The Plushie

"I'm not leaving this spot," he ground out, "until I win that ridiculous freakin' plush."

"Hizashi," Aizawa tried to reason with his friend, "you've spent 10,000 yen already. It's impossible. And you hate bugs. Let's go."

"Not gonna." He tried again, lining up the metal loop and taking a deep breath. "S'gotta be possible, Sho. All games like this are tested by some commission or somethin'." Sound exploded from behind him as a child won a toy at a different booth nearby, and the constant chatter of the crowd was frequently overwhelmed by the music from the rides. It was a cheerful place, but the Voice Hero was more nervous than when he fought against villains.

The scruffy man blew air out in a gigantic sigh. "You're not going to be able to eat next week if you keep it up."

"I'll eat at the cafeteria." He swore as the loop caught on the twisted wire again. "Shit!"

"Why are you being so childish about this? If you want a stuffed toy, go buy one. There are shops in the mall that carry much better ones than this."

Hizashi let out a shaky sigh. "If I tell ya, you gotta promise not to tell anyone." His green eyes squinted and he leaned conspiratorially close to his friend. "And I mean it!"

Aizawa was unimpressed at his show of secrecy. "Fine."

"Ches wants it."

"Excuse me?" He frowned.

"You heard me," Hizashi said sheepishly. "I heard Cheshire say she'd love this for her collection." He pushed his red-rimmed glasses up his nose.

Aizawa actually laughed, a dry, coughing sound that caused passerby to avoid him with cautious stares. "You lovesick idiot! That's why you want the giant caterpillar. Is it the one from the book?"

"You don't hafta be mean," he muttered. Then, "Yeah, 'cause it's got the hookah." He pointed to the plastic device the monstrosity was holding.

The barker had sharp ears, and she heard everything they were talking about. She had a vested interest in the poor man already, having spent so much of his money at her booth. But this new information added a lot more to what was at stake.

"Excuse me, did you say this was for a girl you like? And that girl is Cheshire?"

Hizashi blushed. "Um. Yeahhh. We work together, and I wanted to give it to her as a surprise."

The woman squinted at him. "Present Mic?"

He pulled a wry, crooked smile, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Ya got me there. I'm incognito tonight, yo."

"Gotcha." She turned and brought out a large pole with a hook on the end. As he watched, she deftly pulled the huge thing down and handed it to him.

"Wh - what..?"

"C'mon, you spent a load of money here, and if it's 'cause you like her, I'm kind of rooting for you." She awkwardly added, "I'm, ah, totally Micshire all the way."

"Micshire?" Aizawa frowned deeper.

Hizashi was gushing thanks all over the place. He then realized he was going to have to carry this large, bug themed toy to his car and squealed faintly.

"Ahhh... Shota?" He pointed weakly.

Aizawa ended up carrying it, and of course he ripped on him the entire way. "How are you going to give it to her if you can't touch it?"

"She went home. I can carry it at least from the garage to her place." He stopped, swallowed hard, and made a face. "I think."

They carefully stowed it in the back seat of his car and got in.

"So ... Micshire?"

Hizashi hiccupped shyly. "Erk. It's a shipping thing. Mic an' Chesire together."

"'Shipping'?"

"Christ, Sho, do I hafta explain everything to ya?"

In the end, he did manage to get it all the way to her apartment by himself. He just kept thinking it was okay because it wasn't a realistic caterpillar. It was bright green with aqua and swirling purple eyes and accents. The hookah was purple too, and the mushroom he was seated on was hot pink with white dots. It was so '70s garish he assumed it would look awesome under the blacklight he had in his bedroom.

Grunting, he hefted it onto one hip and knocked on her door. Now that the moment was here, his heart was beating heavily in his chest and he was sweating.

Elly opened it and gasped when he pushed it through as if it was the one that knocked. "Plushie delivery service," he intoned in a serious voice.

Her reaction was something he would later play over and over again in his mind. She screamed giddily, a schoolgirlish sound, and hugged it tight. He watched her with a sappy smile, his heart damn near melting at her kittenish purrs of glee. But though he had known it would make her happy, he hadn't guessed what she would do next.

Elly threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Thank you, 'Zashi!" She pulled back, her eyes sparkling, and kissed him softly full on the mouth.

His eyes bugged open wide, his fingers spasming on her upper back. But after the momentary shock he relaxed, his hands pulling her gently towards him as his eyes slipped closed in bliss. Hizashi hummed with pleasure, and the vibrations from his quirk tingled their lips. Elly softened further and allowed him to deepen the kiss. After several long seconds, he gently nudged her and she backed up inside, still connected and kissing for all they were worth. The door clicked shut behind them.

The next day they came in to work together and the teacher's lounge was awash with speculation. Midnight ran around taking bets on if they had hooked up together or not. Yagi said aloud that they would make a wonderful couple, and that set off a flurry of arguments around the room.

This lasted about fifteen minutes, until they saw Hizashi bend to kiss her cheek before they parted for first classes.

They were definitely a thing.