Resurrection | Shota Aizawa

Chapter 23

This story is like my neglected step child or something I only ever write it when I'm sleep deprived on my phone

Third person pov

It's the best day of Shota's life. Arguably, every day is the best day of his life, but today is particularly a good one. Very much up there in the rankings. Maybe not on the absolute top, because he hasn't been hugged, but—

He's the best. And he has really strong shoulders.

Shota could never want to get rid of Hiroki. Such an idea made him want to genuinely laugh, which is terrifying coming from him, if you didn't know. Hiroki is the literal sun that he orbits around. His everything, all the time, always. If Shota's having a thought, Hiroki is in the background of it.

He feels like a stupid teenager, floating on a cloud at an insurmountable height. Shota is adrift in a sea of positive emotions he's long since grown unused to. He struggles to adjust, high off them, the acclimation swift and too fast for him to keep face.

Such is proven by Shinso's stare, which seemingly grows more and more judgmental by the second.

"You should make a move." He recommends, voice edging on flat. He's utterly unimpressed with the fawning. "Watching this is sad. I already thought you were married anyway. You may as well make it official."

The mere thought alone is enough to make Shota's heart thunder. He grunts in lieu of answering, scowling a little and pretending his ears aren't reddening. He abruptly wishes he hadn't put his hair up, because he can feel Shinso raising his eyebrows at the obvious flush.

It's not that Shota doesn't want to make a move. He's fantasized about it time and time again, imaging all the wonderful ways it could go. It's something he wants more than he can fully express in words. The mere idea is enough to make a smile start to tug at his lips, his thoughts going light and airy and drifting away from him, they're so incandescent and weightless.

The only problem is that while he's thought through the pros, he's nothing if not rational. Which means he's thought of the cons too.

Shota can't, won't, lose him because he jumped the gun on something that was probably never going to happen to begin with. Hiroki didn't see him that way and Shota knew it, and the likelihood that he would wasn't high. Having him like this was better than not having him at all, and so he coped.

Or, he tried to cope. He clearly wasn't very good at it. It wasn't his fault, alright? Hiroki was just so everything, and Shota loved him more than he knew how to deal with. Shota had no idea for how long the other man would stay around, but he sure wasn't about to do anything to scare him off. Shota was the happiest he'd been in a long, long time now.

Shinso snorts at him. The kid's a little shit, but Shota's glad he's growing comfortable enough to express himself, even if it's at the cost of Shota's dignity. He knows he's not exactly the definition of subtle. It's unlike him to act so irrationally, but something about Hiroki just subdues all his natural defenses.

The hours tick by. Shota frowns as he glances at the darkening sky outside. He knows Hiroki had said he'd be back later with dinner, and it really wasn't his place to worry, but he couldn't quite shake the concern that was gradually starting to well up in him. No calls, no texts, sun sinking... it wasn't like him.

Hitoshi seemed to share this sentiment. He'd gone from doing homework, to pacing the kitchen, to slouching on the couch, and now to pacing again. The tired look he sported did little to hide the obvious agitation starting to claw at him.

For all he and Aizawa got on just fine, Hiroki was a bubbly median that bridged any socially awkward gaps seamlessly. Without him here, tension was bound to grow and start to fizzle and pop. That's not to say they'd butt heads. Hiroki just made everything better was all, so enthusiastic that all they really had to do was exist in his vicinity to thrive.