Tw: self-doubt, deaths
"That's not what was supposed to happen," the dark-haired man grunted as he trudged into his home. "You shouldn't have gone out there."
His wife rolled her eyes. "I'm a pro, too," she reminded him. "I'm not completely useless when it comes to fighting."
"I didn't mean that, and you know it," Shouta snapped. "I know you're damn capable of holding your own in a fight, but not against more than twenty villains all at once."
"You've done it before," she returned, a sneer evident in her tone. "I've been in the hero business longer than you. I've fought more battles than you."
Shouta knew it would hurt her, but he said it. The one thing she hated hearing, but she needed to hear most.
"I've won more battles than you. I've saved more lives than you."
The silence from his wife let him know he'd won that fight, but at what cost? Would she hate him, now? Should he...apolagize?
Before he could think of what to do, she was walking quickly toward the front door, slamming it in her way out. Shouta's insides churned, and he knew he'd made a mistake, but he couldn't undo what he said.
He tried calling her phone, but she'd send him to voicemail. He asked some of her friends and even her sister, but to no avail. She had just vanished.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath. "Where the Hell could she have gone?"
Aizawa ran over his options. "She hates alcohol, so not the bar. She wouldn't go to a restaurant so late ine the day. The park? No, she hates being at the park at night."
Damn. He was completely lost. Where could she have just walked off to?
It suddenly occured to him the one place he knew she'd be. He was so stupid - how was that not the first place he thought of?!
In a rush, he muttered a few swears, grabbed jackets and something else, then left.
~~~
Just like he thought, he ran into his wife on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the city.
"Pretty, huh?" she asked, sitting on a bench, peering out at the city lights. "We had a date here, a long time ago."
"You were scared of falling," Shouta remembered, sitting next to her. "Your fear of heights was much worse, back then."
"I think that date is what made me lose the fear a little," she admitted. "After that, I associated heights with our date. I connected something I feared with something I loved, and the fear was diminished."
Although Shouta knew she was still mad, he breathed a small sigh of relief when she held his hand close.
"It's freezing, though," she giggled, sniffing.
"Lucky you," Shouta began, "I brought our jackets." He handed her jacket over, and they both put on the warm material. His wife let out an instant sigh of relief, dropping her head back to his shoulder.
It was really quiet, and, to other people, it may have seemed peaceful.
It wasn't.
Unsaid words mixed with rage and sadness at the talk from before still lingered around them. Shouta couldn't stand it.
"I'm sorry about what I said," he finally managed, finding the words. "I was out of line. I know how you feel about what happened befote, and I should never have brought it up. I just...can't bear the thought of you being there, in harm's way. What would happen if you got hurt and I couldn't get there in time?"
"I know you meant no harm," she added, cutting him off. "It just still hurts a little, you know? God, all of those people..."
"You're not to blame for that," Shouta said firmly, squeezing her hand. "I was wrong, before. You can handle yourself, probably even better than I can. I just don't want you to feel like you need to be on the front lines."
"We're heroes," his wife laughed a bit. "Our job is to get on the front lines."
Before Shouta could speak, she opened her mouth again.
"I know what you mean. I'll be more careful...but you have to fight a little less, too. You're not the only one worried about the other, you know?"
Shouta chuckled to himself. "If it makes you feel better, I'll do it. I love you."
"Love you, too."
