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The sun was blinding off the sheets of thick snow. Glittering white light bouncing in the air and smacking Hizashi with painful reality. The chilling cold flooding his veins in rivers of ice. Hizashi liked the cold. He enjoyed snow. This mission shouldn’t be as hard as it was. Should send him into the covers with sorrow and grief heavy in his chest. It shouldn’t be as bad as it is, but it was. It was because there was a warm presence missing. Someone to bitch and moan and complain about the snow and cold and light. Hizashi ached for that warmth. Unfortunately, Shouta couldn’t come on the mission with him. Unfortunately, Alaska was large and so very far away.
He was standing outside of the house clutching his phone tightly when the ring finally sounded in the air. They never had long to talk. Between Shouta’s patrols and the school, between Hizashi’s mission, they had one hour a day. That was only if everything went exactly according to the timeline. If anything ran over then they had even less time.
It was only six months. Only two more to go. It was fine. Everything was totally… fine.
A grin stretched across his dry, chapped skin as he pressed the warm device to his ear. “Hey, Shou.” A low hum filtered down the line and Hizashi felt a piece of the ragged hole in his soul that was growing wider with the absence of Shouta soothing just a bit. The tension and ache calmed to breathable levels.
“Zashi.” Leaning against the side of the house, Hizashi let free the trapped air in his lungs. Two more months and he could feel that comforting rumble against his skin. Just two more. “How’s it going?” Hizashi missed Shouta, but that was okay. They were heroes, they went where they needed to and did what they had to. They saved people.
The two of them had dealt with this before. It wasn’t easy, but at least they were handling it better than Hitoshi was.
The hour passed in the blink of an eye. The silence between them was warm and comforting. Hizashi always felt better after getting off the phone with Shouta. He was more settled, a bit warmer and a lot more sleepy.
Talking to Shouta was like drinking a warm tea in the rain. His voice was the warm blanket you wrapped around yourself in front of the fire or the gentle music as you read a book. Hizashi loved talking to his Shouta, because everything made sense, everything was right when he was able to talk to him. When Hizashi was confused, angry or exhausted he would just imagine talking to Shouta that day. He would tell himself he had to get through it so that the phone call could help ease everything away. So that Shouta could make everything ache a bit less, make everything just that touch bit more clear.
“I love you, Shouta.” The gentle purr of warmth flooded Hizashi as he let his eyes slip shut. If he thought hard enough, he was almost able to feel the warmth of Shouta’s arms around him.
“Fifty-five more days, Zashi. Just fifty-five more.” A small, barely there smile fell into place as Shouta’s voice grew thick with tiredness. “I’ll see you soon, Love.” The two breathed together for another few seconds before both ending the call. It was hard, this mission was hard, but Hizashi knew they would be okay. They would always be okay.
Walking into the warmth, Hizashi found Hitoshi sprawled on the couch, phone pressed to his face, dead to the world. He had to go out for his portion in only a few hours and when Hizashi had stepped outside he was still awake. The kid was killing himself just to talk on the phone. It had gotten better for a couple months, but recently he was back to napping randomly and sleeping very little. It was rare to see him without his phone pressed to his ear or texting rapidly unless he was out on the mission. Whenever they were in the house his phone was right there.
HIzashi understood, he really did. This was Hitoshi’s first long term mission this far away from his partner. He understood , but he didn’t want to watch his kid self-destruct. From what Shouta said, Izuku wasn’t much better. The two of them were running themselves into the ground and while knowing they talked everyday was sweet, it was also concerning.
Plucking the phone from Hitoshi’s face, Hizashi heard soft snuffles of sleep from the otherside as well. At least they were both sleeping. They needed so much more than they were getting, but even a little was better. Ending the call, Hizashi pulled a blanket over Hitoshi and resisted the urge to coo as his kid curled around the pillow in his arms. Hitoshi might be grown, but Hizashi would always fawn over his children. Always .
Phone buzzing again, Hizashi grinned wide. He loved when his baby had the chance to call. It wasn’t often because of school, but when it happened, Hizashi made sure he could answer. Eri’s sweet laughter filled him with a giddiness that never failed to bring laughter to the surface. She always had the most interesting tales of her and her friends.
SHe had absolutely taken after both Hizashi and Shouta in the drama department. Her stories were always elaborate and exaggerated with millions of gasps and exclamations. Reacting appropriately, Hizashi gasped and asked ‘How dare ’ at each necessary moment.
“I miss you, Papa.” Hizashi was going to give his baby the biggest hug when he got back. She was going to have to pry him off and Hizashi always made sure that she knew that. She could never claim she wasn’t warned.
“I miss you too, Eri. I’ll be home soon and Hitoshi will be with me.” Giggling, Eri hummed in understanding. She understood. She knew that her family was full of heroes and sometimes that meant they had to leave. Hizashi and Shouta always promised to do everything in their power to get back to her though. They would fight tooth and nail to see her again and they never let her forget that. She was their little girl and nothing was going to change that.
Clicking off his phone, Hizashi stared at his lockscreen for just a moment. This mission was fine. It was far away and he missed his family, but that was okay. He would see them again soon and he knew they were just waiting for him to return home.