Photo Shoot

"M'sorry, babe." Hizashi sighed as he held the door open for her. "They wanted us here really early."

"Ughhh." Elly's ears flicked in opposite directions as she struggled to get out of his car. It was built low to the ground and that made things a little difficult. "It's okay, I know."

He offered her his hand and pulled her up beside him. "They are payin' us quite a bit, though. S'nice deal, and we get the publicity."

"Uh huh." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I hope they have a good caterer. I desperately need caffeine."

"They're totes gonna want ya awake, don't worry." He chuckled as they offered their licenses to the guards at the front of the office. They were escorted immediately into their respective makeup areas, where the artists were determined to make sure their features showed up well on camera. The man doing the interview during the shoot popped in on both of them briefly.

He was nervous when he stuck his head in Mic's room, his hands rubbing together as he fidgeted with a device that protruded from his throat. It appeared to be an audio recorder, clearly his quirk that made it easier to store information for his job. He was average height, which meant Hizashi towered over him at six foot one inches.

"Excuse me, Mic," he asked anxiously, "but is Cheshire okay? She seemed a little upset."

Hizashi nodded, motioning that he thought that was more than enough powder. He stood and gave the guy a thumbs up before following him to the set. "My babygirl's just not a morning person, is all," he said with a tolerant shrug as they strolled past others in the crew rushing about.

"I can understand that. Hi, I'm Vernon Nelson. I'll be doing the interview for you both." He ran a hand through his short red hair.

One of the camera crew passed by and called out, "Hey, Scoops! You gotta work with Snaps today? Bettter play nice."

Hizashi raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Yeah, the guys around here call us by those silly nicknames." Vernon rubbed the back of his neck. "Snaps - Johnson, his name is -- is the photog. He doesn't talk much but he can be pretty demanding about his shoots."

"Aw, that's all right. We want to do this up good 'n tight."

"Mikey!" They both jumped a little at her voice coming from right behind them. Elly flickered into view with a wicked giggle. "Sorry. I hate makeup, so I sort of endured as much as I could before creeping away."

Hizashi laughed and put his arm around her. "S'okay, princess. You feelin' better, yeah?"

"Yep. Still sleepy, but more awake than before."

"This is Vernon. He's gonna be interviewing us."

They shook hands and the other man couldn't help smiling at how attached they were to each other. Hizashi's arm rarely left her shoulders, and if it did it dropped to her waist. On the occassions when he didn't have his arm around her at all, they were holding hands. It didn't matter if he wore fingerless gloves and she had large, cat's paws on. They probably couldn't feel their actual hands through them but the gesture seemed enough.

Even Snaps was shaken by their genuine feelings for each other. The photographer started taking pictures before the set was ready, as they were being interviewed.

"You two met when Cheshire started working at U.A, correct?"

"Yeah." Hizashi beamed, his eyes alight at the memory. "It was awesome! A few of us went out for karaoke so we could, yanno, all get to know each other."

"I wore a PYHUR jacket," Elly admitted, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"She did." Hizashi's grin was huge.

"So embarrassing."

"Were you a big fan of Mic's from before you came here?"

She sighed and nodded. "Back in the States the times matched up so it's not late at all when his show airs. I used to listen all the time, because he played music I liked. I sort of ... well, loved his voice, too."

Her boyfriend squirmed around, obviously thrilled that she was praising him. "You never told me that."

"I told you this morning I love waking up to you saying my name, you big dork."

"Yeah, but I didn't know you liked it before."

Vernon smiled, trying not to burst out laughing at their antics. "You two are living together, then?"

Hizashi bit his lower lip. "Ah, heh heh."

"Yes, we are. I just blurted it out, didn't I?"

"Well, it's obvious how much you two love each other. That's the side the public really wants to see - they're captivated by your romance. It's just so utterly wholesome. Makes others feel wonderful watching you."

"That's wonderful. I wish..." Elly tensed slightly and Hizashi straight up pulled her into a hug this time.

"Don't dwell on it," he murmured. Then, turning to Vernon, "See, ah, some folks had their heart set on seein' us hook up with others. They've been pickin' on her a bit, so she got off all social media for awhile."

"Oh! I'm sorry to hear that. There's always going to be those out there to target heroes and celebrities. But I don't understand the ones that bother themselves about other people's love lives."

"They're not all bad, just... when anybody makes my girl upset, I get so freakin' angry. An' I'm a little, err, hasty with my actions."

She flicked her ears, groaning. "Oh, god, he made a mess that one time telling off someone that said I should be dating a friend of his - ours -- instead!"

"That lady was crazy! No way yer better off datin' Sh - ahhh, yeaaahhh. There I go again." He took a breath, smoothing the back of his furiously bristling blond hair down with one hand. "Sorry."

"No, don't apologize! See, that's why people love you so much. What you showed was a very honest reaction to that situation that our readers can identify with. Who wouldn't get angry if somebody was intentionally making jabs about your significant other? Especially such targeted attacks."

"Yeah." He squeezed her once more and let go. "Some want us to be a certain way. But we're our own selves, not imaginary characters you can force into doin' stuff in real life. They wanna write or draw stuff, I get it. S'fine. Just ..." He made a face. "Please, don't insist we hafta be like that for real."

Elly rolled her eyes, her ears laying back. "Don't get me started on that! No, people, he doesn't have freckles on his face. Or any tattoos or piercings! I'm sorry. He just doesn't."

"Do people really ask that?"

"They don't ask, Vernon. They demand. It's like it will ruin their whole perception of this sweet, outgoing hero if he isn't pierced a whole bunch."

Hizashi pursed his lips for a moment, holding his hand up to stare at it. "I will have a tattoo at some point, though."

Her striped tail flipped up and hit him in the back. "You want to spill that so quickly into the interview?" Then she laughed fondly at the face he made. "Oh, all right."

Vernon watched, intrigued, as she tugged her glove off. On the left hand - his eyes widened as he realized a second before the ring came into view.

"Oh, my goodness... congratulations!"

Chaos erupted upon the crew hearing him, the entire staff bursting into cheers and applause at the announcement that they were engaged.

The photos surrounding the interview were so well done the couple even requested a few professionally printed for their home. There were a few during the interview with them seated on chairs chatting with Vernon. In each of the smaller shots they were close, hands touching or, in the case of the one, Mic holding her in comfort.

The larger ones done on the white drop sheeted set were amazing, but their favorite was the one where he was kneeling on one knee, her left hand in his and a smug little smirk on his face. It clearly showed the ring on her finger from an artistic angle and her answering smile was alight with love and happiness.