Thread by @C_R_Sinclair

#Erasermic Grumpy x Sunshine+Academic Rivals+Fake Dating ( CW Child Emotional Abuse )

What're Fake Boyfriends For?
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Hizashi didn't get Aizawa Shouta. The man came into class wearing baggy sweats and hoodies, slept through half of the class, and somehow still managed to compete

with him for top score on *all* of their tests. He's never even seen the guy take notes!

Not to mention his messy hair and scruffy face, the bags under his eyes, the pale complexion that makes him look like death warmed over...

Or his tendency to scowl at Hizashi if he so much as *hums*.

It's not his fault! He's constantly got a song stuck in his head, and usually he's trying to figure out whether or not a playlist will flow correctly for the radio show he covers at the university. He's just working!

All in all, Hizashi considers the other man annoying, a stain on his academic record each time he manages to beat his test scores, and more of less something that the cat dragged in whenever he has to see him.

Well, it doesn't matter. With the end of the term coming up and a student-alumni mixer happening to celebrate just that, Hizashi's looking forward to (hopefully) never seeing his face in his classes again! He'll dress to impress, have some drinks, dazzle some people,

and hopefully score some connections with the older generations to have a better chance at a career after he graduates!

It's sometime after arriving - Nemuri clinging to his arm and chattering away about how she'd *love* to take some of the older crowd to bed -

that Hizashi spots him walking through the door to the fraternity house. He's clean shaven for once, hair brushed and smoothed back into a nice bun at the nape of his neck, and someone has put him into a lovely pair of jeans that hug *very* well and a shirt that clings just so.

Aizawa Shouta.

Hizashi stares, watching as the other man goes to talk to a very tall man with nearly white hair on the other side of the crowded room, and it's not until Nemuri pinches his arm that he even realizes he's doing so. "What's got your attention, hun?"

He flushes, tearing his eyes away while lifting his drink up to his lips and taking a sip. "Nothing," he says once he's got his voice back. "Just spaced out for a moment."

Nemuri squints at him, then shrugs. "Alright, if you say so."

"I do say so."

For a while, the two of them make the circuit, talking to alumni and doing their best to make an impression, Hizashi with his bright mind and personality and Nemuri *daring* anyone to try and think that she's more than just her looks. It's a lot of fun,

and the two do end up with names and numbers and even a few business cards with promises that if they need anything to just give them a call.

Hizashi even manages to forget about a surprisingly handsome classmate.

It's when he's going to refill both his and Nemuri's drinks (she's caught up talking to a woman in the fashion industry and they're in a very interesting philosophical discussion about the pros and cons of *denim*) when Hizashi bumps into someone.

"Oh, sorry," he says,

looking at the nice suit to see if any of the remaining liquids in the cups had gotten on it. "Wasn't watching where I was going - "

"Of course you weren't," a familiar voice says. "You never do, Hizashi."

Hizashi's blood runs cold as his eyes snap up to the person's face.

Cold, green-hazel eyes under perfectly trimmed bright blonde hair, staring out at him from a sharp face that isn't too different from his own.

"Ryuuhi..."

Yamada Ryuuhi. His older brother.

The other man laughs. "So you do remember me," he mocks. "We've all been wondering."

Hizashi's jaw clenches, then he pastes a smile on his face. "Why, because I haven't been home since my 18th birthday?" he asks. "I didn't want to see any of you again. I thought blocking all of mother's calls would have clued everyone in."

"She just wants what's best for you."

"She has *never* wanted what's best for me!" Hizashi snaps, crushing the cups in his hands.

Ryuuhi raises a brow. "Really?" he asks. "She gave you dance lessons. Vocal lessons. Let you learn any instrument you wanted. You even started learning about musical composition at 13 - "

"She destroyed my podcasts when she found out about them," Hizashi tells him, voice shaking. "My podcasts where I was playing my music - "

"Those same podcasts where you were badmouthing your family," Ryuuhi snaps back.

"Self expression!" Hizashi shouts. "That's what music is!"

"Well your *music* was making our family's company have a dip in stock," Ryuuhi says, stepping forward to jab a finger into his chest. "Of course mother got rid of your silly little podcast. You should be glad it wasn't more."

"It *was* more!" Hizashi gasps, eyes tearing up.

"Are you blind!? Don't you remember her taking my instruments away, my music away!? I never got to create anything again!"

"Of course she did," he says, as if it were that simple. "It was all connected to your podcast, and so it had to go."

Hizashi can only stare at him in shock.

"Is this guy bothering you, babe?"

He jumps at the new voice, and Hizashi turns around to find - Aizawa, standing just behind him with a single brow raised as he looks at Ryuuhi with a *very* unimpressed scowl.

"'Babe?'" Ryuuhi echoes.

There's a sneer on his face, as if he's just smelled something very umplesant, and Hizash wouldn't put it past his brother to have developed a new sense that when he hears something he doesn't like he suddenly *smells* something, too.

Aizawa turns his gaze to Hizashi,

not saying anything and instead just giving him a slow blink.

It takes a moment for things to process, but then Hizashi realizes what his classmate is trying to do and he *jumps* on it. He laughs, perhaps a little hysterical, and he loops an arm around Aizawa's middle.

"Yeah, actually," he says, leaning his head to rest on his shoulder to smirk at his brother. "But it's okay. I think we were done talking anyway."

Ryuuhi visibly *seethes*. "No we were not - "

"You heard him," Aizawa cuts in, voice hard. "You're *done*."

An arm settles at the small of his back and leads him through the crowd and away, out of the room, and out of the house onto the porch. It's only once Hizashi is out there that he takes a deep breath and releases it, tension draining all at once from his body -

and he falls to his butt on the porch.

"Whoa, careful," Aizawa says, hand going to his shoulders. "You...alright?"

Hizashi chuckles, feeling strangely giddy, and leans his head back to look up at Aizawa with a wide, somewhat loopy grin. "Just need a moment, but yeah."

"...'Kay."

Aizawa takes a seat next to him, and Hizashi finds he doesn't mind as he allows himself to calm down, just breathing and getting his limbs to work again. It takes a few minutes (maybe several), but finally he laughs again, shaking his head. "Just...fuck."

"Take it you know that guy?"

"Uuuunfortunately!" Hizashi sings, leaning back on his hands and rocking his heels to make his legs swing. "That lovely, wonderful man was my older brother. I completely forgot he *also* went to this university, otherwise I...

probably wouldn't have come tonight. He likes these things - I mean, *I* like socializing as much as the next social butterfly, don't get me wrong, but he's an asshole peacock if I've ever known one. Just..." Hizashi makes an exaggerated grimace. "Yeesh."

"Didn't realize that you had such a complicated relationship with your family," Aizawa comments.

Hizashi raises a brow at him. "I mean, it's not like I advertise it."

"No, I mean - " Aizawa huffs, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Normally you're always singing, or humming,

or smiling. And when you're doing the radio show, you're always so... I dunno, expressive? You don't seem like the type of person to hate their family."

Hizashi stares at him, eyes wide. "You...listen to my radio show...?"

Aizawa's pale cheeks go pink.

"...It's good to study to."

"*You study!?*"

"Of course I study," Aizawa says, frowning in confusion. "How else would I pass class when half the time I'm too tired to stay awake during lectures?"

"I don't know!" Hizashi wails. "I thought maybe you were just really smart!"

At that, Aizawa's frown cracks into a smile, and then he's snorting out a small chuckle that turns into a full blown laugh, his head thrown back and tears gathering in the corners of his squeezed shut eyes and everything. The sight catches Hizashi off guard.

He's never seen him smile before.

After a moment, Aizawa calms down, wiping at his eyes and breathing deeply to get his breathing under control. "Thanks for the compliment," he tells him, "but I really do study."

"Oh." Hizashi flusters.

"...You know, I had this big picture of you in my head that you were this grumpy, scarily smart scruffy man that I needed to beat."

"Really now." Aizawa sounds amused.

"Oh shush." Hizashi swats at his arm, fighting a grin.

"All of our test scores have been pretty much neck and neck for all of the classes we share, haven't you noticed?"

"I...might have," Aizawa admits. "Though it never really mattered to me."

"It mattered to *me*," Hizashi says.

"And for some reason, you always just - annoyed me! Just seeing you! I'd see you with your scruffy beard and baggy seats and see you sleeping and just!" He makes a waves a hand through the air. "You drove me crazy!"

His companion just listens.

"And even *worse* was when I made any noise and you scowled at me," he continues, moaning. "Like, there's a full on lecture going on and *I'm* making noise? Dude, if you wanted to take a nap, just bring earplugs."

"To be fair, I wasn't always sleeping and was trying to listen."

Hizashi opens his mouth to argue, then closes his mouth. "...Okay, that's - that's fair. I'll give you that one."

Aizawa hides a laugh in his arms.

"Anyways! Yeah, I was annoyed so annoyed at you! I wanted to beat you, I needed to, it was the most important thing to me, and..."

Hizashi sighs, wrapping his arms around his legs. "Now I've actually talked to you, I don't even really know why I wanted that anymore."

Aizawa's quiet for a long moment. "All because of one encounter?"

"Hey, you saved my bacon," Hizashi argues weakly, looking over at him.

"I have some nice bacon, y'know? It deserves to be saved."

Aizawa rolls his eyes, but there's a smile tugging at his lips. "Oh, I'm sure."

"Wow, rude," Hizashi gasps. "What a thing for a fake boyfriend to say to their fake boyfriend. Appreciate your fake boyfriend's bacon."

Aizawa raises a brow at him, then leans back, gives his backside a look, then leans back forward. Hizashi is glad it's relatively dark out on the porch to hide his suddenly rather heated face.

"Fine. It's nice."

He laughs. "Thank you, I think."

"You're welcome."

Hizashi smiles, then takes a deep breath, pushing himself up to his feet. None of his limbs feel like they're going to vibrate away into jello, and he's glad that he's able to stand without any trouble. "Well, thanks, Aizawa-san," he says. "I mean it."

"Sure," Aizawa says, also pushing himself upright. "Heading back inside?"

"Just gonna grab my friend and see if she's ready to go," Hizashi says. "Don't think I'll stick around and see if my brother wants a round two."

"I can go with you, just in case," is what Aizawa offers.

Hizashi's cheeks burn. "Oh no, it's fine!" he says. "I can handle it, really - "

"Yamada," Aizawa cuts in with a small smile that looks, quite frankly, unfairly attractive on him. "What're fake boyfriends for if not to fend off horrible family members?"

"I - " Hizashi sighs, though it's followed by a laugh as he steps over to loop their arms together. "Well, when you put it that way..."

When they step back into the mixer, Hizashi finds himself hoping that the two of them *do* have some classes together next term.

-end-