Chapter Text
Izuku had always been a light sleeper. Maybe it was just that he was always on edge from his childhood, or maybe it was just that his goal of being a hero meant he always felt like he needed to be fully aware of his surroundings. Or maybe it was just that years of pulling all nighters to study meant he wasn’t really that good at sleeping. No matter the reasoning, Izuku struggled with staying asleep, often being thrown awake by the slightest of sounds.
Naturally, then, when the lightest of knocks fell on his door at 2:30 in the morning, Izuku was out of bed in an instant. Groggy, of course, but definitely awake.
He glanced out the window and then at the clock on his way to the door. Definitely really late. Something bad must have happened. He pulled open the door, and came face to face with Aizawa-sensei, looking annoyed, as usual.
“Ah-- Aizawa-sensei!” Izuku blurted out, standing up a little straighter and reaching up to scratch the back of his head, an old nervous tick he’d never really been able to get rid of. “Can I-- um-- is something wrong? Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot something, didn’t I-- I’ll do better, I--”
“Problem Child. Quiet.”
“Oh! Right, sorry, people are probably sleeping, I’ll--”
“It’s Eri.” Aizawa interrupted bluntly, looking more annoyed than ever at Izuku’s ramblings.
Izuku froze, hand dropping slightly. “Eri-chan?” he repeated weakly. A thousand images flooded his head in an instant, Eri panicking, Eri trembling, Eri running back to Chisaki, Eri crying into Izuku’s shoulder, Eri hurt, Eri crying, Eri--
“She wants to see you,” Aizawa said shortly.
Izuku was having trouble focusing. “Wants to… see… Now?”
Aizawa’s eyes narrowed.
Probably annoyed with me for asking so many questions, Izuku reprimanded himself. Shut up, Deku, he doesn’t need your muttering right now.
But Aizawa only said, “She’s having a little trouble calming down after a nightmare, and she keeps asking for you.” Aizawa-sensei turned and started down the hallway, not waiting for Izuku.
“Oh-- r-right. I’m coming.” Izuku grabbed his coat and ran out the door after him. He jammed on his shoes at the front door of the dorm building and sprinted after Aizawa, who had somehow managed to slip on his shoes faster than should be humanly possible, and was still heading resolutely towards the teacher’s quarters, with or without Izuku.
Catching up, Izuku panted, “Is she okay?”
“Panicking,” Aizawa-sensei replied, evidently not in the mood for conversation.
“Yeah, but… I mean, she’s okay, right?”
Aizawa sent him another annoyed look. “She’s fine, just panicking.”
“U-uh… right. Panicking. Sorry.” Izuku frowned at his feet as they continued toward the teacher’s quarters. Aizawa was walking slowly enough that Izuku didn’t feel too worried, but still, there was a little more urgency in his step than was normal. Izuku clenched and relaxed his hands a couple times, trying to stay calm. “Who, uh… who all is with her? Is, um, Mirio-senpai there?”
“No. All Might is there, but he made her panic more. Present Mic was trying to help her when I left.”
“All Might made her freak out, hmm, that’s interesting,” Izuku started muttering to himself. “I guess he isn’t very good at calming people down who are emotionally hurt, because he’s kind of loud and especially now that he’s got the whole coughing blood thing, but he hasn’t done that in a while, but maybe someone in Eri’s past looks like All Might in the form he’s in now, and I don’t know if All Might would be worse or better in the muscle form, because then he’s bigger, and I don’t think he’s really that great with kids, which is bad for a hero, I think, so I should make sure I--”
Aizawa’s heavy sigh snapped Izuku out of his muttering.
“Sorry, is someone getting Mirio-senpai?”
“She didn’t ask for Mirio-kun.”
Izuku couldn’t help but feel flattered by this. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he was a little jealous that Mirio got to spend unlimited time with Eri, while Izuku was off studying or training. So it felt nice to be the person Eri wanted to see right now, even if it was while she was having a breakdown.
A moment later they reached the teacher’s dorm. Aizawa pushed open the door and led Izuku inside. They went straight to Eri’s room, Aizawa leading the way silently while Izuku stretched his fingers around anxiously.
Izuku heard Eri before he saw her. The door to her room was wide open, with a small group of teachers standing in front of it, muttering worriedly. Underneath all that, however, was a sound that Izuku could never miss, a sound he’d dreaded ever since the first day he’d met Eri, the sound of Eri trying desperately to keep her crying quiet. It was a sort of soft whimper, and every time Izuku heard it, his heart melted a little.
He abandoned Aizawa’s side to push his way through the group of teachers, most of whom fell silent when they noticed him. He stepped into Eri’s room, which was decorated with, to Izuku’s immense surprise, child-made drawings of Deku and Lemillion. Most of them had them drawn on either side of Eri, with her holding each of their hands, although there were a couple that looked like very poorly drawn images of Deku crouching down and hugging Eri, one of which had some ill-formed letters as a title-- “Saif arms.”
Inside the room, Present Might and All Might were standing near the door, watching Eri from afar. Principal Nedzu was currently trying to talk to Eri, an advantage, Izuku noted, because the principle was so small. And Eri was huddled up in the corner of her room, eyes squeezed shut, clinging to a torn piece of Lemillion’s cape.
“Eri-chan,” Nedzu said quietly. “Deku-kun is here.”
Eri’s eyes flew open and immediately met with Izuku’s.
And then, to everyone’s surprise, Eri started sobbing.
Of course, she had been crying before, but that was nothing to what this was. Izuku had never seen her cry like this before. Usually her tears got squeezed out, accompanied by tiny squeaks and short little breaths, but this was… this was not that. Eri was wailing, tears streaming from her eyes, entire body shivering. And Izuku’s heart almost broke at the sight of it. He crossed the room in an instant, abandoning manners as he ignored Principal Nedzu.
“Hi, Eri-chan!” Izuku said, trying to put some brightness into his tone. Heroes need to keep smiling, no matter the situation . He smiled at Eri, crouching down and opening his arms up to her.
“Deku-kun!” she bawled, wrapping her little arms around his neck in a vice grip and pulling herself tightly into him. “I had-- a bad d-dream and you-you got very, very h-hurt and it was a-all my f-fault, like it a-always is,” she shrieked. “And then Ch--ch--chisa--” she took a few halting breaths and forced out “Chisaki-s-s-sa-- he w-was there and he s-said I was very bad and that-that h-he was going to take me b-back, and then he took o-out one of those m-metal tools and he-he h-hurt you and he sta-stabbed you and th-then you die--died and he said-d it was my fault and it w-was! And then--” She dissolved into another fit of sobs into Izuku’s shoulder.
Fully aware of his audience, Izuku shifted to sit on the ground next to her and wrapped his arms around her, one hand carefully cradling the back of her head and the other supporting her back. He managed to turn them so she couldn’t see all the teachers staring at them, and shot All Might a glance that he was hoping could be clearly read as get the teachers out . Eri was trembling, even more than she had been the first time Izuku met her. Part of her stress might have been how many people were concerned about her right now. She didn’t need the added pressure of trying to be okay for everyone else’s sake.
All Might didn’t receive the glance, but luckily Principal Nedzu did, and started shepherding the teachers away. All Might left very reluctantly, but eventually the room was clear, except for Aizawa-sensei and Nedzu-sensei, who lingered by the door in case Izuku needed back-up, or Eri lost control of her quirk.
Eri had fallen pretty much silent by this point, hiccuping in Izuku’s arms. His shoulder was thoroughly soaked at this point, but he didn’t mind.
“Hey Eri-chan?” he said lightly. “Can I tell you something?”
“Mm-hmm,” Eri hummed affirmatively, still trying to catch her breath.
“I have nightmares sometimes too.”
Eri pulled away from Izuku’s arms a little to look curiously at him. “R-really?”
“Yep! Actually I have them kind of a lot.”
“Why?”
“W-well…” Izuku hesitated. The truth was he had them from the bullying he’d had when he was younger, as well as from all the traumatic incidents recently with the League of Villains. But telling Eri all that seemed like a really bad way to put all his problems on her little shoulders. “Everyone has things they’re scared of,” he said vaguely. “And I’m scared of lots of things!”
Eri blinked at him in disbelief, hiccuping a little. “You’re scared of things? Like what?”
“Um-m…” Great, Deku. Great job. Anything he was scared of, Eri might follow his example and be scared of, so he couldn’t really say those things, like people touching his neck, or shopping malls, or loud popping sounds sometimes, or the woods at night. And he couldn’t say he was scared of Eri getting hurt, which was true, because then she might start blaming herself for his nightmares. “I’m scared of Aizawa-sensei when I forget to turn in my homework!” he said, pointing at Aizawa and hoping that his answer and his playful tone would help Eri calm down.
Eri followed his finger with her eyes and looked at Aizawa, who rolled his eyes. To Izuku’s immense relief, Eri smiled a little. “Naughty Aizawa-sensei!” she giggled. She turned back to Izuku, looking very worried suddenly. “You have nightmares of Aizawa-sensei?”
Izuku shook his head. “No, not really. Sometimes I do have nightmares of forgetting to turn in my homework though.”
Eri’s expression turned very grave, as though she really, sincerely wanted to know his answer to the next, very important question. “And do you cry?”
Izuku nodded seriously. “Sometimes.”
With a protective glare, Eri turned back to Aizawa. “You shouldn’t give Deku-kun so much homework,” she scolded. “You’re making him cry and have bad feelings.”
Eyes widening in surprise, Izuku had to force himself not to laugh. Aizawa looked shocked for a moment, and then he scowled at Izuku as Nedzu chuckled. “She’s right, you know,” Nedzu told Aizawa. “You work your students too hard sometimes.”
“They’re your students too,” Aizawa growled.
“What else?” Eri asked, turning back to Izuku. “What else do you have nightmares of?”
“Um, I don’t… uh… Sometimes I get scared of my friends getting hurt.”
Eri’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Just like me!”
Izuku could have cried with relief. He chose that last comment on a whim and it just happened to be the best thing he probably could have said. “Yep! Just like Eri-chan.” Izuku made his expression very serious, like he was about to tell Eri a huge secret. “Do you want to know how I make those nightmares go away?”
I study! a triumphant voice said in Izuku’s head. If Izuku could have rolled his eyes at himself right then, he would have. It’s true that’s how he dealt with stress, but it wouldn’t be good for Eri to copy him on that one.
“How?” Eri whispered, leaning in close.
“Uh…”
Izuku suddenly realized he didn’t think this through fully. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with nightmares. There had to be a better way to do it than just distracting himself.
“I call it… Bleh Bleh Bleh,” Izuku improvised, mind scrambling for something helpful.
Eri’s eyes widened reverently. “Bleh Bleh Bleh?”
“Yes. Want to do Bleh Bleh Bleh with me?”
Eri nodded, very serious again.
“Okay so what we do is we take a very deep breath of fresh, good air…” Izuku took a deep breath in and Eri copied him. “And then we spit out the nightmare from our bodies-- BLEH BLEH BLEH!”
“BLEH BLEH BLEH!” Eri shrieked.
Izuku heard a distinct snort coming from Aizawa’s side of the room and he grinned. Eri made a few more “bleh” sounds, each one progressively quieter as she tried to force the nightmare out.
“Eri, what’s your favorite thing?” Izuku asked encouragingly.
“Deku!” Eri said enthusiastically.
The Deku in question’s chest constricted and he almost laughed, barely managing to keep it in with a huge smile. “That’s very flattering, Eri.” He shook his head, grinning.
“And when Deku-kun hugs me!” Eri yelled excitedly. “His arms are so warm!”
This time, Izuku had to cover his mouth with his hand as he tried not to smile any wider. Eri was so cute, it was unbearable sometimes. “So, when you take your deep breath,” he continued, “try to imagine how that hug feels, okay? That way, the nice hug is coming in and the bad dream is going out.”
“Bleh bleh bleh,” Eri agreed.
“So a nice thing in, bad thing out.”
“Bleh bleh bleh!”
Izuku couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing, tears springing to his eyes. “Yes, Eri-chan. Bleh bleh bleh!” He stood up and led her over to her bed, helping her clammer onto it. “Want to do it again?”
Eri nodded excitedly.
“Okay, ready… In goes the nice thing!”
“Hugs!” Eri shrieked, flinging her arms up and taking a deep breath in.
“And out goes the bad thing--”
“BLEH BLEH BLEH!” they yelled together, Izuku once again barely restraining himself from bursting into laughter at Eri’s excitement.
“It’s even better if you wiggle your whole body when you’re doing it like this,” Izuku said, giving into Eri’s enthusiasm and shaking his entire body while yelling “bleh bleh bleh!” Eri stood up on her bed and wiggled around, dropping a “bleh” every once in a while.
Grinning at Eri, Izuku said, “And now is your nightmare still there?”
Eri stopped wiggling for a moment to consider. “No!” she yelled decisively after a moment. “It’s all gone now!” she added, smiling at her hero.
“Great!” Izuku’s tone went serious again as Eri sat back down on her bed. “Now, Eri-chan, do you think you can do that even if I’m not here?”
A determined look formed over Eri’s eyes and she nodded.
“If you need help, you can always wake up any of the teachers, you know that right? They can help you with Bleh Bleh Bleh.” Izuku shot a sharp look at Aizawa. “Right?”
Aizawa gave him a look that clearly said don’t drag me into this , and then turned to Eri and said, “Of course, Eri. We’d love to help you.”
“And Eri-chan, I know you’re not really supposed to yell in the middle of the night, but it’s okay to shout when you’re doing Bleh Bleh Bleh.”
Eri’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Izuku nodded. “Yes. If you think you need to yell to get the nightmare out, you can do it.”
“Bleh bleh bleh,” Eri murmured. As Izuku pulled back the covers of her bed to help her in, Eri’s expression faltered. “Deku-kun, will the nightmare come back?”
Izuku winced. This is what happens when you just blurt out whatever pops into your head, Deku! “Sorry, Eri-chan. Bleh Bleh Bleh only keeps the nightmare away for a couple days. But!” His expression brightened up as he thought of something. “But if you do Bleh Bleh Bleh when you have your nightmares, they’ll get weaker and eventually they won’t come back as much! Every time you do Bleh Bleh Bleh, your nightmares get a little bit weaker.”
“Bleh Bleh Bleh is so powerful,” Eri said, with awe in her eyes.
A small smile crossed Izuku’s face as he nodded. “Yes.” He looked over Eri’s face for a moment, assessing how she looked. She seemed to be okay again now, the dream forced out of her system. Now that she wasn’t jumping around yelling, she looked exhausted. The breakdown probably wore her out. “Ready to go to sleep?” Izuku asked softly.
Eri nodded reluctantly. Suddenly, she seized one of Izuku’s hands. “Stay here until I fall asleep?” she asked him, clearly worried he would abandon her.
“Of course, Eri-chan.”
Izuku helped Eri climb under the covers and tucked her in. Once she was settled, she poked an arm out from under the covers and touched Izuku’s shoulder hesitantly.
“Your shirt’s wet,” she observed.
“It’s covered in your boogers,” Izuku teased.
“Sorry!”
“That’s okay, I love your boogers! They smell like roses.”
“Roses?” Eri asked, looking confused.
“Yeah, the flowers… uh…. They’re flowers that smell good.” Izuku shook his head. “I can bring you some sometime! Then you can smell them.”
“And my boogers… smell like… flowers?”
“Not actually,” Izuku said, nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck. “But you smell like apples!”
“I love apples,” Eri murmured.
Gradually making his voice quieter to help her fall asleep, Izuku answered, “Maybe you can have one when you wake up.”
“Mmhmm that’d be good...”
Izuku and Eri both fell silent, and within minutes, Eri had drifted quietly off to sleep.
“You have no right to be that good with kids,” Midnight muttered from the door frame as Izuku stood up. She was holding up her phone and appeared to have been videoing for quite some time.
“Uh… s-sorry?” Izuku said, sending a questioning glance at Aizawa.
Midnight sighed dramatically, stepping back so everyone could leave the room. “It’s fine. There’s just so much youth!”
“Y-yeah.” Izuku had no idea what that meant whenever she said that. “Um, sorry for all the yelling.”
“We were all awake anyway,” Aizawa said flatly.
“I told her she can yell every time, because then you’ll know whenever she’s having a nightmare and can come help maybe.” He felt like he needed to explain all his actions to these people, like maybe they were judging him without understanding his reasoning, or like he was being graded on his actions with Eri.
“Good thinking, Izuku-kun!” Nedzu said encouragingly.
Maybe he needn’t have worried.
Aizawa escorted Izuku back to the dorms and left him at the door. Feeling much more worn out suddenly than he had before, Izuku slipped off his shoes and walked wearily back to his dorm room. He collapsed on his bed, and then blinked in surprise as his phone lit up across the room.
Who’s texting me this late?
He crossed over and picked it up. There was a message from All Might to all the 1-A students, just a really long video file. Curious, Izuku opened it. It was taken from the perspective of the door, and it started with Izuku mid-sentence talking about Bleh Bleh Bleh. This must be the video Midnight took , Izuku realized, crossing back over to his bed. The Izuku in the video said, “And then we spit out the nightmare from our bodies-- Bleh Bleh Bleh!”
“Bleh Bleh Bleh!” Eri shrieked, looking determined to do it right. She spat out a few more blehs, seeming to start to have more fun with it.
Izuku grinned as the video continued. They really did look like they were having fun. Eri was adorable, as always, and Izuku was clearly trying not to laugh the entire time, turning red a couple times in his attempts.
The video continued until Eri and Deku were talking about apples, and then it ended with Izuku looking lovingly down at Eri’s sleeping form.
And then the text chain went wild.
All Might to Class1-A
All Might
@Midoriya imgfile0012564
Bakugou
WHAT IS THIS SHIT
Uraraka
Deku-kun, you and Eri-chan are so cute! When did this happen?
Asui
You should go into child care.
Bakugou
TOTAL SHIT
Todoroki
@Uraraka, the time stamp says this happened ten minutes ago.
Bakugou
CAN’T BELIEVE I WOKE UP FOR THIS
Ashido
Are those my dance moves, Izuku-kun? Looks good!
Hagakure
It’s so cute when Eri-chan says Dekus her favorite thing-- she’s adorable!
All Might
WHY ARE YOU ALL AWAKE?
Iida
I was just going to ask that!
Bakugou
I WASN’T AWAKE UNTIL THIS SHIT WOKE ME UP
Todoroki
@Iida, you’re awake too.
Iida
As class representative, it is my job to stay up later than everyone else.
Jirou
That-- that isn’t true
Kirishima
Why did I just wake up to Bakugo yelling about ‘shit’ next door what’s going on
Uraraka
Deku-kun and Eri-chan were being cute a few minutes ago! Watch the video!
Mineta
that video was disappointing where were all the hot ladies
Ashido
@Mineta don’t move there’s a sniper outside your window
Mineta
WHAT?!?!
Ashido
Hold very very still Mineta
Hagakure
He’s aiming for you, Mineta, don’t move--
Kirishima
You were very manly, Izuku-kun.
Jirou
What does that even mean
Kaminari
Hey, real quick, whos boogers smell like roses? What even is that?
Uraraka
Eri-chan’s boogers, because they are made of cuteness and unicorn dust!
Jirou
No one is making any sense right now
Todoroki
It’s sleep deprivation.
Midoriya
Sorry guys, didn’t mean to wake you all up!
Eri-chan had a nightmare, so I went over to help her!
Also, @Ashido, I think Mineta just screamed?
Bakugou
WOKE UP TO THIS SHIT
DEKU I SWEAR IN THE MORNING IF I SEE YOU YOU’RE DEAD
Midoriya
Uh sorry Kacchan!
All Might
GO TO SLEEP, ALL OF YOU!
Bakugou
DIE DEKU DIE
All Might
NO MORE DEATH THREATS!
Jirou
Hey @Midoriya, who snorted at the beginning of the video?
Midoriya
Aizawa-sensei!
Kirishima
No way, that’s so manly
Jirou
Again with that-- no one knows what that means
Kaminari
It means its manly
Ashido
WOW manly means manly who would have guessed
All Might
SLEEP!
I SENT IT FOR YOU TO LOOK AT IN THE MORNING! NOT NOW!
Iida
Getting 8 hours of sleep is essential for those under 18.
Uraraka
Sorry All Might! Going to sleep now XD
Smiling quietly to himself, Izuku flipped his phone over on the table so it wouldn’t wake him up and then scrambled into bed, pushing away thoughts of what Kacchan was going to be like in the morning, and quickly drifting off after Eri into a peaceful sleep.