A Burning Flame

An Unexpected Offer

Aizawa didn't sleep this time around, he couldn't. His mind couldn't settle on a single thought, sleeping would be impossible when he was this anxious. It obviously wasn't that big of a deal, he'd been to Yamada's place plenty of times but something about being there at night felt different. They'd had their fair share of sleepovers when they were kids but that's just it, they were kids. Of course, he knew would stay the night but it still didn't feel right.
He decided not to worry about it too much and focused on the sky, it looked beautiful this time of day. The clouds glowed a light pink as the sun shone golden beneath the skyline, he found himself losing track of time as he stared at it. By the time he came back to his senses, he recognised the road ahead: they had arrived at Yamada's apartment.
———
As Aizawa took his shoes off, Yamada immediately started a new conversation, "Oh, yeah! I redecorated! Do you like it?"
Aizawa walks over and looks around briefly, "Looks alright."
"Wow, what great insight!" he replies jokingly, "Anyway, I have some snacks if you're hungry!"
He walks over to the fridge and Aizawa stands awkwardly in the entryway, "We just ate."
"Suit yourself!" he grabs a box of fruit from the fridge then goes to grab something else, "Want a beer?"
He holds up two bottles and smiles, waiting for Aizawa's response.
"Sure but only one. I'm on duty tomorrow." he says bluntly, still standing awkwardly.
"Alright, alright." he nods and closes the fridge. He walks over to Aizawa and holds out the bottle, which he takes after a moment of hesitation.
"Oh, of course! Let me show you those mixtapes I got!" Yamada exclaims as he brushes past Aizawa.
He follows behind and they enter his room. It's full of posters, DJ equipment, various CDs and records. The bed isn't made and there's a few clothes and cans scattered on the floor. Aizawa doesn't care about any of it, he already knows him well enough to know what his room is like.
Yamada walks towards his bed and crouches down, grabbing a couple of CDs from underneath. He walks across the room to a desk, where a laptop and headphones have been left. He unplugs the headphones and opens the laptop, putting one of the CDs in and playing some music.
He spins round to Aizawa, who's stood by the doorway with a half empty drink in hand, "Sooo, what do you think?"
He shrugs, "Sounds alright."
He looks unimpressed, "Is everything alright to you? I bet at your wedding you'd say "alright" instead of "I do"!"
He laughs and Aizawa shrugs again, trying hard not to imagine the situation.
Yamada picks up the laptop and walks to his bed and sits down, crossing his legs, "C'mon! Are you just gonna stand in doorways all night? Sit down!"
Aizawa jolts up and walks over, sitting on the edge of the other end of the bed. He finishes his beer and places it on the floor, which he wishes he hadn't done because now he has no clue where to put his hands. He looks over at Yamada, who's concentrated on something on the laptop, he's about to say something but Yamada looks up all of a sudden.
"Wanna watch a movie?" he asked with a grin.
"Alr—" he stops and remembers that it's the only thing he's said since he walked in, "Yeah, sure."
Yamada smiles wider and closes the laptop, "Great! C'mon!"
He jumps up and walks out to the living room with Aizawa following close behind. He sits on the couch and opens Netflix on the TV. Aizawa stands next to couch and stares at the screen until Yamada grabs his attention.
He taps the space next to him, "What's up with you? Sit down, man!"
It's a pretty small couch so he's right next to him plus he has his arm rested on the back behind him. It's definitely one of the worst situations he's ever been in.
Yamada turns to him, "Hey, I love this movie! Wanna watch it?"
"I've never seen it." he replies.
"What?! It's so good, we have to watch it!" he demands, shocked at Aizawa's response.
Aizawa shrugs and Yamada puts the movie on.
A few seconds pass and Yamada speaks again, "Hey, why haven't you taken your scarf off? You cold or something?"
Aizawa looks at him then looks down, he hadn't noticed that he still had it on. Since he came straight from work, he hadn't had a chance to change.
"I hadn't noticed." he says as he pulls it over his head, "Uh, where can I put it?"
Yamada shrugs, "Anywhere's fine!"
Aizawa stands,walks away and places it on top of his shoes. As he crouches down, he notices his goggles are still around his neck. He takes them off and places them on top of the pile. Before walking back, he takes a moment to take a breath and collect his thoughts; returning to his usual mundane self.
He sits back down, it feels like he's closer than before but he ignores it and focuses on the movie, that Yamada rewinded since he was gone.
———
The movie's around halfway through, Yamada's had a couple more beers and the only thing keeping Aizawa awake is Yamada's occasional comments on the movie. He thinks the movie is good but he's struggling to focus between being on the verge of falling asleep and being way too close for comfort.
He decides to rest his eyes for a moment.
———
Yamada laughs and Aizawa opens his eyes to find that he's practically leaning against him.
He jolts up instantly and Yamada turns to him, "My bad! Did I wake you?"
Aizawa turns to the screen quickly, trying to hide how red his face is, "No, it's fine."
He gets comfortable again, "How long was I asleep?"
"Hmm, about fifteen minutes, I think! It's alright, though! Nothing interesting happened while you were out!" he answers, not fazed at all by what happened.
Aizawa nods. He definitely can't focus, now. He wonders how long he was like that and why he didn't wake him. It wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened but it doesn't get less embarrassing each time. He crosses his arms and tries to forget about it but it reminds him that he's still extremely tired. He decided to try his best to ignore it and to go home once the movie ends to get some much needed rest.
———
The movie's credits begin and Yamada turns to Aizawa, "Well, what do you think?"
Aizawa turns as well, "It's good."
Yamada smiles and closes the movie, "I knew you love it!"
Aizawa yawns, "Hey, I best get going now. I have to work in the morning."
He doesn't really want to but at the same time he's unbearably tired as it's around 10pm, at this point.
Yamada looks at him then checks his phone, "Oh, yeah, I didn't really notice the time! I can drive you back!"
Aizawa's about to stand up but the empty bottles by their feet catch his attention, "No, you can't."
Yamada looks confused then notices them as well, "Crap, yeah! I completely forgot! Sorry, man!"
He still stands up, "Don't worry about it. I'll just walk."
He yawns again then begins to walk away before Yamada speaks up, "What?! You live like a 2 hour walk away!"
He turns around, "So, what? I can walk that far."
Yamada stands up, "Not half asleep you can't! And it's nearly midnight, you shouldn't be out that late on your own!"
He scowls, "Why not? I'm a grown man, Hizashi. Also, what else would I do? It's not like I can stay here."
"You could." he replies.
Aizawa's eyes widen, he wants to reply but he's at a complete loss for words.
"I mean, I have a double bed and it's not like you haven't slept over before! It'll be like the old days, right?"
He gathers his thoughts and reminds himself that he's just trying to be a good friend, "If I were to do that, what would I wear? I can't sleep like this."
He gestured at his clothing, specifically his belt that has multiple pockets and a knife on the back.
Yamada replies almost instantly, "We're about the same size, aren't we? I have some spare clothes you could borrow!"
At this point, Aizawa's completely shocked and very anxious. Luckily, he had a couple drinks so he can blame his blushing on that.
He sighs, "You really have this planned out, huh?"
Yamada chuckles slightly, "Of course not! I just wanna make sure you stay safe!"
Aizawa buries his face in his hand and sighs very heavily, "Fine."
Yamada practically jumps with excitement and drags him towards his room.
———
He rummages through his closet before pulling out a dark yellow hoodie and a pair of red plaid pyjama trousers, "Will these do?"
Aizawa looks at the clothes with slight disgust then sighs, "I guess."
Yamada closes the closet and shoves the clothes into Aizawa's arms. He then walks to his bed, grabs his own change of clothes and begins to get changed. Aizawa turns around to see him taking his shirt off, he goes bright red. He didn't expect that he'd be comfortable changing in the same room. He understood it, they got changed together during school but that was different.
For one, he wasn't staring at his back and thinking things he'd take to the grave.
He tries his best to come to his sense but he can't help but stare. By this point, he's in his boxers, trying to untangle his shirt, and Aizawa's frozen in place.
Yamada turns slightly and Aizawa accidentally glances down. He looks back up quickly and he can no longer keep his composure. He practically runs out of the room and heads to the bathroom. He looks at himself in the mirror and he's never seen himself like this. His face is bright red and he feels as if he just ran a marathon. He leans on the counter and calms himself down. He sighs and stands upright, placing the clothes by the sink next to a bunch of hairstyling products.
He decides to get changed in the bathroom, for his own good.
———
He takes another look in the mirror before leaving, he hates it. The colours are way too bright but the hoodie smells like Yamada. Luckily, they're pretty baggy but the trousers are a bit short. He decides that it'll do and he tries not to lose his cool at the fact of wearing Yamada's clothes.
He returns to the room and Yamada's stood in front of a mirror combing his hair through his fingers.
He turns around, "Hey, man! You alright? You left in quite a hurry!"
Aizawa stammers a bit, "Yeah, sorry. I just had to go to the bathroom."
Yamada laughs a bit and turns back around, "Fair enough! I see the clothes fit you fine! You look good!"
He looks down at the hoodie, which has his hands in the pockets of it, "I hate it but it fits."
Yamada chuckles and continues combing his hair. Aizawa watches him for a moment before deciding to get his scarf and goggles. He places his clothes on the floor at end of the bed then retrieves the rest, placing them on top.
Yamada's finally done combing his hair, he walks towards the bed but stops to look at Aizawa, "You want the inside or outside?"
He looks confused for a moment then realises that they're gonna sleep in the same bed. He remembered him mentioning it but he was too tired to process it.
He tries not to look nervous and replies, "Inside."
He picked it simply because he prefers to sleep against the wall. He also hasn't slept in a bed in a while, he wouldn't want to embarrass himself by falling off.
Yamada nods, "After you."
Aizawa rolls his eyes and climbs in. He sits against the backboard and watches as Yamada shuts the door.
He walks towards the window, "You want the curtains shut?"
Aizawa knows the answer but isn't sure if he wants to answer. He decides he may as well.
"No, I like seeing the sky."
Yamada smiles and returns to the bed, "No problem!"
He's glad he didn't make a big deal out of it but now he has to deal with what's yet to come. He has to sleep in the same bed as his best friend that he's utterly in love with. This is why he lives his life rationally; one irrational choice and this is where he ends up. He could cry.