Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“For fuck’s sake, Aizawa, we’re gonna be graduating in a month and a half,” Hizashi snapped, arms crossed as he slouched back against the wall of the nurse’s office, glowering at the idiot he was in love with. “You can’t keep treating your hands like this! RG ain’t gonna be there to keep healing your broken fingers.”

Shouta didn’t even bother to defend himself, which somehow pissed Hizashi off more.

“If you’re going to stay in here, mind your temper, Yamada,” Recovery Girl said blandly, not looking up from where she was examining Shouta’s hand. “Otherwise, you can wait out in the hallway.”

Hizashi huffed, but fell silent.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you for broken fingers, Aizawa, but Yamada isn’t wrong,” Recovery Girl said firmly. “Injuries like these may be small, but they take weeks to heal properly on their own. Over time, they can become big problems, and they need to be taken seriously.”

“I know. I was just trying something different. It didn’t work as intended.” Shouta stared down at his hand where Recovery Girl was prodding at his fingers. “I know I won’t have the same safety net once I graduate,” he added quietly. “I’m taking risks now, so that they’re not so risky later.”

Recovery Girl nodded solemnly before kissing the back of Shouta’s hand. “You’ve come a long way, Aramis, and you’ll keep going farther. But you’ll need to exercise more caution when you’re out there on your own.”

“Yes he will, but he’s not gonna be on his own,” Hizashi grumbled. “That’s half the point of us having an agency together. No approvals needed; no team-up paperwork to fill out if you’ve got a weird feeling about a mission and wanna have someone along just in case. Me and Shirakumo have your back the second you need us.”

“It still takes time to respond to a scene,” Shouta sighed, as if this was the hundredth time they’ve had this conversation instead of the third. Maybe fourth.

Recovery Girl glanced back and forth between them. “You three are planning on starting an agency together someday?”

“Not someday,” Hizashi said proudly. “Right away. We’ve even got the paperwork mostly filled out already so we can submit it as soon as we graduate.”

“Very proactive of you,” Recovery Girl said with a slow nod. “Now, Aizawa, go take a nap and be more careful with your fingers. You can’t just bandage up a broken bone and keep going about your patrol as usual the way you can with torn calluses.” For a split second, Shouta looked like he wanted to argue the technicality of her statement, but she silenced him with a glare. “Not if you want to be able to continue swinging around with that cloth of yours for years to come. Do enough damage, and eventually your hands simply won’t do what you tell them to do, no matter how good your pain tolerance.”

“Understood,” Shouta mumbled.

Recovery Girl reached into her drawer and pulled out a small paper bag. “Take some, go rest, and try to stay out of my office for the rest of the year. Or, at least till the entrance exam, some of those examinees can pack quite a punch.” Shouta blinked at her in confusion, but took a few pieces of that gross black candy he liked and hopped down off the cot. Recovery Girl shooed them out of her office, but Hizashi could see the smile at the corner of her mouth as she did.

“Entrance exam?” Shouta said as they made their way out towards the main gate.

Hizashi raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah? Ya know, the thing where about a million kids come to try and get into UA and only the best of the best make it? We took it three years ago, kiiiinda where we met? Come on man, Shirakumo’s supposed to be the one with brain damage, not you.”

“Third years act as villains,” Shouta said quietly.

“Third years, staff, and some alumni too. Besides the fact that Yahanagi-Sensei has gone over this at least three times in the past two weeks, Kayama is coming and Oboro has been bouncing off the walls cuz she’ll be staying over for three nights!”

“I remember that part,” Shouta grumbled. “I just… I guess it didn’t register.” Hizashi bit his tongue to keep from going off again. He could tell Shouta was thinking, and the way the corner of his mouth was tugged down usually meant he still had something else to say. “Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day,” he finally mumbled.

Hizashi tipped his head to look at Shouta in confusion. “That’s how calendars work, yes. Wednesday, February 13th is followed by Thursday, February 14th. What does that have to do with-”

“I’ve been trying to think of what to do for you,” Shouta said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Trying to piece together what any of this had to do with the entrance exam, Hizashi lit up as he made the connection. “Wait, are you saying that you’ve been so distracted by thoughts of what grand romantic gesture you’re gonna make that you haven’t been paying attention in class?” he crowed.

“No,” Shouta huffed. “Only during homeroom, that stuff usually doesn’t matter,” he added.

“Oh, babe! You’re so sweet!” Hizashi cackled, tipping his head coyly and batting his eyelashes.

“Never mind, I’m not doing anything for you. Asshole.”

Hizashi didn’t bother to try and contain his laughter as they made their way to the train station. When Shouta reached out and laced their fingers together, though, Hizashi stopped laughing and ducked his head as he felt his face heat up.

It was silly that something so simple could still get him flustered; but there was something special about the fact that Aizawa Shouta was reaching out to hold his hand. Aizawa Shouta who, when they’d first met, had barely trusted him enough to introduce himself. Aizawa Shouta, who had refused to let himself think of anyone as friends. That Aizawa Shouta was now getting distracted in class wondering what to do for Hizashi for their second Valentine’s Day together. That Aizawa Shouta was casually holding his hand as they walked together to the train.

That Aizawa Shouta sat next to him, head lolling against Hizashi’s shoulder as he dozed. Probably not the kind of rest Recovery Girl had meant for him to get; but he had a work study shift. Hizashi knew there was no arguing with him about it, and that Aizawa Shouta trusted Hizashi to wake him up when he had to get off to transfer lines.

That Aizawa Shouta mumbled, “Love you. See you later at home,” as he disembarked.

It didn’t matter what Shouta did for Valentine’s Day. The fact that Aizawa Shouta was trying to plan anything for him at all filled his chest with a buoyant warmth.

Hizashi’s smile lingered for a long time.

*

The group briefing the day before the entrance exam was quite the reunion with most of their senpais, plus an introduction to several dozen pro heroes a few years older than them. Hizashi’s attention was drawn to a very tall blond hero, who he recognized after a beat as Best Jeanist. Jeanist had recently started his own agency and was already starting to make a name for himself. Hizash was surprised to see him there; most of the other pros around were still doing sidekick duty or, like Kayama, were independent. The bigger names usually stopped showing up for this kind of thing.

“Who’s Jeanist talking to…” Hizashi muttered, craning his neck to try and get a better look at the gray-haired man who kept glancing around at everyone as if sizing them up.

Kayama followed his gaze and smiled. “Oh, Kamihara-senpai is here,” she said. “He goes by the hero name Edgeshot. He was a third year when I was a first year, and I never got to know him well; but he could give Aizawa some pointers on being secretive and stealthy.” Hizashi filed the information away; it was always helpful to know who’s who, and who knows who.

Eventually, everyone took their seats in the front section of the giant auditorium, nearly filling that part of the space up, and the chatter died down as Yahanagi-Sensei and Class B’s Kozuka-Sensei talked them through their responsibilities.

“Give them challenges to overcome,” Kozuka said. “The idea isn’t to let them win, they need to earn their points; but this is also another exercise for all of you in monitoring your use of force. If you’re doing crowd control or facing an unruly mob, you need to be able to stop them without injury. Obviously, these examinees are coming here looking for a fight, so give them one; but moderate yourselves.”

“There’s no point in moderation; the world is a harsh and unforgiving place,” Sensoji said sagely.

“Yes,” Kozuka sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “But these are children who haven’t yet trained in the way you all have. Control yourself, Sensoji.”

Sensoji bowed his head in acknowledgement, but Hizashi doubted Kozuka’s words had actually registered.

There were even more test zones now than there had been just a few years ago (Kobayashi had somehow gotten the deets, and it turned out that the whole incident with Ijima and Shouta had led to UA deciding that no kids from the same middle school would be assigned to the same test zone; so more zones were needed since some schools sent lots of kids). That meant that Team Villain was going to be spread thinner than they used to be; but the school had managed to get some more robots to improve their numbers, so that was something.

Shouta glowered at the mention of the robots.

“I know they’re not your favorite,” Hizashi said, thinking back to the disastrous final exam of their first year, “But remember that you don’t get any points for taking them out.”

“We shouldn’t be using them,” Shouta grumbled. “We’re not out there dealing with robots when we’re on patrol, we’re dealing with people. And kids with Quirks that only work on people are going to be disadvantaged this way. It’s completely irrational.”

“That’s why we’re in there!” Oboro said, gesturing around the auditorium. “There’s gotta be over two hundred of us! Even spread out, that’s still plenty of human beings for the kiddos to tackle.” Shouta huffed, but didn’t argue any further.

“Aizawa’s not wrong,” Kayama said. “But another problem is getting enough pros to come in and help. I heard a lot of grumbling about how this pays worse than clearing a handful of incidents, and since lots of us have to take two or three days off to travel into town for this, plus travel expenses, I wonder if we’ll even be able to get this many people next year.” She paused for a beat. “I, of course, will be here. I could never pass up the opportunity to inspire the next generation, and to be inspired in turn by their youthful enthusiasm and passion!”

Hizashi snickered. “I’m sure their passion is the only passion you’re in town for.”

“Don’t be jealous, Hizashi,” Oboro said with a wink.

“It’s not jealousy, it’s the fact that we can hear you,” Shouta said.

“Turnabout is fair play. The noise-canceling headphones do a pretty good job,” Oboro teased, “I’ve tested them extensively.”

“Or you could just join us instead of keeping all that deliciousness to yourselves,” Kayama purred, and something hungry lit up in Oboro’s eyes. Something that said he liked the thought of it. Hizashi felt a tendril of heat curl low in his gut, and he glanced over at Shouta. His boyfriend was slouched in his seat, his mouth set in his usual ‘unamused’ expression… but his dark half-lidded eyes, curtained behind his fringe, drifted from Hizashi to Oboro and Kayama and back.

Oh.

The curl of arousal grew hotter, and Hizashi knew he needed to derail this train of thought right now, before he popped a boner.

“Well we all need to be here early tomorrow, so there’ll be no sexcapades tonight,” he babbled, feeling the heat rising in his neck as he glanced around to make sure nobody was listening in. He saw Mushimori’s giant bat ears flick from where he sat over with Yasukawa and Kobayashi, but it didn’t seem like he was paying them any attention. Even if he did, Mushimori was used to them anyway, so it was fine.

The whole group was dismissed not long after, with heroics class canceled for the afternoon along with work study shifts, so that everyone could be fresh and well rested for the next day. With the rare occurrence of everyone simultaneously having off, both Class A and B descended upon the nearest arcade.

Hizashi was glad it hadn’t taken much cajoling to get Shouta to agree to join in the fun. It helped that Shouta was worried less about the occasional ‘frivolous’ spending since seeing how well the three of them were actually managing their expenses.

It also helped that Tensei’s family was incredibly fucking rich.

“I know how he can get about money,” Tensei said quietly to Hizashi. “My parents insisted I make sure everyone has fun. These are from them, not me,” he said, slipping four game cards into his hand.

Hizashi had a lot of pride about a lot of things; but taking free money when it was handed to him wasn’t one of them. That was Shouta’s hang-up; but what Shouta didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“Yo, thanks man,” he said, “To you and your parents.” He winked and smirked, “I’ll take all the credit… I mean blame.”

Tensei laughed, bright and loud, clapping him on the shoulder with a warm hand. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. This way, he’ll only be pissed at you.” Hizashi snorted and trotted to catch up to where Shouta had been pulled deeper into the arcade by Oboro and Kayama.

“Got our cards!” Hizashi announced, handing them out. Shouta gave him a look, but took the card without argument. Hopefully he didn’t check the balance until after they’d played for a while. “DDR!” Hizashi shouted, grabbing Shouta by the arm and hauling him towards the game.

Half an hour later, he and Shouta had gathered a decent sized crowd around them. It was mostly their classmates; but Hizashi could see a lot of unfamiliar faces, including a gaggle of middle-schoolers staring at them in awe. The UA uniforms probably helped, even with their jackets tossed aside; but he liked to think their performance spoke for itself.

“I knew Aizawa could move, but I didn’t know he could move!” Mushimori said.

“That looks familiar,” Ebisui said.

“Remember the Entertainment final?” Nakano said with a giggle.

“It still counts,” Shouta said, not missing a beat as he and Hizashi cleared song after song.

Even after well over an hour of playing, they still hadn’t run through the credits on the game cards. Shouta kept giving Hizashi suspicious looks, which he pointedly ignored before pulling him to the next game.

After a while, though, Shouta needed a breather. Hizashi gave a quick nod over to Oboro, then followed Shouta over to a corner further away from the noise and chaos. They sat, hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder, and Hizashi tipped his head back against the wall, eyes closed and content to bask in the warmth of Shouta pressed against him.

“Pretty soon, we won’t see most of our classmates anymore,” Shouta said.

Hizashi rolled his head towards Shouta and arched an eyebrow. “Never would have expected you to get all emotional about missing people,” he teased while Shouta shot him a glare. After a beat, Shouta ducked his head, staring down at the floor between his feet.

“I never had friends to miss before,” he said quietly.

“Me neither,” Hizashi admitted. “I’m sure we’ll all keep in touch, but it won’t be the same. But hey, you’ll have the two important ones right by your side.”

Shouta reached out and tangled their fingers together. “I know.”

“Plus, Tensei’s family agency isn’t too far from where we’re at. And Kayama is gonna have to keep visiting us, or put up with us visiting her.”

“What if she doesn’t? What if Shirakumo goes to live with her?”

“Then both of them would have to visit us or put up with us visiting them! But he won’t,” Hizashi said, hoping he sounded more certain than he suddenly felt. “It’d be kinda hard for the three of us to have an agency together if he’s in Tokyo, unless all three of us move there together. And even if he does move out eventually, me and you still have each other.” He nudged Shouta with his shoulder. “Why are you worrying about this all of a sudden? Seems pretty irrational.”

“Are you sure you wanna tie yourself to me? Both of you, I mean. What if-” Shouta pulled his hand away, wrapping his arms around his bent knees.

“Shou, what the hell are you thinking?” Hizashi asked.

“Hero work is dangerous.”

“Are you back on your ‘having people close to us puts a target on their back’ bullshit again?” Hizashi asked, sighing half with irritation and half with relief. At least he knew how to deal with this particular brand of stupidity. “Because having known associates who we work closely with also adds to the protection of making any villains think twice. Taking on not one, not two, but three heroes is something most of them will not wanna tangle with.” He slid his arm around Shouta’s waist. “We make each other more safe, not less. And we’re not gonna lose touch with our friends. They’re all gonna wanna keep close to Present Mic anyway, get a little bit of my fame for themselves,” he added with a wink.

Shouta huffed, and Hizashi caught the ghost of a smile on his face. They sat together in the quiet corner a little longer before going back into the chaos to join their friends.

*

Shockingly, there were actually no sexcapades at all that night; or at least none that Hizashi could hear from Oboro’s room. Dragging him out of bed early the next morning was more difficult than usual, with the way he and Kayama were wrapped around each other; but then Kayama whispered something in his ear, and he suddenly became a lot more cooperative.

At UA, all four of them wound up stationed in different test zones, each wearing the black and yellow ‘villain’ uniform that UA used for the exam. When the buzzer sounded, the examinees flooded in, and Hizashi was struck by how young they all looked.

They were all just… kids. Had that really been him just a few years ago?

Kids or not, some of them packed a punch. He stopped quite a few of them in their tracks, but there were two that managed to ‘capture’ him. (He hated to admit he’d been surprised when the briefing had explained that villains who were ‘out’ would duck into a building after the examinee moved on, have their bonds released, and go back out into play.)

Ten minutes later, it was all over. The villains became heroes again, heading inside to debrief and give their impressions to the admission committee. It took way longer than Hizashi expected, and by the time they were piling on to the train to head home, they were all starving.

“We’re just picking something up on the way home, right?” Oboro said, resting his forehead on the top of Kayama’s head.

“Well I’m not cooking,” Shouta said, yawning as he slouched against Hizashi.

They arrived back at the apartment with their arms full of food that they immediately spread on the kotatsu, digging in with gusto.

“You’re gonna need to work overtime shifts just to afford your share of groceries,” Hizashi said, waving his chopsticks vaguely towards the empty containers piled by Oboro.

“Nah, I’ll make brand deals with some food companies or something," Oboro said, “I’ll take payment in cash and product!” Shouta rolled his eyes, but kept eating.

As his stomach finally filled, Hizashi took a deep, satisfied breath… and a distinct odor caught his attention. “Ugh, do I actually smell that bad?” he said, turning his head to sniff at his armpit.

“Yes,” Shouta replied, still shoveling food into his mouth.

“Gee, thanks sweetheart,” Hizashi snarked, getting up to go take a shower and wash the stink off.

“You’re welcome, Sunshine,” Shouta said with a smirk, and instantly Hizashi’s brain stopped working. He stood, trying to process Shouta intentionally using that pet name for him in front of other people. Even if it was only Oboro and Kayama.

“Go on,” Oboro said, throwing a wadded up napkin at him. “Not our fault you didn’t shower before we left campus!”

“The deodorant was working fine before!” Hizashi huffed, “And some of us were taking the networking opportunities this afternoon seriously! It’s not every day we get the opportunity to connect with Best Jeanist!” He ducked into the bedroom to grab a change of clothes, then hurried into the shower and washed himself quickly. He toweled off and tugged on his sweat pants and t-shirt before heading back out to join the others.

“I’m still not used to how cute you look with your hair down,” Kayama cooed at him, reaching out to flick a loose strand as he sat next to Shouta. He batted her hand away as she giggled. Shouta placed a warm hand on Hizashi’s thigh, using him for leverage to push himself up off the squashy cloud seat.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, “Zashi’s not the only one who needs a shower.”

“Fine, abandon me with these bullies!” Hizashi sniffled.

Shouta just waved over his shoulder as he went into their bedroom, then over to the shower. Hizashi sighed and started collecting all the empty containers and dishes, with Kayama and Oboro joining in to help the cleanup go quickly. Even still, the three of them had barely sat back down on Oboro’s cloud furniture when Shouta came out of the shower, hair still damp, wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants and a towel draped over his shoulders.

“Little Shou-chan is all grown up,” Kayama purred, reclining on Oboro’s as her eyes raked over Shouta’s strong chest, the dark line of hair leading from his navel down into the low-slung waistband of his sweats, and then further still where those pants did very little to disguise the outline of his cock.

Hizashi couldn’t even blame her, his mouth watering at the sight.

But when he finally managed to drag his eyes back up to Shouta’s face, it was the wicked smirk that curled up the corner of Shouta’s mouth that had Hizashi’s cock going from ‘vaguely interested’ to tenting up his sweats in a heartbeat.

“Oh, fuck yeah.” Hizashi didn’t remember deciding to say that, but he agreed with his own sentiment anyway. Shouta tossed the towel on the floor and straddled Hizashi’s lap, looming over him, droplets of water falling from the ends of his hair and soaking into Hizashi’s t-shirt. Hizashi’s hands found their way to Shouta’s waist, tugging him down until Shouta’s ass was resting on his thighs, their cocks brushing against each other through the soft material of their sweats.

Tipping his face towards Shouta, all it took was the slightest lean in and their mouths met in an easy kiss, lips and tongues exploring in slow movements.

“Ya know, Nem, I’m starting to feel overdressed,” Oboro said. Though he’d taken off his blazer and tie, he was still wearing most of his school uniform. Kayama was in jeans and a sweater; but with a shimmy and a wiggle, her top landed in a heap on the floor. Her red lace bra stood out bright against her skin, begging to show off how good her boobs looked in it.

“I think it’s time we did something about that, then,” Kayama declared, moving to kneel astride him, nimble fingers starting to undo his buttons.

Hizashi hummed into Shouta’s mouth as their kisses got deeper, his hands running up along the strong muscles of Shouta’s back. Sharp teeth nipped at his lower lip, and he gasped, slipping one hand down the back of Shouta’s sweats and pulling him closer.

“Ahh, fuck,” Hizashi breathed against Shouta’s mouth as their cocks stopped their teasing brushes and were finally pressed against each other. “You feel so good, babe,” he groaned.

Shouta rolled his hips and broke their kiss to lean in and murmur in Hizashi’s ear, “Bet it’ll feel even better when you’re fucking me.”

Hizashi sucked in a sharp breath, hips jerking up against Shouta. “Really? Here? Now? You wanna?” He glanced over to see Kayama trailing painted nails down Oboro’s chest.

Shouta backed up just enough to meet Hizashi’s eyes as he nodded. “As long as you’re good with it. Yeah.”

“Shit, yeah, fuck, I just- we need-” Hizashi babbled, whipping his t-shirt off, not wanting Shouta off his lap but needing to go get-

“This?” Shouta smirked, pulling a small bottle of lube out of his pocket.

“Gods you’re brilliant,” Hizashi moaned, yanking Shouta in for another kiss, messier and more heated than before. By the time they broke apart, panting for breath, Shouta’s lips were red and spit-shiny, and his dark grey eyes nearly black.

Casting a sidelong look over towards Oboro, Shouta muttered, “You better not get distracted and dissolve the furniture.” Their friend was now shirtless and kissing his way down Kayama’s neck while she ran her fingers through his hair. He had one arm wrapped around her back to hold her close, the other hand cupping her breast, his thumb grazing over her lace-covered nipple.

“Not a problem,” Oboro replied, leaning Kayama further back so he could bow his head and kiss the tops of her breasts. “These are distraction proof.”

“Good,” Hizashi said, snatching the bottle of lube from Shouta’s hand. With one arm around Shouta’s waist, he tugged hard, rolling them over until Shouta was laying on his back – the cloud cushion having conveniently flattened out for them as it filled more of the room. Shouta’s legs wrapped around Hizashi while Hizashi knelt over him, leaning down to suck a dark bruise low on Shouta’s neck. A loud groan rumbled out from Shouta’s chest, his hips arching up seeking friction, and Hizashi’s cock jerked.

“Pants off,” Hizashi demanded, pushing himself away and scrambling to grab the waistband of Shouta’s sweats, tugging them down and off.

Just like that, Shouta was naked, his hard cock dark and ruddy as it twitched under the gaze of three sets of eyes.

He was flushed red, but without a hint of embarrassment or shame as he reached one hand down to drag his fingers loosely up the length of his shaft. Hizashi groaned and fumbled the cap of the lube open, coating his fingers and pushing Shouta’s leg up and out to the side while Shouta splayed the other leg open, knee bent.

Hizashi’s hand may have been shaking a little as he spread lube around Shouta’s rim and started to press in, but that was only because he wasn’t used to doing this with an audience. Glancing up at Shouta’s face chased away his nerves, though.

Eyes closed, his head tipped back and mouth open slightly, Shouta was stunning as he breathed through the stretch of Hizashi slipping a second finger in. Hizashi pumped his fingers slowly, curling them slightly, his own arousal growing more insistent as he watched Shouta’s brow furrowing up and his breathing starting to hitch.

To his left, Hizashi heard Oboro groan, and he glanced over long enough to see Oboro staring at Shouta’s face, watching as he reacted to Hizashi’s fingers inside him. Trying to split his attention between them both, Hizashi held his breath and crooked his fingers again to press more firmly against Shouta’s prostate. He watched, enraptured, as Shouta’s back arched… and he watched Oboro watching Shouta.

“He’s exquisite like this, isn’t he,” Kayama murmured in Oboro’s ear, and Oboro nodded, tearing his eyes away from Shouta to look at her. In the span of a heartbeat, he was tugging the cup of her bra down far enough that he could take her nipple in his mouth, moaning as she buried her fingers in his hair to hold his head in place. “All my gorgeous boys,” she sighed, arching her back to press her breast further against Oboro’s face, rocking her crotch against the ridge in Oboro’s pants.

Hizashi looked back at Shouta again, and now his eyes were open, watching Kayama and Oboro while he ground down with his hips against Hizashi’s hand. There was a flurry of movement as Kayama and Oboro both shed the rest of their clothes, and now it was Hizashi’s turn to stare.

He’d seen Oboro naked in the showers at school (and once, notably, in the classroom) more times than he could possibly remember. He had seen him with his cock hard as he stroked himself, he had watched him come… but right now he was bare in a way Hizashi had never seen before.

And Kayama had spent half the time he’d known her running around nearly naked; but this was something else. The air of confidence that was always around her was even stronger now as she knelt up on the cloud and pushed Oboro to recline at a deep angle. The cloud shifted its shape to best suit her intentions as she moved forward and knelt up tall, ‘till she was straddling Oboro’s face, reaching down to pull his mouth to the vee of her spread legs while his hands slid up the backs of her thighs to grab her ass.

Both of them moaned.

Briefly pressing his free hand to his aching cock, still trapped in his sweats, Hizashi took a stuttering breath. Refocusing as best he could, he stroked his fingers against Shouta’s prostate again, pulling a low moan from him.

It was good, but could be even better.

Fucking steadily into him with his fingers, Hizashi used his other hand to angle Shouta’s cock towards himself. He gave one firm stroke before leaning down and taking the head into his mouth, flicking his tongue over the slit, lapping up the pre-come that was leaking out of him.

Show time.

Inhaling deeply, Hizashi filled his mouth with as much of Shouta’s cock as he could without hampering his breathing. He pressed his tongue up along the length of him and reached for his Quirk as he started humming a long, low note.

“Oh, fuck, Hizashi, shhh- haaaa-” Shouta babbled as he bucked and twisted, his hands darting out to tangle in Hizashi’s hair. Hizashi smirked as best he could with a cock in his mouth, swiping his tongue across the crown as he took another breath and hummed again. Shouta jolted in his grip, mouth hanging open wide as sounds spilled out of him.

Hizashi loved the way he could get these kinds of reactions out of Shouta, make him squirm and shout. Part of him was still greedy and wanted to keep this for himself, never wanted anyone else to see just how uninhibited Shouta could get…

But right now, he wanted to show off. To brag in real-time about the fact that he, Yamada Hizashi, could make Aizawa Shouta writhe like this.

Finally, Hizashi backed off, not wanting Shouta to come yet. Shouta whimpered, then mumbled vague encouragement when Hizashi added more lube and eased in a third finger. Hizashi was more focused on stretching him than on hitting his prostate for now, giving Shouta a chance to catch his breath.

“Look at that, Occhan,” Kayama said, sitting back and directing Oboro’s hazy attention towards Hizashi. “I think Hicchan might be almost as wet as I am.” Hizashi looked from Oboro’s face, glistening from his nose all the way his chin, down to his own crotch where he’d leaked an impressive dark patch into his sweats. “And Shou-chan is taking three fingers now; look at him, so eager for more.”

Oboro sucked in a deep, shuddering breath, standing abruptly and scooping Kayama up in his arms. She yelped in delight, wrapping her legs around his waist as he lifted her. Holding her up with one arm under her ass, he grabbed his thick, flushed cock with his other hand, guiding it to slide inside her.

Kayama gave a high, delighted moan as Oboro buried his cock in her cunt and his face in her neck. They were still for a moment, then Oboro shifted his hold on her so he had one arm under each of her thighs, his fingers digging in to the softer skin of her ass. Oboro helped lift and lower Kayama as her strong legs tensed and flexed in their grip around his waist, letting her fuck herself on his cock.

Hizashi stared, enraptured by the sight.

“Slow down, Occhan,” Kayama teased, though her voice was breathier than usual. “Look at them looking at us. I think your display of strength here is impressing them. Isn’t it, boys?”

Hizashi managed to mumble, “Uh-huh,” while all Shouta could do was nod as he stared at the muscles in Oboro’s arms flexing. Hizashi sucked in a breath and turned his attention back to Shouta, moving his fingers and pulling a sharp gasp from him.

“He likes that, doesn’t he,” Kayama said, tipping her own head back and gasping as she and Oboro worked together to thrust his cock into her. “I bet he likes your cock even more, though. Don’t you, Shou-chan?” Shouta nodded, staring at Hizashi with wide, dark eyes. Hizashi pushed his fingers deeper and Shouta’s hips bucked, his leaking cock thrusting up against nothing as Hizashi stretched him.

“Shit, please Zashi,” Shouta begged, and that was Hizashi’s breaking point. He eased his fingers out and backed away just enough to yank his sweats off and slick his cock up, hissing as he smeared the cool liquid over his heated skin. Closing the distance, he pushed Shouta’s leg up with one hand, using the other to steady himself as he pressed the tip of his cock against Shouta’s rim.

With a smooth, steady pressure, Hizashi thrust forward, sinking in faster than usual, like Shouta was pulling him in. Fuck, it was so hot and tight around him, and Shouta arched his back, the back of his thigh pressing hard into Hizashi’s hand as he bowed up off the cloud mattress, trying to get Hizashi deeper.

“Tell us how good it feels, Shou-chan,” Kayama said as she ground her hips hard against Oboro, little rolls that had him breathing hard as he held on tightly to her.

“So full,” Shouta said, rocking his hips, “Gods, s’so good.” Hizashi groaned and began to thrust, gripping both of Shouta’s thighs, pushing them up ‘till his knees were close to his ears.

“I’ve heard that if he finds the right spot, it feels so good you’ll see stars,” Kayama said to Shouta, though her eyes were locked on Oboro as she spoke. “He was doing that before with his fingers, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Shouta breathed. “Zashi’s good at it, fffffuck, hah-” he cut off as Hizashi shifted and found the angle where he’d be able to make Shouta see those stars.

Oboro groaned, a deep sound that filled the room.

“Look at him, practically trying to fuck himself on Hicchan,” Kayama purred, “He loves it.”

Hizashi was barely holding himself together through Kayama’s commentary. Having Shouta like this was one thing, wanton and so shamelessly desperate for it; but the way Kayama was talking about it intensified everything.

“Shit, Nem,” Oboro gasped, gripping her ass hard and moving to lean her up against the wall.

“Good boy, Occhan. Be still now, don’t move. You can hold out,” Kayama hissed, grinding her hips against him, bracing her back against the wall for leverage. “You don’t come till after I do.” It took Hizashi a long moment to realize that he was copying her movements, buried deep in Shouta, grinding and pressing against him. Finally, she let out a sultry moan, and Hizashi could see the tension in the line of Oboro’s body as she bucked against him. When she stilled moments later, Oboro buried his face in her neck and started thrusting hard and fast before going stiff and gasping, hips jerking.

Hizashi started thrusting again, long smooth motions, trying to keep it slower as he tried to calm himself, pace himself. He didn’t want it to be over yet just because his friends had finished.

His self control was tested as Shouta reached for his cock to start stroking himself in long, lazy movements.

Oboro set Kayama’s feet back down on the ground and made seats for both of them to collapse into… but before he could get comfortable, Kayama nudged him with her toe.

“Occhan,” she said, a sated, languid smile resting on her lips, “They were very impressed by your strength. I think they deserve a little first-hand demonstration.”

Oboro looked away from where he’d been watching Hizashi fucking Shouta and tipped his head in confusion. “What?”

Kayama heaved an indulgent sigh. “Stand up.” Oboro stood. “Hicchan, help Shou-chan to his feet.”

“But-” Hizashi said, his hands going to Shouta’s waist to hold onto him.

“Don’t wanna stop,” Shouta said, grabbing onto Hizashi’s forearm with the hand that wasn’t stroking himself.

“I bet you don’t. I bet his cock feels so good fucking into you like that, doesn’t it,” Kayama said, and Shouta nodded. “I bet you’ll like it even better with both of these big, strong heroes holding on to you, their hot hands all over you while Hicchan fucks you.”

Shouta sucked in a sharp breath, eyes darting over to Kayama.

Hizashi was still reluctant to stop; but fuck, he remembered how intense it had been when Oboro and Shouta had both been holding on to him. Even if this was different, he wasn’t about to say no when Shouta looked at him with an eager, hungry expression. Hizashi took a breath and backed away till his cock came free, bobbing in the air, angry at being deprived of the hot, tight pleasure of Shouta’s body.

“That’s right. Up you get,” Kayama said as Hizashi and Oboro helped Shouta to his feet. “Now, Occhan, kneel over here in front of him, good. Shou-chan, lean forward, hold onto him- yes, that’s it, Occhan can hold you up,” Kayama crooned while Shouta repositioned himself, arms around Oboro’s shoulders and his head tucked against Oboro’s neck. As promised, Oboro’s arms slid around Shouta, holding him securely. “Put that tight ass of yours all the way up, arch that back and spread your legs. Hicchan, you can fuck him harder now, Occhan can keep you both steady.”

Hizashi stared down at the sight of his boyfriend clinging to their best friend, ass up and begging Hizashi to pound into him. Hizashi grabbed on to Shouta’s ass cheek with one hand, spreading him open wider, while the other steered his cock back where it wanted to go. He and Shouta both groaned when Hizashi pushed back in, burying himself deep as he gripped Shouta’s hip bone.

He thrust slowly a few times, just to test; but sure enough Oboro was an immovable object, even as his hand slid down along Shouta’s ribs in a soothing motion. When Hizashi’s next thrust was harder, Oboro looked up at him and smirked.

“Is that the best you can do?”

“Zashi, please,” Shouta groaned, and even though he was groaning it into Oboro’s neck, it was Hizashi he was calling for. Something possessive inside him thrilled at that, at Shouta saying his name in someone else’s ear as Hizashi fucked him.

No more holding back, Hizashi slammed into him, and the sound that Shouta made was nothing less than pornographic. The slap of skin on skin filled the room as Hizashi fucked Shouta hard and fast.

Oboro held Shouta up, held him steady. He moved his hands, shifting them to stroke over Shouta’s skin or to get a better grip on him when he needed to keep him from slipping; but not even the impact from Hizashi’s hardest thrusts caused more than the barest waver.

It took Hizashi a minute to readjust, to find the right angle that would-

“Ahh, fuck, Zashi,” Shouta sobbed in broken gasps, the air punched out of him each time Hizashi fucked into him, “Gods, don’t stop, please, m’so close…”

Shouta was clinging tightly to Oboro, and Oboro was holding Shouta steady, which only left Hizashi’s hands available to stroke Shouta’s cock… but he was busy holding on to Shouta’s hips, busy fucking into the tight, wet, heat of him… Shouta could wait, just a few more thrusts, just a few more-

Shouta tensed up, clenching tightly around Hizashi’s cock, back arching as he shouted wordlessly into Oboro’s neck, jerking in Hizashi’s grasp.

Hizashi thrust in deeply as Shouta’s ass gripped him impossibly tighter, and his own orgasm crashed over him, hips pumping and twitching, filling Shouta up.

Hizashi slowed his movements, trying to catch his breath as Shouta hung between himself and Oboro. There was still a tension in him as he panted, though, pressing himself back against Hizashi.

“Shou?” Hizashi said, slipping one hand from Shouta’s hip around to trace his fingers along Shouta’s softening cock… except it wasn’t softening. Shouta’s shaft was hot and hard in Hizashi’s palm, and Shouta whimpered as Hizashi gave a tentative stroke. “I thought you came,” Hizashi whispered, jacking Shouta with quick movements, not pulling out of him yet.

“I- hnn- I did, but I still…” Shouta sounded just as confused as Hizashi felt. “Just, fuck, please-”

Hizashi did his best, but even if he could make himself deal with the oversensitivity, the tight pressure inside Shouta wouldn’t let his softening cock stay inside. “Sorry, sorry,” Hizashi mumbled as he had to ease away. Shouta made a pained noise and peeled one of his hands off of Oboro, starting to stroke himself.

“Put your fingers back in him,” Kayama said. “That’ll help, won’t it, Shou-chan?”

“Gods, yeah,” Shouta gasped as Hizashi slid two fingers in, not wasting any time brushing past Shouta’s prostate. “Ahh, fuck,” Shouta said, working himself desperately; but he seemed a little wobbly now that Hizashi wasn’t holding his hips.

“Lay down, Shou-chan,” Kayama said. “There you go, put your head in Occhan’s lap, Hicchan’s got you.” Oboro and Hizashi got Shouta on his back, and Hizashi knelt and pressed his fingers back in. His stomach flipped with a thrill as he watched a trickle of his own come slide out of Shouta and trail over his skin as he pumped his fingers.

Shouta whined high in his throat, his hand moving fast over his cock. Hizashi was more than a little tempted to bow his head and take Shouta into his mouth; but he wanted to watch.

He wanted to watch the way his fingers sank into Shouta, and the way Shouta gasped as Hizashi lit him up from the inside. He wanted to watch Oboro’s hands stroking his over Shouta’s chest, tentatively pinching a nipple between his fingers, making Shouta moan. He wanted to watch Shouta’s brow furrow up in an expression of desperate ecstasy as he worked himself closer to the edge.

He wanted to watch Shouta come.

“Fuck, Shou, you look so hot like this,” he babbled, his mouth deciding that if it couldn’t be filled with Shouta’s cock, it would be filled with his name instead. “My come is leaking out of you right now, Shou, fuck, babe, wanna see you come all over yourself.” Shouta’s hips twitched as Hizashi pressed against his prostate.

“Everyone is watching you stroke that pretty cock of yours, Shou-chan,” Kayama said. “And Occhan is fascinated by Hicchan fucking your ass with his fingers. I can tell, he’d love to have a better view, watching your greedy hole take him so nicely.” Shouta bit his lip, hand moving faster as his ass clenched around Hizashi’s fingers again.

“He really likes it, doesn’t he,” Oboro whispered.

“So gorgeous, Shou,” Hizashi murmured, “Can’t believe you’re mine; my Shouta.”

Half-muttered swears and sobs punched out of Shouta as he thrashed and writhed, white streaks painting his chest and stomach as he came. Hizashi fucked him through his orgasm, muscles clenching and fluttering around his fingers as he did. Oboro held Shouta tightly until all the tension finally bled out of him and he sagged down, boneless.

Easing his fingers out, Hizashi couldn’t resist the impulse to smear the mix of come and lube around Shouta’s pinked skin, slightly swollen from the evening’s activities. Shouta didn’t flinch, just huffed a tired breath at his ‘irrational’ behavior. Hizashi smiled and moved his hand away, grabbing the towel Shouta had discarded earlier to begin the slow, gentle process of cleaning up. Kayama tipped Oboro’s head back, angling him to face her so she could kiss him, pausing every now and then to murmur vague praise at them all.

Gradually, Oboro re-made the half-scattered cloud cushions into one large, soft mattress. Shouta stayed splayed out on his back, arms resting gently above his head and a lazy, sated smile resting at the corners of his mouth. Hizashi snuggled next to him, propped up on his elbow, idly tracing patterns on Shouta’s chest with his fingers. Kayama was sitting up, reclining gently on a puffy cushion, with Oboro’s head resting in her lap, his eyes closed as she scratched gently at his scalp.

Somehow, it wasn’t weird that they were all still naked.

“Everyone feeling good?” Kayama asked. Shouta and Oboro both immediately hummed affirmatives, but Hizashi hesitated.

“I am,” he said, “But…”

“What is it, Hicchan?” she prompted gently.

“What about you? Are you bothered that you were… I dunno, left out?”

Her eyebrow shot up in confusion. “How was I left out?”

Hizashi shrugged his shoulder, watching his finger trace the line of Shouta’s pectoral. “Oboro was the only one who touched you…”

“Oh, sweetie. I don’t need to touch someone to have sex with them. If you think I wasn’t having sex with all of you just now, we might need to have another conversation.” She gave him a fond smile. “Maybe someday, that’ll be something we do. But, what we did just now? Was exactly what I wanted tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why, Hicchan? Do you want to touch me that badly?” she asked, biting her lip coyly and winking at him.

“Shaddup,” he grumbled, “It’s not that. I just…”

“You don’t want to see anyone hurt,” Shouta said, lifting a hand to cup Hizashi’s face, stroking his thumb gently along his cheek.

“It’ll be fine, Hizashi,” Oboro said, looking over at him with a grin. Hizashi hardly thought about Oboro’s scar anymore, the way it reshaped his smile into something so different from what it used to be; but still somehow just as bright.

He wasn’t sure how Oboro managed to always be so genuinely optimistic. No matter how hard Hizashi tried, the doubts were always right there. Maybe they’d gotten smaller and quieter over the years; but they were still there, whispering that nothing good could last. “How do you know?” he asked.

Shouta smiled up at him, a slow thing that grew until it lit up his whole face with an open and honest kind of unguarded happiness. “All we have to do is talk with each other, right?”

Warmth filled Hizashi. If Shouta could trust this, then so could he. “Right.”

~*~

Shouta wasn’t sure how the hours could feel like they stretched out endlessly while he sat through their last month of classes, but the weeks still slipped away from him in the blink of an eye. Before he knew it, finals were suddenly upon them. Getting Hizashi and Oboro (mostly Oboro) to focus on studying hadn’t gotten any easier over the years, but Shouta had gotten the hang of it.

Though, honestly, it seemed like Hizashi barely ever needed to study anymore. No matter how challenging the material got, Hizashi never seemed to have a problem understanding it. In fact, the harder the material, the faster Hizashi seemed to catch on. Though it sometimes frustrated Shouta, mostly he was proud of how smart Hizashi was - even if Hizashi didn’t always act as smart as he was.

Shouta had never gotten used to the way people underestimated Hizashi, though. Sure, he was loud and ridiculous; but he grasped concepts and was able to quickly make connections between ideas that it took Shouta hours to wrap his head around. The way everyone else - even their other friends - didn’t see how clever he was just because he behaved foolishly seemed like a tremendous blind spot.

It was a blind spot that even Hizashi seemed to share. When their final grades were calculated and Hizashi had the top grades not just in the Hero course, but across all the graduating third years, somehow Shouta was the only one not surprised.

“I mean, I knew my grades were good, but I didn’t realize they were that good,” Hizashi said, staring at the printout in front of him.

Hadachi turned around, leaning to look at Hizashi around Oizuchi (who was quietly celebrating being fifteenth in Class A). Their class rep took a deep breath and sniffled, giving Hizashi a weak smile. “Well,” she said, “Your academic grades were always on par with mine; but your performance in Heroics and Entertainment classes has always been a little bit ahead.” She sighed and gave him a small smile. “You earned it.”

Shouta’s chest swelled up with pride, glad to hear her acknowledge it. Hizashi had earned not just the grades, but that recognition.

After all, he belonged in the spotlight.

In a flash, it was graduation day, and they were all seated outside on a beautiful - if somewhat brisk - spring day. Tensei stood up and gave a speech, then some politician took the stage - or maybe he was a member of the HPSC? Shouta wasn’t paying much attention.

Hizashi leaned in to whisper not-so-quietly to Shouta, “Gods, could they make this any more booooooring? Can’t we have some energy for the celebration?” Shouta elbowed him as Hadachi turned around in her seat to give them a look, while Oboro and Mushimori snickered quietly.

“Well you're up next,” Shotua murmured. Apparently, earning top grades meant Hizashi had the opportunity to speak in addition to the student representative, and he certainly wasn’t going to turn that chance down. “Just remember that Principal Akahori goes after you, and he hasn’t given you your diploma yet.” Hizashi just winked at him.

“And now,” the politician-or-HSPC-member said, “I’ll turn the stage over to a young man with a bright and promising future, Yamada Hizashi!” Hizashi stood up and began to walk towards the stage, strutting with a confidence that Shouta was equal parts infatuated and exasperated by. Halfway to the stage, Hizashi paused just long enough to turn back towards Class A and shoot his ridiculous finger guns at Kobayashi.

The smattering of applause that had been rippling through the audience was suddenly drowned out as an upbeat song started blasting out of the sound system. Shouta looked over at Kobayashi, who had her phone out and was clearly doing something; but whatever it was didn’t really matter as Hizashi danced his way up to the stage.

“Goooood morning listeners! UA students, faculty, parents, and especially my fellow graduates! How are we feeling today!?”

“Did you know he was gonna do this?” Oboro asked as he clapped loudly.

“Not a clue,” Shouta said, applauding as well. “Kobayashi is in on it, though.”

“I can’t hear you, I said how are we feeeeeelin today!” Hizashi crowed, and this time Oboro whooped loudly, leading several of their classmates to get louder.

“I gotta admit,” Hizashi said, bringing his volume back down a little, though the music kept pumping, “I don’t have much to add to what Iida and our esteemed guest have already said about setting off into the big wide world and the important role we are all gonna play in society. I think they already covered those bases pretty well.”

Shouta wasn’t sure if Hizashi had actually been listening to the other speeches or had made that up.

“So what I am gonna say is, don’t worry so much about tomorrow that you forget about today, yo! Look around at the people next to you! For you underclassmen, you may not know all of your classmates yet; but listen to your senpai! Take the time to get to know them!” Hizashi paused for a beat as the crowd buzzed with energy. “And for my fellow graduates! This is the day we’ve all been working towards together! These peeps have had your back for the past three years, and that’s not something to be eager to put in the rearview. And I’m not just talkin’ about the people in your own class! Tsumagari,” Hizashi pointed at a boy from the support course, “You’ve helped me fix and tweak my gear till it’s pitch perfect!”

He pivoted, pointing to a girl in the business course. “Shimajiri, I’m not naming names, but I’m pretty sure there’s more than one student who only passed their basic marketing class because you took the time to tutor them! And Kawanabe!” The general studies girl sat up, pointing to herself in surprise. “Yeah you! Did you think nobody noticed how much time and effort you put into making sure that the School Festival was a good time for everyone each year?”

Hizashi paused for a beat and looked around. “I wish I had time to mention everyone, because each and every one of you deserves more of a shoutout than a solemn bow and a piece of paper. You deserve a celebration! But, uh, I still want my diploma, please, Principal Akahori,” he added with a grin.

“Celebrate yourselves, and celebrate each other! Get loud, dance, sing, and have fun! Don’t let go of your friends, even if the paths you take mean that you’re far apart! Be excellent to each other, and Put Your Hands Up, yo! Plus Ultra!”

With that, the music crescendoed, and Hizashi twirled on his heel. He raised his arms into the air, and on cue, the stage was lit up by a rainbow of lights and sparkles (which reminded Shouta very much of the Quirk of one of the boys in Class B). Hizashi danced his way off the stage as most of the graduates stood to cheer and dance along with him.

Shouta stood and clapped… and if he gave one loud whoop, only Oboro and Mushimori would know that the sound had come from him.

“How was that?” Hizashi asked as he found his place again next to Shouta.

“Not boring,” Shouta told him with a smirk as they all simmered down and took a seat.

As Principal Akahori took the stage, the music and lighting shifted to something quieter and more subtle, but didn’t stop completely. Even as everyone took their turn walking across the stage to get their diploma, a background thrum continued to pulse with life and energy.

Hizashi bowed a little lower than usual to Principal Akahori, but Shouta wasn’t sure if it was to show respect or to hide his smile.

The principal handed over Hizashi’s diploma without any fuss.

After the ceremony, as the students and families were out greeting each other on the grassy front grounds, a familiar tiny figure shuffled over towards where Shouta was standing with Hizashi and Oboro.

“Congratulations, boys,” she greeted them. She paused and gave Hizashi an appraising look. “That was quite the stunt you pulled, Yamada.”

“Thanks!” Hizashi was grinning from ear to ear.

“I never said I liked it,” she said drily.

“Because it goes without saying!” he said with a wink and another round of finger guns.

Recovery Girl tutted at him, but Shouta could see the glint of humor in her eye. “Are you three still planning on opening your own agency together?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am!” Oboro exclaimed. “Just you watch, Eyes in the Skies Hero Agency will be keeping Japan safe and sound.”

“Ohohoho, I’m very glad to hear it! I have a gift for you all then. Hang this up somewhere around the office, when you get one.” She handed a large package over to Oboro. Shouta blinked, wondering where she’d been hiding it, since it was nearly as tall as she was. Oboro tore the paper off of it to reveal a wooden sign, words deeply carved into it.

“‘Never fear quarrels, but seek adventures,’” Hizashi read.

“Very good, Porthos,” Recovery Girl chuckled. “You three will make fine heroes, if you can avoid further life-threatening injuries.” She looked around for a moment, then pulled out her phone. “Give me your phone numbers, troublemakers. I need to be able to keep tabs on you.” They all did, and moments later each of their phones pinged. “Don’t bother me for little things, or I’ll block you. But I’ve invested too much in you three to see it go to waste if there’s anything I can do to help. Don’t mess it up.”

Oboro bowed low. “We won’t.”

“Good. Now, I have less troublesome students to say goodbye to. Behave yourselves!”

“Always!” Hizashi said brightly. Recovery Girl just shook her head as she walked away.

“Aizawa!” a voice called, and Shouta looked over to see Yakumo waving to them as he made his way out the front gates with two people who could only be his parents. “See ya around!”

“That was weird,” Hizashi grumbled, shuddering at their spidery-ness. Despite how much progress he’d made, living in a space full of spiders and becoming comfortable with Terayama, Hizashi was still very much not a fan of anything ‘buggy.’

“Not really that weird,” Shouta said with a shrug. “He likes night patrols too. He’ll probably be heading south when he looks for work, though.”

“I’m glad you two got to be friends,” Oboro said.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Shouta said. “Just… mutual respect.”

“Oboro wants to see the whole world being friends, everybody together in one big group hug,” Hizashi teased, pulling their enormous friend into an embrace. He was a good five centimeters taller than Hizashi now, even without taking his upswept hair into account. Hizashi kept threatening to grow his hair out and make his own style even taller.

“Bobo!!” Ota’s shout was the only warning they had, giving Hizashi just enough time to get clear before she barreled into Oboro, nearly knocking him off his feet.

“Oof! Watch it!” he laughed, dropping the wooden sign to the ground and picking his older sister up, swinging her around.

“If you can’t handle little ‘ol me, you might as well quit the hero gig right now,” she teased as the rest of their parents walked up with hugs and smiles and some tears as well. Hizashi picked up the sign and handed it to his dad for safe keeping.

After that, it started innocently enough, with Oboro’s mom requesting a photo of the three graduates together. That led to all the parents needing to take pictures… and then Kayama took out her phone and began organizing photographs, first each of them with their families, then calling over different classmates. Shimada, Nakano, Mushimori, Kobayashi, Tensei, and others all standing in different permutations with each other. It didn’t take long for Shouta’s face to tire of the small smile he’d originally tried to muster. He almost felt bad that he would likely have what Hizashi called his ‘resting bitch-face’ on in most of the pictures; but also not really.

“Alright, Kayama, enough,” he finally groused, and she huffed at him, rolling her eyes.

“Fine, party-pooper,” she said, handing her phone off to Shouta’s mother. “Just one more!” She sidled up next to Oboro, wrapping an arm around his waist and tugging him close, glancing over at Hizashi and Shouta, winking at them.

“Smile, Shou-chan!” Dad said, holding up his phone to take the picture.

There were too many people making too much noise all around him; but it was a good kind of chaos. These were his teachers and his classmates and his family and his friends. These were the people who had come to matter to him.

These were people to whom he mattered, which was a much stranger thought.

He’d wanted to become a hero because, despite all the people who saw him and his Quirk as creepy and unsettling, he wanted to prove that he could make people feel safe. He didn’t feel like he needed to prove that anymore, though. He was simply going to be a hero who made people safer.

He knew he could do it on his own; but something warm filled his chest, knowing that he wouldn’t have to.

He smiled.

~*~ Epilogue ~*~

Life was good to Oboro. Sure, it had thrown him some hardships and curveballs; the whole ‘almost dying’ thing had been quite a headache, literally… but on the whole, life was good.

It had been almost a year since they’d graduated from UA, and the Eyes in the Skies Hero Agency had been up and running practically from day one. At first, they’d been doing the paperwork out of their apartment; but it hadn’t been long before they decided to talk to Terayama about renting the space downstairs. It had taken six months to make it official; but the three of them had a proper office now, with no signs of any curses trying to run them out of the building.

He was a real hero now. Loud Cloud, Present Mic, and Eraserhead worked hard to make sure the people in their community were safe and happy. Today wasn’t any different as Oboro walked along the sidewalk fifteen minutes away from home, closer to the center of town, nearing the end of his patrol for the day. He caught sight of his friends nearby, slowly heading towards him from different directions.

It was rare that all three of them were on patrol at the same time. Technically Hizashi’s patrol had ended hours ago, because they couldn’t reasonably submit a timesheet that showed three heroes all patrolling the same area at the same time; they’d never get paid for that.

But sometimes Present Mic liked to get some extra face time with the community outside of paid patrol hours. It was paying off in lots of other ways; not just in community support, but the popularity of ‘Put Your Hands Up’ was growing exponentially. Hizashi had even gotten a call from a real radio station the other day, and he was thinking that he had an actual chance of PYHU becoming a legit radio show.

Shouta, on the other hand, rarely took a patrol during daylight hours and preferred when the community didn’t see him at all; but the three of them had plans that evening, so Eraserhead had agreed to an afternoon shift at the outer edges of their approved patrol zone, poking through some of the back alleys and the warehouse district. His patrol had ended half an hour ago, and he’d made his way back towards the hustle and bustle of the main thoroughfare in town where Oboro was doing his own official patrol, keeping an eye on things and chatting with shop owners. Loud Cloud was a familiar sight, almost as familiar as Present Mic, and most people smiled and waved at him. He always smiled and waved back.

Oboro watched as Shouta slipped into a konbini, probably to buy some drinks for them while Hizashi was chatting with an excitable little girl with bright blue skin. Oboro smiled at the sight, but continued scanning the road, continuing along his path, knowing the others would catch up.

He was still on duty, after all.

To his right, there was a gap between two buildings; a dark space barely big enough for the trash cans that were stored there. Places like that were a prime hiding spot for stray cats, and Oboro always liked to check for kittens.

The figure he spotted rooting through the bins this time was far too big to be a cat, though.

The boy turned his scraggly head to glare at Oboro. He looked like he was maybe eight or nine years old, and his skin had an unhealthy pallor, almost gray, and looked painfully dry and irritated. His red eyes flicked over Oboro, sizing him up in a way that the streetwise kids sometimes did, assessing him for weaknesses, wondering what kind of trouble he might give them.

Oboro smiled. “Hey there, I’m Loud Cloud! Are you lost? I can help you if you need to find someone you got separated from.”

“I’m fine,” the kid sneered. “Why don’t you mind your own business.”

“Making sure lost kids find their way where they need to be kinda is part of my business,” Oboro laughed, “But if you’re not lost, then I guess I don’t have business with ya!”

The kid narrowed his eyes and glared. Oboro had dealt with kids like this before. Some of them did better when he just kinda hung back and kept an eye on them; but something was telling him to reach out to this kid.

“Aaactually, whatcha lookin’ for in there? Maybe I can help you with that!”

“I told you to mind your own business!”

“Helping people is my business.”

“I don’t need your help,” the boy snarled, the defensive note in his voice unmistakable.

“I believe it,” Oboro said honestly. “You seem like you’re pretty capable. I bet you can manage to do most things on your own. But just because you can do it on your own doesn’t mean you have to do it on your own. If I help, maybe it’ll make things easier.”

The kid paused for a beat, sizing Oboro up again, as if looking for something different than what he’d seen the first time. “Yeah, well, you’re currently making things more difficult,” he finally snapped. “Now go away!”

“Hey, Loud Cloud!” At the sound of Hizashi’s voice, Oboro turned his head to see his friends walking towards him – which was the moment’s distraction the kid had been waiting for. He darted forward, shouldering past Oboro and running down the street.

Oboro couldn’t help but laugh when the retreating kid turned back just long enough to flip him off.

“What was that little punk up to?” Hizashi asked, brow furrowing.

“He’s just a kid, Mic,” Oboro admonished. He stared down the street, something about the kid holding his attention, even now that he was out of sight.

“You’re not exactly in a position to use ‘punk’ as a derogatory term,” Shouta reminded Hizashi. “Anyway, it’s almost time to head back in-”

“That kid… I need to-” Oboro pursed his lips and made a decision. “You two head back in. I just gotta follow up on this.” Something inside him was insisting that the kid needed help. Needed… something.

Shouta tipped his head, then shrugged. “We’ll come with you,” he said.

“We will?” Hizashi said, baffled. “Kids with bad attitudes ain’t exactly in short supply, why do you wanna chase this one down-?”

Shouta shot Hizashi a Look, while Oboro narrowed his eyes, trying to see further down the street where the boy had gone. He’d lost sight of him in the crowd, but maybe if he hurried he could catch up. No sooner had he thought of it than he was floating down the street just above the crowd, leaning forward on his cloud trying to see everything.

Behind him, he heard Hizashi say, “Ok, yeah. Let’s go,” followed by the sounds of their boots trotting along the pavement to catch up to him. Hizashi was right, it was probably silly to have three heroes looking for one scruffy kid with an attitude, who technically might not even be in trouble; but Oboro was looking, and Shouta and Hizashi would always have his back. Just like he would have theirs.

Oboro didn’t know if they’d be able to find the kid, at least not today. But even if they didn’t, he was gonna keep looking.

He was gonna keep trying. They all would.

It’s what heroes were supposed to do, after all.

***