Work Text:
Yamada Hizashi is in a remarkably good mood.
It’s partially because he aced his last English test, and partially because he’d managed to sneak a couple of melon flavored candies with breakfast this morning while his mother wasn’t looking, but mostly it’s because it’s almost Valentine’s Day. It’s easily one of his favorite holidays – and why wouldn’t it be, when it’s all about chocolate and being with people you care about?
“Can we listen to something else?” Shōta grumbles, breaking Hizashi from his thoughts.
For a moment, Hizashi blinks down at the math homework he was attempting to work on, before looking across the small table at Shōta, who’s leaning back against Hizashi’s bed, English notebook in his lap.
“You don’t like this song?” Hizashi asks, his lips turning down in a slight frown as he reaches over to fiddle with the small radio sitting in the middle of the table.
“I’m just getting tired of hearing the same ten love songs every time you turn on the radio,” Shōta huffs, not looking up from his own homework.
“C’mon, it’s almost Valentine’s Day!” Hizashi protests, but he sets the music to a classical station instead. “Stop being such a curmudgeon.”
“I don’t get what’s so great about Valentine’s Day,” Shōta grumbles. “It’s a heteronormative holiday where women are socially obligated to give chocolate to guys who probably don’t deserve it anyway.”
“You’re such a pessimist,” Hizashi huffs. “There are good aspects, you know. I mean, the real point of the holiday is to show your appreciation for the people you love. All the chocolate’s pretty great, too.”
“You know I don’t like chocolate,” Shōta says, finally glancing up from his homework to give Hizashi a flat look.
“Okay, but like, the feeling of receiving chocolate from someone is really great, you know?” Hizashi elaborates, gesturing vaguely with his hands in an attempt to get his point across. Shōta looks unimpressed.
“No, I don’t know,” Shōta replies flatly. “It’s not like I’ve ever received chocolate from someone before.”
For a moment, Hizashi just blinks at Shōta. Then he blurts out, “What?”
“Why is this a surprise to you?” Shōta grumbles, and Hizashi thinks he sees Shōta’s cheeks turn slightly pink. “There are only like three people in our class who even bother to talk to me.”
“Well what about in middle school? I mean, you’ve got a cool quirk and you have the whole mysterious loner thing going on – ” Hizashi starts, but Shōta cuts him off with a snort.
“I’m pretty sure you have to be unreasonably attractive for the whole ‘mysterious loner’ thing to work,” Shōta replies, giving Hizashi an unimpressed look.
“But you are attractive!” Hizashi blurts out, before his brain to mouth filter kicks in.
Shōta stares at him for a moment, clearly caught off guard.
“I mean – uh – I’m pretty sure Nakamura from class B thinks you’re attractive?” Hizashi sputters, feeling his cheeks flush steadily red. He sincerely, sincerely hopes that Shōta doesn’t read too far into anything he’s just said. “She wanted to talk to you alone after school last Friday, didn’t she? I sort of thought she was going to confess then, but – ”
“She wanted to know if you liked milk chocolate or dark chocolate better,” Shōta mutters, avoiding Hizashi’s eyes.
“Uh,” Hizashi says awkwardly, blinking at Shōta. “She what?”
“Nakamura wanted to talk to me after class last Friday because she wanted to know what sort of chocolate you prefer,” Shōta sighs, finally looking up again and meeting Hizashi’s eyes with a slightly annoyed look. “It’s not me she’s into.”
“Oh,” Hizashi says, unsure how else to respond.
“Look, it doesn’t matter. If you’re still feeling bad about it later, you can just share some of your – ” Shōta starts.
“What if I gave you chocolate?” Hizashi blurts out, cutting Shōta off.
For a moment, Shōta just blinks at Hizashi, clearly caught off guard. His silence lets Hizashi’s brain catch up to his mouth again, and as soon as he fully processes what he just said, his face goes bright red and he scrambles for an explanation.
“Like, as a friend thing!” Hizashi adds quickly, his heart beating fast in his chest. “We can do, like, a friends’ Valentine’s Day, you know? To show you how awesome Valentine’s Day can be.”
“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?” Shōta asks, frowning at Hizashi. “Because it’s supposed to be a romantic holiday.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Hizashi replies. “I mean, plenty of people give each other chocolates on Valentine’s Day as just a platonic thing. It’s true that the holiday’s biased towards romantic love, but it can be used to express other types of love too.”
For a long moment, Shōta’s quiet, studying Hizashi contemplatively. Then, he says, “We’d just be giving each other chocolates?”
“Well,” Hizashi says slowly, hoping that his tone doesn’t waver, “not if you want the full Valentine’s Day experience.”
“The full Valentine’s Day experience,” Shōta repeats, eyeing Hizashi skeptically.
“Yeah, you know,” Hizashi continues, trying to ignore how sweaty his palms are getting due to his nervousness. “Like going to a café in the evening to eat Valentine’s Day themed sweets and cakes and stuff, and then maybe walking around together and – ”
“So a date,” Shōta interrupts.
“Not a date!” Hizashi practically squeaks, his voice going embarrassingly high pitched. “I mean – sort of a date, I guess, because that’s what you normally do on Valentine’s Day, but like… a platonic date? Just, you know, the two of us hanging out. Together. In a date-like fashion.”
As he finishes rambling, Hizashi sees the corners of Shōta’s lips twitch up slightly, and while most people wouldn’t be able to detect the change in his expression, Hizashi’s well versed enough in Shōta’s body language to know that he’s trying to suppress a smile. As much as Hizashi likes to see Shōta amused, sometimes he wishes that it didn’t always seem to be at his expense.
However, a moment later, Shōta presses his mouth back into a thin line and says, “You know, Nakamura’s probably going to ask you out on Valentine’s Day.”
“So?” Hizashi asks, frowning at Shōta.
“So, if you like Valentine’s Day so much, wouldn’t you rather spend it on a real date?” Shōta replies, and Hizashi –
Hizashi really wouldn’t.
Maybe he’s subconsciously torturing himself, but he’d much rather spend Valentine’s Day with Shōta than with anyone else. Somehow, a pretend-date with his best friend seems a million times more appealing than a real date with a girl who actually likes him, as pathetic as that may sound.
“She’s not really my type,” Hizashi finally manages, although he’s not quite able to meet Shōta’s eyes as he says it. “And anyway, I hardly know her. A first date on Valentine’s Day would probably just be really awkward.”
Shōta studies him for a long moment, searching Hizashi’s face for god knows what, and Hizashi has to resist the urge to fidget under his gaze.
Finally, though, Shōta says, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Hizashi parrots, blinking at Shōta.
“I’ll spend Valentine’s Day with you,” Shōta clarifies, and Hizashi’s heartbeat feels loud in his chest as he listens to Shōta. “Whatever chocolate you get me has to be dark, though. Extra bitter.”
“Dark, extra bitter. Got it,” Hizashi replies, trying to keep his tone steady and nonchalant. “I like – ”
“Milk chocolate with caramel,” Shōta interrupts, his tone almost bored. Hizashi stares at him for a moment, and Shōta’s cheeks flush a little before he adds, “I’ve been telling people what sort of chocolate you like for weeks now.”
“Well, I guess I won’t have to worry about getting good chocolates this year,” Hizashi says, a grin spreading across his face.
“Please, you’ll eat any chocolate put in front of you,” Shōta snorts.
“True,” Hizashi laughs, trying to ignore the warm feeling in his chest as he’s reminded of how well Shōta knows him. “I still have my preferences, though.”
“So we’re actually going to do this?” Shōta asks, eying Hizashi carefully, his expression one that Hizashi can’t quite interpret.
“Absolutely!” Hizashi announces.
He’s going to make this the very best Valentine’s Day Shōta’s ever had. And maybe, if he’s very, very lucky, Shōta will want to do it again.
(He can dream, alright?)
---
The thing is, Hizashi’s had a crush on Shōta for at least a year now. He doesn’t know quite how it began, how he started noticing the broadness of Shōta’s shoulders and wondering what it would be like to press their lips together.
He’s been able to hide it pretty well, he thinks. At the very least Shōta doesn’t seem to suspect anything – he probably would have rejected Hizashi’s offer of a “friend-date” if he’d known the truth about Hizashi’s feelings. Still, Hizashi can’t help but feel a little guilty about luring Shōta into fulfilling one of his little fantasies, but then again, what Shōta doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right? After all, it’s not like Hizashi’s going to try to kiss him or anything, no matter how much he might want to. Maybe this little pretend date will even help Hizashi get things out of his system.
(On the other hand, it could just make him want more.)
Still, this should be about Shōta, not him. He’s going to give Shōta the best damn Valentine’s Day he’s ever had.
Hizashi’s just supposed to be picking up a few necessities at the grocery store when he sees it. For the past couple of days, he’s been debating whether to buy Shōta chocolates or make them himself, agonizing over whether homemade chocolates would be too… personal. Still, homemade chocolates are part of the full Valentine’s Day experience, aren’t they?
For a long moment, Hizashi just stares at the chocolate molds, taking in the small indentations made in the shape of cat paw prints. Finally, though, he makes a frustrated noise and grabs a mold off the shelf to put into his basket.
The things he does for Aizawa Shōta.
Hizashi leaves the store with all the ingredients he needs to make the chocolates, trying not to feel too bad about how much he’d spent on everything. Hopefully the look on Shōta’s face when he receives them will be worth it, though.
When he gets home, Hizashi puts away most of the groceries, but keeps out the ingredients for the chocolates. After all, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and it’ll be best for him to let the chocolates solidify overnight.
Hizashi’s only made chocolates once before, some years back, but he finds some simple instructions and gets to work heating up the cream on the stove. He’s never been an amazing cook, but he’s always found working in the kitchen soothing. It doesn’t take him long to lose himself in the process, bringing the cream to a boil before adding it to the chocolate, letting them melt into each other for a while before mixing them more thoroughly.
However, just as he’s about to start pouring the molten chocolate into the molds, an idea occurs to him. It takes him some digging, but eventually he manages to find a bottle of cayenne pepper in one of the cupboards, and after a bit of googling, he adds a couple teaspoons to the chocolate mixture.
Hopefully this will make the chocolate more palatable to Shōta.
Hizashi’s in the middle of pouring the mixture into the paw-print molds when he hears the familiar sound of the front door opening. For a moment, he freezes, but then he sighs. There’s no way to hide the evidence of his chocolate making now, so instead he continues to work, pouring the chocolate carefully into the molds.
A few moments later, Hizashi’s mother comes into the kitchen, right as he’s filling the last chocolate mold. Hizashi puts the finishing touches on the chocolate and then places the mixing bowl in the kitchen sink, before turning to sign his mother a greeting.
"Are you making chocolates?" his mother signs back, raising an eyebrow at him.
"They’re just for a friend," Hizashi replies, hoping that his cheeks haven’t turned noticeably pink at his mother’s implication.
"Is he still going to be just a friend after you give these to him?" Hizashi’s mother asks, looking vaguely amused, lips quirking up in a small smile.
"Yes," Hizashi signs back tersely, his movements a little tense. "And who said anything about this friend being a guy?"
"Have you developed a crush on someone other than Shōta-kun, then?" Hizashi’s mother replies. Instead of spelling out Shōta’s full name, she makes the sign for “cat,” using the sign name that Hizashi’s taken to calling Shōta by after getting frustrated by having to finger-spell Shōta’s full name over practically every dinner conversation.
"No," Hizashi finally signs back, and he’s sure his cheeks have flushed bright red by now. "But it really is a friend thing."
For a moment, Hizashi’s mother just studies him carefully, searching for something in Hizashi’s expression that he can’t interpret.
Finally she replies, "Does it have to be?"
"Yes," Hizashi replies, his movements curt as he scowls at his mother.
"Alright, alright," Hizashi’s mother signs back. "Personally, though, I think this would be a perfect opportunity to confess."
The expression that Hizashi replies with is dangerously close to a pout, although his eyes are focused in on his mother in a glare. Not for the first time, he regrets telling his mother so much about Shōta that she managed to figure out about his little crush.
"Aren’t heroes supposed to be brave?" Hizashi’s mother asks, although she looks vaguely amused.
"They’re also supposed to determine the best course of action for the situation," Hizashi signs back. "And Shōta doesn’t like me like that."
"Ah, teenagers. You’re so stubborn," Hizashi’s mother replies, her signing exaggerated and her put-upon expression overdramatic. Then, she reaches over to ruffle Hizashi’s hair, making him let out a little squawk. "Well, I’ll leave you to finish up your ‘friend’ chocolates."
With that, she exits the kitchen, leaving Hizashi to grumble under his breath and fix his hair. What would his mother know about whether Shōta likes him or not anyway? Better to keep Shōta as his best friend than to make their relationship awkward by confessing.
Hizashi sighs and picks the chocolate mold off the counter, placing it carefully in the freezer. He’s just going to indulge in his little date-fantasy tomorrow and that’s it.
He is definitely not going to confess.
---
The next day at school, Hizashi feels equal parts excited and anxious. He has what he hopes is the perfect Valentine’s date planned out, but part of him is worried that he’s put too much effort into it – enough that Shōta will start suspecting things.
Still, he did promise Shōta the best Valentine’s Day ever.
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Hizashi announces as he bounds into the classroom and over to Shōta, who’s already sitting at his desk.
“Hn,” Shōta replies tiredly, dragging his head up off his desk to look up at Hizashi. Some of his hair is stuck to his cheek, from where he was lying on it, and Hizashi’s fingers twitch as he resists the urge to reach out and tuck it back behind Shōta’s ear.
“So, are you excited?” Hizashi asks, bracing his hands on Shōta’s desk and leaning towards him.
“Not really,” Shōta snorts, propping his chin up on his hand. “You haven’t given me a reason to be excited yet.”
“Hey, I promised you the best Valentine’s date of your life!” Hizashi protests, puffing up his chest in indignation.
“First of all, it’s a friend date, not an actual date,” Shōta says, looking thoroughly unimpressed. “And second, I haven’t ever been on a date, period, so it’s not like it would be hard to make this the best one.”
“I still can’t believe no one’s ever asked you out before,” Hizashi replies. “I’m sure you’d make a great boyfriend.”
Briefly, Hizashi wonders if Shōta would possibly agree to date him, just because he hasn’t gotten any other offers. Still, Hizashi’s a bit of a selfish person, and he’s not sure he’d want to date Shōta without truly being Shōta’s number one, romantically.
“I don’t matter. I’m not interested in dating anyway,” Shōta snorts, shutting down Hizashi’s train of thought fairly quickly.
“Well, maybe the amazing date I’m gonna take you on this evening will change your mind,” Hizashi replies. He thinks that Shōta mutters something under his breath in response, but he can’t quite make out what it is and he doesn’t press Shōta to repeat it. After all, Shōta’s never been shy about voicing his opinion, and if it was really something he wanted Hizashi to hear, he’d have said it louder.
“Are we going to exchange chocolates now or what?” Shōta finally huffs, and Hizashi could almost swear that there’s a light dusting of pink on his cheeks.
“Ah, I mean, if you want,” Hizashi replies, taking a moment to glance back over his shoulder at the rest of the classroom, which is relatively empty. Still, he doesn’t really want any weird rumors to get started. “Or we could do it after school.”
When he turns back to look at Shōta, though, Shōta’s expression seems a little more closed off than it was a moment earlier, and Hizashi’s lips turn down in a slight frown. Before he can ask what’s wrong, though, Shōta says, “Fine.”
“Fine?” Hizashi parrots, blinking at Shōta.
“We can exchange chocolates after school,” Shōta clarifies.
“Great!” Hizashi chirps. “You’re gonna love yours.”
Shōta looks less than convinced, but before he can reply, a pack of students come into the room, distracting Hizashi with loud morning greetings, and not long later their homeroom teacher arrives to try and restore order to the classroom.
All throughout the school day, Hizashi’s restless. He’s never been particularly good at staying still during class as it is, but with his mind clouded with anticipation for his not-date with Shōta, he finds it even harder to concentrate than usual. In fact, he spends all of math class tapping on his desktop with his pencil and manages to drop it three times before realizing that Suzuki looks like she’s a moment away from strangling him to death.
Time passes sluggishly as Hizashi waits for the school day to end, but eventually it does come to a close, and Hizashi practically bounds out of his seat when the clock finally strikes three.
“You ready to go?” Hizashi asks, rocking back and forth on his heels impatiently in front of Shōta’s desk as Shōta finishes packing up his books. “I was thinking that first we could – ”
“Hizashi,” Shōta interrupts, nodding towards something behind Hizashi’s shoulder. Hizashi frowns, but then turns around to find Nakamura standing a couple of feet away, waiting awkwardly, a small pink box clutched in her hands.
“Could I maybe talk to you privately for a moment?” Nakamura asks, fidgeting a little, and Hizashi’s already starting to feel bad for her. Then again, it’s not like accepting her advances would be any kinder, not when he’s still completely gone on Shōta.
“I’ll wait for you in the hallway,” Shōta announces, standing up from his desk and slinging his bag over his shoulder. He hesitates for a moment, eyes darting between Hizashi and Nakamura, and then adds, “Unless you’d rather I just – ”
“I’ll be out in a sec,” Hizashi interrupts, before Shōta can finish his sentence.
Shōta studies him for what seems like a moment too long, but then he nods and turns to head for the door, leaving Hizashi and Nakamura alone in the corner of the classroom.
For a moment, he and Nakamura just stand there in awkward silence.
“So, uh – ” Hizashi starts, his tone more than a little awkward.
“Did Aizawa tell you?” Nakamura blurts out, before Hizashi can finish his question.
“What?” Hizashi asks, blinking at her.
“That I was probably going to confess to you today,” Nakamura mumbles, her eyes fixed on the ground and her cheeks stained pink. “I asked him what sort of chocolate you like.”
Hizashi studies her carefully for a moment, and then he sighs.
“He didn’t mean to tell me,” Hizashi replies, crossing his arms awkwardly over his chest. “It was an accident. I mean, you’re really nice, but I, uh, sort of already have plans with someone today. I’ll still get you a White Day gift, though – ”
“Don’t worry about it,” Nakamura says, and her voice sounds a little watery, but she’s forcing a decent enough smile. “I haven’t actually given you the chocolate yet anyway.”
“So you’ve changed your mind about giving those to me?” Hizashi asks with an exaggerated pout, a weak attempt at trying to lighten the situation a little.
“Yep,” Nakamura replies, and although her voice still sounds a little watery, her smile looks a little more genuine now. “I think I’m going to treat myself instead.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Hizashi replies. “Seriously, though, I’m sorry about – ”
“It’s not your fault,” Nakamura interrupts, bringing up a hand to dab at her eyes a little. “Just – go have fun on your date with Aizawa, I guess. I hope I didn’t ruin the mood.”
“It’s not – ” Hizashi starts, but then thinks better of it. It’s probably kinder to let Nakamura think that he and Shōta are actually together than to admit to her that he’s just head-over-heels enough to reject her when he and Shōta aren’t even a couple. “Thanks.”
“I think you better leave before I say something really embarrassing,” Nakamura says with another small watery laugh.
“You sure you don’t want me to get you, like, some tissues or – ” Hizashi replies awkwardly.
“Just go,” Nakamura insists, shooing Hizashi along. “I’ll be fine. I can drown my sorrows in chocolate.”
Hizashi nods at her stiffly, before awkwardly making his way around her and heading towards the classroom door. When he finally makes it out into the hallway, he finds Shōta leaning up against the wall, looking down at his phone.
“Hey,” Hizashi says, making Shōta turn towards him, a look of mild surprise on his face. “You ready to get out of here?”
“That was quick,” Shōta replies, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
“Yeah, she decided she was going to keep her chocolates instead,” Hizashi says, Shōta falling into step beside him as they make their way down the hallway.
“I didn’t think it was going to go quite that badly,” Shōta replies, the corners of his lips turning down in a frown.
“I wouldn’t say it went badly,” Hizashi says, shrugging slightly. “It’s probably better this way, you know? Because I wasn’t actually that into her. Plus, I’d rather spend the day with you.”
He can feel Shōta’s eyes on him, studying him carefully, and briefly he wonders if he’s said too much, but finally Shōta looks away, turning to rummage around in his schoolbag instead.
“Here,” Shōta mutters, shoving something into Hizashi’s hands.
For a moment, Hizashi just blinks at the small box. It’s thin and rectangular, colored a deep red and held together with a white ribbon. Hizashi’s heart sinks a little as he wonders if it’s store-bought, but as he examines the ribbon a little more closely, he can’t help but notice that it’s not as neatly tied as the ones on most of the boxes he’s seen in confectionaries and department stores, the ends a little uneven.
“Are you just going to stare at it all day?” Shōta mutters, startling Hizashi out of his thoughts.
“Sorry!” Hizashi replies, quickly reaching into his own bag to dig out the box of paw-print chocolates for Shōta. The ribbon on top has gotten a little squished throughout the day, but it doesn’t look that bad, and hopefully the actual chocolates will make up for the box’s slightly rumpled exterior.
“How do we do this?” Shōta asks as he accepts the box from Hizashi, a mildly curious look on his face. “Do we open them now, or…?”
“We can open them now,” Hizashi answers, his heartrate speeding up a little as he watches Shōta start to untie the ribbon holding the box together.
In order to distract himself, Hizashi turns his attention to his own box, carefully tugging at the ends of the ribbon. It comes apart easily under his fingers, and when Hizashi carefully pulls the top off of the slim red box, he’s greeted by a row of six chocolate truffles lined up neatly, circular and drizzled in what looks like caramel.
“You made these?” Hizashi blurts out, staring down at the neat row of chocolates.
“I couldn’t figure out how to make ones with caramel inside them so there’s only a bit on the top,” Shōta mutters, and when Hizashi looks over at him, for a moment he thinks he sees Shōta’s cheeks flush a little pink.
“Yours have, uh, a bit of a kick to them, so be careful when eating them,” Hizashi finally manages, watching on nervously as Shōta inspects the chocolates he’s been gifted, picking up a piece to examine the paw-print pattern on it. “I put some cayenne in them.”
“Cayenne?” Shōta asks, looking over at Hizashi.
“I mean, you like spicy food and I figured it’d help hide the fact that it’s, you know, chocolate,” Hizashi rambles, glad that his hands are occupied by the box of chocolates that Shōta’s given him, preventing him from flailing them around awkwardly.
“Hn,” Shōta replies noncommittally.
Then, he picks up a chocolate and pops it into his mouth.
For a moment, Hizashi stares at him as he chews, but finally Hizashi manages to tear his eyes away and look down at his own chocolates. He plucks one out of the box and then takes a bite, the chocolate crumpling under his teeth, soft and rich. The caramel taste isn’t strong, but he catches a hint of it on his tongue, a small aftertaste following the smooth milk chocolate. He can’t quite suppress a frankly embarrassing noise at how good it tastes.
“Oh my god, you seriously made these yourself?” Hizashi demands, his mouth still stuffed full with chocolate.
“Were you expecting me to be a bad cook or something?” Shōta huffs, but Hizashi’s pleased to see that he’s already reaching for a second one of the chocolates that Hizashi had given him.
“No,” Hizashi sputters, reaching for another chocolate, too. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be this good.”
For a moment, Shōta’s quiet, but then he says, “Well, your chocolates are pretty good too. I like the spice.”
Hizashi can’t quite suppress the grin that spreads across his face, a warm, tingly feeling building in his chest at Shōta’s praise.
Step one of the perfect Valentine’s date: complete.
---
Hizashi isn’t actually sure if Shōta will like step two. Still, it’s a classic Valentine’s Day date activity, so at the very least Hizashi can say he tried.
“You remembered to bring your gloves and stuff?” Hizashi asks as he and Shōta near their destination.
“It’s only a few degrees above freezing, of course I did,” Shōta snorts, tugging his hands out of his jacket pockets to reveal a set of plain black gloves. “Why are you asking?”
“Because I don’t want your fingers freezing off,” Hizashi huffs, turning his attention away from Shōta as they turn the corner and come to a small park in between the high-rise buildings. “Here we are!”
However, Hizashi only takes a couple more steps forward before realizing that Shōta has stopped in his tracks.
“Shōta?” Hizashi asks, his mouth turning down in a slight frown.
“I don’t know how to ice skate,” Shōta blurts out, catching Hizashi off guard.
“What, really?” Hizashi asks, blinking at Shōta.
“My dad prefers skiing,” Shōta answers, shrugging slightly. He looks remarkably awkward, and Hizashi can’t help but feel a little guilty.
“C’mon, I can teach you, then,” Hizashi replies. “I mean, you’re pretty athletic and have got great balance anyway, so it shouldn’t be too hard. We can make this work.”
For a moment, Shōta looks like he’s going to protest, but then he sighs.
“If I fall, I’m dragging you down with me,” Shōta mutters, falling back into step with Hizashi as they make their way towards the ice rink.
“I suppose that’s fair,” Hizashi replies, trying not to think too hard about what it would be like to be dragged down on top of Shōta.
When they get to the rink, Hizashi insists on renting the skates for them. Shōta looks a little disgruntled, but eventually relents, and goes to sit down on one of the benches while Hizashi pays for the skates. After getting the skates, Hizashi heads back over to Shōta and plops himself down on the bench, pulling on his skates with practiced ease. A moment later, Hizashi’s up on his feet again, balancing easily on the blades of his skates.
Shōta takes a little longer with his skates, though, his lips twisted up in a frown as he ties the laces, before finally attempting to stand up. He sways for a moment, and Hizashi starts to reach out to steady him, worried that he’s about to fall backwards, but eventually Shōta manages to steady himself.
“See, that wasn’t so rough, was it?” Hizashi asks, a grin spreading across his face.
“I haven’t even made it to the ice yet,” Shōta mutters, shooting Hizashi a mild glare.
“Well I have full faith in you,” Hizashi replies, before turning to head for the entrance to the ice rink. “C’mon!”
Hizashi tries not to move too quickly, conscious of Shōta hobbling along behind him, but he can’t quite suppress his excitement, giddy energy making it hard for him to stand still.
“You can hold on to the wall at first if you want to,” Hizashi says when they finally step out onto the ice. There’s a decent amount of people at the rink – most of them couples, Hizashi can’t help but notice – but it’s not so crowded that Hizashi’s too worried about Shōta accidentally running into people (or people running into Shōta).
“I don’t need to hold onto the – ” Shōta starts, but then his balance falters. Hizashi reaches out to steady him, letting Shōta grab onto one of his arms and wrapping his other arm around Shōta’s waist, preventing Shōta from falling over completely.
For a moment, they’re both quiet as they recover from Shōta’s near fall, and Hizashi feels his thump loud in his chest as he tries not to think about how close the two of them are.
“Let’s try having you hold onto the wall first,” Hizashi finally says, breaking the silence.
This time, Shōta doesn’t protest.
They get about half way around the rink with Shōta shuffling along awkwardly, holding onto the wall, before Hizashi finally says, “Think you’re ready to let go now?”
“Is that a challenge?” Shōta snorts, arching an eyebrow at Hizashi.
“It can be if that’s what will motivate you,” Hizashi replies, grinning at Shōta, who rolls his eyes but finally lets go of the wall.
For a moment, he just stands there on the ice awkwardly, before taking another shuffling step forward.
“You want to glide,” Hizashi instructs, resisting the urge to reach out and take Shōta’s hand. “Here, like – ”
Hizashi moves away from Shōta for a moment, skating forward with clean, smooth movements, before turning back towards Shōta in a tight arc, gliding across the ice. As he skates back towards Shōta, he can’t help but notice Shōta staring at him with an expression he can’t quite place, and for a moment his heart seems to skip a beat.
It’s nothing, he tells himself. Shōta’s probably just a little dazzled by his awesome skating skills, that’s all.
“Your turn,” Hizashi says as he comes to a neat stop in front of Shōta.
“Remember what I said about dragging you down with me if I fall,” Shōta mutters, but he starts pushing himself forward. Once again, he’s a little unsteady at first, but as he starts to get the hang of it, his movements get smoother and he starts to move faster, with more confidence.
Honestly, Hizashi’s a little surprised that Shōta’s been maintaining his balance so well and has managed to avoid actually falling yet. Hizashi’s pretty sure that he fell at least five times within his first hour of trying to skate, but then again, that was when he was ten and didn’t do regular hero training.
Still, the more comfortable Shōta becomes with his skates, the more beautifully he moves, smooth and effortless. Hizashi can’t help but be a little entranced as he watches, skating just a little ahead of Shōta and looking back over his shoulder every once in a while to check Shōta’s progress.
Hizashi’s just tricked himself into thinking that they’re going to make it through this without a single fall when he hears Shōta yell, “Hizashi!”
“What?” Hizashi asks, twisting his head around to look back at Shōta. They’re coming up on the exit to the rink again, and he starts to slow down, wondering if Shōta’s going to say he’s had enough of skating for the day.
However, instead of complaining about his ears turning cold, Shōta says, “How do you stop?”
“Push your heels apart – ” Hizashi starts, but Shōta’s coming up on him faster than he’d anticipated. He watches almost in slow motion as Shōta tries to make an awkward V with his skates, pushing his heels out, but he’s not able to get enough traction, and Hizashi stands, frozen, as Shōta loses his balance, tips forward, and topples over onto him.
The ice is hard and cold under Hizashi’s back and he wheezes as the air is temporarily knocked out of his lungs. It takes him a moment to reorient himself, but when he finally does, he becomes all too aware of the solid weight of Shōta on top of him, warm and far, far too close.
“Well,” Hizashi wheezes, looking up at Shōta, whose face is only a few inches away from his own, “you certainly did take me down with you.”
Shōta’s face flushes a cute shade of red at that comment, and he hurries to drag himself off of Hizashi, pushing himself up off his knees and back onto his feet. He quickly grabs onto the wall of the skating rink again, though, apparently not eager to fall again.
“Sorry,” Shōta mutters, extending his free hand out for Hizashi to grasp, helping pull him back up off the ice.
“It’s fine,” Hizashi replies, steadying himself again. He doesn’t let go of Shōta’s hand, though, taking the moment to bask in the warmth of Shōta’s touch and wondering how long it’ll take Shōta to notice and pull away again.
For a moment, Shōta’s quiet, but then he says, “It’s starting to get a little late.”
“You’re giving up on skating after just one little fall?” Hizashi teases, earning him a mild glare from Shōta.
“I’m hungry,” Shōta replies, his tone almost petulant, and Hizashi can’t help but find it a little cute.
“Alright, alright,” Hizashi replies, starting to head towards the ice rink exit. He’s still holding onto Shōta’s hand, but Shōta hasn’t seemed to realize it yet, not making any move to pull away. “Did you at least have fun? Other than the fall.”
For a moment, Shōta’s quiet, but then he says, “It wasn’t bad.”
Which, in Shōta-speak, might as well mean, “I had the time of my life.”
Hizashi only barely resists the urge to fist-pump.
---
They make their way to the mall afterwards (no longer holding hands, much to Hizashi’s disappointment), and end up at a small café that Hizashi’s been to a few times with his mother. Their cakes are to die for, and Hizashi has to resist the urge to drool as they pass by the glass case displaying the different Valentine’s cakes.
The café’s well decorated for the holiday, with pink candles set out on the tables and red heart streamers hanging from the ceiling. They get seated at a table in one of the far corners of the café, a little secluded from the rest of the restaurant, and the waitress gives the two of them an indulgent smile as she seats them, making Hizashi have to fight a blush.
“Normally I get the chocolate cake, but according to my mom, the strawberry’s also amazing,” Hizashi says as he opens up his menu, examining the glossy photos of decedent looking desserts.
“Cake before dinner?” Shōta asks, peering over his own menu to raise an eyebrow at Hizashi.
“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Hizashi replies, knocking their feet together under the table. “Live a little.”
“I’ll consider it,” Shōta replies loftily, but Hizashi sees the corners of his lips twitch up ever so slightly as he tries to suppress a smile.
In the end, Hizashi gets a slice of black forest cherry cake: moist, rich chocolate with fluffy whipped cream frosting and cherries. Shōta, meanwhile, settles on a vanilla cake with neatly sliced strawberries and creamy frosting in between the cake layers.
Hizashi can’t help but stare a little as Shōta takes his first bite of cake, a bit of frosting smearing on his lips as his fork slides past them, and the café suddenly feels a bit too overheated.
“I’m not letting you have any,” Shōta says, startling Hizashi out of his daze.
“What?” Hizashi sputters, his heartrate tripping into overtime as he realizes he’s been caught staring.
“You were staring at my cake like you wanted some,” Shōta snorts, and Hizashi breathes an internal sigh of relief. “You have your own.”
“You’re so mean,” Hizashi whines overdramatically, trying to cover up his nervousness at having almost been caught. “You know, most couples share cake on Valentine’s Day.”
“Well it’s a good thing we’re not a couple then,” Shōta drawls, before sticking another forkful of cake into his mouth.
Hizashi doesn’t really know how to respond to that without saying anything incriminating, so instead he just sticks a large chunk of cake into his own mouth. It’s a pretty good distraction, actually, and Hizashi lets his eyes slide shut for a moment as he takes in the flavor of the moist, rich chocolate and the smooth, fluffy texture of the whipped cream.
It tastes good enough that he’s pretty sure he makes an embarrassing noise when he finally swallows, and when he opens his eyes again, he finds Shōta staring at him.
“What?” Hizashi sputters, his cheeks flushing a little pink. “It’s really good!”
“You don’t have to make out with it, though,” Shōta snorts, picking at the strawberry on top of his slice of cake.
“I wasn’t making out with it,” Hizashi protests, his lips turning down in an expression dangerously close to a pout. “I was just – appreciating it.”
Shōta gives him an unimpressed look, popping the strawberry into his mouth and chewing slowly. Hizashi lets out a little huff and then takes another bite of cake.
For a few moments, the two of them lapse into silence, both picking at their cake instead. Hizashi can’t help but glance over at Shōta occasionally, though, trying not to think too hard about how good Shōta looks, illuminated by the soft light of the café. He’s suddenly aware of how close their legs are under the small table, knees knocking together occasionally, and Hizashi wishes so badly that he could reach across the table and take Shōta’s hand in his.
Instead, he curls his unoccupied hand into a fist and carefully keeps it on his side of the table.
“Are you going to eat that?” Shōta asks suddenly, breaking Hizashi from his thoughts.
“Eat what?” Hizashi asks, blinking at Shōta.
“That cherry,” Shōta says, gesturing at the small fruit placed neatly on top of Hizashi’s half-eaten slice of cake.
“Why? Do you want it?” Hizashi asks, cocking his head slightly at Shōta.
“Yes,” Shōta answers bluntly, succinct and to the point. Hizashi has to bite back a smile at how Shōta that reply is, and he scoops up the cherry with his fork.
However, before he can plop it down on Shōta’s plate like he’d been planning, Shōta leans in and wraps his lips around Hizashi’s fork.
It only lasts a split second, and a moment later Shōta’s leaning back in his chair again, chewing casually like he didn’t just technically let Hizashi feed him. Hizashi can’t help but gape for longer than he probably should, though, staring at Shōta with wide eyes.
“Ew, now your germs are all over my fork,” Hizashi finally manages to complain, trying to fight back a blush.
“I’m sure they’ll kill you,” Shōta drawls, before taking another bite of his own cake.
“Just for that, I’m going to steal some of your cake,” Hizashi announces, his fork darting out to sink into a tuft of frosting on the top of Shōta’s cake. Shōta’s eyes widen and he tries to bat Hizashi’s fork away, but he isn’t quite fast enough, and Hizashi lets out a little crow of triumph as he sticks a forkful of what’s mainly fluffy vanilla frosting into his mouth.
“So mature,” Shōta snorts, and he almost looks like he’s pouting.
“You’re the one who started it,” Hizashi protests, and for a moment he thinks he sees Shōta’s cheeks turn ever so slightly pink.
They bicker as they finish eating their cake, trying to steals bits of frosting from each other, their legs knocking together under the table as they squabble. Hizashi even manages to drag a few small smiles out of Shōta, so all in all, he considers it a success.
Afterwards, they end up wandering around the mall.
Part of Hizashi wants to reach out and twine their fingers together again, to truly feel like they’re walking around the mall on Valentine’s Day as a couple, but instead he sticks his hands into his jacket pockets, trying to resist. Not for the first time, Hizashi can’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by how much he wants this to be a real date. For a moment, as he watches Shōta look at cute cat-print clothing in a store window, he wonders if maybe –
Hizashi lets out a sigh and pushes those naïve thoughts from his mind.
“Thanks,” Shōta says suddenly, making Hizashi blink at him.
“For what?” Hizashi asks, lips turning down in a slight frown.
“For setting all of this up,” Shōta replies, shrugging his shoulders slightly. He doesn’t look away from the shop window, though, not quite meeting Hizashi’s eyes. “It was – nice.”
“Really?” Hizashi asks, his expression brightening a little as he moves to stand closer to Shōta, their shoulders knocking together. “See, I told you Valentine’s Day was great! Next year, you can – ”
“I’m not going to go out with someone next Valentine’s Day,” Shōta snorts, his eyes still fixed firmly on the store window.
“What? Why not?” Hizashi asks, his lips turning down in a frown and his brow furrowing in confusion. “I thought you said you had fun.”
Shōta makes a frustrated noise, finally turning to meet Hizashi’s eyes.
“I – ” he starts, but then he cuts himself off, a bright flush spreading across his cheeks. “Never mind. Forget it.”
With that, he turns on his heel, brushing past Hizashi and heading for the next store window.
“Hey!” Hizashi protests, rushing to catch up with him. “C’mon, Shōta, don’t be like this. Tell me what’s wrong!”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Shōta replies, but there’s an edge of irritation to his tone that suggests otherwise. “I told you to forget it.”
“Yeah, well, unfortunately for you, I have a great memory,” Hizashi replies, finally managing to match his pace to Shōta’s again. “Seriously, was today actually that bad? I tried my best to give you, you know, the full Valentine’s Day experience, but – ”
“Not the full experience,” Shōta mutters, making Hizashi blink at him in confusion.
“Shōta, you’re not making sense,” Hizashi sighs, finally letting a bit of his frustration leak into his voice.
“Look, you want to give me the ‘full Valentine’s Day experience,’ right?” Shōta asks, stopping abruptly in the middle of the hallway.
“Uh, yeah,” Hizashi replies, stopping beside Shōta and frowning at him slightly, unsure where this conversation is going. “I thought that was the whole point of this.”
“Then – ” Shōta starts, cutting himself off to take a deep breath. “Then kiss me.”
For a moment, Hizashi just gawks at him, half sure he’d heard wrong. Then he blurts out, “What?”
“See, I knew – ” Shōta mutters, looking away from Hizashi and clenching his teeth. “Just forget it, okay?”
“No, no, no, wait!” Hizashi says, reaching forward to grab Shōta arm before Shōta can try to make a break for it again. “Just – you want me to kiss you?”
“It’s what couples do on Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?” Shōta asks, still not meeting Hizashi’s eyes. “And on dates.”
“I – ” Hizashi says, a tight, uncomfortable feeling in his chest. “I can’t kiss you if it’s just because it’s something people do on Valentine’s Day.”
“See – ” Shōta starts, but Hizashi cuts him off.
“I’ll kiss you if you want me to kiss you, though!” Hizashi blurts out, finally making Shōta snap his head up again, their eyes meeting. “If you want me to kiss you.”
For a moment, Shōta’s quiet, but then he softly says, “Please.”
So, Hizashi leans in and presses their lips together.
It’s a little awkward at first, Shōta a little stiff and Hizashi a little nervous. After a moment, though, they both start to relax and Hizashi tentatively deepens the kiss, coaxing Shōta’s lips apart. Shōta tastes like strawberries and frosting, just a hint of spice and chocolate in the back of his mouth, and Hizashi can’t help but make a little pleased noise against Shōta’s lips, half convinced that in a moment he’s going to wake up and realize that this is all just a dream.
However, when he finally breaks the kiss, Shōta’s still there, his face a little flushed and his expression a little dazed.
“I like you,” Hizashi blurts out. “I like you so, so much, and I came up with this stupid friend-date idea because I just really, really wanted to spend Valentine’s Day with you.”
Shōta blinks at him slowly for a moment, but then his lips curl up in a smile and he says, “Next time, just ask me out instead.”
“I – ” Hizashi stutters. “ – think I can do that.”
“Good,” Shōta replies, and then reaches out to take Hizashi’s hand, twining their fingers together. “Now let’s get some real food, because I need something more than just cake.”
Hizashi nods, a little dazed, and lets Shōta lead him down the hallway, too distracted by the warmth of Shōta’s palm against his to actually pay attention to where Shōta’s leading him off to.
Well, it looks like he did manage to give Shōta the best Valentine’s Day possible.