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Emi had been laying on her couch sick for the better part of a week and was now completely out of groceries and tissues. Normally the shopping would be no problem, but she was beyond exhausted from whatever bug she had come down with. Obviously, there was delivery for food, but she couldn’t exactly ask the driver to stop and pick up a box of tissues and maybe some cold medicine on the way, so she started calling her friends. She had already tried to reach three different people, but it was Friday night and everyone was busy.
“Everyone except one man...” She reminded herself. She really didn’t want to ask Eraser. Sure, he was a friend, but he valued his privacy and alone time a lot, and of course there was the fact that they had ‘accidentally’ locked lips at one of Mic’s parties back when they first started out as Pro Heroes. It had been many years since, but the awkward, lingering feelings between them never totally went away (at least on her end). It wasn’t like they hadn’t talked about it either, they had just decided a relationship wouldn’t make sense for either of them at the time, and it was only ever brought up in her classic “Marry me!” jokes after that. But Joke was sick, and she was desperate, so she reluctantly began to dial his number. “Poor Eraser is about to have his evening alone ruined.” She mumbled.
“Joke?” Aizawa answered, reasonably suspicious about why she would be calling him on his night off.
“Hey Eraser...” She started, relieved he even picked up the phone.
She sounded terrible, he realized as soon as she began. “What’s wrong, Joke?” He replied with just the tiniest hint of worry in his voice. But maybe she was just being hopeful.
“Look I hate to bother you, but you’re the only person I could think of that keeps their Friday night free, and I already tried a few other people but all of them were too busy and- “
He cut her off “Get to the point, Joke.”
If it were anyone but him, she might have been offended at the blunt interjection, but this was Eraser, and he was just Like That.
“I’ve been sick for days and I really need just a couple groceries to get my strength back. I’d get them myself but I’m so exhausted.” She felt guilty for asking so much of someone who liked to keep even his closest friends at an arm's length away, and half expected her request to be denied, but Eraser was full of surprises.
“Yeah of course. Text me whatever you need, I’ll pick it up and be there soon.” He said, his voice was so soft, she hardly recognized it was him. Maybe it was the fever still lingering, but she felt color rise to her cheeks.
“Thank you, Eraser...” she smiled, even though he couldn’t see.
“No problem.” He replied, hanging up the phone.
She asked for just a couple staple items, as soon as she had her strength back from those, she would do an actual grocery run on her own. She also gave him the pin for the door so he could let himself in to drop them off, in case she fell back asleep.
She woke up to the faint sounds of someone moving around the kitchen, and a pleasant smell of food in the air. She rubbed her eyes, and looked into her kitchen to see Eraser, with his back to her, throwing some vegetables into a small soup pot steaming away on the stove burner.
“Hey Eraser are you cooking?” She called out still groggy. “How long have I been out?”
“Not long.” He responded, ignoring her first question entirely.
“What are you making?” She tried again.
“It’s a basic soup my mother used to make me when I would get sick, it’s very nutritious but still tasty.” He explained as he threw a few more things into the pot.
“You didn’t have to cook for me...” she said, feeling a bit guilty, she hadn’t meant to come off that helpless on the phone.
“I know. I just thought it would help you recover. You didn’t sound like your usual self on the phone. Besides, the stuff on that list you gave me wasn’t going to nurse anyone back to health, so I had to improvise.” He gestured to the large bag he had been pulling ingredients out of.
“Hey that’s way more stuff than I told you to buy! It’s like a whole grocery store!” She yelled, sounding more tired than angry.
He let out what she could only assume was a small laugh. “You’re welcome.”
She crossed her arms over her chest “I was trying to be low-maintenance.” She grumbled. “I didn’t want you to waste so much time and energy on me...”
“If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t have come. If I didn’t want to get you the food I wouldn’t have, and if I didn’t want to make you dinner- “ he walked over, placing a steaming bowl of soup in front of her, “then I wouldn’t have done it.” He offered her a small smile as he sat down next to her.
He was being so warm, and his voice was so much more gentle than usual... She decided that she would just have to get sick more often. She never got to see this side of him.
Unfortunately, Joke was still kind of out of it, and these thoughts didn’t stay inside her head...
“I’ll have to get sick more often. I never see this side of you.” She mumbled, completely unaware of the way she was embarrassing herself. Why was his face so red all of a sudden?
He gently brushed a hand over her forehead. “Yeah you’re burning up. Finish your dinner but after that you should rest some more.” He said gently. She nodded her head in response, and sat eating quietly for several minutes.
“Hey Eraser?” She finally piped up, as she pushed her now empty bowl to the side.
“What is it?”
“Did you just admit that... you think I’m hot?” She could barely finish the question before the laughter overwhelmed her.
“You’re impossible.” He replied shaking his head, but she could see the faint hint of a smile on his face.
“Thanks for your help tonight. I really appreciate all of it...” She said shyly “Sorry I had to bug you on your night off though, please remind me to pay you back.”
“I’m not taking your money for groceries you didn’t even ask for, Joke. Besides, I didn’t mind spending my Friday night here. Maybe it’s the fatigue, but you were surprisingly tolerable company.” His face grew red yet again, his words would have been taken as more of an insult to anyone else, but he knew Joke always saw through his layers of sarcasm. That’s what always prevented him from getting close to her, the mortifying ordeal of being known. She leaned closer, and placed her head so gently on his shoulder. His breath stilled and he swore she would hear his heart racing. He knew he had to be seconds away from teasing now. Between his honest confession of actually enjoying spending time with her, and all the physical signs of nervousness he was giving off, she was sure to have a field day with this one...
“We’ll have to have dinner again some time...” She whispered, and truly it sounded sincere. Joke had been making “Marry me!” jokes at him since they (more or less) accidentally kissed at a party back when they were first staring out as pros, and her tone this time sounded nothing like those.
He finally looked down to answer her, but her eyes were already drifting shut. She really was exhausted. He reluctantly shifted her off his shoulder while she was still a little awake, as he didn’t want to interrupt her sleep later.
“Don’t worry about the kitchen, you’ve already done enough...” she said groggily “I left my wallet on the counter... just take whatever I owe you... for the food... I’ll put the groceries away... soon...” she managed to mumble out.
He could tell that she was asleep, and was determined to at least clean up the mess he made cooking before he left. He had just started packing up the leftover soup for her when she piped up again.
“Thank you, Sho...”
“Haven’t heard that nickname in a while...” He thought to himself as his cheeks grew warm, he hadn’t heard her address him so affectionately in years. He couldn’t stop the Smile creeping over his face as he remembered her drunken giggling and the smile on her face as she exclaimed “Sho!” In mock- surprise right after the kiss they shared back then...
He tidied her kitchen, put all of the groceries away as best he could, and even cleaned some of her mess in the living room. He was about ready to leave, but decided to check on her temperature one last time. He swept her bangs from her face delicately and pressed his hand to her head. She already felt a little cooler which was a good sign that the soup was working. Her brows furrowed at his touch, and he hoped he didn’t ruin her sleep.
“Sho...” she mumbled with a small smile, clearly still asleep.
She was doing an excellent job of melting his cold heart, and she wasn’t even trying. He leaned down, trying carefully to keep his long hair from falling in her face, and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek. Maybe it was because he was feeling sentimental, but he decided to scribble out a note for her before slipping out the door.
Emi,
I put all the groceries away, sorry if some aren’t in exactly the right place, but I didn’t want to wake you. The leftover soup is in the fridge and I find it re-heats best on the stove. Don’t bother trying to tell me I didn’t have to clean up, I made a huge mess cooking and it would have been rude to stick you with it. Please, next time you need anything at all, call me first. I promise I won’t mind. Let me know when you’re feeling better, maybe we can get together for dinner again.
-Sho
He placed it on the coffee table and slipped quietly out the door. He was pretty tired by the time he got home, so he went straight to bed. His eyes were drifting shut as he finally began to fall asleep, when the realization of what he had just done smacked him in the face.
“Oh my god I just asked Joke out on an actual date.”