Chapter Text
Eraserhead didn’t get many assignments from the Hero Commission. He rarely received any requests from pro heroes. And up until a week ago, he’d never even spoken to the current number three.
Eraser’s time off from his day job typically consisted of thumbing through police investigations that needed a pair of eyes that could look the other way, or specific vigilantes that did need that long arm of the law. Some weekends he could be guilted into spending time with his husband, but lately, he’d needed less and less persuasion to do that. So when the Voice Hero came to him with something work-related, it caught his attention.
“And why do you have his number?” Shouta raises an eyebrow. His husband, Hizashi, doesn’t disappoint. His cheeks flush slightly and Shouta has to dodge the half-hearted smack to his shoulder.
“Shoutaaaaa gross he’s like… half my age!”
Shouta snorts, “Hardly.”
“I have it from that one time he came on Hands Up!”
“And the number three hero gives numbers out to all his interviewers?” Shouta is hardly smirking, one corner of his mouth ticked a bit higher than the other, but his husband is too flustered to notice.
“Well, I don’t know, I mean-“
“Is that why you got so dressed up for work a few months ago?” Shouta feigns ignorance and scratches his chin, knowing that was exactly why the hero had taken an extra hour getting ready that night.
“That was unrelated!” Hizashi squeaks but doesn’t deny it.
“Hmm… Did he give you his personal cell before or after seeing you in those tight pants?” Shouta teased.
“Unrelated!” Hizashi emphasizes again, and Shouta breaks into an actual smile this time, unable to keep up the ruse. His husband’s eyes narrow and Shouta dodges another half-hearted smack.
“Tch. You know, I can’t help that I’m hot, Shouta. You knew what you were getting into when we started dating!” Hizashi sticks out his tongue like the professional hero he is. Shouta lets out a breath of air that only his husband can translate into a laugh, and Hizashi rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, Yeah. Do you want it or not?”
“Hm.” Shouta motions for his husband’s phone, who hands it over with another eye roll.
“I could’ve just texted it to you.”
“But then I couldn’t see that he’s saved in your phone as-“
“THAT WAs a joke! Nemuri, she-” Hizashi’s quirk may have been erased, but his embarrassment was not.
“Did he say what this was about?” Shouta asked, inputting the number for the fastest hero into his phone. As much as he enjoyed teasing his husband, Shouta hadn’t worked an actual case in a few weeks. He’d mostly been assisting in analytical and supportive roles in the last bit of summer, much to Hizashi’s glee. To say he was itching for a good case would be an understatement.
“Just said he needed help with something.” Hizashi shrugs.
“Hm. How did he know you would have my contact information?” Present Mic and Eraserhead’s relationship wasn’t secret to their closest friends and colleagues, but it wasn’t well known either. The fact that the commission may be aware of it left a sour taste in Shouta's mouth.
Shouta called the number and held the phone up to his ear with one hand while retying his long hair up into a bun with the other.
“He didn’t. Just knew we were close at UA.” Shouta hummed again and pushed back the strands that had escaped his poor attempt to tie his tangled hair back. The phone rang once, twice, before it was answered.
“Yo.”
“Hawks?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s Eraser.”
Good luck! Hizashi mouthed before going back into their bedroom to finish up his lesson plans for the semester.
“Eraser! Wow, I didn’t think I’d hear from you so fast. Or at all, really. You’re hard to get a hold of!” Shouta could hear what sounded like a hurricane in the background, so he knew the bird must have been flying pretty fast.
“Well, you caught my attention.”
“Ha! Yeah, I have that effect on people.”
Shouta’s eye roll could practically be heard over the phone, and Hawks laughed again.
“What’s the case?”
“Geez, right to it huh?”
“Hawks.”
“All right, all right. Listen, I could actually really use your help on this.” Hawks’ tone hardens, serious now that he knows he does in fact have the underground hero’s attention, “You’re not tied to the commission, and I’m not sure I want them knowing about this yet.”
That gives Shouta pause. One of the reasons Hawks and him have yet to interact wasn’t only due to their polar opposite work schedules, but for the fact that he was for, all intents and purposes, the poster child for the hero commission.
“Is this line secure?” Is the first thing Shouta asks.
“Yes, but I’d really rather talk in person.” Hawks answers back, all traces of his light teasing from earlier gone.
“Where.”
“I’m patrolling till seven, there’s a diner in Yamaka that’s safe.” From the commission goes unsaid.
“I’ll be there.”
“Great! I appreciate it, Eraser.”
“Sure. I’ll see you-“
“Wait!” The hero sounds out of breath now, and he grunts and Shouta can hear what sounds like a fight.
“What?”
“Can you bring Present Mic?” He shouts over the gunfire in the background.
“Mic? Why?”
“Do you know if he’s seeing anybody?”
“Bye, Hawks.” Shouta hangs up on a short bark of laughter from the other man and sighs. He rolls his shoulders back and stretches an arm above his head.
Shouta pulls down his husband’s favorite mug and fixes a cup of tea. He could tell from the blonde’s furrowed brow and frequent fidgeting that he would be fighting a migraine soon, probably due to him not wearing his glasses while working again. He picks up the glasses from the kitchen table and brings both items to him. Yamada looks up when he enters, the tension in his face easing when he spots him.
“Thanks, baby.” He grins. Shouta leans down and kisses the top of his head.
“I’ll be late tonight. Don’t wait up.” He says, sitting down and trying not to disrupt the papers strewn across his husband’s side of the bed.
“That’s fine. Joke wanted to go out anyways, so I won’t be home.” Shouta nods.
“Let’s take a nap before that.” He mutters and wraps his arms around Hizashi’s chest that’s shaking with quiet laughter.
“I need to finish this first – I’m almost done.”
Shouta grumbles incoherently, slumping down until he’s laid down on his side of the bed with an arm still wrapped around Hizashi’s middle. Yamada strokes his hair fondly and smiles. “Love you too.”
******************
Three days later sees Shouta stating the one thing he never could have seen himself saying before. Nursing a cup of shitty coffee with one hand, pushing his hair back with the other, he stares straight across the booth in the diner he’s been frequenting the last few days. Hawks is looking him over apprehensively; He can tell the underground hero isn’t happy about something. He opens his mouth to ask before the other man beats him to it.
“We need the Commission.” He grunts.
The winged hero’s eyes widen dramatically before he schools his expression into something more neutral. But Shouta can see in the way he’s suddenly fidgeting in his seat that he doesn’t like that idea. Shouta still isn’t sure where the heroes’ loyalties actually lie, be that to the commission or to whoever his “source” is, but it’s clear he doesn’t want his superiors involved in this. Shouta just isn’t sure why that is.
“Why?” Hawks asks, simply, after processing what Shouta has said. Shouta takes a breath and finishes off the coffee before refilling it just as quickly.
“I’m not sure how much your source knows about the place, but it’s expansive. I’ve been watching just for a few days, and the amount of traffic and supplies that go in and out are enough for a small army.” Shouta says. Hawks’ brows furrow.
“That’s why we have you, though. To infiltrate and get the kid out.” Hawks says, reiterating what he’d stated at their very first meeting.
“At first, that was possible. But today-”
“I thought this was your deal, Eraser – Undercover and stealth and shit.” Hawks folds his arms and leans back, looking at the moment more like a child than a hero.
“It is. But their security is too much for just me. If we had law enforcement assisting, maybe, but it would end up getting back to the commission anyways. And that’s not even-”
“Ughhh, he’s going to kill me.” Hawks pouts.
“Who?”
“My stupid source.” Hawks sighs and pulls out one of his phones, presumably to let them know about this latest development.
“Did your source even know what he was walking into? Did he tell you what I’d be walking into?” Shouta asks, brows raised.
“What do you mean?” Hawks closes his burner phone and sets it on the table.
“This isn’t just a street gang that I’ve been watching. I’ve seen more than a few wanted criminals leaving this place – Setsuno and Mimic were both in and out of there today. Hawks, I think this is-“
“Ah- yeah. Yeah, I… I know.” Hawks winced. Shouta blinks.
“You know? And you were just going to let me walk right in for this kid we haven’t even confirmed is really there?”
“Of course not! I knew you’d see what we were up against, but I also knew if I told you I was talking about the Shie Hassaikai the first time we met, you’d have gotten the Commission involved at the beginning! I at least wanted to see if we could do it without them.” Hawks’ phone lights up and he opens it, rolling his eyes at whomever it is that has his number.
“Unbelievable.” Shouta grunts and leans his head back, rolling his shoulders. 78 hours of surveillance wasn’t exactly what he’d imagined when the hero had reached out, and hiding in small, cramped spaces for the last few days had reminded him he wasn’t nearly as young as he was when he started his career.
“I’m sorryyyyy, okay? But I promise the kid is real.” Hawks emphasizes for what must be the hundredth time that week.
“How? You don’t have a picture, a name, an age-” Shouta points out for what also must be the hundredth time.
“I promise, all right? You wouldn’t have taken the job if you didn’t believe me.” Hawks parrots back.
This is an old conversation between the two new acquaintances, and Shouta still can’t believe they’re having it. Still can’t believe he’s willing to put his faith in this baby hero that had sworn on his life that his source was legitimate, that he wouldn’t lie about something like this. Shouta rolls his eyes but relents. Even if this kid with green hair and matching eyes don’t exist, they’ll have taken down one of Japan’s newest mafias before they’ve even had the chance to get started. That’s a good enough reason for Shouta. But still…
“Tell me again.”
Hawks sighs. “Short kid. Green hair, green eyes. Freckles. Skinny. Could be as young as eleven. Lots of bumps and bruises, lots of scarring up and down his arms.” Shouta nods along as he talks, soaking in the information like it’s his first time hearing it.
In reality, he’d had the brief description written down in his notebook since the first time they’d met. He’d had Tsukauchi run it through Law Enforcement’s database, hoping for a hit, but there were no missing persons or runaway reports that matched the description. Which meant no one else was even looking for the kid – who knew how long he’d actually been missing.
****************
One week after his first call with Hawks, Shouta still isn’t sure how he got where he is. Sitting at the table at the Hero Commission’s headquarters with Hawks on his left and Best Jeanist on his right. Even All-Might was at the table, and Eraser hadn’t seen him since he’d the Naka-Ku incident almost three years ago. The last time Shouta had been in the same room as so many pros was… well, never.
“And we’re sure this will work?” Present Mic asks for the hundredth time. Shouta fights the urge to smile fondly at his husband. His anxiety isn’t exactly misplaced, but there’s a reason he and Shouta never work together. If Yamada knew half the things Shouta did on duty, he’d never let him leave the house again. This was nothing compared to some of his stunts in his early years.
“It’s the best plan with the highest probability of success. If we want to go in and blow up the place, that’s one thing. But this level of extraction really is Eraser’s specialty.” Sir Nighteye confirms. He’s sitting as far from All-Might as Shouta is, he notices.
“Then what are we all here for?” All-Might himself asks.
“This isn’t just some street gang,” Hawks chimes in and quotes Shouta’s own words, “The Shie Hassaikai has managed to gather some of the most dangerous criminals that are out right now in a relatively short amount of time. Not to mention Overhaul – His quirk alone is enough to warrant a certain level of caution.”
“And Eraser will be going in essentially blind – We don’t know what is underground.” Kamui Woods chimes in.
“I see.” The number one hero nods, accepting these facts.
“And if there’s no kid?” Best Jeanist chimes in. Shouta can’t blame him for being skeptical – they still hadn’t actually confirmed this piece of information.
“Then we’ll adjust the plan accordingly.” Nighteye chimes in.
“If the bug works as it should, you’ll know when I do.” Shouta offers. The vigilante he’d requested the item from had assured him, enthusiastically, that it was completely undetectable by any other form of technology or quirk, but would still provide a feed. The commission had been skeptical at first, but Shouta had vouched for his provider, and after letting the commission’s own support team take a look at it, it’d been approved.
Shouta met his husband’s gaze across the table. Yamada and he had never worked together for a reason. While back at UA they’d made a formidable team, but Shouta wasn’t certain he could stay uncompromised if they were both in a real fight. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, but Shouta could see the worry creating tension in the creases of his husband’s eyes.
“Well… if that’s it. We should rest, now. It’s going to be a long night.” All-Might stands up, and everyone follows suit.
Shouta makes his way to the door but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see Hawks looking far more serious than he has in the last few days.
“What?”Shouta asks, glancing back over his shoulder to see Yamada waiting in the doorframe.
“Just… Thanks.” The number three hero’s eyes are burning into Shouta's, and he can feel the hero’s energy pouring off of him in tangible waves.
He’s nervous, Shouta realizes. He may be the number three hero, but he’s still young – and who knows where they’ll all be after tonight. This isn’t a patrol in a dangerous neighborhood, or a search and rescue. This is a mission that is unpredictable enough to cause the legitimate concern that everyone might not be coming home in the end, and it’s happening because Hawks brought it to the table.
“You can thank me when it’s over.”