Chapter Text
Hitoshi had experience with kids. He did. Honest. While he may not have lived with them, he knew how to interact with them for the most part— most being the operative term. He was beginning to feel like this certain situation was not included in that most.
Wide eyes stared at him as he and Eri sat in silence at the living room table.
“So…” he said, tapping the wood. “Yamada and Aizawa should be home from their teacher’s meeting soon.”
She’d been living with them for a week. Hitoshi had wanted to give her space to settle down and get used to things, so they hadn’t really gotten a chance to get to know each other outside of when they hung out as a family.
Eri blinked at him, like she was waiting for something.
Hitoshi took a shot in the dark. “Are you hungry?”
Eri shook her head.
“Thirsty?”
No again.
“Wanna watch a movie?”
Nope.
“Play a game?”
Another no.
“What do you want to do?”
She shrugged.
“Okay.” Hitoshi ran out of ideas faster than he thought he would. “I’m going to go use the bathroom.”
He needed time alone to figure out what he was supposed to do in the hour and a half before Yamada and Aizawa got home. He didn’t think he’d last that long given the fact that she shot down everything he thought she might be interested in. But as he headed towards the hallway, he could feel someone watching him.
He looked back and there Eri was, still in her seat but staring at him intently.
“Do you need to use the bathroom?” he tried guessing.
She shook her head. Again.
“Okay.” He thinks he’s probably broken a record for most rejections in under four minutes. Locking the door, he let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding.
Man, what was he supposed to do with a kid that didn’t want to do anything? How was he supposed to bond with her, be her family, when he doesn’t even know how to talk to her?
He understood that Eri had been through some traumatizing things, so he doesn’t count it against her that he’s the only one that seems to be trying. But at the same time, he was used to kids vying for attention, being excited about literally anything under the sun. Eri kinda just…sat there. He didn’t know how to work with that.
Regardless of whether he had an idea, staying in the bathroom forever wasn’t a great option. He figured even if she wasn’t hungry now, she eventually would be. A snack would probably help (probably make things less awkward).
He opened the door and nearly tripped over a small human being. Eri was there again, just outside the bathroom door, leaning against the wall and seemingly waiting for him to get out.
“Sorry, did you need to use the bathroom too?”
Again, she shook her head.
“I’m gonna make snacks. You can—” he doesn't actually know what she should do. “—sit at the table.”
She nodded and followed him to the kitchen like a baby duck.
Taking a seat at the table once again, Eri watched as Hitoshi put an instant popcorn bag in the microwave. She was waiting for something, he could feel it, but for what he did not know.
“I know a couple youtubers,” he randomly blurted. “We can watch, um—” what do kids like to watch? “Minecraft.”
Silence hung in the air as Eri seemed to consider the idea. Or at least that was what Hitoshi thought she was doing. Her face hadn’t really changed expressions aside from the blank one she always gave him.
Carefully and slowly, she nodded yes.
“Cool.” he said. Truth be told, he was not into Minecraft or watching other people play Minecraft on youtube, but if it made her happy he’d be fine with it.
He sets up his laptop on the kitchen table with the popcorn between them. He doesn’t even know what youtuber to look for. He wonders if she even knows what Minecraft is. “Hang on just setting up,” he lied and instead searched for Minecraft youtube for kids on his phone to find the best youtuber to show her. He picks the first one off of google search and rolls with it.
“Helllo~ welcome to a series called how to minecraft—” the video started automatically. The pitch of the narrator was high and somewhat annoying to Hitoshi, but otherwise it seemed like a fine video to play.
The two of them sat there, watching the youtube channel on autoplay for more than 20 minutes and eating popcorn. Well, Hitoshi was eating. Eri only ate when he handed the popcorn to her directly.
At minute 22 he glanced over at her, only to find her staring at the screen not in awe or in wonder nor even mild interest, but rather with a look of such forced focus that she could probably be activating erasure if she had such a quirk.
“Um, you good?” Maybe she was just as uninterested in this as he was.
She gave him a side glance and nodded the most forced yes Hitoshi had ever seen. Lying about feelings was not exactly her strong suit.
Hitoshi sighed. Maybe he needed to get out of his own head.
He had homework to do anyway. He got up and made his way to his room, grabbing his bag and checking to make sure he had everything he needed. Notebook. Pens. Calculator. History worksheet.
Then a hand suddenly touches his back.
“Fu—” he turns, startled, but it was just Eri “—uuudge. F-fudge.”
She receded her hand as if she’d been burned and gave him a confused look.
“Sorry. You scared me.” He hadn’t even heard her follow him. He hoped she didn’t know curse words yet. It was pretty obvious what he was going for there. “And we should, um, get fudge.” A terrible attempt to cover his tracks.
“Okay.”
Oh no. He has accidentally committed to fudge he didn’t have. “I-I mean later though.”
“Kay.” She looked indifferent to anything he had to say.
He had no idea what she wanted.
The two of them walked back to the kitchen. Eri continued to stare at the youtube channel while Hitoshi worked on his homework. Eventually he does pass her some scratch paper and a highlighter, and says “you can draw something if you like.” She does. It doesn’t make the situation any less uncomfortable. They stayed that way until the time Yamada and Aizawa got home.
“We’re back!” Aizawa shouted from the entrance. Finally.
“Sorry it took such a while, but we bought take out!” Yamada said, walking into the kitchen. “Oh! Working on stuff?” Eri nodded, lifting her drawing. “That’s nice. Did the two of you have fun?”
Hitoshi cringed at the question. At best this little bonding period was awkward.
“Yup.” Eri smiled. And Hitoshi holds back a what. She seemed incredibly checked out the entire time. At least from his point of view. “We watched,” she doesn't know what it's called. She points to the laptop instead. “That.”
“Coolios,” Yamada replied, very unsure of what exactly that was but Hitoshi figured a grown man would not understand the joys of minecraft. “Hitoshi, thanks for taking care of Eri for us. Why don’t you put your things away and we can start eating dinner?”
“S-sure.” Hitoshi stuttered as he packed up his things. Eri was a bad liar when it came to her feelings. He knew this. Still, it was hard to believe that any part of the last hour and a half was fun for her. He had honestly felt quite pathetic the entire time. Like a cat in a bathtub.
As he walked back into his room, he could feel eyes on him. This time though, it was familiar.
A knock comes from his door.
“Yeah, come in,” he said, setting down his things.
Aizawa opened the door and stood at the entrance. “I wanted to check in with you. How was staying with Eri?”
“She was fine. It was quiet.” He hoped he didn’t sound too disinterested.
“How were you?” Aizawa shot him a calm look he couldn’t quite understand. “This is a lot of change happening.”
Hitoshi gave it a moment of thought, then shrugged. “Fine too, I guess? We really didn’t do anything interesting. It was just, eh.”
“Are you having trouble connecting with her?”
Hitoshi glanced away and all but verbally confirmed it.
“I see,” Aizawa said, taking a step into the room and closing the door. He sat on Hitoshi’s study chair and leaned in. “She seemed like she had fun today though.”
Hitoshi plopped on his bed, facing Aizawa. “But we didn’t do anything. We watched youtube videos she wasn’t interested in and I did my homework. And every time I tried to ask her what she wanted she didn't say anything.” A sigh. “I just want to do something that would make her like me. Or at least make it less awkward between us.”
Aizawa smiled gently at him. “She wants to do what you want to do.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I think,” Aizawa chose his words carefully. “She just likes having another kid around.” Hitoshi wanted to protest that. He wasn’t a child that had to be tended to . “I know you’re not a kid,” Aizawa caught him before he could say anything. “But, you’re not an adult either. Remember that she hasn’t had many people her age in her life. If anyone is going to teach her how to be a kid—how to be in a family—it’s probably you.”
Hitoshi felt like an idiot. “Huh?”
“It was a little scary when you first started living with me and Yamada, right?” Hitoshi didn’t want to confirm that, but Aizawa raised an eyebrow and he nodded in admission. Aizawa continued. “She’s the same, but this time, she knows someone else has been in her position and is on that path with her.” Aizawa poked his chest. “That’s you.”
“Oh.” Hitoshi gave it some thought. It wasn’t like it was hard. Yamada and Aizawa had made him feel welcomed. She didn’t really need him around like she needed parents. But yes, he can maybe see Aizawa’s point. “I guess having someone else in the same position would have made those first few weeks less scary. But,” he furrowed his eyebrows. “I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do with her.”
“You don’t have to think about what to do. She doesn’t need a third parent tending to her. She needs a friend.” A sibling stays left unsaid. “Just,” Aiawa paused, then patted his head. “Just grow up with her.”
Easier said than done in Hitoshi’s opinion. He didn’t even know what that was going to entail. “So we should,” Hitoshi waved his hand in the air lamely, “co-exist?”
“You could call it that.” Aizawa said. “It might be nice if you give her opportunities to co-exist with you, even when it's boring.”
Hitoshi huffed. Sounded like a bunch of bull, but well, he had run out of other ideas rather fast. “I could try it.”
“Good kid.” Aizawa stood. “Now let's go eat dinner.”
***
The next day, instead of doing his homework in his room, Hitoshi decided that perhaps he might be more “productive” on the kitchen table. On his way there, he passes by Eri’s room and knocks on her door.
“Hey, I’m gonna be studying in the kitchen for an hour or two. We could…” He still wasn’t quite sure exactly what they would do or how to phrase it. “...co-exist?”
He really sucked at this sibling thing.
He heads to the kitchen, accepting defeat, but soon after, small footsteps follow from behind and Eri slips into the chair beside him.
Maybe suckiness was a bit of a preemptive judgment.
He slid a marker pack towards her. “I got you some nicer markers. Highlighters aren’t really great for drawing.”
Eri looked up at him with the shyest of smiles. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome,” he said, handing her some paper as well. “You wanna watch minecraft again?”
She gave him a nervous side-eye that wasn’t exactly a no but definitely wasn’t a yes.
He chuckled at her. “I’m kidding. I’ll play some music.”
The two of them spend the rest of their time doing their own thing while light jams played in the background. Another uneventful day with his new sibling, but Hitoshi supposed that was just life. After about an hour of sitting in silence, Hitoshi felt a tug on his sleeve.
“For you,” she whispered, pushing the drawing she had made into his hands. It was of the two of them, sitting at a table, doing exactly what they were doing right now. But what really caught Hitoshi’s attention was that Eri (or rather, stick-figure Eri), seemed to be very happy in her drawing.
“Doing boring stuff with me doesn’t bother you?” Hitoshi asked earnestly.
Eri merely shrugged. He probably should’ve expected that. At least it wasn’t a yes.
“Cool,” he decided. “I like doing homework with you.”
He looked back, and this time, Eri was giving a very big, very genuine smile. “Me too.”
Hitoshi smiled back.
“Hey by the way, what’s that brown stuff on the table?” He asked, pointing at the drawing.
“It’s the fudge.”
Ah, he forgot about that.
“I’ll, um, I’ll get it for you…eventually.” This sibling role was work in progress. He’ll get there.