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Sleeping in was a luxury not taken lightly by Shouta Aizawa. Frenetic weekdays with lesson plans, teaching, grading and trying to keep his problem children from laying waste to the school and each other was, exhausting. The few naps he could catch while at school were often interrupted by his husband Hizashi always overflowing with energy. Some days Shouta just needed to retreat and replenish his extremely limited patience.
As a former student of UA Shouta knew all the hidden enclaves and shadowy corners to which one might retreat for a quick nap. This also meant that Hizashi his classmate and now husband knew all the same spots Shouta retreated to for some peace and quiet. The man had no boundaries Shouta thought. If he had his sleeping bag in tow, Hizashi should logically infer that ‘Mr. Aizawa’ needed some quiet time. This time was rarely granted since clearly Hizashi thought Shouta would wither away if lunch wasn’t more than his usual, adequate jelly pack.
For better or worse, he and his loud blonde were perpetually joined at the hip. They were a good team. Where Shouta lacked spontaneity, Hizashi overflowed with the levity and goofiness needed to make it fun for their kids, Hitoshi and Eri. Where Hizashi lacked in discipline, well, Shouta had an overabundance. At least it seemed so to those outside their home. Shouta’s discipline crumbled when it came to adopting cats and pretty much whatever Eri really wanted. Life was good, a little sleep, peace and quiet would make it even better…at least on his day off.
Hizashi was not quiet. He tried, Shouta knew, particularly when Shouta had a day to rest. The problem was, the blonde had no off switch. While cooking Hizashi sang or hummed. When Shouta sent a harsh glare his way, Hizashi switched to lightly drumming the utensils on the pots and counters. Doing laundry Hizashi tapped out a tune on the side of the washing machine or dryer, usually while also singing. The drum of the dryer is apparently a great instrument as well. The echoing tinny sound make Eri laugh and the two of them could duet this way for an hour. Usually after about the hundredth time “Helllooooo Shouuuuta” came echoing from the two, the door of the apartment would slam shut as Shouta sought refuge in the gym. While vacuuming, Hizashi would dance with the machine, pretending it was a standing microphone, adding extra time to the task with its decibels pounding in Shouta’s ears.
Hitoshi had numerous playlists and thought the whole apartment should share in his eclectic mix of noise. “Hitoshi, turn it down!” Shouta growled, kid could give his dad a break on Saturday morning. Also, apparently, video games were best when felt as well as heard. Hitoshi was a good kid and Shouta was proud at how his training was coming along. He’d be a good hero.
Eri would let Shouta sleep as much as a six year old was able. She’d play quietly next to him with her figurines having tea parties. She’d try to lure him in, but often he was good for a few minutes but inevitably would drift off. She’d graciously offer to play Sleeping beauty with Shouta, who of course would nap waiting for his one true love to wake him a few hours later with a kiss. Pretty pathetic overall that sleep trumped play, but so it went.
Quiet. Just a day of quiet, Shouta thought as he got on his jeans and Catzilla T, a fathers day gift from Eri and Hitoshi. He stumbled into the kitchen where breakfast was waiting. Eri liked to add some flourish to his meals. Today his bowl of cereal was pink. At least Hizashi had found some organic food coloring so it did not taste like perfume. His coffee cup had mini marshmallows shaped like flowers floating in it, harvested from some sugary cereal Hizashi had agreed to buy Eri. Shouta though it was best to just gulp the coffee down in one swig as the marshmallow addition was a questionable flavor choice.
Shouta left a note on the counter that he was off to his office to grade papers, not untrue, but this would follow a long post sleep nap. He did not want to interrupt his daughter and husband’s impromptu concert echoing from the laundry room. Their planned trip to the park could wait a few hours. “Take care of them while I’m gone” he remarked to their cat Sprinkles who responded with a lengthy rub.
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Shouta grumbled an obligatory greeting to any teachers he passed on the way to his classroom. He glared at the group of students standing outside classroom 1-A effectively disbanding the meeting. “I’ve still got it” he thought a little smugly, happy his quirk-less glare held some power too. Once inside the classroom he passed the students desks on his way to his usual napping spot up front. He noted the doodles scrawled on Ochaco’s desk. He’d need to remind her not to deface school property. With a sigh Shouta settled in for his longed for nap, noting the time 9:30 am. They planned for a park visit after lunch so an hour or so of napping would be just fine.
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Shouta woke with a start. The clock on the wall showed 9:40 am and given the daylight streaming in he’d either had a very short nap or slept through the next day. Hizashi would have come to retrieve him by now if the latter was the case. He tucked his sleeping bag into his backpack, a bit disappointed that a long nap was not to be, and headed back home.
As Shouta wandered back he wondered if there was an event in town since the grounds had none of the usual student activity. No Kaminari waiting for his buddies to play ultimate frisbee, no yoga mats for Momo’s usual Saturday am session.
Things seemed too quiet in the teacher’s dorm as well. The smell of burnt coffee wafted from the kitchen area. Shouta found the pot with a tarry mess stuck to the bottom. “Irresponsible” he muttered, as he removed it and placed it in the sink to cool. He’d check back later if the guilty party returned to clean up the crime scene, if not, he had a mind to confiscate the machine to teach a bit of responsibility. He went to the refrigerator and noticed the cream had gone bad and a food container held what was now a technicolor mycology experiment. Shaking his head and muttering more about “courtesy” he threw out the questionable items.
Shouta’s general displeasure with his colleagues continued to grow as he noted a collection of debris at the doorway no one had bothered to sweep up. He tried to walk past but disorder never sat well with Shouta so he cleaned it up. As he continued to their apartment he focused on his feet to avoid any further irritations, as if that were possible.
“That kid” Shouta muttered under his breath, shaking his head as he saw the door to their apartment open. Hitoshi, no doubt, in his rush to catch up with his friends, had once again left it ajar. Shouta vowed Hitoshi himself would need to find their cats instead of leaving the task to Shouta.
“Zashi! didn’t you notice the door open” he yelled a bit more sternly than intended as he entered their apartment. “Hizashi? Eri?” No answer. “Ow! Eri what did we say about putting away your toys!” Shouta yelled as his foot came down hard on a small plastic figurine. The mini Allmight’s hair no longer stood on end in it’s signature style. “Better” Shouta smirked.
His family must have left without him for the weekly shopping tour since there was no answer. That meant he could take a nice long uninterrupted shower in glorious peace and quiet .
“Mmm” Shouta hummed as the warm water enveloped him. Shopping trips while necessary, were taxing as Hizashi discussed some elaborate meal plan for the weekend which inevitably ended with a pout when Shouta’s unenthusiastic “that’s fine” was the reply. Hizashi could be somewhat high maintenance with his need for praising. Shouta would try to remember to embellish his comments a bit for today’s meal. He’d need to choose his words however, since “saucy or spicy” were always perceived as a come on for Hizashi and the kids would need to spend the night at Toshinori’s or Aunti Midnight’s. A smile crossed Shouta’s face at that thought. He and his husband were due for a steamy night.
Once dressed Shouta tried to reach Hizashi on the phone but found his cell out of power. While it charged he decided to wander over to the student’s dorm to see if Hitoshi was there. It was when Shouta arrived at the student dorm that he began to worry in earnest. The dorm was silent: no TV blaring, no music droning, no Mina or Toru screeching over some tabloid romance story. Most worrisome of all: there were no explosions with Bakugo threatening to kill someone.
Shouta went to Tokoyami’s room as he was least likely to join the group at a daytime street fair or event. No one answered to Shouta’s knocks on any of the student rooms.
Frowning Shouta tried to turn on the TV to see if he could glean any information about any local events but the cable was apparently out. He tried the radio which was dead. Shouta felt stomach clench and his skin began to crawl as his hair began to rise. Something was wrong, something was definitely wrong.
He ran back to his apartment to get his phone. Partial charge, only enough to place one call to Hizashi. The number would not connect. He wanted to start searching so went to retrieve one of the power packs from Hitoshi’s room. He let loose a litany of cursing when he found the power packs on his son’s desk uncharged. Something stopped him from muttering ‘irresponsible.’ Something dark, something visceral told him to think only kindly of his family right now.
Shouta got his capture weapon, grabbed his utility belt and refilled the pouches with bandages, antiseptic, suture material, smelling salts, and a few jelly packs. It was then that he noticed Hizashi’s hearing aides on the bed side table. Hizashi would have never left them willingly, since Eri could not sign well enough yet to cover all their conversation needs.
“Think, think” Shouta muttered, placing his hands over his face taking a few deep breaths to stop the flood of thoughts threatening to overwhelm him. ‘I should have stayed and spent some time with Hizashi this morning, I should have played with Eri, I should have shown interest in Hitoshi’s music, I should have kissed Hizashi before I left’. Bile rose in his throat as he thought of the USJ, the Nomu and Shigaraki. He thought of Overhaul. He thought of all the potential villains out there who could kidnap his family, harm them, kill them. Old taunts such as “weak, incompetent” surfaced in his thoughts joined by “mean, uncaring, and undeserving.”
The paralysis broke when he noticed Eri’s toy unicorn tucked under his blanket and another clean hero costume folded neatly on the dresser. Hizashi, as usual, taking care of him.
Shouta bolted from their apartment for town thinking there may still be a chance his forgetful and spontaneous husband could have just forgotten his hearing aides eager to get his plans underway. Shouta saw no cars, no busses, no trains. No vehicles of any sort. No pedestrians, no one riding bicycles, no boats bobbing in the harbor. Not even a contrail from a passing jet could be seen above. No birds, no animals, no sign of life,.
As he descended from the hill which supported UA and reached the small town below, the devastation revealed itself. Where there should have been streets, homes, and shops there was rebar, splintered wood and homes flayed open. The streets were rubble. Clothing, gadgets, everything previously contained within the walls lay scattered. Shouta went into hero mode calling out for any survivors. No responses were heard. As he continued to run further into the ruins he’d note a shoe, a toy and dust. Grey dust, greasy to the touch. He picked up a handful to find teeth poking through dropping it with a gasp. His mind ran through various scenario’s: bomb, nuclear explosion, earthquake? Nothing made sense. Gooseflesh rose as he recalled his elbow disintegrating as Shigaraki grabbed him, decay taking hold. The apocalypse before him, could this be the villains work?
Sweat was pouring from Shouta as he reached the harbor. He called out for Hizashi, for Eri, for Hitoshi, called out for anyone to answer. Shouta was alone. Some catastrophe occurred he realized, which very likely claimed his family and everyone he knew while Shouta napped in his classroom.
Napped in his classroom. Complained about his family laughing too loud, singing too much, joking and bothering him about what he would like for dinner. He had hoped to spend a little time by himself.
Shouta tried to lay out a logical plan. A grid search of each town but the distances were too great and would take too long to reach on foot. He though he could work out how to operate a train for travel, but had noted the railway nearby lay in ruin. A boat might suffice but the harbor was vacant. Ideas were coming in hard and fast, but no plan seemed logical or achievable. He fell to his knees with the weight of it all.
Lying in the greasy rubble he fished out a scrap of material which could have been a hero costume vaguely resembling Allmight’s. He visualized a heap of his fellow heroes. They were limp and bathed in blood or in states of decomposition, withered from Shigaraki’s touch. All this had transpired while he escaped his family, to nap, in his classroom. His associates…no, friends he had railed about earlier complaining about spoiled food, dusty floor and burned coffee were gone, likely dead. So trivial he thought, what he chose to become irritated with on a daily basis was so meaningless now. Shouta felt small and petty.
He couldn’t hold back the vomit when the fear gripped him as he thought of Eri, strapped down again with her arms covered in lacerations and punctures as Overhaul or some other villain violated her tiny arms to obtain her blood. He remembered weeping into Eri’s hair, feeling such grief over her suffering as he held her the first time, while Recovery Girl tended to her wounds. He visualized Hizashi lying limp as a Nomu pounded him to pulp while remembering Hizashi waiting for him at the end of the aisle at their wedding day, love unmistakably in his eyes. He thought of Hitoshi disintegrating under Shigaraki’s touch, while recalling Hitoshi’s victory whoop as he successfully immobilized Shouta in his capture weapon and how proud and paternal he felt. His son.
“I’m sorry” he choked.
As he gasped for breath between sobs, he bargained for their lives, he traded his own to any entity that would listen. He vowed to be more open, to be a better father, a better spouse, a better teacher, a better friend if. If only. He rocked as the void he felt with their absence began to consume him. Nothing else mattered.
Shouta had no idea how long he lie there in his own grief when he felt something poking into his sides, moving his body side to side. He imagined some scavengers had come to pick at his body, the new carrion lying in the street. Not quite dead yet, he mused, but just as well. He didn’t care. “This is fine” he muttered barely audible now, better this than the alternate future he saw before him, alone, without what mattered.
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“Shouta? Shouta! Dad? DAD!” he heard his lost family and screamed out their names again, heartbroken, throat raw. Still, the rocking continued followed by a painful blow to his side and finally an unmistakable “DAD wake up NOW!” which caused Shouta’s eyes to pop open. He was greeted by Eri sitting on his chest with her hands on his cheeks and a worried frown on her face.
“Shou-babe, you had us scared for a bit there” as Hizashi sat beside them. “You were ranting and crying like you were having the worst nightmare ever.” the blonde continued with concern in his voice. “Since the gentle wake up wasn’t cutting it, Eri went feral on you. Be thankful for the rib kick dude, your nads were next. She was very determined” Hizashi added with a grimace.
Shouta sat up still in his classroom, 3 pm on the room’s clock. Wide eyed he grabbed Eri and Hizashi together in a fierce bear hug and a shower of kisses.
“Shou, air, can’t breathe” Hizashi coughed out, trying to loosen his husbands death grip. “Damn babe you’re acting like we’ve been gone for weeks. We saw your note but it started getting a bit late” Hizashi offered, sounding a bit guilty.
“Shoudad, why were you crying?” Eri asked a bit nervously. Shouta did not cry at movies like Dadzashi. He didn’t cry when he had a cut or bumped his toe. The only times she’d seen him cry was once when they first met and the old lady was fixing her. That was a sad cry. The next time was at her two dad’s wedding when they all hugged after her dad’s kissed. That was a happy cry.
“Just a bad dream princess, don’t worry everything’s fine” Shouta answered with a shuddering voice and another squeeze, wiping the tears, spit and snot from his face.
Shouta noticed the slight dip in the corners of his husbands usually brilliant smile which betrayed some of his worry. Shouta knew the nightmare was bad but he must’ve really been ranting. Hizashi was keeping it cool for Eri. “So Shou, it’s three in the afternoon, you look like you’ve had enough beauty sleep, shall we go?” Hizashi winked as he pushed Shouta’s sweat soaked curls off his face.
“Where’s Hitoshi?” Shouta asked still with some residual worry in his voice.
“Went to hang with Bakusquad, or maybe playing Ultimate not sure, why”? from Hizashi.
A relieved breath escaped Shouta “Just checking. I want to see what this new game he’s so excited about involves and maybe play a few rounds. I’m sure he’ll show me no mercy” Shouta added, trying to lighten the mood just a bit.
They made their way home. Shouta uncharacteristically held both Hizashi and Eri’s hands on campus. He couldn’t help rolling his eyes as a squeal was heard from both Mina and Ochaco as they noticed the couple holding hands. The students of course knew they were married but Shouta was not generally one for public displays of affection.
“Shou-dad, do you want to have a tea party while Dadzashi gets dinner ready?” Eri asked once they arrived home.
“Love to sweetie, meet you in 20 minutes at Cafe Eri?” Shouta smiled. Eri nodded and bounded off to prepare the menu and find their cats Sprinkles and Mochi to complete the guest list.
After she left the room Shouta resumed his bear hug to Hizashi, albeit with a bit more breathing room. He rested his head on Hizashi’s shoulder, staying silent as he collected himself, the emotions once again threatening to overtake him.
“That must have been one heck of a nightmare babe,” Hizashi said as he ran his hands through his husband’s hair and rubbed small circles on his back which usually calmed him.
“The worst.” the waver in Shouta’s voice did not go unnoticed by Hizashi who continued to hold him close. Shouta did not want to relate the details of his horrific nightmare and thankfully, some of the more graphic details were already fading from his memory. What remained crystal clear for Shouta was the overwhelming sense of a disaster averted. He’d never take this life or those he loved for granted again.
“Sing to me” Shouta requested as he continued to hold on tight.
“Really?You usually tell me to give you a little peace and quiet on your day off” Hizashi replied followed by “I’m getting the thermometer”.
“I’m not sick, I just want to hear your voice. Sing something, anything” Shouta softly requested again. They retreated to the couch where Hizashi enveloped Shouta again in his arms. He rocked and sang while he pulled his fingers through Shouta’s hair and continued to brush away any remaining tears as their pace finally slowed.
“Tea’s ready Dad” came from Eri’s room. “On my way” Shouta smiled and rose to join her.
Dinner never tasted better. Shouta complimented Hizashi’s cooking while doing the dishes. They snuggled on the couch watching the Aristocats yet again. Later, Shouta suffered humiliating defeat after defeat at Hitoshi’s hands in the digital arena, laughing heartily each time, his usually competitive nature softened by today’s events
Shouta felt absolutely exhausted by the time he and Hizashi retreated to bed. Shouta pulled Hizashi in close nuzzling his neck. “Mmmm that’s nice babe, I was worried about you today” Hizashi told his sleepy husband.
“You know how much I love you and the kids don’t you?” Shouta asked.”I know I don’t express it openly as much as I should. Nothing is more important to me and I want you all to know.”
“Shh, Shou, we know, of course we know” Hizashi said tenderly. “I know when you make sure I have my favorite tea and cover my shoulders with a blanket when I’m grading papers. Eri knows when you put on the Tiara at the tea party and eat the blue soup or cereal she makes for you. Hitoshi knows when despite a busy night patrolling you drag your exhausted ass out of bed to train him the next day before class, so he can catch up with other hero course students”.
Hizashi smiled as he twirled Shouta’s hair in his fingers, seeing his husband’s lids getting heavier. “Babe even when you are grumpy or tired, and come home after a hard day, we all see how your eyes well up when you see us and the kids call you dad.”
“Mmmm” came the first calm, confident rumble of the day from Shouta’s chest making Hizashi’s heart beat just a little faster. Faster still when Shouta rolled onto Hizashi not quite as tired as he seemed. Shouta’s gentle kisses became more insistent, more passionate and wanting as though they’d been separated for weeks, not hours today. As they moved together breathless, Shouta stared into Hizashi’s eyes, looked at his face, seemingly taking in every detail and committing them to memory as if he might be gone when they were through. Later as they lie entwined, sleepy but not yet asleep, Hizashi purred “Shou, Sunday tomorrow would you like to sleep in a bit? You just earned it big time, handsome.”
“Nope, I seem to recall owing my family a trip to the park and I don’t plan on sleeping that chance away again” he smiled. “I’ll make Pancakes. Do we have any of that pink food coloring Eri likes? I think she’d get a kick out of pink pancakes….and do we still have the little molds to shape the pancakes like Hello Kitty? Hitoshi doesn’t like chocolate chips in them does he?”
This time it was Hizashi who drifted off to sleep before his husband. Half asleep Hizashi couldn’t help but smile as Shouta continued to plan his Sunday brunch surprise with treats and surprises to be laid out like there was no tomorrow.