Present Mic was tired.
No, that wasn't right.
He was <i>exhausted</i>, drained beyond the capacity to think or feel his legs as they moved woodenly, carrying him into the suite above the agency he lived in. The school had rightly given him some leave after the explosive battle they'd fought but it was several weeks later. Cleanup during the aftermath had taken every single able-bodied person and he'd pushed himself hard in an effort to forget his personal pain. This was his first time back to his personal residence in months, if he had the brain capacity to remember.
He managed to drive there and park without incident, and, stumbling into the elevator stood for a full minute staring at the numbers on the panel before pressing his floor. Opening his front door took awhile as well since he couldn't find his key, but after dipping into several jacket pockets he finally found the correct one.
It swung open before he put it in the lock.
The school counselor opened it for him. She was dressed in a simple shirt and jeans, nothing formal that might insinuate a professional visit. "Hello, Hizashi."
He blinked, shaken out of his stupor at last. "Wh - Ches?"
"Yeah. Come on." She gestured and he walked inside, unlatching his neck speaker and kicking off his boots automatically.
"What're you doing here? How'd you even..?" He hung his headphones up and scratched the side of his neck with a frown.
"Aizawa let me in."
"Oh." Unburdened by his heaviest gear he walked to the leather couch in the main area and flopped onto it.
"You need more than the time set aside for you to relax," Elly told him firmly. She sat beside him while curling her striped tail around her.
He grunted. "Like what."
"Actually relaxing." Her furry ears honed in on him as she spoke. "Look. In the end, it's your choice." Although soft, her voice held an undercurrent like steel and he was amazed. This wasn't how she'd ever treated him before. "I stay and help you decompress, or I leave."
<i>She's usually so chill around me. This is... different.</i>
Sitting here resting, however, was enough to start remembering things he'd rather not. He was intrigued by her coming into his personal space in such a way but the intrusive thoughts soon broke free.
<i>He saved your life and you beat the shit out of him and made him cry</i>
"Hizashi?"
<i>noNOnoNOno thinking</i>
The turmoil of his emotions were growing but he knew one thing. "I want you to stay."
"Good. Remember, you can tell me to leave any time for any reason and I'll go. Okay?"
He sighed and nodded again.
"Hizashi."
"Hnn?"
Elly placed her hand on his arm. "Tell me clearly, yes or no. I'll leave whenever you want me to. Okay?"
"Y - yeah. 'Kay." He sniffled, obviously struggling to hold back tears.
"You can cry, you know," she murmured.
To her shock he whipped his head up, his eyes blazing with rage. His body tensed and he jerked away from her touch. "No, <i>I can't</i>! I'm not allowed to! I hurt everyone around me just by cryin'! I can't cry, I can't shout, <i>I can't lose <b>control</i></b>!"
Several frames fell off the wall as his voice raised in volume and she winced, covering her ears instinctively. Nothing broke as everything in his place had been purchased with his quirk in mind, but he recoiled when he saw her flinch.
"Oh, <i>no</i>."
"Hizashi."
"No, no, no! How old am I to lose my shit like that?!"
Elly sighed sadly. "I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me."
"Wh - <i>you're</i> apologizing to <i>me</i>?"
"Yes."
"But - but look, I just..." He reached out, confused, to touch the tips of her ears. The purple fur was shorter here, and he could see the veins through the skin were dark, flushed with blood. "I <i>hurt</i> you. You're not afraid?"
"Of you?" She took his hands in hers. "You're a good man. Mistakes happen, they're not intentional. Plus, look, I can still hear. You didn't do any damage, it's just a little pain that's much less than what you're feeling, I'm sure."
He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes swimming with tears and his lower lip trembling. She hesitantly made a gesture with her arms and that's what broke him; he grabbed hold of her upper body and buried his face in her neck, sobbing. Elly held him quietly, rubbing his back without saying a word. She let him taper off naturally, waiting until his breathing slowed and the shaking eased.
"More?"
Hizashi shook his head. "I can't," he croaked. "But I feel like shit. Not better."
He'd gone for so long denying himself certain emotions the release wasn't cathartic, it hurt.
Again, she knew.
"You've been in so much pain for so long. One cry isn't going to do it. Here, you stay for a second, I'm going to get you a drink."
She was back with a small cup in a few minutes.
He held it up to his nose and sniffed once. "Sake?"
"It's pretty strong. Drink, and then you should probably shower if you're up to it. A shower will make you feel physically better."
"When did you get this? I didn't have any in the house."
"I bought it awhile ago." She shrugged. "I use it to help me relax sometimes."
"Oh." He knocked the cup back quickly, a warm glow lighting up his throat and down into his belly. "Yeah, that's good. And you're right... I'm uncomfortable as hell in all this leather. Gotta clean up."
"Uh huh."
She lay back and listened to the sounds of him washing up: the water running and the bumps and movement as he finished up in there. After about half an hour he emerged wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist, his long, blond hair darker than usual as it was still dripping wet.
"Hey."
"Hey - oh!" Her entire face flushed bright red when she saw him. He was lean but sculpted above the waist with a thin line of fuzzy hair that trailed down his belly. "Um. Shouldn't you get dressed?"
"Yep." He walked toward the back where his bedroom was.
Elly let out an explosive sigh of relief, rubbing a shaking hand over her face. "I - I'm never going to unsee that. Holy shit. I mean, <i>wow</i>, but - ohmigod. Butt." She gulped, then swallowed past the huge lump in her throat as her memory forced the image in front of her eyes again. "He's way too hot."
Hizashi walked out yawning hugely, dressed in a U.A t-shirt and sweatpants. He sat on the couch and absently scratched his chest. "Yeah, so..."
"Your hair's still wet," she murmured, touching his neck briefly. "Sit here and I'll comb it out for you."
Hizashi sighed and nodded.
The tangle-free comb running carefully through his hair massaged the scalp and calmed him at last. He concentrated on the repitition of the strokes, the softness of Elly's body behind him and some sweet scent she had on. She rarely wore perfume and this was subtle; it took him some time before he identified it as lavender.
"Hmm... this is nice. And different," he muttered.
"What was that?" She gently stroked both sides of his silken hair back so she could wrap it up in a soft scrunchie.
He kept his head down. "I said, no one's ever done stuff like this for me before."
"It's about time, then."
"I dunno." Hizashi looked up but not at her. "Doesn't this make you feel like I'm not, well..." He huffed quietly, tapping his pointer fingers together while fidgeting.
<i>If he bites his lower lip I'm going to fucking melt</i>, Elly thought, alarmed. Out loud she encouraged him the best she could. "Tell me anything you want, Zashi. I'm not saying that as a therapist, either."
"Oh?" This time he did meet her eyes. His beautiful green-golden irises were glazed over but she could tell he was puzzled by his tone. "M'not less of a man?"
"I really want to help you. I'll be honest, I - I get angry sometimes about how you're treated. I think you're taken for granted for a lot." Her expression firmed and she cleared her throat. "You'll never be less to me. <i>Never</i>."
"Huh." He sounded less than convinced but shrugged it off. "Is there any of that sake left?"
"No more alcohol," she told him with such authority he blinked, surprised. "I've seen how you cope during the weekends, and it's terrible for your health. Besides, you need to feel this."
"Aww." He pouted, his lower lip thrust out.
"That one drink was to relax you, though I don't think it did a very good job."
"My neck hurts," he agreed.
"That happens a lot, doesn't it? Stress and that giant speaker don't mix well. I'll massage your upper body if you want." He pulled his shirt off immediately, bouncing around so that his back was facing her. Though she was startled she stayed quiet and reached for him.
His shoulders had some tiny freckles here and there that could only be seen close up. She had to bite her lip very hard to restrain the urge to kiss them. He was so close, his pale skin fresh and clean from the shower smelling like a mix of leather and light, fruity bubblegum.
"You always smell so nice," she murmured as she rubbed his shoulders.
Hizashi grunted again but the sound was questioning.
"Well, you wear leather a lot so it lingers. I like leather. And your hair products smell yummy."
He chuckled faintly as her fingertips brushed down his spine. "I guess, if you like that kinda thing."
"I like <i>you</i>, Zashi."
He craned his neck back to stare at her, his golden eyes a mystery. Then, moving slowly as if he were afraid she might pull away, he took her hands in his and tugged them around him. She was now hugging his nude chest from behind as he leaned back to look up at her.
"Is that why you're taking care of me?"
"Well -"
"You coulda done this for Aizawa, too. Or any other guy."
"You're not any other guy," she said quickly. "And I wouldn't do this for anybody else."
He wriggled against her, the hint of a smile turning up the corners of his lips. "'Cause you <i>liiiiiiiike</i> me?"
Elly sighed. "Yes."
"<i>Really</i> like me?"
"Yes."
A gigantic smile spread across his lips. "I suddenly feel a lot better, babe."
"You do?"
"A whole lot better. I mean, I lost a friend. Then I lost somebody that wasn't all the way here, if that makes sense... <i>but I found you</i>."
"You got me," she agreed softly.
"I hope so." He paused, then reached up to caress her chin in one hand. "I really needed this, babe. Thank you."
"I'm just loving you."
He blushed hard all at once, his lips quirking into a huge, goofy smile. "You said it first."
