Our Mask [Shinso Hitoshi X Reader]

Chapter 3 - Shock Of A Lifetime

"FUCK!", you grumbled loudly. It was a very cold morning in your apartment. You could thank the faulty heating system that opted out of producing heat and instead produced irritating noises. The good mood you'd brought home after your day at the cafe had been stolen from you when you'd arrived back home and been hit with freezing air. You had two of your most cozy blankets on you and a hoodie on, yet it seemed to make no difference to your body temperature. Your teeth unvoluntarily chattered and the tip of your nose felt raw. The rawness was spreading to your cheeks and you also noticed your breath being visible.

Aside from that, your heater was producing high-pitched chittering sounds that were so unrythmic you could pull your hair out at any moment. It was 6:37 am already and you hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

You slid off your bed and flinched at the feeling of your bare feet hitting the ice-cold floor. You were quick to put on some socks and a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers you never wore. They'd been a gift from Kaminari--he had asked you to wear them for him and you were quick to shut him down. Your dignity shattered as you stared at the slippers on your feet but acknowledged that they were at least warm.

It was obvious you wouldn't be able to function properly much less work on your commissioned projects from heroes if your apartment stayed like this. You took a second hoodie with a thicker material and clumsily put it on yourself as you began to make plans to march out of your home. Your plan was to go to the apartment's main office building and demand your heater to be fixed. The pouring rain outside reached you ears when you neared your door; it'd been a rainy few days and you dreaded coming back into your cold apartment while soaked. There was a red scarf hung on the coat hanger by the door and you didn't hesistate to wrap it around yourself, flipping the hoodie onto your head before stepping out.

The sound of you locking your door almost harmonized with the sounds at the other end of the porch. You turned your body since your large hoodie blocked your peripheral vision and came eye-to-eye with a startled Shinso. You saw the way he instantly raised his eyebrow. He was probably not expecting to see you up so early and his eyes began trailing over your frame. You realized that he was taking in your ridiculous outfit. Your cheeks flushed and you couldn't help but look away from his scrutinizing gaze. Unknowingly, you began to play with the area of the scarf near your mouth and adjusting it the way he had the day he first talked to you.

"Did your heater give out?", you heard. His correct guess willed you to look back up at him and found him not staring at you but at your feet, which you now remembered had the ridiculous pink bunnies on them. You spotted the way his lips had shifted into a small smile as if he was preventing himself from letting out a chuckle. You pouted at the embarrasing situation you'd found yourself in and nodded, wanting to get out of the humiliating spot as soon as possible. "Then you're heading to the main office, am I right?", he asked. You nodded once again, seeing as his silently teasing demeanor had faded into one of slight seriousness.

"Let me walk you there", he told you as he motioned to his umbrella. His request caught you off guard and you furrowed your eyebrows in suspicion and surprise. Why was he being so nice all of a sudden? Shinso caught onto your skepticism and he rolled his eyes as he continued,"I get you won't talk to me and I won't force you to. However, I'm still a hero even if I'm off duty, so I'll help you out. It's pouring and if you head back into your house all drenched you'll catch a cold. Also, like I said, I owe you."

You had to admit he had a point about the rain, even you had thought of that. You watched as your neighbor extended the umbrella and held the bottom tightly in his palm. He motioned for you to get closer and you quietly obeyed, shooting him a small smile through your scarf in hopes that he'd somehow see it and detect your silent 'thank you'. The huddled walk down the stairs was a bit awkward to coordinate but you both found your footings in sync as you walked on the regular pavement. Your mind was trying to ring alarms in your mind as you registered the weird situation you found yourself in but shut down any negative thoughts. Your mind could only be allowed to focus on how'd you approach your landlords and try to persuade them. Despite that, you were easily distracted by a suppressed snort on your left.