okay, but hmm. did not consider personal assistant au for kirishima specifically. and i feel like — the things that you would find out about eijirou, beyond red riot, would be so intimate and so surprising.
because maybe you're new, to the assistant thing, hot off the press. his mom has been managing his affairs for a while now but she's getting older and kind of tired and sometimes kiri wants to go to her house and just be a son and not a hero. sometimes he just wants to eat her cooking and wash his clothes in her detergent, because it smells like home, and not talk about what's on his schedule for next week and why he's got to endorse another toothpaste brand on instagram.
all you know about him has been spoon-fed by the media; he's been a friendly face in hero society since he was sixteen — someone people looked up to and knew they could rely on, someone they trusted to get the job done and get it done right, because kirishima is and always has been the shining, beaming face of justice. he's kid friendly, has a tiktok, does a lot publicly with his fans, attends conventions and hugs people even if they didn't pay for it along with their ticket.
he's the good guy, always smiling.
and the first time you start to question that, he's sitting in his office. alone, after dark. the city below offers a very dim light that creeps up through his half-shuddered windows and he's staring at the hardwood of his desk, completely zoned out, and he's — unhappy. obvious there, in all his cracks and crevices. the width of his eyes and weight of his frown makes him look older, and whatever is going on inside his head has him by the throat, because he doesn't even look up when you linger in the doorway, when you—
"uh, sir?"
and then he blinks, planted back inside his skin before looking up at you. "sorry, what's up?" his voice is raspy, moreso than usual, as if he hasn't used it in hours, and you wonder how long he's just been sitting there. thinking. when he smiles at you, it's soft and warm, like a blanket fresh out of the dryer, and your frigid worry is thawed from how believable it is.
he's very professional with you, albeit friendly; making jokes, going out on very rare occasions with your coworkers, though he only has one drink before leaving early. only calls you by your last name and never instructs you to do different with him, tells you good morning with that same trademarked cheer, never spends too much time with just you, texts your work phone only — and for strictly work related things.
very rarely takes days off, and when he does, he finds himself back in his office anyway. tidying up or going over reports from the last week or checking his emails or figuring out if you ever got ahold of so-and-so.
kirishima is standing at your desk, looking over his to-do's for next week, murmuring to himself when he can fit time in for the gym or for the yearly charity run they do in kamino. and again — you're struck with the reminder of him as a fresh-faced teen and all that he had to endure. if it's warped him, trapped him into whatever he is now. you wonder if he even realizes it, though the haunted look on his face from before hints at a startling truth.
"aren't you tired?" you ask him suddenly, peering up as he looms over you.
he smiles, even chuckles. "what? whaddya mean?"
"it's your off day, you know," you frown and his lips twitch in response, displeased. "you should be at home, like, i don't know, getting some rest or watching die hard or something."
he doesn't say anything at first and your eyes go a little wide, because his silence has you worrying you've crossed a major boundary with him. he's kind and you're not afraid of him; you only hope you aren't being too forward or offensive.
but there's something that lines the creases around his eyes, a bit wry as he studies your face. you get the odd feeling this is the first time he’s ever looked at you. but a soft snort comes out of his nose and then he's grinning again, beaming.
"i'm in more of a predator kind of phase right now, actually." and he makes the odd, alien little noise, mimicking how it opens its madibles with his fingers and you can't help but to laugh at him, all too aware of the gaze he keeps on your face even after you look away.
for the most part, he has very good composure; you've never seen him get mad about — anything, and he hardly swears, which you think is really odd considering which other pro hero is constantly stomping around his office. it has you wondering what attracts them to one another; what of dynamight is in red riot, too, that makes them such good friends, natural partners. a strive to do good, to win, but you think, maybe, it's something deeper than that. darker, even.
red riot is meant to give a speech at a ribbon cutting, after a few commercial buildings are decimated in a villain attack. although he wasn't particularly part of the rescue, it's still him they choose for their front page. for their podium. as their shining star.
it's the first time you see him crack, really.
behind the curtain they've hung up, hiding as some community official drones on and on about the true meaning of heroics — despite not being one — and kirishima is standing beside you as you quietly go over what you've written for him. you don't even notice he's not listening until his breathing is louder than your voice, and when you glance up from your flashcards, he's — somewhere else. zoned out, just like he had been in the dark.
"sir?" you murmur, and he's popping all his fingers and flexing his palms and kind of shuffling in place, oblivious. "hey, sir?" before you can reach out to touch him, he's tugging at the tie around his neck like it's choking him.
and he whispers a harsh "fuck" before squeezing his shut.
it takes you completely by surprise, though a guilt-laden voice in the back of your mind reminds you this isn't new, that this is something you maybe should have addressed earlier, instead of letting him suffer in a masked silence.
"fuck," he says again, leaning his head back to try and steady his rapid breathing. you think he might be hyperventilating. "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck,"
"kirishima?" and it's his name from your mouth that has him returning, looking at you for a moment before exhaling, wiping his hands on his slacks as he jostles like his skin is uncomfortable over his bones. "what's wrong?"
"no, nothin', i just—" he swallows, adam's apple bobbing, and you frown as he peeks behind the curtain and back into the crowd and cameras that are set on the stage. waiting. "goddamn it."
he's panicking; the realization has you stunned, but — he is twenty-six and just a man. one that's been built from the ground up, in the shape of something that's become too heavy after so long. even for him.
"hey," the notecards slap against the floor, forgotten, and you step in front of him to tentatively place your hands on his arms. if you're crossing a boundary, he doesn't seem to notice. "hey, hey, we can cancel this."
"what?" he looks at you like you're crazy, swallowing again. for the first time, you see an angry crease develope between his eyebrows. "no, no, i can't—they—i've got nothing to do with this and still, they want red riot to—"
"i don't give a shit about 'red riot' right now, okay?"
you think this is definitely going to get you fired; he rears back from you like you've slapped him — maybe you have, metaphorically — and he goes completely silent. breath evening out. eyebrows raised in stunned offense.
"i'm talking about you, kirishima." you clarify, daring to reach out and touch his elbow with what you hope is comfort. he just stares at the point of contact, open-mouthed. "if you don't want to—"
but then they're calling his name and people are waving him on and he's gone under the weight of his mantle, walking out without worry as he grins and smiles and waves and thanks everyone for coming. your notecards were worthless, because he has the entire thing memorized by heart and he pauses at the right times and laughs his little laugh so that everyone else chuckles, too.
picture perfect: that's what you think when you watch the playback later, on youtube. wouldn't even know what he was hiding, in his shadows.
you wait until you're back at the office and everyone has gone home to talk to him, and when you linger in his doorway, he doesn't notice for a long time. staring blankly at his dark computer monitor, far away.
this time, it's him that moves first, eventually having to a double-take to confirm you're really standing there. you're expecting anger or annoyance or frustration to come pooling out, but — he just smiles, a little more obvious in his insincerity, and says, "hey."
you don't say anything, though you do come further in to stand right across his desk. waiting, for him to reveal himself.
he doesn't. "sorry about earlier, i get a little stage-fright sometimes," sheepishly, he laughs, scratching the back of his head. "i didn't mean for you to see me like that, i just—"
"i am," you sigh, continuing when he quiets and raises his eyebrows at the interruption. "going to go and get some shitty bar food and a beer and go home to sit on my couch and watch all the predator films."
he relaxes, just a little. just enough. "even a.v.p?"
"yes, even a.v.p." you want him to invite himself, but you should know that's a step too far, for him. instead he just tells you "sounds nice" and then eventually, whatever lives in his head begins to eat its way out. "and i would really enjoy some company, kirishima, if you are interested at all."
the rejection is clear on his face and so you look away to spare yourself, trying not to take it personal. this arms-length he keeps you at is — odd, and you can't figure it out. you wonder how long it's been since anyone has breached his walls. how long it's been since he's let them.
"that's okay," you surrender, offering him a timid smile though he frowns. in the smallest moment of sincerity, his eyes flash with something and he stands, hands curled into fists like he would reach out with them, if he didn't glue them to his sides.
"i am tired," he finally says, and his eyes droop and he smiles, waning and weak, a lopsided turn of his lips. one of his little teeth peeking out, like a fang. "you're my employee and i shouldn't but, i am really fucking tired."
you're stunned, again, and he fishes his keys out of a drawer and walks over to you, suit jacket forgotten on the back of his chair. his tie is gone, too, nowhere to be found. you hope he threw it away.
as he's locking up his office behind him, he turns to you, almost shy. "only if we get chicken kaarage, though."
you smile and so does he and it's real, for the both of you. for the first time.
230 notes
·
View notes