EraserMic Fluff

PT 18

         Hizashi walked hand in hand with Shōta, dressed in a casual shirt, jeans, and jacket. Shōta wore a similar outfit, but a scarf hung around his neck. They stepped into the café, talked to the host, and sat outside. They ordered, and when the waiter left they started to chat.
      A young boy came up to them.
     "Can I get an autograph?" he asked softly, obviously nervous in front of his hero. It wasn't strange for fans to ask Hizashi for his autograph, but this kid wasn't asking Hizashi—he was asking Shōta.
     "...huh? You mean me?" Shōta mumbled, his eyebrows raising slightly. As an underground Hero, he wasn't especially known or popular.
     "Y-Yes! You're Eraserhead, right? You're really cool!!" The kid exclaimed. Shōta stared back in response, genuinely surprised to have a fan. Hizashi grinned wickedly at him.
      "...Thanks, kid," Shōta muttered, rubbing the back of his head. The kid smiled and proffered the paper and pen. Shōta took it and signed it, then handed it back. The fan grinned, hugged the paper, and ran off.
      "Thank you, Eraserhead!" he called as he ran. "You're my favourite Hero!" The kid disappeared into a crowd. Shōta turned to Hizashi, who was still grinning.
      "You got a fan~" Hizashi teased. Shōta grimaced. "But no, this is great! You totally deserve more fans!" Hizashi chirped. Shōta grumbled, and, blushing, buried his face in his scarf.
      The waiter arrived with their drinks and left to tend another table. Hizashi sipped from his straw absentmindedly, watching Shōta as he did so.
      "What is it?" Shōta asked, eyeing his boyfriend suspiciously as he sipped his own beverage.
      "Just thinking about how cute you are," Hizashi smiled softly. Shōta blushed, and grunted.
      "...you idiot," Shōta mumbled.
      "Lovable idiot," Hizashi corrected.
      "Yes, lovable idiot," Shōta sighed. Despite his comment, he smiled a faint smile. Hizashi laughed.
       They chatted until a group of girls came up.
       "Present Mic, can we take a photo with you?" They asked. Hizashi smiled.
        "Sure, anything for fans!" He chirped. Shōta watched as they took some selfies.
        "Present Mic, whoever you're dating is so lucky," a girl said. Hizashi glanced at Shōta, who sunk further into his chair.
      "I'd say I'm the lucky one," he smiled. Shōta blushed, and pulled the scarf over his face. The girls laughed, thanked Hizashi, and left. They chatted loudly as they walked away. Shōta groaned.
       "This is why I prefer to stay at home," Shōta muttered.
       "Babe, don't get jealous~" Hizashi mused, "You're my one and only, you know that."
      "I'm not jealous. It's just annoying to deal with people when I only want to be with you," Shōta mumbled.
      "Awwww, Shōta! You're so sweet," Hizashi swooned. He leaned over the table and kissed Shōta. "We can go home after we finish eating," Hizashi said.
      "Okay..." Shōta whispered, blushing heavily. They didn't kiss in public that often, since Shōta didn't want to be swarmed by media. Hizashi's kiss left him happy, though, so any worries faded away.
      They were brought their food. Hizashi cracked some jokes, which Shōta smiled at. Shōta spotted a cat nearby, and the two watched it diligently as they ate. When they finished, Hizashi payed the bill and they walked home together, Hizashi pulling Shōta close.

       The next day, Hizashi woke Shōta up.
      "Shōta, honey, remember how we had that date?"
      "Yeah?"
      "Well, uh, some..." Hizashi faded out. He played with his hair anxiously. Shōta eyed him. "Some paparazzi took photos and now it's in all the magazines," he finished quickly. Shōta stared at him.
      "W-wha—"
      "I have no idea how they got photos; I didn't see any there. No one's ever figured us out on our other dates so I have no idea how they found out but now the whole world knows and I'm sorry because I know you don't like attention but I don't—" Hizashi said quickly, anxiety deleting any punctuation. Shōta cut him off by pulling him close.
     "Calm down, Sunshine. You're overreacting. I doubt the whole world cares," Shōta said soothingly.
      "But you care and I care that you care and—"
       "I don't care," Shōta said, pulling Hizashi into his lap. "I love you, and that's all that matters. I don't care if anyone else knows."
       "But you hate attention," Hizashi whined, looking into Shōta's eyes.
       "I can bare with some attention if it means I can hold your hand more often," Shōta replied steadily. Hizashi smiled and hugged Shōta. "Can I see the magazine?" Shōta asked. Hizashi slipped out of his lap and grabbed the magazine, handing it to Shōta as he bit his lip.
It made the front page, somehow. Magazines were always desperate for any snippet of rumours or scandals. The cover photo was their quick kiss at the café, with a headline that read: "Present Mic Has A Boyfriend!" It wasn't even that good of a headline. Shōta flipped to the page the story was on, and scanned it. There was little mention of Hizashi's sexuality: he had been an openly pan Hero for a long time. It was mainly focusing on their "hidden affair". It mentioned how the mysterious boyfriend seemed the polar opposite of the perfect ray of sunshine that was the pro Hero Present Mic. Shōta grumbled. Everyone was quick to judge their relationship, mentioning how the beautiful and energetic Hizashi was too good for the sleepy-eyed guy in baggy clothing. He knew he shouldn't care what others thought, but constantly being told he wasn't good enough for his boyfriend was wearing him down.
"I hate how they portray us. I mean, 'hidden affair', really? I never hid that I had a boyfriend," Hizashi whined. He crawled up next to Shōta. "What are we gonna do?"
"Keep living our life," Shōta responded. "The media doesn't determine what we do with ourselves."
"But it will in the beginning," Hizashi explained, "The radio station is all about making press conferences when this kind of thing happens."
"Then say 'I have a boyfriend' and leave," Shōta grumbled. Hizashi chuckled.
"Yeah, I'll do something like that."