VITRIOL - Aizawa x Reader

ELEVEN: Feelings

***14 YEARS AGO***
***AIZAWA POV***

"You really need to be more careful..." I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as I watched Shirakumo and (Y/N) load a frozen Yamada onto one of my friend's clouds.
"Hey, it's not my fault he sneezed on me. You spray snot on me and you suffer the consequences!" The girl huffed, sticking her nose in the air.

"Lighten up, Sho! He won't be like this for long. You're always complaining he never stops talking, so savour the moment!" Shirakumo added, eyes closed as he shot me a wide grin. He then turned to (Y/N), placing a hand on her head to ruffle her messy (H/C) hair around. "We should probably get going. Exams start tomorrow, and we really need to crack down and study."

Pouting, the girl whined a little, but it seemed like she understood.
"Fine...I guess...We didn't even get to fight today..." Her complaint seemed so stupid to me. Why did she want to fight us? I knew she thought of it as a game, but it was frustrating. Why not just talk and hang out like normal people?

"Next time, okay? I'll make sure to make it real hard to beat me, yeah? You'll be begging for mercy!" The cloudy haired boy smiled down at her, and I watched them closely. Despite her eyes being closed, it really seemed like she was gazing into his. Their connection made me feel somewhat uncomfortable, and it wasn't pleasant.

"Oh dear, sweet Loud Cloud, you can keep dreaming!" (Y/N) chuckled and lent in to give Shirakumo a tight hug, and I immediately looked away. They looked good together, I wouldn't lie, even though the girl was a little younger. My attention returned when she approached me, arms open wide in what I perceived as threat. "Can I finally get a hug now, Sho? You always hold out on me!"

I didn't want a hug. Sure, I was a little curious as to what it would feel like, but that was all. Physical affection had never been something I was fond of.
"Pass." I muttered in response, leaning away almost dramatically. "I don't know where the hell you've been."

Deflating, but still keeping her cheeks puffed out, (Y/N) waved me off and passed by me, purposely bumping my shoulder as she wandered further into the alleyway.
"Fine, Eraserbutt. I'll catch you guys later! Tell Hizashi if he snots on me again I'll make it permanent!"

With that, she was gone, and I followed Shirakumo out onto the street, moving to the opposite side of his cloud to make sure our paralysed classmate wouldn't fall off.
"Y'know, you could be a little nicer to her, Shota." The wispy-haired boy started, glancing over to me. "I know she likes picking on you, but she's really nice. Keep going the way you are and you might actually hurt her feelings for real one of these days."

Rolling my eyes, I knew he was right. I was naturally a relatively stand-offish person, but I seemed to really put my walls up around the girl. I had my reasons, though.
"Do you have feelings for her, or something?" It was a question I had wanted to ask for a while, but had never really felt comfortable bringing it up.

Their dynamic was something more than friends to me. They'd hug each other far too casually, he'd always touch her hair or her arm, and apart from the initial groping she gave him during our first encounter, she never teased or made fun of him.

"Ohoho? You have a crush on her, huh?" Shirakumo wiggled his eyebrows, which caused a heat to flare in my cheeks.
"N..not at all! She's a pain in my ass! Why would you even..?! Don't deflect the question!" The fact that I had stammered made things worse, but he didn't play on it. Instead, the boy stretched his arms over this head, smiling ahead.

"She's a really cool person. Not to mention she's pretty damn cute. I really wanna see her become a hero one day, then I could work with her." If his grin didn't give it away, the tone of his voice sure did. My question had been indirectly answered. "You can't tell me you don't think the same, man. Even though you're an ass towards her, I see those little looks and smirks."