The Letters

 Present Mic's last class had filed out minutes ago, chatting and laughing. It was quiet in the school after the teenagers left, with only a few students involved in extra activities walking the halls and maybe a teacher or two.

Hizashi took this opportunity to take out a small notepad he kept in a desk drawer. He tapped a pen on the pad and what was written on it - something he'd started this morning over coffee.

<i>I'm scared I might come off as creepy as hell, so this is like the fifth letter I've written and never given to her,</i> he thought with a grimace. <i>Really should do these on my phone, though, in case I have to delete them...</i>

But love letters are supposed to be written, right?

Hizashi sighed and looked down at what he'd written. His penmanship was clear and he had used her native language, English. There was another reason for the choice in language than that, however. It meant Kayama wouldn't be able to tease him if she got ahold of it. Her English stunk, but she knew he was interested in Elly and loved to meddle.

He slumped, one cheek held up in a gloved hand as he stared moodily at the paper.

"<i>
I don't know how else to say it, so I'll just come out with everything all at once.

I'm so in love with you, pretty kitty. Your eyes, your smile, the way your nose crinkles up when you get annoyed. Everything about you makes my heart beat faster, not just the sappy stuff.

A DJ can't just play one song. It's about playing a set, how you connect songs and where you place them. I want us to start off with the best beat and keep it going strong, putting down tracks like our first date, first kiss and -
</i>"

"Hey, Mic! Are you coming tonight?"

<i>She always calls me by my hero name when I'm dressed. S'cute.</i>

Wait.

<i>Shit! Ches!</i>

Pen scratched on paper as he jerked guiltily, his hands scrambling at the notebook to crumple the evidence into a ball. It didn't quite wad up but he shoved it off the side where the trash can was and stood, clearing his throat.

"Yeah! Yeah, uh, let's beat feet. I can't wait to get a few drinks in me."

"We're going to the karaoke bar. Yagi said he's coming, but he promised he wouldn't sing." She clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled when Hizashi looked visibly relieved.

"So it's Aizawa, me, you an' Yagi?"

"Uh huh." She leaned momentarily into his side as they paused to let a late student out the doors ahead of them. "Mind giving me a ride?"

He paused, glasses slipping on his nose. "Uh... aren't we changing first? That's unusual."

"<i>Some</i>body reserved the booth for earlier than it should've been," she said with a flick of her ears. "Got a little too enthusiastic, I think."

"Oh?"

Elly burst out laughing. "It was me! I'm sorry. They only had one left and I really wanted to go with you - I mean, everyone." She coughed, blushing lightly as she hid her slip-up.

He paused, a huge, trembly smile on his lips and his ears burning under the soft cups of his headphones. "Ohhh. Okay. That's cool. As long as you call me by my name when we're alone."

They passed through the teacher's area to get their things from the lockers and she nodded. "Force of habit! But I'll try really hard this time, Yamada."

He froze in the act of opening his locker. Hearing her say his name was great - so rare, in fact, that he really shouldn't push things, but...

"Hey, Ches?"

"Uh huh?" She slung her purse over her shoulder and shut the metal door.

"I'd be stoked if you called me Hizashi." He grinned, abashed, and held up both hands in case she reacted badly. "Ya don't hafta! I know we all call ya Ches anyway, but ..?"

"I told you before, I don't mind "Ches". It's easier with Eri around to avoid confusion about my name." She leaned on the lockers, watching him as he dug in his bag for his keys. "Isn't calling someone by their given name in Japan kind of... intimate? No one else does it to you. Not even Aizawa."

He shifted from one foot to the other. "Um. Yeah, well, it's true it's more personal." Hizashi frowned, struggling to dig out of the hole he'd buried himself in, but saw no way out. He sighed tremulously, rubbing his fingertips on both sides of his nose and pushing his sunglasses up. He shoved them all the way up on his forehead so he could look directly into her eyes. Before he could open his mouth to speak, however, they fell back down and he jumped.

Elly laughed gently and placed a hand on his chest. "Here." She reached up to take the glasses off, and he bent closer to give her access. When the shades were gone the blush across the bridge of his nose was more apparent but she didn't notice as much because his eyes were bare. Hizashi's greenish-gold eyes were a mystery; the pupils were surrounded by thin, concentric circles that completely mesmerized her.

He saw her gaze become noticeably softer and pressed forward. "I want us to be more intimate. Is - is that okay?"

She cocked her head in a silent question, her ears pricking forward.

He groaned, tapping one foot on the floor in a restless staccato. "Yer <i>killin'</i> me here, Ches..."

"There's no one else here, and I promise you can talk to me - that's not the counselor in me, by the way. It's just me." She squeezed his arm in comfort.

"That's the problem. Oh, shit, no!" He placed his hand on hers when she flinched, her eyes wide with hurt. "Nah, I didn't mean it that way. I guess what I mean is, uh, a DJ can't play just one - <i>wait, that's not good</i> -- uh. Maybe I should've kept all those letters." He groaned loudly.

"Zashi -" His heart flipped over in his chest at the nickname she'd already given him and he huffed laughter at himself for being so nervous. "There's no way the Voice Hero can be at loss for words, right? Just say it."

Thinking that might be a good idea Hizashi switched abruptly to English and blurted out, "I love you!"

To his immense surprise, she simply smiled and replied, "I loved you first."