Work Text:
The late afternoon sun beats down on Toshinori as he jogs. Ever since losing his larger form, he has taken up exercising on the UA grounds. He worked out before, but only in private gyms or the comfort of his own apartment. It is so nice to be able to exercise without fear like this– the unending knowledge that he’d be needed by the world– the fear of being found out by those around him. Jogging is a breath of fresh air these days with that massive weight off of his back.
Even more unusual is that he rarely exercises alone anymore. These days on his morning jogs he is usually accompanied by Shouta. Ever since he, Shouta, and Hizashi got together, he is hardly ever by himself. Hizashi and him spend time in the staff room and at lunch, though he does admittedly see more of his other partner day-by-day. He and Shouta are the primary teachers of Class A and, as such, they see each other often. It is pure coincidence that Toshinori’s regular workout time tends to land when Hizashi is on air.
On a regular day, Shouta and he would jog together for an hour before Hizashi’s program finishes, and then drive over to pick him up from work together. It feels nice to have some semblance of a routine. The regular socialization and lack of secrets have helped his mental and physical well-being more than he could ever start to admit. There’s only so long that he can lend on the other few who knew his secret before it wore down their relationships. After all, there was a reason he and Nighteye lost touch.
Today, his routine is broken by the weekend-long field trip class A is doing. He wasn’t required to go on this one, as class B and Vlad King would be along for the ride. A weekend off is still a foreign concept to him, but he plans to make the most of it. He does, after all, still have a partner in the city that he can’t wait to spend time with. He enjoys every second of the time he spends with Shouta, but even he notices how little time Hizashi and him have alone together comparatively.
The alarm on his phone goes off, alerting him that it's time to turn back so that he has time to change and clean himself up a bit before Hizashi gets off work. Perhaps the two of them can order some takeout so that they can fully decompress for the evening.
It is still so strange, even after all these months, to know that both of these men want to be with him. The pair had already been together for years before bringing Toshinori into this new arrangement. They keep him young, that's for sure. Despite the heat, Toshinori throws a sweater on over his bony body. Freshly clean with his hair dripping cool trails of water over his back, Toshinori feels chilly. It's a byproduct of getting older, getting cold, which made it all that much nicer to have two hot water bottles in the form of partners.
Hizashi is standing outside the radio station, his hair tied in a low bun and his hero outfit nowhere to be seen. He tends to shower the gel from his hair and change out of his costume at the station to avoid prying eyes. For some reason, he looks nervous– his feet tapping against the sidewalk and his bottom lip caught between his teeth. A warm breeze plays with the hem of his muscle shirt, flashing just enough midriff for Toshinori to turn bright red. Instead of hyperventilating (a reasonable thing to do when his partner looks like that ), Toshinori rolls down the passenger window.
“Hizashi!” He calls, “I'm over here.”
Hizashi's head snaps toward him, a grin playing at the edges of his still nervous lips. His partner waves and speeds over to the door. As way of greeting, Hizashi leans over and kisses Toshinori on the cheek, which doesn't help the redness of his face.
“How was work?”
“Which work are you talkin’ about?” Hizashi laughs. The English department was the only one who had to work at U.A. this morning. Hizashi, as head of the department, is in charge of report cards, and making sure the department is on the same page beforehand. Toshinori chuckles.
“Either. Both. How are you?”
“Oh, I'm alright! Had a blast on air today, didja catch any waves?”
“I caught the beginning before my run.”
“Right. And how was your run? Y'know, with dear ole Eraser gone.”
“It was fine! It will be nice to have him back of course, but I–”
Hizashi cuts him off with a sigh. As soon as the breath passes his lips, however, he snaps his head to Toshinori like a boy who got caught doing something they shouldn't. He presses his hands against his mouth as though he can drag the sigh back in. Toshinori raises his eyebrows and slides his gaze to the passenger seat.
“Shit.” Hizashi says, his voice muffled, “I didn't mean to do that.”
“Is something the matter, Hizashi?” The car behind theirs honks, drawing Toshinori's gaze forward to the green light ahead. Oops. Eyes on the road.
“Nah. ‘T’s all good.” Hizashi waves him off with both hands and a false smile plastered on his face. Toshinori side-eyes him again, frowning, but keeps his eyes forward.
“It certainly doesn't sound ‘all good’” He does bunny ears on the steering wheel around the words.
“No, no, it's fine!” Hizashi doubles down. He thinks back to one of the first times he saw Hizashi instead of Present Mic, and frowns further. He's never been one to press issues, but he knows how Hizashi can spiral and compartmentalize. He'd thought Shouta was joking the first time he'd expressed his concern for Hizashi. It was damn near impossible for Toshinori to break through those walls the first time– he is not going to settle and let his partner build them back up, not if he can help it.
There is a restaurant up ahead, one that Toshinori and his partners regularly go to. It's perfect. He makes a quick lane change and pulls into the parking lot. Thrown off by the maneuver, Hizashi instinctually takes his seatbelt off, face screwed up in confusion. Toshinori holds out a hand, stopping him from making a move toward the door.
“You’re upset, and I would like to know why,” Toshinori says simply. Perhaps if he keeps it straight and to the point, the conversation won’t get away from him.
“I’m not upset, big guy .” Hizashi huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. Still, Toshinori can read him better than Hizashi might think.
“Okay, not upset.” Toshinori shrugs. “Hurt then.”
“Hurt? What do I have to feel hurt about?”
“That is what I’m asking you, dear.” The pet name sneaks out as an afterthought, but it does its job. A flush bleeds across his partner’s face and softens the tension in his shoulders.
“I just haven't seen much of you recently.” Hizashi finally mumbles, his face redder than before with the admission.
“We went out to dinner last week, and I see you at the dorms.” Toshinori cocks his head to the side, feeling a bit like he’s attempting to get a street cat to eat from his palm.
“Sure, with Shou.” Hizashi frowns. Ah, now he sees the problem. “I see you when it's the three of us, and I spend time one-on-one with Shouta, but I never see just you. I know that the two of you are closer, but I wanna hang too, y’dig? Makes a guy feel a little excluded, like maybe this is more of a V situation than a triad…”
“Oh, goodness, no! I'm so sorry, Hizashi. Everything has been happening at such a pace these days that I can barely keep up. I did not realize.” He scrubs a hand down his face. “Here I was jealous of you and Shouta’s relationship not thinking about anyone else.”
“About Shou and my…?”
“Well, you know, you two went to high school together, have known each other and been in a relationship for years, and here I am nearly twice your age tagging along. But it’s no matter, this is about you–”
“Nuh-uh, buddy, it can be about both of us.” Hizashi gives him a look, but Toshinori just laughs.
“Don’t worry, I’m speaking about it with Inui.” His smile softens and he reaches across to hold one of Hizashi’s hands between his own. “You have no idea how excited I was to have a night for the two of us alone. I love Shouta and you the same, but I am aware of how much me and Shouta’s schedules intersect. I have enough free time to rejig everything to fit more Hizashi time in.”
“Ah, you don’t gotta–”
“Please, I’d love to. It might have been a coincidence that I pulled in here but we could start tonight. I had planned to take you out for a nice dinner anyway.”
Hizashi flushes again.
“I’d like that very much.”
“Wonderful,” Toshinori brings Hizashi’s hand up to his mouth and kisses the back of it. “Now you stay put. I'll come around to get the door for you.”