Chapter Text
First dates had never been Aizawa Shouta’s forte. Or at least, he assumed that they wouldn’t be - the truth was, he’d never actually been on an ‘official’ date. The few attempts at relationships he had under his belt were fleeting to say the least, usually consisting of awkward takeaway meals after work and a few vague expressions of interest that he’d never actually returned. This was different. For one, it was no brief fling; what he felt for Kuramoto Akane could by no means be described as fleeting, and went far beyond physical attraction. She was intelligent, independent and empathetic to a fault, with a moral conviction that rivalled his own. Which was why cheap take-out on a park bench felt like the wrong move; he wanted her to know that he took this seriously - took them seriously. He just... had absolutely no idea where to start.
A week after being released from hospital, and it felt as though he was stuck in some kind of paradox where everything seemed just as it was but was also irrevocably changed at the exact same time. Class was as impossible as ever, and apart from the report he had needed to file on the Fukuhara incident it was as though nothing had happened. Except that it had. He saw evidence of it every time the two of them locked eyes or brushed hands. Things had changed, and as glad as he was that they had, he wasn’t sure where to go from there. It was that particular conundrum that had him lingering outside the closed door of Kuro’s office, looking for all intents and purposes like he was waiting to face a particularly difficult press conference.
Without warning, the door swung open, revealing the golden tumble of hair belonging to the woman he had come to see, rubbing at her eyes with a bandaged hand. When her eyes landed on his stiff form in the doorway, her entire face broke into a smile so bright she might as well have been beaming. How on earth did she manage to be that adorable even in the most mundane of situations? It should be the subject of multiple scientific studies.
“Shouta!” The melodic sound of her voice when it uttered his name never ceased to catch him off-guard, but she appeared oblivious to her effect on him. “I was literally just going over to drop off some notes for you! What’s going on?”
Even if was just work, the thought that he had been on her mind sent a small thrill down his spine and for the briefest moment, he forgot the script he had prepared for the conversation. “I- no, nothing’s going on. I, uh, came to see you. And ask some stuff. If that’s alright?”
Dark brown eyes lit up at his request, as clumsy as it was. “Oh! Of course! Do you wanna come in?” She gestured to the open doorway.
“No, it’s fine. It shouldn’t take too long.” It was a yes or no question, and one he shouldn’t have had so much trouble asking. Hopefully, the nerves he felt went unnoticed by Akane when he continued, “I was going to get dinner on Friday - do you want to come?”
The invitation was casual, but he hoped it would be earnest enough for her to know how important it was to him. Her eyes widened.
“Like… like a date?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Like a date.” It was up to her now, and whether or not she thought it was a good idea. Judging by her shy but obviously excited grin and the color rising to her cheeks, he needn’t have worried.
“I’d- I’d actually really like that, Shouta. Where were you thinking?”
Shrugging, he showed her the address on his phone. “Nothing formal or anything, but I sometimes go there when I need a break from work. Their barbecue squid is pretty great.”
After skimming the information to the restaurant, Kuro looked back up at him, grin wider than ever. “It sounds great! I love squid - if it’s charred properly, it’s probably my favourite food!”
“Yeah, uh, you mentioned liking it a while ago so I thought this place would work.” He glanced at the floor, a little embarrassed at how much thought he’d put into this. “We could meet there at six, seeing as it really only starts getting busy around eight.”
She nodded, tugging at a loose strand of hair. “That works, yeah! Thanks so much!”
Offering a slight smile and feeling the light heat on his face, he responded, “Yeah, uh, I’ll see you then, I guess.”
Huh. That… that actually hadn’t been too hard. If this was dating, maybe Shouta could make it work better than he thought he’d be able to. Then again, they hadn’t actually gone out yet. Still plenty of time to screw it up monumentally.
Was there a protocol for first date dresses? Probably. There was probably a handbook that they passed out in seventh grade and Akane had been away when they did it. Missing out on that handbook was probably the reason her life was such a mess. Okay, maybe not a mess, but there were definitely improvements to be made.
Namely, finding a fucking dress.
Maybe she could call Kal and ask for advice? No, that was a terrible idea. Kal’s taste in clothes went less in the direction of ‘cute but casual meet-up’ and more in the ballpark of ‘look at me funny and I will eviscerate you with a spoon’. Besides, calling Kal would mean that she’d actually have to admit that Shouta had asked her on a date. Holy shit; Shouta had asked her on a date. A real, actual, honest-to-god date.
Wait, why was she freaking out over this? He had seen her in a hospital gown and was still into her, somehow - she didn’t have to overthink this. Did she? Why were relationships so difficult? She hadn’t even had any more coffee than usual, why was she so jittery? Oh, right, because the man she was more attracted to than anybody she’d ever met in her life had asked her on a date. That was why.
By the time she had even begun to figure out an outfit, most of her closet had found a new home on the already cramped floor of her bedroom, some even spilling out into the hallway. At least she had something to wear. Glancing in the mirror, she smoothed out the creases in the washed-blue fabric of her knee-length dress, assessing her appearance. Not bad. The rounded collar left with two buttons undone kept the whole thing casual, but it was a sweet dress with a fabric belt tied into a bow at the back just dressy enough to make it seem like she’d put thought into it. Not that she’d admit just how much thought. Okay, now that was done, she had to think about make-up, shoes and holy shit it was already a quarter to six!
Akane practically stumbled out the door to her apartment in her haste to leave, a pair of mismatched socks and brown low heeled mary-janes on her feet. She had fifteen minutes to get to this place, and from her calculations she’d only have a few minutes to spare by train. Time to haul ass.
Shoes tapped a frantic rhythm up the steps of the subway station, her heart beating like a military tattoo as she navigated the twists and turns of the narrow streets. She knew the route by heart at this point (turn right here, make a sharp left there,) but the anxiety that she had somehow made a mistake was still burned into the forefront of her mind. Only when she recognised the small shop-front she had seen in the various online map services she’d utilised could she allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief. She had made it, with exactly two minutes and thirty seconds to spare. Now, all she had to do was find Aizawa.
Scanning the small crowd of people milling about outside for the familiar face of the Erasure Hero, she felt her breathing slow a little now that she wasn’t sprinting at top speed in a pair of heels. Finally, she caught a glimpse of black hair against the glow of street-lamps, and was just about to make her way over when she saw him in full.
Oh, God help me..
Aizawa was attractive in anything he wore (which was as much a curse as it was a blessing for Kuro,) but in a slightly crumpled dress-shirt left unbuttoned to the third and sleeves pushed up to the elbows, it was damn near impossible not to melt then and there. It also reminded her just how built the man was - the baggy clothes he wore on a day-to-day basis did him no justice whatsoever. Yeah, she was definitely starting to feel bitter about the ‘no sex’ rule while her lungs were still recovering.
Whether it was the sharply honed sense of perception from years as a pro hero telling him that someone was watching, or just sheer dumb luck, it was at that moment that Shouta looked up from his phone to meet her gaze. Fuck, she probably looked like a total mess. Running for several blocks didn’t do a whole lot for her hair.
Moving towards him, she gave what she hoped was a cheerful smile that didn’t let on to how nervous she really was. “Shouta, hey! I hope you weren’t waiting too long?”
He shook his head, putting his phone back into his pocket. “No, I only arrived a few minutes ago.” Looking down at her, a slight smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “It’s good to see you.”
If it weren’t for how flushed she already was from running, Kuro was fairly certain it would have been obvious how much that made her blush. Flustered, she bounced on the balls of her feet a few times. “Oh, thanks! You, um, you look really good, by the way.”
Closer proximity did nothing to dispel her original impression. The seemingly omnipresent five-o’clock shadow along his jaw was nowhere in sight, leading her to believe he might have shaved before coming, which was almost a shame - she had liked feeling the slight scratch of stubble across her skin when he had kissed her; it was grounding in the best possible sense of the word. Besides which, his long black hair seemed softer than usual, tempting her to run her fingers through it again. But there was time for that later - for now, she had to focus on not making an idiot of herself.
Aizawa looked as though he had been caught a little off guard by the compliment, and Kuro could have sworn his cheeks reddened just a little. “Uh, thanks. So do you. The dress is nice.”
“It’s actually one of my favourites - it’s got pockets!”
She could have slapped herself. ‘It’s got pockets!’? Really?! That was her response to a genuine (if a little awkward) compliment? No wonder she was so terrible at socialising.
If he was judging her poor wording, he made no indication of it, even going so far as to chuckle slightly as he nudged her through the doorway of the restaurant. The place was small enough, but even this early had a fair amount of people milling about and sitting at the various tables around the room. The smell of cooking seafood wafted across from the kitchen, stirring her apetite which had previously been tamped down by her nerves.
“I think there’s a free spot in the corner over there,” he muttered, guiding her over to the table he’d indicated. Once seated, she began to swing her legs slightly to let out some nervous energy, taking the chopsticks on the right of the table and picking them up with her undamaged left hand.
“How did you find this place? It’s so cute!”
He shrugged, watching her with interest. “It’s on my patrol route; the owners keep it open late so I ended up coming here when I got hungry. It’s gotten pretty popular recently, but I thought you’d like it.” He paused. “I didn’t know you were left handed.” He gestured to how she was holding her utensils, brows furrowing slightly as she shook her head with a slight smile.
“Ambidextrous, actually! I taught myself to use my left hand after I broke my arm in fourth grade. I guess I’m lucky it’s useful again!”
“Huh. I never knew you could learn how to do that,” Shouta looked genuinely impressed by her explanation, although it would have been hard to tell for anyone less acquainted with the small differences in expression that gave it away.
Conversation was a little awkward at first - it seemed as though neither of them really had much of an idea what to do on a first date, which alleviated Kuro’s anxiety somewhat - but eventually, they fell back into a rhythm that suited both of them, the buzz of the restaurant around them becoming background noise as they talked. Shouta had a dry, understated sense of humour that went over a lot of people’s heads, but once she was clued into it she found it surprisingly hard to keep her laughter under control. Maybe it would have been more comfortable to start with if they had been hanging out at one of their houses, or just spending time together like they had when keeping an eye on Chiyoh - but as it was? She couldn’t deny that this was pretty nice.
The food was surprisingly fast to arrive after they ordered, the grandmotherly woman who seemed to run the place setting down a whole grilled squid each in front of them. It looked as though she recognised Shouta, unsurprisingly, but the knowing grin she gave while looking between them was just a little embarrassing. Maneuvering her chopsticks to pick up one of the slices and dipping it in teriyaki, Kuro very nearly moaned at the first taste, her eyes widening.
“Holy shit, you weren’t kidding when you said that the food here was good!” She managed between bites, trying not to either choke on her meal or talk with her mouth full, “I almost feel bad about eating it - it looks like it should have been drawn by Hayao Miyazaki!”
He glanced up from his own meal, looking a little surprised. “You like Ghibli?”
“Of course! Totoro was like, my favourite movie as a kid! I used to watch it on repeat every morning - it drove my parents mad!” The slight chuckle from the man opposite her was enough to have her heart skipping a beat; he was so handsome when he genuinely laughed, it only made her want to do it more.
Ghibli films quickly became the main topic of discussion, both of them having their favourites. Out of Miyazaki’s work, Mononoke Hime was apparently Shouta’s preference, though from Ghibli as a whole, he had a soft spot for The Cat Returns. It was endearing to see how much thought he put into the question when she’d asked, even more so when he appeared equally interested in her own opinions. Although Totoro held sentimental value, as Akane had grown older she had found that one of the lesser-known films, Pom Poko, spoke to her experiences of adapting to harsh conditions and having a complicated relationship with the past. What they could both agree on, however, was that the food in those films had no right to look as good as it did.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Aizawa’s judgement on the food wasn’t the only accurate prediction he had made; a short while later (or it seemed that way, at least - it must have been at least an hour and a half,) the restaurant began to fill up rapidly. At the small tables scattered around the dining room and lingering about outside, the hum and buzz of humanity was inescapable. Were they watching her? She knew how illogical the thought was, but her social anxiety always seemed to strike at the most inopportune of moments. Did she look okay? Had she spilled something on herself without noticing and now they were all laughing at her? Oh God, had her quirk started to activate? If it hadn’t already, it would definitely start soon if she didn’t stop--
“--Hey, you feeling alright?”
Yanked from her increasingly frantic musings by the sound of Shouta’s voice, Kuro felt her face heat up in embarrassment that she was so obvious in her discomfort. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine!” She laughed nervously, tugging at the collar of her dress; “It’s just a little loud. I, uh… I don’t really like crowds.”
The erasure hero’s expression didn’t change, his tone matter-of-fact and without judgement when he replied, “Do you want to go somewhere else, then?”
As much as Akane would have liked to say yes, she shook her head firmly. “No, no it’s fine - I can handle a little noise. You picked this place and I want to enjoy it with you; I’ll get over the other stuff.” Whether she was trying to convince him or herself of that, she wasn’t entirely sure. Would he have been upset with her if she had asked to leave? He seemed understanding of her predicament, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it would have been a misstep to cut the night short. Either way, Aizawa didn’t seem to buy her reassurances.
“I chose the restaurant because I thought you’d enjoy it - if you’re uncomfortable, then there’s no point being here.” He stated bluntly, keeping his eyes on her appraisingly. “If you really want to stay, then I’m okay with that, but don’t push yourself for my sake; I’d rather do what makes you happy.”
The frankness of his words caught her off-guard - this wasn’t the first time she had needed to excuse herself from a date because of the atmosphere, but none of her previous partners had been so straightforward in their acceptance of her wishes. It had never been a judgement on them as a person, but many seemed to take it to heart if she didn’t want to stick around the place they had picked, no matter how many times she said otherwise. This was new, and to some might have seemed relatively unimportant - but to Kuro, it was a gesture that managed to chip away even further at the crumbling walls around her heart that were stopping her from giving it away entirely. To be honest, she wasn’t sure that was such a bad thing.
Sighing softly, she looked back at him. “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind… do you think we could leave?”
He said nothing, but rose from his seat across from her. Just as she was about to do the same, he silently offered her a hand. Although the skin on her own hand wasn’t as soft as it had been, a few months of training having revived old calluses and roughened the pads of her fingers, the sensation of being enclosed in Aizawa’s larger one was inexplicably comforting to her as they wove their way through the crowd and out through the front door. Back in the fresh air, she could finally allow herself to let go of the breath she seemed to have been holding without realising she was doing so.
“I can walk you back to your apartment, if you’d like. Or just to the station.” Shouta had yet to let go of her hand, but he didn’t meet her eyes when he made the offer. If anything, he sounded a little reluctant to put an end to the outing. Kuro couldn’t honestly say she didn’t feel the same.
“Well… if you wanted, you- you could come back up with me?” She offered tentatively, and seeing the look of surprised confusion on his face, continued quickly, “I- I know that this didn’t exactly go how we were planning, but… I really, really enjoyed talking to you and spending time together. And I kind of… don’t want it to be over just yet.” Colour rushed to her cheeks at the sincerity of the confession; being so open about her feelings was a new experience, but if there was one thing she knew about relationships it was that communication held everything in place. And she wanted this relationship to hold. “So, um… I understand if you’re busy, but…” she pulled her hand from his grip, pushing her hair back nervously. “I’ve got a Ghibli boxset and a metric tonne of blankets at home. Maybe we could put a movie on, get some popcorn, and try to pick up where we left off?”
Maybe this wasn’t how normal dates went - but since when had anything they did together been normal? Head turned subtly to face her as they walked side by side, Aizawa’s face tugged upwards into a small, almost shy grin.
“I think I’d like that.”
Mirroring his smile, she offered her hand.
“We’d better get going then - I think Totoro runs for about two hours, and I want to get through at least half before I fall asleep.”
Shouta looked down at her outstretched hand, and met her eyes gently before taking it in his own. Something like mischief reflected in the dark eyes illuminated by the streetlamps, but to Akane they held nothing but warmth.
“Well in that case… ” he murmured, amusement hinting at the corners of his voice,
“Lead the way.”