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Aizawa wondered how his life got to this point in time. It was mid morning and he was finally pulling himself together and getting out of bed. The black suit and tie hung on the door of his closet. It was nicely pressed and wrapped in plastic to keep it clean. The hero huffed as he dragged himself from the tempting warmth into the bathroom. With a flick of his wrist, he turned the shower on, the cold water stinging before it transitioned into a soothing burn. Methodically he lathered his hair and scrubbed himself down, taking his time to delay the moment where he knew he would need to wear that damn suit. He trimmed the scruff of a beard into a more presentable appearance and slicked his hair back, finally taking a look at himself in the slightly fogged mirror. The man that stared back at him did not reflect the hurricane of emotions that lay right beneath the surface. He could do it. The task was simple, all he had to do was stand there and pretend his heart was not breaking.The dark haired man left the bathroom, the cooler dry air of the bedroom hitting his face. The orange cream coloured cat, Custard, chirped from the centre of the bed, keeping it warm for her master. The temptation to just crawl back into the bed hit Aizawa once again. It would be much simpler to keep her company than properly deal with the heartbreak. He padded over to the bed and gave Custard a kiss. At least he had her, and she loved him regardless of how much of a disaster he was.“I wish I could stay in bed with you all day… But you know I can’t.” He murmured, scratching the back of her head.She stared back up at him with wide blue eyes and yawned. With one last kiss, Aizawa went to unwrap the suit, mindful of the orange and cream fur floating around him. Moments later and he returned from the bathroom fully dressed, a far cry from the normal clothing the exhausted hero wore. The black suit wrapped snuggly around the thick muscles Aizawa had built up over his hero career. The tie felt more akin to a tightening noose as he made his way out of the apartment. The closer he got to the wedding reception the more Aizawa felt his stomach twisting into knots. He had to be there though, after all, it was not everyday the Number One hero asks a person to be his best man for his wedding. Although, it was not everyday that someone else was also hopelessly in love with one of the grooms. Surprisingly, Aizawa was at the reception early. He looked at his watch and found he had an hour before the grooms and the photographer were timed to arrive. It gave him an hour to reflect upon how he got to this point in time.
All Might had created a storm when he debuted. No villain was safe, but the underbelly of society still crawled with individuals with grey or black morals. The spotlight that had completely engulfed the Professional Heroes barely found a way to trickle down to the depths that lay underneath society. Underground heroes fought to be heard as they witnessed a new drug enter the market. It was originally nicknamed “Euphory”. The twisted concoction created a state of euphoria, and had a numbing property, but it also poisoned the mind and body. The major side effect almost all users reported was an uncontrollable rage earning it the title of “Euphury”. Regardless of the name, it was a cheap and easy fix. Police went on the radio and television trying to warn citizens of the effect, but never managed to fully capture the public’s long-term interest.
Eventually, criminals found a better use for the drug than just peddling it to some poor addict. It was a brilliant way to create berserkers to distract heroes and police. Vagrants were often targeted to become unwilling users of the drug. They were not important; the world already treated them as expendable. The public continued to ignore what was happening, until one user had a quirk that required All Might to come and subdue him. The media was in turmoil, trying to catch up on the information that the underground heroes and police department knew. Eraserhead was one of the few skilled in subduing people who have used Euphury since their quirks could be erased even during that volatile state. His agency decided to have him work with All Might to ensure that the Number One Hero would know what they were dealing with and be able to use his public sway to force people to listen to what the police and the underground heroes were saying.
Aizawa wanted nothing to do with the buff monstrosity. Everything about the blonde hero seemed artificial at best and a bold face lie at worst. The man probably did not even care that so many people were suffering because of how effective the drug had become to prevent the heroes and police from targeting the root of the problem. What he wanted did not matter; he believed meeting with the moron would help educate the public. It would be worth the headache he already felt creeping up on him. A small part of him wanted all of his beliefs about All Might to be correct. He wanted to see the man was nothing but a shallow individual who became a hero not because he cared, but because he desired the adoration that came with being a Pro Hero. After all, All Might had never done anything for the underground community up until this point.
All of those bitter misconceptions were shattered as All Might began to prove he was much more than what he let on. He quickly understood and recognized the difficulties that arose when individuals were dealing with Euphury. The blonde was making a real and noticeable effort to increase awareness. He even created a fund that would investigate the drug to see if a counter could be created and administered before the user got out of hand. Everything he did showed how much he cared about creating a better world. The man never belittled Eraserhead or the type of work that the stealth hero had to be involved in. The fucker even admitted that there were challenges with how the current heroics system was set up and that no one man should be what the world relies upon for maintain stability.
Much to Aizawa’s disbelief, the two had managed to become friends. Mandatory meetings became something to look forward to attending. Work did not feel as suffocating as some of their plans began to bear the fruit of their labors. The programs were working! Euphury’s symptoms became easy for any hero or police to identify. The All Might funded research had actually produced a compound that looked promising to diminish the effects the drug had on a person. They no longer had to meet on a weekly basis, but they continued the tradition they developed over the last year and a half. Those dates became a chance to trade stories over a drink or two. As they continued to get to know each other, outside of the professional realm, and they grew closer together. The two came up with potential ways to ensure that the underground heroes were getting their dues, discussed the pros and cons of a society depending on heroes to fix the malicious nature man had the ability to possess. Other days they would discuss something as simple as what Aizawa’s cat was doing or the Number One Hero recounting encounters with Endeavor. All Might, Toshinori, had proved to be something else. The blonde turned out to be someone that Aizawa could easily fall in love with, but in the end he noticed that fire when it was too late. One evening they were cooing over a few videos Aizawa had of Custard trying to fit into a vase. The dark eyes drifted over to stare at the smile on the blonde’s face, and somewhere in the depths of his mind he thought it would be nice to kiss him. Unfortunately he never acted on that impulse.
The battle between All Might and All for One was a disaster, but the world believed they could rest easy. But All Might was nowhere to be found after the encounter. Hero patrols increased exponentially to fill in the vacuum that his absence created. Aizawa was working day and night, barely getting time for to go visit Toshinori or to care for himself. When they finally seemed to have time to see each other, Aizawa can barely remember what they discussed other than the warm feeling that filled his chest, being reminded that his best friend was still alive. Somehow a year slipped by without either noticing. One warm summer evening, the pair was getting their weekly drinks again. Toshinori had a cute flush on his face and it was not because of the alcohol. He was muttering something too quickly for Aizawa to understand, so he asked him to repeat it.
“I’m getting married to Naomasa… Uh, detective Tsukauchi! I…I really would love it if you could be my best man…” Toshinori stammered, worrying the fabric of his sleeve.
Aizawa’s eyes opened and he stared at the blonde. He should answer, the words caught in his throat. Toshinori’s smile faltered, worried that his best friend would deny him this request. Luckily the dark haired man stiffly nodded his head, not trusting his voice. The blonde took the lack of verbal response was due to shock at the news rather than a desire to not participate in his wedding. He hugged the shorter man closely murmuring “thank you” over and over again. It was the one time All Might decided to act selfishly. The doctors told him that his life expectancy was greatly reduced due to his stomach and lung missing and his continued insistence to remain an active hero. The doctors said he had few more years at most. Aizawa mechanically patted the taller hero’s back, trying to comfort him and identify why his heart had felt like it had been pierced.
After that, Aizawa went home and talked to Custard about the unpleasant feeling in his chest. The orange cream cat merped at him and looked at him as though she thought he was an idiot. When he finally pieced together what it meant, he could certainly agree with her that he was an idiot. He thought to the moment he had an impulse to kiss Toshinori and regret gnawed his stomach. During the few months that lead up to the wedding, he wondered what would have changed if he had confessed earlier and on some dark days he would wonder what would happen if he had confessed now or if someone called the wedding off. In those moments he felt ashamed that he would even think of depriving Toshinori happiness with the man he clearly loved. Aizawa would do anything to keep Toshinori from finding out his feelings. The last thing he could ever do would be to make him feel guilty over something so out of either of their control. He could easily bite his tongue to listen to Toshinori happily babble about cakes and flowers and colours.
Instead of reflecting on the course of events and how he got here, Eraserhead had fallen asleep. The sleep was peaceful. It was warm and managed to find a way to gently sooth his aching heart. He was desperately clinging to that dream, that feeling of relief, that was slipping through his fingers as the waking world caused the dream fade into darkness as he woke up.
“-kun…. Shouta-kun… Hey Shouta-kun…”Toshinori’s voice roused the sleeping man. A warm hand was pressed on his shoulder. The erasure hero opened his eyes, blinking away the remnants of sleep. His heart stopped. Peering down at him, in a fitted cream suit with lavender highlights was the man who held his heart. Aizawa’s eyes widened, he desperately wished it was a dream, but Detective Tsukauchi came over and held Toshinori’s hand. The impact of reality jump-started his heart. The throbbing pain he had managed to ease in his sleep returned with vengeance. It was not his dream; it was not his wedding.“Let him rest, we are only taking a few photos before the ceremony starts.”“O-oh we are?! I completely forgot.”“It’s okay, but we should really do it before all the guests arrive.”Aizawa listened as the couple murmured quietly to each other.“Sorry for waking you Shouta-kun! Go back to sleep we’ll wake you right before the reception!” Toshinori said cheerily.Aizawa blinked, nodding but not really hearing what his best friend was telling him. The couple smiled at him before turning towards where the photographer stood. They had wanted to capture these moments, and stealth hero could understand that feeling. As much as he wanted to go back to sleep, he could not. Instead he just stood back and watched the couple take a few photos for their album. He briefly wondered what their marriage would have looked like until that cruel voice in the back of his mind reminded him; he was only here to be the Number One Hero’s best man, not to fantasize.
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Aizawa watched as the couple left to take a few solo pictures. His tired eyes following their every movement, but they kept focusing on Toshinori. Everything about the man seemed to glow. It was hard to peel his eyes away from the brightness that was the man who held his heart. The dark haired hero was only able fantasize for a brief moment before Naomasa approached his husband. It was easy to tell by the expression that Toshinori wore that he was madly in love with the detective. The vibrant blue eyes never left the other man for more than a moment or two before searching for his partner. The two were complementary in a way that only an emotionally blind man would miss.The fiancés seemed to have everything in order. Not even the unruly blonde mane seemed to dare fall out of place as the pair continued to take photos. Even the more candid moments looked as though they could have been from a wedding catalogue. The thought made the underground hero wonder if the photographers were going to use any of these moments for their own promotions. It would be a shame to hide such a beautiful couple away from the world, but he doubted that either would want these photographs to become public domain. Eventually Aizawa turned to look away, the quivering of his stomach made him feel ill and he would hate if his sickened expression ruined the mood. It was also pointless to torture himself, even if it would provide ample amount of ideas for idle fantasies of being married to the Number One Hero. All he could do to occupy his mind was to resumed to check his watch impatiently, hoping the guests would arrive soon.As if on cue, Makoto Tsukauchi arrived with her parents along with Gran Torino. She looked elegant in a long black gown and her hair pulled back into a neat bun. The college student approached her brother and her brother in-law. Aizawa checked his watch again, there was still more than an hour before guests were scheduled to arrive. It meant watching the family take obligatory photos and be eventually forced to join the newlyweds in picture taking. At least the Tsukauchi family took their time to catch up about the excitement they were experiencing and talk to the man that Toshinori considered family. The seconds ticked by slowly before Toshinori came bounding towards his general direction. The closer the blonde got the more evident the blush on his face became. The soft pink hue that brought colour to his face and made the man seem even softer.“Shouta-kun! Since both of our best man and woman are here, we should all get a photo together…. I know that might be a bit too much to ask since I know how much you dislike cameras, but one or two pictures couldn’t hurt… Maybe a few more but not much more. Please?” The blonde used his best puppy dog eyes.Aizawa gulped, he already had a hard time saying no to that man and it became impossible while he wore that expression. He just nodded and followed behind the tall blonde as he eagerly lead him back to his fiancé. He remained a few steps behind, feeling awkward about having his photo taken with the two grooms. The hero could only hope that his eyes were actually on the camera and not drifting to stare longingly at the blonde. They would not know if he succeeded until the photos were developed. The first group of pictures were taken, and Aizawa had gotten a few pictures taken where it was just Toshinori and himself. The younger man debated the merit of asking for one of those photos, but he knew it would just extend the misery that was this crush. The next fifteen minutes went by in a strange blur of flashing lights. Finally he was excused since the family were finishing up the final pictures together. It was for the best since he doubted the Tsukauchi family would want this awkward mess of a man to ruin anymore of their perfect family pictures. The remaining 45 minutes dragged on as he waited by himself for other guests to arrive and for the two grooms to split to get ready for the small ceremony they had planned.Hizashi broke the tension that Aizawa was suffering from by screeching his congratulations to the Number One Hero from across the room. His early, loud entrance earned him a glare from his best friend and Kayama, who was not far behind the loudest blonde. The rated R hero wrapped her arm the DJ’s waist and gave a more appropriate volumed congratulations to the couple. Aizawa’s two best friends got to know All Might, and eventually Yagi Toshinori, personally after the underground hero started to work with the Number One Pro Hero. They both were ecstatic that Toshinori was finally taking steps to enjoy his own life and were more than happy to support his engagement to Naomasa. Actually, between Hizashi’s and Kayama’s help, Toshinori had one of the best stylist teams and planners for his wedding. The two pointed him towards a fitted tuxedo, which Aizawa silently was thank for and cursed its existence. They had really gone above and beyond, Plus Ultra Style, to make sure All Might, their friend, had the best wedding he deserved.It was about twenty minutes before the ceremony began when other guests began to arrive. He recognized a few of the heroes and police, Recovery Girl, Sir Nighteye, Sansa Tamakawa and the principal of UA, to name a few, but there was still a number of people he recognized but had not had the chance to work with. The wedding was a small private affair of close friends and family, and there was only a total of fifty people invited. Considering who was getting married, Aizawa hoped that he would not be noticed too much once the ceremony was completed. The underground hero wanted nothing more than to be able to slink into the background, enjoy a good drink and pretend he was not drowning. It was not be that much to ask for since there were so many other interesting people here. However, the young man could feel Makoto’s curious eyes follow him around the room. The stare sent shivers down his spine.The guests greeted each other politely before moving to take their seats along the aisle. He and Makoto took their places across from each other. Everyone looked stunning in his or her eveningwear and they were quietly chattering amongst themselves until the music began. Naomasa was waiting next to his sister for his fiancé to walk down aisle. The blonde was being given away by Gran Torino, who looked torn between threatening Naomasa about hurting Toshinori and tearing up that Nana’s protegé was getting married. Aizawa began to register that the ceremony had begun when the couple finished their embrace to stare at the officiant. Principal Nedzu was officiating the wedding and asked the couple if they had anything to share before they began. The blonde nodded and pulls out a folded piece of paper. Aizawa’s proximity allowed him to see how much of Toshinori’s tried to fit onto the page, even though his chicken scratch was large.“Naomasa, you are the most wonderful person I could have ever had the fortune of falling in love with… I am stunned that you would want to be with me given the circumstances of our introduction. You were someone who looked passed the symbol and found a lonely man. I don’t think I could be where I am today without your support. I can’t thank you enough for all the happiness you’ve brought to me and I hope I can bring you a fraction of what you have given me during our time together. I love you and I can’t wait to start this journey with you.” Toshinori read, hands trembling slightly with emotion and tears rolling down those sharp cheekbones.Naomasa kisses Toshinori’s hand before taking out his own paper and begins to speak. Aizawa misses what the detective has to say. All he can do is watch those fat tears of joy roll off the pointed chin and onto the floor. He was so oblivious to the world around him, that he had almost failed to realize he began to lift his hand to wipe the tears away. Instead of reaching out and comforting the blonde, he moved to tuck a long black strand of his hair behind his ear. Perhaps his actions did not look too suspicious since no one else noticed, but now Makoto and Sir Nighteye were intently watching him instead of the two who were getting married. The underground hero felt the eyes burn his sides, probing for weakness. The only option was to try to focus on the wedding, but his heart thumping loudly in his ears, deafening out whatever the principal was saying. After his own vows, Naomasa had wiped the few stray tears out of Toshinori’s eyes and all of a sudden they were suddenly they were now officially a married couple. They kissed softly before walking down the aisle hand in hand towards the reception. Aizawa’s eyes stung before he realized he needed to blink, somehow he had missed the rest of the ceremony. All that was left was following the couple down the aisle along with Makoto, her parents and Gran Torino.As they made their way to the reception, it was easy to here the buzz of excitement that was pulsing through the crowd. Everyone wanted to talk to the two grooms about the wedding, a plan for a honeymoon or some other topic that was common for these events. He even overheard his friends wondering what his speech would be about the couple. That speech was something he had dreaded writing. He had procrastinated until he finally could muster the energy to actually create something acceptable. The toast was a compilation of various things he thought would be included, but the words he wrote felt hollow to his own ears. Would the other guests notice?The party made their way into a beautiful ballroom. There were giant windows that looked out upon the skyline of the city. Near the front of the ballroom the three-tiered cake stood proudly. Each layer had a different flavour of cake: chocolate, vanilla and red velvet with a buttercream icing. It looked extremely delicate even though it was packed with sugar and fats. Both the grooms and best man knew it was a food item that Toshinori should not eat, but he insisted saying it would be for the guests. Although Aizawa knew it was also because he wanted at least a small taste of the rich food. The blonde’s own meal was bland in comparison, and it was a special occasion so a bite or two would be alright. Toshinori deserved to splurge a bit for his special day, especially since marriage was something he never thought he would live long enough for. In fact blonde deserved whatever happiness he desired. Dry eyes scanned the rest of the venue, and thankfully the open bar was finally serving the guests. Now Aizawa could start to drink the heartache away.A young woman with a Luna Moth quirk was mixing drinks along with a man with four arms. The four armed man was doing all sorts of tricks with the liquor and using all four arms to his advantage to make multiple requests at once. Any one he was unable to attend to was seamlessly handled by the other bartender. The underground hero watched the two mix drinks before the woman gave him a dazzling smile, acknowledging his presence.“What would you like sir?”“A gin and tonic please…”Her wings were tucked back fluttered as she moved about to get the gin from behind her. During this, Aizawa noted that the soft yellow antenna matched the pale yellow chrysanthemums that were on the bar. She quickly prepared the drink and set it in front of the hero. The hero stopped himself from desperately snatching the alcohol, his fingers twitching slightly with restraint. The last thing he needed was someone to recognize how barely he was able to hold himself together right now. “Thanks.” He muttered, taking a long sip and savouring the warmth that spread through his belly.Some music was playing softly, and many of the guests were mingling. Most knew each other from work, so they were taking the advantage of seeing each other in a more casual setting. Toshinori, was smiling and standing by his husband as they went around socializing with guests. Unfortunately his quiet observations were cut short by his other blonde best friend. He wrapped an arm around Aizawa’s shoulders, a shit eating grin on his face. Whatever Hizashi was going to say was preemptively giving the exhausted man a headache.“WHATS UP?! Can’t already be getting cold feet about giving the toast?” Hizashi squacked. “Why are you-” Aizawa began before realizing his best friend was not just being an asshole. “A little. Never liked talking to an audience.”“Well go easy on the drink, liquid courage does wonders but only when you can remember what you needed to get done.” The voice hero flashed him a “reassuring” smirk and a thumbs up. “If you do chicken out I can read your speech and mimic your voice.”
“...” The thought of Hizashi actually reading his speech was enough to temper the desire to chug his drink. He would not ruin Toshinori by being too drunk to properly give the toast, even if Hizashi was probably the better speaker. As best man, he had an obligation to make sure he did his role perfectly for Toshinori. The loud hero continued to ramble on a bit before he caught Kayama requesting a variety of mixed drinks. As much as the underground hero needed a babysitter for these types of events, someone had to keep an eye on their other friend now that she had her hands on some alcohol. Once he turned away from the shenanigans of his best friends, he made eye contact with Makoto. She flashed him a smile and he knew at some point she was going to confront him about whatever was giving her that determined glint.Thankfully the reception was drawing to an end and the couple took their spot on the dancefloor. It was the first dance of the evening before dinner would be served. The song Moondance begun to play from the speakers as the two danced together. Their dance concluded and the dance floor opened for everyone to join them. The music’s tempo changed to something much faster. Aizawa was close to the edge of the human mass when Makoto cornered him. She used the lack of personal space as a reason to touch him and the loud music to cover the conversation topic. He had to give her credit for her approach, it was a brilliant move. “You’ve been staring all night Aizawa-kun, perhaps something is troubling you?” She asked sweetly.“I’m fine.” He lied.
“Really?” Her voice grew sharp. “Since you’re lying.”Aizawa felt the urge to bristle and activate his own quirk. He did not want to be interrogated by Toshinori’s sister-in-law here of all places.“Plus you’ve been staring quite a bit at my brother-in-law. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“Hmmm?” It was not a real answer or comment, but it would neither be a lie.“Oh… You have feelings for him don’t you?”“...No.”Makoto frowned as Aizawa began to move further away from her, leaving her alone on the dance floor surrounded by other guests. She knew he was lying. Curiosity stated, she felt a pang of sadness for a man who felt something towards Toshinori being asked to be his best man and watch him marry another. The amount of emotional pain he would be experiencing right now must be hard to bare. The dark haired man made his way back to the bar and the bartender’s antennae twitched in recognition as he approached the bar. She easily made him a second drink and this time he had no reservations of finishing it in front of her. The bartender tilted her head curiously as he asked for another one before complying. Aizawa felt better with the alcohol in his stomach, helping him forget the uncomfortable conversation he just had. All he needed to do was get through the toast, dinner and perhaps an hour more after the dancing began again.The alcohol sloshed in his stomach as he took the third drink back to his seat, which was next to Toshinori. The couple was still dancing, but dinner was announced and everyone made it back to their seats. Hizashi and Nemuri were sitting to his left and Makoto across from him. Tsukauchi’s mother and father were the first ones to speak. They wished the couple happiness and talked about how amazed that they now were able to call someone as kind as Toshinori their son. A salad was brought out for everyone during the toast, and the room had a pleasant buzz of conversation. Toshinori was talking with Hizashi and Naomasa, Kayama and Makota were engaged in a conversation about clothing. They all seemed to be having a good time, when Aizawa was able to pry his eyes off the salad long enough to see everyones content expressions.Next, Makoto stood up to give her own special congratulations to the couple. The young woman was confident, and funny. He wondered if his own speech would be long enough since the others had seemed to drone on, but Toshinori knew him. The blonde would be alright that it was not as elaborate as everyone else’s. He understood that he never truly had the words to express himself, and what he did manage would be true. Once the best woman was done, she motioned for Aizawa to take the stage to speak. Hizashi and Kayama applauded loudly in support of their friend.He cleared his throat. “When Toshinori asked me to be his best man, I was speechless... To this day I remain speechless. He managed to find a partner that allowed him to have this Western styled wedding, which let’s face it, neither of us knew how to plan. Prior to this I only knew Detective Tsukauchi on a professional level, but seeing just how well you two worked together on duty and off, and tolerated Hizashi and Kayama’s wedding input, I understood how Toshinori fell in love with him. I know you both are going to put everything you have into this marriage.” Toshinori stood up from where he was sitting and dragged the shorter man into a hug. Whatever composure that Aizawa had managed to maintain disappeared as he melted into the familiar body. He let himself be selfish for a moment and buried his face into the other’s neck. He was grateful the toast was now over and he could eat dinner and pretend to be bothered that Toshinori was blubbering into his scalp. Once Toshinori let him go, Aizawa gave him a soft rare smile and led the blonde back to the seat. He watched as the tall blonde bend over to kiss his husband before sitting down. During that time, the tired hero realized he needed another drink.