Work Text:
Standing in front of a full view mirror, Shouta looks across his torso before twisting and looking at his back. He studies the words that litter his skin, the words are laying on his skin in old tattoo style writing. His fingers trace some that stick out.
Clueless
Loud
Annoying
Whore
That was a new one… Whore . “Why would anyone think that about themselves?” Shouta thought, his fingers never leaving his skin. The words are in black ink, the ones that Shouta thinks are the worst in red. The style was so unique to Shouta. Most people would have the words in their soulmates writing, but to have the traditional tattoo-esque writing stood out to Shouta.
Over Thinker
People Pleaser
Problem
Looking at the digital clock on his nightstand, Shouta cursed, quickly getting dressed into his UA uniform. The white button down hides all the harsh words across his skin. Slipping on his shoes, Shouta rushes out the door, a jelly pouch in his mouth as he quickly locks the door. Living by himself had some pros and cons. As he rushed down the stairs and out the apartment building, his mind never left the harsh words on his skin. His speed walk was spent mostly in his head thinking about why his soulmate would think such things.
“SHO-uta!!” A yell is started, only to be cut off halfway through and drop to normal. Looking forward, back in the real world, Shouta sees his blonde best friend; Yamada Hizashi, a small pout on his lips as he leans against their second year friend, Kayama Nemuri. “What’s with the scowl?” He asks, his blonde hair is spiked upwards.
“Don’t worry about it…” He grumbled, finishing his jelly pouch and throwing it away in a nearby garbage can. Kayama looks at him with a knowing look in her eyes. She was the only person who had seen the words inked into his skin. She had walked in on him changing, and had seen him looking at the words, his eyes holding the most emotion she had seen in a long time. Some words had changed, fading away but in their place was somehow worse.
She has also seen Yamada’s as well, but many have. Somehow, Shouta was the only person who hasn’t seen them, whether that was intentional or not; Shouta has yet to decide. “Let’s get to class before we’re late.” Shouta sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and starting the walk to class. Yamada squeaked before jogging to walk alongside him.
“You seem more grouchy, Shou! What’s going on?” Yamada throws an arm around Shouta’s shoulders. “I haven’t seen this frown in a long while!” He pouts more, his glasses sliding down his nose. Shouta just rolls his eyes and walks to class, Yamada still pouting but not quite pulling away from Shouta’s form until they reach their seats.
---
The day carries on, Shouta constantly thinking of the words on his skin. They’ve been on his head for a while, for the first time in a long time he hasn’t stopped. At lunch, he was stuck in his head, and while him not participating in the conversations that happened around, he was still present enough to make sounds of input. Heroics was a good distraction, an independent practice lesson where he would spend all day in the rafters of whatever gym they had visited and focus on the capture scarf. Earbuds in his ears blasting music in order to avoid the yells and grunts of people sparring, mainly Yamada when he fights with his quirk.
His friends could easily tell he was in his head, leaving him to work his thoughts out. As the school day draws to a close, Yamada steals him away, dragging him to a cat café and sitting in him in a secluded corner before dumping a cat; a three-legged Maine Coon kitten who immediately headbutts his stomach and starts purring a storm. Shouta watches him bewildered as he hasn’t said a word the entire time. “Hizashi…?” Shouta questions, watching his friend sit across from him with a smile on his face and his arms crossed on the table.
“Something’s on your mind, being a grouchy grumpy pants.” Shouta scowled at him, but it had little to no desired effect. “And I want to help!” Yamada’s smile was pleased and pure. Another cat walks over, a Japanese bobtail, drapes itself off Yamada’s shoulders, pawing at his spike hair that has slowly deflated throughout the day.
“This isn't something that you can help with…” Shouta grumbled, petting the Maine Coon and looking away from Yamada’s pleading eyes. “Soulmate stuff…” The cat was proving to be a better distraction than heroics and Shouta was taking full advantage.
“I wanna at least alleviate what the stress factor is, your eyebrows had been furrowed together more so than usual today.” Yamada countered, tapping at the table a random tune. Finally looking up, Shouta sighed as he saw the pleading, puppy eyes Yamada was giving him. His lips turned into a slight pout and the cat laying across his shoulders was not helping Shouta. With a soft groan, Shouta removes his uniform blazer before rolling up his sleeve, showing him the word inked across his forearm.
Yamada has a sharp intake of breath, seeing the black ink. ‘Whore’ was clear as day on his forearm and the tail end of Loud was peeking out from the rolled up shirt. “This showed up this morning when I was getting dressed.” Shouta explained, his fingers tracing the word slightly. “I don’t know why anyone would think about themselves like that…” Rolling his sleeve back down, Shouta looked at Yamada, his eyes glued on his covered arm.
“What… what other words do you have…” His voice was uncharacteristically small, soft and hushed. It was so jarring compared to his loud and vibrant energy he always excluded. Licking his lip, Shouta gauges his reaction as he recalls some of the words.
“‘Loud’ on my bicep, ‘Annoying’ across my shoulder blades, ‘Clueless’ on my thigh…” Shouta trails off, watching as Yamada’s eyes open wider and wider, he watches as he takes a shuddering breath and nods slightly. “‘Zashi…?” Shouta tilts his head, looking at his friend worried.
---
“This can’t be fucking happening…” Hizashi thought as he stared at the words on his frien-- SOULMATES arm. Now the words in Hizashi’s body now make sense, the writing is near perfect but boring font all over his body.
Problem Child
Villainous
Weak
Cruel
“Zashi…?” Aizawa asks, looking at him worriedly. Hizashi looks at Aizawa with a shuddering breath and takes off his own jacket. Aizawa freezes as he rolls up his button down and the word Problem Child is clear as day on his forearm. “Oh my god…” he whispers as stares at the words before Hizashi covers the words again.
“We should probably take this… somewhere private…?” Hizashi mumbled, licking his lips and looking around slightly. Aizawa gulps and nods slightly, standing up after he deposits the cats around him on the floor. Hizashi stands, a bit awkwardly, and they both leave together. Hizashi’s house was closer, so that was where they went.
The entire walk was silent, the only sound was the environment around them and their feet shuffling across the pavement; both too stuck in their head to say anything.
Arriving at Hizashi’s home, no one is home, more deafening silence. Walking to Hizashi’s room, Hizashi sits on his bed while Aizawa claims the desk chair. The silence has yet to be interrupted, both looking anywhere else but each other. Aizawa, after a few tense minutes, breaks the silence first. “D-Did you know before I showed you…?” he stuttered, his fingers pulling his bottom lip.
“I… I had thought it might’ve been you, but I wasn't completely sure…” Hizashi’s voice was unnaturally quiet, stewing in his thoughts. “And it was only until recently, when ‘Problem Child’ showed up… you’re the only person I know that says that…” he trailed off once more, hand coming up to rub the back of his neck, his hands shaking with nerves. His eyes flicked from item to item in the room, avoiding Aizawa’s form at all costs.
Hizashi could feel Aizawa’s eyes on his form. “Were… were you ever gonna say anything…?”
Hizashi gulps and takes a shuddering breath, looking down in his lap at his fidgeting hands. He bit his lip and rolled his answer around on his tongue. Aizawa’s eyes never left him, watching the blonde fidget and think, his usually spiked hair slightly limp.
The longer Yamada takes to answer, the less hope Shouta has. “If he’s taking this long, he must have not wanted to tell me… He… He doesn’t want me…” He thinks, his eyes burning with unshed tears. Rolling his lips, Shouta looks at his lip, finally drawing his eyes away from the others form. “If you weren’t gonna tell me, I’ll just leave and we can forget this happened…” Shouta mumbles, standing from where he sat and grabbing his back off the ground. Tears pooled in his eyes but never shed as he walked to the door.
“Wait!” Hizashi calls, jumping off his bed and grabbing the other's arm, his arm tight around the elbow. “I was! I promise I was, I just had no way of figuring out how!” He pleaded, trying to turn Aizawa around to look at him. His black hair falls in front of his face and blocks all view. He gently nudges Aizawa, desperate to look at the other. “I was going to tell you eventually, but I didn’t know how to bring it up since you never talk about soulmates.” His voice is wavering as he talks, soft cracks expose his emotions. “Please look at me…” he begs, his voice soft.
Reluctantly, Shouta turns to look at the blond. He peaks through black hair to see green eyes welled with tears. Yamada reaches forward with a slightly shaky hand and peels back the black curtain of hair, exposing watery black eyes. Dropping his bag once more, Shouta turns to look at Yamada fully.
Slightly cupping his jaw, Hizashi looks into the deep black of the other's eyes before his gaze flickers to his lips; a motion caught by Aizawa. Gulping slightly, Aizawa leans into the hand holding his face; his eyes fluttering shut slightly. Taking a deep breath, Hizashi gathers all the confidence he can and slowly leans in, his lips mere centimeters from the others.
Shouta can feel Yamada’s breath fan over his lips before he closes the distance; their lips locking on a welcomed dance. Shouta feels Yamada tense before he feels his other hand raise and cup his face. Shouta wraps his arms around the blonde's waist, pulling him closer as they kiss.
The kiss feels like an eternity has passed, where only they are floating in a space all their own and they have all the time in the world at their disposal. Both pull away at the same time, yet they keep crowding each other's space, Yamada’s hands letting go of Shouta’s face but only to wrap around the other's neck. Their foreheads rest together as they catch their breath. “Woah…” Yamada whispers after a moment. Shouta kisses him again in response, both melting together as the kiss.
There couldn’t have been a better way to end the day
