Chapter Text
With Aizawa's arm around him and supporting majority of his body weight, Shinsou limped slowly towards his teacher's apartment. His wounds hurt with every movement he made, and he couldn't control the short gasps of pain that left his mouth repeatedly.
Once inside, Aizawa carefully lowered him onto the couch, before ordering him to not move while he went to get the first aid kit. With an array of antiseptic creams and bandages, Aizawa treated his wounds in silence.
Shinsou felt obliged to say something. This man had just saved him and taken him in, and he hadn't said a word to him. He appreciated that his teacher was not pushing, but the silence was stifling. He took a deep breath to try and stay calm. "My dad kicked me out of the house."
Aizawa looked up from his wounds and looked at Shinsou, nodding in understanding. He seemed to contemplate his words for a while, before settling on, "You can stay here for the night."
Shinsou broke the eye contact and looked away in embarrassment. He didn't deserve to receive help from his teacher, especially not out of school. "I'm sorry I called you," he apologized.
Aizawa's brow furrowed in response. "Shinsou, when I gave you my phone number, it meant that you could use it anytime."
That didn't do anything to quell the shame and guilt that Shinsou felt deep inside. "I don't know why I called you."
"That's fine," Aizawa assured, his gaze soft.
Shinsou's tone grew more determined, angrier. He didn't want Aizawa to be okay with this; he wanted to be punished for calling late at night and intruding so rudely. "I didn't want to call you," Shinsou pushed, temper building.
There was no reply this time.
Full realization settled in. His father had just beat him to shit, kicked him out of his home, and now his teacher had offered him to stay the night; something that was far beyond his payroll. Panic brewed, causing him to involuntary gulp for air, chest heaving.
Aizawa bent to face Shinsou directly, garnering his attention. "Shinsou, look at me. Slow down your breaths." He emphasized the big, slow breaths he was taking, urging Shinsou to follow.
Ignoring Aizawa's instructions, Shinsou suddenly stood up, but the unexpected pain that engulfed his entire body caused him to lose his balance. He swayed unsteadily before Aizawa caught him and sat him back down. "Shit," Shinsou swore under his breath, his vision blinded white by the pain for several seconds.
"Shinsou, slow down. You'll hurt yourself more." Aizawa's concern escalated.
Shinsou shrugged his teacher's hands off him, the anger and hatred at himself only growing more. Through gritted teeth, he choked out, "It was a mistake calling you. I'm sorry, Sensei. I'll leave now."
Aizawa's eyes widened in agonizing confusion. "Where will you go?"
"I'm going back home."
His teacher's gaze hardened in fury. "You said your father kicked you out. You can hardly stand on your own. Think rationally, Shinsou."
Shinsou wheezed, "I'm going back to beg him to take me back in." Adamant, he pushed himself back onto his feet slowly, riding through waves of fresh pain alone. He almost wanted to retch at the words that were leaving his mouth. He didn't mean any of it. He wanted to stay here.
The look on Aizawa's face was devoid of understanding. The last thing he wanted was for his student to return to the place where his safety was heavily compromised. He tried to convince again. "Shinsou, you can stay here. I mean it."
A tense silence blanketed the room. No backing out now, Shinsou thought to himself, and forced the lie straight through his teeth. "I don't want to stay here. You can't stop me."
A cage seemed to fall shut around the teacher, hiding his true emotions just like he was used to. He was right - with no legal custody, he could do nothing. Coldly and reluctantly, he admitted, "You're right, I can't stop you." It pained him to utter those words - words he would later find himself to regret.
Shinsou's breath caught at his teacher's agreement, like he didn't want to get his way, like he wanted his teacher to push harder. His gaze lowered, trying to hide the pained look apparent in his eyes. His heart almost hurt more than his physical wounds. He pushed past Aizawa to the door, and stopped short. "See you in school tomorrow, Sensei." He regretted his words the moment he said it. Without sparing a second glance behind him, he exited the apartment and shut the door behind him. He knew that if he had looked back and met his teacher's eyes again, he would have stayed without hesitation. The sound of the door slamming shut hurt more than it should have.