Work Text:
As Shouta walked home from the police station at 2 in the morning, his heart felt heavy.
Shouta would have preferred to just work his patrols alone. That’s what he had always imagined when he was still a student. But instead, he was an adult in the real world. And since he’d been successful as an underground hero in the 5 years since he’d graduated from UA, now it was his job to supervise the newest graduates.
But there was nothing fulfilling about being in a position of seniority when it always felt like this. The young hero he’d been working with had undeniable potential. But he only ended up in underground work because none of the flashier agencies would accept him. And the impact that had on his work was obvious.
Contrary to popular belief, underground hero work wasn’t all about working long undercover missions or busting huge drug rings. Shouta didn’t get any recognition for most of his work at all. He liked it that way.
Most of the new heroes didn’t. They wanted to get put on the local news every time they stopped a robbery.
And Shouta really didn’t blame them for wanting attention. He’d married Hizashi, a man whose media presence only enhanced his reputation.
But that was the difference. Hizashi made people feel safe because people knew they could rely on him. His charisma made him a better hero.
Shouta knew that not all the people he’d been working with lately had the same reasoning.
He sighed heavily as he opened the door to his apartment. He could hear the radio playing softly in the living room, occasional humming from his husband joining in. Shouta took off his boots, hung his capture weapon on the hook, and went to join him.
Hizashi was sprawled across the couch, grading papers. This was his second year of teaching English classes at UA. It made him a lot busier, but then again, Hizashi always liked to be busy.
His husband looked up at him and smiled. “How was patrol, honey?”
Shouta bit his lip. “You first,” he said as he sat down on the couch. He didn’t even want to think about his night yet.
Hizashi hummed. He always seemed to hear the words that Shouta couldn’t bring himself to speak. “Well, the cat and I have been grading these essays for a few hours. She’s sleeping on the job, but I guess I can cut her some slack. And look!” Hizashi shuffled through a pile of papers, grabbing one and holding it up. “That kid I’ve been telling you about- you know, with the really long hair, sits in the back?” Hizashi is talking faster and faster now, excitement growing. “She got an 80%! Some spelling mistakes, a few awkward sentences here and there, but it was great! I’m so proud of her.”
Shouta felt a smile grow on his own face, reflecting his husband’s enthusiasm. “That’s great, ‘Zashi.”
“Okay, now tell me why you came in looking like a disappointed parent,” Hizashi said gently. Shouta’s lips twitched at the joke. Hizashi had started referring to his students and Shouta’s trainees as “their kids.” For better and for worse, it could be a little too on the nose sometimes.
Shouta reached for his husband’s hand, squeezing it. “I just...” he trailed off. Hizashi waited silently. Shouta felt grateful that his husband always knew when to move on and when to wait and listen. “I had to talk him into pursuing this villain. He didn’t want to because this villain doesn’t operate in our main territory, he was just passing through. So technically he’s someone else’s problem, we could’ve just reported it to them and gone on our way. But...I can’t stop thinking about it, ‘Zashi.” Shouta paused for a long moment. “I know that he had a point and he was just following the policies he’s been taught. But I had to talk him into helping someone.”
“I don’t buy that excuse,” Hizashi murmured. “The one about following policy. Real heroes go out and help without having to be asked. Or, in your case with the stray cats, even when they’re begged by their poor husband to not bring any more home.”
Shouta snorted. “You go look a kitten in the eyes and tell them no yourself, I dare you.” He leaned further into his husband’s side, until they were pressed together from shoulder to knee. “If heroes don’t need to be asked to help, then why do I have to keep asking?” He confided in a rough voice. “You know this isn’t the first time. I just thought-” He exhaled sharply.
“You thought what?” Hizashi asked softly.
“I thought that no one would ever make it through hero school if they didn’t want to risk their lives to help other people. And I wasn’t even asking that much of him tonight. It wasn’t even particularly difficult to bring the villain into the station.”
Hizashi was slow to answer. “Make it through hero school, huh?” he echoed.
That was his thinking voice. “What is it?” Shouta asked.
“Well, an idea just popped into my head. I’m not sure if you would like it. Or even be interested. It’s kind of weird, actually, but the more that I think about it-”
Shouta cut off his husband’s nervous rambling. “Just tell me what you’re thinking.”
“There’s been talk in the teacher’s lounge lately that we need another homeroom teacher for heroics.”
Shouta’s mind raced. A homeroom teacher- is Hizashi suggesting that he apply? He must be, but there’s no denying that out of the two of them, it’s not Shouta who was ever meant to be a teacher. He wasn’t the extrovert that Hizashi was.
“I think you’d be good at it,” Hizashi said, contradicting all of Shouta’s thoughts. “You’re kind of doing it already, aren’t you? You’ve been trying to set an example for all the heroes that get assigned under you.”
“I’d rather be working alone,” Shouta grumbled.
“But you haven’t really gotten any good ones, have you? You can tell when someone really takes to the work. It’s very different.”
“Hizashi, if I was a teacher, I would have expelled every single rookie hero I’ve ever been assigned.”
“Is that a bad thing?” his husband countered. “You said it yourself, the guy tonight didn’t even want to do his job. We’re professional heroes. That puts lives at risk.”
“It does,” Shouta agreed slowly. He’d never thought about it that way before. Sure, he knew that there were plenty of heroes that weren’t in it for the right reasons. But that was just how the world worked sometimes, things weren’t always fair.
But...he’d never thought before about how he could fix it.
“Do you really think I’d like being a teacher? That I could be good at it?”
“Well, I don’t know. I’m not you. But I think you’d have the job offer if you wanted it. You could just try it for a year. If you don’t like it, you could leave.”
Shouta hummed in acknowledgement. “Is it stupid to say that even though I’ve literally never considered the idea until you brought it up, I think I want you to recommend me to the principal tomorrow?”
His husband chuckled. “Not at all. If you know, you know. I know it took you longer, but I wanted you ever since we faced off in our first Sports Festival. And look at that, my instincts were amazing.” Hizashi wiggled his free hand at Shouta, showing off the ring.
“If I got the job, we could have lunch together every day again. Just like second and third years.” Shouta said.
Hizashi gasped. “And we can go to school together! And come home together!”
“And we could give pop quizzes on the same day on purpose. I swear our teachers always did that.”
“Shouta, that’s so mean!” Hizashi laughed. “But yes, maybe once. Just to get revenge.”
And as they chatted softly to each other on the couch, well into the morning, Shouta felt the lightest that he had in months, imagining their future together.