Elly and Hizashi were visiting a unique hot spring with Nemuri, who had decided on her own to tag along. The spring showcased the quirk of the owner, who infused special bath salts with the ability to predict who the user was in love with.
"Awww, Yamada must have gone right into the spring to show how much he loves you. I'm going to barf."
Elly frowned. "But how did he get in so fast? He was just over - "
His voice coming from the side startled them all. "Hey, babe. I got us a reservation and... wha - heyyy, why're you all lookin' at me like that?"
Nemuri pointed wordlessly to the display area. Beautiful purple striped foam was swirling around as everyone ooh'ed and aah'ed at the unusual colors.
Elly curled her unique tail around her in an attempt to hide it. "But ... but this is special, right? Isn't it supposed to be special?"
"Yeahhh..." Hizashi was staring stupidly at this proof that someone else out there was in love with his girl. "Their quirk is never wrong."
"But who..?!"
"Ms. Cheshire, I'm sorry!" A small weight was suddenly clinging to her leg.
Elly blinked down into a very small, very earnest pale face. "Eri? Oh my god. Aizawa." Her face grew extremely red as she realized who was in the hot spring.
"I told him he would feel better maybe if he went in the hot spring. I didn't know what it was!" Her face was twisted with anxiety.
Elly stroked her hair in comfort. "It's okay, sweetie. It's not your fault!"
"Shota?!" Hizashi stumbled, his green-spiraled eyes huge. "No way!"
Inside the hot springs there was an announcement that sounded innocuous yet was a warning to the staff.
"We want to congratulate Jessie in section 2-B - I repeat, Jessie in the men's spring on the right."
Everyone looked up from their stations in surprise. In a few moments all available workers were gathered in a back room.
The owner cleared his throat. "We have a Jessie situation, people, head's up."
"Who are the people involved?"
"There's a blond man outside, hair in a bun with red glasses - he's our Jessie. In our spring is the friend. You'll recognize him right away: long, black hair also put up in a bun, but he's got dead, bleary eyes and a scar under one. Looks like he hasn't shaved or slept in a week."
One of the older women winced. "Oh, dear. I didn't think he realized what our springs were about. I tried to explain but he seemed so tired - he just wanted to rest, he said."
Hizashi was bundled discreetly in to confront his friend. They escorted him to the communal area where the dark-haired man was already getting dressed again, shooed everyone else out, and then left.
Aizawa looked up in confusion at the commotion. "What's wrong, Hizashi? You look like you're going to be ill."
"You ... you don't know, do you?"
"Know what?" He shrugged. "The thing they gave me for the bath was weird, but it was relaxing. Did I pick the wrong one or something?"
"You can't pick the wrong one."
He sighed and sat down on the bench. "Then what's the problem."
"This is a romantic hot springs, you idiot! Your choice turns the water the colors of the person you're in love with!"
This got his attention at last. The towel he had been drying his hair with slowly lowered so he could stare incredulously at his friend. "Purple stripes," he choked.
"Yeahhhh. Uh. Kinda hard not to see who that means, Sho."
His frown grew more intense. "I would never have gone in if I had known. I intended to keep this a secret."
"Forever?" He paused, then blurted out, "She's here too, by the way. She was the one who figured it out!"
"Hurk." He placed a hand to his throat where his Adam's apple bobbed wildly. "This isn't a situation I know how to handle. Can't we all ignore this? Logically..." But here he paused and stared blankly ahead of himself for awhile before sighing. He set the towel next to him on the bench and rubbed at the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "This isn't logical at all. I'm sorry, Hizashi."
"But - but you never said..."
"I only want you to be happy." He shrugged. "Since you both do that for each other, remaining silent seemed the best way to ensure that happiness continued."
"I guess I'm just thinking about if I felt that way and had to stay quiet."
"You? Quiet?"
"Ha. Ha, ha," he said flatly.
"Sorry." He stood, took his shirt off the neatly folded stack of clothes and started dressing. "And anyway, perhaps we're being too worried. Ches is a liscensed counselor. I'm sure she can handle this better than you think."
"No. No way, uh-uh. This isn't happening." Elly lay in a half-faint on a bench in the shade with Nemuri fanning her. "Aizawa Shota?!"
"Hey, if he swings that way there was a chance, right? Plus, you're - you know -- a cat. The man has an absolute adoration of those animals."
"But - but the Pussycats..."
"Fake. Slapping a costume on a human doesn't compare to the real thing. Look, you've actually got a real tail, fangs, ears."
"And nose," she added.
"Really?"
"Yeah, underneath."
"Plus, you two have gotten to know each other better. I've been his friend for years and he never took me anywhere besides work."
"That was just shelter work. Because he loves cats!"
"He took you out to eat after."
"Augh!"
After the men had spoken and Aizawa had fully dressed once again, the two met awkwardly in a room off the hot springs. Nemuri had taken Eri to eat, so she was being looked after nearby.
"We need to talk."
"I apologize for causing a disturbance," Aizawa murmured. "It was not my intent."
"I know." She sighed, ducking her head and rubbing at her furry ears with a baffled expression. "Shota ... really? I never would have guessed, for one."
He grimaced. "I tried very hard to keep it from you. From Hizashi, as well. I'm not that kind of man."
"I know," she repeated. "And now everyone's looking to me for the solution because I'm a counselor." She raised her head, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't have one, you know. Things happen and I help people deal with them. I'm not so great at dealing with them myself."
"If you can both forget -"
"I'm not going to negate your feelings so easily. That would be callous. I love Zashi, though, with all my heart."
It was Aizawa's turn to mouth 'I know', though he didn't speak out loud. He hung his head, miserable. "He makes you happy," he murmured. "That makes me happy. If we can drop it at that, it would be... okay. I think."
"No." A new voice was added to the group and they turned around, amazed as Hizashi walked in. His face was burning across his cheeks and his forehead was wrinkled in worry. "Look, I've known you all my life, Sho. You've never acted interested in anyone except Ches. I thought you were asexual. And I was okay with that, right? To each his - or her -- own. Ahh, but this, it just doesn't seem right to just act like nothin' happened."
"What do you suggest, Hizashi," his friend said drily, "you add me to your relationship?"
Elly blinked when her boyfriend gave her a strange look. He shrugged tentatively. "Uh... sort of? How about if we like, give you something to get it out of your system?"
"Zashi?"
"Huh?"
"You should probably have spoken to me first about this." She sighed and dropped onto a couch along one side of the room.
"He's just joking," Aizawa snorted.
"Uh. I thought maybe, I don't know. You said you wanted us to be happy. But you're not really happy."
"I'm fine. I'll live. I'm not the first person to suffer through an unrequited love."
She put her hands up to her mouth as he spoke. "Oh," she said in a trembling little voice.
"Yeah, see?"
Elly nodded tearfully. "But - but this isn't... I don't know how to help -"
Aizawa shook his head. "I'm not going to ruin your relationship," he said very firmly. "I don't need anything except for you both to forget this happened." He refused to look at either one as he made his way to the door.
"Wait," she called out before he could leave. He paused in the act of reaching for the handle to look surprised as she rushed over. "I know this is the wrong thing to do, but I can't help it." She kissed him softly on the cheek.
"Ches," he said brokenly.
"I do love you, you know. Maybe not exactly the same way, but I do."
He stared wordlessly at her, his gray eyes troubled. And then he turned and quietly stepped out of the room.
Hizashi walked to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Sorry about before," he muttered. "I don't know what I was going on about, either. I've just never seen him like this."
"I know." She rested her head on his shoulder. "He's right, though. He'll get over it. Might take awhile, and it will probably suck. But he will."
Aizawa slipped into a single bathroom and closed the door, setting his back to it. One hand stole up to his eyes, hiding them from view though he was the only one in the room. His mouth worked soundlessly as tears started to pour down from under his fingers, and he slid slowly down to the floor, crumpled in a heap but carefully silent.
He honestly wasn't sure he was going to be able to get over her.
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