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Many people look at All Might and Eraserhead like they’re the sun and the moon.
Polar opposites, in every sense of the word. The sun is out during the day, the moon at night. The sun is warm, the moon cold. The sun is a bright, burning star, while the moon is just a grey chunk of floating rock.
Many people look at the sun and moon, and find it’s easy to forget that the moon reflects the sun’s light, and that without the sun, the moon would have no water to create tides with. Those people don’t get to see just how they dance. The push and pull, endlessly waltzing in empty space, never touching, but an intrinsic duo that, without which, the Earth would simply cease to be.
The Sun and the Moon are larger than life, celestial bodies, and they are in love.
People will look at All Might and see how his every step bursts with energy.
When he moves, it’s light and airy. He won’t drag his feet as he enters a battle; his voice booms with confidence as he commands villains to stop.
People will look at Eraserhead and see how he slouches.
When he moves, it’s a non-urgent shuffle. He might drag his feet on his way to arrest whatever crook he’s after this time; his voice a slow drawl that sends people to sleep.
All Might thrives in the spotlight.
His paperwork is done the second he has it in his hands, and he works long shifts with little time to rest, always willing to soothe civilians or lend a hand to whatever law enforcement is working that day. His duty to the people never ends, and even when he’s asleep, he dreams of saving lives.
So then, it’s never a surprise if he’s the first to show up on the scene.
Eraserhead hides from his responsibilities.
His paperwork piles high as he avoids even looking at it, and he carries around a sleeping bag when he’s off duty, always willing to nap rather than communicate with civilians or law enforcement. His duty ends when he clocks out, and doesn’t cross his mind until he’s back on shift.
Even then, he always seems to show up just barely on time.
People whisper in awe about All Might’s mental health.
About how he’s so strong to take on criminals, how he must have such confidence in his abilities to not even blink about how it might get him killed. About how he always stays alive, even if it looks like he won’t.
There are whispers about Eraserhead’s mental health.
About how he’s stupid to work alone at night, how handling villains without backup will get him killed. About how he doesn’t seem to care if it does.
Everybody expects All Might to show up to events.
Especially big ones like the Hero Gala, people can’t miss his face in a crowd. When people start to worry he won’t show up, he appears with an apologetic flourish that makes people glad he has a Hero license. That All Might is a true Hero, All Might will always care.
Nobody expects Eraserhead to show up to events.
Even big ones like the Hero Gala, people don’t watch to see his face in the crowd. When people find out that he spent the evening in bed instead of socialising, they say he’s a waste of a Hero license. That a true Hero would make themself known with a sign that they care.
All Might fights with his heart.
It’s all emotion to him. If you commit a crime, he’ll treat you with respect. If you try to trip him up, he’ll laugh without a care in the world and ask you to stand down. If you throw a knife, he’ll pluck it out of the air and drop it by his side.
Eraserhead fights with his brain.
It’s all cold logic to him. If you commit a crime, then he’ll arrest you without question. If you try to trip him up, he’ll get you first. If you throw a knife, he’ll throw it right back at you.
Many people will look at All Might and Eraserhead like they’re opposite sides of the same coin.
The best of the best, the worst of the worst.
Those people will miss how All Might is Yagi. Eraserhead is Aizawa.
Just men, underneath it all, dealing with grief that clings to their bones in the only ways that they know how.
That Yagi will slouch when no one is watching, while Aizawa will stand alert as he watches over his class. That Yagi takes on more than he can handle, just to avoid having to stop and feel, while Aizawa doesn’t because it’s more important to save a life than fill out a form. That Yagi crumbles under the weight of the world, while Aizawa holds strong in hopes of making a better tomorrow. That Yagi shows up to events to be distracted from his own thoughts, even as he runs late from overthinking. That Aizawa doesn’t see the point in the niceties, not while someone has to be running security.
Yagi fights with his heart, he sees the best in everyone when he can’t see it in himself. He fights with his brain, when he can see that maybe it’s only him seeing it.
Aizawa fights with his brain, it’s safer to restrain someone from hurting him before he can listen to their justification. He fights with his heart, when he turns a blind eye to someone just trying to get by as they run away.
Yagi and Aizawa are both separate coins, spinning so in sync they blur into one.
They are the sun and the moon, in a constant orbit.
And when no one else is there to see, Yagi is Aizawa’s, and Aizawa is Yagi’s.
They keep each other afloat with memos on the fridge about medications and lesson plans. They keep reminders in their calendars for when they visit the graveyard together.
Toshinori will listen as his moon spits out the gravel that it should’ve been him, angry with the world and how it takes too many good people far too soon. Shouta will listen as his sun clenches his fingers too tightly, whispers about the people he’s fighting for, almost quieter than the blades of grass moving against one another.
Nana gets a bouquet of mixed wildflowers against her headstone, bright and vibrant against the polished stone. Oboro gets a handful each of daisies and daffodils against his, strategically placed to cover the mossy death date that Shouta can’t bear to look at.
No one else will be there to see them go home hand in hand, cuddle close on a ratty sofa with a puddle of cats between them. The delivery driver will drop their food off outside the door of their apartment, and it’ll be nearly cold by the time they get to it.
They’ll be too busy getting lost in a documentary about space.