Our Mask [Shinso Hitoshi X Reader]

Chapter 12 - It Takes Two

You'd just finished brushing your teeth after getting dressed to go out. Izuku had invited you out once again and you could never say no to the cinammon roll that he was, and you figured you needed a distraction after a long week of heartache, so you were glad for the opportunity. It was Hitoshi's day off so you didn't have to worry about Smudge and you assumed he'd stay home for the kitten. You doubted Aizawa was willing to babysit on such a short notice again.

What you hadn't expected was for Hitoshi to be standing right there when you opened your door. Your breath hitched in surprise and he turned his head to you at the sound. He looked as though he'd been waiting for a while; he probably somehow knew you agreed to go out and you wondered if he'd gone as far as to ask Izuku. He was dressed in his casual clothes for home despite waiting for you and you felt too hesistant to even speak up. Luckily, the man didn't seem interested in that.

Hitoshi's eyes bored into your own and the eye bags he had looked worse than ever. He was taking this chance to really look at you again after a week of the two of you being caught up in whatever was happening--which he still didn't know. But he had enough of it. He cared too much to let it go any longer.

You let out a stupified 'huh?' as he walked into your apartment without any warning. He'd shoved past you in a gentle manner to avoid pushing you but his demeanor was stern. It had been a long time since you saw him like that. He took a seat at the edge of your bed and looked down at the floor. The suddenness had you nervous and you weren't sure what to make out of it.

"Um...Shinso?"

"Sit", he patted the spot next to him. Your heart began beating faster at the realization that he was going to try to sort everything out there and then. You were feeling so much at once now: happiness at how much he cared, sadness in the situation you two were in, anger at yourself. You had no idea how to approach him with all you felt in your chest.

"But-", you started but didn't get anywhere with it.

"(Name). Sit down", he looked up to you and you knew you weren't getting out of this. He wasn't going to let go of this anymore. Was this it? Would you finally tell him what was eating you from the inside out this whole time? You did as he said.

Despite the obvious want to fix things, Hitoshi said nothing for the first few minutes. It looked as though he was gathering his thoughts but the longer he went on, the more riled up he found himself. He wasn't angry at you, no, but he felt hurt and didn't know how to voice it.

That much was clear to you. He was trying to find the right words and was frustrated when they never got to him. So you decided an attempt to calm him down from his agitation and gulped as you swallowed down all your worries. You couldn't keep up your avoidance right now. You slowly moved your hand forward and placed it on top of his, witnessing the moment he snapped out of his thoughts. His eyes turned to yours and back down to your hand.

Hitoshi let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding. Your sudden touch after a whole week made him realize how much more he longed to be near you than he thought.

"I miss talking to you", he said. Your heart felt like it was being squeezed and you looked down to prevent him from noticing the tears welling up on your eyes. You seriously didn't want him to see you cry.

"I miss that too", you couldn't hold back a small voice crack. Hitoshi shifted in his spot to turn towards you and noticed the tears threning to fall out. He hated how broken you looked in that moment; not once had he seen you cry. He wanted to fix whatever was bothering you as fast as possible and see your sweet smile again. Spending a week without it was a harsh withdrawal for him.

"Can I know what's been making you avoid me all week?", he asked. Both of you knew that despite him asking as if it was your choice to answer, he wouldn't leave until you did. You looked up at him with conflicted emotions and met his eyes. You missed those purple eyes so much.