"honesty and grace" (Mezo Shoji X Reader)

[After Story - 8]

Ecstasy
•
[Sexual Content Warning]

Shoji walked through the door of his home while tossing his poncho to the side and kicking off his wet boots. The navy blue fabric landed against the coat rack before falling in a crumpled, snow-covered mess to the floor. All he could do is sigh and pick it back up before bringing it to the washroom to place it in the washing machine. It had been snowing for the past hour, and all Shoji wanted to do was wrap himself under his thick covers and take a long nap with his beloved. However, he knew he had paperwork to do and Christmas cards to write, so he took a deep breath before patting the sides of his face with his somehow warm hands.

He could hear the shower running, so he had assumed you were cleaning yourself up for the night. You had today off because it was Mai’s seventh birthday, and you had brought her to have a sleepover at the Shoji household. Mezo’s parents didn’t get to see the little rascal as much as they would’ve liked, and they were getting older by the day. They had all agreed Mai would love to spend some time over there. Both you and Mezo knew she’d be spoiled rotten, but it was her birthday.

Slowly, the dupli-armed man walked to his bedroom. His hair was slightly wet from the snow, as was his hero costume. He took the time to change into grey sweatpants, leaving his tan torso bare. Instead of covering it with a shirt, he took a wine-colored weighted blanket from off the bed and wrapped it around himself. It barely made its way around his form, but it helped him feel warmer than he’d been only a few moments ago.

Meandering over to the desk, he flipped his computer open and got to work right away. The lights in the room slowly faded as it got later in the afternoon. Now, the only light in the space is coming from his computer screen. The Christmas cards he wanted to write wouldn’t take too long, so he figured he could wait to do them with you tomorrow morning before mailing them out that afternoon. It was the paperwork that was going to take a long time, so he wanted to get it done and out of the way as soon as possible.

As he was starting a paragraph on a Shiketsu student’s progress report,, he heard the water turn off and the shower curtain slide open. After a few minutes, he could hear the sound of the bathroom door being open and closed followed by slow footsteps. The man didn’t even bother looking behind him as you entered the room, closing the door behind you until it clicked. There was a slight padding noise as you made your way over to him, presumably bare foot.

He soon felt your warm hands against his cool and slightly damp neck. “How was your day, baby?” You ask him, running your hands over his shoulders. They crossed over his bare skin and the blanket.

Shoji hesitated before answering. “Exhausting.” He sighs, not bothering to stop typing. His lover’s hands on his shoulders and muscles made goosebumps coat his olive skin.

You nodded before leaning down and resting your chin on his shoulder. “I bet. How much more do you have to fill out?” You ask him before trailing your hands and arms down the front of his body.

“I just have to finish filling out forms for the interns we last had. We had some from Shiketsu this year, and they do things differently with their reports, so we have to do all this extra work.” He complains, bringing a set of hands up to rub his temples. “We’re no longer accepting interns from there.” He sighs before covering his face with his hands.

Stressed, exhausted, tired, worn out, drained; Shoji felt it all. He hadn’t been getting enough sleep, and he hadn’t been focussing on himself nearly as much as he would have liked to. He got everything done so quickly, just to get started on something else. It’s how he maintained the spot of the number six hero, afterall.