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Phone silently vibrates in Shouta’s pocket, as he jumps from one roof to another. He turns the alarm off without taking the phone out of the pocket and slightly changes the route. Five minutes later Eraserhead lowers himself down with the capture scarf to get inside the building through the open window. Just in time to hear the usual: “And don’t you forget to Put your hands up!” that resonates with the voice inside his one earphone, before it gets shown inside the pocket. Music starts playing and Present Mic turns on his chair, taking off his headphones, while the red “On Air” sign turns on.
— still alive then, Eraser?
— sure, - Shouta confirms in a gruff tone, when Hizashi’s eyes follow tired movements with genuine concern behind sarcastic question. Shouta turns on the coffee machine, hearing the man behind him moving around, taking the food out of the mini-fridge and putting containers in the microwave.
— boring night?
— yeah
— met any cuties?
Eraser takes out his phone and passes it to the blonde, who silently opens the gallery and cooes over the last pictures of some gray street cat. A couple of minutes go by in silence, while Shouta puts two cups on the table and Hizashi does the same with their lunch boxes.
— how's today’s night going?
— you would have known, if you listened to my show, Shou.
— well I didn’t.
For some reason, throughout the five years that Hizashi has his own show, Shouta has never told him that he listens to almost every single episode. He is not a music person and Hizashi knows it, so it would be too damn easy to discover that Eraser actually listens to Present Mic’s voice. It’s not weird that it helps him through sleepless nights or gets a smile on his face, when fighting a villain. They’ve been roommates for a long long time and Shouta got really used to hearing Mic’s voice. That’s it. For now, Hizashi holds chopsticks in one hand and pen in another, slowly going through English papers, circling over the right answers.
— you’re grading homework on your break? Have you been that busy?
— nah. But exams are close. I wanna finish this as soon as possible, ya dig? I’m handling it, swear.
— I can help.
— since when do you know any phrases in English, except for “Can I pet your cat?”
— smartass.
— I appreciate it, Shouta, but I’m fine. For real.
— okay.
He leaves the topic, leaning forward to tuck a single strand of blonde hair behind Mic’s ear. When Hizashi looks up to him, Shouta pays attention to purplish eye bags under man’s eyes that weren’t covered by makeup. The room goes silent again, save for the music in the background, and Shouta watches Hizashi.
His black nail polish is almost gone on two fingers that Mic picks on, when he is nervous. Blonde hair is made into a low ponytail and one strand stays behind Hizashi’s ear next to his hearing aid. The ponytail goes to the other's shoulder blades, but Shouta knows that it almost reaches the end of Hizashi’s rib cage, when it’s wet after the shower. Mic looks good with his hair down, but he also hates when it touches his neck, so he keeps it up most of the time. Hizashi is wearing his usual glasses right now, the ones that go dark under the sunlight, covering the bright green of the hero's eyes. Without any makeup and tinted glasses, Shouta can clearly see light freckles on his friend’s nose and cheeks. Shouta also knows about freckles on man’s shoulders and hips that are usually covered by the leather of his hero costume. He’s somehow pleased to know something about Hizashi that not a lot of other people know.
Shouta reaches out to brush off one grain of rice that got stuck to Hizashi’s silly moustaches and his fingertip touches the corner of man’s lips. For a second, Shouta wonders, how would they fill under his own lips.
— you eat like a pig.
Hizashi snorts, very unattractively and Shouta comes back to the thought that he had a second ago.
Wait, what?
Shouta slowly blinks, looking at the man in front of him, who is still grading papers and realization settles down, slowly, like the first snow on the ground.
He wants to kiss Hizashi.
And the second one. He is in love with Hizashi.
And it does make sense. Loving Hizashi only seems natural anyway. He already knew that he loves Hizashi, they were best friends and the words “I love you” even slipped out between them a couple of times, after nightmares or too much beer. So, actually, loving Hizashi wasn’t a problem at all. It doesn’t feel like a burden or heavy weight on his shoulders. Now that he thinks of it, his face is getting kinda warm and it’s kinda embarrassing, what is he, a teenager? He just needs to tell Hizashi that heʼs in love with him. Easy. Right? Should he tell him right now?
— I’m going on air in a minute, buddy. You can take leftovers home, alright? I will feed Gnocchi when I come back, so don’t bother.
Hizashi spins on his chair checking the equipment and Shouta checks the time to see that he spent almost half an hour daydreaming about his best friend.
— okay.
Very smart, Shouta. Good job.
Hizashi smiles at him before turning back and putting his headphones on. Shouta silently moves, going out of the window and putting one earphone on to hear: “And we are back with Put Your Hands Up, dear listeners, I hope everyone is having a great morning!!”
Yeah. Wonderful morning.
— sensei, you are not paying attention, are you?
— I am.
— okay. Let's rephrase that. you’re thinking about something else right now.
— I am not.
He definitely is. But, to be fair, he is paying attention, because he's a master of multitasking, so he can teach Shinsou and think about his love confession to Hizashi at the same time. He is not an amateur.
— it wasn’t a question. What are you thinking about?
— I’m thinking that you are trying to distract me, because you are tired.
Shinsou groans very loudly and sits down on the grass, tugging on his capture weapon.
— yes, I am. But also, if you need help with something, you can ask me.
— I am an adult. I am the one who is helping you.
— sure. So what’s the issue here?
Shouta just stares at him, before he needs to blink and use his eye drops.
— I am not sure how to tell a person how I feel about them.
— huh. That’s not like you, sensei. Usually you are very open, if you don’t like a person.
— I like them.
— oh. So why do you need to tell them that? Don’t they know? Or whatever?
Wow. Shinsou is just as bad with feelings as he is, isn’t he? “Gloomy emo kid as you used to be” - that’s what Hizashi said. Ugh, Hizashi.
— they know. But I want to let them know that I like them more than anyone else.
— like you like-like them?
—what?
— you love this person? Sensei, are you in love?
— no need to look so shocked.
— no way.
— yes way.
— I didn’t know you were capable of that.
— I can do everything.
— what are you, All Might?
— okay, this is going nowhere.
— no, wait, tell me everything.
— what are you, a secret romance lover, like Ashido?
— since I talk with Kirishima, Ashido is around, sometimes.
— you talk with Kirishima? About what?
— stuff.
— stuff?
— yeah, whatever. Let’s go back to your crush.
— it’s not a “crush”. I’m 30, not 15, I don’t have crushes.
— wait, you are only 30?
— do you want to ask me that again?
— no, sir.
— good to know. - Shouta lets out a heavy sigh, hiding his face in the capture weapon. — The problem is that I don’t know how to approach the subject. Or phrase what I need to say. They already know that I love them. Just not in that way.
The hero looks down to see Shinsou deep in thoughts. The kid is really trying to help. And maybe he will give a nice advice, since Shinsou seems to understand his way of seeing things.
— Valentine's day is coming up. You can confess in a letter. It's a quiet confession, but you also can write down all of the stuff that you want to say, without pressure. You will also give this person some space afterwards, if they don’t like you back.
…
— sensei?
— that’s actually not a bad idea, Shinsou. I am just thinking.
— alright..
— get on with the training though.
— aw, man!..
So, now Shouta had a plan. And open notes in his laptop. He also had about four days to write an email and send it to the radio station for their usual “Valentine’s cards reading day”. Shouta needs to leave enough signs in the letter, so Hizashi would know it’s about them and then.. well, they could run to each other under the rain with a rainbow and kiss, or something. Thinking about kissing Hizashi was new and made his brain feel like a jelly. But also, it was winter, the weather app for this week said that the sky will be clear and Mic’s show is in the middle of the night. So. No rain, no rainbow, maybe a kiss. Should he shave? His face, obviously, nothing more, they won’t go that far. Or will they? Or it could be awkward: “Shouta, I’m sorry, I don’t see you like that, ya dig?” Hizashi will be very nice about it too. He got confessions in high school and from his fans, so Shouta has an idea of what his rejection looks like. Fucking ray of sunshine.
It’s Friday again, the night after Valentine’s day. Shouta doesn’t have patrol tonight, but he sits in the kitchen with his hot cup of coffee, homework that he needs to grade and radio with Mic’s voice. He is reading the second love letter of the night. Shouta’s own letter is in [email protected]’s mailbox and there is no possibility to even know if Hizashi will read it tonight. But Hizashi loves his fans and he will read as much as he can and afterwards probably read everything that was left by himself. Which is fine. It’s even better, if Hizashi won’t read his love confession on air.
Shouta tunes himself out, grading his papers and it’s almost four in the morning, when:
— and another anonymous love letter for you, my dear listeners! Oh, wow, this one is a big one! Well, open your ears, maybe it’s for you!
Mic’s voice gets calmer and softer for “romantic effect” or whatever, when he starts reading Shouta’s letter.
— “First of all, Present Mic, sorry for the long letter. But the person that I wrote it for is a longtime friend of mine and we knew each other for over a decade, so it only seems fitting, you know?” No need to apologize, dear listener, I’m here today to deliver your lovely feelings! And that’s like suuuuper sweet! Confessing to your friend takes a lot of courage, thank you for being so brave. I’m sure your friend will appreciate it. “And I will start now. I am not that good at expressing feelings properly, so I hope I can write them down. I’m not even sure when it all started. It took me over a decade to realize my feelings, but I’m sure that I’ve been in love for a long time. This person that I write this letter for and I have been friends since highschool. Life wasn’t easy on us, but even when our childhood dreams turned into nightmares, we’ve had each other. I don’t think I would have made it to this point of life without their help and support. My friend is a very busy person and so am I, but they always make sure that I eat properly and sleep in my own bed instead of the couch. With all their work and other friends, I never feel left out or forgotten. A lot of people think that I just tolerate them, because they are so extra, sometimes, but I genuinely enjoy their company. When we are alone, we can talk or sit in silence for hours and in any way, I love spending time together. Even if I will get rejected, it’s not a problem, because I would be 100% satisfied with being just friends. I spent a decade with them by my side and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. So, here goes my actual confession. I am in love with you. I love the way you care so much about everything. Your job, your passions, your friends, your style and your music. You know, I don’t care about music that much, but since you gave me that cassette to listen, I have a favorite song. It’s “Let’s go to bed” by The Cure, by the way. And, I know, I know, “that’s so emo!” That’s what you would say. Even though they are goth. Also, I didn’t have a cassette player, so when you didn’t stop giving me your cassettes I asked my mom to buy me one. I didn’t tell you that, but now you know. I love you. I love how hard you are working. I love that you have dreams and you reach for them. I love how you care for me. I also find you very attractive, apparently. Since I found out that I’m in love with you, I can’t help but stare. You are beautiful. But maybe I’m biased. Yes, I probably am. I liked you with your rainbow-braces, with bad skin day, with all your stupid hairstyles. I love you and I hope you love me too. It’s okay if you don’t. I will wait at home and you can come and talk about it, or you can take your time. If you want some space, just text me and I will get out for some time. And, Present Mic? My song request is “Hey Lover” by The Daughter Of Eve. Thank you.”
The song started to play and Shouta let his head hit the table once, staying there. His phone buzzed and Shouta turned his head to see a notification.
Mic
“are you asleep?”
Me
“No.”
Mic
“be home in n hour”
“can u wait up?”
“or u can go to sleep! tots fine!”
“we can tot talk when ur awk”
Me
“Stop spamming me. I will wait for you if you want to talk.”
Mic
“OK! sorry. goin back on air, pls wait for me!”
His song ended and Shouta turned off the radio before he heard Mic’s voice. Oh, that was terrible. Hizashi wanted to talk. Face to face. And he was nervous. Everything is horrible.
Door opened 45 minutes later and Shouta went out to the hallway to see red-faced Hizashi, who definitely ran here and now was looking at him with wide eyes. Fun fact about Mic, is that his lungs are better than anybody’s, because of his quirk, so he was a very good runner and he could hold his breath for a long time. Which was an interesting thought, in case they were going to kiss today, Hizashi could probably kiss him until he sees stars behind his eyelids. Wouldn’t that be nice.
— welcome home.
— was it some stupid bet with Kayama-senpai?
— huh? No, it wasn’t.
— you sure?
— of course I am sure, Hizashi. I’m in love with you.
At that, Hizashi releases a shaky breath, nodding and taking off his jacket and shoes to come closer.
— yeah, okay. Your.. your letter was really nice, Shou. I love you. I am in love with you too.
Oh. That was nice. Maybe they were kissing at the end of the day.
— I can’t believe you confessed to me on Valentine's day, Shouta! This is, like, extremely romantic.
— it’s the day after.
— you are so sweet! I love you!
— I love you too.
Hizashi laughed, a bit too loudly, but that was okay, because he was smiling and he truly looked very beautiful. He took Shouta’s face in his cold hand, all smiling and his brain stopped working. Were they kissing now? Shit, did he brush his teeth today? And he didn’t shave!
— Shouta? You with me?
— yeah..um.. I didn’t brush my teeth today.
— ..okay? Why would that matter right now? It’s still early.
— weren’t you going to kiss me?
— what? I wasn’t. Wait, do you want me to kiss you?
— kinda? Do you not want to kiss me?
— I want to! Of course I do. And I don’t care if you have bad breath or whatever. I can kiss you.
— well, then go ahead.
It was stupid. The whole dialogue and the way his brain didn’t want to work. But Hizashi’s lips tasted like his orange chapstick and they were really really nice. Only when they were kissing, Shouta realized that he was smiling as wildly as Hizashi. But that was okay. Hizashi’s hair was soft and silky under his fingers and his happy giggles were hidden between their lips and their cat’s meowing.
And if that day’s makeup covered not only Hizashi’s eye bags, but also his red chin, scratched with Shouta’s stubble, that was okay too.