dumbshow | the critically acclaimed open post

In just a few days?

[So doubtfully says the man who got his fucking face smashed in and limbs broken and still came to work the next day, but whatever! He's different.]

You can't possibly be that uninjured.

[Like, he's not bleeding through his bandages (that Aizawa can see), but surely it's a matter of time.]

[Hey Aizawa, don't be a hypocrite, thanks! All Might is... sturdy. Or he was. Hm.]

It's not like I have hero work to do anymore. I don't need to be completely healed to get out of here.

You're going to make it worse if you push yourself too hard.

[He's going to be the biggest hypocrite on earth, just try and stop him.]

[Aizawa!!!]

I don't know, it's worked for me so far. [Like, it honestly has. But okay, okay.] My arm is the worst off, and they've already put it in a cast— I can't sit in this bed for a week!

I wasn't saying you should.

[He kind of was? But--]

I'll tutor you over the next few days while you stay at home and rest. And give you a hand if you need it.

[Could it be? Aizawa is... volunteering to spend even more time with him?? Be still his heart, for real or the nurses will find out.]

Well... that's a fair enough compromise. I'll be sure not to skip lessons and earn a detention, haha!

[The rest of the world just winced and doesn't know why.]

[oooh mr aizawa oooh

He stares at him blankly. There is, perhaps, a slight touch of color to his cheeks, but he would rather die than admit it.]

I guess it'd be easy to send you to your room, hm?

[Ooh sensei, punish him. No, never do this, it's too close to home. But do blush more, that's nice.]

Something like that! I'm in your care. I'll make it up to you.

Mm.

[He ducks his head down, slouching a little in his seat. His face is still a little red, and dawn is breaking, and that's enough of talking.]

Get some sleep, Yagi.

[Is it appropriate to think your coworker is cute? Because that's cute, which is a thought that makes All Might look away with a slight smile as he rearranges his pillows to go back to sleep.

Aizawa looking after him is small, but it's something; enough that he's not so plagued anymore by the thought that not waking up again wouldn't be the worst thing.

So there's that, but never mind it - he'll go back to sleep! And he will sleep like a rock for hours, still completely exhausted as he is, and eventually Aizawa will have to endure nurses and doctors coming in and out to poke at the famous patient and send glances his way, wondering but not asking.

All Might, for his part, sleeps through the morning and is only properly conscious again around noon, when he's set upon by people with serious medical questions and does his best to politely answer them without just demanding to go home and hobbling off as soon as everyone's backs are turned. He's cooperating! Aizawa doesn't know, but this is new and interesting. Gran Torino shows up at one point, escorted by his own nurse, to say as much and give Aizawa a glance of his own before he's ushered away so that everybody can get more rest.

Anyway, it's a hospital, so it's a very boring day until late, when All Might is finally deemed as good as he's going to get without the simple treatment of time and released with special Doctor's Orders to go home and get lots of rest and not do, like, anything at all.

And so they find themselves outside, waiting for a car, because neither of them fucking drive for some bizarre reason, but at least one of them has a broken arm and head trauma as an excuse right now. All Might is still processing Aizawa coming over to, in so many words, take care of him... It's a little nerve-wracking, and he just defeated the worst villain the country has ever seen.

What all this means is just that he isn't so chatty, on the journey back to his apartment, which is another fun thing Aizawa gets to see that no one else alive in this world today has seen... It's in a strategic location for emergency hero-ing but otherwise ordinary; please enjoy his merch of himself.

In a minute, anyway, as the first thing All Might does is drop his keys. Oops.]

[He isn't quite aware of how many special things he's getting to see, but he's starting to understand it. The apartment is . . . nondescript, almost offensively so (or at least, Midoriya would likely think it offensive, desperately hoping for something more extravagant for the greatest person who ever is, was, or will be). The collection of merchandise makes him snort, but it isn't derisive. Just amused, really, and he sets his sleeping bag down as he stares at a collection of posters.]

All Might through the years . . .

[He sounds amused, and nods towards a poster dated at least fifteen years ago.]

You're smaller than I remember.

[All Might leaves Aizawa to put his things wherever, intent on shuffling past him to slink away and find a fresh set of clothes. No one even tried to save his hero suit, and the hospital scrubs smell like hospital; he needs an ALL M t-shirt ASAP.

But he pauses on his way back to the bedroom to look over at his own posters. Ah, yes, of course, a fine vintage--]

You were smaller back then, yourself.

I was fifteen back then.

[Admire this good humor, Toshinori. He didn't even roast you about your keys. This is what love is. He turns, taking a few steps toward the bedroom before realizing what it is Yagi's heading to do.

Probably doesn't need a companion.

Although, actually . . . that broken arm can't make things easy, but he won't baby him and presume.]

Edited (math!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) 2018-07-04 05:01 (UTC)

[Haha... ha. Five. Jesus. Okay, he's going back to change now, which takes some considerable amounts of effort given he has only one available hand to do it and all of him is sore in some way or another. He makes it into sweatpants and sort of, mostly into a t-shirt, which doesn't work, so he tries a button down instead...

Maybe if he just... buttons this around his arm... not that he's very competent at buttoning one-handed, but he gets it mostly done. Yes, this is perfect.

No, it isn't, but he's coming back out like this anyway. Please don't speak of this choice.]

[He spends a little more time than one normally might looking over posters, noting minute changes in outfit and marketing style with a vague interest. Again he thinks of Midoriya, and how the poor boy would likely combust on the spot if he were to be standing in Aizawa's shoes right now. His hero, his wholly capable, all-knowing All Might, who likely has just about the same amount of merchandise as one of his greatest fans.

And then the man of the hour steps out of his bedroom, and Aizawa sighs.]

Take your shirt off.

[Cataloging your own career through merch is a completely normal hobby and Midoriya would have already panicked just from approaching the front door, to say nothing of getting to come inside.

He would politely ignore how badly All Might did with this shirt, though. Aizawa's sudden demand makes him frown, embarrassed, but he sighs after a moment and starts to unbutton what little amount he managed to do.]

It's more difficult than it looks with one hand.

It's immensely difficult with one hand. Or neither.

[He knows this plight, and yet somehow he managed to crawl into his jumpsuit. He even zipped it! He had his belt on and scarf and everything!

And it's probably because he had some help.

With a little sigh he reaches for the open ends of the shirt, pulling one side down and off Yagi's shoulder so as to help guide his arm in. It's a mundane action, really. Utterly ordinary. And yet Aizawa glances down, frowning, not quite meeting Yagi's gaze as he gently manhandles him. Why? It's not as if it matters. They're both men, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, and yet--

And yet nothing. And yet he's not embarrassed, or flustered, or anything else that comes from being so close to another person when they're all but shirtless.

Glancing down, though, means he gets an eyeful. And while normally that would be enough to make him flush, something catches his eye. Without thinking, he hisses in sympathy, his fingers reaching out to brush against the large scar spiderwebbing up Toshinori's side.]

[It's—still embarrassing, to need this much help. Yes, his arm is quite broken, so of course he needs someone to help him with the finer motor skills, but somehow it's awkward!!

Perhaps because he doesn't just have people over to help him get around... ever. Not even Nighteye, before their partnership split, would help him get dressed while he was injured. It's all he can do now to look down at Aizawa and watch his hands move, faintly mesmerized by how close he is. The quiet in the room is almost tense, but not uncomfortably so— like there's a line to cross and everything involved is just considering when to cross it.

Touching his scar might be getting there. All Might doesn't pull away- besides doctors, there's only a handful of people who've seen this scar, and once again Aizawa has joined their ranks. It's... alright? His skin feels too warm all over (probably some kind of fever, following everything else wrong with his body now) and Aizawa's fingers are cool against his chest. So.

...So. Go right ahead.]

It's from the last time I faced All for One, [he says, eventually, quietly. An explanation is only fair.]

This is why you cough up blood all the time.

[He had no idea. Oh, he'd known it had to be due to some kind of injury, but he'd never imagined . . . this. Something enormous, something so jarring, marring the skin and twisting Toshinori's body in such an obvious way.

Without really thinking about it, he slides his hand down, cool fingers tracing the edge of the scar. They drag over the bumps of his ribs, the curve of his stomach, sliding so carelessly it's as if he's done it a thousand times. He only stops when he reaches the jut of his hip and the edge of his sweatpants.]

You must have been terrified to see him again.

[It isn't pitying. It isn't sympathetic, really. Just a fact.]

Part of it.

[He's also been tearing himself apart with One for All for six extra years, which hasn't helped, but that bad habit has just taken care of itself.

Not really important now, compared to Aizawa's fingers tracing over him. The scar is a harsh reminder of his mistakes, but to say he's embarrassed by it wouldn't be accurate. It's a private thing, one Aizawa has just put his hand all over without asking, but All Might doesn't say anything to him. It feels nice, plain and simple; it's been years since someone has touched him in... ways similar to this one.]

"Terrified" doesn't begin to cover it. [He puts his hand over Aizawa's and nudges it up a little; go on, touch him again.] It was going to happen sooner or later, though.

[His gaze darts up, meeting Toshinori's face for just a moment before focusing back down on his body. There's few clearer signals than the one he just got, but still his fingers hesitate for just a moment. Not because he doesn't want to feel him, but . . .

This is a path he can't back down from. So he'd best make a decision quickly on what it is he wants to do, because he'd despise himself for being something so stupid as fickle.]

It's . . .

[Slowly, his fingers trace upwards again. They move lightly this pass, memorizing the feeling of rough warmth beneath his fingertips. There's no rush, and so he takes his time, lingering here and there for no other reason than it suits him.]

There are plenty of heroes who would run from such a confrontation, and no one would blame them.

[If All Might stopped to think about it, he'd be politely embarrassed about his automatic insistence that Aizawa touch him. There's really no reason for it, besides the fact that his hand feels nice and why not, he's let Aizawa into so many different aspects of his life already in just one day. Another one, this one, isn't any different.

It is a little different. Not enough to deter Aizawa, at least, and All Might can... relax, minutely, under the careful observation of his fingertips.]

That's true.

[He considers reaching for the scar under Aizawa's eye, to smooth his thumb over it and maybe make Aizawa look up at his face again— but that feels like rushing ahead, and so his hand winds up at his elbow, where Shigaraki's quirk left its mark.]

Not you.

[It's a compliment, but one he ignores for the moment. This is about Toshinori, not Aizawa, and he won't let him deflect from it.]

You're brave. And it's an easy quality to overlook in this day and age, because all heroes are supposed to be brave.

[He takes a step forward. They're too close now, intimate in a way they haven't ever been before. He can feel the warmth radiating off his torso, the puff of his breath as he exhales against the top of his head. Aizawa's fingers drag down lower again, almost experimental in how they linger at his hip.

A beat, and he glances up, a little smile on his face.]

Savor it. I'm not going to give you a compliment for another year or so after this.

Edited 2018-07-05 02:10 (UTC)

[You try to compliment a boy and he throws even more compliments back in your face and gets up in your business. Kids these days.

Or: he's been so continuously awed by the bravery of the people around him, like Aizawa, like Midoriya- as foolish as he may be sometimes- that even he overlooks the quality in himself sometimes. It's always nice to hear a little encouragement, and it's even nicer to hear it spoken quietly and in earnest, in his home, while Aizawa steps closer to him. Into his space, like he has every right to, as easily as if he belongs there.

Suddenly he's a little dizzy, which is either his fever spiking or something else entirely.]

I— yes, I'll... I will treasure it. I think I need to sit down.

[His grip tightens slightly on Aizawa's arm, but not for support. Stay.]

Ah-- all right.

[He twists his hand, fingers wrapping around his forearm, taking a step back. There's a couch not too far (with an All Might felt blanket draped over the back, neatly folded), and he leads them both over there. Toshinori is seated first, naturally, before he joins him.

His shirt is still hanging open, he realizes, but he won't move to help him button it just yet. Not until he knows where they're going with this. It would illogical to do anything else.]

All right?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

@dreamwidth let me post this

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject