Work Text:
Aizawa and the Big Decision
2019-2020
It struck him suddenly one day while they were watching Ponyo for the fiftieth time, that his small, undecorated, ugly bachelor pad wasn't exactly child friendly. The lack of toys, color, and games had existed completely unnoticed by his tired eyes until he realized that she was hugging his yellow sleeping bag as a doll.
Aizawa stood up silently in the middle of the movie and eyeballed his entire studio, trying to find any possible, easy way to salvage what he'd brought Eri into. Now that she was allowed to live with him almost a year after her rescue, and two months into her official adoption, she had settled into his shabby home quietly and without complaint. She didn't know she was supposed to have toys and her own big girl bed. She was used to falling asleep on his couch, which already felt more comfortable than the stiff, starched hospital bed she had spent so much time living in.
She watched him like an eagle as he abandoned the couch to sit at his computer.
"Where are you going?" she squeaked, hugging the sleeping bag closer to her. He knew she was afraid he was going to leave her alone, permanently.
Aizawa breathed in through his nose and tried to soften his facial expression. For four months now, two months prior to his official signature stating Eri was his legal child, he had been seeing a therapist for both himself, and for Eri. The therapist wasted no time in letting Aizawa know that he looked furious and intimidating the moment he walked into the office for the first time. It was now part of Aizawa's daily practice to relax and not look too scary. With Eri still staring at him, Aizawa brought himself back to the way their therapist had taught him, and said kindly and with a smile,
"It's okay, Eri. I just remembered that I have a grown up job to do. I'm not leaving you. I'll be right here."
She eyed him carefully, unblinking until he sat down in his chair and woke the computer from its slumber.
"Okay." Eri returned to her movie, clutching the yellow sleeping bag tightly. Unbeknownst to her, a large change was taking place as her new legal guardian set to work on making them a new home.
----
A few days later, Eri woke up at her usual time: 7 am, and running to the bathroom. When she emerged from Aizawa's old-fashioned tiny toilet in the floor, she went straight to the kitchen and found a bowl of cereal and a small cup of milk waiting for her in plain plasticware on top of his old, rickety folding table he'd had since his rent began eight years earlier. A bowl of apples and bananas sat in the center of the table, fruit snacks she was always allowed to eat whenever she wanted as long as he was around to make sure she didn't choke. She ate her breakfast almost silently, always afraid to make too much noise. A few minutes later, Aizawa entered the kitchen with a mug of coffee, and he sat down across from her on a folding chair.
It really started to strike him how much of a loner he was.
"Eri," he started, "I have some exciting news for you. Today, you and I are going on an adventure."
"What kinda 'venture?" She asked, reaching for an apple.
"Well," he said, "you know how my house is really small? Today we are going to look for a new house. A big one so you can have your own bedroom, and a playroom."
"Are you gonna have your own room too?" She asked. She gave no smile, no indication of excitement.
"Yep. And there are three houses we are going to look at today, together. Sound like fun?"
"Okay," she answered, her mouth full of apple. "When we goin'?"
"Finish breakfast and get dressed, and then we can go."
She finished her apple, and ran off to brush her teeth and get dressed while he cleaned up her remnants and washed the plastic dishes. He realized there was more to buying a home than just the home. He would finally have to buy kitchen appliances and utensils. Furniture. Real plates and utensils! God, he was such a solitary person.
They met at the doorway, ready to put on their shoes. Aizawa smiled at the cute green outfit she had chosen for the day, inspired by the one and only Deku, and helped put on her shoes, then quickly put her hair in a braid. Outside, the wind blew gently, and Eri watched in awe as a figure of leaves danced in a cyclone. They piled into Aizawa's car and headed to option number one.
The condo was located inside a gated community near UA and the hospital, making it ideal for them to live there. As Aizawa unbuckled her from her car seat, he started to explain the amenities they would get if he bought this house. Hearing himself say it loud terrified him.
"So Eri, this house has a playground where you can play with other kids, and a pool so I can teach you how to swim, and it will let us have a cat if we want one. And look," he pointed to the front lawn, "we can play outside here, and look up at the stars, and go camping outside too."
But she was quiet, anxiously waiting to see the inside of the house. Aizawa knew new things made Eri nervous, and he held her hand as they approached the front door. He knocked, and they were greeted by an older woman with a big smile.
"Oh hello!" She said merrily, "you must be the Aizawa family. Come in, come in! You can leave your shoes on, we have a cleaning crew deep clean the condo after it sells. Oh hello!" She knelt down to Eri and held out a friendly hand. "My name is Megumi. What's your name?"
Eri looked up at her adopted father to seek out whether she should answer or not. He nodded. Eri clutched his leg tightly but answered, "I'm Eri."
Megumi smiled and said gently, "I'm so happy you're here, Eri. Your daddy called me and said he wanted to find a wonderful home for you, and I think you guys will love this house. Are you ready to see it?"
Eri nodded, though she continued to cling to Aizawa's leg. He patted her head and took her hand, letting her squeeze as tight as she wanted. They began their journey into the condo. As soon as they entered past the foyer where their outside shoes would live, Eri gasped at the hugeness of the condo. She couldn't stop herself from exclaiming,
"This is bigger than our little house! Look!" She grabbed Aizawa's hand and pulled him into the decently sized kitchen. "Look! It's so big! We can get more kids to eat with us!"
"More kids?" Megumi asked, puzzled as Aizawa inspected the dishwasher and sink.
"I adopted Eri very recently," Aizawa answered as he moved onto opening and closing the cupboards. "She's six, and she knows she's adopted. Maybe she wants me to adopt more."
"Well, I can't make that recommendation," said Megumi with a grin, "but as a person who was an only child, I can say I wish I'd had a sibling."
"I'm a twin," he replied, "so I guess I never knew what it was like either way. Being a twin means you're never alone. I never noticed or thought about being alone as a child. Being a teenager, that was a different story."
"Well, I'm sure you'll make decisions that suit your needs. In the meantime, Eri-chan, would you like to go and see the upstairs?"
"Upstairs?" Eri looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"She means that there's another part of this house you didn't see yet. It's even bigger than you can imagine."
Eri ran forward, now clearly excited and feeling outwardly happy in a way that she had never really expressed before. Aizawa took her hand and led her to the stairs, teaching her how to hold the railing and take big girl steps. A few minutes later, they reached the top, and Eri couldn't believe what she was seeing. The first room was the master bedroom, and it had a big walk in closet and a large luxurious bathroom with marble floors. Aizawa stared at it for a moment, not sure if he was ready to live in such a large space by himself, but he didn't say anything.
Next, there was another room that was smaller, but too small to be a bedroom. Aizawa shook off his unease about the large master and said to Eri, "you know, this small room could be your playroom."
"What's that?"
"Well, it's a room where your toys live."
"But I don't have a lot of toys."
The statement was heartbreaking, and he couldn't help but blame himself. But this condo, this home, it would be his first step to fixing everything. To giving Eri a normal life.
Aizawa got down on his knees and took her hands, and reaching deep within his tough interior, said gently,
"Eri, in our new home, you will get to be just like any normal kid. We'll go to the toy store, I'll build you a bookcase so you can have lots of books, and I will read a story to you every night. You'll make new friends who will come over to play, and even Midoriya and Mirio will come over and play with us too. And remember my sister, Auntie Kamiko? She wants to play with us too. And everyone can play in your playroom, and we can pretend to be animals, or heroes or-"
Eri suddenly interrupted him, her eyes wide and he swore they were sparkling. She squeezed his hands back and almost shouted with glee, "We can play pretend? Will you play pretend princesses with me?"
"Of course. Right now our real house is too small, but when I buy a big house, things will be better. I promise." He couldn't help but give her a very real grin as he made his promises, and she mirrored it with a half grin herself.
Megumi showed them to another room, with a big window that drew Eri in immediately. This was her room, she already knew it. Right beside it was a good sized bathroom with a double sink.
"Look!" She shouted, "my bathroom has two sinks! I have to wash my hands! And you too!" Eri pulled Aizawa to the sink and made him wash hands beside her. She was amazed that the water ran in both faucets at the same time. He was becoming more overwhelmed by the sheer size and ability of this entire place.
Megumi toured the remainder of the condo, showing off the private, well-manicured grass backyard complete with a cute little deck, trash and recycling, and a storage shed that could hold one car if needed.
At the end of their tour, Eri tugged Aizawa's hand and motioned for him to kneel at her level.
"What's up?"
"I wanna buy this house," she whispered. "It's my favorite."
Aizawa grinned. "We still have two more to see."
"Are they better than this house?"
"Let me ask Miss Megumi, okay?" Eri nodded and let the adults talk.
"So she really likes this one," Aizawa said to Megumi. "Since you're the realtor through all this, what can you tell me about the other two places?"
Megumi opened her binder and showed him the spaces, and compared the footage and amenities to him. "To be honest," she said, "this one is pricier but it's the biggest one with the most amenities. The other two don't have a pool, and they are both single level. Plus this one is the only one that allows cat and dogs. In the end, the price is usually the biggest thing on a buyers mind. And from our phone conversation, I understand you live in a studio?"
"Yeah," he answered. "It's...its gross. A dump. I want her to have a normal, safe home. Are the other ones gated communities?"
"One is, but not as safe as this one. We have a high population of active and retired heroes living here, and I remember you saying this one was close to your place of employment. The others are another five and eight miles away. There is also one more very important detail I didn't tell you about since I was unsure about your daughter, but this community actually has a daycare that serves as a school for busy parents."
"Like a preschool?" For the first time since they'd arrived, Aizawa looked excited.
"Yes."
"Oh my god. That's perfect. She's not in school yet, but I would feel really safe knowing she's close to home and surrounded by heroes. I'll give them a call later. But if there is a school and daycare here, and we get a ton of amazing amenities..." Aizawa shivered, aware he was about to make a very huge, very adult decision. "Then I guess we're home."
"Excellent, congratulations," Megumi said. She shook his hand and they bowed before the other before Megumi invited them back inside to begin the paperwork. Eri danced and ran through the condo, happy as a clam.
Two days later, Aizawa enrolled Eri in kindergarten. He knew he would have to offer training to the teachers regarding Eri’s quirk, but first, he had a condo to move into.
This was where the craziness began.
It was a Friday morning when he rolled into his classroom, where his students scrambled to their seats. He stood up and eyed them all, then said in his normal, deep, careless voice,
"I...I have a favor to ask of you all." The class waited silently, tense and concerned. "I don't expect you to say yes, and I am not giving extra credit. It is simply...something I need help with. I have just...well, I purchased a new condo for Eri and myself, and before we move in, I need help with decorating. I don't know what to do with a little girls bedroom, or her playroom. Because I lack creativity, and some of you are very creative, I would be grateful to accept your help."
Half the class roared in excitement, while the other half was silent in shock. Bakugou frowned, but Kirishima punched the air. "How manly!" The red haired student said, "our teacher trusting us to help him in his time of need!"
"I have so many cute ideas already!" Mina shouted. "Oh my god, does she like rainbows?"
The teacher tensed up, already regretting this decision. "I...I have no idea. Please settle down. I need help with painting walls, and setting up the furniture, which is being delivered next week. So I suppose a few days will be needed to do this."
"Can I babysit Eri?" Mineta asked, his disgusting face red.
"Absolutely not. You aren't allowed near her. In fact...Midoriya!"
The green haired student nearly jumped out of his skin. "Yes sir?"
"I am requiring you be present. Eri loves you and she feels very safe with you around. Plus, I think you might have some ideas yourself, with your little drawings and such."
"Yes sir!" Midoriya bowed gratefully to his teacher, honored to be offered such a big responsibility.
"Thank you. I'm afraid we may need to use this class time to hammer out the details," the teacher continued. "You've all been doing well enough that I'm not too worried about letting up on you today." He sat down and opened his binder, then said, "I need painting volunteers. Who would like to do that?"
"What do we get in return, huh?" Bakugou's sharp voice sliced through the excited bustle in the air. Aizawa snapped his attention to the boy, annoyed but not angry. Bakugou continued. "I appreciate you asking us to help but I could be doing better shit with my time."
"Pizza."
"What?"
"There is an authentic American style pizza restaurant near my new home. I will order you all pizza and soda in return for helping me. All Might tells me this is a common way to pay for favors like this in America."
Bakugou stared, wondering if this was true. While pizza wasn't uncommon in Japan, the prospect of free, American style pizza was hard to pass up. "Throw in some garlic knots and buffalo chicken wings and you got yourself a deal, Sensei."
"Deal. Are you volunteering to be a painter, then?"
"Yeah." Bakugou smirked. "This is gonna be easy."
"I want to be a painter too!" Kirishima exclaimed. Aizawa wrote down their names, along with Sero, Tooru, Ochako, and Tsuyu.
The teacher looked at the next list. "Okay, so I need some help with my...um. I'm sorry, this is embarrassing. Yaomomo, I need you with appliances and such. I know you have an excellent taste in fashion. I want you to design how my kitchen looks. And Eri's bedroom. And her playroom. Maybe the whole thing."
The teenager nearly shrieked with excitement. "I thought you were gonna ask me to just make stuff!"
"Only if you choose to. Right now, your creativity is most valuable. You may choose a team of two more to help you."
"Shoto and Mina!"
"Okay," Aizawa wrote them down. "The three of you will meet with me after class to help me pick colors for the walls. Tokoyami and Kouda, I'm putting you on gardening duty. I want Eri to grow up with flowers and other pretty things. Things that die if I try to do it myself. Kouda, you can do that, I assume?"
"I mean...sure. I'll do my best. I'm more of an animal person."
"I know, but nature is in your nature."
"I-yes. Okay."
The rest of the class was put on repair duty. Aizawa promised he would have spackle, gloves, soft ventilation face masks, and tools at the ready for when the class arrived.
"I'm not giving you my address," he said sternly. "I will arrange to have one of the school's private buses drive you there. Be at the front entrance Saturday at 9 am. Be sure to wear comfortable, loose fitting clothing that you don't mind getting dirty. House paint doesn't come off clothing, and it's tough to get off your skin. Those of you with long hair, I suggest you wear it up and under a bandana. Understood?"
"Yes, Sensei," they all agreed. He could feel his anxiety levels rising already, sensing that anything that could happen, would happen.
--
Saturday arrived, and so did the bus at the entrance of the school. To the students surprise, it was All Might operating the large vehicle. He opened the doors and smiled widely.
"Welcome aboard, young heroes! Let's get moving, Aizawa Sensei is waiting for you!"
Class 1-A boarded the skinny, ill teacher's bus, yawning and sleepy. Once they were all seated, the famed hero began the short drive to his colleague's new home.
When he pulled up, only Tsuyu was awake enough to see the condo. Everyone woke up from a gentle tongue slap to the cheek. She decided to not wake Mineta. The students stretched and yawned, all them starting to regret doing this. But off the bus they filed out until everyone stood outside, wearing old pants and t shirts they didn't care about ruining. Even All Might was dressed to work, wearing torn jeans and a white t-shirt that definitely had blood stains still in it.
Aizawa opened the front door and walked out, dressed in his own work wear of torn jeans and an old black t-shirt. His hair was, at his own suggestion, done up in a tight bun and covered with a pink bandana. Eri clung to his leg, nervous and looking for another familiar face.
Midoriya, wiser and older now just in a year of his hero training, stepped out from the crowd and put on his trademark smile and said brightly, "Good morning, Eri-Chan!"
The child smiled wide and ran from her adopted father towards her friend. Midoriya scooped her up and gave her a big hug.
"Eri-Chan, are you excited for us to get your new house ready?" He asked.
"Yeah!" She shouted. "Look! My daddy is wearing a pink thing on his head."
"I can see that. Let's go say hi to him, okay?" Eri nodded and Midoriya approached his teacher. Aizawa was always very intimidating, but today, seeing Eri happy like this, he smiled as best he could and said, "Thank you for coming today. We're both looking forward to your help. Gather 'round, kiddos."
Class 1-A stepped forward to listen to their teacher as he directed them from his list of chores. The painters were sent to their primer and paint, the decoration crew scoped out the rooms, and the gardeners were presented with three palettes worth of bushes and flowers that had been delivered that morning.
Inside, All Might was happy to help with painting. He and the others listened patiently as Aizawa set out the colors he, Momo, Shoto and Mina had picked together. The kitchen would be a gentle vanilla white, while the living room was given a lovely grey that would make the room soothing, calm, and feel large. Eri's bathroom would be one of her favorite colors, light yellow, while her bedroom would be lilac. Finally, a light, soft pink was laid out for her playroom.
The only room with no paint plans was Aizawa's new room. He wasn't ready to commit to it. He wouldn't let anyone know he was shaking in his shoes over this terrifying new chapter in his adult life.
The students set to work taping off ceilings and floors, laying down plastic tarps, and wearing the protective gear they needed in order to begin. Bakugou went around the house and opened the windows, fully aware that the paint fumes would hurt someone.
And so it began. Everyone had a job, and Aizawa had to admit they did it well. His walls were painted evenly, and though it took two hours for the entire downstairs to be painted, he was impressed. And maybe a little bit excited. He decided to go around and see how the others were faring.
Outside, Tokoyami and Kouda had planted one palettes worth of flowers and bushes, and it was coming along nicely. They seemed to have created an aesthetic flow that put the bushes closer against the condo and the windows, while the flowers wove in and around them to create bursts of color. He offered a thumbs up and an approving nod before heading upstairs to the bedrooms.
The light lemon yellow bathroom caught his attention first. He kept his own favorite color as a secret for as long as he could, but he had to really admit he loved that yellow. It was alive, bright, happy. A bathroom that Eri could feel confident and happy in. Next he found Momo, Shoto, and Mina finishing up painting the pink playroom.
"Wow," he said quietly, hoping they wouldn't hear him.
Momo turned to face him with a smile. "Do you like it?"
"It's...yes. It's very pink. Wow."
Mina laughed. "Pink is the best color, Sensei!"
"Did you paint her purple bedroom?" He asked, ignoring her.
"Not yet," answered Shoto. "It's not purple. It's lilac."
Aizawa has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Yes. Thank you, Shoto. Have any of you seen Eri?"
"She was outside with Midoriya. I think he wanted to keep her away from the paint fumes," answered Momo.
"That's a good call. I'll look around. Where's Mineta?"
"He's still asleep on the bus."
"Let's keep him there," the teacher said. The kids burst out laughing, surprised their dark teacher would say such a funny thing, and even he had to crack a wicked smile. "Okay, okay, I'm going back downstairs. Good work up here, guys. It looks...it looks good."
"Thank you!" The girls chorused. He went back downstairs and walked around the outside of the condo, and indeed he found Midoriya playing with Eri. They had created a lovely tea party using empty soda cans tossed in the recycling bin throughout the early afternoon. Eri saw him approaching and stood up, her small pudgy hand clutching an empty Pepsi can.
"Daddy! Want to have some Pepsi tea?"
"Oh, um, yes, thank you," he said. He accepted the empty can and pretended to take a sip. He handed it back and asked,
"Are you having a good time with Midoriya?" He asked. Eri jumped up and down and answered,
"Yeah! But I wanna see our new house."
"Not yet, it's still being worked on. There are lots of big kids all over the place and they might not see you or you might trip. It's not safe yet. I promise you will see it soon, okay?"
"Okay. Daddy?"
"Yes, Eri?"
"I'm hungry. Can I have a snack?"
He checked the time on his phone and frowned. It was already past noon. He forgot to order the pizza. He quickly called the restaurant's number already saved into his contacts and reassured Eri that a special snack was on the way.
"Yes, hello? Hi. I need to order a few pizzas-yes I can hold." He patted her head and she stared up at him, hopeful to understand what a pizza was. A forbidden food? A new food? A food for grown ups? She had to know.
"Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy! DADDY. DADDY!"
He placed a hand over her head and shook his head.
"Eri! Hold on, I'm on the phone-hello? Yes, hi again. Yeah, I need...um...I have to feed like twenty teenagers. Yeah. They're working on a house, painting, planting...yeah. Really? Okay. Ten large pizzas. You have American style, right? I promised them Ameri-okay great. Uh...cheese? And three pepperoni. And a veggie please...sorry, you recommend the what? What the hell is Hawaiian pizza? Oh. Uh. I mean, I'll try it I guess. Just one. What? No, I have a ton of soda hiding in my car. Oh, shit, hang on." He turned and pointed to Midoriya. "Midoriya, what was it that Bakugou wanted?"
"Buffalo chicken wings and garlic knots."
"Hi, I also need five orders of buffalo chicken wings and two garlic knots. Thanks. Yeah, that's it. Delivery is perfect. My address is-"
Midoriya knelt down beside Eri and said, "Have you ever eaten pizza before?"
She shook her head.
"It's super delicious. I hope you like it. Mr. All Might took me to this American style pizza place once and it was so good. You like cheese?"
"I don't know," she said. "What is teeze?"
"Cheese!" He laughed. "It's okay, you'll see it when it arrives. Come on, let's go play some more while your daddy orders the pizza." Aizawa gave him a thumbs up as he tried to pull his wallet out to read to the restaurant. Eri waved goodbye to him, and he waved to her. Having a child was exhausting, he thought. But he was enjoying it enough.
With the pizza ordered, and his bank account reduced by nearly 10000 yen, Aizawa returned to the house and started to check out the paint jobs a second time. He scrutinized little bits of wall that still needed a second coat, and when he was satisfied, told the students to go outside and take a break. Upstairs, he found that Mina had started a very cute mural on Eri's playroom wall. The mural boasted a very pastel rainbow, and Moomin, and of course, Ponyo, whom Aizawa had shared was Eri's favorite movie. It was safe, non-threatening, and very calm. He liked it.
Momo called for his attention and he found her and Shoto in his large, terrifying new bedroom. He cringed when he spotted paint chips in her hands.
"Sensei, you never told us what you wanted for your room."
He nervously scratched his head. "Um. I don't know yet."
Shoto said flatly, "You told us you have the furniture being delivered Tuesday. We need to paint now."
"..."
"Sensei," Momo continued, "what's your favorite color? Do we already have it?"
"No. I don't-I don't want my room to have a color. I think."
This was it. The inevitable realization that he had actually done this. He had bought a condo. He had adopted a child! He had brand new responsibilities! He was 31 and had no idea what he was supposed to do! He started to shiver and his eyes widened.
"Oh my fucking god. What did I do?"
Shoto realized something was wrong, and he quickly jogged to the staircase and yelled for All Might. Moments later, the thin former hero was up the stairs in three wide steps and he joined them in the large bedroom.
"What's going on? Aizawa-kun, what's the matter?"
The teacher knelt to the floor and hung his head.
"I don't know."
All Might patted the teenagers heads and told them to go outside and take a break. They left, concerned about their teacher, but Momo closed the door behind them as they made their exit.
All Might joined Aizawa on the empty, barren floor.
"What's going on?" He asked gently.
"It just hit me," Aizawa said quietly. "I think I did this too fast. I'm not cut out for this! I don't know how to be normal or raise a kid or own a home. I don't know how to to go to bed at a reasonable time or talk to a little girl! I don't even know if I want this stupid giant room to be painted! I can't do this, Toshi. I think I made a horrible mistake. Please save me from my idiocy. Buy this fucking place from me, please!
All Might set his large hands on Aizawa's shoulders.
"No. Now you listen to me. You did the right thing, Shota. You recognized that your studio was not appropriate for Eri to grow up in. You did the right thing by calling a realtor. You are allowed to be an adult, and it's okay to not know how to be an adult. You have resources to help you. I used to own a house. I can cook. I will teach you things that you don't know. You are being brave by doing this, I swear it."
"But I'm terrified. I would take a Nomu over this."
"Bullshit. You are going to do fine. Call me when you need help, got it? You're scared because you have a fear of failure, Shota. But you won't fail. I know you won't, and you won't let yourself. Eri will be your daily reminder that everything is going to be okay."
"I can't do this, Toshi. Look at this bedroom. It's bigger than my studio for crying out loud. It's...obscene. I don't deserve this."
All Might paused, then said, "Then what about Eri? What does she deserve?"
Aizawa shuddered as he took a deep breath. "She...she deserves a dad who knows what the hell he's doing. She deserves...her own bedroom. And a playroom. And toys."
"And?"
"...She deserves this house."
"No. She deserves this home. And you are going to make this house into a home. You will fill it with furniture, and toys, and love. That's why you bought this place. Not for you, but for her. And hey, maybe you can get a cat."
Aizawa let All Might's words sink in, and he sighed deeply, trying to accept the hero's encouragement. He was right of course. This wasn't for him, it was for Eri. Everything from now on was for Eri. He had to keep that in his mind. Do it for Eri.
Do it for Eri.
"Toshi?"
"Yes?"
"My favorite color is yellow."
The former hero smiled and said, "Excellent." He helped Shota up and told him to go back downstairs. "Go on. Find something to do. And be nice, these kids are working hard."
Aizawa nodded and headed down, nervous about what his room would look like the next time he saw it. But he obeyed and went downstairs, where he found his class already cleaning up their tarps and empty buckets of paint. The space was transformed and he had to admit he really wanted to like it. Maybe soon he would love it. Outside, a few students with nothing left to do were helping with the planting, and Momo had taken to creating a few large ceramic vases to place beside the front door, and the back door. She had even strung up some self-made string lights around the windows.
When she saw her teacher stepping outside, she quickly ran over and asked, "Are you alright, Sensei? I'm sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable."
"No, no, I'm okay," he said. "I just...this is very new for me. I'm just getting new home jitters. You'll understand when you buy your first home."
"I understand," she said. Her worried frown turned into a smile. "Okay, a few questions then. What is Eri-chan's favorite animal? And her favorite food? Her favorite book?"
"Uh...I'm not...oh lord. She likes apples. And I read her lots of books but she hasn't really chosen a favorite? I guess she just likes hearing me read to her."
"Good enough." Momo suddenly produced a small device in her hand and held it up. "I need you to say a few things to this recorder. Okay?"
"What the hell is it for?"
"A surprise for Eri. You'll see." She then produced a small sound proof box and placed the device inside. "It's noisy out here with everyone, so just say these things I tell you into the box. The thing is recording, and try to sound genuine."
"Genuine?"
Momo would normally never have said this to her gruff teacher, but she had a plan, and she refused to let him ruin it. "Yes. You are very...you have a monotone, Sensei. You seem to have difficulty inflecting. Please say these things genuinely, the way you might say it to Eri to her face. Think of how Midoriya-San speaks to her."
She proceeded to produce a note for him and pulled it from her arm. He quickly read over it and smiled. "This is...I don't know what you're planning but it's very...cute."
He started to record.
In the middle of the recording, the pizza delivery arrived. Momo and Iida directed a few boys to collect the boxes, and they sat in a circle while they ate their American style pizza. When Aizawa was done with recording Momo's thing, he returned it to her. Then he quickly ran to his car to take out several cases of soda.
He was greeted by Eri and Midoriya upon his return, and the teenager took the cases to hand out while the teacher picked Eri up and carried her to the pizza.
"So, which one should we try first?" He asked.
"All of them!" She exclaimed. He grinned and replied,
"Okay, sounds like a plan." They looked over what was left and were lucky to get one of each. Eri stared at the Hawaiian pizza and drooled over the pineapple pieces decorating it. She waited for her new father to cut up a few small pieces for her before reaching out and taking a piece. Her eyes lit up at the flavor and she couldn't help but squeal in delight. He laughed at her reaction and tried it himself, and found he did not enjoy it as much. But he didn't let her know it. Around them, Class 1-A quietly watched in awe as their gruff and sometimes terrifying teacher bonded with Eri. Midoriya and Ochako giggled together as Aizawa offered Eri another piece and snatch it away playfully. The six year old's laughter was a sound to behold.
Next they tried the veggie pizza. It wasn't much of a hit with either of them, and both adult and child ended up pulling broccoli and onions off their pizzas. Finally, the cheese pizza. Eri was excited to try it, and she eagerly stuffed a piece into her mouth. The moment the flavor and texture of the somewhat cooled cheese hit her tongue, she made a face and spit it out.
"Ew! This is yucky!"
"Oh really?" Aizawa tried it, and he didn't mind it. He preferred salty food, and chewed the slightly cold pizza longer than he would have preferred. "Maybe it's better warm."
"No! I don't like it! Plllllbbbbbb!" She spat with her tongue. "I wanna piece of the pappa apple!"
"Pineapple. Here you go." He cut off another piece of the pineapple pizza and made a mental note to pick up a real pineapple to share with her later. She grabbed it greedily and chewed, picking off pineapple chunks and admiring their pretty glow.
When pizza time was completed, a handful of students broke down the boxes and hauled them to the big recycling dumpster a few condos away, while All Might called over Yaomomo and Shoto to discuss Operation Master Bedroom. Aizawa took Eri inside to clean her marinara painted face, and then they walked around to take a look at the progress thus far.
Eri was so happy to see fresh new colors on the walls, and Aizawa had to pull her away from touching the wet paint. He heard people upstairs and knew his room was being painted, so he rerouted her outside to admire the garden.
"Look at the colors! It's a rainbow garden!" Eri exclaimed. "What's that one called? What's that one called?"
She kept pointing and demanding to know the names of each type of flower until Midoriya stopped by with a large pad of white paper and a box of markers and crayons.
"Eri-chan!" He said brightly as always, "I have a surprise, but I need your help!"
"Ok! What kinda s'prise?" She asked as she hopped towards him. Midoriya smiled and said, "I can't tell you. Come on, it's for your new room."
Aizawa grinned as they bounced away to draw, and went around the condo to check in on everyone. He was happy to see that his class had truly come through for him, and he made a mental note to write them individual thank you cards to express his gratitude. He reached the stairs and took a deep breath, knowing he was going to have to go up there eventually.
Outside, a loud beeping caught his attention and distracted him. He walked out to find his new kitchen appliances were being delivered.
"Bakugou, Kirishima, Ochako! I need you three to help with this heavy stuff!" He called. The three answered his call and soon Ochako was slapping the fridge and oven for Bakugou to carry on his finger, showing off to his secret crush Kirishima, who in turn was doing the same exact thing. Aizawa orchestrated where the large items needed to go, then had them assemble a metal shelving unit and metal hooks to hang pots and pans. Once again, he was grateful to have had Yaomomo make these aesthetic decisions for him-he knew he would have just lived off counter space and fast food if it was his choice.
With the kitchen figured out, the fridge plugged in, and the steel furniture being set up, he soon returned to the stairs. He looked up at the long, 15 step journey and took a deep breath. Then he started to climb.
The paint fumes hit him but he could also smell fresh air circulating through. At least the windows are open, he thought. He passed by Eri's playroom, half-expecting to see her and Midoriya drawing, but the green haired problem child clearly knew better than to bring her into the paint fumes.
Aizawa closed his eyes as he heard All Might talking with Yamomo about having pets in a house like this. The young hero stepped in and said, "Should I look? Will I freak out again?"
Shoto turned from the wall and said flatly, "Yes. You should look."
Aizawa opened his eyes and was stunned. The whole room was-not yellow. Only one wall. The rest was a calming, lovely grey that looked wonderful with the light yellow they had chosen. But that wasn't the most shocking thing. He nearly sobbed when he saw several cat trees and a basket full of cat toys, and three little cat beds. On the grey walls were cute little black paw prints and a few black silhouette cats prowling.
"What-what's going on?" He managed to say, unsure of what he was supposed to expect.
"Well," said All Might, "I realized that while you like yellow, this room would still be too much for you. So I thought, maybe if you had something to share it with, it wouldn't feel so large and isolating. It will be your room, and also a sanctuary for your cats. I thought you and I could visit your favorite cat cafe next week and pick out a few to bring here. You were a pro at adopting Eri, I think you could manage a few fur babies."
The elder hero nearly toppled over when Aizawa ran forward and threw his arms around him in a grateful hug. "Thank you, thank you," he said over and over. "I was so scared of this place, the size of it. I thought I had made a stupid mistake. But this will help, Toshi. Thank you. And thank you, Shoto and Momo. I'm grateful for your help. This is...this is really incredible."
They heard someone walking upstairs, and found Midoriya and Eri in her new playroom with an armload of drawings. Midoriya had obtained tape from Sero, and he was carefully hanging the art on the walls, careful to avoid the beautiful mural Mina had painted.
When she saw her new parent walk in, Eri ran forward with her drawings and said, "I want to put this one in your room, daddy!"
He took it from her and stared. Then, he started to cry. He had never cried this much in his life. Eri's joy fell from her face. "Daddy? Do you hate It?"
He knelt down and smiled through his tears, "No! No, I love it. This is happy crying, Eri-chan. I love this drawing, it's so good. Show me where to hang it."
Happy again, Eri ran into his room and pointed to the yellow wall. "Right there!" She exclaimed.
Yaomomo took the drawing from her teacher and gasped. "Oh my god. I have to make a frame for this." She quickly calculated the size of the drawing, then made a frame complete with matting, then quickly put the whole thing together. She hung the completed piece on the wall and stepped back, allowing everyone who was upstairs to admire it.
It was a beautiful drawing done by Eri herself of her and Aizawa, hugging with big smiles and hearts and rainbows surrounding them. She had even drawn a few cats with smiles in the drawing. But what had really driven Aizawa to break down in tears was what Midoriya had written for her on the bottom of the drawing, in her own words of course: THANK YOU FOR BEING MY HERO DADDY".
Aizawa had to walk away, afraid of everyone seeing him cry like this. He had never felt so supported in his life. He hadn't even told his own parents he had adopted her and bought a condo. For the first time since he had purchased the condo, he finally felt that he had made the best decision of his life.
Yaomomo wasn't done yet. She called him back into his room and said, "I have another surprise. Eri, Sensei, and Midoriya, close your eyes." The three did as they were told, and waited in anticipation. A moment later, she said, "Okay, now open them."
She held in her arms two dolls. Aizawa squinted at them, then sighed with a light grin.
"Oh lord."
Midoriya looked like he would explode. The dolls in Yaomomo’s strong arms were in the cute, chibi-style of him and Aizawa in tiny hero outfits. She gave the Eraserhead doll to Eri first and knelt down. Eri seemed nervous but she slowly took the doll from Yaomomo.
"Go ahead, give him a hug," she said with a smile.
Eri hugged the doll, and Aizawa's voice flowed out of it clearly. "I love you Eri-Chan!" She hugged again. "I will never let anything bad happen to you." Another hug. "You're my favorite little hero!"
"That's why you wanted me to say those things," Aizawa murmured. "It's...it's very cute. Thank you, Momo."
Yaomomo smiled and handed over the Midoriya doll. Eri squeezed it immediately. "Be brave Eri-chan! You are my hero! Let's play a game! I'll protect you always and forever!"
Eri squealed, "I love them! Thank you Momo-San! I'll take good care of Baby Midoriya and Daddy!"
Momo patted her head and said, "You're very welcome Eri-chan! I'm so happy you love them!"
Eri kept hugging them and listening to them over and over. Aizawa said, "Those batteries won't last long, huh?"
"I made three backups each, and I left extra batteries in your kitchen drawer," Yaomomo answered. "You know I was going to think ahead.” She looked around the room. “The last thing we need is the bedroom firintite, but that isn’t being delivered till Tuesday, right?”
“Right. I guess we’re done?” Aizawa seemed unsure.
The group went back downstairs to help wherever they could, and Eri’s new home came together so quickly for the rest of the day, it was like she had lived there her whole life.
The last thing that happened before the day needed was a big group photo, taken by a friendly new neighbor. Aizawa stood in the front, holding up a very happy Eri, who held her two new dolls up for the camera. The class and All Might stood around them smiling, making peace signs, faces and hands covered in paint and dirt.
—————
A week later, on a Friday as the bell rang to dismiss them for their weekend, Aizawa stood up before his class and bowed to them.
“I know I thanked you many times,” he said, “but I want you all to understand how truly grateful I am to have had your help. You all assisted me with a great, difficult task, and proved that you can be heroes without being in battle.” He straightened himself, then went to the door with a plastic box. “Please Walt for me to call your name, each of you shall receive a note from me.”
The class awww’ed at the idea of their grumpy teacher writing little thank you notes. He tried to hide a smile, but having a daughter in his life now made hiding his emotions so, so impossible.
“Momo! Midoriya! Ochako! Mina!” He continued until each student had been called, including Mineta, who he thanked for being asleep and not harassing anyone.
“Please open your notes when you go home,” Aizawa said. “I don’t want anyone else in school seeing what I have given you. You may all know I’m not that much of a hard ass, but I need everyone else here to keep their fear of me.”
Everyone laughed, even Bakugou, and they took off. Some hugged their teacher goodbye for the weekend.
Midoriya was stopped by the teacher before he could leave, and though his friends wanted to wait, Aizawa waved them away. He closed the door.
Midoriya shook, worried he had something wrong. Aizawa said, “Eri loves you, you know. She has been falling asleep worth her little Deku doll every night this week. I have to go to a conference with All Might in a few weeks; how do you feel about babysitting?”
“Oh wow!” Midoriya’s face lit up. “I’d love to! Could I...could my mom join me? She loves kids.”
“Sure, that sounds fine. It might be good to have another adult around just in case. I will pay you, of course.”
Midoriya’s head practically exploded. He was being given RESPONSIBILITY and he loved it. Aizawa emailed him the dates, and then sent him on his way.
That afternoon, the class of 1A opened their respective envelopes to find a sweet handwritten note from their teacher, a drawing by Eri, and a copy of the big group photo they had taken. Aizawa looked genuinely happy in the photo.
It felt nice to be a grown up.
End.