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Eri is sleepy.
It’s past her bedtime, and she’s in her big, plush bed in her warmest, comfiest clothes, and her favorite nightlight is on, so her room is nice and soft and not scary at all. She should be sleeping. She wants to sleep, but… she can’t.
Eri draws in a big breath and sighs. She’s trying really hard not to wiggle around too much. She knows the best way to fall asleep is to stay very still and keep her eyes closed.
Fake it till ya make it, as Mr. Mic used to tell her.
Eri frowns. Turns to face the wall and curls in on herself, pulling the blanket over her head.
She doesn’t want to think about Mr. Mic.
Mr. Mic is bad now. He hurt Mr. Aizawa. She does not miss him. Not at all.
That’s why she threw away all the toys he ever gave her. It took her a whole day to do that, because he used to give her a lot of toys. But she had to do it. Because Mr. Mic is a villain now and she doesn’t like villains. Villains hurt people. Villains hurt her.
Eri screws her eyes shut tighter, hugs her arms to her chest.
She misses her favorite plushie, Sprinkles the unicorn. Mr. Mic was the one who gave him to her, so she had to throw him away. Mr. Aizawa got her a new plushie to sleep with, a cute yellow kitty she named Jellybean. She likes Jellybean very much, but it’s just not the same.
(She never told Mr. Aizawa that, but she thinks he knows anyway. Yesterday she saw Sprinkles peeking out of Mr. Aizawa’s closet when she went to visit him. Which was weird because Mr. Aizawa usually keeps his closet doors closed, since that’s where he keeps his hero things. Eri pretended not to see anything.)
Eri sighs again. She tries very hard not to think about how much easier she’d sleep if she had Sprinkles with her. (It doesn’t work.)
Her room feels too big. And so does her bed and her pillow and Jellybean and the thoughts in her head. Everything feels giant, and she is very tired and feels very small. She wants to hide.
She knows just the spot.
As soon as the thought comes to her, Eri climbs out of her bed, wraps a blanket around herself, and tiptoes out of her room.
She doesn’t want to sneak around, but she also doesn’t want to wake Mr. Aizawa because then he’d be worried about her, and she really doesn’t want that. And anyway, she knows exactly where she’s going and she’s not gonna leave the building and she’ll go back to her room before anyone wakes up, so everything should be fine.
Still, sneaking around the dark hallways of the teachers’ dorm makes her nervous, even though she’s very good at it because she’s very good at being silent. When she finally catches sight of her favorite hiding spot, she sighs in relief and scurries the rest of the way.
The space under the stairs leading up to the roof is small and dark and perfect. It’s where she goes when she needs a break from all the noise and lights of the school. She spends so much time here that Mr. Aizawa set up a curtain and some blankets and pillows to make the space all snug.
Mirio calls it Fort Eri. He joins her in here sometimes, and so does Deku. Even Mr. Aizawa joined her once – but only because he was hiding from Mr. Mic, which didn’t work because Mr. Mic knew all about Fort Eri, and then he squeezed himself inside, too, even though there was barely any room and his hair got all smooshed. It was pretty funny. Mr. Mic was pretty funny.
But then he went bad, so Eri doesn’t want to think about him anymore.
She draws the curtain of Fort Eri closed, leaving a tiny gap open to let in some light from the nearby window. Then she fluffs up some pillows and hunkers down under her blanket. She forgot to bring Jellybean, but that’s okay because there’s a big plush panda already waiting here for her. She doesn’t recognize it, but it is very cute and huggable, so she’s grateful for it. She snuggles right up.
Soon enough, she is drifting off to sleep. Her final thought is a happy one: she’s finally found a replacement for Sprinkles.
~ ~ ~
Hizashi should not be here.
He’s done what he was sent here to do and then some. He took a big ol’ risk leaving that stuffed panda for Eri, but the League needed some of Nedzu’s old intel on the HPSC and, well – when in Rome, right?
But he’s already done all that, so. What the hell is he still doing here?
Being a sentimental fool, is what he’s doing.
It’s just – he misses the kid, okay? He misses all of the kids, really, but sweet little baby Eri? Gods, he’s so attached it’s ridiculous.
So here he is, approaching Fort Eri yet again, this time with a few thousand yen in hand. He’s going to tuck them under a pillow so the tyke can find it and buy herself some candy or something. Yeah, yeah, ‘you shouldn’t buy your kid’s love’ or whatever, but he’s working with what he’s got here, okay?
He yanks the curtain open.
Then he takes several flailing steps backwards and nearly falls on his ass because holy hell –
“Eri?” he squeaks before he has the presence of mind to slap a hand over his big mouth.
It’s too late. Eri blinks awake.
Hizashi stands there, frozen. Maybe if he doesn’t move, she won’t see him. That’s how that works, right? Kids and T-rexes – same difference. Right??
Wrong.
“You shouldn’t be here, Mr. Mic,” says sweet little baby Eri.
And her voice is adorably sleepy, but her words? Ouch.
Still, Hizashi conjures up a smile and some finger guns.
“Neither should you, little listener,” he says. “Does Mr. Eraser know you’re here?”
Eri sits up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her tiny little baby hands.
“No,” she mumbles.
“I won’t tell if you don’t.” Hizashi winks at her. “We wouldn’t want to worry him, would we?”
“I guess not,” she says.
And she looks so sad, sat there in her little blanket fort, staring up at him with her big, beautiful baby eyes, clutching that stupid panda plush which is easily half her size, that Hizashi kind of wants to cry about it.
“I, uh – I see you liked my gift,” he says past the lump in his throat.
Eri clutches the panda tighter.
“Yes. I did”
And she sounds so small and torn and scared and, yep – Hizashi has to leave. Now.
“Well, it was nice catchin’ up, Er-bear,” he chokes out. “But I gotta jet, so, uh – see ya!”
He turns on his heel and starts speed-walking away.
“Mr. Mic. Wait.”
It’s barely more than a whisper, but it stops Hizashi dead in his tracks.
The sound of fabric rustling tells him that Eri has stepped out of her fort. Even though he can’t hear her footfalls – the girl is a veritable ninja in the making – Hizashi just knows she’s approaching him. Against his better judgement, he plasters on a smile and turns back around.
“What’s up, little listener?”
Eri stops a few paces from him, shifts on her feet, indecision clear on her little face.
Then she sighs a sigh that is much heavier than a six-year-old girl has any business sighing and says, “Can you stay awhile?”
Hizashi’s smile turns sad.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Er-bear.”
“Please?” she says, taking a step toward him.
Hizashi takes a step back, even though it damned near breaks his heart. Eri’s heart doesn’t look to be doing any better. Her lip wobbles.
“I just don’t wanna get you in trouble, sweetie-pie,” he hurries to explain, because if the waterworks start, that’s it for him.
Eri doesn’t start crying. She just looks down at her feet and wraps her arms around herself. She’s the very picture of resignation, and it hurts Hizashi somewhere deep in his soul, but it’s better this way. It has to be.
“I’m so sorry, Eri,” he says, because he can’t stop himself.
Eri hugs herself tighter.
Then she whispers: “I’m having trouble sleeping."
And it’s the way she says it – low and helpless and devoid of all hope, like she’s just dropping the words at her feet for the sake of getting them out of herself – that finally does it.
“Oh, sugarplum,” he coos, holding his arms out on sheer instinct. “C’mere.”
Eri climbs into his arms instantly, her utter lack of hesitation breaking him anew.
“I’m so sorry to hear that, munchkin,” he says, hoisting her up to eye-level. “Is it the nightmares again?”
Eri rests her hands on his shoulders, shakes her head.
Hizashi’s brow furrows.
“No? Something else, then?”
She nods.
“Have you talked to Mr. Aizawa about it?”
She looks away, mumbles, “No.”
“Well, why ever not, angel? I’m sure he’d love to help!”
“I know, but…” Eri chews on her lip, still refusing to make eye contact. “I don’t want to make him sad.”
“Now, why would helping you make Mr. Aizawa sad, huh?”
Eri says nothing for a few moments. Then she looks him dead in the face with big, mournful eyes and places a warm, tiny hand on his chest.
Hizashi feels like he’s been shot.
Good gods above. This girl is going to kill him, and he’s going to die feeling like the absolute piece of trash he is now more than ever convinced he actually is.
“Oh, Er-bear,” he says, voice thick, “I am so, so sorry.”
Eri shakes her head, pressing her hand more firmly onto his chest.
“Please don’t be sad,” she says, “I don’t want anyone to be sad.”
Hizashi swallows the lump in his throat and finds a smile for her. It’s easier than he’d have thought - but then again, how could he not smile at that.
He boops her on the nose.
“You are the sweetest little cookie in the cookie jar, you know that?”
“Mr. Aizawa says cookies give you cavities,” she informs him gravely.
“And Mr. Aizawa’s right! But you, my little sugar cube, are worth getting allllll of the cavities, ever.” He pokes her cheek. “Teeth schmeeth, right? Chewing’s overrated, anyway.”
Eri’s giggle is a bit watery, but it’s music to Hizashi’s ears.
“You’re silly,” she says, though the word ‘silly’ is mostly swallowed by the massive yawn that overtakes her.
Hizashi chuckles. “You gettin’ sleepy there, Er-bear?”
“A little bit,” she admits through another yawn.
“Alrighty, how’s about we get you all tucked in for the night, huh?”
Eri just nods, then lays her head on his shoulder as he carries her back to her fort. Ideally, he’d take her back to her room so she can sleep on a proper bed, but, well. There’s nothing ideal about this situation, is there?
Hizashi lays her down on her pile of blankets and tucks her in nice and snug, along with the panda she’d snatched back up as soon as it was within reach. Eri smiles sleepily up at him.
“Thanks for staying, Mr. Mic,” she says, voice sleep heavy.
Hizashi boops her nose again.
“Anything for you, little listener.”
She hesitates, then, but only for a second.
“Can you sing me a lullaby?”
Hizashi smiles. “Of course."
Then, because he’s a masochist, apparently, he clears his throat and starts singing:
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping,
I dreamed I held you in my arms,
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken,
So I hung my head and I cried.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know dear, how much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away.
Eri’s out like a light before the first verse is over. Hizashi sings the whole song, anyway.
~ ~ ~
Eri wakes up in her fort.
She’s confused for a few seconds, but then she remembers sneaking out of her room in the middle of the night to get here.
She remembers more than that, too - or at least she thinks she does. Her memory is a bit foggy. Mostly she remembers the singing.
But Mr. Mic is nowhere to be seen, and when Mr. Aizawa finally finds her, he’s only upset that she wasn’t in her room, not about anything else. Not like she knows he would be if he thought Mr. Mic had been in UA.
So she doesn’t say anything. Not to Mr. Aizawa, and not to anyone else. It was probably just a dream. She shouldn’t upset anyone over dream, right?
Nobody asks her where she got her new plush panda. She doesn’t ask, either. She gets lots of toys from lots of people. It doesn’t really matter where she got this one. All that matters is that she loves it to bits and that it helps her sleep.
She names it Sunshine.