The Care (Shouta)

"Mic." Aizawa sighed and closed his locker in the teacher's lounge, revealing his friend's face standing beside him. "Ches is quite happy and taken with me. I have no need to resort to your silly bet."

"Oh, yeah? I dare ya to take her breath away. Like, lose control an' be all wibbly an' fainty an' stuff. I bet you can't!"

"You want me to romance Cheshire into a state of unconsciousness." He said it flatly, staring at his friend in disbelief. "At work."

"Yeah. Prove it. You say you feel that way about her, so now put yer money where yer mouth is."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Put up or shut up," Mic clarified.

He grinned in a disturbing fashion at his friend. "Time me."

7:00 A.M
Classes (and the challenge) begin.

Aizawa texted his girlfriend after he started his class on a short project. Elly walked in a few minutes later, waved to some of the kids and strode over to his desk.

"You wanted to ask me something, Eraser?"

"Yes. Could you take this to Mic's room, please?"

He handed her a piece of paper and smiled at her softly, the kind of smile that was reserved for special moments of his life. She shivered all over, smiling back. "Of course."

The rooms weren't that far apart. After she handed the envelope to the English teacher, he blinked oddly and shook another, smaller one out.

"Uh. It says this is for you, an' yer supposed to read it right now."

Raising an eyebrow, she opened it and saw, carefully written in Aizawa's nearly illegible scrawl:

"Come back and kiss me."

The striped fur on her tail puffed out in all directions and she blushed. "Ah... sorry, Mic. I've got to, um. Go."

Hizashi squinted appraisingly at her when she left.

Scarce believing what he had written, she went back and poked her head in his classroom. The students were busy working on papers and he strolled casually over to the door to meet her. When she poked her head in he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the mouth, a light, open-mouthed brush that nonetheless caused her lips to tingle.

8:00 A.M
Flowers are delivered to her office.

The flower arrangement was gorgeous. It was mostly sprays of her favorite, lavender, with baby's breath for decoration along the edges and purple hydrangea in the middle. It was a fragrant and beautiful masterpiece, and, better yet, was in a planter box. No flowers had been destroyed and they could be kept in their home.

Inside the attached card was the most amazing and adorable photo of her boyfriend she had ever seen. He was blushing grumpily but posing with his hands curled together in heart formation!

The card read "Pull the ribbon."

Elly blinked in confusion at the flowers and tugged at the tiny tab that read, "pull here". What she had thought was only ribbon for decoration fell to her desk and a heart locket spilled out of it. She picked it up with trembling fingers and popped the catch. Inside was a smaller version of the photo in the card on one side and on the other, an inscription.

"And if love be madness, may I never find sanity again"

Elly's lower lip trembled, but she kept herself from crying at the last minute. She took a deep breath and took off her neck gear, carefully clipping the heart to her collar underneath. Then she set the box on one corner of her desk where she could admire it all day until she could bring it back to their apartment.

8:05 A.M
Texts from the heart

Cheshire: I just got the flowers ♡

Cheshire: I don't know what's gotten into you today but baby, I love you so much it hurts right now

Aizawa: Good

Aizawa: Everything is as it should be

Aizawa: and you are my everything

She stared at the texts, her face flaming. She had no idea what had gotten into him, but he was bombarding her with love. This is not to say she didn't like it but she wasn't sure how long she could keep her professional appearance when he kept titillating her.

It buzzed again and she jumped a little.

Aizawa: When you're done staring at your phone look up so I can kiss you.

Startled, she almost dropped the phone. He was standing over her, bent at the waist and grinning. Before she could speak he kissed her on the neck and licked once, lightly, before backing away.

"Meet me in auditorium two in half an hour, okay?"

Still speechless, she nodded.

8:30 A.M
In which Aizawa Shota takes his bets very seriously and pulls absolutely zero punches

She arrived at the appropriate time to see him standing off to the side while his class was spread out working hard again.

He hop-walked over in his mummy sleeping bag, the new one he bought with arms, and held them out for a hug. Elly laughed and held him tight. He knew she loved the bag, calling him a "living teddy bear" when he wore it. As he disliked large, public displays affection she had held back when he wore it at school. The teens were not paying much attention since he had given them a bunch of busywork involving cleaning and prepping their gear. Present Mic had stopped by, ostensibly to talk to them about this topic but also to check their bet.

This was in the curriculum as well, so he had chosen something that fit his plans perfectly. Everything always according to plan, including seducing his girlfriend in plain sight of the other staff and students.

She clung to him as he whispered in her ear. All it took was one more "I love you" - carefully practiced and spoken in English -- before she absolutely melted into those puffy yellow arms, falling limp and trusting him to hold her so she didn't fall.

Mic watched from the sidelines, smirking a little. He was strangely not upset at all about losing the bet.