Chapter Text
The cool night air was soothing on Shota's warm, flushed cheeks. He had sent several messages but Bunny still hadn't replied yet and as he waited he felt he may have drunk a but too much. The world spun ever so slightly as he looked up to the dark sky above him. He could see stars dancing across the sky as his last beer truly set in and made him spin more. He hadn't even realized he had been falling until he felt a steady warmth across his back.
"Are you ok Aizawa?", he heard, turning to his left to see the tall gangly man who held him upright. Yagi had come to check on him. He wondered if he had really looked so out of sorts that the other had needed to come, but then again he had just about went down. He watched as Yagi's eyes went down to the hand held out in front of him. "Are you waiting for someone to reply?", the blond smiled and motioned to the phone in his grasp.
Aizawa could feel the heat in his cheeks grow, this time not from the alcohol. as he stuffed the phone away in his pocket and shrugged out of the other's grip. Perhaps it was the alcohol but he couldn't help the shiver that came from the loss of warmth on his back. "It's Bunny, he's.." Aizawa started to say but then gave a sigh and redirected. "I just needed some air", he said dryly.
Yagi felt a slight pang of guilt at the other's behavior. He couldn't help but feel Aizawa's current mood was solely the result of him not replying to the messages he knew were waiting in his inbox. It made him feel selfish but when he had asked, Aizawa himself had told him to be more selfish and less selfless. He just wanted to spend some time with the dark haired man and grow closer. Maybe if they grew closer he would one day be able to reveal his identity as Bunny. Maybe.. He shook free from his inner thoughts as the man beside him cleared his throat.
"Do you ever feel like you're always waiting?", Aizawa asked seemingly to the empty air. Yagi inspected his face, trying to understand where the question had come from but Aizawa was nearly as unreadable as ever. Nearly. His eyes looked more tired than usual with a knitted brow and grimace that looked wrong on his handsome and flushed face.
Yagi was waiting for something. He was waiting on Aizawa and the man hadn't the slightest clue it seemed. That was ok. He was worth the wait and Yagi knew it. "What are you waiting for?", he asked, certain he already knew. His assumptions proved true as there was no mistaking the tightening grip of Aizawa's hand in the pocket where he had just placed his phone.
Aizawa took a deep breath and let his eyes fall shut, not willing to give an answer. Yagi watched silently as the stoic man's chest rose and showed no sign of release while he counted the seconds. Was this progress? Aizawa had seemingly asked him something personal. Had let him in if only for a moment, but at what cost. The man seemed to be miserable and it only made Yagi feel that much worse about being selfish.
When Aizawa let out his tension filled breath he seemed a bit lighter to Yagi's eyes. Or perhaps he was just settling into his dark corner as he had tried to all those years ago. The thought made Yagi feel even more tense, causing him surprise when the other suggested they go back inside.
"Yeah I'll be right there", Yagi responded and watched Aizawa hesitate before stumbling back into the bar. Aizawa was awaiting a reply from Bunny. He was waiting and stressing and Yagi had seen enough. He pulled his phone from his pocket and began to read through the half dozen messages which awaited him.
Kitten: Just finished work. How was your day?
Kitten: Mine was pretty boring. Hope yours was better
Kitten: I'm being dragged out to the bar to celebrate being healed
Kitten: Wish you could be here with me
Kitten: Maybe we should try again to meet
Kitten: I'm probably bugging you with so many messages. If meeting us is too much just tell me
As Yagi read the messages he couldn't help but give a small smile. It was nice to hear the thoughts of the man he and sat next to for the last few hours. Aizawa saying he wished he was there almost made him laugh. He wondered what reaction he would get if he told the now drunk man he had been there all along. It only took a moment for him to see it in his head. Aizawa would probably be embarrassed and confused and above all else he would be pissed. Better not tell him tonight, or perhaps any other. He didn't want the wrath of Shota Aizawa to rein down on him.
The following message lost him his smile. Aizawa wanted to meet. He wanted to know who he was. Yagi didn't want Aizawa to know the truth. He was still hoping they could grow close and maybe his Bunny persona could just fade away or that at the very least Aizawa would be relieved to find it was him. Yes he hoped, but he knew that tonight was not yet the night for any of that and so he sent his reply before heading back inside to see how the other would take the news.
Bunny: My day has been good but it's still pretty busy
Bunny: I'm sure drinks with you would be fun but I don't think I'm read for us to meet
When he walked through the door he found Aizawa effortlessly. The younger man had returned to their table and had his head aimed down to his lap where he was no doubt reading the latest replies. For a moment everyone in the bar seemed to fade away as Yagi watched a small pull at the dark haired man's lips. It made him want to melt. He had put that smile there. Maybe one day he would see a smile like that directed at him. At Toshinori Yagi.
"You know I think the last drink or two may have been a bit much", Yagi jokingly complained. "I might have to cut you off next time." In truth he was rather satisfied with how the night had gone and though he worried how Aizawa might feel in the morning, he now had a solid excuse to walk down the road with his arm wrapped firmly around him.
"Regretting your offer to get me home already?" Aizawa asked with a grin that said he had drunk extra on purpose. Like it had been a sly scheme.
"That's not it exactly. We're just", the blond halted, bringing their already dragging pace to a stop. "We're moving so slow."
"You complain about our speed but then you make us stop. Do you realize how irrational that is?", Shota asked as he turned up to face the man. Yagi's face was close. Closer than he had thought when he turned and he found himself staring into an ocean of blue that looked so deep in thought. It made his stomach flutter with a light nauseous wave that he would blame on the alcohol and as he turned away he found his voice harder than he had meant for it to be. "Spit it out."
"Well", Yagi started as he made a final decision. "It would be a lot faster if I carried you." He had thought hard about it, weighing his options. On one hand they could walk and he would get to hold the other up, not as the pillar of justice but instead, the pillar of Shota Aizawa. But on the other hand, even if it would be quicker and thus over sooner, if he were to carry the man then he could have him, even for a brief time, all to himself, in his arms, pressed against his chest. He'd had to weigh the two to determine which would be more enjoyable. Carrying had won needless to say but he knew the drunken man's response the moment he had felt the first resistance from him since hitting the door.
"Don't even think about it!" The words shot from Shota's mouth as he pushed half heartedly against Yagi's side with his elbow to create distance. Of course there was no way the blond could actually let him go for fear he might fall on his own, but he did allow for an extra inch or two. As far as Shota was concerned, he could honestly say the number of people who had carried him could be counted on one hand and to date, none of them had done it twice. Tonight would not be the night for that to change. "Just how many drunks have you carried home?", he asked with a suspicious tone to his voice, finally relaxing his arm somewhat. To his surprise he was answered first by a boisterous laugh as the the pillar that held him up seemed to shake to the core.
"You think I play taxi for drunks at parties?" Another round of laughs as Shota felt his face heat up.
"Surely you've run into plenty of drunk people at the awards or on the job", he tried to defend.
"And you think I carry them home?" Yagi had to wipe the tears from his eye with his free hand before taking a breath to calm himself. "If that type of situation ever arose I would call them a cab", he assured the dark haired man at his side. "Could you imagine the rumors that would be going around if AllMight were carrying drunk people to their houses?" He had to fight to keep from laughing again and finally Shota understood what was so funny.
He felt a small smile trying to spread across his face and gave everything he had to keep it from growing. It worried him. He hadn't smiled because the conversation had been comical. No he smiled because the blond holding him up in his warm arm had been laughing and wore a genuine smile. Not one of his usual foreboding or nervous, or fake smiles. This smile was real and happy and it even reached those electrifying eyes in a way that added new knots to Shota's stomach and made his heart pound in his ears. It worried him because he was finally starting to realize what all of it mean.