Work Text:
Something was wrong with Shouta. Hizashi was quite sure of that. He had been together with this man for four years. They had known each other since their early days in the U.A. and the black-haired man had never been the type of person who showed feelings in public or even exchanged tender gestures.
For Hizashi, that had been very difficult at the beginning of their relationship, as he would have been so happy to show that they were a couple anytime, anywhere. But Shouta wanted to avoid the gossip, the looks and questions and therefore asked the blond not to take their relationship into the public. Only with Nemuri was Hizashi allowed to talk about this topic, and only because she had already made bets years ago and had been annoying the two men with it ever since. And since she had been dating Toshinori for a few months, he knew about it too, of course.
Hizashi had finally closed for himself with this topic and was content with the fact that they were a couple of lovers only behind closed doors and he would also only then experience affection and love from his partner.
But recently, when they were out together in town to run some errands, Shouta suddenly reached for Hizashi's hand. At first, the blond thought it was an accidental and unintentional touch, but Shouta held his hand tightly with his own. He did not look at Hizashi while doing so. Just held his hand and said nothing. The blond briefly considered calling Shouta on it, but was too afraid of upsetting his boyfriend and thus ending the longed-for touch.
The following day, they had a sushi dinner together with Nemuri and Toshinori. To persuade Shouta to it had been a difficult undertaking, but finally Hizashi could convince him, even if the black-haired was not really enthusiastic.
The evening went like all the evenings before that they had spent as a foursome. Hizashi and Nemuri mostly led the conversation, Toshinori interjected here and there and Shouta was silent most of the time, sipping his drink or popping a piece of sushi into his mouth. Everything was as usual.
Nemuri was just telling Hizashi that Sushi had jumped into the bathtub with her the other day and was frightened out of her mind that there was water in it, when Shouta got up to go to the bathroom.
"Be right back, babe," he said to Hizashi, giving the blonde a gentle kiss before disappearing into the back rooms. Hizashi stared after him in disbelief.
"Did he just call you „babe“?" asked Toshinori in amazement.
"And he kissed you," Nemuri added, stunned. "In public! He's never done that before."
"I'm as confused as you are," Hizashi countered, looking at his two friends with wide eyes. "Yesterday, while shopping in the town, he held my hand and didn't let go of it until we were home. There's something wrong with him."
"Maybe he's planning something and this is his way of preparing? Encouraging himself or something," Nemuri speculated, taking a large sip of her cocktail.
"What would he be planning?" asked Hizashi and Toshinori in chorus.
"I don't know. Maybe he's going to propose to Hizashi?" Nemuri shrugged ignorantly.
"WHAT?" Hizashi yelled so loudly that suddenly all eyes in the restaurant were on him. As people turned back to their tables shaking their heads, the blond whispered, "Why would he do that? We've only been together four years and yet we just moved in together last year."
"I don't know. It was just an idea, after all."
"Do you know something, Nem?" asked Toshinori with a raised eyebrow.
"No," the heroine defended herself. "I don't know anything about anything. Word of honor."
"Nem, please," Hizashi pleaded. "If you know something, tell me. I can't take the pressure."
"Zashi, I swear to you, I don't know anything and the proposal thing was really just a spur of the moment thing."
"Do you really think he would plan a proposal?" Toshinori asked his girlfriend again after a short pause. "It doesn't really seem like the type that would do something like that, does he?"
"I would have bet more on Hizashi proposing, but maybe we are wrong," Nemuri returned.
"I don't think he's planning anything like that. ..........Right?" Hizashi looked uncertainly at his two friends, but they just shrugged.
When Shouta returned from the bathroom, the friends quickly changed the subject.
Even in the following days, Shouta seemed to look for Hizashi's closeness as soon as they left their shared apartment. No matter if they were shopping, on patrol together or just going for a walk. It was always the black-haired hero who reached for Hizashi's hand, kissed him, snuggled up to him or called him by his pet names.
When the blond asked Shouta about it one evening, he just waved it off and said it was nothing special. He just felt like it. Hizashi did not ask further.
In desperation, he finally called Nemuri and asked her to meet him.
"I just don't know what's wrong with him, Nem," Hizashi lamented to his friend. The "Rated-R" hero sipped her drink before answering the blonde.
"But isn't that what you've always wanted?" she asked. "You've whined to me so many times that you wish Shouta would stand by you in public. And now he does, and you're not happy again either."
Hizashi looked sadly is his half-empty glass. "That's true," he replied, not looking at Nemuri. "But I'm unsure why he's doing this. And why so suddenly. It's not like he talks to me about it. I..........am just afraid he's just doing it because something happened."
"What are you thinking about?"
"I don't know. Maybe he met someone else or made a mistake or..."
"You seriously think Shouta cheated on you?"
"No. Of course not...... Not really. But I just can't make sense of his behavior and it's eating me up inside."
Nemuri took a big sip on her glass and took a deep breath, "Zashi, Shouta and you are the perfect couple. You know each other inside and out. And I know for a fact that you don't have to doubt Shouta's love, because maybe........" She scratched her head in embarrassment.
"Yes?" Hizashi looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Maybe I'm responsible for his behavior. Sort of," the purple-haired woman admitted with a grin. Hizashi looked at her with wide eyes.
"What do you mean, Nem?"
"Well, you told me that you wished Shouta would stand by your love publicly, didn't you?"
"Yes, that's true," the blond admitted. "But that doesn't answer my question."
"You were so unhappy with the situation and that although when you're actually so happily in love with Shouta and I just didn't think it is fair of him."
"It may not be "fair", but that's just the way Shou is and I've come to terms with it. It's fine with me."
"Don't lie, Zashi. It still hurts you and you're only doing this for Shouta's sake. So I told him something the other day...."
"Nem, I don't want to have to pull everything out of your nose. Say! What did you tell him?" the blond asked impatiently.
"I told him that I had a friend who thought you were totally cute and hot and that I had noticed that various women and even men were looking at you and then maybe I mentioned that you were also a very attractive man with many assets."
Hizashi looked at Nemuri speechlessly, which at first unsettled the young woman, since the "Voice Hero" rather rarely said nothing. She smiled with conviction nonetheless, even as Hizashi recovered his voice.
"You made him jealous?"
"You could say that, yes." Confidently, Nemuri finished her glass and placed it back on the table with a jerk. She was unsure how the blonde would react, but found nothing that she had done wrong.
Suddenly, however, Hizashi started laughing uproariously.
"Oh Nemuri, that's so typical of you," he was still laughing and the purple haired woman joined in. They laughed together until they had to wipe the tears from their eyes. Then Hizashi struck a more serious tone again, "But I'm grateful to you. I really am. I was so worried about it, and actually, in the end, it was just a proof of his love, albeit caused by a lie of yours."
Nemuri couldn't help a nasty grin and said, "Not a lie, more like a little fib with good intentions. And it worked, didn't it?" She winked. "But I didn't want you to worry like that, though. I'll talk to Shouta tomorrow and clear everything up."
"No, it's okay. I'll do that. I'll see him right after I get home anyway." Hizashi stood up, grabbed his jacket and called out to his friend while still waving on his way out, "Drinks are on you. See you tomorrow." Nemuri gave him the middle finger, smiled and indicated to the waiter that she would like to pay.
Hizashi was a little worried about how Shouta would react when he told him that Nemuri had tricked him. To his surprise, the black haired remained relatively calm and didn't say a bad word about her friend. He was offended, but more because he had fallen for that nasty joke.
"Thank you for enlightening me, Zashi."
"It wouldn't have been right not to tell you and now you don't have to pretend either."
The black-haired man cleared his throat as he moved closer to his partner.
"Maybe I'll keep a thing or two," he said sheepishly. "I liked holding your hand and I don't care anymore what people think. You belong to me and I can show that now and then."
Hizashis looked at him in surprise at first, but quickly his features softened and he kissed Shouta on the forehead. "Whatever makes you happy, babe."
Shouta smirked, kissed his blond boyfriend and said, "YOU make me happy, you blond noisy idiot."