It's weird to look in the mirror and not see fresh bruises. Shota twists and turns, trying to see his back. With class on break all of his bruises and scrapes from training have faded. Being away from home for most of the last week means that most of those bruises have faded as well. It's a little unsettling. Shota prods at a scar on his shoulder – it's at the itchy point of healing, but it's not too bad. If he's lucky it'll coincidentally fade the next time he gets healed by Recovery Girl.

He inwardly shrugs that thought aside, focusing on rummaging through the absurd amount of hair products on the bathroom counter for a hair tie. He finally finds a headband and uses it to keep his damp hair out of his eyes. He finishes drying off, throwing the towel on the rack to dry. He's just pulled on his shirt when he hears his phone ringing – the obnoxious, perky top ten song that Hizashi had assigned himself on Shota's cellphone. Shota curses when he realizes he left the phone in the bedroom before taking a shower. He throws open the door and darts down the hall.

He grabs the phone and answers it just before the last ring, sounding breathless from his surprise mad dash.

"Woah, uh, am I interrupting something?" Hizashi laughs on the other end of the line.

"Shut up." Shota snaps, flopping down onto the bed. "I forgot my phone in the other room."

"Uh-huh." He can almost imagine Hizashi's teasing grin. Shota smiles, rolling onto his back as Hizashi launches into a detailed retelling what they had done today. One of Hizashi's moms, an author, was having one of her books translated – and had been invited to the release over in America. The Yamadas had taken the opportunity as one last spring break vacation before Hizashi graduated.

Hizashi seems to be really enjoying the trip. Even he still insisted on calling Shota every day despite the time difference.

Shota doesn't plan on mentioning how much he appreciates it.

"HEY, so what have you been up to today? Have you been sleeping the break away?" Hizashi teases.

"Mm. Tensei woke me up at an ungodly hour and we took Tenya to the park."

"'Ungodly' meaning before noon, right? Also! Please tell me you got pictures, I'm in Tenya withdrawal and I don't think I'll make it."

"I'll tell Tensei to send you some." Shota pulled the phone away from his ear, putting it on speaker so he could text Tensei. "How is the book thing going?"

"Pretty good! She had things to do with her publisher today, so she sent mom and I off to explore, they have this little theme park and I won you the best prize ever but I'm not telling you what it is—"

"—and I thought I was going crazy because, like 'I'm speaking English so what the hell are you speaking'? And it turns out it was Korean, but his accent is so heavy that it sounded like German -don't ask me how it was soo bad - and so I finally gave up and just pointed and mom was laughing so hard she was crying because she said my face looked so panicked and anyway— I miss you."

Shota snorted, causing the phoneline to crackle. "How does ordering kimchi make you miss me?"

"Because! You laugh at me all the time and I miss hearing you." Hizashi lowers his voice. "I'm serious though, I wish you could've come."

"As if I want to be stuck on a stupidly long flight with you." Shota flopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, briefly imaging traipsing around America with Hizashi acting as tour guide and translator. It sounded exhausting. "Thanks… for letting me stay here though."

"Of course." Hizashi's voice is far softer than Shota expects, and it make his heart hurt a little bit.

Their conversation tapers off after that. It was past midnight where Hizashi was in America after all, and for all of Hizashi's noisy energy – it was bound to die out eventually.

"Go to sleep, 'Zashi" Shota finally has to command after the umpteenth yawn.

"Fiiiiiiiine." Shota heard shuffling and figured Hizashi was curling up on his hotel bed. "Goodnight Shota – M&M say goodnight too, or they would if they were still awake. Miss you!"

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight Hizashi." It took a couple of more yawns and goodbyes until Shota finally hung up so Hizashi would go to sleep.

Shota stares at the ceiling. The Yamada apartment was quiet, almost unsettlingly so. Shota has rarely heard it so silent. Whenever he was over it was filled with sound, with either the radio or the television going in the background, or the low sound of Hizashi's mom typing away in the kitchen. A compliment to Hizashi's ever chattering voice.

It is the silence that makes Shota really, really, miss him. He rolls over and presses his face into the pillow. It makes his chest ache even worse because it's Hizashi's pillow in Hizashi's bed. A few days ago, he never would've guessed he'd be missing his best friend this bad. He hadn't realized that until this week he had barely spent more than a day without seeing Hizashi.

Shota rolls back onto his back, squinting at the sunlight that accosts his itchy eyes. With a groan he gets up and yanks the curtains shut before flopping back down onto the bed. Nemuri and Tensei have been trying to make sure Shota doesn't sleep the break away, but he's going to enjoy sleeping in an actual bed while he still can.

As graduation looms closer Shota's father's patience wears ever thinner. He had promised, in his gruff, bitter way, that Shota would have a place to stay until he finished his education. Even if that place is a sleeping bag in a corner of the tiny studio apartment they shared. But his father didn't like the amount of time Shota had been spending at Hizashi's and had been encouraging Shota to move out if he was going to 'live that kind of life'.

Shota hadn't told any of this to Hizashi, though he obviously knew something was wrong. It was why he offered for Shota to stay at his place while they were out of town. He had made up some excuse about house sitting, but neither of them believed it.

He rolls and buries his face in the pillow again, this time more prepared for the wave of longing that hits him. He hadn't confirmed his father's suspicions. Just as he hadn't said anything about his feelings to Hizashi. They were too twisted up inside him. A tangle of warmth and anxiety and happiness that he wasn't sure he wanted to bring out into the light just yet, if ever.

Hizashi was his best friend. His first friend. And if Shota ruins it by putting a name to the feelings curling up in his gut he'd never forgive himself.

"SHOTA! You came!" Shota is nearly knocked over by Hizashi's overenthusiastic body slam of a hug. The airport isn't particularly crowded, but more than a few people have to dodge the stumbling boys.

"You told me to, idiot." Shota hides his face in Hizashi's shoulder, hugging him back under the guise of keeping his balance. He was afraid he had become immune to the smell of Hizashi after sleeping on his pillow for a week. But the whiff he gets of shampoo coming from his hair still makes him feel dizzy.

"Yeah, but you've ignored me before. Did you miss me?" Hizashi pulls back, dancing away to grab his abandoned suitcase, leading Shota to where his moms were waiting with indulgent smiles.

"Maybe."

"Just maybe?" Hizashi grins at him and then reaches into his backpack, waving his prize at Shota. "I even bought you a present! Yellow like your goggles!"

Shota sees the yellow cat-eared headband and snorts, but he allows him to place the headband on his head. He still pouts on principal.

"Aww, cute!"

Shota fights off Hizashi's attempt to take a picture, but grumpily concedes to a selfie with him before they start their journey home. Shota offers to break off and head back to his place, but Hizashi grabs his arm.

"What? No way! I haven't seen you for a week, I'm not letting you leave yet. At least stay for dinner!" He turns and signs to his moms, no doubt asking if Shota could stay.

They end up convincing Shota to spend another night, not that he put up much of a fight, and he settles down onto the spare futon relinquishing the bed back to Hizashi. It isn't until he is watching Hizashi face plant into the pillow that Shota realizes he probably should've washed the sheets. He flushes as Hizashi inhales and lets out a quiet 'oh'.

"What?"

"I uh," Hizashi shifts to peer over the edge of the bed at him. "I just realized how much I missed my bed."

"Mm." Shota settles against the second pillow he snagged from Hizashi's bed, still with the faint scent of Hizashi. He inhales and lets out a quiet sigh of his own. He's just about fully asleep when he hears Hizashi whisper.

"Hey, Shota?"

"What?"

"What are your plans after we graduate?"

Shota shrugs, making a dismissive sound. He wasn't sure, honestly. The hero agency he had been interning at had offered a place to stay – even though he'd be rooming with a couple other sidekicks, he was considering it.

"Do you… uh, do you want to get a place together?" Before Shota can answer Hizashi continues, hands waving as he rambles. "I mean, it'll be cheaper if we split a place and I know we both have sidekick work lined up and I know I can get that part-time radio job that Bassline offered so we could probably find something in the city."

"Did you really miss me that much?" Shota asks, glad the darkness hides his face. He's probably making a ridiculous expression if the warm feeling in his chest is anything to go by.

"Shut up!" Hizashi says, just a touch too loud. He lowers his voice, a bit of a pout evident in his tone. "Aright, yes, I did. You're my best friend, sorry if I want to spend all my time with you."

"Only if we can get a cat."

Hizashi let out a pleased squeak. "Hell yeah! We can get two cats! So, they don't get lonely while we're out working."

"Wow, two whole cats. That's it, I'll never leave you." Shota said, grinning even though his voice was perfectly emotionless.

"I know the way to your heart," Hizashi says and his tone is annoying smug.

Because he was right.

"Whatever. Now go the fuck to sleep."