allforonesucks

[hold-your-applause]

A commission for the lovely @tater-tati, thank you so much for your undying support. I do hope you think of this whenever you need to catch your breath

Reformation

You wished human spines were more efficient.

You could feel yours starting to go stiff from all the hunching over you were doing at your desk, which was made worse by the poor quality of your office chair. You hadn’t stood up for hours; you could feel your knees waiting to crack when you would eventually rise from your seat, and you knew your ankles wouldn’t be any happier.

You didn’t even want to think about your neck.

You blinked your tired eyes slowly, trying to make sense of the words you had reread for the eighth time.

Or was it the ninth?

You sighed in aggravation, forcing yourself to sit up straight so you could lean back in your chair, wishing you could yell out all the tension in your body.

It’s not like anyone would hear you. You were the only person left in the building.

For the last two weeks, villains had been popping up in record numbers, so much so that many agencies were forced to work beyond their means in terms of staff, meaning countless extra hours and fewer days off. Not only that, you worked in the accounting department, and with your other coworkers feeling burnout and calling out, that left you on your own to handle the numbers. There was a serious influx of information regarding insurance, supplies, wages…

It felt like it was never ending.

The timing couldn’t have been any worse, either, seeing as you had arranged to end your employment at your current agency to move to a new one at the end of the month.

Before the workload began to overwhelm you, you had started to feel that your boss may have been taking advantage of your work ethic. You had a knack for finishing your tasks in record time, which meant you had time to spare to either get ahead of schedule or do the work of someone else who had fallen behind. It didn’t take long for everyone to catch on and hand off their work to you instead of doing it themselves, but ever the team player, you took it on without complaint. Not once in three years did you complain, committing yourself to the company as much as you could.

Which was exactly why you had ended up stuck here with more than you could reasonably handle.

You leaned forward, resting your palms on your desk to try to stretch out the knots forming in your back.

One more week, and you’d finally be working for Gang Orca instead of stewing at this dump.

You had heard wonderful things about his agency; there were far better benefits than you were currently receiving and an employee turnover rate so low it was almost too hard to believe. Your friend had gushed to you about how much she enjoyed working there and even managed to get you the interview that landed you a spot on their financial team.

Unfortunately, that light at the end of the tunnel felt farther off than ever before with the amount of stress you were accruing with these late nights at the office.

You winced as you felt a satisfying pop in your lower back, bringing you some short-lived relief before you felt your shoulders protest and force you to sit straight again.

You heard a door open and close somewhere on your floor, making you curse to yourself.

The janitorial staff was here, meaning it was past 10.

You jumped when you heard a low rumbling come from your right, making you whine at your muscles complaining at the sudden movement. After getting over the initial shock, you realized it was your phone, which you kept in your drawer lately to keep yourself from getting distracted.

You were surprised the battery wasn’t dead yet.

You fished it out of your stuffed drawer, glad you were able to catch it on the final ring before it went to voicemail. You didn’t even check to see who was calling before answering.

“Hello?”

You internally kicked yourself at how tired you sounded.

“Hey.”

You felt some of your fatigue disappear at the sound of the calm voice on the other end.

“Shoto, hey. Is everything okay?” You asked, unable to even pretend you weren’t exhausted.

“Yeah, everything is fine. I just got home.”

A relief, truly.

Being the son of the former number one hero of Japan brought Shoto a lot of attention, both good and bad. With crime on the rise, that meant his own work hours had increased, and while the extra money brought some comfort, you worried that he might overwork himself and get hurt.

Like you were one to talk.

“Good! That’s good.” You said, smiling tiredly as you quietly waved to the janitor that passed your desk.

“Yeah. Is everything okay with you?”

You paused, thinking of a way to answer that.

Shoto was a pro hero, and his job was infinitely more dangerous than yours. You knew that whatever difficulties you faced didn’t compare to anything he handled on a given day, so you tried to keep your complaining to a minimum. He knew about your job transfer, but you hadn’t been honest about the reason why. Your reasons felt trivial compared to a hero who goes out into danger most days.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just the usual. There was another call out today so I was the only one in the department. I’m just finishing up these balance sheets and then I’ll be home.”

There was a brief silence on the other end, but you thought nothing of it. Shoto was the type to think before he spoke, so these pauses were frequent.

“That’s really unfortunate, but I’m glad you’re almost done. How much longer do you think you’ll be?”

You looked over at your computer’s clock, squinting to try to see the tiny numbers on the illuminated screen.

10:17

“I don’t know, maybe another half hour? And then the drive home will be another fifteen minutes, so probably close to an hour?” You estimated, rubbing your tired eyes.

“Alright. We’ll get started on dinner then.”

You tensed, feeling guilt wash over you.

You had planned to make dinner for you, Shoto, and Hitoshi when you arrived home, hoping to surprise them before they got off their own shifts. You hadn’t told them about it, but you felt awful that you didn’t get to do your good deed for your boyfriends as you had wanted.

“You guys don’t have to wait up for me, if you’re hungry, please go ahead and eat, Shoto. And if you’re tired you can just go to bed, I’m sure you had a long day.” You insisted with a roll of your neck.

“It’s okay, we don’t mind. I won’t keep you any longer. Just be safe on your way home, and we’ll see you when you get here.” He said.

You nodded, hiding your sigh. “I will be. I’ll see you when I get home.”

With some quick affectionate words, you hung up, groaning as you forced yourself to get out of your seat.

You were grateful that the elevator in your apartment building was functional again as you leaned against the wall, not paying attention to the number climbing with each floor you passed like you normally would. Your eyes were instead closed, listening to the familiar humming of the electricity running the car instead of the soft music playing from the speaker overhead. You had almost fallen asleep during your ride home in the cab, and you wanted to at least try to stay upright until you got to your floor.

Which seemed to be taking an eternity, if you were being honest.

You forced your eyes open, pulling out your phone to check the time.

11:08

You couldn't catch the heavy sigh that rolled out of your throat just before the door opened. The quick reprieve from walking had caused your legs to feel less like lead and more like concrete, which you tried to ignore as you fished for your keys in your pocket when you finally reached your door.

Your day was almost over.

The sound of the door unlocking was music to your ears as you pushed it open, dropping your bag on the floor so you could hold onto the counter to slip your shoes off.

You gasped when you felt something slide across your shoulder blade, jumping and whipping your head around to see a familiar pair of mismatched eyes looking back at you.

"Welcome home."

Your shoulders dropped along with your guard and you leaned forward, resting your face in the crook of Shoto's neck.

You could tell he'd already showered.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

You felt him shake his head, his arm moving down to trap you in a gentle hug that seemed to make the heaviness of your eyes disappear.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." He assured you, letting his thumb rub absently against your back. He made no move to pull away, and even though you felt like your ankles were going to give out at any moment, you weren't in any rush, either.

You moved your arms to wrap loosely around him as he tilted his head to kiss you briefly.

"How was your day?" You asked, pulling back to look at his face.

"Better than usual. I think things are getting ready to calm down." He responded.

That was good news.

"That's great. That means you'll be a little safer." You said, blinking as he turned you around and began pulling your coat off for you.

He hummed in affirmation as you pulled your arms out of the sleeves, allowing him to hang the coat up.

"And hopefully your workload will be lighter."

You made a face as you attempted to turn around to face him, but his hands on your round hips kept you rooted in your spot as he pulled you back to lean against his firm chest.

You tilted your head back to rest against his shoulders, feeling him tug on your blouse so it was no longer tucked in the waistband of your skirt. He slid his hand under the light fabric, resting his warm palm against the skin of your stomach.

You could tell he was using his quirk, and you weren't about to complain.

"The bath is ready."

You blinked and turned your head, seeing Hitoshi standing near the hallway, suspiciously still in his work clothes.

Shoto reluctantly pulled away.

"Come on." He said, leading you away from the door. "You need to get off your feet."

Hitoshi had refused to leave you alone while you bathed, and at first you thought it was because he was worried you'd fall asleep in the water, but you understood the real reason when he climbed into the tub first. He'd put off taking a shower in order to join you, which made you feel guilty for just a moment before he assured you that he was glad to finally have a calm moment with you. Your schedules didn't exactly line up lately, so more often than not, one of you was asleep when the other came home. 

Hopefully, that would soon come to an end and things could go back to normal.

You allowed him to comb his fingers through your hair as he worked the conditioner through it, doing your best not to doze off as they massaged your scalp. He'd been adamant about doing all the work, and you didn't have it in you to argue with him on a normal day.

"You're taking tomorrow off."

Your eyes snapped open, turning your head to look at him in disbelief.

"What?" You asked dumbly, looking at his calm face.

"I called your boss and let him know you're not going in tomorrow." He said casually, looking unbothered as he moved you so he could rinse your hair without getting the water in your eyes, but you gripped the side of the tub to stop him.

"Toshi, I can't, we're understaffed right now. I'm all they have right now." You protested, feeling your stomach churn anxiously. "Everyone else is sick."

"And you'll be next if you let them keep taking advantage of you." He said, unimpressed. He gently pried your hand off the edge of the tub, carefully tilting you to try to rinse your hair again, and this time you didn't fight him. "They all called out because they know you'll pick up the slack, and this is their last chance before you leave. You're starting somewhere else soon, and you're not going to make a good impression if you're too tired to move the day you get there." He lifted you back up, moving some wet hair off of your face. "So you're taking tomorrow off, and all three of us are going to be unproductive on purpose."

His tone left no room for argument.

You swallowed, still feeling unsure.

"Also, what's he going to do? Fire you? With a week left?"

You let a nervous laugh escape you, the last of your anxiety disappearing.

"Thank you, Hitoshi. I wouldn't have done it myself." You said, resting your back against him and letting your hands gently sit on the edges of the tub again.

His own hands moved to settle over yours.

"We know."

The sound of the bathroom door opening pulled your attention away from Hitoshi and towards Shoto, who was wiping his hands with a hand towel.

"Dinner's ready."

The blend of being in clean clothes, well fed, and Shoto's warm hands working on heating your sore joints made you wonder how you had managed to stay awake. It was well past one in the morning, and somehow all three of you didn't seem close to sleeping. Instead, you had all made your way to the couch to get a headstart on your lazy day.

Your legs were currently draped across Shoto's lap, his hand currently rubbing at one of your knees, melting the stiffness away with almost no effort. Hitoshi had assumed the same position he had in the tub, arms caging you against him.

It felt like it had been a lifetime since the last time the three of you were in the same room together like this.

You were glad to be able to breathe again.

Your train of thought was effectively derailed when you felt heat crawl up your leg, making your leg jump instinctively. You tried to sit up, but Hitoshi's arms tightened around you, refusing to let you move. Your eyes darted up to look at him in confusion, and for a moment he looked back at you, but before you could ask him to let you get up, his mouth was on yours, and your request died in your throat.

You closed your eyes, sitting still as you felt warmth glide over the skin of your thigh before ducking under the hem of your shorts.

You counted yourself lucky to have found people who would take care of you when you couldn't.