Work Text:
“Will you be my valentine?”
“..Did you lose a dare?”
Shouta stared down- or more accurately stared up- as he was slightly shorter than the other- Yamada. His loud classmate who hadn’t left him alone since the day he kicked his ass during the sports festival which he then proceeded to win- and transferred into his class from the gen. ed. course.
The blonde in question was holding a bouquet of wildflowers that had clearly been gathered by hand by himself from how the ends of each stem were a little crushed and uneven. The bouquet consisted of daisies, violets, narcissuses, Japanese primrose, and 4 he didn’t recognize; a bright yellow flower with 6 petals and a fan of thinner leaves in a similar, flatter arrangement under the blossom like a frilly collar, a pink- almost heart-shaped flower with its 5 petals tending upwards where white seeped into the tips, a magenta plant with 5 petal-like sepals surrounding its ring of cup-like nectaries, and a beautiful vibrantly purple blossom, its 6 petals turning upwards slightly.
The bouquet had been clumsily tied together with a ribbon, which had begun to slip. In Yamada’s other hand he held a- as Shouta speculated- home-made cupcake, a chocolate heart sitting on the pink frosting messily piped on top of its chocolate base, wrapped in a tacky hot-pink paper wrapper with red and white hearts printed all over it.
It wasn’t much, but something in Shouta appreciated the fact that Yamada hadn’t 1) tried to earn his attention with expensive items and 2) decided to, hopefully, put a little more time and effort into the gifts than simply running to the nearest store and grabbing a heart-shaped box of chocolates from the clearance, and the same ¥5,000 dozen of roses he’d seen around the school 6 times today already.
“Ehh?! C’mon, Eraser, do I look like I’d ask someone out on a dare?” Yamada’s voice seemed to lack its usual obnoxious volume and carefree enthusiasm, a flush creeping up to the tips of his ears as he grinned.. nervously? His shades were crooked, elliptical pupils blown out a little more than usual as he shifted the gifts to one hand to rub the back of his neck. “I know this is kind of sudden, but it’s valentines day, sho! And so I thought- why not just go for it, yaknow? I mean, you’re cool, I’m cool- well, you’re more ‘stoic, standoffish, mysterious cool’ and I’m more ‘popular, awesome, rockstar cool’— but we still fit, right?” Yamada seemed to brace himself for rejection the way his grin drooped a little at the corners.
“You ramble when you’re nervous. You’re nervous,” Shouta said bluntly.
Yamada sputtered, “Whaat? Me? Nervous? Pssh. Nah!” He waved a hand dismissively, but his laugh was forced, too sudden and too loud. He rubbed his thumb absentmindedly against the wrapper of the cupcake, other hand fiddling with the ribbon of the bouquet before he held it out to Shouta, wiggling it slightly as if that would convince him to accept. “So, what’s the answer, Eraser? Don’t leave me hanging!”
Shouta paused, the silence stretching between them. Yamada’s façade cracked, then broke when his smile dropped to a sadder, slight one. He opened his mouth to begin to speak, “Hey, it’s okay if you don’t like me back, friends is totally fine-”
“..Fine.” Shouta mumbled quickly before Yamada could ramble even more, taking the bouquet of common wildflowers, holding them up to his face to try and cover his blush, but the smell of them reminded him of the stupid cologne Yamada always wore and it made the pink tint worse. So he grabbed the cupcake as well and stuffed his face with it so he wouldn’t have to say anything else.
Yamada blinked blankly. The quiet before the storm, before-
“Whaaaaaa?! Wait, for real?!” Yamada screamed so loud Shouta had to cover his ears, birds flew out of a tree nearby, squawking, students turned to look at him from across the campus, and a window two floors up shattered.
“Yes, now be quiet before-”
“Wait. Sho.. are you blushing?” Yamada’s grin was back, this time in full, genuine force, shades slipping down his nosebridge as he leaned forward slightly, revealing the glint in his evil eyes. Yup. Mischievous, fucked-up, pure evil eyes. Definitely not a mesmerizing emerald, with his orbiting pupils that made Shouta question if he was sinking or swimming when he looked into them too hard. “Aw, dude, you like me back! This isn’t a pity valentine after all, huh?”
Before Yamada could open his mouth and spout more bullshit for the entirety of yuuei to hear, Shouta shot his capture weapon forward, the cloth wrapping around his head 3 times, binding around Yamada’s mouth to stop him from speaking until he finished his cupcake and got his bearings. Which could take a minute. Or two. Or ten, if Yamada kept staring at him like that.
Yamada’s arms flailed and he quickly tried prying away his restraints as his shoulders began to shake. At first, it looked like he was struggling, before it became clear he was cackling behind the cloth.
“If you don’t stop laughing and bug me in the future about me liking you, I’m going to take back my ‘yes’.”
Yamada froze. He tried speaking, but it came out in muffled cries, so he settled for frantically waving his hands. Sure, the teasing was funny, but it was not worth losing his hard-earned victory over. He quickly pressed his palms together in a pleading gesture, giving Shouta his best pathetic puppy dog eyes.
Shouta chewed the last of the cupcake before swallowing, loosening the cloth, and pulling it away for it to settle back around his neck.
“Okay, okay! Got it, boss,” Yamada mock saluted, still smiling, but less smug and more.. soft. Shouta did not like how his heart reacted to the expression. “no more bugging, no more laughing, you’re my awesome, super stoic valentine. Off to our date!”
“Where is our date, exactly?” Shouta hummed, throwing the wrapper of his cupcake into the nearest compost bin. Wow, handsome, cool and composted? Yamada was sold. This was his husband.
“A cat café of course!” Yamada chirped confidently, puffing his chest out proudly.
Shouta blinked. “Marry me.”
Yamada spluttered, face and ears blooming as pink as Sakura blossoms. “W-What?! I mean- yeah, of course. I’ll totally marry you!” His cheeks hurt from smiling, and he pulled Shouta into a loose, warm hug. “Man.. I really like you, y’know that?” Yamada tilted his head to the side, his smile smaller, but more genuine, again, with that soft look in his green eyes- glinting in the sun from behind his ridiculous sunglasses.
“..I like you too,” Shouta muttered.
Yamada, despite landing a date with the other, on his way to said date, choked nonetheless, managing a weak, “Right, yeah, of course. You’re my valentine after all.” Shouta noticed the wobble in his smile, and the tremble in his voice. Cute.
“Thanks for today, Yamada-”
“Hizashi.”
“What?”
“Call- I mean- call me Hizashi. Since.. you know. We went on a date, and all.”
“Oh, right. You can call me Shouta, then.” Shouta cleared his throat. “Thanks for today, Hizashi,” he repeated, pulling Hizashi in for a hug. Aizawa Shouta initiated the hug. Holy shit. Before Hizashi could break the sound barrier, Shouta pulled away and then their lips were pressed together.
Hizashi stilled in shock before kissing back. Shouta’s lips were dry and a little chapped, but it was to be expected during this season. Being the inexperienced highschoolers they were, it was a little clumsy, but it was warm, and perfect in Hizashi’s opinion. As they shifted slightly, Shouta’s hands ended up on his sides and he shivered, moving as well- their noses bumping together as Hizashi pulled away with a sheepish laugh. His shades were askew, a truly lovesick expression on his face.
He buried his face in his hands, peeking through the gaps of his fingers, grinning like an idiot. Not that he’d stopped grinning even once during the whole date. “..You really do like me.” His voice was soft, slightly hoarse and breathy, almost disbelieving. Still, it was filled with so much warmth Shouta felt like he’d just skipped to June.
“I do.” Shouta felt odd, something bubbling in his throat up to the tip of his tongue. He held it back. It felt dangerous somehow. Too early. He swallowed it back down.
Hizashi melted all over again. “Can.. does this mean- you- can I call you my boyfriend now?”
Sunlight filtered through the foliage, forming komorebi on the two. Gold on gold, gold on silver. Gold on gold with silver. Gold with silver, melting melding together into one metal, one thing, into one. Hizashi’s verdant, swirling, looping eyes peered into Shouta’s dusky ones.
Shouta tangled his fingers with Hizashi’s. “Yeah. You can.”