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A familiar, honest laugh echoed down the long hallway leading to his husband's classroom. When was the last time he heard that? Months… Longer? Sad really...Shota slowed his steps. Someone else was in there. Laughing with Hizashi. Whoever it was sounded like a wheezing, cackling witch, laughing so hard she couldn't catch her breath. It only took him a second to place her. She was new after all.Sugita Chiharu. Homeroom teacher of class 1-C. She was younger than them by a couple years. He could remember her from their graduating year at UA. She'd started the hero track during their last year and quickly gained a rep. Dangerous quirk. Creepy quirk. She'd been 1-B back then, if he remembered correctly. Her costume was somewhat typical if not a little dark. Mostly black with grey accents, sleeveless, snug but reinforced bodysuit with grey, soft-soled boots, and she could be caught with or without a knee-length, dark green hooded cape while teaching or roaming around UA. Short, light green hair, and matching eyes.Sugita was a fairly unfamiliar co-worker. Hizashi hadn't mentioned anything much... Shota's steps turned silent before he slowed to a stop not far from the open door, not that they could hear him over whatever they were busting over. It calmed down after a few more minutes and the sound of a video probably playing on one of their phones ended."Heh… Yamada, you got any plans for the weekend?" Shota could hear the smile in her voice, before Hizashi could answer she continued, "I thought you might wanna check out a movie… Or something?"Shota eyes widened. Wait… Oh…"Oh, I…" Yamada Hizashi, pro hero Present Mic, the voice hero, radio DJ, pro public speaker, and loudest man alive turned into a awkward pile of mush by simply being asked out on a date. Shota smirked. Aside from over-eager fans of him either as a hero or a DJ, Shota was certain this had never happened before. "I'm… Uuuhhhh—"It's totally okay if you can't, or you don't want to!" Sugita backpedaled with the lightening speed of quickly faltering confidence."It's not that!" Hizashi near shouted before quickly lowering his voice. "It's just that I… I'm—"No! No, it's totally okay, Yamada. I swear! Nobody knows how fuckin' weird I am better than me," she was clearly trying to joke but it fell flat."Sugita, it's not that and you're not weird!" Hizashi declared and Shota smirked. She laughed."Look at me, man! I'm totally weird. Comes with having such a messed-up quirk, ya know?" Her tone was light, like she'd accepted that about herself."Its not that, Sugita…" Hizashi calmed himself down, and then... "I'm married."Shota was a little surprised. Not that their relationship was some kind of dirty secret, but it was a secret. For safety, plus he really didn't like people prying into his business. At all. Some people couldn't keep their mouths shut, his husband included, but the loud blond did his best to cater to Shota's wishes."Shit, Yamada... I'm sorry," Sugita replied with a sigh. "I'm kind of a dumbass. Can't believe I even got a job here, sometimes.""Jeez, Sugita! Don't be so hard on yourself," Hizashi sounded like her self-depreciating attitude was starting to really bother him."Yeah, well you didn't turn into a creepy little vampire-elf freak when you were a toddler, did ya?" She snarked with a dark laugh, "you got to be a tall, sexy blond with an awesome quirk." Hizashi choked on a laugh, probably embarrassed by Sugita's bluntness. "So… Who is it?" She practically purred the words laced with a hint of excitement. "Wait, do you two keep it a secret?""Um… Yeah, we do," Hizashi admitted, sounding foolishly relieved. As if he actually thought the nosy little thing was going to stop there."Cause you're both pro heroes?" Sugita asked in a quick, sly tone knowing full well she'd totally thrown Hizashi off already."Yea-yeah—"One of our co-workers?""I—"Nobody wears a ring that I've seen. I know, cause ya know, I'm sneaky like that. And single," her tone was teasing now. Then she drew in a sharp breath, "no way…" She laughed, the sound higher pitched than before. "Aizawa?!" She almost shouted before nearly hissing, "it's Aizawa, isn't it!?""Sugita…" Hizashi sounded totally dumbfounded. "How the hell do you know that?""Uuuhhh, I'm a pro? Infiltration is like, my thing. I was primarily trained in reconnaissance and stealth ops at the Commission," Sugita just dropped that bomb like it was nothing. Shota reeled. "What I'm saying is, its hard to turn that shit off and well, I see things. A lotta things, even if I don't notice I'm noticing them." She snickered, "so you two aren't obvious at all, don't worry about it, but I'm different… And holy shit! You and Ai-za-wa… That's so… Soo…""So what?" Hizashi asked quietly, his tone subdued. Was his foolish husband worried about her reaction?"So fucking nosebleed!" Sugita gave another high, nervous laugh and Hizashi barked out a surprised laugh at that before chuckling. "Okay… Okay, I get it… Aizawa is totally hot but… But he's so mean… And fucking terrifying! I've only seen him pissed off like one time and I thought I was gonna piss my pants, and he wasn't even mad at me or anything! I was just in the room, Yamada!" Hizashi was still chuckling meanwhile Sugita legitimately sounded scared. "Oo-oh fuck! Oh fuck! Yamada, don't tell him I asked you out, okay!?" Hizashi was cracking up so bad Shota couldn't help but smile a little bit. "He'll find out where I live and kill me in my sleep… Wait… Is it all just for show? Is he really like some super soft cuddle bunny at home or something?" She sounded desperately hopeful."Okay, okay," Hizashi seemed to realize she was actually worried as he calmed down. "Sho's not gonna kill you—"You call him Sho?! Oh fuck, that's cute! Don't tell me anymore, man! I swear I'll get a fuckin' nosebleed! Also, friends don't let their husband kill their friends, right? We're clear on that part?""Fri-ends?" Hizashi's laughed out the word."Well yeah, I mean, if that's okay?""Course it's okay!""Awesome! Let's hang out sometime. Do you have a patrol area? We could totally patrol together or train sometime. I mean, as long as Aizawa's okay with it," she was practically rambling. "And you can tell him whatever you want about me. Sorry for totally freaking out, Yamada.""Its okay… Just, he's my best friend. Always has been. I guess I just don't see it," Hizashi said, his voice a little subdued for once."Oh fuck my heart! You're gonna kill me with this, I swear… You married your best friend?!""Heh yeah, I guess I did...""You're so lucky, Yamada," Sugita said, sounding suddenly serious."I am," Hizashi agreed as if there was no doubt at all. "I haven't patrolled in years, but you know… I miss it sometimes. I'll think about it.""Mm, in that case we'd need to start with training, ya know? And work on partnership tactics. Oh, I already have lots of ideas for our quirks.""Just like that?" Hizashi sounded incredulous."Yup! Also, your secret's safe with me. If there's one thing that shithole taught me, it's how to keep a secret," she joked but those words… How exactly did they teach her to keep a secret at the Commission?"You really worked for the Commission, Sugita?" Hizashi asked."If you can call it that… But I'm not the kinda person they can control, ya know?" Her tone was light."Sugita—"Yamada, see ya," she said in English and there was a small sound like air rushing and the softest pop. He knew without even looking in the room that Sugita was gone.
Name: Sugita Chiharu
Hero Name: Teleporting Hero: Link
Quirk: Blood Link
Link can teleport herself to anywhere within her range of sight. She had teleport to anywhere she's marked with her charged blood. She can teleport anyone whose blood or DNA she ingests to anywhere in sight and to any of her charge points.
Hizashi was meeting up with Sugita for the third weekend in a row. Things were a little bit different. Somehow. Hizashi up at 5:30am? Multiple times a week? It was unheard of. Till now. Till Sugita.Sugita hanging off Hizashi's shoulder. Sugita sitting on Hizashi's desk and chatting away. Sugita dragging Hizashi off for lunch. Sugita… Sugita. Sugita… Was making Hizashi happy. They texted. They sent each other funny videos and memes pretty much everyday.It was nice. If Hizashi was happy, so was Shota. That was it. He'd known that was where his happiness was to be found for years now. Shota wasn't a jealous person but what he didn't like was the growing absence of Hizashi. Drinking his coffee alone in the morning. Without his partner milling around, making breakfast and saying whatever was on his mind. Would it kill him to admit that he missed that… Missed the time spent… Probably.Which meant…"Sho… What are you doing?" Hizashi asked when Shota appeared in the kitchen wearing black track pants and a black tank top, already sucking back a jelly protein pack. Hizashi was wearing an old red and black band t-shirt, and grey track pants with his long hair tied in a ponytail. Shota copied the look, holding the hair elastic in his teeth as he gathered up his hair."Coming along with you and Sugita for your morning run," Shota announced before downing some water."Oh!" Hizashi smiled, but it faltered quickly."Is that okay?" Shota asked, raising a dark brow at the question and thinking about it. He came up with nothing. He didn't know. Hm."Course! It's about Sugita's quirk," Hizashi began, and Shota was quick to fill in the blanks. "She's planning to teleport us to the woods… Do you think that'll be okay?""Oh, I see," Blood Link… Would she need his blood? Did she already have Hizashi's? The woods? Yamada Hizashi was willingly going into the woods?"If you're not comfortable with that I'm sure she won't mind just jogging around the neighbourhood," Hizashi was quick to add, watching Shota's reaction before he filled a second water bottle and shoved them, some proteins bars, and two apples in a black backpack."She needs some blood?" He asked before refilling his glass."Oh no, not blood," Hizashi started to explain but his phone beeped. "She's here." Hizashi grinned before leading him out. Not blood? What the hell did she need then?Sugita was there, waiting past their secluded yard and on the sidewalk. She was facing away, watching the sunrise over the far horizon of streets and houses, wearing a blue tank top tucked into black jogging pants and black sneakers. Without her hero costume, she looked smaller but taller. Her wavy hair was the same light but luminous green as her eyes and cut very short, just long enough to look stylishly messy. Square shoulders, lean and visibly muscular arms, the dip of her waist was almost ridiculous and her clothes weren't even tight… The woman was fit to say the least. Fit with curves she'd never be able to hide that were only enhanced by lean muscle. He was careful not to focus on the scars littering her bare arms.Then she turned around and froze like a deer in the headlights, eyes locked on Shota with a look of pure shock. Sugita's gaze flashed to Hizashi as they came to a stop in front of her. Then back to Shota. "Morning, Sh-Aizawa!" she said with a smile big enough to show her extra pointy little canines. Those, plus the pointed tips of her ears were the reason she called herself vampire-elf freak… Part of the reason. "Morning Yamada!""Hey Sugita," Hizashi replied with a big smile of his own, and Shota tipped a nod. "Sho wanted to come along, I hope that's okay.""Totally! We can just run around here if you want?" She asked, and she hid it well but Shota caught hints of nervousness."No, it's fine. You can use your quirk on me. Whatever you two normally do," Shota replied, unbothered. "Do you need my blood?""Oh, um... No, I don't need your blood." His eyes narrowed a little at the shudder she didn't quite manage to suppress and the hesitant smile, "but thanks for… For being so… So, uh… Open minded about it." She glanced away, one hand coming up to awkwardly scratch her scalp. Shota quirked a brow, wheels turning as he quickly tried to figure this out.Hizashi suddenly slung an arm over his shoulder and kissed his cheek. It was enough to instantly snap her out of that wash of suppressed anxiety. Her eyes widened, before practically turning into hearts as she covered her mouth and coughed, cheeks turning pink. Shota couldn't help but smirk at that, hand coming up behind Hizashi's back to pat his head. Hizashi spoke before she could keel over or start drooling."Shota's safe for you, okay, Sugita?" Safe? Shota couldn't help but tense a little at that. Especially the way the heat in Sugita's face instantly paled, her eyes dropping. "Hey, I haven't told him anything but that doesn't mean he isn't someone you couldn't turn to if you ever needed to." Her eyes wandered at that, left hand clenched into a fist. "It's the same for you, right?" And just like that her gaze flicked back to them, looking suddenly fierce, and locking on Shota's before she nodded."Of course!" She declared and Shota let himself smile a little. Certainly didn't hurt to have a protective teleporting elf on their side, now did it? She looked away, drawing in a slow breath. "First of all, you can tell Aizawa anything you want about me, Yamada. I would never expect or want you to keep secrets from him." She looked back over with a shrug. "I got issues. I see a therapist. I'm trying." Her eyes moved to Hizashi and just that one look spoke volumes of what she didn't say. She didn't understand Hizashi. Or why he wanted to be her friend, knowing whatever he knew? She looked back to Shota, lifting her hand till she was clutching her right elbow in a subconscious, very closed-off pose.Shota was so used to that body language in teenagers that his response was automatic. He relaxed, arms loose, slightest smile on his face. Calm, open. The way she relaxed in response told him how sensitive she was. She continued, "in order to teleport you and Yamada, I need to ingest some of your DNA. It doesn't have to be your blood," Sugita bent down to pick up a blue backpack off the ground by her feet, and dug into one of the front pockets before pulling something out and shouldering the pack. She tossed whatever it was to Hizashi, who straightened up to catch it in one hand.There was a crinkle of plastic before Hizashi popped a small red sucker into his mouth. "Saliva will give me around 10 or 12 hours of access to you," Sugita explained some more when she met his eyes, tone serious. "That means I'll be able to teleport you to anywhere I can see, and any place I've marked with my blood." Hizashi passed over the sucker and she popped it right into her mouth while twirling a second sucker in her fingers. Shota leaned forward to pluck it from her nervous grasp."So what's the difference for blood, if you don't mind me asking," Shota asked as he unwrapped the sucker. It was green apple flavoured."I'd have access to you for 3-4 days," at that Shota blinked. "I'd be able to feel you. I could teleport you to me or any of my marked locations without even seeing you… And I could come to you to. Anywhere. Instantly," she explained a bit ominously, and then ruined the effect by crunching on the first sucker.Sugita wasn't looking at him. Her shoulders were a bit tense. Waiting for his reaction to that. It was a lot. It was too much to even think about right then. Holyfuck! It was… At the slightest touch on his back, Shota's widened eyes whipped to Hizashi. His partner grinned at him before looking back to Sugita. Right. Not now. Later.Shota held out his sucker. "I prefer orange," was all he said and her eyes jumped to his, searching his face with a look of mildly confused surprise as she took it and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes flashed to Hizashi who was giving her the fiercest 'I told you so,' look ever. She laughed softly, sounding relieved."Orange then, next time," she said as she crunched before shooting him a sharp-toothed grin. "You know, Aizawa, this is totally an—"Indirect kiss," he finished for her, tone utterly bland, and she burst out laughing this time."Sho, not you too!?" Hizashi sounded exasperated before laughing along with her."I also work with teenagers." Shota sounded unimpressed.Then there was no warning, just the strangest burst of warm tingling over his exposed skin, a rush of air and…Shota could at least say he didn't stumble as the entire world changed. The air, the ground, the sky. Everything! All he could do was gape at their surroundings, his brain trying to catch up. Hizashi's hand was on his back and there was a light grip on his wrist. "I fell over my first time," Hizashi admitted."Well, its Aizawa. He's not gonna fall the fuck over like you, ya big dork," Sugita's teasing voice replied. "We're in an old growth forest in Southern Japan." Old growth was putting it lightly. The trees were fucking massive. The cool, late-fall air smelled and tasted like life."Hey!" Hizashi protested, grounding Shota a little more. This was actually real. "You little turd!" The hands left him as Sugita popped out of Hizashi's reach and the two of them began a game of teleport tag around the clearing while Shota just stared. If he blinked, would he wake up from this dream? Birds! There was a chorus of bird calls all around them. The sun was still rising up through the trees. It was beautiful. Incredible. It was…Shota had to dodge as those two idiots rolled through the mossy grass, fighting for the top and finally, successfully ruined the moment completely. Sugita had Hizashi in a headlock, but literally screamed when he reached back and tickled her ribs. She appeared ten feet away in an instant."Tickling is against the fucking rules!" She declared, holding her ribs like Hizashi had given her an electric shock, and glaring at him."What rules?" Hizashi was grinning in victory, brushing off and checking over his clothes as he stood up."The rules of sparring!" She snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Hizashi till she looked over at Shota. "Aizawa, back me up here, man!"Shota laughed, he couldn't help it. These two… How often did they come to this place that they weren't just completely blown away by it all? He couldn't even wrap his head around it, but he still agreed, "it's true, Hizashi. Tickling is against the fucking rules." He couldn't keep the laugh out of his tone and found both of them just staring at him as he calmed back down. Hizashi had a huge silly grin on his face, and Sugita just looked shocked.As one, Hizashi and Sugita dropped their bags and faced what was probably North. "Let's fuckin' do this!" Sugita pumped a fist in the air before facing him. "A race!" Shota grinned and Hizashi gave a whoop of excitement. "Straight shot north, six kilometres." Sugita pointed a hand. "First one to the cliff wins. Losers have to pay for the winner's time at the hot springs after this, agreed?""Hell yeah!" Hizashi cried eagerly."Agreed," Shota nodded with a smirk."Neither of us have run this before, Aizawa, so we all have the same disadvantage of not knowing the terrain at all. All I know is the approximate distance and there's a huge cliff at the end," he nodded at her words. "Rules- I won't use my quirk at all unless one of you gives me a signal that you need help- shout, whistle, anything. In which case, I'll teleport you both to me immediately. Let's be extra careful not to harm any wildlife, but we should still make some noise to clear anything out of our path." Hizashi and Shota both nodded. "Anything either of you want to add?""I'll use my quirk to scare off any animals. Otherwise, anything, except quirk use, goes!" Hizashi immediately added and Shota's gaze snapped to him. He meant—"Yup!" Sugita agreed, verifying this was not just a race. Shota felt his first real tingle of excitement. He rolled his shoulders, nodding as his grin tipped up a notch. "Trees or ground?""Ground!" Hizashi instantly called out, lifting a hand in a wave as Sugita's bright eyes landed on Shota. His eyes widened a little, looking up as he realized."Trees," and Shota barely had time to get his hand up before Sugita appeared before him, gave an excited cry, and slapped him five."Yes! Awesome, I knew you were a fellow monkey." The next thing Shota knew he was standing on a branch, in a tree at least 30 feet off the ground. He pressed a hand against the trunk, breath catching as he reoriented himself. Holy shit-!Hizashi was down on the ground, going through some stretches and Sugita was crouched up high on a branch just to the left with Hizashi between their trees. "Ready?" Hizashi called and both he and Sugita called out affirmatives before tightly covering their ears.The visible, pulsing sound waves of Hizashi's quirk accompanied by his shout whipped through the trees, just enough to make them sway and shake but not enough to do any real damage. There were cries and screeches of fleeing birds everywhere and that was it. Then they were off!Hizashi was in the lead, with the advantage of more predictable terrain. And he was fast, echoing Sugita's whoops and cries as they raced. Running, jumping, and swinging through the massive trees was the stuff of dreams! He'd never done anything like this in his entire life, and the heart pounding adrenaline of the race only added to the thrill.Sugita was the first to give up the trees. Hizashi was gaining too much ground and the second she landed down on a huge tree root she launched herself forward like a pouncing cat, having timed her descent with some up coming flatter terrain. She leaned into a sprint, closing the distance between her and Hizashi disturbingly fast.Except, when she kicked off in an attempted tackle, the moment she got close enough to Hizashi, he stopped and twisted into a round house kick that connected with her hastily raised forearm and sent her careening to the side. For a second, Shota was shocked, almost missing a branch. Hizashi didn't go on the offensive, instead he whipped back around and into a run as Sugita sprang off the tree she'd crashed into and bounded after him."Nice one, my young apprentice!" Sugita called as she tried to close in on Hizashi again, weaving through trees and leaping over dips, holes, and mossy logs as she traced Hizashi's steps to near perfection."You're the apprentice!" Hizashi shouted, laughing, but he looked back, eyes widening as they moved past Sugita and up to Shota. It was all the warning she needed, and she dodged Shota's falling strike totally on instinct, rolling to the side across the ground before scrambling away from him as he landed exactly where she'd been."Ooh fuck!" She cried, ducking and pitching herself forward into a frantic run. Not good enough.Shota's fist would have connected with her spine except she twisted, turning to block it with a raised guard before she used the force of his punch to spring away again.They ran, skirting around thicker underbrush before coming together in a rain of punches and kicks, testing each other's hand-to-hand. She was fast, but her strikes were light. They got caught up in it quickly, adrenaline pumping, fists stinging muscle, dodging kicks, both of them avoiding anything too damaging. Shota caught a snap kick with a cross block and then the sound of Hizashi's laugh filtered back through the trees. Panting, they both froze as their eyes locked. Sugita grinned and twisted out of his grip with a flourish before landing in a crouch in the pine spills.They both launched forward at the same time, spreading apart in a silent, mutual agreement that Hizashi was fair game for whoever was fastest!Shota had never seen Hizashi move like this before. Dashing and whipping past trees, watching the terrain, twisting, leaping, and running in a near blur of speed. Then again, his husband was being chased down like a deer, and Sugita had no qualms about letting him know either, laughing, growling and howling like a hungry wolf."You asshole!" Hizashi called back, not daring to look."Yamada, don't call your husband an asshole!" Sugita admonished around panting breaths."I was talking to you, you little rat!" Hizashi yelled and Sugita laughed at that. Shota couldn't help but snicker a little too…Shota grunted, taking two solid jabs to the side as he felt Hizashi's attempted chokehold loosen, and that was mostly because Sugita had also tapped Hizashi in the ribs. Her punches were light, yeah, but she had enough speed to hit exactly the same place multiple times.Shota threw off Hizashi's hold with a sharp elbow that had the blond wheezing before he broke Sugita's block with a downward strike using his height and the slight hill before the cliff to his advantage. She rushed him foolishly anyway till his side kick to her shoulder sent her tumbling away. Hizashi had only made it a few steps closer to the cliff before Shota was on him with a well-placed kick to the left flank that was more of a powerful shove than a strike, and Hizashi was instantly down and rolling across the dirt and grass.The cliff was… Easily one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen in person. It overlooked a sprawling green valley, a waterfall, and a lake. The rising sun sparkling on the water like something out of a magazine. Even the tops of the trees looked small from his height. The breeze cooled him down as his breathing evened out."He's a… A monster, Yamada…" Sugita's panting voice had him looking back. She was basically just hanging against Hizashi's side, his arm around her waist keeping her upright as they both tried to catch their breath. "I thought we… Said no… No… Quirks…""Awe, sweetheart," Hizashi cooed the English word while looking down at Sugita's hanging head. "That was no quirks. That was just… Sho… Hell, that was Sho holding back. Like a lot.""Oh fuck… I am the apprentice…" Sugita said in a mournful tone."Me too… Me… Too," Hizashi chuckled softly."Do you two sleep in the same bed?! What if he like… Rolls over in the night… And… And accidentally snaps your spine in half!?" Sugita looked up at Hizashi with a faintly horrified expression before the blond burst out laughing, and that was just as nice as the view beyond the cliff. Shota wiped the sweat off his brow and failed to keep a grin off his face.Hizashi clutched his ribs, "oh man, don't make me laugh! It hurts!""You totally deserved that!" Sugita straightened up, weakly punching Hizashi's shoulder. "You left me back there with your demon husband knowing full well he could hand me my ass with both hands tied behind his back, blindfolded!"Shota did laugh at that, not sure if he should be offended or what. Hizashi only reached over and flicked her ear, making her yelp, before saying, "don't be a sore loser and bow to the master."Shota expected her to joke more but she didn't. Sugita faced him sharply, clasped her right hand over her left fist and gave him a formal bow, proving what he'd expected. That she'd been formally trained in martial arts at some point in her life.Rising back up, Sugita walked up to a large rock near the edge of the cliff and then disappeared with a soft pop. She reappeared in almost the exact same location less than ten seconds later holding hers and Hizashi's packs.The two of them settled down in cross-legged positions at the edge of the cliff. Hizashi patted the ground beside him, and Shota walked over and sat, taking the offered bottle before the three of them guzzled water for a few minutes and then just sat in silence to enjoy the view. It only lasted maybe three minutes."Serious question," Sugita began and Shota quirked a brow when Hizashi tipped his head back with an exasperated groan. "Whaaat?" She asked with a laugh."Nothing, nothing. Go ahead, honey," Hizashi replied after drinking some more water. "What's the burning, super serious question of the day?" There was a slight chuckle in his tone."Do you guys think All Might has ever had sex?" She even leaned forward and turned to show them each her super serious expression, raised brows and everything. Hizashi's shock turned to mirth instantly and Shota rolled his eyes before looking back out over the cliff and raising this water bottle to hide his grin. "Come on! I'm serious! How could he?! Without accidentally breaking his partner?"When Hizashi finally stopped laughing, to Shota's total surprise, he answered, "well his partner could always be on top…""Mm… That's true," Sugita chirped, apparently satisfied with that."So… Why are you thinking about All Might's sex life?" Hizashi turned his head to face her. "And why are your serious questions always about sex?""Welllll, I was thinking about Aizawa accidentally snapping your little twig spine in the night, Yamada, and then wondered how any super freaks even have partners without breaking them by mistake. All Might being the biggest super freak around and all," Sugita explained as if that was perfectly logical and Hizashi laughed before shoving her shoulder. She didn't retaliate but did snicker. "The best questions are always about sex, that's why." She then leaned forward to look at them both again, grinning big enough to show those little fangs. "Speaking of, what are you two gonna do with the rest of your day off, hmmm?" She asked in an overly suggestive tone and waggled her eyebrows. Hizashi sputtered and Shota met her eyes. She froze when he leaned forward too, bringing their faces a little closer together."Wouldn't you like to know," Shota replied in a low, rumbling drawl, smirking at the way her face instantly turned red, her breath caught, and her normally slightly narrow, a little bit tired looking eyes widened the most he'd seen yet. She jerked back and clamped a hand over her lips to stifle something between a squeak, a scream, and a groan before she flopped back and rolled away from the edge of the cliff.Hizashi chuckled, his husband's cheeks the tiniest bit pink too, but Shota could tell he was a little unsure about the whole thing which made it all surprisingly… Cute."Ooooh man… It defies the laws of the universe or something," Sugita was mumbling to herself, talking into her hand as she slowly climbed to her feet like it was a momentous task. "The union of two super hot dudes should upset the balance of reality… Yet somehow, we all still exist…""Awe, Sho, you fried that perverted little rat's brain," Hizashi cooed as Shota offered him a hand up.Suddenly Sugita whipped toward them and lifted both hands straight up in the air, a huge grin on her face and yelled, "let's jump!""Nope! I'm not into that daredevil stuff like you are. No way," Hizashi immediately waved her off as if he'd been expecting this. Shota eyed the cliff-?"Awe, Yamada, come on!" Okay, apparently she was serious."Jump… Off the cliff…?" Shota turned the idea over in his head. There was no surviving that without a quirk. Seemed, she intended to use hers to teleport them to safety before they splatter. He shrugged. "Alright."Suddenly no longer looking half dead, Sugita hopped forward and grabbed his hand, "yes! You're totally missing out this time, Yamada!""I'm good!" Hizashi was having none of it.As soon as they were a good distance back, Sugita turned them to face the cliff, squeezed his hand tight, prompting him to grip back, and lowered her stance. Shota followed suit. Guess they were gonna get a good run up first."Okay, go!" She cried and they both took off, kicking up dirt, flashing past Hizashi, reached the edge and leapt off! Shota's stronger jump sent them soaring off the cliff, pulling the already screaming Sugita along with him before they started to fall.It was… Amazing. Just pure freedom. A short taste of what it might be like to actually fly. His heart pounded, laughter escaping his lips, Sugita's elated cry echoing in his ears. Falling belly down, he titled his head back to look out over the valley, wind blasting him, and just when he was sure he'd never felt such a heart-stopping rush, as the tops of green trees were closing in all the sudden he just- stopped. Not jarring. Suspended almost gently before the soft thump of them landing in grass from only a few inches above it.Shota just laid there for a second, still holding Sugita's hand, the clearing filling with the sound of their fast breathing. A few minutes passed before Sugita stirred, sat up and slowly released his hand. He rolled over and stared up at the trees swaying over head. This was where they'd started from. A pretty nice place to land. "I'll go get Yamada," she said with a little cough. "I won't be long." Then she was gone. Shota didn't even sit up and just got lost in the leaves rustling overhead, the soft breeze cooling his skin…Shota woke to the sound of Hizashi freaking out and sat up sharply. He definitely wasn't on the soft forest floor where he'd… Fallen asleep? After jumping off a cliff... And experiencing what was probably the most fun he'd ever had. He was laying on a wooden floor, in a... Locker room? The smell told him they were at the hot springs Sugita had mentioned. So, she'd teleported him while he was asleep... Hm. The questions about her quirk were just piling up in his head.Sugita was combing through Hizashi's hair with her fingers. "I got it!" She cried before flicking something to the floor and stomping on it. "See?" She lifted her sneaker so Hizashi could see, and the man nodded before releasing a slow, controlled breath."Can you check for more, please?" He asked quietly, shoulders slumped. Hizashi was doing better with insects, the fact that he'd willingly just been running around in the deep woods was a testament to that, but he still couldn't tolerate them on his skin, and definitely not in his hair. Or in the house. At all. Ever."Of course," Sugita said before delving her fingers back into his hair and checking all through the long, pale strands. "Maybe I better check you all over, just in case," she drawled, and Hizashi huffed with a little laugh."Don't be a perve," Hizashi admonished, and she snickered again, but it was clear she was just using humour and teasing to take his mind of his anxiety. He wondered if Hizashi noticed that too. Probably not, at least not in the moment."You're all clear, my friend. No more creepy crawlies. Sorry, Yamada. I didn't think there'd be any bugs out this late in the year," she added as she stepped back and casually pulled off her tank top. "Go wake up sleepy-cat over there and let's go before all the good spots are gone. Leave your clothes in a pile and the staff will wash them for us."Both men watched in mild shock as Sugita proceeded to strip completely off. It wasn't in any way erotic, the woman stripped down like a soldier back from the front, but even he couldn't deny that she looked like a near perfect example of fit and toned, nude female perfection. How could she not, with this exercise regime like hers. Defined, lean muscles everywhere…And scars… Scars were scattered across her body. Light, dark, red, pink… She was almost as bad as Shota with that. Nope- he got a better look at her back when she turned slightly, opening one of the lockers… She was worse.Sugita was pulling on a thin white robe that hid pretty much nothing and belting it across her hips when Hizashi finally asked, "so I guess this is a unisex onsen, Sugita?""Oh… Yeah," she turned to face them, the robe hanging open enough to reveal a wide strip of tan, toned skin, the sides of gravity-defying breasts just barely contained, tight abs, belly button, and all the way to her hips. "Shit, sorry…" Her bright eyes flicked to Shota now that he was up. "Are you guys uncomfortable with that? Crap, I never even thought—"We're fine," Shota waved her off, climbing to his feet and stretching before pulling off his tank top with a groan."Yeah, it's cool, just wanted to make sure… Since you're the kind of perve that would totally just parade through the men's side," at Hizashi's words she lifted her fingers to her lips and snickered."I totally would! Not that there aren't lots of nice sights on the women's side any way. Just knock me out if I get a nosebleed," she joked before saying, "and just so you know, there are some staff around that offer massages and bathing services and sometimes… Ya know… More than that."Hizashi paused in the middle of pulling on one of the robes. Despite all her teasing, she didn't even bat an eye at either man changing in front of her, eyes up without any obvious effort. Clearly unbothered by nudity. "Ooooh… Is that why you come here?" Hizashi prodded, tone free of all judgement, just mild interest as he tied his robe. They seemed designed to have that wide open chest."Whaaaat? No way," she smirked. "I like it cause they've always treated me nice here." Is that all it took to make her like a place? "I mean, I know it's cause they want you to buy some of that extra or whatever… And… Not that I look down on anyone for that… But anyway, I mean, you're married, you get it?" She gestured to them vaguely. "Love, and all that bullshit.""Love and all that bullshit?" Hizashi echoed sarcastically with a laugh. Shota resisted rolling his eyes. Was that her way of saying she was looking for love, not just sex? Sugita gave his husband a serious look though."I might be a perve, but I'm... I'm not really like that… Ya know?" At her words Hizashi blinked.Shota cut in, "you're looking for love, Sugita? A husband?" He asked and her bright eyes flicked to him.She shrugged, "or a wife. I mean, a wife is more likely to cook for me, ya think?" Hizashi laughed at that reasoning and even Shota joined in a little. "What?""Lots of men like to cook, like me, for example," Hizashi explained. They were soon following Sugita's trailing robe down a warm, white hallway and away from the changing room. It was midday so the onsen shouldn't be overly packed."Yamada, you don't count," she chirped, looking back over her shoulder with a grin. "You're perfect. Like one in a million. The only men out there like you," she turned all the way around, walking backwards as she gestured to Hizashi while grinning like a fox, "have been snatched up already." She flicked a finger at Shota before turning back around and leading them on. Shota glanced at Hizashi and wasn't surprised by the slack jawed expression on his husband's face due to her words and what was just beyond the doors."Sho… Where the fuck are we?" Hizashi's bewildered question was posed as they stepped out of the interior of the seemingly normal bathhouse into some kind of oasis. The entire hot spring seemed to be carved into the side of a steep, forested hill. Tall white fences bordered the onsen, and there certainly was no separation of the sexes.There were many different sized, steaming pools all bordered in smooth white stone made to look natural. The walkways were warm, white tiles with swirling grey designs. There were scentless flowers, small trees and scrubs, and lots of people. Men and women of all shapes and sizes, all lounging around in various states of undress, no one wearing more than the provided robes or a towel.The three of them were not more than a few steps in before many eyes turned to them. Most politely turned away but others lingered, especially on their female companion. Not surprisingly, as there were far more male patrons. It didn't help that Sugita walked through the onsen like she was a goddess among mortals, not even sparing anyone more than a sweeping glance.Shota quirked a brow at the sight of a small scuffle between three people off to the left before a man and a woman in robes were abruptly tangled in what looked like flowering vines. And the third, a tall man with pale green skin, yellow eyes, and hair like a lion's mane of deep purple. The split of his robe revealed plenty of flexing muscle as he approached."Link-sama, it's been far too long," the man crossed into her path and Sugita came to a stop. Shota and Hizashi each moved to flank her without really thinking about it."Ohayo Sabimaru-san," Sugita greeted him with a smile. "We'll take a secluded spring if you have one available." The man didn't spare them a glance and probably wouldn't unless they addressed him directly. Many patrons probably preferred anonymity."Of course, our best springs are reserved for special guests, Link-sama," the man practically purred, leaning closer but immediately pulled back when Sugita's shoulders tensed in a move so smooth it might have never happened except for the way Sugita relaxed again once he gave her some more appropriate personal space."We don't need anything special, Sabimaru-san," Sugita smiled as they moved after the man who started to lead them away. "And just Link is fine.""Nonsense, Link-sama," he replied in that sultry voice and Sugita glanced back at them as they'd fallen in step behind. She rolled her eyes and Hizashi snickered quietly."I did a favour for the owner once and now she won't let it go," Sugita explained as they made their way past several more pools, some with people, some without and some well hidden by stone and scrubs.The man looked back with a smooth, husky laugh, "rescuing Minamoto-sama's daughter from human traffickers is hardly what I would call some simple favour, Link-sama," the man eagerly explained."I'm a pro hero," she simply said but Sabimaru was determined to ignore her protests. "Anyway, just lay off with the special treatment, already.""Do you want me to get fired, Link-sama?" Sabimaru sulked as he turned back to face them, gesturing to the spring to his left and bowing slightly as Sugita huffed."Tea… Or sake?" she asked looking back at them."Sake would be nice," Hizashi commented."We'll take a bottle, dry and light? And some food, please. Maybe yakitori, some spring rolls, onigiri and tuna if you have any fresh... Oh and something sweet please," at their nods of agreement Sugita disappeared, her robe dropping to the ground. Sabimaru gracefully kneeled to pick it up, pulling the robe up against his chest and unabashedly up to his face before meeting Shota's questioning gaze. Hizashi had already moved into the secluded spring. Sabimaru merely bowed and moved off.It was hot, but not uncomfortably so, and good. Great. Every ache and pain faded within minutes and it was barely ten minutes before Sabimaru left them sake, cups, and a large tray of food.Sugita was basically unconscious after inhaling some food, and two cups of sake, leaning against the smooth stone, unbothered by the fact that the bench she was sitting on left the water only up to her ribs, her bent knees and chest exposed except for the steam, snoring away in the typical fashion of someone who spent a good chuck of their time on maintaining their extreme level of fitness. Shota could fall asleep anywhere too.Hizashi tipped back another cup, before sighing and leaned back with his eyes closed. "I really don't like that she comes here alone. Everyone staring at her like she's a juicy steak.""Mm," Shota hummed. "It's not a very woman-friendly place, that much is clear." Hizashi groaned like he'd hoped for a different response."I'll talk to her about not coming alone… But it won't matter. She does what she wants, when she wants, all the time. She's crazy stubborn. Even worse than you," Hizashi complained."She's an adult," was all Shota said in response as he finished his fourth cup and sighed. The sake was really good. It had been a long time. He hadn't even had a coffee yet and they'd been up since 5:30am on a Sunday. He should be ready to rip the head off the first person who looked at him sideways but instead he felt amazing. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd felt this good."Barely…" Hizashi snorted. "She acts like a damn brat sometimes.""Seems capable enough," Shota's reply didn't seem to settle Hizashi who sounded like he wanted to vent. It was none of his business, but of course, a bit of sake unleashed his brain like nothing else. What was Nezu thinking? How had the rat even found her? It had to have something to do with the hero commission. Nezu and his stupid games. Was it just, 'look what I got?' Snatching up a damn teleporter was a pretty serious powerplay. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if the HPSC was breathing down the principle's neck about it.People don't just quit the Commission. Yet, seemed that this one had. It could be as simple as they really just had no way to keep her. How would they ever lock down a teleporter with anything other than empty promises? The real question was, why the hell would Nezu hire an ex-commission operative who was likely put through hellish 'training' and much worse after she graduated from UA. Maybe even before she graduated. Possibly serious mental and emotional issues as a result, plop her down in front of 20 students, and say GO!?Then again, who the fuck was he to talk? Hizashi poured and handed him another one and Shota did his best to turn off his mind as he sipped it."I'm so glad you decided to come out with us, Sho…" Hizashi's words brought him back, having switched from vent mode to cuddle mode in a blink. "This was the most fun I've had in… In a while. Sugita… She's a brat and a perve and an emotionally stunted little turd, but maaan… Sometimes she reminds me so much of Oboro…"Shota went still, kicked out of all his trailing, lingering thoughts. Shirakumo Oboro… He didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Because it was true! He barely even had to try and he could already see the similarities in their personalities. The teasing, the smiles, the shamelessness… The hype about everything to match Hizashi's without even trying. The way she could be so clueless… And this was just after a few hours together. Everything Oboro was something he just couldn't touch sometimes. Most of the time.Instead of replying, he just lifted his arm and wrapped it around Hizashi's shoulders when the blond slumped against his side. This… This was why they don't drink.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was a cold night, but they preferred it that way. Less sweating as they raced across rooftops mostly for fun. Since they'd swapped spit via suckers, Sugita could teleport them all as far as she could see and to any of her marked locations. They'd chosen Sho's regular patrol route for their third time out together. This was week three and was shaping up to be another boring night. Which technically was a good thing.Sugita didn't seem it that way, but stayed quiet as patrolling was as serious she ever got. As far as Hizashi had seen at least. It was a stark change from her usual self. Quiet, alert and most definitely dangerous.Link's costume was the same one she wore at school with a little extra. The sleeveless, almost entirely black bodysuit lined with grey, grey cargo pockets on the thighs, grey boots, and black gloves with bracers that strapped up to her elbows. The material was thick and reinforced. Over top, the signature aspect of her costume, was the deep green, hooded cape that fell to her knees.Sho's patrol routes tended to be pretty clean. Even when he switched things up, despite being in shady areas. Not surprising, cause Eraser Head. They developed a bit of an unspoken system of Hizashi listening for disturbances around them, Link teleporting them there within seconds, and then popping Sho into the middle of whatever was going down. Drug deals, bar fights, muggings, quirk misuse, a decent number of arrests. It was all pretty mild, almost always stuff each of them could easily handle alone. But that was kind of the point, since they were a new team, even if it felt like they'd been working together for far longer.With Link, things were almost… Easy. It was a new feeling for Hizashi. A huge confidence boost. Thanks to all their training over the last few months, Hizashi felt on the level. With Link. Something he could never before boast with his husband. Sho was just Sho. It didn't matter how hard Hizashi tried, he'd never be that good. He'd never be able to run or jump or fight on Sho's level. And that was fine, but it wore on him early on. To the point where they'd split up as patrol partners forever ago. He knew he couldn't keep up and he hated feeling like that…. Hated knowing he was holding Shota back.But now… That had changed. Suddenly training was fun and exciting. Running and jumping across rooftops was easy compared to scaling cliffs or running up the side of a mountain. And when the gap between buildings was insurmountable except for Shota and his capture weapon, the three of them would just appear where they wanted to go. No words were needed. They moved like they'd been teleporting around as an experienced team for years instead of this being only their third time out. It was exhilarating! Amazing! It was…"Mic-chan! Eraser!" Sugita's call made him instantly grin at the cute name she'd been calling him since they started patrolling together. Serious-mode Sugita didn't last long, even on patrol. Tilting his head, he spotted her up on the next building that was much too high for them to patrol from, but she teleported him and Sho up anyway.Together, he and Shota walked across the flat rooftop of a building that was easily 20 stories tall. He'd have found it a little nerve-racking months ago, but all that anxiety had faded. All because of—"Why are we up here, Link?" Sho asked, eyes on the hooded hero across from them. She grinned, little fangs flashing from under her hood before she pulled it down and turned away from them, lifting her gloved hands up high, arms outstretched like she was about to reveal something."Just this," she said softly, as both he and Shota tilted their heads back to follow her gaze and… Oh… The very reason it was such a perfect night to patrol. The moon was huge and gorgeously full in the clear night sky. The stars were visible, and they were high enough that the light pollution from the city was too far down to block out the sky. "It's so beautiful, isn't it?" Nature was the only thing that ever got their teleporting elf teammate sounding so wistful. It really was beautiful. Hizashi had always been a city boy, born and bred, and his enjoyment of the great outdoors had always been tempered by his entomophobia.Sugita had helped change that too. Teleported him right into the deep woods. Forced him to face that fear little by little. Never judged him. Checked him over for bugs without a single word of teasing, and then she'd get him to check her too cause 'nobody likes bugs, Yamada! Being scared of them is totally normal.' To which Shota would smirk and agree. The two of them were basically his anti-bug squad. It was… Sweet. And he'd never have seen or experienced any of the amazing sights… Old forests, mountains, sparkling lakes, all manner of wild animals and so much more if not for Sugita. It had all affected him so much he started talking about it a bit on his radio show and recommending national parks and special places to his listeners.Like right now… It almost felt like he'd never even truly seen the moon before this moment. The glasses he wore at night had a yellow tint meant to light up the night while also muting harsh light, so he pulled them down his nose a little way and took in the huge moon in all its pale, shining brilliance. How had he never before noticed the way the moon radiated light around it? Almost like a halo. Beautiful wasn't even enough to describe it.He didn't know how long the three of them just stood there for, staring up at the night sky. The only sound was the wind whipping at their clothes and rushing across the rooftop. And then—"I'm hungry," broke the silence, as Sugita ruined the ethereal moment she'd provided. Hizashi chuckled and he didn't need to look to know Shota was probably glaring at her. "You know what would make this moment actually perfect-? Group hug! Except, you know… I'll just watch. From over here," she snickered at her latest attempt at getting him and Shota to hug. To fuel her fantasies, as she'd shamelessly claimed more than once."I would like to see you faint off the side of this building…" Shota responded drily, but Sugita only bounced excitedly on her heels, grinning huge below her bright, flashing eyes."I think you'd have to kiss Mic-chan to get that result," Sugita practically purred, not ready to back down like she always does with Sho as Hizashi gave an awkward little laugh, neck feeling a bit hot behind the metal collar of his support gear.As much as Sho would claim Sugita was like Hizashi, she had a darker streak that always reminded him of Sho a little bit. That cold edge. The kind of person that's been through a lot of really awful things and often has to find ways to dull that edge. Like exercising every single day till they're ready to drop dead. The way she never let the silence drag on. Always filling her time with something, be it work, reading, or watching mindless television… Or teasing and making everything into a joke. It was a part of who she was, and it was okay, no matter how much Hizashi wished it didn't have to be that way. Or how these two seemed to have some unspoken pact to make sure Hizashi never got hurt like that. The way they were hurt, on the inside.Those thoughts spiralled… Just like they always did, and Hizashi barely realized he'd looked back up at the moon till there was a soft click by his ear. He looked down, confused as Shota pulled off his directional speaker.Hizashi gasped when his chest abruptly thumped against Shota's. One steely arm locked around his back just as Shota's other hand closed around the back of his neck and then…Shota kissed him! And not some little peck either. Sho's slightly cold, firm lips slanted across his, muffling the surprised sound that escaped him. He was too shocked to do anything much more than turn to mush in his husband's strong grip, instantly shivering at the feel of Shota's tongue sliding over his bottom lip and then—Shota never kisses him like this outside of the bedroom. Sho doesn't just kiss for the sake of kissing. Certainly not on a rooftop, and all romantic under the moonlight. Hizashi was lucky if he could get in a private kiss on the cheek once in a blue moon outside the house, and the second he realized why Sho had done this, he went cold. That familiar spike of desire fizzled right out.Shota pulled back, sensing it, and their eyes locked, Hizashi's glasses still halfway down his nose. They both turned their heads as one, only to find their pervy little gawker far away, facing away with her hood up and perched fearlessly on the railing of the roof like a gargoyle watching over the city.Hizashi turned away from Shota with a frown and made his way over after snapping his speaker back into place. Sugita hopped down and straightened up but didn't face them. "Sorry for being an asshole," she bit out. "Can we go now?""Hey, wait," Hizashi caught her upper arm and pulled her around, but she kept her head down, hood hiding her face. "You're not an asshole, Link. Neither of us think that.""Okay, sure," came her curt response."Link—"What?" Her voice was quiet."Can we talk about this?" Hizashi asked softly, his quirk naturally gentling his tone of voice. Sugita sighed, moving to shake off his hold but he only gripped a little tighter instead."I said I'm sorry? I know I take stuff too far sometimes. I make you uncomfortable and Eraser doesn't like it. I'm a fucking idiot, I know," her words were a bit of a snarl as she lifted her hands expressively, but she was clearly more upset with herself than anyone else."Okay, first of all, you're not an idiot," at his words she scoffed. "Sometimes your silly teasing embarrasses me a tiny bit, but it does not make me uncomfortable, Sugita. I was actually thinking about how I've been getting the feeling you two seem to think I need some kind of special protection… Which I don't." Hizashi paused, sending Sho another displeased frown before looking back at Link. "You make mine and Shota's marriage feel perfectly fine and normal and safe. The way you joke and tease us makes me feel grateful that I finally have someone in my life who I don't have to hide it from. Like it's okay to just be myself around you, just like I am with Shota. I know I could hug or kiss or play around with him just like I do at home and all you would do is coo and tease and stare at us like it's the cutest thing you've ever seen, and Sugita… I love that about you."By the end her lips had parted in shock, and it was clearly not what she'd expected him to say in the least."Mic-chaaaaan!" She cried, grabbing one of his hands in both of hers. "Of course you can be yourself with me! I'd be pissed if you didn't feel that way!""I apologize," Shota spoke up with a drawn-out sigh. "I misread the situation and… Overreacted.""Well, maybe you should learn to use your words like an adult, Ai-za-wa, and this wouldn't have happened," Sugita immediately got snippy. The woman did not know how to accept an apology.Shota wasn't about to leave it at that either and growled out, "this wouldn't have happened if you could learn to use less words, rat.""You don't even deserve Yamada, you creep!" Sugita immediately teleported away from the white capture weapon flashing toward her in the dark, appearing behind them. "Oh, are we fighting?" She cooed, "should we kiss and make up? Kissing while on patrol is your— Aaaahhh!" Sugita cut off to near shriek as Shota's eyes lit up in that familiar, eerie red and he darted toward her, easily catching her this time. "Mic-chan, call off your hell hound!" Sugita cried and Hizashi barked out a laugh as she tried to wiggle out of the thick material pinning her arms with several tight loops. "Jeez… The fuck is this thing made of?!" Then Shota was on her, hand flashing out before it closed around her jaw and yanked her chin up. She froze like a mouse pinned under a cat's paw, eyes all huge in the dark."What's wrong? I thought you wanted to kiss and make up?" It was Shota's turn to tease apparently, if you could call it that with his dark tone, and Sugita instantly looked like she was going to either pass out or have a heart attack as Sho leaned in closer."Sho, don't be mean," Hizashi said as he walked over, still chuckling. "Poor Link-chan's about to pee her pants!" With that Shota blinked and his capture weapon was instantly empty, but he raised his arm to block the punch that came flying at him before Sugita bounced back, baring her little fangs. The dynamic between the two of them had quickly evolved into something a bit violent. Playful, but definitely aggressive.There was nothing Sugita liked less than Sho always getting one up one her. "Wow… I can think of better ways for you two to double-team me," she teased with a snicker but had to frantically duck away from Shota's capture weapon again with a fearful yelp. Hizashi hoped it was dark enough to hide the way his face got a little hot just… Just thinking about that. Damn brat! "I said I'm hungry! Last one on the sidewalk has to pay!" She called, already at the edge of the roof. As if they could somehow beat a teleporter in a race with quirks! Actually… Shota definitely could.He'd been relieved. Years ago, when Hizashi decided he wasn't going to regularly patrol anymore. He still worked for the same agency, and they called on him for missions and team ups, but Hizashi had decided to focus on UA, the students, and his side job as a radio DJ. All decisions which Shota had happily supported.This was why. Because against a villain that was quite literally an oversized elephant in jeans going on a rampage in the middle of downtown, his quirk was useless. His capture weapon was useless. There was nothing he could do except… Throw his husband into the thick of it. His partner, and his partner's best friend. It was her fault. All of this. Sugita was the reason Hizashi was about to face down a tank villain as tall as a house. Some asshole that had probably been hired to ensure a couple other assholes got away with whatever they managed to get out of some ridiculous bank heist.Sugita was to blame… She'd teleported them right behind the police that were already firing on the shouting elephant heteromorph with hardly any affect. It was her fault.Sugita was the reason Hizashi was smiling.These two idiots smiled at each other before looking back at him like this was possibly the most fun they'd had together so far. And that, the sinking feeling just slipped away as they waited on him. Waiting for him to take charge. Grinning like two loons. His team. His… Mine. Both of them. Not for the first time, Shota just naturally took on the role of team leader. It was never discussed. They just fell in line, their faith in him complete, and waited on his orders.It was because of Sugita. That Shota got to feel that rush. The wholeness, that bond that only came with time spent on a functional team. Leading a team. He pulled his goggles from around his neck and up over his eyes."Link, line that big piece of garbage up, straight down the middle," Shota pointed his hand down the abandoned street. It was cleared, thanks to people fleeing for their lives. "Mic, you know what to do, and it might take multiple hits. Link, you'll need to get out of the way fast.""Hai!""Got it!""You!" Shota called for the nearest cop who instantly jogged over. "You have 30 seconds to get your men out of range. Tell them to leave the cars and fall back.""Yes sir!" The cop rushed back to his car, already barking orders into the comm.The massive elephant stumbled back from the spinning kick to the side of his bulbous head, easily catching Link in his trunk that was as thick around as she was. He shouted in animalistic rage, the cry echoing on into the night, louder than the sirens.Of course, she just teleported right out of his hold, flashing around and pestering him like a buzzing hornet though he probably couldn't even feel much of a sting, despite her hitting his wrinkly grey skin with either a punch or a kick every time she reappeared. As Shota expected, it took her about 30 seconds to maneuver the lumbering villain into the middle of the street, the two ski-masked men with duffle bags carefully staying behind him."Hold still, you fuckin' bitch!" The deep voice bellowed, trunk flailing, fists swinging, and, "I'll squash you like a bug!" The trunk was fast, but the hands were slow as hell.Hizashi's first shout was controlled. He appeared in the middle of the road, exactly where Shota told Link to place him, pitching forward into the yell as visible waves of his quirk ripped up the street and crashed into the elephant. The villain reared back, letting lose his own cry, huge hands trying to grip his massive, flapping ears.It wasn't enough and only seconds later he charged Hizashi, every step shaking the ground as the villain ran right into a second, higher-pitched yell. The elephant stumbled, but he didn't fall.Link's only choice was to port Hizashi closer to them and the police. Teleporting Mic behind the villains would only put Shota and the cops in line to get hit with his quirk too."YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOoooo!" Hizashi's third pounding, pulsing, absolutely deafening yell had some of the cops crying out and covering their ears. Shota didn't take his eyes off Hizashi as the raging villain bared down on him, screaming out more of his own cries, trunk lashing out, huge arms swaying as he powered through the pain, intent on stomping his husband into the pavement.One second Hizashi was there, and Shota was rushing forward, and the next Hizashi was up on the elephant's huge, hunched shoulders. He grabbed a flapping ear in each hand, lowered his head and yelled for the fourth time, right into the top of that big grey head. The visible, rippling, neon sound waves hammered directly into the villain's skull as some of the cops slumped to the ground, others protecting their ears as best they could along with Shota.The villain crashed to the ground, crunching into what was left of the pavement that had cracked with the force of Hizashi's quirk. Shota found himself teleported right in front of the two fleeing bank robbers. Maybe he put them down a little harder than was necessary, but his ears were ringing too much to hear their cries or attempts to surrender.Shota was soon running back to Hizashi, where he was kneeling down before Sugita. She was on her knees not far from the downed tank of a heteromorph, looking dazed, one hand on her head as she teetered to the side. But the stupid elephant moved where it was sprawled behind Hizashi. His long, powerful trunk coiled around Hizashi's chest like a striking snake just as Shota gave a call of warning, still a few seconds away.Shota sprinted, capture weapon already unwinding from around his neck but all he could do was watch as the elephant lifted Hizashi's twisting form up high, and then swung him back to the pavement, headfirst. No!Then there was nothing there to hit, the villain's trunk was empty when it cracked even deeper into the pavement. Hizashi was gone, and reappeared laying on the ground beneath Sugita's hand. She teleported Shota directly in front of the elephant as he tried to rise up again except Shota'd already looped his capture weapon around that massive trunk several times. With both hands, Shota pulled with practiced ease and the white coils tightened with a sharp snap before he yanked the massive head back to the ground with a grunt of effort. One big brown eye widened as the heel of Shota's boot lowered right into it.Finally, my turn… Maybe I do owe Sugita a kiss for this… Was Shota's last thought before he proceeded to try his very best to crack open that fucking elephant's rock-hard skull. He didn't stop till the giant grey lump of shit stopped moving."Link… Can you hear anything?" Shota heard Hizashi ask over the ringing, and his voice still sounded a little muffled as Shota's hearing slowly returned. He left his capture weapon after wrapping it around the villains head several times and tied it off to make sure he couldn't use his trunk if he did wake up again. The cops were waiting on the arrival of restraints and transport big enough to move this behemoth, though he didn't seem as big now that he was down and unconscious in the street.Mic's worried, near neon green eyes locked on Shota from over the edge of his glasses the moment he got close. "Link didn't get out of range in time," Hizashi explained from where he was on his knees hovering over Sugita, voice pained. "She won't let me touch her…""Having your ears blown hurts a lot," Shota knew it wasn't what Hizashi wanted to hear, but the blood dripping off Sugita's chin and trailing down from her ears was proof enough. Along with the way she was hunched over, gripping her head, and trying to stay perfectly still.Shota kneeled down beside Hizashi and slowly reached out, moving his hand under Sugita's bent head so she could see it if her eyes were even open.It was nearly a minute before Sugita moved the arm that was clutching her stomach. Hizashi gave an annoyed sigh when cops started calling on them for directions. The upset man sprang up and stormed away to help with the elephant villain, shouting orders at the nearest cops and leaving Shota to try and help Link.Her gloved fingers came to rest lightly against the tips of his and Shota shuffled a little closer careful not to move her as he reached out with his other hand to slowly peel off her glove. Even that movement pulled a quiet groan of pain from her, but all he did was use his finger to spell out UA on her palm. She shuddered before slowly lifting her head. Then they were gone.Hizashi and Shota were suddenly both in the bright room, standing by the window in Recovery Girl's office with Sugita curled into a trembling ball at their feet. Of course, this was one of Sugita's blood-marked locations.Both of the beds in the room were already full with students sleeping off some healing. Recovery Girl didn't even say a word, just climbed down off her desk chair and walked to Sugita as quickly as her little legs could carry her before planting a loud, exaggerated kiss right in Sugita's hair. There was a flash of glowing green and Sugita instantly went limp on the floor. Recovery Girl bent down to deliver a second kiss, fingers gently brushing back a bit of Sugita's short pale green hair where it curled against her forehead.Hizashi had kneeled down beside them and yelped when Recovery Girl's cane whacked his shoulder. Her lips stretched out and pressed against his cheek, and he rubbed it absently after the flash of healing. Shota wanted to roll his eyes but only moved to Sugita's other side for his obligatory smack and kiss."If you're going to take Chiharu-chan out on your patrols at least take better care of her. Next time it better be one of you bleeding on the floor of my office," the old lady actually sounded serious."Chi-Chiharu-chan-!?" Hizashi exclaimed, shocked. She made it sound like Sugita was her precious granddaughter. An oversight on their part apparently. "I'm so sorry…" Hizashi was already in full mourning, hand squeezing one of Sugita's limp ones. "It was my fault—Recovery Girl sighed and patted Hizashi's hand holding Sugita's, saying, "if Chiharu took damage from your quirk, it was likely a calculated risk, or a possible underestimation of her sensitive hearing and your quirk range." Hizashi nodded, and Shota felt some of his ire settle down. Shuzenji's sour attitude wasn't anything new, but that didn't mean he liked it directed at his partner who didn't deserve it. If anyone was to blame it was him, as team leader. Hizashi could handle himself just fine, except when Sugita was involved. The man was quickly turning into a big, overprotective mama bear. He was the last person who would ever willingly put Sugita Chiharu in any sort of danger."We'll be sure to spend more time with team training. Thank you for the healing, Recovery Girl," was all Shota ended up saying. It wouldn't be wise to snap at their healer, but he was quite done with this. Shota scooped Sugita up in his arms and stood up."Aizawa!" Recovery Girl barked and he lowered his gaze back to her."Yes, Shuzenji?" He asked calmly as Hizashi jumped to his feet."Chiharu's fine now, just drained. She's never experienced my quirk before, so it would be prudent to wake her gently and explain it," Recovery Girl clarified, and he relaxed with a nod."We'll take care of her, Recovery Girl. I promise!" Hizashi exclaimed, before following on Shota's heels as he led them out into the hall. It was late and they were lucky Shuzenji was there monitoring those students.Shota slowed down when Hizashi's hand closed over his shoulder. "Sho… Can I carry Sugita?" Shota stopped so fast Hizashi bumped into him. He turned to face his partner."Sure, Hizashi," Shota softened his tone. Hizashi was upset. Shota turned, immediately pressing Sugita into Hizashi's arms. He had only just relinquished her weight completely when she tensed, head coming to rest against Hizashi's shoulder."Oi… Yamada, you smell good…" She grumbled and almost stretched right out of Hizashi's arms with a groan, straightening her arms and legs. "We were just fighting some giant elephant shitbag… How do you smell like jasmine and fuckin'…" She shoved her face into his chest to blatantly sniff him. "Cedar? Mmm… And why are you carrying me? Oh! Did we get married? Did you finally ditch Aizawa for me?" She asked with what sounded like tired, yet foolish excitement, and then yelped when Shota flicked her ear. "Hey… Ow..." Plus a glare for his efforts.Hizashi was smiling again, just like that. All because of Sugita's nonsense. "I really messed up your cute head with my quirk, sweetheart…" He confessed quietly, smile slipping as he called her by his favourite little English endearment.Hizashi looked like a kicked puppy and Shota had to try not to grin. Had his partner ever looked at him like that? How had he missed all these little things over the years? Had he really just never noticed before? Before Sugita had come along with her teasing and taunting, forcing him to see his husband in a whole new light. You're so lucky! ... You don't deserve him! ... Can't you see Hizashi needs a hug!? ... What kind of cold bastard of a husband are you?! He could hear Sugita's snarly voice in his head. As they slowly became friends, Sugita had stopped holding back and unleashed her wrath on him regularly, especially if it had anything to do with Hizashi. Lately, she'd taken to threatening to steal Hizashi away from him and Shota couldn't even be mad about any of it. Because it was all true and… He was grateful to the annoying, flighty, rat-elf. Not that he'd ever tell her that."That was my fault, Yamada. I didn't go far enough, fast enough. I underestimated your totally awesome quirk. Jeez, did you freak out?" Sugita started to get out of Hizashi arms, but he squeezed her tight."I didn't freak out!" Hizashi protested with a glare and her tired eyes met Shota's."He freaked out, didn't he?" She asked with a yawn."Yes.""Sho!?""Awe, my sweet Mic-chan," Sugita teased, reaching up to mess up Hizashi's mohawk worse than it already was. "I've been hurt a hell of a lot worse than a couple exploded eardrums.""Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Hizashi grumbled, but he was fighting a smile and probably solely because Sugita was patting his head and hadn't already teleported out of his arms. She looked pale and drained, and the dried blood in her ears and on her face wasn't helping."Oh look, it made Aizawa feel better at least," at her drivel Shota reached out to flick her pointy little ear again but they were suddenly in front of their house. Yes, that was one thing he really liked about Sugita. No travel time."Wait a minute, Sugita," Shota stopped her from disappearing after another huge yawn and much squirming out of Hizashi's arms. Did being tired affect her teleportation? She still ended up leaning against Hizashi once he set her on her feet. "Come in for a few minutes.""What? Why…" She mumbled as Shota unlocked the door and Hizashi basically dragged her into the dark hallway. Between the two of them they got her boots off. "I'm too tired… I can't think straight…""It's because Recovery Girl used her quirk on you," Shota explained and Hizashi undid her cape and hung it on a hook by the door."She did!? I-I missed it!" She cried. "Where did she kiss me?!" Hizashi laughed, in the process of peeling off his gear and dropping it into a pile by the door."Does it matter?" Shota asked from where he was sitting on the step up from the entryway and unlacing his boots.She ignored him, as Hizashi pulled her down the hallway. "Was it on the lips!?""It was in your hair, you little perve!" Hizashi sounded exasperated."My hair?! What a fuckin' disappointment…" Sugita whined. Shota entered the kitchen just as Hizashi was maneuvering Sugita into a chair at their four-seater table and took a seat as well. Hizashi moved off to pour them all glasses of water and then wetted a clean cloth with some warm water and a little bit of soap."So you want old lady kisses?" Hizashi grinned as he pulled a chair over to Sugita's, sat and starting cleaning up her face and ears. She downed her water, and then just watched Hizashi as he gently scrubbed away the dry blood, looking like she'd be purring if she could."Um… Yes? I'll take what I can get at this point," Sugita snickered as he finished up and then moved to refill her glass. "Was it at least sloppy?""Ew Sugita!" Hizashi exclaimed before snickering."Hey man, not everyone gets hot kisses on rooftops under the fucking moonlight, okay!?" Sugita practically hissed before downing more water."Okay jeez, sorry," Hizashi relented but was still grinning as he leaned against the counter."Were you jealous, Sugita?" Shota asked with his own subtle grin. She set her glass down and pinned him with her bright eyes.Sugita simply replied, "sure… Of you." Just like that they both went still, staring each other down like two wolves about to fight over the kill."Want some onigiri, Sugita?" Hizashi piped in with a hint of nervousness. He knew how to flick Sugita's switch. Food. Instantly her eyes locked on his partner."Yes. Right now. As if you even need to ask.""Well, I figured you must be hungry again with the way you're lookin' like you wanna tear Sho's throat out…?" Hizashi questioned carefully."Yeah, yeah," she waved him off before looking back at Shota, grinning beneath those tired eyes. "I mean, if we're gonna fight over Yamada we should at least do it naked, ne?" At that Shota's eyes widened and his mouth fell open just the tiniest bit as his tired brain tried to process what she'd just said. And then Sugita snickered triumphantly as she looked back at Hizashi who was gaping at Shota, and then at her. "I win, Yamada. You witnessed this moment."Shota stood up so fast Sugita jumped in her seat, her expression going from smug to scared in a flash as his chair scraped across the floor behind him. He managed only a single step toward her before she disappeared with a soft pop.She was so lucky he was tired and hadn't activated his quirk in his faintly… Frazzled state. His heart rate had picked up a tiny bit and he felt a little hot, like he wanted to draw in a careful, calming breath but if he did, that would mean something that he did not want it to mean. That, for the first time, since all of this teasing and nonsense began, he felt something other than irritation and his previous worry that the teasing was bothering Hizashi.Now it seemed she'd found a way to bother him with her nonsense as well. And all it took was one stupid comment directed at him specifically… And he wasn't bothered in a bad way, either. No… This was something else.When was the last time he felt even a hint of anything for anyone other than Hizashi… Beyond childhood or hormonal teenage bullshit... Shota wasn't sure he ever actually had. Till now.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"SHUT THE HELL UP OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" The shout rang out and all 58 students, classes 1-A, B, and C, crammed on a single bus went dead silent. "The NEXT person to get out of their seat, or throw something, or hit someone, or even thinks about using their quirk gets detention with Aizawa-sensei for an ENTIRE WEEK! And if you pull this middle school bullshit at Might Tower you and your two closest friends will be SUSPENDED! I don't care whose class you're in!"All of the students were staring down at their laps by the time Sugita was finished. Shota smirked, having not expected that in the least, but had been about ready to explode after letting the kids play around for an entire hour.Now, Hizashi, Kan, Kayama, and Ishiyama were all staring at Sugita with different shocked expressions. Hizashi looked a little flushed, staring up at Sugita like she was his personal Goddess. Kan and Ishiyama seemed some level of pleasantly surprised where they'd turned around in their seats to look back at her, and Kayama was practically drooling.Sugita settled back into her seat beside Hizashi once the kids quieted down to barely more than whispers. She gave her fellow teachers a toothy grin, flashing her little fangs."Sugitaaaaa!" Kayama drawled, "I'm so turned on.""I'd be worried if you weren't turned on, Kayama," Sugita teased right back, making everyone, except Shota, laugh."Oh Sugita, yell at me like that," Kayama purred. She was sitting in the isle seat across from Sugita's and she leaned over, striking a provocative pose. Shota looked over from his seat beside Kayama. He'd drawn the short straw. As in, he'd been napping when everyone picked seats.Sugita leaned over too, looked into Kayama's dark eyes and whispered in a deep voice, "shut the fuck up and sit down right here, or I'll have you expelled, Kayama-chan," as she patted her lap.Kayama squealed like an excited teenage girl before launching herself at Sugita, except she met with Hizashi's boot as he shoved Kayama back into her seat."No Sugita! That's bad!" Hizashi bodied the elf-rat out of her spot and into his by the window before glaring over at Kayama who was holding her cheeks and squirming in her seat. Sugita was laughing quietly, and Shota suspected the entire thing had been to get Hizashi going. He rolled his eyes when Hizashi started lecturing her about what was appropriate behaviour while she snickered."I'm sorry, Yamada," she looked up at him with big, sad puppy eyes.Hizashi instantly melted, grabbed her face and leaned toward her, "it's not your fault, Sugita. It's all that evil temptress, Midnight.""Awe, you're so sweet and totally blind, Yamada," Sugita placed her hands over his, looking at him with hearts in her eyes as Kan and Ishiyama groaned from their seats in front of them. Both men were big enough that they needed most of the three-person seats to themselves."I'll kill anyone who touches my precious Sugita!" Hizashi proclaimed with passion. "I can't let Kayama taint you with her icky poison!" Kayama didn't even protest that, apparently too wrapped up in whatever disturbing fantasy she was likely imagining at that moment."You're like my overprotective, obsessed knight in shining armour, Yamada," they were holding hands and staring into each others' eyes now. This wasn't even as bad as some of the games they play to get people going. The kids sitting closest to the front were probably shitting themselves over it."And you're my little stalker, murder-angel," and with that they both started laughing as they broke apart."Oh man, check out this video one of the kids showed me earlier," and the two idiots spent the rest of the trip laughing over youtube shorts, just as loud as the kids had been before Sugita threatened all their lives.Shota went to sleep.A light pressure against his cheek startled Shota awake, and then someone was twisting and kicking in his grip. Was that… Sugita? He had in a chokehold? She was coughing and trying to tap out with a jelly pack she'd probably got from Hizashi. Shota's quirk stopped her from teleporting to safety.After a good few seconds, he released her and she slid to the floor, coughing and hacking as she started crawling away. Shota stared down at her with an evil, toothy smile before stepping free of his sleeping bag. Sugita... Right... He twisted the little cap off the spout of the peach jelly protein pack, stood up, and planted a foot on Sugita's back, squishing her into the floor of the bus by the door. She whimpered, reaching for the door weakly as Shota ground his heel into her back. "Bad girl," he growled between slurps before bending at the waist to lean down over her, "no more messing around with Kayama." Sluuurrrrp. "Sugita, nod if you understand." She nodded a little frantically with a choked cry. "If you want something kinky, I'll gladly help you out... You don't want that, do you?" Much head shaking. "Are you going be good?" Shivering nods.Shota straightened up and walked out, his free hand tucked in his pocket, boots barely making a sound on the hollow, metal floor, his expression as bored and bland as always.All of the students and teachers were getting organized in the huge parking lot."Sugita-sensei!? Are you okay?!" Some of the students cried when she appeared before them, hunched over in her hero costume and looking pale."What did that mean old Eraser Head do to you?" Hizashi asked, petting her hair and making some of the girls squeal."Almost killed me. Why'd you guys think he'd be gentle if I were the one waking him up?" Sugita whined."Oh, it was actually just because you can teleport back to Recovery Girl," Kan spoke up from just across from them, smiling around his jutting fangs as Sugita groaned.They ended up splitting the kids into ten per teacher, while Shota got the eight most polite and well-behaved of all the classes for his group. Which was in everyone's best interests really.Then they were off exploring Might Tower for their first look at a hero agency. What a waste of an entire day, Shota thought bitterly while tuning out as much of the student's gushing as possible. Soon all the groups were being led away by eager tower employees that were happy to answer every inane question spewing out of the kid's lips.Thankfully, the teachers were waved off for the most part and Shota ended up amusing himself by watching his husband, with an excited Sugita on his back, teleporting all around the massive room with the huge All Might statue, All Might displays, and information all over the room. It was set up like some kind of museum. Really, there was only one good thing in his entire place… Two good things.Two good things that after about 15 minutes came to him, talking animatedly. They appeared right in front of him before they both crowded him in where he was leaning on the rail of the large platform that looked down over the area these two had just been exploring. Shota couldn't even be annoyed with them as they seamlessly included him in their conversation about the usefulness of hero agencies.Sugita popped away to get them drinks and snacks while they lounged, and in some mysterious way these two made this trip tolerable. Normally Hizashi would be pestering the hell out of him, but with Sugita there his loud, hyperactive husband had a receptive outlet to plug into. "Guys, should we head up for All Might's big speech?" Hizashi asked."No.""Hell no," Sugita answered at the same as him then laughed about it. Shota smirked. "I'd rather drop myself off the top of this tower, ne, Aizawa?" He nodded."You two are exactly alike sometimes," Hizashi grumbled before taking a bite of his red and yellow frosted All Might cake."There's a place in the world for all this flashy hero shit, Yamada. Just not my world," Sugita quipped before inhaling her own cake. "Oh my goodness, Yamada! You should have heard Aizawa threatening me with a good time earlier. He was ready to drag me off to a sex dungeon for being a bad girl," Sugita drawled, leaning into Shota's side with a naughty grin and Hizashi burst out laughing. When the laughter let up, Sugita was still hanging off his shoulder and facing Hizashi in front of them. And not for the first time, Shota found he didn't mind it."Sho, what did you say?!" Hizashi asked, a little too eagerly and Shota rolled his eyes, arms crossed over his chest.Sugita spoke up first, "Yamada, tell me something…" Hizashi's bright gaze moved to hers from behind his yellow-tinted glasses, his smile slipping at her suddenly serious expression as he nodded. "Does it bother you when I play around with Kayama like on the bus?"Hizashi straightened up, lifting a hand to the back of his head with an awkward smile. Apparently this little rat was smart enough to figure out why Shota'd been annoyed with her on the bus. Hizashi answered with some hesitation, "I guess I do worry about it a little. I'm not sure you actually like Kayama like that, and I worry that she'll read more into it than you want her to…" Is that really the reason? Shota silently mused.Sugita fell silent for nearly a minute, clearly thinking about it and Shota could tell Hizashi was on the verge of a total panic when she finally responded. "You're right… I wouldn't want her to think I'm interested in anything more than friendship." She pulled away from Shota's side, noticeably closing off a little. "I'm really not good at figuring out where to draw the line." Sugita suddenly turned to them with a little bow. "I'm really sorry! You're worried about Kayama, right? Ugh, I'm so stupid!" She really started to look upset. "I promise if she says anything else, I'll let her know up front I'm not interested. I gotta run to the washroom… I'll see you later!" She gave a little wave and disappeared with a soft pop."Sugita!" Hizashi called, reaching out to where she'd just been but she was already long gone. The only sign she'd been there at all was Hizashi's distraught expression and their half-eaten snacks. Shota shoved one of the hot sauce drizzled gyoza she'd brought him into his mouth while watching his husband have an internal meltdown. Mm… She'd brought Hizashi the same chocolate cake she'd chosen for herself. But not him. She knew he didn't like sweets."Hizashi, relax. Even if Sugita mistook our concern for her as concern for Kayama, she won't let it bother her for long," Shota explained smoothly, hardly batting an eye as he inhaled the rest of the gyoza. Surprised by how good it was."You really think so?" Hizashi's shoulders rose out of their slump as Shota nodded. "Wait… What do you mean 'our concern?'" Shota made an indeterminable sound in response to that. "Sho, use your words." Shota smirked at Hizashi's little show of impatience."I… Didn't particularly like Kayama messing around with Sugita like that. Sugita acts like a little perve and likes playing around a bit, but I could paint her into a corner with half a suggestive look. If someone actually came onto her, she'd either have no clue what was happening or accidentally teleport herself out of the country," Shota explained around his last few bites, before glaring at Hizashi's shocked expression."Sho… You really do worry about Sugita!?" Hizashi only barely managed to not tell everyone in the entire place before hastily lowering his voice. "She really is kinda clueless about that sorta thing, huh…" Hizashi sighed enough for the both of them, as if he wasn't just as clueless as she was sometimes. Shota smirked.Of course, it was a UA field trip so everything went to shit when three kids went missing. One of whom had a camouflage quirk. The effect was transferable so he'd naturally taken his friends on a little off-limits jaunt around Might Tower."Ugh, kids are great, huh guys?!" Sugita exclaimed, bouncing on her heels and looking like the excitable elf she was. "Never a dull moment!" The rest of the gathered teachers groaned and naturally Shota took charge, like always."Sugita since you're so happy about this, you go round up the brats," Shota expected some groaning at his words. If he'd appointed anyone else, they likely would have bit his head off."Hai!" She immediately replied with a serious nod, reminding Shota that Sugita… Link wasn't just a colleague. She was a teammate. Of their three-man team of which he was team leader. She'd proven herself to be just as good on a team as she was solo. Like a trained soldier. That's cause despite everything, she was a trained soldier, and she trusted him. He never took that trust for granted. Nor would he ever."Ai-Aizawa-sensei?" a tiny voice drew his gaze and he found himself facing a small group of nervous 1-C kids. The speaker was a girl barely five feet tall with hair that looked a bit like black mist and inky black eyes. "Can you send someone other than Sugita-sensei to find our classmates? Um… Sugita-sensei is really great, but sometimes she's a bit… A bit…" They peeked around him, and Shota looked back…"I'll make those little shit disturbers wish they'd never been born. My own students. I warned those brats, didn't I!?" Sugita was practically shouting in Kan's face. The towering, crimson-clad pro hero had his hands up and even looked slightly looked nervous."You did warn them, Sugita," Vlad King, the beast of a man literally simpered in front of Sugita's rage.She whipped toward Ishiyama who startled, "can a teenager survive being trapped in cement, Ishiyama?"Cementoss blinked, "I'm not sure that would be appropriate—"I decide what's appropriate for my class, don't I?!" Sugita practically snarled like a savage wolf."Of course, aneki," Ishiyama cowed in an instant, bowing slightly forward. "If I leave their head and chest out, they should be able to survive for the bus ride at least…""Sugita!" At Shota's shout everyone froze. Even Hizashi and Kayama where they were herding kids onto the bus across the parking lot. "Come here," she did, appearing at his side with a little huff. "You are not allowed to maim your students when you find them," he ordered, voice low."Fine," she responded curtly before leaning toward her clearly worried students with a glare. "You brats pulled the big gun on me, huh?" She growled the words in a near whisper, "I won't forget this…" Then she was gone, and Shota found those very brats staring at him with stars in their eyes as if he'd just defeated the greatest of villain of their time. He sighed. Already sensing this was going to be a whole thing.Ten minutes later two of the boys were on the ground, grovelling on the pavement and the third one with the pink scales appeared to be unconscious at Sugita's feet.The entire bus watched as Aizawa-sensei caught Sugita-sensei in his capture weapon, eyes glowing red as he wrapped her up, using the weapon to strangle her till she passed as the kids scrambled onto the bus, dragging their limp friend with them. He left her like that for the entire trip back to UA, but at least she… Slept? The whole way...
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Good afternoon, my listeners!" There was no response to his shout in English as he filled the doorway to Sho's classroom. Well, unless kids scattering like frightened mice counted as a response. And no wonder!Sho had Sugita tangled and pined in his capture weapon, eyes blazing red as they snarled at each other like two wolves from opposing packs. Like usual."Couldn't you two at least wait till the kids have all gone home?!" Hizashi was still shouting as he walked in and trying not to grin. Somebody was clearly cranky and for once he wasn't on the receiving end of it.Hizashi didn't want to admit out loud that it was a becoming a bit much, even for Sho. Maybe it was because this was the first time since high school that someone new had come around, and kept coming around no matter how vicious or mean Shota got. Someone who didn't run in fear when Sho got cranky. Hizashi hoped that it would break soon, and Sho would calm down and start to be at least a little gentler with Sugita.That said, he was not ready to even carefully ask his husband what was up… Because he was worried whatever it was would make things worse between his partner and his friend. Was he worried Shota would snap and actually hurt her? Of course not! Much…"Mic-chan!" Hizashi couldn't help but smile at the happy call, and the way she tipped her head back and around to try and see him despite not being able to move much at all."Hi, sweetheart," he chirped out some more perfect English, grinning when Sho relented and let her go in a move so easy he made it look like he had some kind of telekinetic control over that capture weapon. "What are you two fighting about?" Sho dropped into his chair with a grunt-growl combo."That's demon-speak for 'I'm tired and I have a headache from using my quirk on overeager brats all day,' right Yamada?" Sugita asked thoughtfully while pulling open the middle drawer on the left of Sho's desk as Hizashi chuckled. He knew that version of his husband all too well.To say Hizashi was shocked when Sugita proceeded to shove the near snarling Eraser Head back in his chair, tilt his head back with a finger under his scruffy chin, pry open Sho's left eye and apply two drops of the eyedrops she'd found in the drawer, was an understatement. She pried open the right eye for the same treatment and then?! Sugita used the thumb and forefingers of both hands to massage around Shota's closed eyes.The man had practically growled all through the first part, but didn't have time to react to being massaged beyond tensing up for a second. Then Sho just went limp in his chair with a quiet, shuddering groan. Like Sugita just hit the switch. She massaged in a circular motion, pressing into his temples and up and down between his brows and down his nose.Hizashi was even more surprised that Sho didn't swat Sugita away from him… Or throw her out the window. "You should take him home, I think. I'll send you. He might murder the next person that tries to talk to him," she whispered. Hizashi snickered and nodded. And then they both went quiet as Hizashi pulled out his phone, matching Sugita's suddenly devious expression."She's acting weird. Something's wrong," Hizashi spoke up over breakfast after Sugita declined a morning run for the third day in a row. He poked his eggs while scrolling on his phone, chopsticks tapping on his plate. Shota was already finished eating and was just sitting now to keep Hizashi company as the man picked at his food. Shota didn't look up from his phone either, eyes scanning over reliable news websites with lightning speed. They were both lounging in bath robes since showering, used to getting up early to run or workout with Sugita. They could have just gone for a run or hit the gym together, but for some reason they just didn't. Like Sugita was the glue that held their little team together… Shota wasn't sure how he felt about that. And he didn't care to figure it out either.He had noticed her absence from his classroom, but he'd assumed she was just spending more time with Hizashi or someone else. It wasn't as if Sugita didn't have a life outside of her friendship with Hizashi, and Shota by default. But if Hizashi had noticed, she probably was being distant. When compared to her constantly popping up at any given second, yes, her behaviour had changed. Shota knew better than to say any of that though, for Hizashi's sake."Did you ask her?" Shota sipped his green tea after setting his phone aside. He'd finally given into Sugita's nagging about how much coffee he drinks and had weaned himself off it just to prove her wrong. And oh, Sugita had suffered for it. He'd made sure of that during a few of their sparring matches. The most annoying part was- she was right. He did feel better after giving up coffee. He slept better and woke up better rested once the affects of caffeine addiction finally faded. Not that he'd ever tell her that."She says she's fine and that she's just busy with schoolwork," Hizashi explained before shoving his phone in Shota's face. He looked at the texts between them. It did seem a little one-sided. Sugita promised to meet up with them for a run 'soon.' "Can you find out, Sho? Please?""Sure," Shota immediately replied. He wasn't too worried. People change and go through things. Stuff happens. That's probably all it was…Except.This.The Commission was at the school for meetings with Principal Nezu. Likely just to talk about the upcoming licensing exams but this.This was what was bothering Sugita. Truthfully, he'd almost forgotten she was ex-HPSC. That she had this whole past that neither he nor Hizashi knew anything about. That was stupid. Hizashi wanted Sugita to tell him about her life in her own time. Just like how eventually he would open up to her too. But Shota knew better, and still hadn't acted on his initial instinct to dig into her past. He could hear Hizashi's sweetly scolding voice in his head- That's not how you make friends, Sho. So… He'd let it go. To wait and make friends. Instead of doing a thorough background check like any decent pro would have done. Like a husband should have, no matter how Hizashi whined about it.So, when Shota found himself and Kan in a meeting with Mera Yokumiru, and a few of his colleagues/bodyguards, led by Principal Nezu, he was annoyed. Did not knowing every fine detail about Sugita's history piss him off? No, it didn't. Did not knowing a single damn thing about her issue with the HPSC piss him off? Yes!It wasn't even lunch, but Mera looked like he'd already worked for several days without breaks despite his bodyguards, also clad in black suits, looking perfectly alert and ready to jump at the slightest hint of danger. Mera's black suit looked too big, like maybe the man had lost weight. If this was what long term, chronic fatigue looked like, Shota was glad he'd begun making some positive changes in his life… Thanks to Sugita… He thought with another wave of irritation.The meeting was the same as every year- discussion of the year's hopefuls and usual input on the exam. Same crap, except as the meeting wrapped up the executives from the Commission didn't pack up and leave the conference room.Mera and his little entourage stayed seated. So Nezu stayed seated. No one said anything after a few gracious closing words from both sides. Shota stood along with the towering, crimson-clad, homeroom teacher of 1-B, and after offering slight bows in Mera's direction, they left. They were almost to the door when Nezu broke the silence from his seat at the head of the long table."Gentlemen, Sugita-san is her own person. A wonderful teacher, a pro hero, and a cherished, loyal employee. If she does not wish to meet with you, there's nothing I can do about it," Principal Nezu didn't even wait for him and Kan to get out of the room. Shota stopped, not following Kan out."We just have a few questions for Sugita-san," Mera replied in his usual tired voice. The man wasn't new to his position at the HPSC and Shota'd had a few interactions with him over the years. He'd never had an issue with him. Before now.And so, Shota stayed right where he was as Nezu picked up his black cellphone from the table. All was quiet as the small, rodent-like principal did something on his phone using his oddly prehensile, pink and white paws. Shota waited by the door, and he got a few looks from the bodyguards, but no one protested. It was well planned on the Commission's side. Sugita would be between classes just then and likely on campus… Not that location mattered much to her.It wasn't long before the door opened and Sugita stepped into the room, obviously summoned via text by Nezu. The men were facing away from the door, and no one reacted to her entering. She had donned her cape and hood, but with the room lit through big windows by the morning sun there was no chance of hiding much of her face under it.Sugita's light green eyes found him below the edge of the dark hood, pausing as she surveyed the room. Then she relaxed a little, giving him a tiny nod before moving further into the room. She didn't smile."Ohayo, Nezu-chan," her back was to Shota but he could hear the smile in her voice as she gave the principal a little wave. Shota shouldn't be surprised by her nonsense by now, and Nezu lit up with a happy smile in return. Clearly Nezu liked the familiarity from Sugita."Ohayo, Chiharu-chan," he chirped back, smiling up at her as she walked over to him. "Thanks for coming." She nodded."Sugita-san, it's good to see you again," Mera spoke up as Sugita moved to stand close to Nezu's chair, and she rested a hand on the back of it after facing the rest of the room. Some of the exhaustion seemed to leave Mera as he straightened up out of his perpetual slouch. She bowed forward politely but said nothing. "Can I speak to you privately?""I'm afraid not," came her quiet reply."I assure you, there is no need for any alarm or protective measures," Mera turned his head and his gaze flicked back to where Shota was still standing by the door, arms crossed over his chest. All pretense of calm and ease he'd projected during the meeting now gone. Making him the most dangerous person in the room, by far. "I only want to talk." If they thought he was going to leave his co-worker, his teammate… Hizashi's closest friend alone for some sort of unwanted and likely unnecessary interrogation…? They were mistaken."Say what you want to say," Sugita's reply was cold, and Mera sighed before folding his hands under his chin, elbows coming to rest on the table. Not exactly an open and friendly 'let's talk like colleagues' posture. Clearly, he expected resistance and was already trying to come up with a way to work around it."As you know, management has changed. Things have changed. The Hero Commission is prepared to offer you and Ren-san compensation for the past and our word with proof that things have changed for the better," Mera slowly stood from his chair before bowing stiffly at the waist. "Please allow us to fix the mistakes we made in the past, Sugita-san." He rose back up."No," was all she said. Mera didn't sit back down."Sugita-san, please reconsider. We at the HPSC greatly value you and we are prepared to prove it to you in any way you deem appropriate. You, and Ren-san. Please at least consider returning, even just part-time if you wish to remain in your current position." Mera was almost pleading."No," instead of giving in, Sugita's voice was even harder, though her expression was unchanged. Uninterested and closed off. Her fingers curled a little tighter around the edge of the back of Nezu's chair.Mera sighed roughly again, shoulders drooping. Clearly, they sent the least professional person to attempt this negotiation. A mistake, on their part. Shota wouldn't claim he knew Sugita well. She was a goof, a perve, and acted like an idiot most of the time, but despite that she was disciplined with a strong willpower. She was the kind of person that dedicated herself to something and saw it through. She was a wellspring of support and compassion and understanding. She was strong, but she wasn't afraid to be weak. It was why she was such a good teacher.In a situation like this, she would have responded far better to someone who echoed those qualities back to her. Like a fellow pro, teacher, or even a trained soldier or officer. Someone she respected and maybe worked with before. This… This was pathetic. And yet, Mera wasn't done, tiredly droning on which gave his words even less merit, "everyone involved is now in prison. I promise you, that is where they will remain. Tsukuda and Murayama are both now in Tartarus. Along with—"Sugita was suddenly crouched on the table in front of Mera. Her hand flashed out to grip the front of his suit before she yanked his shocked face in close to hers. The three bodyguards with him were instantly on their feet as the tension in the room skyrocketed.Shota cleared the space in a blink, coming to stop right behind them, eyes on everyone in the room. He didn't activate his quirk, but it was close, and he sure as hell could before any of these sorry excuses for guards managed any sort of attack.Nezu looked perfectly calm in his chair, but that little mousy smile he'd kept in place for most of the meeting was gone. One paw was on his phone where it was on the table in front of him, and the other was resting on his chest, tapping the silver buttons of his black vest almost absently... That was the only sign that the principal might be in any way displeased. He could control several of UA's security features with no more than a touch or two to that device which was certainly not just a cellphone.Mera quickly lifted his hands in a gesture of compliance, a flick of his wrist keeping the men from attacking. As if they could ever dream of overcoming Sugita. Let alone him or Nezu.When Sugita spoke her voice was low, and soft as she carefully controlled whatever emotions had made her react violently, "say one more word about that… And I'll drop you off the top of this fucking building."Mera nodded twice, eyes still a bit wide, "do you know Ren-san's location?" The man clearly knew Sugita well enough to know she wouldn't actually hurt him. Sugita didn't respond other than to shove him roughly back into his seat. She was gone with a soft pop before he even had a chance to fix his dark blue tie. Everyone was quiet as Mera drew in a slow breath and smoothed a faintly trembling hand through his pale hair.Nezu simply picked up his phone with a little hum and dropped his attention to that. "If there's nothing else?"Shota stepped back and turned on his heel to leave when his phone silently vibrated once in his pocket. He pulled it forth as he left the room. Nezu didn't need him to stick around. Not surprising, it was a text from said mouse-bear that simply said, 'washroom.'Shota was barely a step into the women's staff bathroom when he encountered Sugita's cape thrown carelessly on the floor. How did Nezu even know where Sugita had teleported to?The smell of vomit hit him first and then he heard. He quietly picked up her cape and waited by the door.It wasn't long. She flushed and emerged, drawing in a shuddering breath before leaning over the sink and running the water with shaking fingers. Sugita gripped the sink hard, staring down at it, her face an unfamiliar mask of upset for only a split second when she allowed only one strangled gasp to escape her. Not quite a sob, she didn't let herself cry. Shota was grateful for that… Since it was too late to back out of there and give her space.Drawing in a few calming breaths, Sugita washed her hands, splashed her face and then rinsed her mouth out a few times, gurgling and spitting before finally looking in the mirror."Aizawa!?" She yelled, whipping around to face him as she clutched at her chest. "Jeez! You scared the shit outta me!" Normally such a thing would have amused him, but not this time. "This is the women's washroom, ya know," she grumbled, her glare falling flat. He didn't dignify that with a response as she walked over to him. Sugita reached for her cape, but he turned away, opened the door and started off. "Hey-!""Come on," was all he said and wasn't surprised when Sugita appeared beside him with little more than a sigh, shoulders hunched, and posture totally closed off. Finding an empty staff room was easy enough and she followed him in, settling down on one of the small sofas as Shota tossed her cape into a chair and walked over to the small kitchen to fill and turn on a tea kettle. "Sugi-"Thanks!" She cut him off, as he made his way to one of the chairs across from the sofa. "For staying." Shota acknowledged her words with his own quiet sigh. If she didn't want to tell him anything, what was he supposed to do about that? No matter how much it was killing Hizashi. Speaking of… He'd texted Hizashi to come see Sugita like three minutes ago.The door burst open so suddenly that Sugita jumped to her feet, eyes widening as Hizashi barreled into the room, all blond mohawk and drama. The two of them froze, staring at each other like they were reuniting for the first time in years, and not just three days."SUGITA!?" Hizashi yelled, blowing her hair back and toppling two of the bamboo cups Shota had set out. She gave a little laugh."Yamada… Don't you have a class right now?" Sugita asked, taking a step forward with a little relieved smile. That was all it took for Hizashi to snap out of it."What's wrong?! You don't look good!" Hizashi nearly bowled her over as if he wanted nothing more than to just get his hands on her. He did, catching her shoulders."I'm okay. I got sick, so I probably smell like puke," at her words he pulled off a glove and checked her forehead with the back of his hand. "Not like that. I mean, I got sick from… Anxiety, I guess. It's happened before."With that, Hizashi went into concerned teacher mode, set her back down on the sofa, and sat down beside her as Shota got up to make the tea. Sugita kicked off her boots and curled up facing Hizashi, resting her head on the back of the sofa. "Can we talk about what happened, Sugita?" He asked as he pulled off his glasses and headphones and set them on the coffee table. His directional speaker was probably back in his classroom."Okay, but not if you keep using your quirk to sound all good like that," Sugita replied with a tired smirk. "Makes me wanna jump your bones." Hizashi barked out a shocked laugh and Sugita laughed a little bit too."You look like you're about to pass out, not jump anyone's bones, sweetheart," Hizashi's mirth quickly switched back to concern as Shota handed out green teas, nodding at the chorus of thanks he got in response. He sat back down in the comfy chair across from them. Sugita fell silent after that, but he'd put enough honey in her tea to perk anyone up and she did, sighing after gulping down a bit of it despite the heat."I had a meeting with the Commission today to talk about the licensing exam coming up," Shota started and Hizashi immediately pinned him with a confused and worried look. "With Nezu, Kan, Mera and the typical bodyguard squad." Hizashi nodded, watching Sugita sip her tea a little slower. She was sitting up a bit straighter, at least."Nezu-chan let me know a few days ago that they were coming," Sugita added quietly, looking down at her tea. "I should have just stayed home, but I didn't want to let the anxiety win, ya know?" Hizashi nodded in understanding, and glanced over at Shota as he mouthed the words 'Nezu-chan?' while grinning. Shota grinned back with a shrug. "Anyway, Nezu-chan texted me to let me know Mera wanted to talk. Big surprise. Same old, same old. Aizawa was there so it wasn't so bad." Hizashi's smile was gone as quick as it came."Baby, you threw-up afterwards… And that's not so bad?" Hizashi had a point. Sugita shrugged. Shota smirked, partially because she was a clueless wreck, and also the fact that Hizashi had so many silly pet names for her. He called her sweetheart in Japanese and English regularly. That, and honey, baby, and Link-chan were Hizashi's favourites, and Sugita often answered in kind, meanwhile the two idiots didn't even use each other's given names yet…Hizashi seemed to be taking all his pent-up affectionate needs out on his bratty, teleporting friend. He knew better than to try it with Shota. Sho was as much as he let Hizashi get away with… Unless his partner was in the middle of an orgasm. Then Shota let Hizashi's little pet names slide, but only then."I didn't hurt anybody... Yeah, I got sick cause I suck at dealing with all my bottled-up emotions, but I'm okay now. So yeah, not so bad," she looked up, meeting Hizashi's eyes. "The Commission sucked, but not like you're thinking. I mean, it was rough. The conditioning, the training, sure, all that shit right after graduating from UA, but I had a good team for a while. We had fun on missions… But… Other shit happened, so I quit. And I'm not ready to talk about that, okay?""Of course, Sugita," Hizashi was quick to reply, but—"I'm going to ask you some questions, you don't have to answer, Sugita," at Shota's interjection she sighed into her tea, but nodded without looking over at him. "Is Ren someone who left the Commission at the same time as you?" A nod. "A friend?""Not really… But he owes me…" She didn't elaborate further."Did you help Ren leave the Commission?" She nodded again. "And the other names mentioned?""Mm… Those ones are the main reason I left," Sugita explained, her tone a bit cold but even. "The last thing either of you needs in your life is the Commission, so let it go. We both know Mera said the names to give that information about me to Nezu or you… Probably for some bullshit reason." Her eyes locked on Shota's, "don't get involved.""Would you like to know if the people mentioned are actually in Tartarus, Sugita?" At Shota's quiet, but earnest question, she froze and then shook her head while Hizashi gaped at him."Who's in Tartarus?! Someone from the Commission?! Sugita—"Mic-chan, the main reason I left the Commission is rotting in Tartarus, and Aizawa found out because Mera thought bringing it up would help convince me to come back or whatever," Sugita explained slowly, holding Hizashi's near panicking gaze. "All it actually did was make me sick… And tired… Aizawa, just leave it for now… Please?" When she looked over, he nodded. Yes… For now.They all fell silent at that, finishing their tea as the lunch bell rang… Though it was clear Hizashi was struggling to hold back. Sugita looked exhausted when Hizashi took her empty teacup and set it aside along with his. Maybe she hadn't been sleeping lately either? Then there was a soft pop.Sugita appeared sitting sideways in Hizashi's lap, startling the man as she leaned into him. She was tall so it was easy enough for her to set her chin on the metal shoulder of Hizashi's coat. Tense, hands in her lap, waiting to see if he shoved her off or reacted badly.Wide, bright yellow-green eyes met Shota's, Hizashi's mouth falling open in shock, but only for a split second before Hizashi's arms were squeezing her tight. Sugita made one, tiny little sound, and then buried her face in the high collar of Hizashi's coat. "Just… For a minute," she mumbled, her voice muffled. "Don't kill me, Eraser.""Its okay, Sugita," Hizashi assured her, voice soft and smiley, looking like Christmas had come early this year.Shota stood before quietly stepping closer. Hizashi was holding Sugita so tight that Shota was surprised she could even breathe. Like this, Hizashi's little rat-elf actually looked small. Neither of them said anything more as she dozed off right there in his lap, not even stirring when Shota reached out and set his hand lightly on her head. Her light green hair was so soft… Just like her bratty little heart.Hizashi looked up at him as the small smile slipped away. Shota got to witness the moment when reality sunk in for his partner. When the Commission went from ally to enemy. Because they'd done something to Sugita. Something bad. It didn't matter that management had changed over there because the previous HPSC President had been killed. That didn't just magically erase the past, especially when the Commission continually proved just how wholly unethical they really were, new president or not. What was the truth behind his death?The only thing that really mattered right then, was that Sugita didn't want to go back, and just seeing them and speaking with them was enough to make her sick and weak. Shota rubbed his fingers through her hair a little bit, pulling his eyes away from Hizashi's as he started planning exactly how he was going to find out why… Tsukuda and Murayama..."No no no no Yamada! Don't, please! I mean it! Don't! I will leave, I swear I'll leave!" Sugita was freaking out and Hizashi was laughing. They were sitting in the break room at Sakura FM Radio. It was a fairly large room with black and white checkered floors, flashy red, faux leather furniture, a large keyboard, guitars, and a drum set across from them. The walls were decorated with signed records and mementos from all the many bands and artists that had come through the doors."Sugitaaaa, it'll be fun, I promise!" Hizashi whined, turning to his friend, and grinning at her horrified expression."No! I will never go on the air. Never. Stop it! You're a friggin' bully with all this damn peer pressure!" Sugita's face morphed into a glare as she pulled the bully card."I'm not a bully!" Hizashi near shouted, turning to frown at her. They were sitting on a sofa together, still in the school version of their hero costumes. Which was just the normal without gloves, bracers and her cape. And Hizashi without his directional speaker and headphones.The whole thing ended in a light scuffle with Sugita pinned against the wing of the sofa. Except… When Hizashi clamped his hand over her face to keep her snapping teeth at bay something warm and wet slid across his wrist, just below the edge of his glove and under the sleeve of his coat.They both froze, then he pulled his hand back and Sugita's pink tongue disappeared back behind her lips. "Shit! I'm sorry, Yamada!" It wasn't the first time, and Hizashi tempered his reaction better this time, sitting back with a careful smile.Certainly, didn't mean it was any less mind-blowingly erotic for him… Especially considering the fact that Sugita had a longer than average tongue. He never teased her about it because he knew it was part of the reason she called herself a freak, but… Damn… The first time it happened, she'd licked his neck and he'd been soo… SO... Affected that he'd confessed the whole thing to Shota later on. Who actually laughed at him, so there's that. Hizashi ended up not knowing how to deal with being painfully turned on by his best friend, and the fact that his husband thought the whole thing was hilarious.THEN he remembered that- oh yeah! He did know how to deal with being turned on by his best friend because he'd spent a good chunk of his teenage and his adult years with these exact same feelings. In other words, he was cursed, but yeah, he knew exactly how to deal: repress. Internalize. Deny. It hadn't worked with Sho, obviously, but Sho wasn't…A gorgeous, funny, sweet, teasing, effortlessly sexy… So fucking sexy…Ugh! Who am I friggin' kidding?! Sugita is exactly like Sho.This whole thing was like redoing his teenage years ten years after that hell was supposed to be over! Except now he was married, and he had the man! Literally, the man of his dreams… So why was Sugita so attractive to him?!"Sugita, it's fine! I told you before, you can lick me whenever you feel like it," okay, Hizashi was trying to be professional, but he also really liked the way her cheeks turned pink when he said that."Oh my fuck… Just shut-up, Yamada! You're making it even more weird!" She bounded off the sofa and started searching around the room."Sweetheart, it's not weird," he spoke softly, turning around to watch her over the back of the sofa. "It's a perfectly normal part of your quirk.""Yes, I'm a perfectly normal freak," she agreed while rolling her eyes."Sugita—"Licking you, or anyone, randomly is not normal, Yamada… Come on, man…" She persisted, just like last time."Baby, normal is whatever feels okay and right and healthy for you and your quirk…" Hizashi began. "What's not okay is always repressing these things. There's nothing weird or freakish about you, Sugita.""Tell that to my entire fucking family," she muttered it under her breath as she reached up and carefully pulled a framed, black record off the wall across from the door. Hizashi wasn't sure she'd even realized she said anything, but it still made his chest feel all tight… Because he could just imagine the sweetest little green-haired brat running around with little baby fangs and pointy ears and big beautiful eyes… And the thought of some awful parent telling her she was a freak made him want to just… Just really hurt someone. He didn't say a word to that because he knew Sugita well enough now to know if he pushed, she'd close up like a sad, angry little clam."Can I watch this time… Please?" At his question she stopped what she was doing, meeting his eyes with a sharp turn of her head."No!" She automatically snapped."Please, Sugita…" Hizashi wasn't ashamed to turn on the full force of his quirk as he watched her shiver in response."Damn, Yamada… Do you talk like that during sex?" She asked, eyes locked on him and just barely teasing."Wanna find out?" He kept going, voice low and deep and controlled in a rare move for him, and watched with a growing smirk as her eyes widened and her pupils visibly dilated in response."Fuck… Yes," she replied softly and took a single step closer before freezing up. Then she shook out like a tense dog before glaring at him, shoulders visibly shivering before she relaxed. "Fuck you, Yamada!" He laughed. "I'm rubbing off on you in a bad way, aren't I?""Geez, maybe so…" Hizashi admitted with a grin."What would Aizawa do if he walked in on me licking you, and-and humping your leg like some horny stray, huh!?" She snapped and he couldn't help but burst out laughing at that. "Kill me, that's what! You tryin' to get me strangled to death, Yamada? Are you!?""Okay, okay, I'm sorry, Sugita… But I still wanna watch… Please, just this once?" Hizashi pleaded shamelessly once again, and she sighed."Fine… But you better not freak out," at her words he was on his feet and hopping over the back of the sofa in an instant."I won't! I promise!" He declared before sitting down on his knees across from her when she sat on the floor and turned the frame over.The rest happened so fast he barely had time to do more than yelp in surprise. Sugita pulled a black jackknife from one of the cargo pockets on the thighs of her suit, snapped open the five-inch blade, leaned over the framed album, and viciously sliced open the inside of her right forearm with a rough jerk of her left hand holding the knife. It was deep enough that blood almost instantly splattered down on the back of the frame.Sugita didn't even react beyond holding her breath for a few seconds. No cry, or yelp of pain. She didn't even wince. Then she lowered her arm, bright red rivulets rolling down her tan skin as she put her hand right into the pooling blood.The blood glowed! Bright crimson for a few seconds and then when she lifted her hand the blood was gone! Completely gone! Or invisible!? Her hand was clean except for the blood still coming from the cut which she quickly sopped up with some bandage and used her teeth to tie it off in the messiest, sorriest excuse for first aid he'd ever seen… While he held it all in. He'd never wanted to yell at someone so bad in his entire life! His throat practically vibrated with the need."It's gone?" Was all he managed tightly, wielding iron control over his voice.Sugita shook her head, saying, "it's still there," a bit warily and wiped the knife on the bandage like she'd never even heard the word infection before, folded and pocketed it again. Then she hopped up and put the album back on the wall.Hizashi stood up and watched as she disappeared and reappeared in front of the framed record a few times before apparently deeming the mark satisfactory. Finally, she faced him with a small smile, "thanks for not—"It didn't hurt?" He cut her off, unable to not voice at least some of his concern.She scoffed, "of course it hurt. Like a bitch, actually," she looked down at the bloody bandages and…Were all those scars on her arms from blood link?! She was so used to the pain she didn't even flinch… Was that it? She gave a little grumble when he grabbed her for a hug but gave in pretty quick and nuzzled the high collar of his jacket. That was the most Sugita ever really hugged back if they weren't in the middle of a wrestling match, and emotions were involved. Just a limp, nuzzly noodle. "I gotta get on the air… Go see Recovery Girl, okay? See you tomorrow?""Sure… Want me to come get you after your shift?" Sugita asked, her voice muffled against his coat and Hizashi squeezed her a little tighter."Noooope, that'll be 3:30am," he said but Sugita was just so… Why was she like this? She was so kind and considerate sometimes that he just couldn't even understand how the heck she was even single. How come no one had snatched her up and married her beautiful ass?! He also kinda really hated the idea of that…"I'll be up," she said as she stepped back."Why?" He asked, poking her forehead and grinning when she tried to slap his hand away only to miss when he pulled back."Patrol.""What!? Alone!?" He blew her hair back with the force of his sudden shout. She was shocked for a second and then laughed like every time he accidentally used his quirk."Yes, Mic-chan. I'm all grown up and everything," Sugita snarked with a grin."Patrol with Sho, I'll text him," Hizashi pulled out his phone and Sugita immediately plucked it from his grasp with a high, incredulous laugh."Without you? Hell no! We both know you're the only reason Aizawa doesn't kill me several times a day." It was Hizashi's turn to roll his eyes, but he smiled when Sugita gave his phone back then reached up to pat his cheeks like he was a foolish child. "Yamada, that savage wolf you call a husband would choke me out five minutes in and leave me passed out on a roof somewhere for the entire night… So no, there is no patrolling with Aizawa without you.""Sugita—"No! No more of your bedroom voice! See you at 3:30." Then she was gone. Hizashi sighed.Shota was sitting on the step up from their doorway, lacing his boots when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. It was late, so it was either hero work related, or Hizashi.
Shota sighed as he tapped away on his phone, settling in for a conversation. He wasn't sure what Hizashi had been expecting, but clearly it didn't go over well.
It wasn't fair... But some quirks just weren't. And blood factor quirks were always up there with some of the hardest to understand and accept.
Mm. Was Sugita annoying on purpose? Did she have a single clue in her scattered brain? She thought she could tell Hizashi she was going on patrol alone and that would be just fine, after cutting herself open in front of him? Shota was up and out the door minutes after the tracking app on his phone started pinging the location of Sugita's cellphone..."What are you doing?""Nothing!" Shota scared Sugita so bad she basically screamed the word on instinct as she whipped around, possibly alerting everyone nearby to their presence on the roof of a four story apartment complex. "The hell, Eraser?!" Luckily her cry was easily drowned out by the heavy bass and chatter near the entrance of the club she'd been looking down on. Obviously not even paying attention to her surroundings. "Did you come all the way here to beat my ass for upsetting Hizashi again? Seems excessive… Even for you." She stood and circled away from the edge of the roof and him. Did she think he'd push her off? Hm.It was ridiculously easy to tell when Sugita got upset, hiding under her hood, arms crossed over her chest, all tense and defensive."Why didn't you go see Recovery Girl?" He asked, eying her for any sign that she was thinking about running off, face partially hidden behind his capture weapon."I'll go see her on Monday," she huffed. "It's just a little cut." His eyes dropped to the blood crusted bandage that looked liked she'd had a toddler tie on for her."Looks like it bled a lot," he commented, sounding uninterested."That's the point," she mumbled with a shrug. "So… He's pretty upset then?" Her tone was even too."Yes, he is," Shota confirmed quietly, and she twisted away before pacing."That's why I didn't want to show him! Anybody would be upset seeing that," Sugita exclaimed."Hiding things from him will only make him worry more," Shota was quick to counter.Sugita faced him, "Eraser, it's not even that bad as far as blood-related quirks go. Its not like I can stop using my quirk just because it hurts and Yamada doesn't like it."Shota nodded, but his temper spiked. Though he was careful not to show it. The Commission had trained her in assassination, he was sure of it. She was quick and cunning when she wanted to be. Observant with heightened battle senses… So why couldn't she put two and two together to make four?!"Sure, but there's no need to be a careless idiot about it. You should have thought about Hizashi's feelings. You should have shown him that you are capable of taking care of yourself. You should have cleaned and dressed your wound properly, or immediately teleported to Recovery Girl for a healing instead of acting like you don't give a shit about yourself." He finally unleashed a little of his own upset in this tone. Why was she like this? "You noticed Hizashi was upset no matter how hard he tried to hide it and instead of addressing his concerns like an adult you pretended you didn't notice and left him to stew and worry about it all night. He probably can't focus on his work at all." He couldn't see her eyes under the shadow of her hood, but she tensed, drew in a breath and exploded."What the hell?! Why the fuck?! I didn't pretend anything. I did think he was fine! Jeez Aizawa, you're his partner not his fucking dad!" She snapped, gloved hand flinging out aggressively as she leaned toward him. "I get that you're an overprotective asshole, but don't just assume all this shit about me! Hizashi was fine when I left… We even… I-I was going to port him home after his shift cause he's probably gonna be tired! The only reason I guessed he was actually upset was because you showed up here after tracking me down!" She straightened up sharply, eyes finding his in the dark. "Of course I would have talked about it if I'd known Hizashi was so upset! I thanked him for not freaking out. It was fucking NICE! Cause I actually thought he… Fuck! Well, good to know you think I'm a piece of shit! I don't even know why he's friends with me anyway." The breath she drew in was shaky. "Fuck you Aizawa, and fu-fuck Yamada too! For lying when it fuckin' mattered!" That little hitch in her voice made him tense up this time, eyes widening behind the fall of his dark hair.Shota didn't see her cry because she was just gone in the next second. He didn't even hear the rush of air or the usual pop over the music from the club. And thankfully too… He realized with a sharp stab of guilt that he really didn't want to be the reason Sugita cried… As if not seeing it didn't make it so or something ridiculous. Wherever she went, she'd probably shown up in tears. Shota sighed, and it turned into a full-blown groan of frustration as he lifted a hand and rubbed at the tension between his brows. He'd forgotten what it was like but… Friends are hard. And close friends really know where to land a hit to make it sting just right. Only he wasn't sure if he was actually the one that had landed the hit or if Sugita had…Watching Sugita run around with her gym class was actually quite funny, not that Shota even cracked a smile, but Hizashi was laughing quietly under his breath at his left. They were running around one of the big outdoor tracks. The majority of her students clearly had zero interest in running, but Sugita was having none of it… By scaring the shit out of anyone lagging, chasing them, lots of yelling, screaming, and laughing.Only a couple days of Sugita's silent treatment had passed and damned if that brat wasn't just completely avoiding them both with the skills of a teleporter. She responded to Hizashi's texts with short, concise answers. Never in the negative but with excuses instead. Hizashi was upset. And he showed it by being quiet. Quiet breakfast. Quiet supper. Quiet drive to work. Shota should have been loving it, but just like every time Hizashi got really upset- Shota lost his focus. It was totally illogical. All these emotions were annoying and a waste of brain power.So, naturally, the two of them ended their classes 15 minutes early in the afternoon on the Wednesday following their fight and met up to go corner the flight risk rat. And…"I want you to use Blood Link on me," Hizashi just blurted it right out. Sugita blinked. They were still out on one of the training fields and the kids had already slunk off to change and go home. Shota's presence deterred all the Presentlink fans. That's what the brats were calling it now. These two thought it was cute. Shota might admit it was too, but only in his darkest hour. The latest code going around his classroom was Chizashi. That one was at least clever. Of course, when they eventually found out about it, they'd love it."Why?" She asked, eyes clashing with Hizashi's. "You'd just get all upset over it… And what about you?" Her eyes cut to Shota, who was just standing there in his usual slouch, hands tucked in the pockets of his black hero costume. "Did you even discuss this?""No? Why would we need to?" Shota calmly replied. Actually they'd decided to avoid the topic of Sugita's quirk, but Hizashi blew that plan out of the water the moment he opened his mouth."Whatever. Forget it. No, I'm not doing it—"I'm so sorry, Sugita!" Hizashi cut in."Yamada, it's fine. I'm not mad or anything, I just needed to deal with my own head. I get it. There's nothing to worry about, okay? Let's just forget about it. You don't have to prove to me you're okay with all the weird shit with my quirk… A lot of its personal, ya know? You being so openminded about it is amazing, and I'm so lucky to have you in my life. Just… Don't ever think you've done anything wrong when it comes to me. I think you're… Uh… I don't think you realize that I…" She trailed off, her eyes moving over Hizashi's concerned expression before she looked at the ground and sighed. Shota wanted to echo that. "I just never wanna do anything that makes you feel or… Or even think some kinda shitty way about me…" She sighed again, then looked at Shota. "I'm sorry for overreacting, Aizawa. I didn't mean what I said.""I know," Shota began as her gaze dropped away again. "I apologize… For… I never meant to… I don't think that you're..."Sugita snorted, "smooth man… How are you worse at this than me?" She chuckled. "I was waaay over-tired… Can we just leave it at that?" Yes, yes we can."Yes.""I will NEVER think bad of you, Sugita! I think you're an angel!" Hizashi announced that to the entire campus probably, and Sugita scoffed while rolling her eyes, but at least she was smiling as Hizashi calmed down a little. "Also! Can I state, for the record, that I apologized first," both their eyes locked on Hizashi when he made that idiotic declaration. "And therefore am, by default, the humblest person on our team.""Humblest!?" Sugita burst out in a laugh and looked like she was about to declare Hizashi was the least humble person on the planet but instead she jumped forward, reached up and messed up Hizashi's hair till the mohawk was flopping to the side. "You're too pretty to be humble!"Hizashi took the chance to grab her around the waist. "That's not how it works! And I'm not pretty!""Oh my goodness! Are you serious? You're the prettiest man in the whole world! Right, Aizawa?!" Sugita said as she casually popped out of Hizashi's arms and reappeared back a few feet and still facing them."Su-Sugita!" Hizashi really didn't handle it well when Sugita just randomly slung around compliments like that."It's true," Aizawa replied in his usual disinterested tone."Okay, you know what… Aizawa wouldn't know pretty if it slapped him in the face," even Shota couldn't disagree with that. "But you can at least admit how hot Yamada is lately, ne? My workout regimen did that man's body good, didn't it!? Bet you noticed that, didn't ya, Ai-za-wa! He barely fits in his costume now!" Well, Sugita was back to normal and cackling like a horny witch before suddenly crowding him in, arms crossed over her chest with a serious look. "I bet Yamada looks really good naked, doesn't he?"Aizawa didn't get to slap her upside the head because, "team HUG!" Hizashi's shout blew their hair back and suddenly Shota and Sugita were squished together. He was surprised when she didn't immediately teleport away and that was the only reason he didn't fight out of Hizashi's hold."Fiiiine…" Sugita relented as Hizashi eased his death grip and they shifted around before settling a little more comfortably into a three person hug with Hizashi between them. Sugita's arm tentatively settled across his upper back while Hizashi's was locked around his neck, his other arm around Sugita's neck as Sugita squeezed Hizashi's waist. Shota lifted his arms and set them around the both of them. Hizashi made some kind of high-pitched, happy cry like he was either going to scream or burst into tears, so that made it worth the effort. But then… "Okay, enough hugging, let's fight!" Sugita demanded as she lifted her head out of the crook of Hizashi's neck. His partner groaned, squeezing tighter as if to preserve this rare moment. Shota smirked. "Well?! Who's getting make-up sex later?!" Hizashi sighed in defeat as Sugita ported away and stood across from them. Shota patted Hizashi's shoulder as he slumped dejectedly in a comical rendition of his flopped over mohawk. "You two married assholes, that's who! All I have is my hand an—"Sugita!" Hizashi cried, straightening up like he'd been hit with an electricity quirk. Sugita laughed. Hizashi groaned. "Baby… I don't wanna fight… Please…" He whined like a little kid."I guess you don't wanna go to the hot springs either then… Oh! Guess what?!" Suddenly there were three black and white postcards in her hand with an intricate flower design. "Nezu-chan gave me these… He said the Yunomori Onsen has this renowned shiatsu masseur who incorporates his fire-type quirk into the massage… It's impossible to get into see him… But not for Nezu-chan apparently." Sugita shrugged innocently. "He probably thought you two would want to come with me but… That's okay, I can always ask Kayama and Kan—Sugita laughed when Hizashi abruptly tackled her, shouting, "no quirks!" When she teleported away much to Shota's delight. He watched them face off after Hizashi hopped back to his feet, only just realizing how much he'd missed their quirkless sparring matches when they went a while without. Those two were both going to desperately need shiatsu when he was done with them…
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Shota was barely aware of Sugita at his side, or the fingers digging into his bicep as he kneeled beside Hizashi’s blood-soaked, partially crushed form sprawled on the floor of Recovery Girl’s office. There was blood everywhere. Hizashi was nothing but blood, dirt, and debris and he wasn’t moving. There was no green flare as Recovery Girl tried to kiss him for the third time. Just a small green spark in the middle of his chest that was… Crushed. His chest was visibly crushed in on the right side.The old lady healer was yelling something at Sugita but… Shota couldn’t-Then they were gone. Shota didn’t even really register his surroundings. His ears felt full and there was this ringing sound. It was dark and he was still kneeling except now on the floor of an apartment he didn’t recognize. Somewhere else.Sugita was shouting now, but words just weren’t getting through to Shota. Hizashi was still on his back, unmoving on the dirty floor with takeout containers scattered around in front of a large, flat screen TV, but he couldn’t even register what was on it… It didn’t look like Hizashi was even breathing…And then Sugita had Hizashi in her arms as another person… A tall man that looked like nothing more than a hazy shadow to Shota, grabbed Hizashi’s legs.Shota tried to reach out, but his body wouldn’t obey his brain’s commands... His fingers twitched at most. Sounds weren’t making sense. Light filled the dark room and cool air from the outdoors rushed over him. It was still morning. He felt like he’d been hit with a flashbang. All he knew was… Hizashi had been in a villain attack downtown in broad daylight, and it was just like before… Just like Oboro… Hit by falling debris.Shota didn’t know how long he was there for, unmoving, heart pounding, stomach twisting, staring down at Hizashi’s blood on his fingers… His hands. They were covered in it. Why didn’t Recovery Girl do anything…?“Sho… Shota? Can you… Hear me?” Words came back first. Sunlight was streaming in behind Hizashi. Was Shota dead too? That would be… So cliché.“Hi-zashi?” His husband was there, looking pale and bloody, neon green eyes tired and concerned as he crouched down in front of Shota.“You okay?” Seemed Hizashi was actually there, and still covered in blood and dirt. His directional speaker was cracked and laying broken around his neck. His black coat was torn up, headphones and glasses gone… Blood was all splattered up his neck and face. His long hair was falling around his face and matted with even more blood. He didn’t stop Shota when he pulled apart the edges of what was left of his partner’s hero costume and felt all over Hizashi’s bloody chest with shaking fingers.Nothing! There was nothing but a thin, jagged scar that traced over the bottom of his right peck and then went lower before spreading out like the branches of a spindly tree over his ribs and the top of his abs.So… Sugita did have a healer. At least the logic part of his brain was still functioning.“Sit down or I’ll knock you the fuck out, I swear!” The unknown man growled the words as Shota’s brain slowly started processing faster. The man… The healer, who looked even taller than Hizashi and was wearing nothing but a pair of dark boxers, shoved Sugita back by the shoulder, hard enough that she stumbled. He bent down, grabbed her ankle, and pulled it out from under her. “The fuck did you do to your feet?!” Her back hit the floor with a hard smack, and a groan from the woman.That’s right… Sugita’s feet were bare. When Shota called her to come to the scene, she’d arrived bare foot and in nothing more than a light blue tanktop, and pink pajama shorts. She hadn’t stopped for shoes or to get dressed.When Shota called, she’d come. Found his location in minutes, and then they’d taken only ten more to flash around the entirety of the collapsed warehouse. Collateral damage from whatever villain Hizashi and the team from the agency had taken down… Shota was only there because he’d been planning to pick up his husband after his mission.Hizashi had almost become collateral damage too. Him and three other heroes… They found them all as they searched for Hizashi, calling others to help them as best they could… Shota didn’t even know if they’d all made it… Fuck. Then they’d found Hizashi. His partner. His best friend. The only friend he had left. Stuck under rubble. Alive… But unresponsive.“Get them the fuck out of here, right now!” The healer snarled and Sugita gave a soft groan, shaking as she smacked the floor beside her twice. No wonder, the man had just pulled a thick, inch long shard of glass out of her left heel.“Sugita…?” Hizashi leaned heavily into Shota as they stood. He sounded confused and worried.“Yamada, you’ll be tired, so sleep, but you’re all healed now. And you’ll be crazy hungry when you wake up… Just sleep, okay? But text Nezu-chan to let him know you and Aizawa are okay… And whoever else,” she smiled at them from the floor. Covered in Hizashi’s blood but clearly relieved. She barely winced when the man pulled more glass and dirt from her foot. “Don’t talk to anyone about this. I’ll see you soon, okay?” Hizashi nodded and Shota just watched her as she stared at his husband. “Yamada, I—“This isn’t some sweet fucking moment right now! I don’t wanna hear you confessing your undying love to these assholes, Haru-chan! I said get them the fuck outta here!” The man continued on with his raving as he kneeled at Sugita’s feet. He had green hair too, but his was closer to the colour of grass and fell in a messy braid down his wide back. His skin was nearly stark white with a green tint. The light from the open doors of the balcony was streaming over him too. He could almost put All Might to shame with his physique, but certainly not with that attitude. Eyes as pink as plum blossoms pinned them with a glare just as he lifted his arm to block a bloody kick from Sugita.“Fuck you, Ren!” Sugita hissed and then she looked at them one more time.Then they disappeared from that messy, dirty apartment and reappeared on their own front doorstep.Hizashi was okay. Just really tired, like Sugita said he’d be. After washing him in the bath, they were standing in the shower to rinse off, bodies flush under the warm spray as Shota held him upright. He hadn’t let go of Hizashi for even a single second since he’d reappeared in front of him, bloody but whole again.When Hizashi’s lips trailed up the side of his neck, hands moving over his back, Shota barely bit back a groan. It was like his skin was extra sensitive after his near total mental breakdown, but it was probably nothing compared to how Hizashi was feeling. Coming back from pain and fear and… He could have died. He might be dead right now if Shota hadn’t shown up and… Sugita…Shota squeezed Hizashi tight, enjoying the way he shivered and moaned and moved against him, weakly seeking relief in his husband's arms after such trauma. When Hizashi tried to put enough space between them to reach for Shota, he brushed Hizashi’s hands away and pressed him back against the wall of the shower, easily taking control.Shota kissed him and Hizashi was instantly gasping his name, losing himself in it faster than ever as Shota rubbed his chest, careful of the new scar, tracing it with the lightest touch before his hand slid lower, touch becoming even more careful. Like he was scared Hizashi was going to break.He didn’t. At least not in the way Shota feared, and it was barely more than a few long, expert strokes before Hizashi was crying out against his lips, fingers tangled in Shota’s wet hair and digging into his shoulder as Hizashi thrust into his grip.Hizashi broke the kiss to breathe, “yes, Sho…” In his ear, shuddering and jerking as he came, squeezing Shota tight in his arms while panting and moaning against his neck. After that, some more of the tension in Shota eased as Hizashi dozed right there in the shower, plastered against him, arms draped over Shota's shoulders, face buried in his wet hair with Shota's arms like a vice around him. It was enough. Shota at least felt like he could breathe right again. His heart had a reason to keep going, despite all the missed beats.Hizashi sleepily refused to go to bed after the shower and they both pulled on some old house clothes while Shota watched him worriedly. “Sugita said to go to sleep.”“I’m fine… I wanna talk to her first,” Hizashi yawned as Shota followed him to the living room.They ended up on the floor of the living room on one of the spare futons after much stubbornness. Hizashi was still awake, head in Shota’s lap with a pillow as Shota sat, hunched over him and mentally willing his partner to go to sleep as he threaded his fingers through the long, silky blond hair still damp from the bath. The second Hizashi fell asleep he would rouse himself, sometimes sitting right up before flopping back down.When Sugita finally showed up in their living room, she was clean and wearing jogging pants, a black t-shirt, and Hizashi’s too big, pink house slippers she’d snagged when she came in the unlocked door. Clearly the healer had healed her too.“Yamada!? You’re supposed to be asleep!” She rushed over, dropping to her knees in front of Hizashi, the idiot. When he tiredly opened his arms there was only a slight pause before she fell into them, kissing his cheek before she buried her face in his neck.Sugita cried quietly. Hizashi cried tiredly. Shota cried silently.And when that fresh hell, that he never ever wanted to experience again- not just the entire incident, but the heartbreaking sight of Hizashi and Sugita sniffling and shaking in each other’s arms like two lost puppies, finally, blessedly ended, Shota moved. He slid down till he was laying in tight against his husband’s back, one arm locked around his lean waist and the other wiggling in under Hizashi’s… And Sugita’s heads, and he didn’t care. Sugita was hugging Hizashi just as tight as he was, her hand squished between Hizashi’s back and Shota’s ribs. Seemed she didn’t care either. Not right then.Hizashi didn’t get to talk to Sugita about anything, cause he went out like a light. Shota’s face was partially buried in Hizashi’s hair as he told Sugita about Oboro, and his death. Now he’d nearly lost Hizashi in the same way. She was quiet for a little while after and then-“Ren was on my old team at the Commission. Along with a woman, Satomi,” Sugita began. For them, shared pain was more of a comfort than any sympathy could achieve. “She died. Smoke inhalation. After we went up against a fire-quirk, we all ended up in the hospital, and the next thing Ren and I knew, Satomi was dead. After five years together on team Alpha.” Shota understood the little sigh that escaped her all too well. “He thinks the Commission had her killed, and it was all a cover up. Satomi was a crazy strong telepath… So maybe they got worried about how much she knew… I mean, he could be right. Back then, maybe those fuckers would have killed Satomi to silence her.” She paused… “They secretly got married. Her and Ren… Not on paper, cause the Commission used to be real assholes about that sort of thing. I was the only person that knew and the only person at the ceremony. So… I don’t blame him for being such an asshole all the time. He owes me for getting him out, but sometimes I think he hates my guts just for being alive. He blamed me for not teleporting us out of the toxic smoke fast enough… Even though he thinks the commission had her killed. AND just to top off that confusion, he sends me nudes like every time he gets drunk … So, figure that one out…” Sugita said the last with a sad little laugh.Shota thought he knew Sugita well enough now to know that she probably blamed herself too… And also, that he was not touching that mess even within his own thoughts. Though he did echo her laugh. What a nightmare. “Hey, so… That matching tattoo you and Yamada have- that’s for Shirakumo, huh?” She was talking about the cloud tattoo he and Hizashi both had on the inside of their left arm, just above the elbow. It was in the traditional Japanese cloud tattoo style of wispy swirls, and pale blue highlights that matched the colour of Oboro’s hair.“Yes. We got them when we got married,” at his response, Sugita sighed.“I’m so glad you called me…” Her voice was quiet.“Me too.” His was even quieter.Then they talked. Sugita gushed over how cool Loud Cloud’s quirk must have been and he told her some of the antics they got into during their time at UA. She told him about some of the crazy shit Team Alpha went through. It was the first time he’d ever been able to openly talk about Oboro with anyone. Even Hizashi only ever got a few words out of him about it. Hizashi had been able to heal along with Kayama and some of his other friends, but not Shota.He hadn’t even realized that wound was still open and bleeding till it started to feel a tiny bit better. It was nice. Admittedly comforting to not be laying there losing himself in dark thoughts and buried fears. Him… And Sugita. Talking more than they ever had before with Hizashi squeezed in between them and snoring away. The loud blond was going to be sad he missed it. As long as he was okay, nothing else really even mattered… Things changed. Should Hizashi be worried that it had taken a serious threat to his well-being? Probably. Sho finally calmed down on Sugita. In fact, he nearly ripped Kayama’s head off more than once for making some lewd comment about Sugita when she wasn’t around, or openly fawning over their co-worker like she usually did. It was to the point now that saying anything about Sugita around Sho was basically taboo. Hizashi didn’t even think Sho stuck up for him like that… Sho probably just agreed with a solemn nod when people called him a loudmouth.Hizashi couldn’t remember much of what happened. All he knew was Sho and Sugita, who hadn’t even been anywhere near when the building fell on his team, thankfully, got him back to Recovery Girl only to find that there wasn’t enough life left in him for her quirk to do the trick. They should have taken him straight to the ER…Instead, all he remembered of the healing from the mysterious Ren was bright light, almost unbearable heat, and then poor Shota totally traumatized… Then the healer in just his underwear, yelling and manhandling Sugita in some gross, dirty apartment… She’d been wearing nothing but blood-soaked pajamas, feet stuck full of glass from teleporting around the collapsed three-story warehouse. Then apparently, Sho and Sugita trauma-bonded while he was passed out and all snuggled up on the tiny futon between them! He couldn’t even remember that part because life was totally unfair. Ever since, Sho and Sugita were noticeably closer. Shota stopped strangling her with his capture weapon as a hello, and even, much to her utter delight, started helping her with students from time to time instead of just telling her to figure it out. The biggest difference was during sparring though. Shota brushed off her teasing more easily and was a little more careful with her. No one mentioned it and Sugita probably didn’t want to ruin a good thing. Shota even seemed to enjoy letting Sugita think she was winning before chuckling at her as he turned the tables like it was all some enjoyable ruse. Hell, it was Sho, so beating down Sugita when she looked all triumphant probably was the highlight of his week.Then he would spend several long minutes letting them both know exactly when they’d messed up and how many times he could have taken them down… If he wanted to. They were both sad excuses for fighters and relied on their quirks too much and so on… And on… And on…It should have probably been annoying, but Hizashi loved seeing Sho finally opening up to Sugita, even just a little bit. He started to treat her more like he treated Hizashi, and Sugita was actually a little love, touch, and affection starved kitten so she couldn’t help but respond in kind and started treating Shota the way she treated Hizashi. Like a cherished friend. The friend Sho could have had all this time if he wasn’t so closed off…“Sugita-sensei!” One of the girls called the second Sugita appeared after the bell rang. Shota had stuck around to sleep in the corner in his sleeping bag while Hizashi taught 1-A English.“Hel-lo, Miss Gomi. How are you today?” Sugita whipped toward the waving student, speaking in slightly broken, heavily accented English. Hizashi smirked and gave a little clap for her efforts to which she shot him a huge toothy grin. Sugita was his favourite student after all. He was teaching her JSL and Korean too. English was easiest for her though since she’d learned it in high school and spent time abroad while with the Commission, so it was all just a refresher after a few years without speaking much English. He opened his mouth to speak, but she stuck her tongue out at him and effectively silenced him. Cause that tongue.Gomi Sayuri had long dark brown hair and dark eyes with red crosshairs for pupils which basically turned to hearts as she gained Sugita’s attention. “Are you married, Sugita-sensei?” Gomi just threw it right out there and Hizashi hid his smile behind a hand. Some of the girls were crushing on Sugita-sensei even more than the boys. Course, the girls were in a league of their own when it came to crushing on their pro hero senseis. He’d even heard them gush over Nezu’s cuteness.Sugita then appeared right in front of Gomi’s desk. She leaned forward and took the girl’s chin gently in her long, slender fingers, meeting her eyes as she tilted her head back. “No, but only because I haven’t found anyone as pretty and smart as you yet, Gomi-chan,” Sugita purred, and Gomi’s friends muffled their screams while the brunette looked like she was going to faint.“Sugita, stop flirting with my students,” everyone froze at that deep, sleepy, growly voice. Sugita straightened up with a chuckle, and ruffled the simpering student's hair while looking over. Aizawa-sensei was up and looking like a huge, yellow caterpillar reaching for a leaf with a tuft of black hair and glaring eyes before he wiggled around and started unzipping his sleeping bag. Everyone relaxed.“What about Yamada-sensei?” Another girl asked. “Are you two dating?”Sugita put a hand to her forehead before sighing dramatically, “sadly your handsome Yamada-sensei is married to his work.”The girls didn’t even take the bait. “We think Yamada-sensei is secretly married to Kayama-sensei anyway,” Gomi replied, and Sugita turned to Yamada with a snicker. “A lot of pro heroes have secret families or keep their identities secret, to be safe, right… So… What about Kan-sensei?”Hizashi didn’t even try to quiet the stomping of his boots as he appeared at Sugita’s side in an instant, towering over the gaggle of four girls who stared up at him with huge eyes.“What about Kan-sensei?!” He nearly shouted.“Are you serious, Yamada-sensei!?” Gomi gasped. “Kan-sensei is basically the head of the Link fan club! He only thinks she is the bravest, kindest, sweetest, most beautiful and amazing pro hero to ever exist!” “No way?!” Hizashi yelled, blowing all the kids' hair back.“Kan-sensei, huh?” Sugita mumbled with interest as she put her hand on her chin and clearly thought about it.“What‘s this about Kan-sensei?” Sho appeared on Sugita’s other side like a dark, barely alive, cranky shadow monster, and two of the girl’s squeaked like frightened mice. “Are you four hanging around my classroom to gossip? If you have so much free time, I have the perfect extra training to fix that problem…” “No Sensei! We were just leaving!” The girls were up and scrambling to get their stuff but froze as one, gaping like fish out of water when Sugita slung an arm over Sho’s shoulders and leaned in close.“Hey man… What extra training?” Sugita asked, cause extra training was like her on-switch. “Have you been holding out on me?”Sho turned to her, his hand coming up to wrap around her upper arm and since her other arm was still around his shoulders it looked very much like a near intimate embrace. “Sugita… If you're going to continue with your inappropriate behaviour with the students then no extra training for you,” Sho grumbled the words, his voice deep and still rough from sleep.“Aizawa-sensei… Come on… Please,” Sugita begged with a pretty little pout… Hizashi even tensed up a little at that. Damn… That was just… The girls made some kind of sound as they huddled together like they were watching the love scene in a horror movie unfold right before the killer struck. Hizashi could literally see this new ship setting sail in their eyes. And then-“Alright fine,” Shota gave in, and Sugita happily disappeared and then reappeared sitting on a desk, holding a notebook and a pencil to begin scribbling as Sho started outlining the actual extra training schedule he’d been talking about. Hizashi laughed at the girls’ obvious disappointment as they escaped doing their best to hold it all in till they got out in the hall and started screaming out their teenage hormones once more.Two sets of eyes locked on him, one as bright as the other was dark. They paused their discussion and Hizashi, for a second, thought that they’d stopped talking totally of like mind… Just to watch him laugh.“Mic-chan, you’re so pretty,” Sugita cooed, and he rolled his eyes in mild exasperation.“Sugita… No.” Was all he said firmly in response, and she frowned, while Shota’s lips turned up in the tiniest grin.“But Mic-chan… What about all those big muscles…?” It was kinda hilarious that Sugita knew exactly what he was talking about even if he really didn’t like what she said. Shota sighed. Now they had to worry about Vlad King apparently. Things changed. There was no helping it. Not after seeing Hizashi like that. Sure… It wasn’t the first time Hizashi had been seriously injured. They’d both been hospitalized more times than was even worth remembering over the years but… Something had snapped this time, when Recovery Girl’s quirk just didn’t work. Now Hizashi was holding the newly broken pieces together, leaving Sugita as the glue in the cracks.Shota smirked when she reached across the table and punched his shoulder between bites of her soba noodles. Sugita sat beside Hizashi in the cafeteria, and across from him. “That really hurt, Aizawa!”“I already apologized, what more do you want?” He asked around sips of green tea. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t feeling a bit guilty about it, especially when her face fell again… As if she was trying to be okay with it, but something a little deeper was hurt, and an apology hadn’t really fixed it.Hizashi was looking down at the objects in question with a worried frown. “Baby, maybe you should go see Recovery Girl?”“No, I’ll be fine,” Sugita grumbled, but she was more hunched forward than usual and looked a bit pale and uncomfortable. Shota had body slammed her during training that morning and she’d landed pretty hard, chest first. “I’ve had way worse than this. This one villain stabbed me right in the left boob. I think it was the most pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life even though Ren healed it pretty quickly. The scar hurts like a bitch during PMS though… But better that than getting shanked in the heart right? Boobs really are useful. You guys are missing out.”“What kind of complete fucking monster would ever stab one of your beautiful mooncakes?” Hizashi practically hissed the words like an angry viper and Sugita looked shocked before chuckling. It was pretty rare to hear Hizashi swear like that at school.“Mooncakes!? Heh! Nice one, Mic-chan. Damn, I wish my hero name was Mooncakes!” Sugita pouted and Hizashi couldn’t help but laugh, instantly cheered up by her nonsense even if he was clearly upset.“What’s his name?” Shota asked calmly after eating some rice even though his appetite was ruined. How many more of her scars were from close calls? He could only imagine the kind of careless stunts Team Alpha pulled off thanks to the safety net of having a healer and a teleporter on their team… He hated the very idea of it. He knew damn well the Commission was more likely to support that kind of bullshit mentality over a much-needed reprimand. They’d probably threw her team into crazy, deadly situations without a second thought! He couldn’t even allow himself to start thinking about it or he’d be tempted to go and find out for himself. And then there’d be no more Commission, and he’d be locked up in Tartarus. “Is he still alive?”Sugita barked out another laugh, almost choking on her noodles. “Yes, she’s in prison,” at her words they both just stared at her for a minute. Processing.“Which prison? Name?” It was Shota’s turn to hiss.“Why? Are you gonna go beat her up?” Sugita snickered, but stopped when neither of them laughed along with her.“Yeah, actually… Which prison is it? Maybe the guards’ll take a bribe…” Hizashi had stopped eating and was rubbing Sugita’s hunched back. “Please go see Recovery Girl, Sugita?”“No way! She’ll probably be able to tell I’m all boob-hurt,” Sugita complained.Shota was still seething quietly over the fact that some crazy hag had stabbed Sugita in the chest, and the shit with the Commission, feeling even more guilty knowing he’d reminded her of something awful when Hizashi leaned forward to look at him with interest. Hizashi propped his elbow on the table and his chin on his gloved hand like he was about to start a normal conversation. “Sho, do you think granny Chiyo’s kisses can help with period cramps?”Shota blinked before smirking at his ridiculously smart husband, “I don’t see why not. Period pain is caused by a natural chemical response, but the resulting inflammation could be treated—Sugita was gone before he finished speaking and when she reappeared minutes later, she was grinning. The colour had even returned to her skin, and she looked over at Hizashi with hearts in her eyes, “Mic-chan, you’re my favourite hero…” Sugita said it with such blatant affection that Hizashi froze, still leaning on the table. “You’re my favourite everything.” Suddenly she was pinning Shota with a glare. “Aizawa, let’s fight! Winner gets Yamada!”Hizashi gasped and Shota couldn’t contain the little laugh as he shook his head, “Sugita… I’ll break you into tiny pieces…” He replied, grin turning sharkish… Shota would put her in her place… But he’d also be extra careful not to hurt Sugita’s beautiful mooncakes ever again. And actually… No more sparring during period time at all, just in case.“I like her,” the quiet admission came from across their table and Hizashi looked up from his dinner to Sho, except the man was leaning over his curry.“Huh?” Hizashi asked as he tucked some long strands of pale hair behind his ear. “You mean Sugita? Sure, what’s not to like? She’s awesome!” He peered at Sho over the edge of his rectangular glasses for a minute and when the man said nothing else just kept eating and not looking, Hizashi went still. “You like Sugita… Shota… You… Like Sugita?!” Hizashi shouted the last part, blowing Shota’s hair back with the slight force and finally his husband looked up with a smirk. “The hell!? Since when do you like anybody?! You don’t even like me half the time!” Sho merely shrugged, grin turning into a soft laugh as he shook his head at that last part. “Are you serious?” There was a pause before Sho nodded and sipped his tea. “Are we going to talk about this or are you just going to remain nonverbal?”“Let’s talk about it,” Sho replied, setting his green bamboo cup down.“I… Am…” Hizashi hesitated, fingers clenching around his chopsticks before his shoulders sagged and his head dropped. “So in love with her…” he said the words quietly, staring down at his plate.“I know, Hizashi,” Shota’s response was perfectly soft and surprisingly kind, but Hizashi’s neon green eyes still whipped up, swimming with clear anguish.“But I’m in love with you, Sho! Always. That hasn’t changed at all. My feelings for you haven’t changed, and I’d never do—“Relax, Hizashi,” Sho cut him off. “I’m not threatened by how you feel about Sugita. I know I’m part of the reason you’re capable of feeling so strongly for someone outside of our marriage. I get it. I like her too. I’m attracted to her.” Hizashi choked on an inhale. Shota was asexual so him being attracted to someone other than Hizashi was a big deal. At least, Hizashi thought so.“Are you… Attracted to anyone else?” Hizashi carefully broached the subject.“Just you,” Shota calmly declared. Hizashi knew full well Shota meant he was sexually attracted to Sugita. That’s how much Sho liked her. It had been damn near ten years of friendship before Shota saw him as a potential partner and not just a best friend.“So… What’s it like?” Hizashi pressed, weighing his own feelings carefully.“At first there was nothing like that, same as anyone. I liked that she makes you so happy. Then I started to like the way she tells me off, jokes with me, tries to make me laugh, and then acts like she achieved some lifelong personal goal when she succeeds,” Sho explained sounding like he was talking about his student’s grades or something equally unimportant as he sipped some more tea. “She reminds me of you. She gets mad at me, especially if she thinks I’m not being considerate enough of your feelings.” Sho didn’t touch on Sugita’s role in rescuing and healing Hizashi. They still weren’t ready to talk about it. Sugita wasn’t either. The only other person that knew anything about the whole situation with Ren was Nezu, and Recovery Girl by default. “It’s… Cute.” “Cuuuute!?” Hizashi practically shrieked. “Oh fuck! If only she heard you say that!” He laughed before groaning and leaning dramatically back in his chair. “She is so fucking cute, and she doesn’t even know.”“And…” Sho paused, setting his elbows on the table and leaned a little closer, “her scars…” Their eyes locked and Hizashi swallowed hard before nodding slowly.“There’s this light one, like a line… On her hip that—“Comes up past the edge of the waist band of her pants. And curves to the left,” Sho continued and Hizashi reached up to slap his warm cheeks before covering his face with a groan.“That probably really hurt, but fuuuuck…” Hizashi groaned the word.Sho huffed, “I know.” Hizashi’d be lying if he said this whole conversation wasn’t making his head spin a tiny bit. Shota liked Sugita! And he’d clearly already accepted that about himself, in typical Sho-style, before Hizashi even let himself admit it… To himself! “Sho…” Hizashi groaned into his hands some more. “This is ridiculous…”“How so?” Sho asked, pinning him with a serious look. “I’ve always been open to you finding someone outside our marriage,” he lifted his hand to stop the protests on Hizashi’s tongue. Hizashi dropped his gaze again. It was true. Sho had always pushed him, gently, toward others, and always insisted he knew he couldn’t satisfy all Hizashi’s needs. That he’d be happy if Hizashi found someone more… Emotionally available. Someone he could openly be with in public, if that’s something he wanted. That it wouldn’t change a thing between them, unless Hizashi wanted it to. It was Hizashi that had always fervently resisted. “So… Have you considered bringing Sugita into our marriage?”Hizashi instantly shook his head, eyes wide. “What do you mean?!”“Polyamory. A three way relationship,” Hizashi gaped at the words, feeling like his entire body had just heated up. “Okay… I-I know what that is, but I don’t—“We’re no stranger to keeping our relationship a secret so that wouldn’t be a problem, for us at least,” Sho continued on like an emotionless bull. “The three of us. Together.”“Together?! Three… Of us…?” Hizashi was on his feet in an instant and pacing, running his fingers through his hair. “I… I don’t know.”“There’s no rush, Hizashi. Take some time to think about it,” Shota softly insisted, eyes following Hizashi.“Cause you’ve already thought on it!?” Hizashi jabbed a finger in his direction but only got a smirk as an answer. “You want to? You want to… With Sugita?!” “How does that make you feel, Hizashi?” Sho asked, leaning forward on the table and studying him.“I don’t know… I don’t know, Sho… I… You and… And Sugita…” Hizashi turned away, hunched slightly forward and gripping the counter. “You and Sugita? Me and Sugita and… And you…”“Hizashi, sit down. Just take some time to think about it, and if you don’t want to, I’m perfectly happy just as we are. There’s no need to—“No! No… I think I like this. I like the idea of you and Sugita. It doesn’t make me feel jealous or upset. It makes me feel… Fuck… Hot and confused and like there’s no way I could ever deserve something as good as that,” Hizashi turned around as he spoke and Sho just smiled. But Hizashi’s expression changed a little. “We should talk about something else too… Cause I don’t think you and Sugita have had much alone time together, and you’re both fine with never talking about feelings ever so… Well, you know Sugita says she has some mental health issues.”“Right, most heroes do,” Shota nodded, still smiling in that gentle way he does when he goes into his ‘tell me what’s wrong, I won’t kill anyone’ mode.“Yeah, of course… Just Sugita. She really hates her quirk,” their eyes locked and after a long few seconds Sho’s eyes shifted away as he thought on it. “Or at least, the blood factor.”“Right. Blood Link…” Sho said, glancing away in thought. It was easy to forget there was a blood factor. After a minute Sho asked, “she’s still never used it with you?” Hizashi shook his head.“I think there’s some real trauma there and if we do this… I think step one is getting her to open up and at least tell us why she hates it so much. And it’s gonna be a fight. Cause everything personal is a fight with her.” Hizashi sighed but Shota’s smile came back.“And when was the last time I lost a fight?”“Good point…”The last straw for poor, love-sick Hizashi was none other than Nemuri. Surprise, surprise. When Shota strode into his classroom after Hizashi’s English class ended, a few of the students were still there and he was not the least bit surprised to see Sugita sitting cross legged on the end of the desk and scrolling away on her phone while Hizashi worked on some papers, seated at the desk.As per usual, the students scurried off as quick as possible when Shota made his way into the room. He spared them a cursory glance, noticing they’d likely only stayed to gawk and giggle about the two oblivious pro heroes in the room. All the brats were whispering about these days was Sugita-sensei and Yamada-sensei. Not surprising since the two of them were constantly together.Without over thinking it, Shota walked right up to her and slid his arm around her shoulders. She tensed so hard even her breath caught, and she stared down at her phone for a few seconds before finally relaxing her shoulders and saying, “no means no, Kayama-sensei,” without even looking over.Oh… Shota’s eyes flashed to Hizashi’s whose smile instantly disappeared. Shota curled his fingers around her upper arm and leaned his head down to her ear asking, “what’s this about Kayama?” in a low voice.“Aizawa!” She gasped his name, and her head whipped around, leaving their faces only inches apart. Sugita’s pale green eyes had little streaks of a slightly darker green, he noticed. He also noticed the way she relaxed and seemed almost relieved it was him. “You wanna kiss or something?” She snarked, with a teasing grin. “Do you want me to kiss you, Sugita?” At his words she rolled her eyes and turned her instantly flushed face away with a huff.“I can never get one up on him…” She commented to Hizashi with a pout who grinned in response. His bright eyes were a bit wide behind his yellow glasses as he watched the display. A little nervous as he rolled the chair back and swivelled to face them.Shota lifted his arm away to ruffle her short hair, forcing her head down a little. Sugita growled like a dog and turned sharply to bite his arm in retaliation, her teeth latching onto his bicep just enough to pinch him through his hero costume. Her hair was long enough to catch between his fingers and pull. She released her bite and let him pull her head back.Suddenly they were just staring at each other, frozen. Her lips parted just enough to see a hint of fang, red cheeks, pupils wide and staring up at him. Did she like that? Shota pulled a little harder, arching her neck and was rewarded with the tiniest, barely there moan that he felt even more than that little bite. There was a soft pop and rush of air before she disappeared and reappeared sitting on Hizashi’s knees like his husband’s lap was her safe space, facing Shota, and pointed an accusing finger at him while glaring, “no hair-pulling, you scruffy old goat!” Her other hand came up the rub at her scalp.“Then no biting, you flighty little rat,” Sho returned though he wasn’t glaring, instead he was doing his best to look unaffected.“Hey, no fighting, you two,” Hizashi said with a quiet huff before wrapping his arms around Sugita. He leaned forward to bury his face in her hair before sighing softly, squeezing tighter when she tried to turn and look at him.“What’s wrong, Yamada?” She asked with a frown. “We were just playing, ne Aizawa?” She explained, patting the arm around her waist.“Of course,” Shota agreed easily, hoping Hizashi wasn’t actually upset by what he’d just witnessed.“What happened with Kayama?” Hizashi asked, talking into her hair. Ah, yes. That.Sugita relaxed into Hizashi’s arms a little bit, “ummm, well… Do you two mind if I tell her I know about your marriage?”“Why do you ask?” Shota was the first to reply, leaning on the desk and watching them, arms coming up to cross over his chest, already sensing he wasn’t going to enjoy this conversation.“She’s always coming at me with these subtle hints that Yamada isn’t single,” she smirked. “How long have we been friends now? As if I still wouldn’t know you’re married.” She rolled her eyes. “I mean, she knows, right? She mentioned you went to school together. Or I could just tell her I know Hizashi isn’t single and that I’m not trying to get in his pants.” She said the last with a snicker, but then said, “I think she wants to date me… Or maybe she just wants sex… I’m not good at figuring out that sorta thing.”Hizashi reacted as expected- he yanked his clueless friend further into his lap, turned her, bent her over his arm and met her widened eyes as she basically just laid there in shock, arms limp at her sides and staring at him.“What’d she say?” The fact that Hizashi’s voice was low and controlled was actually a little more alarming than the expected shouting.“Ummm… She asked if I was single… Plus, she pounces on me like a horny tiger every time she sees me and maaan, she’s so fucking hot! I have never been so thankful for my quirk. I do not need to be getting all hot ‘n bothered in front of a cafeteria packed full of teens…” Sugita paused, sounding a little exasperated. “And well, she asked me to come out this weekend. Some bar called Glamour.” “You think Kayama’s hot?!” Of course, Hizashi got stuck on that part.“I… I think everyone’s hot—“Sugita,” Shota began, and her head whipped toward him, going still at his tone. “If you don’t like it when Kayama does that to you, you need to tell her to stop.” She blinked once before her eyes slid away and she stared blankly down at the floor. How someone could be as equally insecure as they were perverted was beyond him. “You don’t like it?”She sighed. “I… Don’t like it,” Sugita admitted quietly and then quickly explained, “it’s not because of her! I think she’s nice and she really is beautiful and sweet. It just makes me feel on edge around her.” Kayama was anything but sweet. Pouncing on Sugita wasn’t smart either. Sugita was probably just as anxious about hurting Kayama by mistake as she was about being unexpectedly touched. Shota instantly regretted touching her before making sure she knew he was there when he walked in and unintentionally reminding her of Kayama. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. It had taken almost an entire school year for her to get this comfortable with Hizashi. Even now she clearly didn’t know what to do with her hands, and she was tense and probably a little nervous. “She asked you out… To a bar?!” Hizashi’s brain was still barely processing apparently. “But you don’t drink, like ever!”“Yeah… But it’s not like I get asked out very often… Or ever,” she looked back at Hizashi with a big, pointy-toothed grin and a shrug, “I’ve never been on a date before.”“Whu-what?” Hizashi choked on his question and Shota frowned.“Creepy vampire-elf freak, remember?” She explained, smile slipping a little. “I was a total loner at school. Seven years at the commission… Then therapy, and teacher training… Here. It’s not like I’ve had the opportunity to find some weirdo who’d actually wanna date me.”“Wait… Have you never been with anyone?” Hizashi asked, the hand that wasn’t behind her back closed around her jaw to stop her from avoiding his eyes.“This one guy… But he was just… It wasn’t real…” Her eyes searched Hizashi’s face carefully. She reached up to pull off his yellow glasses. He didn’t have his directional speaker on, never wore it for classes. Then just her eyes moved to look over at Shota cause Hizashi was still holding her face. Another long sigh escaped her. “I mean I thought it was but… Turned out the Commission had paid him off cause they wanted to know if my quirk factor would work, or work better or differently with that sort of DNA transfer…” Hizashi visibly tensed. “Sugita… Chiharu…” Hizashi’s voice was low and quiet and so carefully modulated. “What are you… Saying right now?” Shota was… Frozen, just staring at the two of them after he’d straightened up and faced them. His hands had dropped almost limply to his sides, but tension rolled up his back and into his shoulders. “They paid this guy, who I thought was my boyfriend, to seduce me. To see if sex… As in- they wanted to know if the DNA in a man’s sperm would create a better or longer lasting link than blood for my quirk,” she explained quietly but tensed when Hizashi was suddenly squeezing her tight, pinning her arms as he buried his face in against her upper chest, head tucked under her chin, blond mohawk in her face. “I never understood why it would even matter, ya know? Was it just some sick curiosity worth paying for? As if the link when I use blood wasn’t already plenty good enough…. It’s… Pretty fuckin’ disgusting, isn’t it…?”“No! Nnn-no! Sugita don’t,” Hizashi’s voice was muffled against her bodysuit. “Don’t say that…” This. Was this why those people from the Commission, Tsukuda and Murayama, were in Tartarus? Was this what Mera had been talking about at the meeting when Sugita snapped and threatened him? This had to be what Sugita hadn’t been ready to talk about before… No wonder she’d been so upset.“It’s in the past,” Sugita added gently, eyes downcast, as if Hizashi was the one who needed comfort. “Iruka-san told me I should tell you or Aizawa, or both of you about it a while ago.” Iruka-san was Sugita’s therapist. “She’s always harping about how it’s good to tell friends or family you trust about your past. Even the super shitty stuff… I think it’s total bullshit,” she gave a little laugh. “But I do feel a little better… I think. And maybe you’ll be able to understand me a little better now… You know, if that’s something you even want.”Hizashi reeled back, easing his death lock on the woman before grabbing her face in both his hands where she was leaning against the arm rest of the office chair. “Of course! You can tell me and Sho anything!” The look on his husband’s face as he tried to swallow his anguish pushed Shota to the point of murder. He’d find them in Tartarus, and he’d kill them. It was really quite simple.“That’s right,” Shota quietly managed the words, knowing it was the best he could do.“You can tell me anything too. You both can,” she replied, and Shota knew it was true. Sugita was the kind of person that would assist him with premeditated murder. Simply because he asked. The kind of friend who would do anything for someone she cared about. In that way, she was vulnerable. To manipulation especially. She thought Shota was her friend, like Hizashi was, but it wasn’t like that.This wasn’t friendship for Shota anymore. He didn’t desire his friends. He wouldn’t be half plotting some kind of romantic takedown on a friend. Sugita wasn’t a friend or just a teammate, she was someone he actively planned to marry. Not in the legal sense, since he was already married, but in every other possible sense of the word.The fact that Hizashi’s happiness was so tied up in this little, green-haired flight risk made it even more of a pressing matter. The faint sting as his quirk activated on its own for what might be the first time since he was a teenager, surprised him. Neither of them noticed, as Hizashi had gone back to trying to hug a slightly stiff Sugita like she was his long-lost child.“Me and Sho’ll take you on a date,” Hizashi declared, face buried in her neck now, only squeezing tighter when she tried to wiggle out of it.“No way! I don’t want some pity date from you two dorks!” Sugita protested with a little laugh, but suddenly twisted her head around and gasped, meeting Shota’s glowing red gaze with a visible shudder. He only smirked at her shocked expression. Clearly she’d tried to use her quirk to escape Hizashi’s hold and couldn’t.Kayama sure as fuck wasn’t allowed to touch Sugita when she didn’t want her too, but Hizashi was a totally different story. His quirk was certainly going to come in handy when they wanted to stop Sugita from disappearing at any given second. That was going to be more than a little frustrating later.“It’s not like that!” Hizashi protested with a cry that sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “Please… Chiharu, please!” Shota had never heard his husband sound like that before. Begging. Upset and in pain. Begging for a chance with this emotionally stunted brat. Apparently, Hizashi wasn’t above a little manipulation himself, even if he didn’t realize what he was doing.“Okay! Okay… Calm down, Hizashi…” At the way Hizashi tensed up a little Shota knew this was the first time she’d ever used his given name. This conversation might be the first time for both of them. Idiots. “Can’t we just hit the gym? That’s basically a date, right?” She whined and sent him a glare. “Ugh! Aizawa, stop it! That’s bad, you’re a bad dog!”Hizashi finally looked over, startled to see Shota's quirk active and bit out a sharp, shuddering laugh, finally easing his hold on Sugita but not before planting a kiss on her cheek with enough force to move her head before he pulled back.Sugita pulled her arms free, slid Hizashi’s glasses back on, and planted her hands on his shoulders while giving him an exasperated look, “no kissing allowed!”“What about on our date?” Hizashi asked and Sugita shook her head. Shota blinked, before digging into his pocket for his eye-drops, unable to stop himself from smirking at their nonsense as the tension eased. It was Hizashi’s turn to whine. “And no, we aren’t just going to the damn gym. We’re gonna do something fun that does not involve running, working out, or beating each other up. This Sunday, okay?”“Fiiiiine…”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Shota was propped up in bed and working on his lesson plans on his phone while absently petting Hizashi’s hair as he curled up against his chest like an attention-hungry cat. He’d been like that for days, using Shota as his best-worst way to deal with his emotions… Over Chiharu. Hizashi had even changed her name on his phone from Sugita to Chiharu.Shota glanced down when Hizashi’s phone buzzed in his hands. He was texting Chiharu to ‘practice’ English.
“You’re shameless,” Shota commented drily, though Hizashi’s head bounced a little as Shota laughed quietly.“Hush, you,” Hizashi mumbled as he got back to texting with a big, goofy grin on his face.“What’s that picture you have for her?” Shota asked, referring to the little picture of Sugita's face above her name on Hizashi's phone. “A pic of Chiharu and her neighbour’s cats,” Hizashi answered. “She says it’s the only pic she has of herself that she likes, and only cause there’re cats in it.”Shota's huff echoed Hizashi's. “Let me see...”
“Is she growing her hair out?” Shota asked, before plucking the phone out of his partner's grasp once Hizashi found the original picture. He hadn't really noticed till now, but her light green hair was a lot longer than when they first met, falling around her face instead of the messy, pixie cut... Then again, nearly an entire school year had passed since then."I don't know... I hope so. It's so pretty," Hizashi had wiggled up to his shoulder to look at the pic with him. Shota hummed in agreement. It was a beautiful picture, really. There was only one real solution, "tell her not to cut it." Hizashi scoffed and reached for his phone, laughing when Shota lifted it away while pressing on the screen. "You tell her not to cut it! Hey... What are you doin'?!" "If I tell her, she'll probably have it buzzed off," Shota reasoned, calmly holding Hizashi at bay while he texted himself that picture, and then handed the phone back. "You cheat! It took me like six months of nagging to get a pic of Chiharu!" Hizashi exclaimed, then looked at the picture mournfully. "I swear she can sense whenever a camera is pointed at her and immediately teleports away." Shota smirked as Hizashi settled his head back down on his chest, looking totally immersed in a simple picture, but practically purred when Shota trailed his fingers through his silky hair. Now that sounded like an awesome quirk. Imagine being able to escape unwanted attention as fast as Sugita could... "I'm jealous."Hizashi burst out laughing at that, shaking the bed as he tilted his head back to look up at Shota from his chest, neon green eyes a little wide with surprise and mirth. "Wow... Your future wife can fucking teleport, and you're only now jealous of her quirk because she can escape the media faster than you can?" Shota joined in with a quiet laugh at that and didn't deny... Any part of that, just proceeded to make that her profile picture on his phone too. Then he changed her name to Chiharu. “So… You two don’t ever go on dates, do you?” Chiharu asked, looking across the booth at the two of them as she quickly devoured her chocolate ice cream. She liked anything and everything chocolate.They’d spent the morning playing at an interactive arcade with various team games like shooting hoops, climbing on walls, dodging laser lights and much more, and naturally smashed their way through all the high scores, each of them winning t-shirts and basketballs. The staff seemed super happy when their time was up.After that they went for lunch, walked around a park on a lake, played around, joked around, and ended up at an ice cream shop.The only real problem was, Chiharu was wearing a damn crop top for some unfathomable reason. It was white and said Put Your Hands Up Radio in black with a silhouette of a headset and triangle glasses. Hizashi was to blame for this entirely, since he’d given her that damn shirt. It was designed to hang off one shoulder, leaving the strap of her grey sports bra visible, short sleeved and only fell to her belly button. So a good chunk of her jaw-dropping abs were just exposed by the low waist of her beige cargo pants. Her torso was long and her waist narrow with all that lean muscle, the flare of her hips only adding to it.Chiharu wore flip flops and her toenails were painted light blue to match her nails. She didn’t wear a single speck of make up unless chapstick counted, but she’d painted her nails. Hizashi could barely take his eyes off her, and Chiharu was the most oblivious and perfectly unaware of their own attractiveness human to ever exist. They’d dressed just as casual as her, Shota in a black v neck t-shirt, cargos and boots and Hizashi in an old, dark blue band t-shirt, acid wash jeans with the knees ripped out and black and white sneakers. Hizashi and Chiharu barely passed for adults as they were. If not for Hizashi’s little blond moustache and broad shoulders, the sharp line of Chiharu’s jaw and foxy angle of her eyes, plus how tall and fit they both were, they’d probably get ID’d just trying to see a horror movie.The two were chattering away about Snipe or Nezu at this point and every now and then Chiharu’s eyes flicked to him and then down to the chocolate mousse cake he’d ordered. He’d taken one bite, deemed it enough sweets to last him a month, and stopped there. He didn’t order it for himself after all.“Chiharu, what’s with old lady Chiyo acting like you’re her precious granddaughter or something, anyway?” Hizashi asked as Shota scooped up a good size spoonful and reached it across the table, not saying a word to interrupt their conversation. Chiharu eyed him with blatant skepticism before looking back at Hizashi.“Mm, yeah, her and Nezu-chan put on the kid-gloves with me cause I’m a rescue with anxiety, and I bite,” Sugita explained with a grin and Hizashi burst out laughing, with her soon joining in. “Nezu’s probably scared I’ll ditch UA before too long, and he seems to want me to stick around. I’m sure he’s just delighted that we’re friends.” She finished sarcastically. Shota felt like he was attempting to spoon feed a tiger and she even bared her teeth a little bit, making him smirk as he moved the spoon closer. She finally leaned forward and closed her mouth around it. Her eyes shut and she gave a soft little moan as she pulled back, leaving nothing on the spoon. “Why’d you get that? You don’t even like sweets,” she complained when he bounced another spoonful in front of her, grinning bigger when she struck like a shark after blood. He lifted his plate up when she tried to snatch it, glaring.“Come on, Chiharu,” he cooed, holding out another spoonful and easily avoiding her attempts to get the spoon from him, her cheeks now burning red. Of course she gave in quickly, leaning in for the bite. “There’s a good girl.”“You’re so fuckin' embarrassing, Sho-ta,” she complained but still ate another bite off his spoon. Okay… He liked that. A lot. His partner’s giddy laugh told him he did too.“You wouldn’t leave UA, would you, Chiharu?” Hizashi asked and Shota glanced over but Hizashi was busy staring at Chiharu as she licked a bit of chocolate off her bottom lip.She shrugged. “If I did it’s not like we couldn’t stay friends, Hizashi.”“I won’t let you leave,” Hizashi declared, voice a bit loud, and Chiharu smirked.“I’m pretty hard to tie down,” she commented. “How will you do it?”“Marry you,” for a split second Hizashi’s expression was serious and Shota flicked his eyes back to Chiharu. Her softly freckled, tan cheeks were still a bit pink, eyes wide and locked on Hizashi and if he blinked he would have missed the tiniest something that flashed across her face. She probably deserved it after all her teasing and her bullshit, but they weren’t a lonely… Scarred up, hurt, little rat-elf, were they?Chiharu took her chance to drag Shota’s plate over while he was distracted with a little snicker before digging into what was left. “Good one, Hizashi,” she grumbled but didn’t look back up till the cake was gone…Not long after, Hizashi dragged them to a music shop where he thoroughly impressed Chiharu by playing several of the instruments, even singing along to a song he played on a guitar. By the time they left, Chiharu was basically staring at Hizashi with hearts in her eyes, and freaked out about it all for nearly five minutes straight. She confessed to listening to his radio show as if that was the most embarrassing thing she’d ever done, and how much she liked it.“Can you just stop,” she whined, walking between the two of them as they strolled back through the same park from earlier. It was still nice out. Just past noon and not too warm.“Stop what?” Hizashi grinned over at her.Chiharu leaned into Hizashi a little while answering, “being so awesome… I’m gonna start stalking you for real!”“Cute stalkers are the best stalkers,” Hizashi declared, and Chiharu sputtered.“I’m not cute!”“Yeah, you are.” Much growling. “And when you growl like a little puppy you look even cuter.” Truth. “Puppy!? I’m a wolf!” Chiharu snarled and Hizashi laughed, leading them toward a bench before settling down. Chiharu didn’t sit, but Shota did. She settled back on her heels, lifting her arms and crossing them behind her head as she gazed up at the clouds for a minute. Like that her shirt inched up past her belly button, drawing their eyes. So damn careless…Shota reached out, and touched the top of that scar that almost traced the visible v line of her abs, her low slung pants showing far too much. Her stomach instantly tightened revealing even more of her abs in response as her gaze jerked down, and she froze. More like a deer than any so-called wolf. Shota didn’t look up at her as he slowly traced the long, white scar with one finger. Her skin was a natural tan apparently, sprinkled with freckles, and the occasional mole in places other than her face too. She didn’t jerk away or growl, just stayed as still as a statue, probably fighting the urge to disappear entirely.“What’s this from?” Shota asked, gently pressing on the scar with a few more of his fingers. “Was it… A scalpel?”“Yakuza. Blade quirk,” a shudder went through her as she forced herself to relax and not escape.“Ren fixed it up for you?” Seemed Ren’s healing quirk always left a scar… Recovery Girl’s quirk can erase wounds entirely, but it depends on the person’s energy level and how bad the wound is. This was too clean a scar to have healed naturally. It wasn't even raised, just as smooth as the surrounding skin.“Yeah, his quirk leaves scars. He said I… Probably won’t be able to ever have kids,” the words were even. No hint of sadness or negative emotion.“Chiharu…” Hizashi’s voice contained the anguish she should have expressed, drawing her gaze. He reached out too, and splayed his hand over her exposed skin, making her waist look even smaller than it was as he stared at her stomach with a sad frown. Shota wrapped his fingers around her flank and slid his hand up. Warm. Her skin was toasty warm despite the chill in the air. “Your skin’s so warm…” Hizashi’s words were perfectly, unintentionally erotic, echoing Shota’s thoughts. A sound like a startled kitten left Chiharu’s lips, her eyes went huge as if she’d only just realized what was happening, and she promptly disappeared with a soft pop and faint rush of air. “Fuck…” Hizashi whispered the littlest curse, and stared down at his hand like he was thinking about eating it. Shota couldn’t really blame him since his hand was still warm, and damn- he wanted to feel more. Hizashi rubbed his face with his hands, drawing in a slow breath.A few minutes later, Chiharu reappeared with drinks. Herbal teas in cardboard cups slotted into a little tray with three sticks of colourful dango between the cups. Accepting their cups, both moved of like mind toward the edge of the bench and received mild glares before she gave in and sat between them with the tray in her lap. “Do you ever stop eating sweets?” Shota asked, sipping his lemon ginger tea.“Chiharu, you’re not supposed to buy stuff,” Hizashi accepted his dango stick with thanks.“Why not?” She asked as Shota declined one.“Cause we’re treating you today,” Hizashi sighed, clearly enjoying more treats.“Yeah, you’ve paid for everything so far. That’s more than enough already.” Chiharu was like a furnace compared to the air around them. No wonder she didn’t seem bothered by the cold at all. Did that have something to do with her quirk? How had he missed that before now?Shota wasn’t so distracted by this new discovery to miss the incoming group. He heard them before he saw them and refrained from sighing. An annoyingly popular group of kids from UA in class 2-A this past school year that were shaping up to be the strongest to come through for the past several years.Togata, Hado, and Amajiki rounded some trees, Hado talking excitedly about their summer internships. They were all dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts except Hado was wearing a green coat. Shota eyed them as he stretched an arm out along the back of the bench, the other hand holding the cup to his lips, and met Chiharu’s eyes when she looked over at him. She was already swallowing the last bite of the dango she’d bought for him and shared with Hizashi. Hizashi gathered up the garbage and stood up to head over to the nearby bins. “Exam coming up, huh? You excited for your newest batch of 1-A’s?”“Mm,” he hummed, “hopefully not another batch of problem children.”“I love problem children! Send them all to my class,” Chiharu grinned, and Shota returned it with a sigh.“Of course you do. I'm sure the worst of the brats love you too,” Shota huffed, tipping his head back to finish off his tea, otherwise he was going to keep staring at the bit of sticky syrup shining on Chiharu’s lips.“That’s cause I’m a cool teacher. You’re a mean old goat,” Chiharu explained, and Shota shook his head with a little chuckle. Brat.“Speaking of problem children…” Chiharu perked up and followed his gaze to his husband who’d been pounced upon by Hado and Togata, with Amajiki predictably hiding behind them. It was clear Chiharu had already noticed them. Perhaps at the same time he had.“Whaaat!? Those three are the sweetest! They’re gonna be incredible heroes,” Chiharu chirped. “We better go rescue Hiza-chan.”“Hiza-chan,” he said with a smirk, holding back a laugh. That suited Hizashi even better than Mic-chan did. He stood and offered Chiharu a hand up. She took it, laughing when he nearly yanked her right off her feet on purpose. Then she disappeared and reappeared beside Hizashi. Hado screamed, and Togata gave a little shout of surprise before they burst out laughing.The three kids stared at Chiharu with various shocked expressions. “Wow… Sugita-sensei?!” Togata broke the short silence first just as Shota strolled over.“Sugita-sensei, where did you get that scar? And this one?… And this one?!” Hado was as tactless as ever, and Chiharu only patted the girl’s bright mane of hair affectionately as Hado leaned in close.Togata was still just staring at Sugita in obvious shock. Amajiki was still hiding. It was always surprising to discover the UA teachers, the pro heroes that led them on the path to becoming heroes themselves had a normal, civilian side. This bunch had seen him and Yamada out and about before. They’d all been in class 1-A with him last year after all. But this was their first-time seeing Link like this. “You look—“Like your Social Studies teacher.” All eyes whipped to him and the three brats froze, Amajiki’s head dropping so fast he nearly tipped over.“Yes! Exactly, Aizawa-sensei!” Hado cried, as she rose out of the hasty bow she and Togata had dipped into upon realizing who was suddenly standing on Chiharu’s other side. Hizashi absently looped an arm loosely around Chiharu’s shoulders saying, “the kids were wondering about summer camp this year, but it’s still undecided I think.”“Ectoplasm will inform you as soon as he knows the details,” Shota replied, voice somewhere between irritation and impatience. His usual tone for any and all unplanned student interactions. Ectoplasm was their homeroom teacher and if he hadn’t told them anything yet then he probably had a good reason for it.Togata gave a nervous laugh and bowed again, “yes, of course.”“Don’t be so mean, Aizawa-sensei,” Chiharu complained in a whiny voice as she leaned over to poke his ribs except he caught her wrist and twisted it behind her back.“Sugita-sensei!” Hado cried in alarm, clutching Togata's arm.“It’s okay, kids! This is just how our dear Aizawa-sensei shows affection,” Chiharu explained, bent forward as he pulled her arm a little higher up her back. She didn’t even lose her light tone, and Hizashi burst out laughing while Togata reached out like he wanted to save her but didn’t dare.There was a soft pop as Chiharu disappeared from his hold and then there was a sudden weight on his back and shoulders. Not to mention strong legs slung around his waist. And fingers in his hair. “Chiharu…” Hizashi sounded worried.“There, there,” she cooed near his ear, close enough that he could feel her warm breath as she petted his hair. “Lets go to a cat café, okay? That’ll cheer you right up, won’t it, Aizawa-sensei?” All three students and his husband flinched back when Shota activated his quirk, dark eyes flaring bright red. Then he heard an excited, “oooooh!” Before that little rat proceeded to run her fingers through his hair that floated up and around his head.“Chiharu-!” Shota’s voice came out in a strangled, barely contained growl as he approached murderous.“Run, Chiharu!” Hizashi cried, laughing, and seemed she got the hint as she barely had time to scramble off him upon realizing he’d canceled her quirk when he whipped around. She ducked his attempt to grab her before scrambling across the ground like a literal rat and bounded into a laughing sprint.Naturally, she’d picked the wrong person to tease as she found herself chased down like a dog when she raced deeper into the park, surprising him with her unprecedented skill at running in flip flops. Probably the only thing that stopped people from calling the cops was her squealing laughter. They hit a trail and Shota soon couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he started to pant with exertion, blood pumping, heart racing, anger slowly switching to excitement before switching to something else. She ducked off the trail and Shota blinked before quickly reactivating his quirk as they weaved through the sparse trees, a tall wire fence looming a head. She jumped, reaching the top of the fence with ease but Shota was no more than five steps behind her. He could have cleared the fence in one jump but instead he jumped right on top of her as she prepared to vault her body over the top. One arm locked around her waist and the other hand gripped the top bar of the fence. He planted his feet on the wire and pushed off hard.Chiharu gasped as he ripped her off the fence, and they landed down some distance back from it. She twisted in his hold, swinging on him but he caught her punch before pinning her down in the grass. Hard and fast enough to force some of the air from her lungs. Stunning her a tiny bit. He didn’t want to play. They both panted, him crouched over her, one hand pressing her shoulder into the ground and the other still holding the fist he’d caught. Some uncertainty crept into her expression at whatever she saw in his face. No wonder. He wasn’t playing, and she was finally realizing that.Seconds were ticking by. He’d already blinked four times, the seconds he could keep his quirk active lessening each time. His eyes were already strained and burning. Shota let her go, moved down, grabbed and twisted the front of that sorry excuse for a shirt in his fist before pressing down on her sternum when she tried to jerk upright. It exposed her midriff all the way up to her ribs. She didn’t get to protest before he gripped the waist band of her pants in his other hand, dipped his head down, and licked up the length of that fucking scar on her hip.The taste of her skin and sweat was a warm and faintly salty explosion on his tongue, and Shota almost groaned when the strangled, shocked cry from Chiharu sent tingling shooting straight down, low in his stomach. He tensed all over, and pressed harder, tongue sliding back down to just under the edge of her pants, and then back up before he sealed his lips over the top edge of the scar and sucked hard. “Shota!?” Chiharu gripped his arm, pushing, a little whimper escaping her when he sucked even harder, pulling her skin up between his teeth and biting just enough to pinch. “Oo-oh fuck…” She shuddered under him, and he pulled back, his lips leaving her skin with a sharp pop, panting and staring down at her, the burn in his gaze nearly forgotten.“Chiharu…” His eyes traveled up to hers, slowly.“What the hell, Shota!?” She practically squeaked the words, too confused to be angry yet, face flushed, brow furrowed like she wasn’t sure if she should punch him off her or not. She looked… Really good. His eyes moved to her lips and then to her long neck that seemed almost too slender. He wanted to taste more, and suck and bite there too.This was new. Shota wasn’t used to being attracted to someone like this. To wanting someone other than Hizashi. It was different from how he felt about Hizashi. Hizashi was home. Warmth. Good. Safe. Hyper, too loud love, but calming in his own way. Chiharu was fiery. Wild. Hotheaded. Exciting. Dangerous. Annoying. All snapping teeth and stinging punches. Stirring something deep inside him that he didn’t know was even there before.“What did you expect, walking around like this all day,” his eyes dropped to her faintly trembling stomach and he blinked before reactivating his quirk again, barely feeling the brush of his hair. He let her go and she scrambled out from under him, yanking her shirt down as she went.“What the fuck does that mean?!” She snapped and he let his eyes drop back to her waist. “Hizashi gave me this and you-you stretched it all out, you asshole! And I should be able to wear whatever I want without having to worry about getting molested!”“You’re careless,” he replied, not at all bothered by her out burst but still unwilling to let her use her quirk to run off just yet. “And completely oblivious outside of an active fight, spar, or mission.” He didn’t really mean that or the bit about her clothes. Anyone had the right to wear whatever the fuck they wanted… Just pissing her off a little was better than addressing the feelings he was attempting to subdue.“No-no, I’m not!” Chiharu practically hissed, baring those little fangs. “None of that explains…” She dropped her head and hunched forward so she could see her stomach and the dark hickey he’d left on her. “Shota!” She gasped at the sight of it. “You-you dick!”“Don’t make a fuss. Besides, we’re dating now,” he smirked and blinked with a soft groan as he sat back on the ground. Damn, he’d really over done it.“Very funny. We are not dating. This was a pity date, and you know it,” Shota almost flinched at the feel of her fingers on his chin, tilting his head back. He cracked his eyes open a tiny bit. She snapped her fingers, “drops?” He dug them out of his pants pocket and she snatched them out of his hand before urging him to tilt his head back further.Firm yet gentle fingers pried open his left eye just enough for two drops that stung worse before the burning started to ease up. She made quick work with the other eye before brushing away the excess tears that dripped down his cheeks. “Awe, don’t cry, sweetheart,” she cooed and then snickered at his answering growl. Even when she was mad she still couldn’t resist being a brat. Shota kept his eyes closed, but bit back a groan when she started massaging his temples and around his eyes. She pressed into the harsh lines between his brows, pushing and rubbing upward and easing the tension headache that tended to come along with quirk overuse. This time a small sound did escape him. Then they were quiet while she worked for a few minutes, pressing and massaging away any tension she found. It was nice… She was good at that, and he liked that pissed off Chiharu still wanted to make him feel better.Shota broke the silence, “we’re dating, Chiharu, for real. This wasn’t a pity date. You, Hizashi, and me. All dating.” Chiharu laughed like he was joking, hands dropping away. “Three-way.” She choked on an inhale at that.“As if you would ever date anybody! You don’t even take Hiza-chan on dates!” It was true. That term was solely for her benefit. In his mind this was already something more. More permanent. “Three… Way… What?!” She nearly shouted, her voice high as she jumped back and away from him.“A three-way relationship. You. With Hizashi and me.” Shota stood up, watching her with narrowed eyes.“Why?! Why would you even… Even want that?! Hizashi… He doesn’t like me like that!” Shota laughed. Actually, really laughed as he closed in on her again. Was she serious? How was it possible for someone to be this clueless? “I assure you, Chiharu, Hizashi likes you like that.” She tensed when he grabbed her shoulders but by the look on her face it was clear he’d pushed her too far.“Shota, stop it. I mean it,” she looked away, the muscle in her jaw flexing. He let her go and stepped back. “Tell Hizashi to hit me up later or… Or whatever. Thanks for today.”There was that now familiar rush, that faint tingling, and then he was standing in front of their house. Hizashi appeared a minute later looking confused beside him. “Where’s Chiharu?!”“About that…“But… You’re gay!” Chiharu did yell this time, and Shota was surprised Deejay didn’t bolt out of her lap. The black, ex-stray tomcat they were fostering never even batted an eye, just kept purring away even when she stopped petting him.“I’m bi,” Hizashi revealed with a smile from where he was sitting across from her and beside Shota on their black couch.“I’m asexual,” Shota added before finishing his tea. Neither Hizashi or Chiharu had even touched there’s. “It’s simple, Chiharu. It’s no different from what we have now except we’d spend more of our free time together.”“What?! No! No, it’s not… I don’t know jack shit about being asexual, but that was probably the most asexual words ever spoken!” She declared with a glare, and Hizashi laughed, though there was a nervous edge to it. “Just… Why?” “I… Already have feelings for you, Chiharu. You’re already more than just a friend to me,” at Hizashi’s words she just stared at him, pale green eyes wide. “You’re funny, kind… Amazing… You’re a great teacher. You make me feel good and accepted. I know I can tell you anything and you wouldn’t even bat an eye. Every hidden fault and weakness… You just don’t even see things like that. Being friends with you has changed my life..."“Mine too. Hizashi has been my only close friend for many years. Then you. Making him happy like I never could. Fixing all the little things that have been wrong with our marriage that I couldn’t even see. It’s been like watching a wilted flower come back to life. I didn’t even know anything was wrong,” when Hizashi tried to interject Shota stopped him with a lifted hand. “At first, I was just happy and grateful that you cared about Hizashi so much. That he’d found a friend and could find more joy in his life, but then things started to change. I started to feel happier too. I started wanting to see you too. To spend time with Hizashi and you.” Her eyes had dropped and she was tense. Much too tense. She didn't let either of them continue.“Stop,” she bit out the word, fingers digging into the arms of the chair. “No. Neither of you know anything about me. Not the real me. This,” she pointed at her chest with her thumb. “Ain’t the real me. I am a mentally unstable, fucked up person with deep and mostly unresolved issues. I… I have episodes.” Her gaze locked on Hizashi. “I asked you out cause we hit it off, and I wanted to feel like a normal person, but I never would have let it go beyond a few dates… I would never enter a long-term relationship with anyone, and I would never willingly do anything to hurt either of you. Which includes allowing either of you to get into that kind of relationship with someone like me. I apologize if I made either of you feel like I was looking for more.” Bitter smile in place she went back to somewhat aggressively petting Deejay, back straight, glaring at Hizashi and then at Shota, and then down at her tea and strawberry mochi.“Chiharu, its not like that!” Hizashi immediately protested, almost getting to his feet but she only looked up and gave him a big, toothy, fake smile. “Okay,” she chirped before shoving almost a whole mochi into her mouth. It definitely was not okay… Watching Hizashi pine was a new level of irritation that Shota found he was unprepared for. Understandable, he supposed. Chiharu was being distant, also understandable. It had only been one week and Hizashi had given to apologizing to Chiharu like he was some kind of awful villain for even suggesting an interest in something more and the little rat just kept brushing it off like everything was fine. Except everything wasn’t fine because she was being distant again. It was enough. One week was all he could stand of the sighs and all the talking about feelings and Hizashi thinking everything bad that had ever happened in the world was somehow his fault on some deeply ridiculous spiritual level.So... Shota waited outside her classroom, barely glancing at the kids that filed out. Some of them looking at him nervously, while a few he remembered from the field trip almost seemed happy to see him. The students had probably noticed something was wrong with their beloved Sugita-sensei.When he walked into the classroom, Chiharu didn’t even notice. She was leaning on her desk and staring blankly down at her phone all hunched over and spaced out like someone just died horribly.All the anger just drained out of Shota as he rolled his eyes. These two idiots were exactly alike.When he started forward she startled, head swivelling toward him, eyes going wide as she basically jumped to face him.“What’s your problem?” Shota asked, walking forward despite the way she tensed. “Nothing,” it came out in a sigh as her shoulders slumped and her head dropped. Shota stopped right in front of her. “I-I…” She choked up, squeezing her phone so tight it creaked in her grip.“You what?” He asked, not even checking his tone.“I miss…” A shudder when through her and she lifted her hand to press her palm against her forehead. Shota smirked. She was clearly fighting tears. “I miss Hiza-chan,” she admitted with so much anguish you’d think his husband was dead.“Oooh-kay,” Shota shook his head, tone laced with sarcasm as he pried the phone out of her hand and slipped it into one of the pockets on the outer thigh of her costume, but she was busy trying to hastily wipe her cheeks. He smirked, not at all moved by her nonsense. “I know. Don’t cry.” “I’m not cr-crying, you dick!” She snapped in a wobbly voice. Shota gave a quiet laugh while grabbing her left wrist. He leaned down and swung her up over his shoulder in an easy move. She didn’t even fight, just laid there like a sack of rice as he started off. She basically spent the walk to Hizashi’s last class sniffling and trying to stop crying. The few remaining kids scattered out of his way, whispering frantically.The saddest and admittedly funniest part of it all was seeing Hizashi all hunched over and staring down at his phone. The mirror image of Chiharu a few minutes earlier. Shota waited for two students to scatter out of the room before he closed the door. Hizashi didn’t even look over, assuming it was the departing kids. Not till he heard footsteps, but by then Shota was already there. He yanked Hizashi and his chair out from the desk and then dropped Chiharu right on top of him. He had almost none of his gear on, even his coat was hanging over the back of the chair, leaving him in just one of his white radio t-shirts, pants, boots, headset and usual mohawk. The man probably would have come to school in his pajamas if not for Shota.“Sho!?” Hizashi only had time to wrap his arms around her before the chair tumbled back with a loud thump, and they both spilled out onto the floor. Once there Chiharu finally came back to life. She twisted around, grabbed Hizashi’s wrist and put the confused man in a hammerlock, pinning him face down on the floor. “Hey! What the hell, Chiharu!?” Shota just righted the chair and sat down.“I’m sorry,” she bit out the quiet words, sniffling and Hizashi struggled harder.“Are you crying? Chiharu?!” Hizashi near shouted and the only reason he didn’t throw her off was because he was worried, but he turned his head, trying to see her.“Shut-up! I’m not crying!”“Yes, you are!”“Will you-you shut-up so I can apologize, please?!” She snapped, voice hitching, and Hizashi stopped struggling, going quiet as she drew in a calming breath. “I’m sorry for not considering your feelings when you told me how you felt about me. I promise to try to be more sensitive to your feelings in the future. If… If you still wanna be friends.”Shota barked out a laugh, “did your therapist tell you what to say?”“Yeah, she did,” Chiharu casually admitted like she didn’t know where the problem was and twisted around to glare at him when he snickered. “So? What?!” Shota put up his hands in surrender.“Nothing, nothing,” he replied, calming down quickly. “Do I get an apology too?” He smirked but it fell at her serious expression.“I’m sorry, Shota. For not considering your feelings when you told me you wanted to be more than friends,” their eyes locked. “I said some stupid, selfish things that probably made you both feel really bad. My mental illness is a part of me, not some separate thing that represents the real me. Even if I am totally fucked up, it is okay for me or anyone like me, to make meaningful relationships.” She was clearly still quoting with her added flare. “Do you even believe that, Chiharu?” Hizashi asked from the floor, and she turned back to look down at him. “I don’t know…” She replied quietly. “I know I’m sorry, and I miss you, Hiza-chan…”“Chiharuuuuuuuu-!” Hizashi practically howled, sounding like he was going to cry too.“Did you miss me too?” Shota asked, turning the chair and leaning forward while gaining himself another glare.“Hell no,” she tried to snarl but she just sounded tired, “you’re a mean old goat…” Shota couldn’t help but laugh at that before he shoved out of the chair. But she was quick! The second she realized her quirk was cancelled she bounded off Hizashi like a bunny. Didn’t matter though. Shota still caught and pinned her down on the floor between the rows of desks in seconds. Mostly because her emotions weren’t at all in check. She barely struggled, hands coming up to try and hit him, but he’d already dug his fingers into her ribs before cutting off her immediate scream with his other hand while simultaneously avoiding her punch. He blinked and she quickly appeared on her feet and across the classroom. “You have the worst quirk of all the quirks!” She circled wide back to Hizashi who was up and standing there, watching her come back to him, and smiling like he just couldn’t help it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Shota never really considered himself unobservant before. Much like Chiharu, he’d trained in battle awareness. He’d honed that skill as an underground, solo pro hero who actively patrolled, worked with the police in raids and large-scale villain takedowns, and regularly teamed up with some of the most skilled and renowned pro heroes in Japan. His quirk was rare and endlessly useful in many ways. Awareness was practically a prerequisite to his quirk. Even villains with stealth or speed quirks couldn’t gain an advantage over him. Supervillains feared him. Villains, thugs, and nameless criminals actively avoided his turf…So how come he didn’t know how attractive his husband was until someone else was suddenly holding Hizashi’s hand?Their second date with Chiharu was a gym/workout date because that’s all they could get the bratty elf to agree to. It wasn’t a date, but Hizashi was doing his best to make it one and Chiharu was oblivious at best. Easily falling back into their usual routine and antics. It was clear she really wanted things to stay the same, and it was clear Hizashi didn’t.It started on the street. They were jogging around the block the gym was on because it was a chilly, early morning, and that was better than warming up in the gym. That was when he first noticed that other people noticed. Shota was running behind his chattering teammates who had already given up on dragging him into their conversation. It was too damn early to talk about how cute and wrinkly Kan’s dog was.Random people. Men and women out walking their dogs or jogging as well. Hizashi was wearing a tight, sweat absorbing black t-shirt and track pants, and Chiharu was wearing a tight black tank top and dark blue, stretchy gym pants. One woman stopped and stared like they were running around in their hero costumes or something. By the fourth person staring, Shota was starting to get annoyed.Then they were in the gym and there was a group of three men watching Chiharu do GHD sit-ups like they’d never seen a woman before, and no amount of glaring could get them to buzz off… Five different women and two men talked to Hizashi. There were more but those seven were just blatantly trying to get his number. And how could Chiharu even comfortably workout with the staring and the… Hey, can you spot me? … Oh hi, do you know how this works? … Can you show me how to use this? … You seem really nice, can I get your number? I’d love to hangout sometime…It was… Insane. Was it always like this for these two? And when they teamed up it was even worse. People were practically drooling as Chiharu and Hizashi went head-to-head on one of the high pullup bars. Hearts in their eyes when Hizashi hung from one hand and reached over to tickle Chiharu’s ribs and mess up her longest unbroken set. The gawkers stood around giggling like school girls when Chiharu screamed and tried to kick him, like they were watching a personal fantasy play out.Shota felt a spike of something later when Chiharu disappeared into the women’s locker room to shower and change. What went on in there? Were the showers private stalls or was every woman in there feasting their eyes on Chiharu’s wet, naked, and soapy—?! Basically, his mind envisioned Chiharu naked in the middle of a room full of Kayamas.“Sho… You okay?” Hizashi’s concerned tone was the only thing that made him realize he was burning a hole into the wall that the women’s locker room was on the other side of with his glare.“Fine,” he grumbled, ignoring Hizashi’s frown and proceeded to get showered and changed at lightning speed before leaving to wait for Chiharu outside the women’s change room. Naturally every woman that came out scattered like scared mice till Chiharu finally emerged smelling all fresh and clean, like she used unscented products. Just the faintest hint of lavender.Shota froze, eyes widening at her surprised expression. Then Chiharu grinned enough to show those little pointy fangs as her pretty eyes locked on his. Her hair was wet, hanging around her face and a little way down the back of her neck, a couple shades darker than usual, the elfin points of her ears just a tad more noticeable … He just felt stuck. No, he felt struck. By just how striking she really was. How cute… No, it was her natural beauty. Her foolishness was what made her cute, her glares and grinning fox eyes were pretty, but when she smiled and laughed for real, she was beautiful.Chiharu was probably around 5’10”, plenty tall enough for them to be nearly eye-to-eye with a little tilt of her head when she moved closer, whispering, “Shota…” As she poked his chest and then slowly walked two fingers up to his neck. He almost shivered. The only thing that stopped it was how tense he was because she, not him, touched first. She waggled her eyebrows while asking, “are you out here trying to peep?” Oh… Well, that was just… “Want me to sneak you in?” Her voice was soft and silky, then she pulled back a little bit. All he could do was watch as her pink tongue slipped from between her fangs and slid over her bottom lip before lolling down in front of her chin a little while snickering. She had a long tongue and little shame in showing it off. Sometimes she even licked Hizashi, and the poor man would freeze up like he’d just been struck by lightning. It was definitely a quirk thing. He’d seen her slide her tongue along Hizashi’s skin before, seemingly without thought, much to Hizashi’s total devastation. Then they’d awkwardly apologize back and forth till she made excuses and disappeared. She was really playing with fire with Hizashi now. Still acting like they were just friends and flirting, playing, and teasing as if nothing had changed.But it had. She could pretend all day long, but they’d already stated their intentions with her. And it was all winding Hizashi up. Fuck. It was crazy, but it was winding Shota up too. It didn’t seem to matter how hard he tried to brush it off as nothing. And Hizashi spent half his time with her trying not to touch her whenever she was in range.But Shota wasn’t Hizashi. One hand clapped around Chiharu’s left upper arm with a bit of force and his other flashed out, catching the side of her face, fingers curling around her jaw as he pressed his thumb against her tongue. She made some kind of startled noise as her tongue disappeared and then her teeth closed around his thumb that was suddenly in her mouth. A little pinch just past his nail but there was no denying the way her tongue swirled over the pad of his thumb.Shota was surprised there were any muscles still loose enough in his body to tense up, but when their eyes locked and Chiharu’s hand splayed over his chest, probably to shove him off—Hizashi gasped. Chiharu jerked her head away, dislodging Shota’s thumb and probably the only reason she didn’t disappear was because his eyes were glowing red. Without him even realizing…? Shota blinked.Chiharu pulled back and he let her go. She didn’t take her eyes off Hizashi, “I wasn’t—“Wanna come over for lunch? I made curry for supper last night, so we have lots of leftovers,” Hizashi really did know how to play Chiharu like a finely tuned instrument. Crisis averted as Chiharu excitedly started raving about Hizashi’s curry. They gathered their stuff and instantly appeared on their doorstep at home…They at least let her finish eating, knowing what came next might ruin her appetite.Surprisingly… Or maybe not surprising at all, Chiharu beat them to it with a sigh into her bamboo, jasmine, and honey tea that Hizashi had picked up just for her. “Does it really matter so much?” She asked almost sadly. They were all sitting around the table, stuffed full of curry and drinking different teas.“Aa, yeah, it really does, sweetheart,” Hizashi immediately chirped back. Shota said nothing.“It’s like an addiction. I like it,” Chiharu stared down into her tea like it held all the answers she sought. “Blood.” She elaborated without prompting. Both men were extremely careful to not react to that. “It’s fine normally. I can see it, even spill it without feeling a thing… But if I link with someone, it happens. It’s like I get addicted and once the link starts to fade… I want more.”“More from anyone?” Shota asked and Chiharu shook her head. “So, you feel an urge to stay linked with the same person?” She nodded before excusing herself to disappear to the washroom. Hizashi sighed. At least she was still in the house.They moved to the living room, and Chiharu returned to a fresh tea on the coffee table. The only spot for her to sit was beside Hizashi on the sofa. She didn’t seem bothered, settling in beside him, curled up and uttered a small thanks after sipping some more tea. “Can we talk about your quirk some more?” Hizashi asked gently.“If we have to…” She sighed. Then said, “I miss Deejay.” The black tomcat had been adopted just a few days before.“Awwwe! A really nice couple adopted him, Chiharu-chan,” Hizashi informed the woman, but she only continued frowning sadly down at her tea. She eventually nodded, but still didn’t look up.“We have to.” Shota cut in before they got off topic but kept his tone soft too. And insistent. “Does the person you link with feel anything?”Chiharu sighed, “yeah. They like it too.” At that, both Hizashi and Shota tensed.“In what way?” Shota asked.“I’m not really sure. It just feels good. It doesn’t hurt…” Chiharu explained.“Wha-what feels good?” Hizashi sounded a little flustered as he faced Chiharu on the sofa. Chiharu moved so she was facing him too.“My teeth, I guess… When I bite... Um... In,” Chiharu explained, cheeks a little dark as she rolled her eyes and sighed again to try and diffuse her own embarrassment.“Chiharu… That doesn’t sound bad at all,” at Hizashi’s words she shook her head in quiet denial, eyes widening. “I mean, it’s sounds intimate. Kinda like sex. You know sex can sometimes create a link too, for people who are really close and want to make each other feel good… It can be pretty intense. Like me and Sho.” Chiharu listened with interest, clearly hanging onto his words. “I’m a lot more into sex than Sho is. It’s a lot like an addiction for me. I don’t like to go very long without it. Shota could go a long time, and it wouldn’t change a thing for him. But not me. I need that bond, that closeness. I crave it, and if I don’t get it for a long time, then I start to want it really, really bad and if I get it, I feel better. Happier. Closer to him. If I don’t, at first, I might be upset and cranky, but eventually that will fade, and I’ll be okay for a while. Kind of sounds a little bit like an addiction, doesn’t it?” She nodded slowly. “Even though I like sex a lot, it’s still really special to me, especially with Sho because I know he does it for me, more than himself.”Shota scoffed at that, “don’t try to make me sound so noble, Hizashi. I like sex plenty.” Chiharu’s eyes flashed to him, and she grinned a little. “What about you, Chiharu? Is Blood Link comparable to sex for you?”“Its better than the sex I’ve had… With another person,” at her answer Shota blinked and forced himself to contain a sharp reaction. He wanted to look at Hizashi, but he held her eyes till she looked away. “But I’ve never had an orgasm during sex with a partner.” Oh. “It’s not better than how I can make myself feel though.”“So… Blood Link feels good? Like hot and tingly?” Hizashi asked and Chiharu gave a little laugh.“Heh, yeah… Not exactly sexual though, unless during sex or with someone I’m attracted too, maybe...” She explained but fell silent.“How come you hate it so much?” Hizashi asked. “I’m gonna be honest, Chiharu… Blood Link sounds really good.”“Hizashi! You’re crazy!” She cried with an incredulous, high-pitched laugh. “I could find you anywhere. I could feel you. I could bring you to me from anywhere and I could come to you anywhere. How is that in anyway okay? It-it’s invasive. It’s wrong! It’s sick!”Suddenly Hizashi had her face in his hands, leaning across the space between them. “Baby, who told you those awful things?” She didn’t answer, just tried to shake her head. “Let’s just do it. Me and you, and you and Shota. Its the only way you’re ever going to understand that we trust and care for you plenty more than enough to do this.”“I can’t!” She protested hotly.“You don’t want to?” Hizashi’s question sounded a little sad.“I-I do… I want to, so bad…” She went quiet, eyes dropping but she still hadn’t pulled away from Hizashi’s hold. Shota had already guessed her so-called ‘episodes’ has something to do with her quirk. He had Hizashi had talked about it already and researched it.“Sometimes you really crave it, right? Is that what you meant by episodes?” Hizashi asked, stroking her cheeks as she nodded. “It hurts?” She nodded again, “that’s because you fight it. Repressing a quirk can have bad side effects.”Chiharu sighed again, “I know… Iruka-san tells me all the time…” She was talking about her therapist.“I’m not scared or worried. I love the idea of being linked to you like that. Just the thought of it makes me feel safe and special… So fucking special,” at Hizashi’s words, Chiharu stared in disbelief. “I can’t even imagine being so lucky to be a part of something like that… To be part of you.”“I… Just… Don’t understand, Hizashi…” She really didn’t. Chiharu couldn’t understand why Hizashi would want this. It was all there in her sweet, confused expression.“I think you’ll understand… But first you have to try. And take a risk… Okay? I promise everything will be just fine,” Hizashi’s voice was soft and smooth and a little bit strange, almost hypnotic. Did he realize he was doing that? Shota knew he wasn’t likely to try and manipulate Chiharu knowingly or blatantly…But then again, Hizashi was nothing if not smart. Silly, and just as foolish and clueless as Chiharu in some ways, sure… But stupid? Never. Hizashi had a genius level intellect. He was very quick thinking, with an incredible memory. The man was fluent in Japanese of course, but also English. He excelled at a few of the more common Japanese dialects, could speak Korean, Mandarin and was currently learning French for fun. He knew JSL and a lot of ASL. Hizashi could learn to play pretty much any instrument he picked up in a ridiculously short time… Sometimes Shota just forgot all that. It would be foolish of him to assume Hizashi didn’t know how he affected Chiharu.For nearly a full minute, Chiharu just watched Hizashi, eyes moving over his smiling face, and then finally she moved closer. Hizashi did the same so they were fully facing each other, and their knees touched. She slowly lifted her hand and placed it over his where he was still holding her face, never breaking eye contact, like she was looking for something? Some little hesitation or uncertainty maybe. She turned her face into Hizashi’s left hand, her bright eyes closing a little as she rubbed her cheek into his palm. Her other hand came up to carefully clasp his elbow. The fingers of his other hand sank into her hair, and they both shuddered at the first touch of her lips on his palm before she moved her face lower, eyes lifting to watch Hizashi again as her lips parted and she dragged her tongue across the inside of his wrist.They both moaned so quietly at that, that Shota clenched the arms of the chair, not sure he’d ever seen anything so simply erotic in his entire life… Yet still so sweetly innocent that it made his chest feel tight. Two pretty shades of green stayed locked as her tongue disappeared and she pressed her lips against his wrist in a soft kiss, suddenly looking a little sad, like she didn’t want to hurt him. Chiharu’s lips pulled back a little bit, her fingers tightened against Hizashi’s skin, and then she pressed down with her teeth. The moans that followed were much louder, broken, and muffled. Hizashi tensed, lips parted in shock, his eyes widening behind his glasses, and then they lit up in bright, glowing red! Chiharu’s did too, the pale green disappeared behind the exact same red glow. It looked just like Erasure except captivatingly beautiful instead of strained and burning. Hizashi moved his hand from Chiharu’s hair and gripped the back of the sofa tight instead, panting softly when Chiharu started to pull back and the glow faded from their eyes.Chiharu’s eyes dropped first, and she visibly shivered before licking Hizashi’s wrist again. Then she kissed the bite as if she hoped that would heal it. By this point Hizashi was covering his mouth with his free hand, and trembling faintly.“I shouldn’t have…” She lowered Hizashi’s hand to her lap, head down. Oddly enough, the bite wasn’t bleeding at all. “I guess I’m going to link with Shota now…”“Only if you want to, Chiharu…” Shota said when she appeared standing before his chair, hugging herself around the middle. She gave a little nod…Then she was right on top of him! There was nothing soft or snuggly and sweet, and Shota wasn’t sure why he’d ever expected that. Insistent fingers pulled aside the collar of his shirt, she leaned close and bit into his left trap, keeping off him as much as possible. It was quick and there was a warm and wet pressure, but it didn’t hurt…Shota’s whole world turned into warm, pulsing, pumping red as his every sense seemed to focus in on Chiharu’s fangs buried in his skin. It didn’t just feel good… It felt like the edge of an orgasm after hours of teasing as warm tingling spread out from the point of contact before rushing all the way to the top of his head then to the tips of his fingers and toes. He jerked as his vision turned blinding red, biting back a moan. He’d die!! He’d surely die of warm, bubbling pleasure if it went on any longer… As soon as the thought occurred it eased up, leaving him a trembling, panting, sweaty mess as Chiharu’s weight left him.Shota just sat there, holding the arms of the chair in a white-knuckled grip. If he moved… If he moved, he’d touch her. And if he touched her, it would be to rip off her clothes, and bury himself so far inside her… And he’d stay there. Forever.“It’s okay, Ch-Chiharu…” Hizashi… Had Hizashi ever sounded so good before this moment?! Just the sound of his partner’s voice made Shota fight a groan.“It doesn’t look okay…” And then Chiharu. Fuck… Chiharu… Shota closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. “You both look like… Like maybe I need to go home now. Text me later.” Then she was gone with a soft pop. She just left. Shota rose to his feet like a puppet on strings before nearly falling on his husband. Hizashi didn’t utter a word of protest, meeting him in a rain of hungry kisses as Shota pushed him back on the sofa, rubbing, and stroking through their clothes before the clothes were yanked out of the way.Soon Shota was sucking and biting at Hizashi’s neck as he held himself over him, leaving just enough room for his partner to jerk them both off, pressed tight together in his grip till they were both straining and thrusting against each other. Shota couldn’t even fault his husband for moaning Chiharu’s name as they came together in a hot rush between their bodies because he’d been thinking the same thing… Imagining Chiharu squished between them, writhing, crying out as she came along with them… Fuck… When the moaning and trembling eased, Hizashi spoke up as he caught his breath, “baby… Do you think Chiharu’s okay?” Hizashi was stroking Shota’s hair and bare back, and clearly had no intention of letting him up. Shota relaxed as much as he could while laying right on top of Hizashi on the sofa that was at least a foot too short to get comfortable.“No… I don’t think she is…” Shota only confirmed what Hizashi likely expected. “Let’s go shower and try to get her to come back.”“Oh baby… I don’t know… I just want to… To—“Fucking devour her?” Shota supplied, voice deep and rough in Hizashi’s ear as the man made a pained sound before grabbing Shota’s ass and grinding up under him while groaning like he was closer to dying than to orgasmic bliss.“She-she said it wouldn’t be that sexual… But I actually thought I came in my pants… It felt that good. I went blind! All I could see was red and it was so warm, and I just wanted to get inside her so bad, I was scared she was gonna be underneath me when my vision came back…” The whole time he spoke Hizashi was moving under him, rubbing their quickly returning, sticky erections together till the blond was moaning and shaking again. Shota couldn’t help but close his eyes, fingers tangling in Hizashi’s soft hair as he pictured what his husband was saying to near perfection. Shota licked Hizashi’s ear before taking the lobe between his lips, tongue toying with the small silver hoops and studs that lined his ear, easily drawing a strangled groan out of the blond. “I wanna feel every inch of her… And taste every inch and fucking… Sh-shove my face between her legs… And taste her there too… Have you ever done that to a woman, Sho?” Hizashi spoke between pants, squeezing his ass and breathing softly in his ear.“No… But I…” Shota shuddered, squeezing the arm rest above Hizashi’s head, “I want to do it too…”“I haven’t… Either… I just wanna… Put this inside her…” Hizashi moaned the words and Shota would be lying if he said it wasn’t one of the best things he’d ever heard. Hizashi’s voice was just… Too much sometimes. Smooth and husky and he suspected there really was no limit to what Hizashi could do with his voice quirk. “I wanna… I bet it’s so hot… Cause her skin is so warm… She’s probably so hot on the inside—And then Shota was thrusting his way through another orgasm, followed quickly by Hizashi, so fast and slippery it shouldn’t have even been impossible, but his head spun as Hizashi’s deep, soft voice conjured all manner of lewd ideas featuring Chiharu. Somehow the second was even more intense than the first, losing himself to it for long seconds of heart pounding, hot release… Uh… Chiharu… “Sho…” Hizashi called out a soft warning, and at first he wasn’t really sure why he was suddenly feeling on edge. Sometimes it was something he could hear and not, or not yet, see.He was just watching Shota and Chiharu work through their usual sparring sessions and feeling a little more bothered by the whole thing than usual. Not in that way though. Sparring, exercising, working out were not usually times when he’d find himself turned on by either his partner or Chiharu. Probably because he took it really seriously despite Chiharu’s silliness. Shota was one thing, but Chiharu offered her precious time, skill, and experience to him on a regular basis, and he’d improved his stamina, hand-to-hand, and battle awareness more than ever in his entire life.Hizashi loved her for it! And did his best to respond in kind. Offering to teach her too. She liked music, had sensitive hearing, but was kinda tone-deaf and uninterested in learning an instrument. So sad! He was still working on that with her, but languages were also his thing and he adored how eagerly she wanted to learn from him too. She made him feel special and so wanted and appreciated, and now with Blood Link those feelings seemed to increase tenfold. Sho wasn’t like that exactly. He’d always been willing to train Hizashi, but they’d kept that aspect of their lives separate for the most part. Hizashi and Shota were both very independent of each other.So, it was surprising, the sudden change and redirection when a more dependent type person was thrust between them. Two husbands suddenly found themselves with a wife. Or rather, a girlfriend. Well, at least from their perspective. Chiharu was still not ready to cross that line. The most she willingly did was hold his hand or hang off Sho’s shoulders. It didn’t change his growing feelings for her. And it wasn’t just him.The change in Shota was like night and day. The man had gone from zero interest friendship to near full on husband-mode with dizzying speed. And not like he was with Hizashi. Yeah, the man was overprotective, but Hizashi was a man too. There was just a natural level of trust there that Hizashi could take care of himself.It was not so for Chiharu. Poor Shota was doing his best, but this was all new territory for him…“Shota…” Hizashi got to his feet where he’d been sitting in the grass watching them spar. Tired and sore from getting his butt kicked by Shota already. He was the only one that seemed to notice the change.Lately they’d been sparring with Blood Link to give Chiharu a slight advantage over Shota. Mostly so Shota could benefit from their training too. And he had. It was disturbing how quickly Shota could hone a new skill. The man was a fucking prodigy to say the least. But this was… Incredible. Somehow Shota was beginning to predict where Chiharu was going to appear! It wasn’t possible… It shouldn’t be possible… But as Chiharu popped all around him like a teleporting humming bird to try and get through Shota’s defence, literally only appearing long enough to throw a punch or less… Hizashi started to notice. They were picking up into speeds that were hard to see and little more than a blur, but he could hear the change. Hear the brush of Shota’s fist or foot or knee against Chiharu’s hero costume as his attacks came dangerously close to unprotected parts of her. She had no time to block.“Stop!” Hizashi barked out the command, but it was already too late.Chiharu appeared and Shota was already throwing the lightning-fast punch where he knew she was going to appear! Some fucking how?!Shota pulled his punch, probably in response to Hizashi’s shout, but it still connected with Chiharu’s face, full on! Her startled cry was cut short as the force of the hit sent her flying backward, no hope of stopping herself from skidding through the dirt and rolling limply across the ground cause she’d been instantly knocked out. And no wonder, Shota could probably knock out All Might. He didn’t have an enhancement quirk, the man just knew how to throw a deadly punch. He even held back when facing villains, so of course he always held back in spars which was why Chiharu was unconscious, and not on the ground with a broken neck.“Chiharu!?” Shota had Chiharu in his arms before Hizashi even had a chance to make it over there, and Hizashi was sure he’d only ever heard Shota sound like that in the most dire situations. Worried. His husband sounded scared. He held her draped over his arm carefully as Hizashi dropped to his knees beside them. Shota knew better than to move her around but he did anyway, proving how upset he was just then, and further proved what Hizashi was starting to notice. The fingers that gently tapped Chiharu’s cheek were trembling ever so slightly before Shota searched her head and neck quickly for blood or wounds. Her bottom lip was split and bleeding. Hizashi checked her hands, arms, shoulders, and ribs. Rag-dolling across the ground wasn’t as harmless as people liked to think, and people often ended up with a dislocated shoulder or fingers along with bumps and bruises. He carefully felt around her jaw and nose before relaxing.“She’s fine, Sho…” Hizashi rubbed his fingers through Chiharu’s hair, brushing away some grass and dirt. “Chiharu, come on… Wake up, sweetheart.” As if on cue, her eyes snapped open and she drew in a ragged breath, tensing and shivering in Shota’s hold. He could see when she came back all the way, catching her shoulder and squeezing before she could jerk upright. Shota gripped her too, holding her close. “You okay, Chiharu?”“Chiharu?” Shota echoed, stroking her cheek.“Yeah, I’m… Fine,” she gave a little cough before licking the blood off her bottom lip. She didn’t even wince, but that had to sting. Then she looked up at Shota and Hizashi could see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure out exactly what happened. “You knew where I was… Gonna be…?” The words were almost hesitant as she stared at Shota, and he stared down at her, the two of them locked in some moment before Chiharu’s hand came up, her fingers curling gently around Shota’s hand still on her cheek. “Shota… You’re so… Amazing…” Sho’s eyes widened in shock. At the clear, unabashed awe in her tone, her eyes a little wide too like she really didn’t know what to think. He wasn’t the kind of man to accept compliments normally. Shota worked so hard to get to this level. Truly Sho’s entire raison d’être was his pro hero work. His marriage, UA, all of this came second. A compliment from Chiharu though… A fellow fighter, a warrior at heart, and a skilled martial artist, who despite her silliness had true respect for fighting, extremely high self discipline, and held herself to ridiculously high standards was not something Shota could just brush off as typical fan bullshit, or even the words of someone inexperienced.Link’s regard meant something to him. Ever since that first spar, as Chiharu turned and offered him a formal bow. Shota hadn’t returned it, he wasn’t trained in the way she was, but it still meant a lot to him, and she often gave him that same respect. Her face would change from goofy grins to completely serious when she thanked him as a superior fighter who took the time and effort to train her.It didn’t matter to her that Shota didn’t return the gesture but she still showed him that respect after every sparring session as if something inside her would not allow her to do otherwise. She didn’t gush over Shota like some kind of fangirl, no, she often sat down afterwards and closed her eyes with a little sigh. Contemplating the spar was what she called it, and Shota and Hizashi had begun joining her in it before discussing the results and key moments. They would both ask Shota questions about his thought process and reasons for some killer move and pick his brain and he would delve into it, picking their fights apart with disturbing skill and ease, and Chiharu ate it up. Eager for the lecture like it was the best part of the spar.It was fucking adorable, especially the way he could tell Shota liked it too. Hell, he would never presume to know his husband’s mind, but he might venture to say it was something the man secretly loved about Chiharu.Now, Sho’s fingers tightened on Chiharu’s face, curling around her jaw and…He dipped his head… And Shota kissed her! Not only did his husband kiss Chiharu, but he licked up the blood that was dribbling down her chin, slid his tongue hotly over that cut, and sucked her slightly swollen lip between his. Wow… Shota really was falling in love with Chiharu! Did Hizashi even need anymore proof than this? He should probably be jealous or something, but he was kinda just happy he got to see it happening.Chiharu jerked in Shota’s arms, eyes going wide, as a shocked, muffled gasp escaped her, and then her hand moved up to grip Shota's hair tight, eyes slipping closed as she kissed him back. They both lit up like two neon red lights! Both of them suddenly moaning, gripping each other tight and kissing almost frantically. They split apart almost as quickly as it had begun, staring into each other’s glowing red eyes.They’d done something!? With Blood Link-?!Hizashi barely hesitated, he grabbed Chiharu where she was still hanging in his husband’s arms and kissed her too. Swallowing down her cry of, “Hiza!?” And oh… OH?! Was that Chiharu’s blood?! There was the sharp taste of iron tang like you’d expect, except it changed to something hot and sweet! Her blood tasted fucking sweet?! Hizashi licked it up just like Shota had, eagerly swallowing the tiny bit he got down, and everything went warm and red behind his eyes.It wasn’t the same as the erotic shock of her bite… It was more like coming home. Inviting. Soft and vulnerable. Chiharu echoed his moan, her tongue sliding against his, and he shook. Chiharu… He was kissing Chiharu… After all this time, and suddenly something snapped into place. The feeling was almost sharp after the softness, and they jerked apart too, gasping as Hizashi bumped into Shota who was still right there.Chiharu was still glowing faintly red, but the brilliant crimson of her eyes was beginning to fade back to light green. The glow like a strange red aura around them seemed to pulse before disappearing.“What just happened?” Shota’s rough voice right there startled them both as they panted. Hizashi sat back and then…Disappeared with a soft pop. There were a few seconds of total confusion as he reappeared a few feet back. The three of them just stared at each other in shock. That had felt weird. The faint tingle and brush of air when Chiharu teleported him around but much stronger. Almost like a push. A rush. Hizashi looked back at Sho and Chiharu and wanted to be there and then he just was. There was that faint push, almost in the middle of his chest and then he was back kneeling where he had been.Chiharu scrambled to her feet, almost ripping out of Shota’s arms, eyes wide as she stepped back on shaky knees, “I’m not doing that!” She cried, holding her head with one hand.Shota stood, looked down at himself with a slight frown… And then, he disappeared too! Hizashi jumped up, twisting around, only to find his husband so far across the field he looked small. With a simple thought, that he wanted to go there too, he suddenly just was.“Are we… Teleporting?” Hizashi asked in barely more than a whisper as he reached out, hands shaking the tiniest bit. Shota instantly took his hands in his.“Take a breath,” Shota ordered gently and Hizashi’s head dropped with a nod as he obeyed, focusing on his breathing for a moment. “Let’s take care of Chiharu first.”Except they couldn’t, cause she was already gone. The journey home had been a novel experience of teleporting as far as they could see over and over again, on their own… Well, honestly totally fucking exhilarating. They’d showered and thrown on some house clothes, and now…Hizashi was pacing. Which this time meant he was teleporting from one side of the living room to the other as he walked, and possibly didn’t even realize he was doing it, rubbing his hands together, running his fingers through his hair, sighing, mumbling to himself... Chiharu wasn’t answering texts, and calls when straight to voicemail.Shota wanted to say they just needed to give her time, but even he was struggling to stay still in his chair. Three hours had past already. What if she didn’t show up to UA tomorrow? What if she didn’t come back. That was totally unacceptable.They could teleport as far as they could see, same as Chiharu could, but they couldn’t seem to teleport to any of her charge marks or anything like that. Somehow Chiharu had given them part of the teleporting aspect of Blood Link… And she obviously hadn’t even known she could. It was like ingesting her blood had done something to the link through the blood that she already had from them. Like… A circle… Like holding hands… And then reaching back for the other hand like he had with Hizashi earlier. Creating a complete circle… A return link…?!Chiharu. With Chiharu. With Blood Link she could come to them anywhere. She could find them anywhere. She could feel them, she said. How did she do that? How did she feel them?Shota closed his eyes, breathing in slow and picturing Chiharu in his mind. Grinning at him with those fox eyes, all teeth and snickering. His heart thumped hard in his chest, and he lifted a hand to rub at the spot.Shota froze. He felt something. Like a weird, fuzzy little flutter right there in his chest. When he focused on it, the feeling intensified. The faintest pulling sensation.“I feel it,” Shota announced as he jumped to his feet, clutching his chest. Hizashi froze before appearing right beside him. “Just… Just picture Chiharu in your head and try to feel it.” Shota faced him and then poked the middle of Hizashi’s chest. “Close your eyes.” His husband obeyed, shaking the tiniest bit as Shota pressed his hand into the middle of Hizashi’s chest.It was only seconds before Hizashi’s hand was clutching his and squeezing. “What is it?!” Hizashi’s quirk blew his hair back but Shota barely noticed.“I think it’s Chiharu… I think we can teleport to her…” Shota explained. He couldn’t help but sound a little unsure.“How?!” Hizashi cried, voice stinging Shota’s ears a little and Shota reached up, pulling Hizashi in against his chest. His partner immediately grappled onto him like a drowning man, burying his face in Shota’s hair.“Calm down, Hizashi…” He felt Hizashi nod as Shota rubbed his back, though Hizashi only squeezed him tighter. “Feel it again. Feel that pull…” It was more like a feather tickling something inside his chest and if he focused on it, it became a soft breeze drawing him forward somehow. The more he focused on it—Somehow… They went together, as if they were meant to, still clinging to each other and only losing contact for a millisecond before they appeared somewhere else, holding each other tight as the world just lit up. It was so hot and blinding bright! Shota’s vision returned quickly as he blinked, pulling away from Hizashi except the man squeezed him tight, holding him still. Shota gripped his shoulder, twisted his head around, and froze.Not only were they in some kind of completely fantastical looking oasis totally surrounded by crystal blue water and forest beyond, but Chiharu was right there on the large flat rock they were poised on still wearing their house slippers and clothes.Naked. She was totally naked and looked like some kind of sex god out for a tan. One arm was up to pillow her head, and the other was slung over her face, hiding her eyes in the crook of her elbow.It wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen Chiharu naked before… They’d been to onsens together loads of times, but they’d never seen this. Everything, right there on full display. Chiharu had that same cute light green hair between her legs too. Fuck. This was different. Everything was different now. She looked like the statue of a bronzed goddess laying there, all toned perfection.The scars on her skin were by no means imperfections, and that one that always drew Shota’s eye traced the inside of her hip all the way down to that enticing patch of pale hair, and dipped into it, leaving a little part where the hair didn’t grow back on the scar. Someone had truly tried to gut the little rat-elf. As much as the thought made his own stomach twist up, he wanted to trace that scar with his tongue again… All the way down...Chiharu’s hair was still damp from a swim, lips downturned in a tight frown and trembling a little, head turned slightly away from them. So… Was this why she had no tan lines?It was wrong… They should look away from that precious sight but after everything… Spending hours waiting for Chiharu to come back. Worried and upset, it was asking the impossible. Hizashi was literally shaking in his arms. Chiharu drew a shuddering breath, then she went still before she instantly appeared on the edge of the rock, facing them in all her nude glory. Her unease at finding them suddenly there with her quickly melted into shock and uncertainty. She rubbed damp cheeks and sniffled, eyes a little red from crying.“What the fuck is this!?” She cried as he and Hizashi finally split apart to face her. “You really do have my quirk… Some-somehow!? Do you even know where you are right now!?” She flung her arms out as if she meant for them to look around, but how were they supposed to look away from those glorious breasts on full display!? “We’re on the Galápagos Islands! On-on the other side of the world... It’s the afternoon here! It’s dangerous! What if something happened… What if you appeared over the water or-or—Shota stepped forward, unable to temper the spike of anger at her words. “You should have stayed then! Instead of leaving us to figure this out on our own somehow… You’re here, what!? Getting a fucking tan?!” Shota snapped, he couldn’t help it, even though he knew it wasn’t true as soon as the words left his lips. He knew this wasn’t her fault… But this was too much! Chiharu visibly reacted to his outburst, hunkering down a little and hugging herself as her eyes dropped. Of course… He succeeded in hurting her. He wanted to hurt her for leaving them. For running away. She just couldn’t do that ever again. He’d make damn sure of it!“Fuck!” She snarled the word, turned around and sprang off the rock like a damn dolphin, cutting into the water and quickly swam down.“Shota, calm down…” Hizashi’s voice was quiet, and Shota almost wanted to throw off the hand that closed over his shoulder. “You know that’s not what’s going on. She was crying… And Chiharu probably came here cause she was freaking out, to try and calm down.” Shota nodded his head after a few seconds, breathing out some tension. “I don’t think she understands this much better than we do, and she’s probably worried too… And… And scared.” Damn Hizashi and his soothing voice. “I’m not upset with her at all. We did this, not her… Fuck… I shouldn’t have done that! Not after seeing what happened to you… I just… I just wanted to feel it too,” Hizashi drew in a shuddering breath and hugged himself. “That was so selfish. I didn’t think… I just wanted to kiss her too! Like some fucking selfish asshole!” Shota deflated completely as Hizashi’s anguished expression turned to worry when he looked out over the water. “She still hasn’t come up…”Shota sighed before he reached down to pull off his shirt and dropped his track pants. “Come on… Let’s just swim. This place is fucking amazing.”The water was warm and clear. It was hard to tell how deep because they could see almost all the way to the bottom in some areas, but it was salt water. Hizashi dove in after stripping down to his underwear too, going right for the flashes of pale green. They found Chiharu at the bottom of a shallower area, holding onto the edge of some rock to stay down. Just floating and watching the bottom.The bottom was alive. There were schools of colourful fish, small reef sharks twisting around and cutting through the water just above the sandy bottom, but that wasn’t what caught her attention.It was a big, spotted sea turtle drifting along, sunlight glinting off it’s brown and yellow shell as it chomped at vegetation, swaying with the current.Chiharu’s head jerked up as Hizashi’s shadow fell over her and she watched him like a hawk as he swam closer. Then she reached up, snatched his hand and dragged him down with her, heading for the turtle. It didn’t seem at all bothered by their presence. She brought Hizashi’s hand down with hers and together they touched it's big shell, Hizashi’s eyes wide with wonder.Shota swam down, admittedly more interested in the sight of Hizashi and Chiharu, looking like two curious merpeople, than he was the turtle. A beautiful thing yes, but he wasn’t the kind of person with the urge to touch everything he found awe inspiring. Somethings should remain untouched… And… How the hell long could Chiharu hold her breath for!? It was going on 5 minutes now, at least.Hizashi was soon tugging on her hand and pointing insistently up. Chiharu immediately shot upward, taking Hizashi with her, clearly the more experienced swimmer of the two, and they hit the surface in only a few seconds.Shota surfaced to the sounds of Hizashi drawing in some deep breaths. Him and Chiharu were clasping hands. “I’m not a great swimmer,” Hizashi admitted, struggling to tread water a little bit.Chiharu nodded with an understanding smile, “sure, that’s okay… Let's go to the shallows…” They headed toward the shore, but Shota stayed behind. When Chiharu noticed she paused, letting Hizashi swim past her. “Shota…” Their eyes met. “Watch out for sharks and don’t get too close to sting rays… And you can’t teleport fully submerged in water or into water. Once your head is out you can, though… So, be careful… Okay?” Shota nodded after a few seconds. “And I wasn’t… Getting a tan…”“I know,” he said, but they didn’t move any closer to each other. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you… I’ll be in soon.” With that they parted and swam in different directions. It wasn’t okay. He knew that…But free-diving in the Galápagos Islands apparently did wonders for a person’s body, mind, and soul.By the time he came to the shoreline it was to the sound and sight of Chiharu guiding Hizashi with his swimming and treading water. Chiharu had her grey sports bra and blue panties on now, and was sitting waist deep at the shoreline while Hizashi was still far enough out to swim.“Do you come here a lot?” Shota asked as he sat down beside her, pushing his hair back and rubbing the water out of his eyes.“Yeah… I do. It's 15 hours ahead here,” she explained without looking at him and was quiet for a minute as Hizashi waded over and plopped down with a splash in front of them, the sun at his back.It was… Shota, most certainly along with Chiharu, took a long few seconds to admire his partner’s physique. Hizashi really had improved. For the first time since knowing the man, Hizashi was just as cut as Shota was. All long, lean muscles on display, water running down his lightly tanned skin, corded muscles flexing as he lifted his hand to slick back his long hair. Shota hated and loved that scar that looked like a skinny tree with roots going down the right side of Hizashi’s torso.“You could be a model, Hiza-chan…” Thinking Chiharu could ever quietly take in an awe-inspiring moment was just stupid. “Baby, you could really be a model,” Hizashi replied with a grin. “Thanks,” he added softly after Chiharu disappeared and then reappeared to hand him his glasses that he’d left on the rock with their clothes. “You need those. You’re clearly blind,” she replied smartly as she settled back into the shallow water, and Hizashi scoffed. Shota wanted to roll his eyes. Here we go.“I’m not blind! You’re fucking gorgeous, Chiharu!” Hizashi was also at his wits end with this.“Have you ever looked in a mirror, Chiharu?” Shota chimed in and she sent him a glare before rolling her eyes too.“People don’t like muscles and scars on women… Hell, even other pros don’t like it…” She looked down at herself. “Nice tits don’t make up for… All this.” There wasn’t any self-disgust in her tone. It wasn’t that, more like she’d just accepted that nonsense about herself. “Still… I got these scars saving lives, so I don’t care what anybody else thinks.” Shota wanted to sigh. The unexpected things she sometimes says never ceased to surprise… And amaze him.“Nice tits?!” Hizashi practically screamed, fingers digging into his knees as his voice echoed all around them. “You have the most amazing tits known to humankind! I wanna eat them for breakfast, lunch, and supper!” Chiharu burst out laughing, face already flushed from the sun got a little redder. “And your muscles are so fucking sexy, and your scars are beautiful too!” The man proclaimed like he thought everyone in the world needed to know. “Shota thinks so too!”Chiharu tensed at that and didn’t look over at him before crossing her arms over her chest and glaring straight ahead. “No, he doesn’t!” “Yes, I do,” he ascertained shamelessly. It was all true.“Shut-up, Shota!” She snapped, finally looking at him. Their eyes locked.Hizashi chuckled at the display. “And… What do you think of Shota, Chiharu?”“No-none a your business!” She practically hissed like a cornered feral cat.“Come on… You think he’s handsome?” Hizashi pressed, and her glare softened before she nodded and then simply said-“Untouchable,” quietly and she didn’t let her eyes drop to Shota's own cut, scarred, and wet torso on display. Ah. That explained a lot.“What do you mean?” Hizashi asked.“I’m not good enough,” she replied before turning away to loop her arms over her bent knees with a shrug which further confirmed Shota’s thoughts. Chiharu had a different mindset. She saw Shota in a different light, and they’d never really breached that divide.“I’ve got plenty of scars too…” Shota began. You’ve seen me at my lowest, woman… “and each one is proof that I’m anything but untouchable.” Shota smirked, wanting to close that untouchable distance between them while he had this chance. “Are you saying you’re not attracted to me, Chiharu?” Her eyes widened, and he didn’t even need to look over to know Hizashi was probably gaping at him too.“Why-why do you even care?” She managed despite looking like she wanted to be anywhere else in the entire world right then.Shota wanted to sigh, “Chiharu… This isn’t just friendship, and we can’t go on pretending that it is.”“I’m not pretending anything!” At her sudden outburst Shota wanted to take back his wording, but stayed calm. “Are you attracted to me?” He asked again.“What the hell?! Have you looked in the mirror?!” She threw that back at him. ”Everyone in the fucking world is attracted to you, Shota!” She spat that like it was supposed to be an insult, and Hizashi laughed a little nervously as the warm, shallow waves lapped up around them. The tide was going out.“So, is that a yes?” He pressed on, unbothered by her inability to express herself to him. Her being all flustered was really just making it easier for him to plow through this.“Ugh! Yes! You’re handsome and brave, and so crazy strong and skilled… And... And you’re the best pro hero I’ve ever even known,” at her exasperated words Shota’s eyes widened. “And you’re a great teacher, even if you’re mean and cranky all the time and kinda terrifying, you really care about the kids… And you have Hizashi… So, at the very least everyone in the world is jealous of you for that.” She looked out at the water with a huff. Hizashi made some kind of shocked sound, but Shota was still just staring at this damn little rat-elf.Shota… Who’d had a purpose for this entire conversation, lost it for a long minute. What was he supposed to say to that? His chest felt tight. Him? Overwhelmed by just a few words from this ridiculously, frustrating woman. Fuck… How could Hizashi even bear Chiharu’s shameless, sincere compliments all the time?! She turned it on him this one time, and he felt like his heart was going to explode. It felt good. Which made him feel stupid and weak for putting so much regard into how someone else felt about him, but it didn’t lessen it any. His heart didn’t shrink back down like he wanted it to. Not at all.He’d done this. He’d done this to himself… And fuck, if he didn’t just want to grab her and kiss her again. Right then. How did Hizashi even exist like this?! Shota’s eyes finally found his partner who was biting his bottom lip and watching Chiharu while clenching his knees in his hands. Those eyes immediately flicked to his, and the desperation he saw in those neon green depths immediately brought Shota back. Hizashi needed him to fix this. Somehow. So, Shota took a page from Chiharu’s favourite book: ignore it. No, not all this love bullshit, as Chiharu would put it. They were going to ignore what Blood Link had done to them. Not the fact that they could teleport, but all the other implications that would be derived from this. What the future was going to hold for them as a team, as UA teachers, as pro heroes, the fucking Commission, all the dark feelings probably rolling around inside their little vampire-elf. That’s what they were going to ignore. At least for a little while. First things first.“This is frustrating for me, and for Hizashi,” Shota began, pulling her attention back to him. “We want more than friendship from you, Chiharu… You know that.”“I know…” She sighed and it was full of sad, released denial. “I know. You kissed me.” She accused, but the glare was tired and squinty from the sun at best. Shota had to suppress a grin and Hizashi just looked guilty.“Can we try to meet in the middle?” Shota asked.“How?” She immediately asked in turn.Shota drew in a breath, wondering how he got here. As the voice of reason, apparently. Then again, he always took the lead, didn’t he? “Nothing is going to change, Chiharu, except for intimacy. Mental, emotional, and physical intimacy. We want to be able to talk things out, express our feelings with you, and express how we feel about you… We both want to be able to touch you and kiss you… At the very least. And for us all to be… Exclusive…” Shota hadn’t discussed this with Hizashi, but enough was enough. Things weren’t working if it was easier for Chiharu to flee across the world at the first hiccup. “You don’t have to, Chiharu…” Except you do… “We’ve been trying to just be friends, but it’s not working… Can we try being a little more than friends?”“I’ve never really done this… I don’t even know how… And what do you mean by exclusive exactly?” Perhaps no one had ever sounded more reluctant as Chiharu did just then. Hizashi looked like he was, for once, content to stay quiet. Shota relaxed, letting a calm smile drift over his face as the tension eased out of his shoulders and arms, and watched as Chiharu responded ridiculously fast, relaxing a little in turn just naturally. It calmed Hizashi down too, the death grip he had on his knees easing up. “I mean, I don’t want you to date anyone else, or see anyone else, just me and Hizashi…” To Shota, this was already in motion, Chiharu just had yet to catch up. Despite there being three of them, this wasn’t in anyway going to be some kind of open relationship with her, at least not yet. He didn’t know when, or if he’d ever be okay with her pursuing a relationship with someone other than him or Hizashi. He just wasn’t there yet.All of this was uncharted territory for him too. The whole thing with Chiharu… The new feelings. The attraction, desire, and attention changed that thing inside him that had always been calm, open, and willing to let Hizashi pursue others had kind of just closed up. Slammed shut and disappeared. Chiharu had done that. Made him realize how precious and rare the relationship he already had actually was. “Right… Um… That’s fine,” Chiharu reasoned out and tensed, almost flinching when Hizashi’s fingers curled around her knee just below the water as another small wave rolled up and around them. “I don’t actually want to be with anybody so that’s okay, I guess…”“Chiharu,” Hizashi’s soft, insistent voice drew her attention. “So… You’re going to try? Being with me and Shota, I mean… In a relationship?” Hizashi wasn’t the type to let something like this remain unsaid, or subject to interpretation.Chiharu watched Hizashi for a few seconds, then lifted her hand and said, “okay.” Hizashi instantly interlaced their fingers and squeezed. Shota naturally struck like a snake, grabbing and holding her other hand. She squeezed back but flung her head back and stared up mournfully at the cloudless sky as she proclaimed, “this is so fucking weird.” “Chiharuuuuu!” Hizashi’s cry nearly blow dried their wet hair before the man tackled her into the wet sand behind them left by the receding tide and had her laughing in an instant. She had no chance of fighting him off since Shota refused to relinquish her other hand. Hizashi kissed her cheeks and Chiharu groaned in exasperation before she planted her hand over his lips to try and stop him. He only kissed her palm instead and Shota smirked, watching before laying back beside them on his side in the warm sand.“You’re making it even more weird, Hiza!” She complained, face burning, but Hizashi didn’t care as he settled on her other side, still half on top of her. “What… What are we gonna do?”“It’ll be fine,” Shota immediately replied before laying down on his back and looking up at the sky. He pulled their still joined hands up to his chest.“So… When I joked about you two double teaming me…?” Chiharu began and Hizashi snickered… “You guys took it right to heart, huh?”Hizashi laughed and jokingly agreed, “yeah baby, this is all because you said that…”“Should have kept your mouth shut like I told you,” Shota added, and they all laughed again, but it faded fast.It wasn’t as easy as just ignoring it for Chiharu and her fingers tightened around his, “I… Want you both to use my quirk. I don’t wanna have to hide it.”Shota’s head snapped over from sky-gazing, brows furrowed, “Chiharu—“No, Shota,” her head turned to face him. Hizashi was up on one elbow, his free hand holding Chiharu’s other hand against her stomach. “There’s no hiding this. And if you’re worried about keeping it secret all the time it won’t be as useful. Figure it out. Master it. Use it, Shota… You can do a lot of good with it… Especially you.” He blinked. Fuck. This was such… An incredible gift. Her head turned, “you too, Hiza-chan.”Hizashi’s eyes met his before he too shifted to lay on this back. This was a lot. Shota looked away to think, then they were all just looking up at the sky, thinking. Warm waves rolling up their legs with the soft soothing sound of the ocean. On an island in the middle of nowhere, distant calls of animals and birds were the only other sounds. It was insane actually. The Galápagos Islands!? What other crazy places did Chiharu have secret bases at!? No… Back to the matter at hand.His mind rolled over the worst case scenario. The Commission finds out about this new aspect of Chiharu’s quirk and puts the pressure on even harder to try and get her back. Such a fate would only end in even more twisted experimentation for Chiharu, no matter what those assholes claimed, or who was locked up in Tartarus. But that… Wouldn’t happen. Not with UA backing her. Not with Shota and Hizashi capable of teleporting right to her.And Hizashi… Poor Hizashi was tired of it. Shota knew he’d never say, but he was tired of the secrets. Of lying when people asked or covering up when anyone got a hint. Their marriage was a weight on a painfully honest man’s shoulders. Shota had dragged Hizashi down, and nearly buried him over the years. Because he refused to change, and made Hizashi conform to his wants and needs. Instead of meeting in the middle. Just like he wanted to do with Chiharu.“Okay,” he finally said, and Chiharu’s hand squeezed his tight. “We’ll talk to Nezu about Blood Link, and let him explain it to the rest of the staff to try and stave off some of the burning questions that are bound to arise when me and Hizashi start teleporting all over the school,” he didn’t look over, just continued but Chiharu pulled her hand away from his, sitting up. “We’ll say it’s something intimate that you can only share with someone you’re extremely close to. Basically, this part of Blood Link is only shared between lovers. We won’t tell anyone how, they can come up with their own ideas, but like this, most people will be too reserved to ask for more details.”Suddenly two sandy heads were leaning over him. “Sho, what are you saying?” Hizashi asked, sounding worried.“I thought we were going to keep our relationship a secret!?” Chiharu was nearing panic that quick.Shota sat up and turned to face them. They were both sitting on their knees and Chiharu was leaning into Hizashi’s side. His arm was around her shoulders, and they both looked like he’d just told them the world was ending.Damn. He’d never been this attracted to anyone before. It was like with the addition of Chiharu, his feelings had shifted into something really very possessive. Of both of them. He’d felt it before. Whenever he got to see them close or comforting each other. This near suffocating urge to lock them both up somewhere safe, so no one could ever hurt, frighten, or even look at them ever again. Only him. Normally, Shota kept this shit in check but with Chiharu having just finally agreed to something more, it reared its ugly head.“It’s the best way. We need UA’s support in this…”Hizashi looked even more distressed, “Sho—“Hizashi, it’s fine,” Shota cut him off as he came to his feet, looking down at them. “And it’s fine if people find out about us. You can tell anyone you want about us. I don’t want you to have to hide it anymore. Things have changed. I’m not going to be anymore open about my personal life with anyone, and I’m not suddenly going to be okay with public shows of affection, but I want you to feel like you can express yourself however you want, whenever you want. If I can be myself, then you can be yourself… I’m sorry I ever made you feel like you couldn’t. I’m just… Sorry.” Hizashi was stunned. If Shota had slapped him suddenly, he’d have looked less stunned than this.If Shota were a lesser man, his husband teleporting right into him would have knocked him over, but Shota caught him easily, repressing a shudder at the feel of all that sun-warmed skin against his.“Don’t I have a say in this?” Chiharu grumbled from behind Hizashi and Shota got a couple kisses on the cheek before Hizashi pulled away from him.Shota wanted to cross his arms over his chest like she was, standing there in her damp bra and panties and looking like an upset goddess of the sea that just stepped out of her domain.“Go on then, have your say,” Shota looped an arm around Hizashi’s back as the man practically draped himself across his shoulders and nuzzled his face into Shota’s cheek. Just like that, Chiharu lost all her upset and clamped a hand over her mouth, hearts in her eyes. “Well?”“I can't when you two act all fuckin’ cute in just your underwear!!” She accused, pointing at them. “I-I’m gonna have wet dreams about this later!” Hizashi laughed and Shota rolled his eyes, and was actually tempted to try giving the little perve a nosebleed, but unfortunately, they had more important things to see to. “Why do we have to tell UA anything? I don’t need anybody’s support. Not UA’s or the Commission or anyone. I’m only at UA cause I wanna be. I can go anywhere I want. I don’t need anybody.”Shota teleported to right in front of her, shivering at that little rush. She didn’t even startle, just met his eyes with a frown. Chiharu tensed when he set his hands on her shoulders and then, “of course not. But I want to support you and Hizashi does too, the same way you support us… So much. So, we can keep spending time together. You trust me, don’t you?” She nodded, searching his face. “And I trust UA.” She sighed, dropping her gaze. He got it. She had endless reasons not to trust UA, or anybody. The trust of this woman was truly a precious thing. A teleporter who could share her ability… A dangerous thing too.Hizashi appeared behind her and immediately squished Chiharu between them. Having Chiharu’s bra clad breasts all smooshed up on his bare chest was admittedly nice, and he allowed himself a glance down cause he could. He could look all he wanted now, technically. Hopefully touch and taste soon too. He was turning into a perve too, apparently… At least where Hizashi and Chiharu were concerned.She disappeared after like 2.5 seconds and Hizashi thumped against his chest with a little laugh. “Awe, come on, Haru-chan!” His partner whined, “one little group hug?”“We don’t have time for group hugs!” She growled. “We’re starting class 1, day 1, ‘teleporting for babies.’”“Hai, Link-sensei!” Hizashi immediately called before laughing and Shota grinned. He wasn’t even bothered by her nonsense. This! This was going to be fun.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sooo… Shota was now banned from the gym. After making several patrons feel ‘threatened.’Chiharu was rubbing his husband’s shoulder and back as if she was worried Shota was actually upset about it, but Hizashi knew damn well Shota had planned this whole thing. Hizashi totally got it but wasn’t prone to extremes like Shota was.“Its fine, Sho.” Uh! When Chiharu called Shota Sho like he did, Hizashi felt like his heart was going to explode! Especially in that sweet tone. Like Shota was one of her students that needed comforting. “We’ll find another gym, okay? It’s not your fault,” Chiharu reasoned, and Hizashi actually had to turn away to hide his grin. Not his fault?! Anyone would feel threatened with Shota breathing down their neck for daring to look at Chiharu, let alone actually talk to her. The whole situation was ridiculous, and it was taking everything to not burst out laughing. “Hiza! Don’t laugh, Shota’s upset!”Then it was even harder not to laugh. Oh yeah, he’s real upset…“We could always just workout for free at UA,” Hizashi said, somehow with an entirely straight face as he turned back around. Somewhat reluctantly going along with this. He suspected them working out at UA, where Shota would have total control over who was coming and going, was his partner’s end goal here. “No, you two can still come here without me. This is Chiharu’s favourite gym,” Shota replied from where he was leaning forward on the bench, elbows on his knees. Hizashi almost rolled his eyes. He knew exactly how Haru-chan was going to react to that… And so did Sho.“What!? No way! We’re not hitting the gym without you, Shota!” Chiharu declared as if the idea alone was blasphemy. It shouldn’t even be possible but somehow, after tentatively accepting a romantic relationship with him and Sho, Chiharu was becoming even sweeter. Chiharu was already sweeter than fucking honey, but this new ridiculously considerate, sweet, and supportive partner side of her was melting his heart into an even bigger mess in his chest. “Besides, I don’t like the way they talked to you. Lucky I don’t burn this place down after that… With everyone inside…” Okay… Well, she was sweet as hell, but she was still Chiharu. She scowled, looking back at the building while absently running her fingers through Shota’s long, dark hair like the surly man was her emotional support animal.“That would be arson, sweetheart… And also, murder,” Hizashi chimed in, watching Chiharu comfort Sho with a little smile on his face. Shota, that damn sneak! Took the opportunity to wrap an arm around Chiharu’s low back, long arm easily curling all the way around her waist, and slipped his long, greedy fingers up under the edge of Chiharu’s tight tank top. There was a little strip of tan skin visible and fuck, if his brazen partner didn’t just casually stroke that scar along Chiharu’s hip with his fingertips.Hizashi was transfixed by the sight, one hand coming up to cover his mouth as he hugged himself with his other arm. Saying nothing cause…His sweet, innocent, baby angel Chiharu didn’t even notice! She was already on her phone and leaning on Shota’s shoulder. “There’s another gym a few blocks away from here… But doesn’t look as good as this one,” she mumbled.“What about UA?” Hizashi asked again quietly. He really didn’t want to distract from this moment. This was the first time Hizashi ever really understood what Chiharu meant by fueling my fantasies. What if Shota slid his hand up higher… Under her shirt. When would she notice…? What would she do!? How had he not realized before now?! Shota and Chiharu?! Kissing. Touching… More than that…?! In front of him? For him!?!Hizashi felt like his whole body just suddenly broke out in a sweat! “Granny Chiyo!” Hizashi randomly shouted, and Chiharu looked at him sharply as her hair was ruffled up by the force of his voice. Shota didn’t even look over, far more interested in subtly feeling up Chiharu, understandably, but whatever! Thinking about Recovery Girl hitting him with her tiny cane and then kissing him was a great way to stave off the raging hard-on that threatened.Chiharu’s left brow rose up behind her messy green bangs as she looked at him. “Yeah, I mean, Chiyo-chan would be close by if one of us got hurt or something, sure, but we can just teleport to her anyway, silly.” She grinned at him with that cute fucking smile. Ugh.“Oh yeah… Of course,” Hizashi replied lamely, and she just looked at him like he was the cute one before going back to her phone.“Anyway, I don’t know… The gym there is more for the kids isn’t it? Is it any good?” Chiharu asked, looking over at him again.“Baby… It’s a hero school, it has every conceivable piece of exercise equipment. More than half the entirety of UA is dedicated to training,” Hizashi said it with his own easygoing smile.“Okay… But no. I don’t wanna be at UA anymore than we need to be,” she shook her head, leaning more on Shota now.“Why not?” He asked, a little surprised, and Shota too seemed a little alarmed at her words, finally coming out of whatever spell being so close to, and touched by, and touching their new partner had invoked. Not for the first time, Chiharu seemed like she really didn’t like UA… She shrugged, looking back at her phone to continue her search.Sho’s wandering hand lifted away, only to come up and pluck the phone out of her grip. She barely reacted because Shota was a notorious phone snatcher and if he wanted your phone or anything else on you there was no way to stop him. It was even worse now that he could teleport.At this point Sho probably knew every one of Chiharu’s contacts on her phone, who she talked to recently, and could probably recite whatever recent texts she’d received word for word. It was how he was with Hizashi except 10x worse. Poor Chiharu’d never even been in a healthy relationship before, so she didn’t even understand how unhealthy that was. She didn’t seem bothered at all by her boyfriend casually scrolling through her phone. Hizashi hoped Shota would calm down a little with it all soon… But this was Aizawa Shota. This was his Sho in extreme boyfriend mode. With a girlfriend for the first time.“Chiharu, why don’t you want to workout at UA?” He didn’t even look up from her phone. If she said it was because of any of their grabby co-workers, Shota would probably explode in to a million psychic needles and attack Kayama from afar.“Mmm… Cause you and Hiza-chan can’t be yourselves there, ya know?” She explained as if it was so obvious…Hizashi was just… Stunned. For a few seconds he couldn’t really wrap his head around that. “Baby, we’re perfectly fine—“I know, but its important to me, okay?” She cut him off sharply and Hizashi blinked at her tone. Apparently, that was the end of the discussion and Shota… Well, Hizashi didn’t miss that little flash of guilt on his partner’s face! Ha! Seemed his whole secret no more gym plan had backfired a little. Now Hizashi was sure Sho’s plan had included maneuvering them into working out at UA… Except now they knew why she didn’t want to do that and there wasn’t much hope of countering that argument. And her reason was too kind and considerate to even try without ending up an even bigger asshole. Logic didn’t always win. Hizashi smirked at the glare Shota sent him as if the man had read his mind.“I think we should go talk to Nezu today, Chiharu… Hizashi’s having a hard time controlling Blood Link during his classes,” Shota spoke up as he let Chiharu take her phone back. What?! I am not! Hizashi barely contained the shout as Shota smirked at him in turn.“Really, Hiza-chan?! You should have told me! Is it too much? We can let it wear off anytime you want to, you know that,” Chiharu was suddenly in his face and half in a panic.“I’m fine, Chiharu, I promise,” Hizashi wrapped her in his arms and glared at Shota over her shoulder only to grin happily when Chiharu returned the hug and snuggled into him. How do you like that, I-don’t-do-public-affection-san!? Hizashi rubbed her back and kissed her cheek. Still, he complied with his husband, “we do need to talk to Nezu though… Tomorrow before classes?”She was quiet before leaning back to look at him, “okay… I guess.” Hizashi ducked in for a peck on her lips. Chiharu leaned in close to kiss and lick his neck and he quickly forgot about ever being annoyed with Sho.Hizashi was really trying. But meeting in the middle… Or whatever the hell Sho had been talking about was really fucking hard… Cause Chiharu. He thought about her all the time. He even dreamt of her. He dedicated songs to Haru-chan on the radio almost every time he was on the air…Kissing her… Holding her close like they were two high school kids, and waiting for her to make the first move was like torture. Actual torture. How do other people do this?! Worse was, she reminded him of Sho sometimes. That simple indifference that he’d experienced for years with his husband when they were teenagers and into their twenties. That lack of attraction. Maybe she was actually asexual too… Or demisexual. Something like that. He really didn’t know if he could handle that again…But Hizashi knew it had to go a certain way. Chiharu’s only relationship was a messed up one, plus she had this whole biting thing that she hated, and that was probably part of the reason she held back a lot. He really didn’t wanna fuck this up…“Can I… Go down on you?”At first, Hizashi didn’t even register the words, he was busy moaning as he gripped Chiharu’s hips and ground himself between her legs. They were on his sofa, and Chiharu was straddling his lap. They were both still in their hero costumes and teleported to his front doorstep to fall into another delicious, yet sexually frustrating make-out session… The results of which he was probably going to have to take care of after she disappeared cause Sho was out. Was she having the same problem? Was she even bothered after they parted ways?Chiharu’s teeth clinked against the small silver hoops that lined his ear when she bit down gently, and then sucked on the lobe, drawing another shuddering moan out of him. “Huh… What?” He asked as he slid his hand up her side and closed it around her left breast. The reinforced material and his glove were just… In the fucking way! His frustration and negative thinking were quickly killing this for him…This time her words penetrated the haze as she whispered, right in his ear, “can I go down on you?” Hizashi physically jolted, hips jerking up as his bad-brain softened erection came back full force. Chiharu pulled back a little to kiss his neck, but she tensed up at his lack of response. “Um… Its totally okay if you don’t want to… I know you wanna go slow.”“I don’t wanna go slow!” Hizashi shouted so loud Chiharu flinched away from him with a little shocked cry, and Hizashi immediately reached up to her ears. “Oh fuck, I’m sorry!”“It’s okay,” she replied before sitting back in his lap a little. She stretched and rotated her jaw probably to try and pop her ears before grinning, “I thought you wanted to go slow… Because I’ve been holding back like crazy…” Her expression looked a little pained. “Honestly… What we’ve been doing is driving me insane… Sometimes I can’t even look at you, or I’ll get worked up. At least you have Shota… I’ve never masturbated so much in my entire life!”Hizashi expelled a giddy laugh, “so… We’re both complete idiots?”“Yeah!” Chiharu chirped with a toothy smile, and then nuzzled his hand when he reached for her face. She licked and lightly bit the inside of his wrist. Just that little bit sent tingling all through him as his breath caught.“You have Sho too…” He said, other hand coming up to interlace the fingers of their free hands. Her eyes jumped to his from where she was still lavishing attention on his wrist and the little bite scar he had there now.“Right!” She gave a nervous laugh. “I’ll skip the super frustrating make-out sessions, and just ask to go down on him too then?”Hizashi chuckled, unable to do anything but smile as weeks of uncertainty just washed away. He was so relieved he felt tired. I really am an idiot… I can’t even tell Sho. He’ll never let me live it down… “Come over… Tonight?” At his suggestion, she perked up.“So, you’re saying I don’t have to rub myself, till I’m so raw I should probably go see Recovery Girl, for the 15th day in a row?” Chiharu questioned cutely with a snicker as he burst out laughing.“Baby! You better not!” He exclaimed before pushing forward for a kiss. “I’m so sorry, Haru-chan…” He pouted and she returned his kiss with a grin till he pulled back. “Less kissing, more talking from now on.” He couldn’t help but feel bad… She’d been suffering through this too, but doing it all alone, and he’d been too wrapped up in his own bullshit to even realize.“I hate talking, sweetheart,” she whined and Hizashi smirked against her lips.“Shota… I don’t think you should go patrolling by yourself…” Chiharu was really starting to get upset now by the sound of it. “Why can’t we come with you?”“Because I said no,” came the deep reply from the entry way of their home. Hizashi was still in the kitchen, sitting at the table and sipping tea, having already told Sho goodbye and to be safe. There was no use, not when Sho got like this. He liked having a team just as much as he liked going solo. It wasn’t just that. Shota needed his alone time. Always had.“I can just follow you, ya know,” Chiharu grumbled, sounding a bit sulky. What a brat! “You’re allowed to go on solo patrols but I’m not? How’s that fair?” “It’s not fair, Chiharu.” And that was it. That final warning tone. There was no more room for discussion. They both fell quiet for a few seconds. Sho was just Sho. Even little bratty Chiharu didn’t argue with that tone. Shota had happily stepped up and told Chiharu how it was now.No more solo hero work. No more friggin’ unisex onsens by herself. No more visiting Ren alone. No overly violent sparring with anyone other then them. No more teleporting across the damn world alone. No Kayama and no Kan, ever! Shota didn’t even want Chiharu to be friends with them. And Chiharu never even complained beyond a bit of teasing about Kayama and Kan, except for the solo patrols. She did not like that rule.“Is your location turned on?” She finally asked with a defeated sigh. There was no winning when going up against Sho.“Yes,” Sho softened his tone in that way that was only for Hizashi. And now it was for Chiharu too. Hizashi smiled against his teacup. Shota knew he was asking a lot of her. But that was Sho. He needed things to be a certain way for this to work for him mentally and emotionally.“You’ll be careful?” Poor Chiharu was like a needy puppy with severe separation anxiety.“I will.”“Who’s gonna watch your back, tho?” She asked quietly like she was worried she was gonna get the tone again.“I’ll be fine.”Chiharu sighed. Sho was definitely ready to go by now and just indulging her. Cause the ‘mean old goat’ secretly loved her attention. Just like Hizashi did, though Sho would never admit it. “Can we…” Almost a minute passed after that and Hizashi’s eyes widened at the half-strangled groan that filtered up the hallway. From Sho! There was a thump and then the sound of Chiharu’s muffled moans and he looked over at the glow like someone had just turned on a red light by the door. Blood Link. The full connection.It hadn’t worn off for either of them yet and so far the only tell of when it was fading was when Chiharu started to get extra bitey. That had only happened a couple times with Shota because they were less intimate than Hizashi and Chiharu were. Sharing blood at times had become an important part of their relationship.Things had gone well with the whole conversation with Nezu. The mouse-bear had seemed more than a little excited about this part of Chiharu’s quirk, though they acted as if Chiharu had always known about it. They didn’t want Nezu to think he could pry for more information than Chiharu was willing to offer up. As of a day ago, the rest of the staff had been informed that he and Shota were now teleporters and to keep quiet about it… AND that the three of them were in a relationship. Together. That that was simply another aspect of Chiharu’s quirk and the principal fully expected everyone to be kind and understanding about it… So far, no one had exploded… Not even Kayama. They didn’t know exactly what Nezu had said but… It seemed to be working. The front door opened and closed a little while later and Hizashi stood up, scooping Chiharu up and lifting her against his front the second she entered the kitchen. She flopped against him and let him carry her.“A teleporting Eraser Head is absolutely fucking terrifying, Haru-chan…” at his words she gave a huff as he made his way upstairs. Anticipation was practically making his head spin. “He’ll be fine.” She smelled so good! “I know… Ugh, I’m an idiot… But I don’t like it, Hiza-chan,” Chiharu groaned but seemed to quickly become more interested in his neck.“You’re not an idiot, and certainly not for worrying about Sho’s stubborn ass… I’m sorry he’s so… Uh… Demanding, Haru-chan,” Hizashi broached the subject carefully. “He just needs some time to get used to caring for and being in a relationship with someone new. He’s still trying to figure it out.” Chiharu hummed in response. She understood that better than Hizashi did after all…“How’s that feel?” Hizashi asked, a little breathless. How was she squeezed so tight around just one finger!? Also… He was certain he’d never seen anything as fucking adorable as the little patch of light green hair between her legs up close. He was so happy she didn’t wax or shave it off and basically fawned over her till she threatened to do just that.Hizashi had her face down on the bed with her gorgeous ass in the air, trying a new angle and watching as he slowly slid his finger in and out of her drenched, clenching, mouth-watering pussy. Chiharu shifted around, at first trying to escape his hand but was soon pushing back, and shivering as he pressed in a second finger.“Good,” she nodded with a little whine, fingers tangled in the sheets of his and Shota’s bed.They’d tried to have sex. Practically ripped each others clothes off. Rushed it like two crazy, horny, sex-starved dogs, and naturally fucked it up, as they do. Chiharu was too tense and Hizashi was too big and then they were suddenly back at step one. “Baby… Can I taste it?” Hizashi was sure he was going to explode just from this. Feeling, and watching, and fuck, listening to her.“Hizaaa…” Chiharu whined his name, pushing back and riding his hand, tense and shivering. “You really want to? I was supposed to go down on-on you though.” He still wanted to talk about that first in a different setting. He was worried she was pushing that matter for a reason beyond the obvious. Harder than it sounded, Chiharu wasn’t joking when she says she doesn’t like talking. “Just a little?” He pleaded, groaning just at the sight of her before him.“Mm, okay then…” Chiharu sounded more intrigued than hesitant.Had he ever been so excited for something in his entire life!? He wanted to hold back and go slow for her but he just… Pulled his fingers out, leaned down real low, and replaced them with his tongue.Chiharu jerked away, twisting onto her back with a cry of shock, but he followed without even giving her a chance to close her legs before he was back in there. Gripping her inner thighs as he explored her with his tongue. The scent of her… And the taste! Even he was shaking a tiny bit.“Hizashi!?” She cried, shaking and writhing and pulling his hair. Then he swirled his tongue around her clit, focusing in on that. She went even more wild, moaning and whining, torn between trying to wiggle away and riding his face and he felt like he was going to cum just from the taste alone. She tasted good, almost like her blood. A kind of tangy sweetness. He could happily die right then.His lover broke apart in minutes, near sobbing his name, shaking and twisting around, legs squeezing him as he came up over her, lined up, and pushed in. It was like coming home after so long of working at it, and trying to be slow and gentle, and all these damn wasted weeks… He nearly sobbed right along with her as hot, pulsing, wet heat clenched all around him. All the way in! For the first time, and then he pulled out a little and pushed back in even further as they both cried out.Weeks of building up to this just burst out of him so fast, he just couldn’t… Couldn’t slow down. Chiharu wasn’t some fragile flower either. She squeezed him right back, legs locked around his waist as he grabbed her tight and rode the arching highs of spine-bending pleasure, hard and fast.“Oh… Fuck… Chiharu!” They kissed frantically, moaning and moving together, and then Chiharu was gripping so tight, and shaking, and it was good, too good! Every thrust was better than the last, the tingling roll of pleasure spreading further through him each time. She broke the kiss to bury her face in the side of his neck, licking and sucking. There was sharp pressure, and then just red.
The world turned pulsing red like a star just exploded behind his eyes. Hot waves of mind-numbing bliss rode over him, all through him, so intense all he could do was shake and squeeze and thrust, and then—Blood Link was a gift. The best fucking gift a pro hero could receive. Shota couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about being such a hard-ass with Chiharu. So much for that middle ground. He was driving her down, just like he did with Hizashi, and he couldn’t figure out how to do it any other way. How was he supposed to just let her… Do… Stuff? She was too sweet. Too vulnerable. Too breakable. It was hard to see her as the tough fighter he knew she was now… But he didn’t want to mess this up. Chiharu wasn’t some fragile creature… And he knew she’d probably resent him for even associating her with the word fragile. Maybe he needed to find someone to talk all this out with? He was pretty sure other people with female partners didn’t want to lock them up just so they wouldn’t ever get hurt… Or stared at, or heaven forbid, touched. And obviously jealousy was a real problem in some relationships, but he was also pretty sure normal men didn’t fiercely envision bashing someone’s skull in just for trying to flirt with said girlfriend. So intensely that his knuckles actually ached. Maybe he should talk to Hound Dog about some of it…It was well past midnight on a chilly, moonlit night. Shota was porting from rooftop to rooftop. Watching and listening as he went. Covering his entire patrol route took no time at all and expanding to even further was almost effortless. So was looping back around several times. Plus, it was never boring. Teleporting was fucking fun, he could admit that much to himself. And appearing in front of thugs, civilians, and even the line at a fast food restaurant and scaring the absolute shit out of everyone was endlessly amusing for him.The true blessing he’d received from his cute little rat was Blood Link’s versatility in combat. The hardest part was actually deciding if he wanted to just knock the perps out or play with them first. Fighting the average villain really was just playtime at this point.Shota was at the end of an alleyway lit by streetlights, waiting for the cops to show up for the two thugs he had coiled in his capture weapon when he suddenly wasn’t alone with them anymore. Nothing could have surprised him more than this.“What’s going on?” Shota snapped, instantly anxious when his husband and their elfin lover appeared. They were both dressed way too casually… Chiharu in a little pink tank top that showed a strip of her abs and dark yoga pants, and Hizashi in a light red tank top and grey track pants, hair loose and falling around his shoulders. Certainly not in any state to interrupt him in the middle of patrol.For a second, they just stood there, holding hands and looking at him. Then, as one, they moved, sneakers splashing in the shallow, dirty alley puddles since it had rained earlier.Chiharu immediately just walked up and hugged him around the middle, and his eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t have time to return the hug or say a thing before she moved, took his hand in hers, and leaned into his side.Then Hizashi was squeezing him tight around the shoulders, just a quick hug before he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. Hizashi stayed in close to Shota’s other side, fingers grasping a bit of his sleeve as the man just stared blankly out at the end of the alley from behind his rectangular glasses. Shota was flanked by his partners, both of them still not saying a word… Or even looking at him.“What in the fuck is this!?” Thug number one, with a quirk that could open locks, exclaimed dramatically. They were both still wearing black ski masks rolled up to their foreheads and black outfits like some wannabe cat burglars or some nonsense. “Sato! Would you look at these two fucking flowers!? Damn! Looking like they just walked out of a fuckin’ magazine.” ‘Sato’ had to twist around a bit to look over his shoulder through his cracked black goggles since they were tied up back-to-back. This one had some kind of tech quirk that had disabled the store alarms. Other than a couple unique quirks, they were weak as kittens and far less interesting.Ignoring those two, Shota asked, “what’s wrong?” While glaring from behind his own yellow goggles, voice gruff and impatient. What the hell was going on? Chiharu actually jerked in response, squeezing his hand tight before biting her bottom lip and staring down at the ground.No-nothin’,” she said, sounding like something was definitely wrong. When his gaze shot to Hizashi the man only nodded sharply in agreement while staring resolutely ahead.“One of you better tell—“Hey man, calm down,” Sato spoke up in a quiet voice. “If nothing was wrong, she wouldn’t be shaking like a pretty little leaf, now would she?” This one had some balls on him apparently. To his equally uninteresting partner in crime, he said, “this fucker don’t know nothin’ bout women, I bet. Don’t deserve one, let alone one that looks like some kinda Amazonian Goddess.” Shota probably would have strangled that piece of trash except for Chiharu’s death grip on his hand.“Are they with you?! Jeez, Eraser Head… How the fuck did a scruffy nightmare bastard like you pull two fuckin’ fitness models?!” Thug one asked in disbelief. Clearly, Shota hadn’t punched these two shits hard enough. “Hey honey, what’s the matter?" Sato cooed in a surprisingly gentle voice. "You got upset and had to come find yer daddy, huh? Did you and blondie have a fight?” Chiharu slowly looked over, blinking a little like she only just noticed the two tied up men right there.“We-we had sex,” she stammered, trembling against his side and Shota quickly tried to deduce what would possibly be wrong with that, and why the hell she was discussing their sex-life with this idiotic criminal. Everything was not okay.“Oh sure, I bet the heavens opened right up so angels could watch you two bang it out,” Thug one cut in and Chiharu’s pretty eyes widened before giving a little, kind of dazed laugh. “Oh fuck! You’re way too sweet for this asshole!”“Sex is a good thing, right?” Sato pressed on gently, and Chiharu looked back at him.She nodded, “I-I used my quirk right at the end… I don’t know why!” Chiharu cried the last bit, turning to grab his sleeve with her other hand, and finally meeting Shota’s widening eyes. “It just happened! I didn’t mean to, Eraser!” The frustrated confusion eased up quick, and Shota’s expression softened when Chiharu blinked back tears. He couldn’t do much with them both holding on to him like he was their only lifeline.“Hey, take a deep breath, Mooncakes. It’s okay,” Shota gentled his tone. He didn’t want to call her by name in front of these assholes, and that name had stuck with him ever since that day in the cafeteria. It was worth it, cause she gave him a cute laugh while trying not to panic and Hizashi echoed it. His blondie finally stopped hugging himself to slip an arm around Chiharu’s back. “What happened after you used your quirk?”“It was… A lot… I blacked out… And… Can you come home soon, Eraser?” Hizashi asked in the lowest, softest voice. Almost his hypno-voice and one or both of the thugs choked.“What the fuck?! Eraser Head, who the fuck are you?!” Thug one practically shouted. “You’re really goin’ home with these two…?!” The criminal looked up at the sky before lamenting dramatically, “I… I done wrong… I done wrong in my life, Sato… Shoulda been a hero…”.“Dream on, Tatsuno,” Sato sighed. “You couldn’t pull Mooncakes or Adonis here in your wildest daydreams. You just don’t got those daddy’ll make everything better vibes… Like, could you even reach them amazing mooncakes?” Sato reasoned out in a serious tone.“Fuck you! I can reach!” Tatsuno snarled and was ignored.Sato wasn’t done, “sounds like these two flowers just need some Eraser Head style aftercare…” He visibly shuddered in disgust. “Ugh… Man must be a fuckin’ god in bed or something.”Suppressing a growl, and the urge to bash their heads in, Shota gripped Hizashi’s shoulder not liking the slight tremor he felt there. The partner immediately leaned into him, and Shota rubbed his shoulder. “I need you to take care of Mooncakes while I finish with these idiots, okay?” Hizashi blinked and then grinned.“Ye-yeah, of course! Come ‘ere my delicious Mooncakes,” Hizashi teased sweetly, and Chiharu smiled, finally letting go of Shota’s hand to fall into Hizashi. He picked her right up, hands boosting her ass up as she wrapped her legs around his waist and flopped against him. “You okay, baby?”“I’m sorry, A-do-niss,” she sighed and Hizashi chuckled before squeezing her close with a little groan. “What’s that mean?”“A handsome man… That’s the name of a Greek god,” Hizashi explained, and Shota found himself more than a little distracted, watching those two flowers right along with the two thugs. For fucks sakes, they do look like flowers.“Oooh, yeah, I remember! Adonis was such a good lover they made him a god,” she snickered, then purred, “that is just like you.” Hizashi chuckled, eyes only for the woman in his arms, head tilted back since he was holding her up high on his waist. They just stared lovingly into each others’ pretty green eyes for a long moment. Shota froze at that warm, sultry tone from Chiharu that was almost Hizashi-level sex-voice. Damn. They kissed, right there in this dirty alley, moaning into each others’ mouths like horny alley cats. Chiharu buried her fingers in Hizashi’s hair, and his hand slid up under the back of her tank top, his other arm under her ass and holding her weight with ease. Shota was just as stunned as the gaping thugs… Something was definitely wrong but… Fuck. They broke the kiss except—“You tasted so good… You’ll let me do that again soon… Won’t you, Mooncakes?” Hizashi spoke slowly, his deep, husky, damn orgasm voice practically slid across the space. Echoing around them. There was also way too much of Chiharu’s toned, beautiful back on display.“Oh fuck…” Tatsuno groaned right along with them. “I think… This is worth going to jail for…”“No… Wait… I wanna stay!” Sato had the balls to actually struggle when Shota started dragging them toward the flashing lights. “I swear, I’ll never break the law again, Eraser… Just lemme watch this!”The man yelped like a dog when blazing red eyes were suddenly so close their goggles clinked together. “Those are my fucking flowers…” Shota's voice was barely more than a growl as he suppressed the brutality rolling through his muscles, almost demanding the feel of his knuckles pounding into weak, yielding flesh.“Shut the fuck up, Sato!” Tatsuno hissed. “Not tryin’ to die right—He didn’t get to finish because the two of them were suddenly flying through the air, released from Shota’s capture weapon at the perfect time to send them headfirst into the side of the police cruiser. The cops didn’t even complain after one look at Shota as he coiled his capture weapon back around his shoulders with little more than a couple flicks of his wrists. He wanted to kill those fuckers, but he breathed through it, feeling like his absolute limit had just been tested. Still… He better not ever see them again.They’d relaxed at least. His flowers. Hizashi just holding Chiharu and rocking from side to side like she was a little kid as he appeared beside them. Shota pulled her right off him, and she flopped back against him before waking up with a groan.“Come on.” Shota buried his face in her hair for an inhale. “Take us home.”They were in their entryway a split second later.A short while after that, Shota had eaten, showered and found himself staring down at Hizashi and Chiharu in bed. Now, she was in a pair of blue panties and a tiny white top that barely qualified as a tank top. She was also asleep sitting up, and Hizashi was curled around her, snoring away.Shota stroked her cheek lightly and she jerked awake, blinking up at him before holding in a yawn and lifting her hands. ‘Me you talk please.’ He nodded when she finished signing and a few seconds later they were in the living room.Shota was only wearing his underwear, having been on the verge of going to bed but he and Chiharu were plenty comfortable like this. “Can I give you a massage?”“Sure,” he sat on the sofa but before he could turn fingers caught his shoulder and slid along his jaw. She leaned over him, meeting his eyes as she lifted a hand to brush some damp hair back from his face. Then she stroked his cheeks and traced his bottom lip with the tip of her finger. “You’re not a-a scruffy nightmare bastard… Sorry I was so out of it… Or I would have beat those assholes half to death,” she softly declared, and Shota blinked, taking a second to remember what she was talking about. Some crap those two losers had said. “You’re just as beautiful as Hizashi, ya know? He’s so lucky to have you…” Chiharu and her forthright compliments could make his heart skip a beat.“What about you… Are you lucky to have me?” At his question her hands dropped down and her fingers clenched around his shoulders, squeezing the tired muscles just right. Chiharu massaged there, standing in front of him, and Shota tensed up before relaxing with a quiet groan. Still, he didn’t like the way she hesitated. She worked on his neck and shoulders for a few minutes before focusing on his temples, forehead, and around his eyes. Groaning louder now with his eyes closed, he settled his hands on her warm sides, slipping his fingers up over her toned waist, thumb promptly feeling for that scar.“Chiharu—“I-I think we should break up…” Shota’s eyes snapped open, looking up and finding her sad, worried face in the low light.Oooooh fuck no! Shota controlled his expression. Hizashi would probably wilt into dust and dirt if he ever lost Chiharu. The man would perish. Hizashi was madly in love with Mooncakes. Shota’s feelings currently were more murder, maim, dismember for her, and that included stabbing and bleeding out any thoughts of breaking up, as if that were even an option at this point.Shota slid an arm around her back while his other hand moved up and down her arm, looking up at her. “Because of what happened with Hizashi?”“He wasn’t moving…” The anguished words were low, almost a whisper. “He passed out from what I did during— He-He fainted! It was so awful… I can’t do this Sho! I hurt Hizashi!” Oh no… Poor Chiharu… She really loved Hizashi just as much.Chiharu broke down, face crumpling into repressed suffering. Her gasping breaths quickly turning into heartbreaking, choking sobs as Shota pulled her into his lap. “Okay, alright… Shhhhh, Chiharu…” He soothed gently as she buried her face in his hair, fingers digging into his back as he squeezed her close and rubbed her back. She tried to hold it in, shaking almost violently. “He’s not hurt, baby. You’d never hurt Hizashi. Not even by mistake.” Chiharu was just as protective of Hizashi as Shota was, so it was easy for him to understand. He’d be upset too. “The link is really strong. It feels really good, and combining that with how overwhelming sex can be for Hizashi… It was probably more intense than ever before…”Chiharu jerked back from his hold, but he didn’t let her leave his lap. He closed his hands over her trembling shoulders, softening even more at the sight of her tear-streaked face. Oh, Chiharu… He’d never seen her really cry and it wasn’t helping the part of him that was starting to see her as a precious, vulnerable little thing that he needed to protect… Not one bit.Chiharu shook her leaf-green head, sniffling, one hand still tangled in his hair and the other resting against the side of his neck. “No… No, Shota! I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t even ask… If-if it was okay! I just bit him like some kind of disgusting mo-monster. I can’t be with you or Hizashi or-or anyone—“No!” The word was so loud and sharp that both Shota and Chiharu flinched when Hizashi was suddenly there. He dropped to his knees in front of them, still just in his boxers and radiating warmth from sleep when he turned Chiharu around and pulled her into him. She rubbed her cheeks as she tried to stop crying. “Chiharu! Please… I lost control too,” Hizashi’s voice was shaking. “I shouldn’t have done that… You weren’t ready, and I’m so sorry!”“You didn’t do any-anything wrong, Hizashi! I’m the one!” Chiharu cried, almost limp in Hizashi’s arms. Desperate tears sprang to his husband’s eyes before slipping down his cheeks, quickly hardening Shota’s heart. Hizashi’s much softer heart could not handle losing Chiharu. Not now, not ever. Shota reached over, catching and squeezing Hizashi’s shoulder.“No one is the one,” Shota interjected a little harshly and two sets of reddened, disturbingly pretty green eyes, and tear-streaked faces turned to him from where they were on their knees in front of him on the floor. “No one is to blame. It’s a lot. For all of us. We knew it was going to be a lot.” He reached out and rubbed Chiharu’s cheek and lifted his other hand to sink his fingers into Hizashi’s hair. “No one’s breaking up. We’re going to talk about this and decide how to proceed. Alright?” He grabbed her chin when she tried to look away. “Alright, Chiharu?”“Alright, Shota,” she finally agreed in a sad whisper, and Hizashi shuddered in relief, hugging her tighter and kissing her cheek and hair.“Hizashi, what happened?” Shota asked.“I went down on Chiharu and totally lost my mind, Sho… I said just a taste and then went at it like cake on Christmas… Like some kind of stupid, horny beast!” The man lamented.“Hizashi, come on! It wasn’t like that! I… Really liked it!” At least they’d mostly stopped crying. Shota was petting her hair now too, and just listening.“Did you?!” Hizashi cried incredulously.Chiharu practically yelled right back, clearly desperate to fix Hizashi’s upset, “yes! Of course! It was amazing! So intense… And then, I lost control…” Ugh, these two are really exactly alike… Shota had to force himself not to smile at the thought. Sometimes Chiharu was like the female version of Hizashi, and it was doing crazy things to Shota.“Chiharu! I lost control first!” Hizashi countered heatedly, like it was an argument to see who was the worst, least considerate lover.“No Hizashi!” Chiharu bit out. “It was me! You’re a-a victim of Blood Link! Nothing is your fault and-and we should let it wear off!”“Chiharu—“Chiharu, stop,” when Shota spoke, she did. “Listen to me. We are not your victims. It’s not like that. When you aren’t directly biting there are no lingering effects.” “You don’t know—“Chiharu. You think I don’t know my own head? If Blood Link had some extra effects, don’t you think I would experience them too?” She didn’t answer. “I would. You don’t have Hizashi under some kind of controlling quirk… Chiharu… He’s in love with you. And Hizashi is a passionate person. He lost control because he wants you more than anything in the entire world. He wants to fuck you all day, every day. He wants to kiss you and hold your hand and carry you around, and give you gifts and take care of you for the rest of your life.” Shota loved and hated how vulnerable she looked just then. “You went too fast. It’s not the end of the world, Mooncakes… And you came right to me… Why?”“I… I don’t know…” Her eyes dropped away.“Because you were scared?” At his question her light green brows furrowed, and she shook her head, gaze dropping. “Why then?”“I just knew you could help Hizashi. You’d fix it… Cause you always fix it. You always know when I-I fuck up and hurt him… And you kick my ass or tell me off for hurting his feelings because I’m too stupid to even realize I’d done anything wrong,” she didn’t look up and Hizashi frowned. “I wish you would do that now…”“Chiharu… I’m sorry,” both Chiharu and Hizashi froze at his words before their eyes whipped to his. “I never should have acted like that,” he cupped her cheek.“I deserve it,” she insisted. “And-and look what happened…”“No, you don’t,” Shota wasn’t done. “You deserve love and friendship and kindness. Not to be hurt or told off just for making some small mistake… I am overprotective, Chiharu. I have faults too, I’m not perfect, and I don’t expect you or Hizashi to be either.” Hizashi was clinging to Chiharu, clearly not over the fact that she’d just tried to leave them. They’d known this wasn’t going to be easy. “We’re all going to slow down now. That means no sex till everyone feels safe and in control. Including me.”“You?” Hizashi asked, looking over from where he’d been nuzzling Chiharu’s neck.“Yes. I can’t beat up everyone who looks at you two twice. I can’t stalk you, I can’t use police tracking for personal reasons… But I do,” Shota admitted.“Sho… What do you mean?” Chiharu sounded far more confused than worried.Shota drew in a slow breath. He hadn’t meant to hide it from her exactly… But he’d been doing it ever since Hizashi gave him her phone number months ago. “I mean, I track you. I can find out where you are whenever I want to and it’s as easy as picking up my phone… And I do. Multiple times a day…”“Okay… But why?” She still didn’t sound concerned, but like she really just didn’t understand why he would do that. “Because I’m overprotective to the point of obsession. The risk… The thought of losing Hizashi can and will drive me to extremes. And now it’s the same for you, Chiharu… Is craving our blood really worse than that? I don’t think so. You have no idea… Blood Link sets me at greater ease than I’ve felt since Oboro died… You’re so precious to me, Chiharu,” he moved to take both her damp cheeks in his hands. Hizashi physically reacted to him mentioning Oboro, bright eyes widening, arms tightening around Chiharu. “You have no idea…”“Shota…” Chiharu’s expression changed, softening as she looked at him like he was the confused one. Holding his gaze, she pressed a hand to the back of one of his. “You don’t have to do that… You could have told me sooner. You didn’t have to keep this a secret,” she turned her face to rub her cheek into his hand. “You can check in and text me all day long if you want to. Me and Hizashi do it all the time. And you don’t have to use some police app or whatever. I’ll just share my location with you in my phone. I don’t mind,” she smirked with a snicker. “You’ll never be a bigger creeper than me. I can just port in with some popcorn and watch you sleep. You’d never even know.”Shota hadn’t known what she’d say to all that but… This hadn’t gone as expected. Hizashi gave a little laugh and Shota just watched her. That’s it? I’m basically stalking you, Chiharu… I’m… Jealous. I’m obsessive, I’m controlling… And this is me holding back… And letting him have her location 24/7 was her response to that? And to check in as much as he wants?Shota tipped his head back and groaned, only to be suddenly tackled into the back of the sofa, “who’s my big old cranky stalker?!” She teased with a little laugh, planting a loud kiss on his cheek. “I drink your blood, Sho, did you really think that was gonna bother me?”Hizashi spoke next, sounding emotionally drained, “Chiharu… Please don’t ever leave me…”“I’m sorry, Hiza-chan…” She turned in Shota’s lap. “I totally freaked out…”“Yeah… You did,” Hizashi nodded, wiping his cheeks with a sigh before he rubbed his hands up and down her bare thighs.“I guess I was… A little… Scared,” Chiharu admitted that like pulling teeth.“Mm,” Shota hummed in agreement while rubbing her back.Chiharu sighed, leaning back into Shota and watching Hizashi, “you weren’t okay…”“I… I know… You kinda blew my mind, Haru-chan…” Hizashi said with a grin, but he was serious as he sat back and ran his fingers through his long, silky blond hair, pushing it back from his face.Chiharu kind of took it the wrong way. “I’m so sorry, Hizashi… I promise I’ll never do that again! I’d never do anything to hurt you. You know I love you… Don’t you?”“I love you too, Chiharu!” Hizashi nearly shouted before grabbing her, squeezing, and showering her with kisses. Chiharu laughed but not for long, struggling a bit as she was squished in between them. She’d learned not to teleport away anymore even when she was a little uncomfortable with them… Or risk one or both of them becoming upset. But she was also getting better at telling them when she needed space, or when she really didn’t want to be touched… Or in Hizashi’s case- mauled. Now was not the time for that, of course, and she returned the kisses that she could.“Do you… Forgive me?” She asked quietly, searching his face.“Always! There's nothing to forgive anyway, I love being linked up with you! I’m sorry too Chiharu, do you forgive me?” Hizashi immediately replied but he was a little on edge still, Shota could tell. A little too hyper for the middle of the night.“Mhm, but if I wanted you to stop anything you were doing, I promise I would have told you to stop, or ported away… Okay?” At that Hizashi finally seemed to calm down, that tension in him easing. He nodded. “Shota, I’m sorry we just showed up like that… I really don’t think I was like… In my right mind. I can’t believe what those two assholes were saying... Or that I talked to them at all…”It was Shota’s turn to lament a little bit. “That’s because you needed me to say something. You came to me because you were scared and upset, and I’m so glad you did. I hope you’ll always come to me… I’ll do better next time.” Though they all hoped there wouldn’t be a next time.Watching, feeling, hearing Chiharu break apart in his arms, his fingers swirling through the delicious wetness between her legs was… Definitely a new height in Shota’s life.There was a soft pop as he pulled away from the peak of Chiharu’s right breast. He immediately swirled his tongue around the stiff nipple, before sucking it between his lips once more, harder this time. Loving the taste, and the sharp cries that escaped his trembling, orgasming lover.“Sho-ta!” She cried, pulling his hair, thighs squeezing around his hand.After pulling his hand carefully away from her, he squeezed her close and held her till the shaking eased up, and she clung to him in turn. Over her shoulder, Shota quickly jammed his fingers into his mouth and licked them clean… Cause fuck… No wonder Hizashi was crazy for it. Chiharu tasted so good.Suddenly Chiharu’s hand locked around his wrist and—“Ew Sho,” Chiharu’s soft voice right in his ear sent a shiver racing up his spine. She sounded anything but disgusted despite the words and suddenly her tongue was sliding up between the fingers he’d just had in his mouth, eyes locked on him.Then there was this sudden urgency, like she just had to. There was a sharp zip and then suddenly her hands were all over him, rubbing, kneading, and squeezing right where she knew he’d be tense or sore and her lips followed her touch… And her tongue… Till he was straining to hold still and quiet. His breath caught when her fingers finally closed around him, looking down as she freed him from his shorts and underwear before exploring him some more.When she started to stroke him and finally looked back up, he pressed her back against the door behind them, kissing her hard and muffling the groans he didn’t want to contain any longer as he devoured her lips. Their torsos, mostly bared by their unzipped costumes and her shoved up sports bra came together and they both shuddered, moaning together as things suddenly got even hotter.Except Chiharu was soon wiggling around and broke the kiss before she dropped down to her knees.“Chiha—“Hush,” she cut him off with the word a split second before she licked him, tongue swirling, sending a full body shiver all through him. He tensed, hard, but quickly relaxed. “I want to.”“Okay…” Shota‘s reply was soft as his hands clutched at the door. “Only as much as you want to.” He wasn’t really sure how to proceed… Not with what he knew about her past relationship, not that it could be called that, but he and Hizashi both suspected part of the reason she’d been pushing for this was because of what had happened to her with that asshole from the Commission. That maybe she wanted to move past it or replace the memory. Unfortunately, trauma just doesn’t work that way.He felt it when something changed, the shift in her, and only a few seconds later she pulled back. Her hands fell away from him, and Shota quickly caught her shoulders and yanked her up, squeezing her in his arms.There was nothing only one little, sharp intake of breath, and she trembled, limp against his chest, head on his shoulder. She didn’t cling to him at all just kissed and licked his neck before burying her face in there.The wash of emotion that rolled through him was so intense his skin prickled, and he felt cold. Anger, hatred towards someone he didn’t even know and then… Guilt. They weren’t even in a bed… Instead, he’d taken her right there in the entryway of his house, like some horny teenager that couldn’t make it to the bedroom. He forced it all back. For her sake.“Wanna have a bath?” Shota asked, kissing her hair and holding her so tight she gasped as he squeezed the air out of her lungs.“Sho!” She choked, struggling, and when he eased up, she laughed. “Sh-Sho! You almost killed me!” It was ridiculously easy to make his little rat-elf feel better. And he… Liked that about her. The way she didn’t cling to her negative feelings, and seemed to let the bad things just float away as quickly as they came. He’d seen Hizashi tickle her in the middle of an angry rant more than once, leaving her not even able to remember what she’d been upset about. No… He loved that about her. She just never stays mad.Which meant all those times she spent days avoiding Hizashi or him after upsetting things happened, she hadn’t been mad at all. She probably really had been fighting with her own head or couldn’t figure out the best way to apologize without her therapist fitting her in for a session first. He also knew she’d easily admit that if he ever asked. She had before.Shota scooped her up and she didn’t struggle or teleport away as he carried her off. Chiharu had three main on-switches. Training, food, and the bath. The woman had probably visited all of the most famous hot springs in Japan and had quickly got him and Hizashi back into using the ofuro in the second bathroom on the main floor.That bathroom was the reason they’d bought the house and paid extra. The space was as big as their living room and the large, wooden soaking tub, the ofuro, was square and big enough for four people. It was… The only reason Chiharu came over some days. Friggin’ brat. Shota plopped her on a stool to get the tub going, stripping out of his hero costume as he went. Once the water and the heat for the tub was jacked up he added Hizashi’s favourite herbal and mineral salt mix as steam quickly wafted up around the room. The walls were almost entirely white tiles with a sakura design. It was the brightest sunniest room in their entire house with large windows to let the light in.Shota was glad they’d gone with an indoor ofuro when he turned back around… Since they couldn’t lounge around naked outside in such a residential area.Chiharu was still on the stool, her dark costume half off along with her sports bra but she’d gone still as her eyes dropped down his body. They’d seen each other naked or near naked countless times, she called him handsome, said she was attracted to him but most of the time he couldn’t see it for himself.Not so now, her bright eyes were a little wide as they trailed down his body, her face flushed. “Chiharu?” She twitched, luscious, bare breasts bouncing a little as her eyes jumped to his. “Get in the bath.”She disappeared right out of the rest of her clothes and didn’t even make a splash, the groan from behind him the only tell she’d obeyed him…“Chiharu…” Shota hadn’t thought this through. Bathing with Chiharu, that is. Warm, wet skin sliding against his. He was glad he’d stopped the water at waist deep so he could lap the droplets off her delicious breasts, squeezing the right in his hand as he licked and sucked at the left, tracing an inch long scar a little ways down from her nipple with his tongue. He was just… Hungry for her skin and had a quickly growing fascination with those perfect globes. Hizashi had a fantastic body that Shota had always appreciated, even before getting so cut, but there was also something about these breasts. And her waist… Her thighs… Her ass. He was getting all twisted up and he couldn’t even make himself care.Chiharu was straddling his lap, rubbing herself on his erection and clearly, quickly working herself toward another orgasm, shaking and moaning and rocking back and forth. He felt like he was halfway there himself and almost painfully hard.He was sucking on a nipple and she was shaking like she might cum soon when she finally reached down into the water between them and lined him up. He pulled back from her reddened nipple and met her eyes as she looked to make sure it was okay and then started to sink down on him.At the first little bit they both tensed, and Chiharu gripped his shoulders. Fuck… Hizashi had warned him to go slow, but he hadn’t expected this. “Can you make it smaller?” Chiharu asked sounding totally serious and his eyes jumped to hers but he huffed at her foolish grin. He chuckled and she laughed which only made her tighten up even more around the scant couple inches in so far.“Can you be less sexy?” He countered and she gave him a look.“Wait… Does that mean you actually can make it smaller?” At her question he squeezed her hips, dipping his head to lick along her collar bone while shifting around under her a little.Chiharu gave a strangled whine when he pulled back a tiny bit and then pushed in further “Relax, Mooncakes,” he grumbled against her neck and felt her shiver.“Telling someone to relax doesn’t magically make it happen,” she complained before wiggling further down with a soft little moan and then with a slightly more frustrated sound, gripped his shoulder and started to move on him.And… Oh…. Oh!? Hot, silky, clenching all around him… He hadn’t quite expected this. He’d had sex with women before and it most certainly had not felt like this. Course he’d never been with anyone nearly as fit and toned as Chiharu, only a few flings with civilian women before Hizashi. Was there any wondering at his husband’s quickly growing obsession with Chiharu’s pussy at this point?Shota let her ride half his length for as long as he could, loving the sounds she made when he wrapped her in his arms, came up on his knees, grabbed her hips and fucked Chiharu for the first time. Lips sucking at the water on her shoulder as he pressed further and further into her, again and again. Water splashing as Chiharu clung to his shoulders. He’d wanted to soak, wash, massage and take her to bed except that would mean stopping.“Sh-Sho!” Fucking music to his ears… She sounded just like Hizashi right then. So fucking good. All moans and little cries, soft and warm and wet in his arms.“I’ll never… Let you go…” Not after this… It just slipped out between pants and her eyes opened beneath her furrowed brow, as confusion entered them.She tried to laugh but it was intermingled with moaning, “Shota… Don’t be a creep!” She was so beautiful… He couldn’t look away, just watching her face as he thrust fast and deep.It was true though… There was no coming back from this now. Mind blowing sex with his little rat-elf was just adding to the feeling like he needed to cement her in place. He wanted…. No, he needed to marry her. Secure her with vows. Because vows, promises, oaths meant a lot to Chiharu. Wedding vows would be important to someone like her.Mine. Mine. All mine. He chanted along in his head as every thrust brought him closer to that pleasure unfurling inside him. Hot water splashing, Chiharu laughing and sputtering between moans as the force of their skin slapping together sent water up and into her face. She liked it best when he stayed close, pressing in deep, whimpering and squeezing him so tight, rubbing her right where she needed it most.That… Less than a minute of that and they were cumming together, and if she were anything less than a goddess in human form, he probably would have crushed her by mistake. As it was, her legs locked around his waist, arms clinging tight, fingers tangled in his hair, crying out as she rode out her trembling orgasm right along with him.“I think I like… Bath sex,” Chiharu murmured in his ear, panting softly.Shota kissed the pointy tip of her ear, then smirked, “me too.” Chiharu…“Come on, Haru-chan!” Hizashi’s voice was tight as he attempted to drag the lanky woman into their bedroom. She was clutching the doorframe and Hizashi was trying to pull her in by the waist. Shota groaned from the bed, roused from the beginnings of sleep by the drama.“No means no, Hizashi!”“Don’t you dare teleport away or you’re banned from my curry for a whole month,” Hizashi snapped and Chiharu howled like a sad puppy. “We’re just gonna sleep, I promise.”“You’re a liar!” Chiharu cried as the door frame creaked in her grip.“Chiharu, get in this bed right now or I’ll put you to sleep,” Shota growled, barely awake and they both instantly went quiet.Then the light went back out and there was a shuffling of feet and the bed bounced as Hizashi bodied Chiharu into the middle while she hissed like a quiet viper.“Hey… Chiharu?” Hizashi asked and Shota’s eyes opened. He could feel her shaking, the bed was even trembling.“I think I’m gonna go home, okay?” Came the small response and Shota instantly realized. Chiharu was legitimately nervous about sleeping in the bed with them? And they were both fucking up what should have been a nice experience.“Chiharu, I’m sorry!” Hizashi clearly realized it too.“I want to go home, okay? Please?” She said a bit more firmly.Shota rolled over and Chiharu was sitting up in the bed, looking down at her hands, “hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped. Come here, Chiharu.” He opened his arms and she froze, looking at him. “Just a hug.” She didn’t want to. She really didn’t want to. “Please?”Reluctantly, she gave him the quickest hug, but when he tried to hold onto her she immediately said, “let go.” Shota did at the suddenly cold tone and she disappeared from the bed just as the light came on. He sat up, already wide awake as he and Hizashi sat there looking confused. “I… Sometimes I’m claustrophobic.”“What?!” Hizashi asked, shocked. “Since when?”“Since… Since training…”“At the Commission?” Shota kept his tone light and she nodded, hovering by the light switch. Shota patted the bed, “come sit.” She moved from one foot to the other in her little sleep clothes before she appeared cross legged on the foot of the bed. Facing them, arms folded over her chest. Totally closed off.“Tell us about it, sweetheart?” Hizashi pressed, voice soft.She shrugged, “they locked me in a room with no light to force me to learn to teleport to places that Satomi telepathically projected into my mind.”Hizashi’s fingers resting on the sheets tightened and Shota heard him swallow, “they… Locked you in a dark room…” He tried to wrap his head around that. “How-how many times?”She hummed softly looking away, “a few.”“A… Few?” Shota asked gently. She didn’t look at him.“124 times before I was able to teleport out to the desired location,” she gave a bitter laugh. “It wasn’t that bad at the time, I agreed to it. I spent most of the time trying to focus on Satomi’s projections and often accidentally teleported to the nearest of my charged marks by mistake,” she explained as if she thought that would help. “I didn’t even realize I was fucked up from it till later, after I left. I realized—“You’re scared of the dark,” Shota finished for her and she laughed.“It sounds so lame when you say it like that, Sho,” she grumbled. “It’s sometimes a part of claustrophobia and yeah, it happens when I’m in an enclosed space that’s dark. I get a little anxious. Enough that I can’t sleep.” She admitted.“A little anxious? You were shaking,” at Shota’s words she sent him a little glare.“I wasn’t shaking,” she denied in a snarl, and Shota almost rolled his eyes.Hizashi was the first to reach out, “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have been so rough and insistent.”She scoffed and said, “I like it when you’re rough with me, Hizashi,” with a grin and Hizashi straightened up sharply, like she’d just slapped him. Then he groaned and smiled back. She was already deflecting. Poor Chiharu.“Maybe I’ll just burn the Commission to the ground… With everyone inside,” Shota practically growled, pulling a Chiharu but actually meaning it.“And I like it when you go all revenge-murder, Sho… You’re so hot,” Chiharu practically purred, eyes on his and she sounded like she really meant it, effortlessly sending a tingle of arousal through him even though he knew damn well she was uncomfortable.Shota stood up from bed, hating the way Chiharu tensed up as he came toward her. He merely rubbed her cheek, dropped a kiss into her hair and then disappeared. Shota turned on one of the low lamps in the living room, returned and left the bedroom door wide open before turning the light off. It was still plenty dark enough to sleep. “How’s that?”“Um… Good,” Chiharu replied, sounding uncertain.“Chiharu, you can leave anytime you want,” Shota said calmly.She huffed, “yeah right! You both would have been pissed at me.”“I wouldn’t have!” Hizashi denied with a pout.“You would have made that sad face, which is just as bad,” Chiharu countered and Hizashi sighed.“You don’t have to stay just come lay down for a little bit before you go, please?” Hizashi pleaded in his usual shameless way. She did, snuggled up to Hizashi like a needy puppy, head under his chin, arm around his ribs, legs tangled and… Chiharu fell a sleep in less than a minute. As she does. And Hizashi looked stunned at first, cause no wonder. Chiharu was actually going to sleep like that?!After years with a husband who maybe gave him three to eight minutes of after sex snuggling, or hug, kiss and roll away… This was basically Hizashi’s greatest dream come true. The cuddle elf showed no signs of rolling away, even squeezed him tight when Hizashi moved around a little to settle in. The man looked like he was going to explode into joyful blond bits.Shota smirked, rolling into Chiharu’s back before kissing the back of her neck. She shuddered and pressed in tighter to Hizashi with a sleepy grumble. One hand came back, and pushed on his shoulder, “no Shoooo,” she quietly howled, half a sleep still.Shota snickered, snuggling in closer as he buried his face in her hair and draped his arm across the two of them. Hizashi’s arm shifted from around Chiharu to curl around his back before Hizashi sighed happily. Chiharu went back to snoring softly as she relaxed. Okay… Maybe he could get used to this…Except he woke up on the edge of the bed where he’d probably tried to escape to in the night with Chiharu all but draped over his chest, sleeping away like he was her favourite pillow. That wasn’t what had awakened him in the dark.Hizashi was awake. Shota was surprised the man had left Chiharu alone in their bed for this long. He was up on his knees over their slumbering lover and seemed half frozen, just looking down at them. “Hizashi…” Shota warned softly.“Ju-just a little, Sho,” Hizashi visibly swallowed, and Shota inwardly groaned.Just a little- was a hand all under Chiharu’s sleep clothes till she growled like a cranky puppy that didn’t want to wake up. Just a little was Hizashi’s hand yanking the blanket down so he could feel all over his bare chest too. At the same time.The man was so excited he was biting his bottom lip, and he was trembling the tiniest bit in the dark. The first night over wasn’t really a good time to have a threesome… If that’s what he was planning?Oh, he definitely was, if the way Hizashi dipped forward, pulled up Chiharu’s tank top and then licked his way down to the edge of her panties meant anything. Shota tensed when Hizashi gripped his growing erection, rubbing him through his boxers. Their eyes locked as Chiharu shifted, her hand coming up to tangle in Hizashi’s hair. “Zashi…” She twisted up when Hizashi rubbed between her legs, over her panties till she moaned.“You want more, baby?” Hizashi’s husky, bass, sex voice washed over them, sending shivers all through Chiharu and Shota bit back a groan. Hizashi pulled off Chiharu’s panties and then moved to discard Shota’s boxers too. The man was clearly set on doing this, openly stroking Shota and Chiharu.“Yeah, Hizaaa,” Chiharu moaned, her hand slid over Shota’s chest and then her head turned as if just realizing he was there too. “Sh-Sho—“He moved, pressing their lips together before nearly ripping her tank top off and returning. He knew this was some of what Hizashi really wanted. To watch. Hizashi found the idea of Shota and Chiharu together endlessly arousing. Delicious Chiharu took to kissing him like his lips were a chocolate dessert, giving a whimpering moan when he squeezed an irresistible breast, pinching her nipple gently between his fingers. She trembled at that and at what Hizashi was still doing. Hizashi groaned right along with Chiharu, eating it up.Then Hizashi was gently pushing him onto his back and moving Chiharu around by her hips till she was on top of Shota. It was Hizashi’s hand that lined him up and urged Chiharu to sink down on him.Shota had never seen anything as erotic as Chiharu moaning with Hizashi’s hands wrapped around her hips, guiding her into slowly riding him before sliding over all that tan skin, up to fondle her breasts as she squeezed him so tight inside her, still not able to take him all the way at the start no matter how wet she was. Hizashi was plastered to her back and pour Chiharu was just whimpering and moaning as he sucked on the side of her neck, toyed with a nipple and circled his fingers between her legs.Shota grabbed her hips, moving under her when she lost focus and started fucking her from the bottom, pushing up hard and deep, pulling her down, feeling every inch sinking deeper.Minutes. It was only minutes before Chiharu broke apart, crying out and shaking, eyes squeezed shut as she bucked on him all wrapped in Hizashi’s arms. It was as much as Shota could take, pounding out his own fast, hot, shuddering orgasm only seconds behind hers. Fuck! He couldn’t look away! Panting and watching as Hizashi turned her head, holding her thick hair in his grip as he kissed her all through it, muffling her cries. Beautiful… They were so fucking beautiful!Then Hizashi was pressing her forward. Her lips met Shota’s in a desperate kiss just as Hizashi lifted her hips so Shota slid out of her. Was he going to-!? Chiharu cried out as Hizashi pressed into her from behind, clearly still sensitive from her orgasm and started to take her right on top of Shota.Hizashi’s hand slid up her back as he leaned over her, asking, “is this okay, Haru-chan?” She managed a nod, whimpering as Hizashi sped up. Shota lifted his hands to run over Chiharu’s back, holding her tight and kissing her neck and ear as she shook between them. Hizashi sat back, holding Chiharu’s hips and clearly lost in what he was doing, moaning and watching them with a hungry, almost desperate gaze.His husband was exploding in minutes too. Too worked up from all of his fantasies coming to life and looking deliriously good as he finally fell down on poor Chiharu, crying out her name and squishing her between them as he found his own release deep inside her. Same as Shota had moments before. Both of them… Cumming inside her… One after the other… Damn… Shota missed Chiharu’s heat when she wiggled out from between them but eagerly kissed Hizashi instead, grinning against his lips as they caught and held Chiharu’s rapt attention. Hizashi was spent for the moment but how could Shota not be painfully hard from what he just experienced. The two of them, fucking, shaking, and moaning right on top of him?The second Hizashi pulled back Shota was on Chiharu, clearly surprising her as he settled between her legs. He was going to fuck her this time. He’d been literally dreaming about pounding her into their bed…Chiharu was panting, coming down after perhaps her fifth orgasm… This time, Hizashi had leaned back, thrusting between her legs but left enough room for Shota to lick her clit at the same time, one hand stopping hers from tearing his hair out. She’d screamed that time, not a loud cry but sharp and shaking and as unexpected as her sudden, almost instant peak.After, Hizashi’d been kissing her cheek with Shota laying close and rubbing his husband’s back and Chiharu’s side as he silently wondered if she could take it once more. He hadn’t even known he or Hizashi could cum this many times in one night… And he was hard again from tasting and touching and watching. Before he could even seriously consider it, Chiharu just disappeared from under Hizashi.There was a huge bang and both Hizashi and Shota sat up, whipping toward the door. Poor Chiharu was sprawled on the floor… Passed out?! Had she teleported into the wall?“Chiharu!?!” Hizashi scrambled out of bed, immediately yanking Chiharu’s limp form into his arms. She came back just as Shota kneeled on her other side. Shaking, she yanked out of Hizashi’s hold but Shota grabbed her quick before rubbing her arms as she stared at him with huge eyes.“You’re okay, Chiharu. You got up too fast and fainted,” he explained as Hizashi started rubbing her back.“No-no, I didn’t!” She snapped back but was shaking so badly.“Okay, alright…” He soothed when she tried to shrug off his hands, but Hizashi was there too. Maneuvering her into Shota’s lap till finally she was draped against him, and her shaking was calming down. Poor Hizashi looked wrecked, kissing her neck and shoulders, and petting her hair. “Let’s have a bath.”“She fainted!” Hizashi cried and Chiharu didn’t even stir where she was sleeping in their partner's arms like a totally exhausted child.“I know, Hizashi… Calm down, you fainted before too, remember?” Shota was right in front of them in the ofuro. They’d showered before soaking in the tub and Chiharu had been a sleep almost the entire time despite being passed back and forth between the two of them, only waking enough to grumble or give a cranky growl. Shota rubbed her back, knowing damn well he was only comforting himself because she was a sleep. “It was a lot… Two of us. And Chiharu’s really strong, but not… Really… Experienced.”“For fucks sakes, Sho… No, she's not sexually experienced! I couldn’t even get inside her that first time…” Hizashi was anything but calm. “What if she freaks out… What if she leaves us?!” He cried, squeezing Chiharu till she tensed. Coming awake. She came up off his shoulder and looked at him from his lap, blinking and groaning as she stretched out some stiffness.Then she kissed Hizashi’s trembling lips, and rubbed his wet shoulders before petting his hair and kissing his cheek a bunch of times. “Whatsa matter, sweetheart?” She asked in a sleepy mumble before twisting around. Shota met her bright eyes and she glared at him. “What did you do to Hiza-chan? Jeez, can’t you be nice for once, Sho? Can’t you just hug him sometimes?” She yawned through her accusations.Shota bit back a smirk before forcing a frown. He sighed, going full in on this. “I’m sorry, Hizashi.”Chiharu gasped, “Shota! What did you do!?” “Chiharu, Hizashi has you for all the hugs he needs now,” Shota said in way of an answer, and she frowned.“I don’t hug,” she replied just as Hizashi yanked her back in close. He still looked upset as he buried his face in her neck and wet hair. Oh, look at that… Clearly there was somebody who got all the rare vampire-elf hugs he wanted. “Awe baby! You know he didn’t mean it. You want a massage?” Chiharu rubbed his shoulders. “Actually… I’m fucking exhausted. You two almost fucked me to death, I think.” She joked with a groan, kissing Hizashi’s hair. “I… I’m not any good, am I…” She suddenly claimed, voice falling.“What do you mean?” Shota immediately asked.“At sex,” she didn’t even hesitate.“Chiharu! You’re so good! You’re amazing at sex!” Hizashi frantically interjected.She laughed, wincing at Hizashi’s shout when Shota spoke up, “Chiharu, tonight was the best sex either of us has ever had.”“Wha-what!? Shota don’t lie just to make me feel better!” With that she disappeared from the tub before appearing in front of the cupboard with the towels. “Just stop!” She snapped when he appeared behind her, turning only to throw a towel at him as she wrapped hers under her arms and around her chest.“Stop what?” He asked, just holding the towel and frowning.“I-I don’t know! Just… Humouring me all the time! Or going along with what I say like you think I’m too fucking stupid to know better, I guess,” she didn’t look at him when she said it. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him. She was tired and cranky and even five orgasms didn’t make that any less so.“Okay,” Shota held her shoulders, meeting her eyes. “I don’t think you’re stupid. I think you’re sweet and kind, and I’m worried I’m going to ruin you.” She blinked, expression softening.“You haven’t ruined Hizashi, Shota,” Chiharu immediately countered, and Shota felt like she’d just stabbed him in the heart. How did she even come to that conclusion so quickly?! “Hizashi is the sweetest and kindest man I’ve ever met! You haven’t crushed him or whatever you’re always thinking. In fact, it’s just the opposite. You’re the reason he can stay himself when the world would have crushed anyone else. You’ve protected that side of him, even if you didn’t realize you were doing it.” He was stunned, eyes widening at her words, fingers digging into her shoulder a little bit. “I don’t need you to do that with me, and I want your respect… Not… Not your pity. I don’t need to you to protect me.”Shota hadn’t blinked the entire time she spoke, staring into her earnest expression as she struck at the heart of him. Some of the things he hated most about himself and she just thought she could cut him open and then what? Lick the wound? Didn’t need him to do that with her?! Was she serious? Chiharu was an even bigger open wound than he was!“I don’t pity you, Chiharu,” it was true. “If I want to protect all of the things I love about you, then I will. Not because you need me too, because I want to.” It was her turn to look stunned. Then her brows furrowed, and she frowned.“I love you… Even if you’re a mean stalker,” Chiharu admitted grumpily, arms crossed over her chest. Instantly Shota had her up on the counter, hips wedged between her legs as he grabbed and twisted both her arms behind her back.“And I love you, even if you’re a flighty, frustrating brat,” Shota returned but his tone was light with the love he really felt. Of course, he’d been in love with Chiharu for a while now. Apparently he was looking for love and all that bullshit too. When she struggled, pulling on his grip on her wrists, he only tightened his hold and pressed closer. “We’re getting married.”She jerked her head back to stare at him with wide, green eyes, “what the hell!? You’re already married!”“That won’t be a problem…” He’d already looked into it. “Not with Blood Link. They don’t deny people wanting to get married for reasons that are quirk related. Anyone can marry anyone thanks to quirks, and we already have a bond just as strong as marriage with Blood Link… We merely want to make it legal too,” Shota explained, tensing a little when Chiharu started wiggling around.“Then there’s no need! We already have Blood Link and that’s at least something you can come back from. You-you’re crazy!” Chiharu protested exactly as he’d expected. Her misplaced low self esteem wouldn’t allow for anything else really. “You don’t—uh!” The strangled cry was sudden and sharp as soon as Shota’s growing erection rubbed between her legs a little bit.Shota pulled back right away, knowing an unbridled sound of surprised pain when he heard one.That was the cue for their anxious blond to appear. Shota was already squatting down and spreading Chiharu’s knees where she was still sitting beside the sink. She didn’t fight him, just leaned forward a little too, towel forgotten. “I’m pretty sore, I guess…”“Chiharu!” Hizashi cried, squatting down beside Shota.“Does it look bad?” She asked, seemingly unbothered by being inspected by her two lovers. “Hizashi, grab some ointment,” Shota said and their partner disappeared so quick he created a breeze instead of the usual little puff of air with teleporting.“It’s just a bit sore, Sho… Don’t make a fuss okay?” Chiharu said quietly and Shota rubbed her inner thigh, looking up at her before pressing a couple kisses closer up.“You’re all red and swollen, Chiharu… It looks painful. Hizashi’s gonna be upset, fuss or not,” at his words, she sighed and Hizashi returned with a sharp pop, a tube of healing ointment in his hands that he basically shoved at Shota. Chiharu stuck her hand out for the tube, but Hizashi grabbed her hand.“Hizashi, I’m fine. Just a little sore,” she assured his husband with a pretty smile.So naturally, as Shota carefully smoothed ointment over the soft, silky, swollen pussy they’d unintentionally banged up, Hizashi the sweet, beautiful genius said, “marriage is simply the physical and spiritual expression of how we feel about you, Chiharu… And what we already have. We’ve been husbands for years, and we wanna make you our wife.”“Hizashi!” Chiharu cried, staring at him with huge, astonished eyes. “It-it’s only been a month!” Having finished with the ointment, Shota leaned in, rubbing his hands up her thighs before burying his face in her faintly trembling stomach. “I’m too messed up… I—““Chiharu, what about an engagement?”Was this what Hizashi had felt like with him? Frustrated… Worried, restless, desperate. The idea brought on a wash of guilt, but Chiharu’s hand patting his head was suddenly so incredibly soothing that he shivered, arms wrapping around her back.“You mean… Like with a ring?” At her innocent question both men froze. Wait… Would Chiharu wear a ring?! She almost never wore jewelry except earrings sometimes and they were always mismatched or she just wore one. Did she like jewelry?! Well… Fuck. “Mhm, yes! Exactly like that! With rings from us!” Hizashi was nodding eagerly and sounded hopelessly excited, that quick. Chiharu’s fingers were combing through Shota’s wet hair as she hummed. “A promise to get married sometime in the future… When you’re ready.”“And if none of us are ever ready? Or one of us decides they don’t want to?” Chiharu asked.“Then we can end it,” Hizashi declared that utter bullshit calmly.“Okay… Because to me, marriage is a commitment for life. Something worth working at and for till the end. It’s about love and a… A real bond. Not my stupid quirk or blood or other shit,” Chiharu claimed without a hint of shame or embarrassment despite them all gathered round naked and talking about love.“Yes, of course!” Hizashi agreed, lifting Chiharu’s hand to his lips.“But we’re not the same. If we got married… I wouldn’t want you to fall in love with someone else, or pursue a relationship with someone outside our marriage… You wouldn’t be free to do so… I mean, not if I had a say in it… You see what I mean?” Chiharu pressed and Shota was so grateful she felt comfortable enough to voice these concerns… All thanks to Hizashi.“Yes. You mean, you think Sho and I have an open marriage and that’s not what you’d want?” At Hizashi’s quick understanding she sighed with a nod. “Okay. That’s perfectly fine, Haru-chan. We’ve never really had an open marriage, it’s just Sho always thought he wasn’t enough for me. He really just wanted me to be happy. I never looked elsewhere. Not even with you… I fell in love with you entirely by accident.”“But I wouldn’t want you to fall in love with anyone else if we were married, Hizashi. You or Shota. I… Would never be okay with sharing either of you… I wouldn’t even want you getting really close to other people because you might find someone better… I’m stupid and-and insecure,” she squeezed Hizashi’s hand back. “It wouldn’t work.”“Chiharu, you’re not stupid! And… We’re the same. You know Sho doesn’t want you to be with anyone else… And I don’t either,” Hizashi explained quietly, and Shota was a little surprised to hear it. He knew Hizashi didn’t like how ‘suffocating’ Shota was with Chiharu and refrained from saying things like that to her to try and offer her a more mellow side of their relationship.“You’re not happy with the way things are?” Chiharu asked as Shota got to his feet.“I’m happier everyday… I just want more,” Hizashi leaned in to press a kiss to her shoulder before she hopped off the counter.“So do I,” Shota said, and Chiharu’s fist struck out around Hizashi, punching Shota’s shoulder. It didn’t hurt and he smirked.“Whatever, we’re-getting-married-san,” she said that last bit in a deep growly voice as she rolled her eyes and they laughed.“We are getting married.” Shota grabbed her face and squeezed her cheeks when she tried to bite him.“We’re engaged, that’s not marriage!” Chiharu snapped back, but gasped when Hizashi’s strong arms squeezed them together and lifted them both off the ground. Chiharu laughed, hanging onto Hizashi’s and his shoulders like she was scared they were all going to fall over. Hizashi set them down but still held onto them for kisses. Shota rolled his eyes but grinned, and Chiharu looked at Hizashi like she thought he was the cutest being to ever exist. Too soon she was glaring again. “No more threesomes!”Hizashi gasped as Chiharu popped away, but she only appeared across the bathroom, yanking the door open. “Chiharu!?” Hizashi cried, chasing after her, as naked as she was. “Baby! Why!?” Apparently they were just going to bed naked. Stretching his arms up overhead with a yawn, Shota followed.“You said we were just going to sleep! Liars don’t get threesomes!” Chiharu announced like it was obvious.Shota sighed.“Haru-chan! I’m sorry! I-I just—ahh!” Hizashi burst out laughing and Shota entered the bedroom to the sight of Chiharu pinning Hizashi face down on the bed and viciously tickling his ribs. He knew from experience that his husband did not respond well to tickling and wasn’t surprised when he basically launched her off his back so violently her head smacked the wall at the head of the bed. She only laughed, and the two of them started wrestling in earnest. Poor Chiharu was covered in hickeys and love bites. All over her breasts, her nipples were probably sore too. On her stomach, thighs, hips. No wonder she didn’t want another threesome…Shota had planned a patrol, but instead went to sleep with them… Solely because he didn’t want to miss the rest of their first night with Chiharu in their bed. Snuggled up naked between them. Oh… There will definitely be many more threesomes.
THE END!
Plus some naked Chiharu cause why not?! Thank you, free AI art generator! Ha! The world is a better place now.