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“Wake up, sleepyhead.” Hizashi peaked through the door to see his husband still in bed. He took quiet, slow steps to reach the bed and sat down, careful not to frighten Shouta.
The man slowly opened his eyes and turned them straight to Hizashi, a tension in his shoulders which luckily soon dissipated.
“M-morning.” He answered, and Hizashi smiled brightly. It seemed good.
“Do you remember what he we do every morning?” Hizashi placed his hand on top of his husband’s.
Shouta nodded slowly, his brain still starting up and rearranging his mind. Then, he started listing.
“I’m Aizawa Shouta. I’m a pro hero and teacher, with an erasure quirk. I’m married and have two children. Hitoshi is in my class, training to become a hero, and we rescued Eri from Overhaul. She is still learning to control her quirk. You..” Shouta turned to stare into Hizashi’s eyes. “You are Yamada Hizashi, also a pro hero and English teacher. You’re my- my husband. We met in high school, U.A. I-“ Shouta thought for a while. “I am working on a case about the League of Villains.”
Hizashi’s eyes softened as he inspected the stern seriousness in Shouta. He smiled sadly.
Today wasn’t a good day, then.
“That’s really good, Shouta. But that was almost 30 years ago.” He gave Shouta time to realize what he meant, saw the familiar recognition in his eyes. Not quite memories, but a better sense of time and place.
“Look.” Hizashi pointed to the scars on his skin, already faded from the years, to the greying hairs in his and Shouta’s hair. He had prepared the newspaper of the day on Shouta’s desk so that he could check the date. This wouldn’t be the first time Shouta didn’t believe him.
His husband reached his hand carefully, drawing his fingers through Hizashi’s hair, not quite so long and brightly blond anymore.
“Yes.” Shouta’s lips gave away a hint of a smile as he remembered something. “Hitoshi is a pro hero now too. He has his own family, with Denki, and they live in Sendai. Eri graduated as a hero too, but she decided to work at a hospital, as a healing quirk user.” He smiled.
“That’s right, Shou.” Hizashi nodded.
“And I- I was in an accident. With villains.” His face darkened. “I had severe head trauma. You had to quit being a hero after that.”
“I had to look after you, of course.”
“What happened then?” Shouta teared his eyes from the sheets, and looked at Hizashi.
“Then, we have been living a quiet, comfortable life at home, just the two of us.” Hizashi brushed a bit of Shouta’s hair behind his ear and smiled. He glanced at the wedding ring in his left hand, the metal scratched and worn after so many years. “Do you- do you remember what day it is?”
Shouta furrowed his brows, not used to answering this specific question.
“No.” Shouta didn’t even have to think. “I don’t have to work.” He nodded to himself. “We’re retired.”
“You’re completely right, babe.” Hizashi sighed deeply, lifting himself off the bed.
Taking care of a husband with a slowly worsening anterograde memory loss, caused by a traumatic head injury almost 10 years ago, you’d have good days and bad days.
After the accident, Shouta had officially retured from his hero work but had still continued teaching.The progress after the accident, that put him in a coma for 4 days, had been good, but after a few years Hizashi knew that something was wrong.
Hizashi was lucky that he could leave both of his jobs too when the condition had been discovered, 7 years ago. Shouta would only start to lose more of his memories and more often feel disoriented from this time and place. Hizashi knew they needed to start a new chapter, only focusing on working their way through regular, daily life and on each other.
He still loved his life, his marriage with Shouta, and the man himself, of course. Even if Hizashi would be completely forgotten, he couldn’t picture himself parting with Shouta. The man that woke up everyday with a more or less memories in his mind, was still his husband. Somedays he was just more himself and somedays less.
Life was quite easy like this, their retirement was generously taken care of after successful years as teachers and pro heroes. They still had family and friends close to them, visiting as often as they could. Shouta was rarely ever too disassociated and paranoid to not continue their daily lives, even if Shouta didn't always remember what it was like. Hizashi knew, and it was enough for Shouta.
But at days like these- well, on a lot of special days, birthdays, anniversaries, Hizashi wished he could get some of those days back. Just for a day, he didn’t need to worry if this was the day his husband didn’t remember him anymore. The doctor said it wouldn't be until another 10 years, with good luck, that Shouta might start forgetting the people and memories most dear to him, but Hizashi couldn’t help his mind going through those thoughts.
Hizashi was cooking their breakfast when Shouta walked out of the bedroom, his shirt buttoned up wrong. At least Hizashi continued to be able to laugh with his husband.
They spend their day like usual, eating a good breakfast, going for a walk around the neighbourhood where they had lived all their life. Often Shouta memorized details, routes and was especially happy when he found the stray cats. He greeted the familiar shop accountants, but Hizashi saw from his eyes that he had a hard time actually recognizing them. About once a month, if Shouta felt like it, they would still go to U.A to greet their old and new collegues and revisit the builduing they had spent half their life in.
At home, Shouta spend his time reading books, looking through their shelves and drawers and reminded Hizashi of the things he saw and remembered: Hizashi's old glasses when he was a teen, Eri's favorite plushie animal still in their closet, a framed news article from Hitoshi's graduation. Hizashi answered him, telling stories of the memories Shouta found, trying to revive his memories even if he knew Shouta would forget it soon. Maybe he could make something stick.
He and Shouta conversed as much as Shouta could manage, mostly asking Hizashi to tell stories he didn't intirely remember.
Shouta also slept a lot, napping at least twice everyday, possibly making up for all the sleep loss in their younger years. On weekends like today, they either had Eri visit them or called Hitoshi, but today they phoned both. Though, Shouta was mostly listening to Hizashi talk. Both of their children asked Hizashi if their father remembered today's date and Hizashi only told them that 'it was fine'. Shouta couldn't control what he knew or didn't.
"This is a nice meal." Shouta spoke when he took a seat at the table, after his second nap of the day.
"I thought I could prepare something not so ordinary " Hizashi smiled. As Shouta started to eat, Hizashi rolled his wedding ring on his finger. Shouta's was on his night table, in its chain, but Shouta often forgot to wear it.
It had been 34 years since they got married, today. Last year they had still been able to go to a restaurant on their anniversary, but this year Shouta had become too anxious in too crowded public places.
Of course, Hizashi could’ve reminded his husband of the anniversary. Maybe it would have helped. But often when Hizashi reminded Shouta of something important he had forgotten, Shouta became sad, distant and retreated inside his mind, possibly to try and force himself to remember.
Hizashi wanted Shouta to have a nice day, it was just one among others for him. Their wedding was already many years past them, at least he could still look back on it. It was enough for him.
After that they settled onto the couch. He held Shouta close, cuddling into the black-grey hair and enjoyed the way Shouta pressed against to him.
Shouta went into the shower, and Hizashi slipped back into inspecting his wedding ring.
"Hizashi."
The blond found his husband, standing on the doorway to the living room again, a puzzled look on his face.
"What is it, love?" He smiled tiredly.
"I found this. It's for you." Shouta walked to the sofa, handing a little wrapped box to Hizashi.
The blond’s eyes widened, not yet letting himself hope for too much.
"What is this?" He spoke with wonder. Shouta just shrugged his shoulders.
"It had a note saying that I have to give it to you on this day. I don't know what's inside." Shouta seemed as curious as him.
"Well, I guess we'll find out." Hizashi smiled to him, starting to unwrap the gift papers. Inside he found a black box, with a small note.
Happy an niversary, my sunshine.
P.S Dont worry, I went to find your gift with Hitoshi, not alone
Hizashi couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. He opened the little box, finding a set of silver stud earrings, with emerald-green diamonds.
"Oh, wow. This.." Hizashi was speechless. These earrings were gorgeous. It had been years since Hizashi has last bought himself fine, expensive jewellry, possibly for their wedding. Never had he received jewellry so beautiful, and special. "You bought these."
Shouta's eyes cleared as he looked at the inside of the box. "Oh, I remember. I wanted to buy this for you when I went to the mall with Hitoshi. I remember that you wore earrings like these when we were young. It reminds me of you." Shouta glared at the jewellery in Hizashi's hands. He smiled looking at it, like remembering brought him immence joy and pride.
His eyes dimmed, though, when he glanced at Hizashi's ears. "You don’t use earrings." He pouted cutely.
The worry on Shouta's face was what made Hizashi tear up- like he had done something wrong or bad, and not just given Hizashi the most amazing gift he had ever gotten. He has completly understood that their anniversaries wouldn't look the same as they once had. Still, Shouta had miraculusly gone out of his way and given just a piece of that feeling back. Hizashi didn't need their life to resemble what it what once been, but this gift proved that Shouta remembered those times dearly too, when he could, and wanted Hizashi to feel loved on the day that was special to them. That's how Hizashi knew that he'd stay beside Shouta, for the many, many anniversaries to come.
"I haven’t used earrings for years. I think the piercings in my ears are almost shut by now. But I think I'll get them pierced again, just so that I can wear these." Hizashi spoke softly, a few stray tears falling down his cheek. He didn’t want to worry Shouta with his behavior, so he held back on them. He was happy, so he wanted to laugh rather than cry anyway.
"I'd love to see you wear them. They’re the color of your eyes." Shouta smiled fondly, caressing his thumb over Hizashi’s cheek, like he rarely did nowadays. Hizashi felt dizzy with emotions.
"Can I kiss you?" He blurted out. Shouta blushed, as if they haven’t done this for decades now. He nodded as Hizashi leaned forward and felt those familiar, rough lips against his.
When they parted, Shouta's eyes went immediately to Hizashi's earlobes, rolling his left one in his fingers as he thought.
"You had silver earrings. At our wedding." He smiled, looking so proud. "And flowers in your hair. Yellow and-"
"White." Hizashi finished.
"Yeah." Shouta smiled wider, like the memory was playing in his head as he spoke. He suddenly turned to the newspaper on the couch now, eyeing the frontpage rapidly. "It's our anniversary." He realized, his brows furrowing. "I'm sorry, I didnt-"
"It's fine." Hizashi took his husband's face between his palms, forbitting Shouta of looking anywhere else, of retreating somewhere else. "We had a nice day, and you even gave me a present, Shouta. This was perfect.”
Shouta wasn’t convinced, grimacing further but then relaxing in Hizashi's arms. "But someday- I might someday forget about you-"
"It doesn’t matter, Shou." He took Shouta's hands in his, and looked at the ring in his own hand, drawing Shouta's attention to the golden band too. "I made a vow, 34 years ago. It meant that I loved you enough to- I loved you so much that nothing would make me give you up, y'know? Even after these years, that hasn’t changed. It wont change, love. I'll stay here, happily and content, by your side for the next 34 years too."
Shouta smiled shyly, pressing back to Hizashi's side, as they had an hour ago. He felt his neck.
"I didn’t even wear my ring today."
"It's okay." Hizashi reassured. Shouta stayed silent for a while.
"Please ask me to wear it, if I forget. I'm pretty sure I'll always want to."
Hizashi smiled into Shouta's hair. "Okay, babe."
"I feel like- when I see it, it brings me the same happiness and joy, as if I would see you."
"Really?"
"Yes. Somedays.. I just feel so lost. I'm confused, I'm scared, but in a very different way than I ever was with villains or hero work. But just the sight of you, it grounds me. Suddenly I have purpose, I know exactly who I am. Because I can't picture being anything other than the person that loves you."
Hizashi stayed silent. He rarely ever heard Shouta this talkative anymore. He bit on his lip, just trying to focus on Shouta's words, rather than his own feelings about them.
"That's why I feel like.. If someday I forget your name, or you, I don’t think.. I hope I won’t ever forget the comfort you bring to me."
Shouta stayed silent after that, and Hizashi almost thought he had fallen asleep, but he seemed only fallen into his memories. He breathed slowly in Hizashi's arms.
"My sunshine," Shouta suddenly smiled, moving to face the blond, taking his cheeks in his softened hands. "Would you do me the honour of marrying me someday?"
Hizashi's eyes widened, but all he could do was laugh.
"Any day, Shouta."
To marry Shouta all over again would be the best gift he could ever have.