forum Erasermic RP | OxO | CLOSED

Started March 29, 2021 by Deleted user

tune

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Shouta scoffed at that, rolling his eyes fondly knowing full well his friend wouldn't see. He wouldn't admit it, of course, but being handcuffed to Hizashi wasn't the worst thing in the world. Granted he'd be a hell of a lot more at ease if they were this close on their own terms, but the dark-haired man didn't see that happening anytime soon. All that said, Nermuri would have hell to pay when this was over.

He bit back the automatic "I'm not anything special", not wanting to trigger another lecture on self-deprecation in an already sucky scenario, and listened to Hizashi's firm shut down. It was…logical, what he was saying, and he said as much. "I'm supposed to be the rational one," he grumbled—dare-he-say jokingly?—, trying his best to ignore how hyperaware he was of the faint heat radiating off the other hero. "At least it's air-conditioned here."

He repressed a shiver at his friend's voice, the back of his neck prickling thanks to the close proximity doubled with that damned tone. He wondered once again what it was about that particular inflection that made his heart speed up. Idly, he theorized it had something to do with the fact that he'd only ever heard Hizashi use it when it was just the two of them—which wasn't rational at all because it was just a pattern of rising and falling syllables—but he reminded himself how absurd that would be if it were true. Realizing he had yet to give a response, he gave an unconvincing, "fine," that even he winced at. "Better when the lights turn on," he added.

"Mm." Hizashi hummed softly in acknowledgment. Part of him wanted to reach for Shouta's hand again, but he'd taken the other's hand just thirty-ish minutes ago… Instead, he positioned his hand slightly closer to his friend's, letting their fingers brush together every now and then. He figured he would let Shouta make the decision this time.

Once he'd gotten over the initial shock of the whole situation, this was actually kind of… nice? He was with his favorite person, after all. Nothing could be bad when Shouta was with him. It'd be better when the lights came back on, though- Personally, he didn't mind the dark, but he wanted Shouta to be comfortable. He didn't hesitate to voice (most of) that, either.

"Yeah, the air-conditioning is nice. I mean, this is kinda… well, look at it this way; we know for a fact that no one can get into the room right now, whether it's another teacher or a villain. Hell, I bet we're the only ones in the whole building, and it's going to stay like that for at least the next few minutes. We know we're safe. And worst comes to worst, phone flashlights could be pulled out in a pinch. We're not alone- one could argue that you're the opposite of alone since I never stop talking- and it's kinda nice to just sit somewhere safe in the dark with your favorite person." He wrapped up his mini tangent with a soft inhale. He hadn't meant to slip in the 'favorite person' at the end of that, but oh well. It wasn't inherently romantic, so he was fine.

If Shouta noticed the way his fingertips brushed against Hizashi's every so often (which he most definitely did), he didn't comment. He did, however, resist the urge to interlock them, because that would be weird, and surely their fingers only kept touching because of the awkward positioning with the handcuffs. If Hizashi wanted to hold his hand, he'd have already done it. That's just the type of person he was. So Shouta refrained.

His brain was so caught up in those thoughts that he only half processed the rest of what the voice hero was saying. He definitely caught the "favorite person" part, though. …Maybe it's a good thing the lights are off, still, he decided, knowing for a fact the tips of his ears were flushed again, this time without the excuse of the heat to cover for him.

As if to spite him, the emergency lights flickered on at that exact moment, dimmer than the normal fluorescent, but bright enough after the sudden darkness that he had to blink several times to adjust. Luckily Shouta was used to life spiting him and he quickly gathered up his best mildly amused expression, arching an eyebrow and turning to say something in reply, only for the words to die on the tip of his tongue when he realized just how close their faces had gotten in the dark.

"That's—good point," he stuttered—fucking stuttered! God, it was like he was a teen again. Normally he could suppress his feelings long enough to act like a normal goddamn human being, but there was always something else to rely on to devote his attention to then. Something playing on a TV in the background, Koto being his normal furry bastard, people on the street walking by. Maybe that's what he should do. There was bound to be something to hide behind if only he—the note!

He pulled away swiftly, clinging to his tattered pride and forcing his normal deadpan expression to take over. Before Hizashi could call him out on it (God, he hoped he didn't), he gestured towards the small slip of paper lying just in front of the door. "Nemuri must've slipped it under before the shutters closed," he explained, gently tugging on the cuffs in lieu of asking if Hizashi wanted to go over and check it out.

Hizashi forcefully shoved away any disappointment he may have felt when he didn't get to hold Shouta's hand, burying it in the back of his mind. He hadn't truly expected the other hero to take his hand, and yet… Whatever. He gave up trying after a moment and shifted his hand away, not wanting to make things any more awkward than they were. He brushed it off, plastering a smile back onto his face.

"Heeey, the-the lights are back." What a great observation, Hizashi. God, he was a mess. He swallowed hard and tried not to make eye contact, despite how much he wanted to. He exhaled in relief (and tried not to be disappointed) when Shouta shifted away.

Following Shouta's gesture to the scrap of paper sitting on the tile, he furrowed his brow in confusion. Confusion, and also mild excitement. This whole situation was ridiculous and he was sure if he told Toshinori about it, the man wouldn't believe him. Frankly, he wouldn't mind sitting in the staff room with Shouta for a few hours if he wasn't sure that his feelings were unrequited.

He nodded in response, carefully standing up. "What do you think it is? Ooh, maybe she left us a scavenger hunt! That doesn't sound like her, but it'd be fun." Awkwardly shuffling to the door, he carefully picked up the folded slip of paper, handing it to Shouta with a flourish of his hand, a bow, and a goofy smirk.