Just A Myth | Shota Aizawa

Chapter 16

Third person pov

Aizawa had never been a fan of shopping for anything. He purchased things on a need basis. He went into every store knowing exactly what he wanted and where it was generally. He'd go get it, pay, and then he'd leave. That had always been his process. Things were a lot different now. Yes, they did need things for Atlantis. He couldn't just wear Shota's clothing forever. The 'need' aspect wasn't what differentiated. It was that... Shota was having... fun. As in, he was actually enjoying himself! He almost couldn't believe it. He'd caught himself laughing more times than he could count.

It wasn't a problem. He welcomed the joy with open arms, watching Atlantis gawk at human clothing. He'd touch the fabric and rub it between his fingers, experiences hundreds of new textures he hadn't even known existed. The clothing here was all so entirely perplexing to the merman, and Aizawa couldn't help but find amusement in it. He jumped from rack to rack of clothing, eyes dramatically rounded in awe. If Aizawa had found his amazement over clothes amusing, Atlantis' reaction to the many types of shoes was hysterical.

"It is like a box, but for your foot!" Atlantis exclaimed, gawking. A few people gave them questioning looks, but Aizawa was too busy trying to stifle his laughter to care. "And these strings--- they came undone! Are they supposed to come undone? What is this flap for? Why is the bottom so--" There was a thud as the shoe slipped from his hands and landed on the ground. Atlantis sputtered. "I dropped it! Is it going to hurt me?"

Shota hunched over slightly, shoulders shaking slightly as he tried not to burst out. He didn't want to accidentally hurt Atlantis' feelings. This was all new to the man, so it only made sense he'd be wary of literally everything. Including shoes, which he apparently thought were going to hurt him because he'd mistakenly dropped one. The ocean was so full of life, he probably wasn't used to so many things not being alive. Sure, he had rocks and driftwood in the sea, and he'd run across shipwrecks, but this stuff... there was just so much!

"It won't hurt you, Atlantis. It's just a shoe." Aizawa managed to wheeze out, dipping down to grab it. Atlantis eyed it with clear suspicion. They'd been shopping for around two hours now, and Shota had several sizable bags of clothing hanging off his arm. Atlantis had insisted he not buy so much. He didn't quite understand the concept of money, but a brief explanation of currency and payment was enough to make him realize it wasn't unlimited, and they could run out. Aizawa then reminded him of the chests of gold he'd found, and he'd relaxed a little. Besides, Shota had plenty of money saved up from working two jobs for several years.

"...Do I put it on my... foot?" Atlantis asked quietly. Shota snorted at his tone. The way he'd said foot made it sound like he'd forgotten whether or not that was the right term. Nodding, he let the bags slip off his arm so he could get the pair Atlantis had picked. They were a bright and abrasive pair of blue, canvas tennis shoes, but he'd fallen in love at the sight of them. Even if they were painfully colorful, Aizawa wasn't about to tell him no to much of anything. 

"Here, sit down. I'll show you how." Aizawa encouraged. They'd already put a pair of socks on him. He'd picked out orange ones, which contrasted greatly against his new shoes of choice. "We'll see if they fit, then go pay if they do. We should probably drop all this off at the house so we can go get something to eat."

Atlantis beamed at him, plopping down happily on one of the provided benches as Shota dug the paper out of the left shoe, tugging lightly at the laces to undo them. Atlantis watched with clear interest as Shota carefully lifted his foot and shimmied the shoe on. The sensation was weird. Though the bottoms of his feet had already healed from him running through the streets barefoot, they were still sensitive. They were new, after all. Atlantis was far from adjusted to them; though, he was getting there. Or that's what he liked to think.

Shota pursed his lips as he loosely tied the shoe up, feeling around to see where his toes were. Atlantis jumped slightly, leaning forward as Shota released his foot and got to work on the other shoe. They could just have the cashier scan the box, and he could wear them out. That would certainly work. Atlantis looked like an excited cat, looking at the shoes like they were made of magic. Shota stuck the other shoe on his foot, smiling slightly to himself. He liked this. It felt domestic, but pleasant. 

"Wow." Atlantis awed as Shota finished tying both, making sure to tighten them accordingly. "They feel... odd."

"Seeing as you've never worn shoes before, I'm not surprised." Aizawa mused, standing up. He brushed some of Atlantis' hair from his face as the merman gazed up at him apprehensively. "Why don't you stand up and try taking a few steps? If they aren't comfortable, we'll get you some different ones.

Atlantis hesitated, holding out a hand to his fiance. Aizawa obliged, tugging him up with relative ease. Atlantis released a squeak he wasn't all that proud of, teetering slightly. His feet stayed planted on the ground as he stared down at him. Aizawa was patient. He let Atlantis cling to his arm as he tried to figure out how to balance. His feet felt heavier with the... shoes on them, and bigger. Clunkier, or something of that sort. He wasn't used to it. He felt the pendant around his neck tingle a little in reassurance.

"I don't like this." Atlantis murmured, lifting up his foot. Aizawa let out a laugh.

"Big change, huh?" He teased. Atlantis stuck his tongue out at him. "Will you forgive me for forcing them on you if I get you a hamburger?"

"Only if it comes with fries." Atlantis quipped back, smiling brightly. Shota smiled back. He was pretty sure Atlantis was going to ruin his 'cold, calculating, and serious' demeanor. He was also pretty sure he didn't give a shit.

They paid and made their way back to the apartment. Atlantis adjusted to his shoes along the way, each of his steps awkward and deliberate at first. Like he had to really think hard about lifting his foot and putting it back down in order to make any headway. Shota just wished he could film it or at least take a photo, but Atlantis had seized one of his hands, and the other arm was full of bags. He could feel the plastic handles digging into his skin, but couldn't find it in himself to really care all that much.

Atlantis couldn't get over anything. Like, at all. There were so many people, and buildings, and new things. And Shota was here! He was walking with Shota. They weren't confined to the cove anymore. Now, they had the world to explore. Anywhere Shota went, Atlantis could follow! It was so absolutely stunning to him. He loved it! He loved Shota, and he loved hamburgers, and he loved socks. Shoes he wasn't all that sold on, but he was trying to remain optimistic! It's not like he had to wear them forever. They were just to protect his feet, since human feet were apparently very sensitive.

They dropped off their clothing haul and made their way down the street to a small fast food place. Going in had been like a slap in the face to Atlantis. There were so many people! And they had these machines, where if you put a cup under it, a drink would come out. There was also the menus-- big, bright, and full of so many different types of food. He hadn't heard of any of them! There was this thing called a chicken sandwich. Atlantis had never seen a chicken before, but he'd heard about them in the past. And hamburgers, apparently, were made from cows! Those weird bears that ate grass and had longs tails with a lion puff at the end! It was so confusing and wonderful!

Shota explained to him some more things about this world. He explained soda, and water, and hot chocolate, and how it was all different. There was also this thing called soft serve ice cream that you put atop a wafer cone, and Atlantis asked if they could try it one day. Shota had responded by ordering some, which made him smile so brightly his cheeks hurt. The ice cream-- which was brown-- tasted like chocolate and was exceptionally cold, but also very good.

When they got back to Shota's apartment, Shota claimed that they needed to shower. Atlantis had seen the shower. It was in the bathroom, and it's where you cleaned yourself. You had to take off all your clothing, and then you put soap on yourself. There were a lot of knobs in there that twisted and turned. There was this one that was a lever, and this other Shota pulled upwards and water started to come from this weird spout sticking out from the wall higher up. Atlantis had been so overwhelmed he started to cry. Aizawa had panicked and reassured they could shower together.

Atlantis didn't know if showering with someone else usually involved so much kissing, but even if it didn't, he felt he preferred the way he and Shota did it anyway.