His Piercing Gaze - Chapter 1

This was commissioned by Grace! ^^ It started getting long so I decided to split it into chapters LOL

Note: This chapter is SFW, but future ones will not be

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“You think he's cute?”

Izuku spluttered, head snapping back to see Shouto watching curiously. He hadn't realised just how absorbed he was in the tv show until he'd been broken out of his stupor – was he really that oblivious to his surroundings??

“Didn't think he was your type,” Shouto mused, leaning on the back of the couch to watch. “Not... You know, angry enough.”

“Shouto!” Izuku insisted, burning bright red. “What are you saying?!”

“Or blond enough,” Shouto continued, tilting his head slightly. “Or-”

“Please!” Izuku whined, hiking his feet up onto the couch to hide his face in his knees. “At least keep it down!”

Much to his relief, Shouto closed his mouth obediently, rounding the couch to sit down beside Izuku's ball of mortification. He watched the screen with fascination, taking far longer than he'd admit to finally catch on.

“Is it the piercing?”

Izuku froze, clutching tight at his legs, but slowly conceded a faint nod.

“Oh, that makes more sense. You should look up, you're missing it.”

“I just need a minute,” Izuku mumbled.

“Okay,” Shouto nodded, patting Izuku's shoulder awkwardly. “Um, there there.”

“Thanks,” Izuku sniffed, managing a wobbly smile as he turned his head to peek out. “It's just embarrassing.”

“Why? I think you'd look good with a belly button piercing.”

“Don't tease me,” Izuku pouted. “This is why I don't talk about it.”

“I'm not teasing, I mean it.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Izuku couldn't find a trace of deception in Shouto's face. They'd been friends long enough for Izuku to read him at least that well, he had about a ninety percent average on figuring out what was a joke or teasing or sarcasm – he only hoped this wasn't the one in ten.

“I never should have told you,” Izuku sighed. “I knew you wouldn't let it go.”

“I'm just trying to understand,” Shouto shrugged. “If you like it, and you want one, why not just do it?”

“Attractive people get piercings,” Izuku pouted. “People with cool outfits and abs. And what would my mother think?”

“Isn't it your body?” Shouto asked, oddly sincere. “If your mother doesn't like piercings, she doesn't have to get one.”

“W-Well... Yeah, but...”

“You want me to come with you?” he offered. “You can hold my hand when it hurts.”

“Shouto!”

“I'm serious.”

Izuku rubbed his hands together, fidgeting nervously, his mouth hanging open for a moment before he managed to force any words out of it.

“Would you really?”

“Of course I would, I'm your friend.”

“I'll think about it,” Izuku agreed, peeking up at the screen again, at the actor with his taut abs and a shiny bar in his belly button. “It looks so good, I just can't imagine it looking good on me, you know?”

Shouto hummed thoughtfully, reaching out to hike Izuku's shirt up in the front. Despite an indignant squawk, Shouto gave him a thumbs up, completely straight-faced.

“Good abs,” he confirmed. “It'll look good.”

“Shut up,” Izuku whined, snatching his shirt away. “I said I'll think about it.”

“Cool. Think about it by Saturday, I'll find a decent place to go on our afternoon off.”

“Fine,” Izuku huffed. “I'll think about it by Saturday.”

“Looking forward to it.”

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When Saturday rolled around, Izuku found himself fidgeting in a little waiting area, watching the clock tick down toward their appointment time. It was a consult, Shouto had assured him – he was under no obligation to go through with it, it was just a chance to talk to the professionals and see what he'd be in for. It sounded perfectly sensible, but there was still something so weirdly embarrassing about it.

“You're too self-conscious,” Shouto told him bluntly. “It's okay to be nervous, I'm sure everyone is nervous the first time.”

“Was I talking to myself?”

“Aren't you always?”

Izuku sighed, nodding faintly, and sneaked a glance through the doorway to the main room. All he could see was a sliver of white-tiled floors and a pair of shoes moving around, and somehow that felt more ominous than reassuring, like a kid waiting to get vaccinated.

“Mister Midoriya?”

“Eep!”

Izuku's head shot up, face flooding red, but the receptionist only smiled at him warmly. She had three rings through each ear, and even a bar through her eyebrow – it was fascinating, to say the least.

“Come on through, Sir. Is your friend coming with you?”

“Yes please!”

“Great, let's get you both settled in.”

She led them through into the white room, inviting them to sit on a comfortably padded bench, and then an older man was joining them, bowing before he took a seat on his little metal stool.

“So, how can I help you today?” he asked, when the receptionist left them to it, shutting the door to give them some privacy. “You're interested in getting a piercing?”

“M-Maybe,” Izuku squeaked. “My b- b- b-”

“His belly button,” Shouto finished for him. “But he's nervous.”

“Is this your first one?”

Izuku nodded, his eyes a little watery.

“That's great, it's always scary the first time, but exciting too, don't you think?”

“Y-Yeah. I'm just, um, not sure.”

“Of course! You don't need to make a decision any time soon, we're not going anywhere. But I'm here to answer any questions you might have, so fire away!”

Izuku turned a helpless look on Shouto, who thankfully seemed well-prepared for Izuku's ineptitude.

“Can you tell us about your safety and hygiene policies?”

Izuku breathed a deep sigh of relief as the pair talked back and forth, Shouto strict about every little detail, but the man seemingly unphased by it all.

“And the healing time?”

“We have a staff member licensed to use her healing quirk on our clients, so with her help we're looking at six to eight weeks for full healing. If you're diligent about cleaning it daily with the solution we give you, after about a week it'll be ready to show off with no swelling or redness.”

“So what are the other weeks for? What's considered 'fully healed' then?”

“For practical purposes, that will be when you can take the piercing out or swap it for another. You're stuck with the first one for that time, so we have to find one you'll like!”

“Thoughts, Izuku?” Shouto asked, watching green eyes widing. “Did you get that?”

“Eight weeks is fine! That's okay!” he nodded hurriedly. “Um, I'm a h-hero in training, so I was w-wondering if it'll g-get in the way or anything? Of training?”

“You'll likely want to cover it over for the first few days, just stick a bandage over it in case it gets bumped and to make sure it won't catch on your clothing or anything. Is your costume particularly tight?”

“Um, n-not really? Snug, I suppose, but not tight.”

“You might find it's irritating when it rubs against the material, but again you should be able to fix that with a bandage, and once it's had a week or so to heal, you should stop noticing any irritation. You'll just have to make sure to clean it up afterward if you get sweaty, just keeping the area clean as I mentioned. Other than that, it shouldn't pose any issues!”

“Um, d-do you think I could l-look at some of them? The uh, the bars?”

“Of course! All our pieces are hand-crafted, one of a kind. We're very proud of them! Let me go get a tray to show you.”

He stepped out to retrieve them from a cupboard, and Izuku just waited in silence, listening to him rummage.

“I might get my eyebrow done,” Shouto spoke up, so matter-of-fact. “I liked the receptionist's one.”

“W-What? Just like that?”

Shouto shrugged, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.

“My father will hate it.”

Izuku managed a laugh at that, choked as it was, and somehow it made him a little more comfortable when the man returned. He sat up straight, fascinated by all the little pieces of metal, and caught a glimpse of a smile as he leaned in to look closer.

One bar caught his eye immediately, drawing him in like he couldn't look away. The metal was dark and shiny, and each end housed a fiery stone, deep red in the very center but radiating out in glimmering shades to be bright around the edges. A lump grew in his throat as he stared, and he swallowed to force it down, a strange weight sitting in his chest.

“See something you like?”

“Y-Yeah,” Izuku admitted. “Um, that- that red one right there, it's... beautiful.”

“Ahh, good choice! I love that dark titanium, it makes the jewels look so much more vibrant.”

“I like the white one,” Shouto hummed, pointing it out. “For me, I mean. Do these go in eyebrows too?”

“The eyebrow ones are a little smaller, would you like to see some?”

“If you don't mind.”

“Not at all, just one moment.”

He left the room again, and Shouto smiled faintly, nudging Izuku with his elbow.

“One of a kind,” he parroted. “You're gonna have to snatch it up before someone else does.”

“Yeah,” Izuku nodded, swallowing hard. “I want it.”

“Want me to go first?”

“Yeah. Um, I'll hold your hand if it hurts?”

Shouto chuckled, and Izuku cracked a real smile finally, tearing his eyes away from the pretty bar to look at Shouto's encouraging face.

“Thanks,” Shouto smiled. “I appreciate it.”

Izuku expected the staff to be surprised when they both asked to be pierced then and there, but instead they just smiled knowingly – Izuku had a feeling they weren't the first ones to come in nervous and walk out with new jewellery.

Before he knew it, Shouto was sitting with a funny-looking clamp on his eyebrow, not unlike a pair of tongs. Izuku giggled when he saw it hanging off his friend's face, and Shouto smiled back, squeezing Izuku's scarred hand lightly. Izuku was pretty sure he didn't need the comfort, but it made him feel better, and there was no way Shouto didn't realise that.

“Deep breath in for me,” the piercer instructed, as he opened a disposable needle package. “And out. Again.”

As Shouto let out a long breath, the needle went through like he was made of butter, smooth and without hesitation. Shouto pulled a face, but didn't complain or tear up, though Izuku squeezed him tighter all the same.

“Did it hurt?” he asked, as the white-gold bar was threaded through the new hole.

“Nah, more like a pinch.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I get hit worse than that any time I spar with Bakugou.”

Izuku giggled, and Shouto smiled wryly, giving his eyebrow a little test-wiggle as the piercer freed him from his clamp.

“Easy as that,” he said happily, grabbing a hand mirror for Shouto to take a look. “What do you think?”

“Perfect,” Shouto affirmed, turning his head a little to look closer. “My father is gonna be pissed.”

“I hope that's not the reason you did this.”

“Nah,” Shouto snorted. “Just a nice bonus.”

He handed the mirror back, and when mismatched eyes met Izuku's, that weight fell into his chest again.

“Ready?”

“Y-Yeah,” he squeaked. “Ready.”

“You don't have to do it.”

“I want to.”

He lay back along a table when directed, watching the perfect, dark bar be taken from the case and sanitised. It was the biggest thing that kept him going, seeing that beautiful piece of art that was about to become a part of him.

Shouto squeezed his hand reassuringly, watching as the man began cleaning Izuku's stomach, but Izuku squeezed his own eyes shut. As pretty as the thing was, he couldn't bring himself to watch. He was already gnawing on his lip, already tearing up, with only Shouto's warm grip and the cold swab over his abs to keep him grounded. His breathing picked up when the clamp touched his skin, chest heaving with the effort it took to keep inflating his lungs, his twisted fingers clinging to Shouto's. He knew he was gripping too hard, felt a little bad for the pain he knew he must be inflicting, but Shouto didn't voice even a single word of complaint.

“Deep breaths for me,” the piercer instructed, waiting patiently for Izuku to get his shaky breaths under control. “Just keep breathing, that's all you need to do.”

Izuku nodded, biting harder at his lip to stifle a sob, his spare hand tangling in the hem of his shirt so hard that he thought it might tear.

“Think about how good it's gonna look,” Shouto instructed. “All those guys you stare at on tv, the social media accounts you never stop scrolling through. That's gonna be you. Be excited.”

Izuku didn't realise he was crying until he felt the tears pooling on the table below him, dampening the back of his neck, but no one said a word about it, no one called him out. He felt a sharp prick on his skin, a strong pressure, and then Shouto was patting his hand gently.

“You did it.”

“I did it?”

“Uh-huh.”

He cracked his eyes open, sniffing hard and wiping his face on his sleeve, vision slowly clearing enough to watch the fiery red gem fasten onto his bar. The piercer smiled up at him, picking up the mirror again, and slowly Izuku sat up to look. Shouto handed him a paper towel from a wall dispenser, letting him wipe his face, and used a couple more to mop up the puddle he'd left behind.

“Wow,” he said softly, a smile spreading across his lips as he stared in the mirror. “It's mine.”

“It sure is,” the piercer laughed. “Wasn't so bad, was it?”

“N-No, it was... Fine, actually.”

“I'm glad.”

A click behind him tore Izuku's eyes from the reflection, looking back to where Shouto was holding his phone, snapping pictures of Izuku as he admired his new jewellery. He grumbled a little, but didn't bother to argue about it, busy admiring his shiny stones.

“Looks good,” Shouto told him, slotting his phone away. “You ready to go buy a crop top?”

“Very funny.”

“I wasn't joking.”