a little hoarsely. “It’s quite embarrassing,” He scratched the back of his neck with the hand Hinata wasn't occupying. “I… never learned how to tie my shoes. My parents died before they could teach me, and if they hadn't, we were not close enough for them to really feel inclined to. And I was too sickly to go to school and learn. By the time I was old enough, though, it would have been much too humiliating to admit. In fact, I still believed in Santa Claus when we first met. Having Pekoyama-san explain that to me at age twenty-three was… mortifying.”
He smiled softly at the ground. “That’s why I wear those shoes. But again, I should have just manned up and asked for help.” Hinata let go of a breath he didn't realize he was holding and chuckled. “You almost sounded like Nidai at the end there, with that ‘manning up’ business, Nagito. You should’ve just told me you didn't know how. I’ll be sure to ask Naegi-kun for new shoes for you, and I’ll be your personal tutor on the art of shoe tying.”
Komaeda laughed curtly and tapped the side of Hinata’s head. “Oh, I’m positive there's an Ultimate Shoe-Tier in there somewhere, Hinata-kun.” He groaned and leaned himself into Komaeda’s shoulder. “Probably. Whatever. But let's burn those shoes as soon as the new ones come in. I didn't want to be insulting, because I was worried about you being attached but… they're the worst things I’ve ever had the displeasure of laying my eyes on.”
Komaeda sighed. “They are pretty awful. But at least I don't have a zip-up blouse like Kirigiri-san”
“Blegh. I’m totally telling her you said that.”
“Hajime! She’ll have my head!”
“She’ll give you a death stare, at the most.”
“Kirigi-san’s stare might as well be death.”
“I’ll give you a beautiful funeral.”
“Ultimate Funeral Planner?”
“Shut up.”