A part of me really wants to do this because I absolutely love this ship to bits, but my brain is so fried that coming up with a plot seems unnecessarily difficult.
All I know for sure is that I'd love to play Shouta and that domestic fluff is my current vibe. Maybe mutual pining and friends to lovers? Let me know if you're interested and have any ideas!
(Yo! Erasermic is my jam, and I'd totally be down to do something for them. I could whip up a plot and a starter relatively soon if you're down :D)
(That would be awesome!! I do have a few vague ideas that we could maybe include, depending on how interested you are, that are mainly just tropes or aus I enjoy. Like being handcuffed or otherwise stuck together, de-aging, switching bodies, classic sickfic style thing, penpal soulmates, etc. But if you already have an idea in mind then I'd say go for it!)
(I didn't have a specific plot in mind, and all those sound awesome! I'm always a sucker for the cuffed together bit in particular. Are we going for the classic canon universe where they're teachers, or did you have a different idea?)
(Same here! Of the ones I mentioned, the cuffed together bit is definitely high up on the list. I think it could be cute for mutually pining erasermic to be stuck together, forced to resolve their feelings, especially since neither of them have a physical quirk and even normal handcuffs could be an inconvenience if they get slapped on. Bonus if it was Midnight who set it up (because let's be honest, she'd totally be trying to get them together). And I'm honestly not sure! I think it'd be entertaining to have the class mentioned as background characters, but writing them as high schoolers seems vaguely appealing to me, too. Either way I'd prefer for them both to have their quirks! What do you think?)
(I love the idea of Midnight creating chaos with these two. I can totally picture her being Hizashi and Shouta's go-to to ramble on about the other, and then her getting annoyed at their obliviousness. I agree with the 1-A bit, too; it'd be fun to throw them in the storyline somewhere, but writing the boys as teens is definitely a fun idea. We could go for an in-between where the rp takes place during summer vacation? The class could be mentioned or even brought into the story, and if we wanted to have Shouta and Hizashi teach at some point we could, but for the most part it could be casual teenager-esque shenanigans.)
(That sounds good to me!! I'm really looking forward to this lol. A fair warning, though—I'm gonna pass out soon because I have a lot I need to get done tomorrow, but I'll definitely be on to reply if you have something up by then. Assuming youre still okay with starting?)
(Same here! (It's pretty late for me and I'll probably head to bed soon too, so no worries.) Of course I'm cool with starting! Before I do though, any last-minute additions or details you want to throw in? I just want to make sure we've worked out the details lol.)
(Mmm, nothing off the top of my head. Other than maybe confirming how old they all are, exactly? I feel like anything else can be added or discussed later on, especially if we get ideas midway through!)
(Fair point, we can definitely add stuff down the road! If we're setting this in the canon timeline they would both be around 30, and the classes would be around 16. We could age anyone up or down if you want though!)
(The canon timeline works for me!)
(Coolio! I'll get a starter up :D)
Hizashi had always loved the summer, though it might not have been practical for him. His hair often stuck to the back of his neck with sweat and if he tried to wear his usual outfit, he'd die of a heat stroke. Nevertheless, he enjoyed every moment of it. He loved the bright colors, the happy feeling all around, the kids running and laughing outside. Despite his love for the warm weather, he was sprawled out on his floor in a red tank top and thin white sweatpants with a fan pointed directly at him. He had turned his AC on, but it hadn't kicked in just yet and the apartment was still a bit too hot for his liking. Parks and Rec was playing on the TV. He had already seen the entire show multiple times, of course, so he was only half playing attention. It was a nice distraction though.
Contrary to his coworker, Shouta didn't particularly care for the summer months. The heat made everything sticky and uncomfortable, and made wearing his costume nearly unbearable at times. Not to mention summer break left him with a wide-open schedule while it was still light out, meaning his days were often spent in boredom and half-assed attempts to catch up on sleep. There was only so long a man could sit around in his dark, plain, AC-less apartment with a single cat before going crazy, hence his current predicament.
Shouta sighed and rapped on the door with his knuckles, stepping back and mustering up his best disinterested expression while he waited for Hizashi to answer. His hair was tied back in a sloppy, low bun in an effort to keep it from sticking to his face, while his typical black long sleeve had been traded out for a white t-shirt that revealed a patchwork of scars usually hidden from sight. The rest of his outfit was his standard black, save for the trademark yellow sleeping bag slung over his arm to conceal the capture weapon and goggles beneath. Just in case.
Grateful for something to do at least for a moment, Hizashi unstuck himself from the hardwood floor and jumped up to answer the knock. His face lit up upon seeing Shouta in front of him and he grinned, leaning against the doorframe. "Heya, Eraser! What brings ya here?" The heat from outside was washing over him, and he was relieved to feel the slight difference in temperature. At least his AC wasn't broken.
Maybe summer isn't so bad after all, Shouta conceded privately, resisting the urge to take in Hizashi's outfit and carefully maintaining his look of indifference as he nodded at his friend's greeting.
"Nothing good, I imagine," he responded dryly, retrieving a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and holding it out for the other man to take.
Inside was written, 'Aizawa, bring Yamada and meet me in the teacher's lounge ASAP. If you refuse to leave your apartment, I'll have no choice but to break in. See you soon!'
Accompanied with the threat note was an obnoxious heart and some scribbles that were vaguely reminiscent of Midnight's hero glasses.
Now, Shouta was a pro hero who could damn well handle Nemuri breaking and entering, but it was far more rational (and far less of a headache) to go along with her demands. Plus it bought him time with Hizashi, although he had a feeling that's what the whole situation was about.
He waited until the other hero finished reading to add, "Found this taped to my door after I heard a knock. I don't understand why she's doing things in such a roundabout way, but it's not like I have anything better to do. You busy?"
(Btw I'm just going off the top of my head for a lot of this. Feel free to totally change direction of the story at any point, including playing other characters, introducing obstacles, etc.)
(Okay! I'll keep that in mind :D)
Hizashi, ever oblivious, didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He raised an eyebrow as he took the note, though if his fingers lingered a split second longer over Shouta's, well. That wasn't his fault.
He adjusted his glasses as he read, frowning. "Hm. Well if it was something serious, she would've just called… it's probably nothing too bad! Maybe she just misses us." Hizashi grinned, ever the optimist. He almost wished that Nemuri had broken in. It would've been a fun change of pace.
Hizashi had gotten used to going along with Nemuri's chaotic moods, as they were one in the same in that regard. Sometimes she seemed like an older sister. Shouta, however, had to put up with all their shit. While he always complaining about it, Hizashi had a feeling that he enjoyed it.
"I- 'Zawa, I'm never too busy! And even if I was, you know I would gladly clear any plans for you and Nemuri!" He threw a playful wink at the other man. "To the teacher's lounge it is!" He slipped on his favorite pair of flip flops (his red ones with Danny DeVito doritos on them) and grabbed his keys, ready to finally have something interesting to do.
(The flip flops are real, btw. If you look up Danny DeVito flip flops you'll see them.)
(That's,,, amazing and so Hizashi omg)
(Ikr-)
Shouta grumbled indistinctly at the nickname, suddenly wishing he had his capture weapon around his neck so he could hide his face in it instead of just stifling a smile. It seemed that every time he interacted with the blond he found his lips begging to twitch upwards; it wasn't rational.
He took a step back, allowing the marginally taller man to step out of his apartment and shut the door. He raised an eyebrow at the gaudy shoe choice but didn't comment, too busy asking himself why that also made him want to smile.
"You've got a lot of energy, as usual," he decided to point out instead, already heading down the hall towards the exit. "Anyways, I doubt she's up to anything good. If it was as simple as 'missing us', she could've texted. Besides, I saw her yesterday."
Hizashi stepped out into the hallway, locking the apartment door behind him. There was an obvious spring in his step as he followed Shouta down the hall. "Well, I've got a right to be excited! It's normally me who has to drag you out of your apartment, not the other way around. I'm pretty sure if it weren't for me, you wouldn't ever leave your place." He smirked knowingly at Shouta, then just as quickly bounced back to his cheerful attitude. "But anyway! It's Nemuri we're talking about so it can't be anything too bad. She's chaotic, but it's normally entertaining."
He pulled on the door handle before remembering it was a push door and swinging it open that way. He held the door open with a smile. "Gentlemen first."
"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement," Shouta responded easily, tucking a strand of loose hair behind his ear and staring ahead stubbornly. "And we have differing opinions on entertainment, as you well know."
The underground hero fixed Hizashi with a scrutinizing look as he (eventually) opened the door for him, then breathed out a sigh and wordlessly passed through. Why does he have to be so goddamn charming all the time? Would it kill him to dial it back some?
"At least neither of us live far. At the worst, we can just leave," he commented, allowing some semblance of false hope seep into his tone as he shot a sidelong glance at the other hero.
It was honestly unfair how the simple motion of tucking a strand of hair behind his ear made Hizashi's heartrate quicken. Maybe one day science would be able to explain how he found this man so attractive, but that day was not today.
"Heeeeey, exactly! There's some optimism! We can always just walk back home if it comes to that." Strolling happily down the sidewalk with Shouta, Hizashi didn't really mind the heat. He could tell that Shouta was getting anxious about whatever this was, though. Knowing when Shouta was starting to spiral was like a second quirk of his. "Hey, don't worry your pretty little head, Shou! It's probably just some boring teacher plans for next semester."
"Optimism, huh?" he muttered, quickly looking away when he noticed Hizashi watching. The stubborn lock of hair fell in his face again at the movement, but he ignored it this time.
Hizashi had been somewhat of a flirt for as long as Shouta could recall, so by all rights, he should be used to the affectionate and endearing terms spilling from the other's mouth. Should. As it was, he could feel the tips of his ears warm, and he was once again grateful for the summertime weather to blame it on. Wrapped up in his thoughts, he found himself absentmindedly agreeing to Hizashi's guess, although he had no doubt his friend would realize his heart wasn't in it.
Stressing over the unknown wasn't logical or beneficial in this scenario, so he pushed those concerns from his mind, leading to an entirely different set of concerns to take its place. How did small talk work, again? He wasn't usually the one to start conversations, but… Ah, screw it.
"So, anything new?" he asked casually, his voice as monotone as ever.
Hizashi didn't mention Shouta's half-hearted reaction, just hoping that he had been able to soothe some of his nerves. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether Shouta was actually indifferent or whether he was trying to seem tough to hide his anxiety. He knew that sometimes the other man's nerves got the best of him, and he just hoped to alleviate some of it.
He was pleasantly surprised at Shouta's attempt to initiate conversation, the seemingly ever-present smile on his face growing slightly wider. "Not much! I genuinely thought about adopting a lizard, watched a whole lot of TV, and then stayed up way too late because I got emotionally invested in those TV shows. How 'bout you?"
"A lizard," he repeated dully. Hizashi seemed to have a penchant for catching people off guard with his randomness, but at this point in their friendship, that aspect rarely worked on him anymore. "Nothing about your radio show?"
At the other hero's "How 'bout you?" he hummed, going silent for a few moments as he recalled the past week. "I took Koto to the vet Tuesday, then went grocery shopping," he finally answered, rather underwhelmingly save for the fact that he rarely went grocery shopping. His diet tended to consist entirely of protein packets and whatever else he managed to get his hands on in between his teaching job and nightly patrols, which was common knowledge among UA staff and had earned him plenty of lectures on self-care. With his sudden boost in free time, he'd been trying his best to make actual meals for himself—although he wasn't about to admit that, just yet.
The two were making good time; the highest floors of the school peeked over the roofs of nearby residential areas, indicating they were close.
Hizashi shrugged. "Yeah, why not? Lizards are awesome! It's like if you combined a cat with a snake, but not in a ferret way. You've got the badass aspect of scales and the cool tongue flick-y thing they do like a snake. They don't really care about you, but they're still cute and most would be cool with being carried around and cooed over, like a cat!" He really went off on a tangent there, but he did really like lizards. Though he 'really likes' most things, so obviously that includes animals. Hizashi could easily do a report on why every single animal out there is great and deserved to be treated as such (as long as that presentation didn't have to include bugs. Eugh.)
"Meh, nothing really new with the show. It's goin' good though!" His show was probably the only scheduled thing he had to keep up with over the summer. It was nice to have such an open week for a change. He didn't comment about how Shouta had gone to the store. Obviously Hizashi was glad that his self-care was getting better, but he didn't want to come off as though he was babying him. "Aw yeah, I haven't seen Koto in a while. How's that furball doing?"
