The Talk

Aizawa grunted as he stared at his empty coffee tin. 

<i>Crap. I forgot to buy more again.</i>

He had two options: go out, suffer the brunt of humanity and buy more right now. Or, option two - ask his neighbor. This late at night he figured his best bet was Hizashi, who always had extra since his girlfriend moved in and she was a coffee drinker as well.

He heard his friend's excited voice as he bounded to the door to open it. Elly could be heard in the background calling out something in a warning tone, and Aizawa winced. 

<i>Oh, no.</i>

The door swung open to reveal far more than he had bargained for.

"Hizashi," Aizawa ground out, struggling to keep a level of calm in his voice, "Are you wearing costume ears and a tail with <i>no belt to hold it in place</i>?"

"Um. Well, yeah." The blond man rubbed his neck in embarrassment, staring down like a child getting scolded. "Sorry 'bout that, Shota. I kinda forgot, uh, in the heat of the moment."

"That's fine," he sighed, covering his eyes with one hand.

"Oh! What did you need?"

"Never mind."

Later on at his day job, Aizawa knocked lightly on his boss' office door.

"I would like to put in a formal request to have my rooms changed."

"Changed?" Nezu sipped from his cup of tea. "How so?"

Aizawa's left eye twitched. "Please, Mr. Principal. I can't live next to them any longer."

"Ahhhh."

"Hizashi is as loud as ever, and I can hear everything. I know intimate details of their love life no one should ever be exposed to." He shuddered, lifting his face to reveal his bloodshot gray eyes. They had a haunted look in them. "I've <i>seen</i> things." 

Nezu nodded sympathetically. "I can, ah, imagine. Although I'm trying not to. The entire staff can hear Mic when he sounds off, so to speak... but I understand living next to him in this situation would be even more stressful."

"So I can move?"

The large white mouse twitched his nose, sighing. He set his mug carefully down and looked directly at the frazzled homeroom teacher. "I'm sorry, Aizawa, but we need you there. If I move you, someone else would be placed in your old apartment. You work often and aren't at home a lot. Plus, you're at least his best friend. You have a chance of working things out."

He sighed dismally, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "Unnf. Logically, I'm the best choice."

"Yes."

He sighed again and slumped further down in his chair. "Shit."

Nezu chuckled ruefully. "My apologies. I really do sympathize, you know." His small, round ears flicked once. "I have rather excellent hearing myself, and, ahh... well. Yes."

"I'll talk with him."

"We all appreciate it."

It was going to be awkward, but absolutely necessary. Aizawa decided to include Elly in the conversation, as he had heard her talking to her boyfriend many times about this topic. He also liked her. They were all friends, and that's why he was hoping this would work out. Hizashi might make a fuss, but he would eventually come around.

He hoped.

Once they were all seated around their coffee table, the couple on the couch and Aizawa in a large armchair, he cleared his throat. 

Elly stopped him from speaking by holding up one hand. "I know what this is about, Shota. Zashi's um... exuberant nature."

Hizashi blushed, grinning sheepishly. "I'm really sorry about earlier. Ches an' me had a <i>really</i> long talk about it before you arrived."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

The cat woman nodded sternly. "It's one thing to embarrass a friend, but if that had been a student, there would have been grave ramifications." She reached out and grasped one of his ears between two fingers. "He's going to be <i>very</i> careful about closing the windows and blinds from now on. And ...?"

"Answering doors!" Hizashi yelped. "I know, I'm really-really-<i>really</i> sorry!"

"Oh, and we're upgrading the soundproofing in the bedroom." It was her turn to blush a bit. "I didn't know the old stuff wasn't working as good as it should."

Aizawa's grin was relieved. "I should have talked with you sooner."

"Yes," she snorted. "You should've."

Hizashi leaned back on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, we're friends first, before even being neighbors and all. We shouldn't be afraid to talk about stuff."

"Oh."

"What? You remember something?"

"Do you have some coffee I can borrow? I ran out."

Elly kissed her boyfriend's cheek affectionately before standing up. "Yep. I'll get you some."

"Is that why you knocked earlier when you, umm... saw me?"

Aizawa gave him a look that spoke volumes. "If I wanted to stay awake I'd prefer coffee. Not the horror of your sexual escapades."

Elly burst out laughing from the kitchen.